O'Connor Plating Works disaster


On 20 February 1947, a large accidental explosion at the O'Connor Plating Works at 926 East Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles killed seventeen people and injured more than one hundred. Eleven nearby buildings were damaged beyond repair. Press reports mentioned a twenty-five-foot crater.
The explosion was caused by the improper handling of perchlorate acid, which the plant was using as an experimental method for polishing aluminum. On the day of the accident, the cooling unit required to store perchlorate acid safely was not working. A vessel of 130 gallons of the chemical was boiling and may have ignited when a plastic rack was lowered into it.
Dick Lane, a Los Angeles television announcer, was working for the experimental television station W6XYZ located nearby and quickly began broadcasting from the disaster site. Two days later, the station was licensed for commercial operation as KTLA-TV.