Molasses Spill

[shave_ice]

This happened on Oahu, but holy cow... what a disaster. I can't imagine how damaging this is.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013...arine-life

[rainyjim]

Matson Inc., says it "regrets that the incident impacted many harbor users as well as wildlife. We are taking steps to ensure this situation does not happen again."

What **** heads. The state should sue them into bankruptcy.

[Kelena]

What I don't understand is where all that molasses came from. Does Hawaii produce molasses in quantities sufficient to ship?

[macuu222]

And if the state sued Matson...Matson would just raise the shipping rates to compensate. But our governor would never let that happen because Matson was one of Neils largest campaign contributors.

[Carey]

Had this in an older research file link - Sugar & Molasses Data from 1991- 2008:
http://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/economic/d...220908.pdf

[rainyjim]

It almost reads as if you are validating their actions macuu222. I hope thats not the case.

Kelena, I don't believe it is produced in hawaii, although it can be made from sugarcane. I did however come across a list of uses for molasses, many of which I did not know...perhaps it could explain why there was so much.



Molasses can be used as:

The principal ingredient in the distillation of rum
In stouts or Porters
An additive in tobacco smoked in a hookah, shisha, or narghile (found in the brands Mazaya, Al-Fakher, Nakhla, Tangiers and Salloum)
An additive in livestock feeds
An ingredient in fishing groundbait
A source for yeast production.
An iron supplement
The main ingredient in the production of Citric acid
Chemical
The carbon source for in situ remediation of chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Blended with magnesium chloride and used for de-icing.
A stock for ethanol fermentation to produce an alternative fuel for motor vehicles[7]
Industrial
As a chelating agent to remove rust[8]
As a minor component of mortar for brickwork[9]
Mixed with glue to case ink rollers on early printing presses
Horticultural
As a soil additive to promote microbial activity[10]

[csgray]

I got curious about where the molasses was coming from and where it was going and found this:

"The Health Department has not decided whether to take action against Matson, which makes weekly runs of molasses from Hawaii’s last sugar plantation to the mainland."

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/...-fish?lite

So why do I have to pay $8 for a tiny bottle of molasses at the grocery store?

Carol

[Carey]

This is a sour molasses, used in feed...still wonder why we do not manufacture feed here...the import cost is soo high & we have quite a bit of high value feed off-stock in our fruit & potato production that is used in most areas of the world for feed...

I wonder how Matson did not notice the spill for ...well, molasses is much like heavy crude... that is not quick pumping stuff...

Also wonder why it took them 4 days to come forward with a media announcement (gotta say, their rep was ....well ... not well prepared for what were pretty obvious questions....) Deer in headlights look only goes sooo far when your company is facing most likely the worst environmental disaster ever in this state... after 4 days, you would think there was time to make it look like Matson has a clue... but clueless is what I got from it...

[csgray]

I'm pretty sure sour molasses is just a cruder form that can be refined into higher grades of molasses, if done right using this stuff for value added projects could provide jobs here in Hawaii instead of exporting low grade raw materials.

Carol

[Bluebird]

I believe I read on Hawaii News Now's Facebook page that the molasses was made in Maui and was being shipped to California. Could be wrong, not sure.