Disasters involving ammonium nitrate are tragically common, and should be preventable
THE BLAST that flattened Beirut’s port on Tuesday has killed more than 135 people and injured thousands more. Lebanon’s Higher Defence Council, chaired by the president and prime minister, has declared the city a “disaster zone”. The country, which was already facing a financial crisis, is now confronted by a humanitarian one. What sparked the explosion is not yet clear, but its potency seemingly came from more than 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that authorities were storing in a warehouse.
One of the deadliest explosions caused by ammonium nitrate took place in Texas City in 1947. A fire on board a ship carrying 2,300 tonnes of fertiliser caused it to detonate, killing at least 500 people and creating a 15-foot tidal wave. The blast hurled the ship’s anchor, weighing 1.5 tonnes, 1.6 miles away. The accident prompted new regulations for the manufacturing and transport of chemicals, in particular requiring safer containers for ammonium nitrate.
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