What is ammonium nitrate

Ammonium nitrate should be stored separately from other flammable and explosive materials and potential contaminants in well-designed fire-safe buildings. Stored quantities should be limited, as should storage duration.

Any contaminated material for example from broken bags must be safely disposed of, immediately. Obviously, any sources of ignition, including smoking, must be strictly prohibited anywhere near this material. It can be obvious that storing a large lot of ammonium nitrate for six years in a Lebanese warehouse makes all of these conditions more possible.

Bags can become damaged, making the chance of contamination more likely. Self-heating can start, slowly at first, within the large pile. Hot weather can create extreme temperatures inside warehouses, particularly if people do not normally work in them. Alternatively, if people are in the area frequently, long-term storage can make them complacent of the risk, and exposure to impacts or sources of ignition such as electric shock, or unauthorized smoking, may be more likely.

We should also not rule out the possibility of malicious actors taking advantage of such a store of dangerous material without a thorough investigation.

Videos from Beirut showed smoke billowing from a fire, and then a mushroom cloud following the blast. The shockwave is produced from compressed air, he explains. When ammonium nitrate explodes, it can release toxic gases including nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas.

The orange plume is caused by the nitrogen dioxide, which is often associated with air pollution. With such a powerful blast, ammonium nitrate has been used by armies around the world as an explosive.

It has also been used in several terrorist acts, including the Oklahoma City bombing in In that instance, Timothy McVeigh used two tonnes of ammonium nitrate to create a bomb which destroyed a federal building and killed people. Rescue workers search rubble after deadly Beirut blast. It was used in Irish Republican Army IRA bombings in London in the s, the explosion that blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing people, and the blasts in Bali nightclubs in which more than died.

Many of the homemade bombs that were used against U. This story corrects affiliation of Professor Andrea Sella in Aug. Editor's Picks Updated. Elevated levels of these pollutants are particularly concerning for people with respiratory conditions. The fumes in Beirut will present a health risk to residents until they naturally dissipate, which could take several days depending on the local weather. Here in Australia, we produce and import large amounts of ammonium nitrate, mostly for use in mining.

It is made by combining ammonia gas with liquid nitric acid, which itself is made from ammonia. Ammonium nitrate is classified as dangerous goods and all aspects of its use are tightly regulated. For decades, Australia has produced, stored and used ammonium nitrate without a major incident.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Gabriel da Silva is a senior lecturer in chemical engineering at the University of Melbourne. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American.