Catastrophic Ammonium Nitrate blast in Lebanon capital, Beirut

Blast triggered off in a port warehouse where highly explosive material was stored

• A catastrophic blast occurred recently at the Lebanon capital, Beirut
• The huge blast triggered off in a port warehouse where highly explosive material
  was stored
• The blast was driven by tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate that killed more than 135
  people and also, it injured more than 1000s

Cause and Reaction

• The explosion trembled the whole city. The shockwaves flattened much of the
  port, damaging buildings and produced a giant mushroom cloud into the sky
• The blast leads to the killing of 135 people and injury to nearly 4,000
• Within hours after the blast, ambulances rushed to carry away the wounded
  and the army helicopters flew to help contain battle fires raging at the port
• Ammonium nitrate an odourless crystalline substance commonly used as a
  fertilizer in the field has been found to be the root cause
• Ammonium nitrate has found to be involved in numerous industrial explosions
  over the decades
• Chief of countries like Egypt, UAE, Jordan, Israel, Canada, Iran, Syria, Russia,
  France, Britain, USA expressed their hearty condolences and extended supports

What is “ammonium nitrate”?

• Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula
  NH ₄NO ₃
• It is a white crystalline solid consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate
• It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not
  form hydrates
• It is predominantly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilize
• The explosion of ammonium nitrate can happen in two ways
• One, when the stored chemical comes in contact and the other is due to fire
  that starts due to extensive oxidation process
• The Beirut explosion is due to oxidation at large scale

Ammonium nitrate as an Explosive

• The Improvised Explosive Devices used by terrorists in the world contain
  Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO)
• Ammonium Nitrate when used as with RDX or TNT can create catastrophic
  effects
• In majority of terror attacks in India in places such as Varanasi, Pulwama,
  Pune, Malegaon, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, ammonium nitrate is used
  with the initiator RDX
• Under the UN classification of dangerous goods, ammonium nitrate is classified
  as an oxidizer
• However, it can be used as an explosive when mixed with other contaminants

India’s Safety measures of keeping Ammonium Nitrate

• In India, the use of Ammonium Nitrate is defined by the Ammonium Nitrate
  Rules, 2012 under the Explosives Act, 1884
• According to the rules, it is a compound that has more than 45% of ammonium
  nitrate by weight
• This includes suspensions, emulsions, gels or melts excluding fertilizers, slurry
  explosives and non-explosive emulsion matrix
• The rules also make the storage of large quantities of ammonium nitrate illegal
• In order to manufacture Ammonium Nitrate in India, industrial license is
  required under Industrial Development and Regulation Act, 1951

Pic courtesy : cnn.com