---
title: A San Francisco hospital is using a unique substance to prepare for earthquakes
description: "A San Francisco hospital is using \"goo\" to protect the building from possible future earthquake damage."
---

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# A San Francisco hospital is using a unique substance to prepare for earthquakes

 [fa icon="calendar"] Sep 18, 2015 12:21:40 PM / by [Kenneth R Quigley, PE](https://www.ccaco.com/blog/author/kenneth-r-quigley-pe)

As reported by [*CityLab*](http://www.citylab.com/tech/2015/09/a-new-san-francisco-hospital-is-using-goo-to-prepare-for-earthquakes/403447/) last week, a San Francisco hospital is the first to use a unique substance to protect itself from possible future earthquake damage. The 7-foot wide wall panels made of "goo" are embedded throughout the structure to act like a shock absorber for the building.

"It has the consistency of chewing gum, the San Francisco Chronicle [reports](http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/SF-hospital-tests-new-goo-in-walls-to-absorb-6479235.php), and could keep the 15-story California Pacific Medical Center standing and fully operational during an event as big as the [1906 earthquake](http://www.citylab.com/tech/2015/02/how-san-francisco-proved-to-the-world-it-had-recovered-from-the-1906-earthquake/385664/), which registered a magnitude of 7.8. The hospital, located about 7 miles from the San Andreas fault line, is the first building in the U.S. to use such technology.

The goo is a thick synthetic rubber called polyisobutylene, heated to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and then pumped into panels with steel dividers inside. The panels are then being installed throughout the hospital’s 13 floors to absorb shock and minimize the violent back-and-forth swaying of the building during an earthquake."

Learn more about this substance and how this technology can be used in the future: [http://www.citylab.com/tech/2015/09/a-new-san-francisco-hospital-is-using-goo-to-prepare-for-earthquakes/403447/](http://www.citylab.com/tech/2015/09/a-new-san-francisco-hospital-is-using-goo-to-prepare-for-earthquakes/403447/)

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#### Written by [Kenneth R Quigley, PE](https://www.ccaco.com/blog/author/kenneth-r-quigley-pe)

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