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Ammonium Nitrate

All articles tagged with #ammonium nitrate

accidents2 years ago

Overturned Ammonium Nitrate Truck Causes I-81 Closure in Maryland

A tanker truck carrying ammonium nitrate overturned on the southbound side of Interstate 81 in Hagerstown, Maryland, causing the evacuation of businesses within 1,500 feet of the scene. No one was hurt in the incident, but concerns about the compound's explosive potential led to the evacuation. The northbound lanes have since reopened, but the southbound side remains closed, with detours in place. Drivers are advised to avoid the area.

safety2 years ago

30-Ton Shipment of Explosive Chemicals Vanishes During Rail Transport

About 60,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used as both a fertilizer and an explosive, is missing after disappearing during a rail trip from Wyoming to California last month. The chemical was discovered missing after the rail car arrived in Saltdale, California, an unincorporated community more than 1,000 miles from Cheyenne. Federal officials are investigating the incident, but representatives for the rail company and the chemical manufacturer believe the chemical leaked through the rail car while in transit. The recent disappearance of the chemical should not threaten the public, according to a spokesperson for Union Pacific, the rail company that was transporting the chemical.

security2 years ago

30-ton shipment of explosive chemicals vanishes during rail transport from Wyoming to California

A 30-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used to make both fertilizer and explosives, disappeared en route from Wyoming to California. The railcar loaded with 60,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate from explosives company Dyno Nobel left Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 12, but two weeks after leaving Cheyenne, the railcar arrived at a rail stop in the Mojave Desert where it was found to be empty. Officials are investigating the disappearance, and Dyno Nobel said that it thought the chemical, which was in pellet form, fell from the covered hopper car it was transported on.

crime2 years ago

Officials probe disappearance of 30 tons of explosive chemicals during rail shipment.

A 30-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used to make both fertilizer and explosives, disappeared from a railcar en route from Wyoming to California. The chemical's supplier, Dyno Nobel, said it thought the shipment, which was in pellet form, fell from the railcar. Officials are investigating the disappearance, but do not believe there is any criminal or malicious activity involved. Ammonium nitrate was the primary explosive used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

automotive-safety2 years ago

BMW issues warning on older models with faulty airbags

BMW is warning owners of about 90,000 older vehicles in the US not to drive them due to an increasing threat that the airbags might explode in a crash. The warning covers vehicles from the 2000 through 2006 model years that previously had been recalled to replace faulty and dangerous airbag inflators made by Takata. The company used volatile ammonium nitrate to inflate the airbags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to heat and humidity and blow apart a metal canister, hurling shrapnel that can injure or kill drivers and passengers.

safety2 years ago

Texas Chemical Explosion: 10 Years Later, Risk of Repeat Remains High

Ten years after the tragic Texas chemical explosion that killed 15 people and injured 260 others, federal officials and chemical safety advocates warn that not enough regulatory changes have taken hold to make the U.S. any safer today from similar explosions than it was a decade ago. The explosion was triggered by 50 tons of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that’s highly combustible and the key culprit in the West blast. Many residents still struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, despite years of therapy.