# Fertilizer Plant Explosion



## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

If this was a nitrate dealership, that might be the end for ammonium nitrate.

http://rt.com/usa/texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion-036/


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## ANewman (Sep 20, 2012)

Just heard on my local Nashville news that it was an ammonium nitrate plant

That link says it was published on Apr 18 today is the 17th. Wonder why?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

vhaby said:


> If this was a nitrate dealership, that might be the end for ammonium nitrate.
> 
> http://rt.com/usa/te...-explosion-036/


First off I want to give my condolences to those families that lost loved ones and those that suffered horrific injury from the blast.

Vincent, I expect that you could be spot on in your analysis. Here in my area of TN, ammonia nitrate is already extremely difficult to obtain and then it comes in bag form(no bulk) and of course you must be able to verify your agriculture connection. Am Nit is just too volatile for today's world. I wish there was a form of treatment that could make this product still effective but much less volatile.

Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

My grandfather worked at a plant that produced ammonium nitrate as well but it had a protected area of about 5 miles in a diameter around it that only permitted farming activities exactly for this reason.

There was a similar explosion April 16, 1947 in Texas city port. Fire in a ship progressed to fertilizer explosion.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

I also extend my condolences to the many victims of this terrible explosion.

There are still conflicting reports by uninformed news media, but several reports indicate this was an anhydrous ammonia (NH3) facility. One report falsely stated that the liquid form of anhydrous ammonia is ammonium nitrate. Anhydrous ammonia is a liquid when under pressure. Anhydrous ammonia is made by reacting nitrogen from the air we breath (N2O) with methane (CH4, the hydrogen source) under high pressure and temperature conditions in the presence of a catalist. Anhydrous ammonia is reacted with nitric acid to produce the liquid form of ammonium nitrate.

Mike, there appear to be three El Dorado Chemical Company ammonium nitrate outlets on the edge of western Tennessee.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the blast, too.



Vol said:


> First off I want to give my condolences to those families that lost loved ones and those that suffered horrific injury from the blast.
> 
> Vincent, I expect that you could be spot on in your analysis. Here in my area of TN, ammonia nitrate is already extremely difficult to obtain and then it comes in bag form(no bulk) and of course you must be able to verify your agriculture connection. Am Nit is just too volatile for today's world. I wish there was a form of treatment that could make this product still effective but much less volatile.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Here, it only comes in bulk, no bags. My fert. man told me last summer they can't even sell it in the 1-ton bags.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

What Growers from Hill and McLennan Counties have said that company has been at that location a long, time.
Most of the buildup was later.
The company was a dealer not a manufacturer.
They also sold anhydrous. 
The last Safety Compliance Inspection was in 2006.

At the beginning of the fire, the Safety Management people should have started evacuating everyone.

I have no idea what the requirements are for fighting a fire in close proximity to stored AN.
Their efforts to fight the fire may have precipitated the detonation.
Probably the wrong people paid the price of any short comings.
Pure hear say mentioned there being a controlled burn that was not controlled. 
Speculation is running wild. New's media as expected are short on knowledge of what they are talking about.
There are probably a whole warehouse full of should have, & could have to go around. 
This will be a Lawyers Paridise.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

vhaby said:


> Mike, there appear to be three El Dorado Chemical Company ammonium nitrate outlets on the edge of western Tennessee.


Probably in close proximity to the Tennessee shipping ports on the Mississippi River.

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I see it happening this way, after they finally ban firearms, they will go after assault hammers and assault blunt instruments, then assault pressure cookers, then assault fertilizer.

The connections the tin foil hat crowd are trying to make is laughable while being scary as well. Terrorist attack in Boston, Timothy Mcvey was a terrorist that used fertilizer ergo this must be connected to Boston.

My condolences to the victims and families of this horrible accident. All the speculation between this tragic event and Boston supports my theory that the government and society in general has meddled with the survival of the fittest way too much. Most of the media should have been eaten by one wild animal or another before their first birthday.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

On the potential consequences of the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion:

http://www.croplife.com/article/33927/west-fertilizer-disaster-could-mean-trouble-for-entire-industry?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CL%20eNews%20April%2024%202013%20(1)&utm_content=


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Purchases of fertilizer are already watched pretty closely since the previous anfo bombings.

The storage rules have been pretty tight for 100 years, not like this is a new unknown risk. Lots of places are pretty haphazard about handling it though. Bulk handling/spreading companies want to be able to handle it the same as any flowable product without regard for its properties simply so their buildings are more flexible to store products. They don't want dedicated storage.



mlappin said:


> then assault fertilizer.


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

Here's an explosion with 2300 tons of AN going off. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster Texas has its share.


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