Hawaii Molasses Spill: Better or Worse Than Oil?
It takes time and a little organic chemistry to scrub molasses from seawater.
Last week, a pipeline owned by shipping magnate Matson carrying molasses from Hawaii to cargo ships bound for California leaked as much as 233,000 gallons of molasses into the waters of Honolulu Harbor. The amount is equivalent to more than 5,500 barrels of oil.
Hawaii state officials said there was little they could do to clean up the spill, warning the public to stay out of water in the area. Matson pledged to cover costs associated with the spill response.
The density of the molasses proved immediately deadly for the harbor's marine life, which suffocated as the sticky substance sank to the ocean floor. (This video graphically shows the destructive nature of the molasses.) But at least one
