Posted on 03/26/2024 7:03:50 AM PDT by Red Badger
A railcar carrying 60,000 pounds of Dyno Nobel ammonia nitrate, a chemical fertilizer that also can be used to make explosives, left Cheyenne full and arrived two weeks later in California empty. (Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nearly a year after 30 tons of ammonium nitrate went missing on a train ride from Cheyenne to an old salt mining town in California, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is still investigating where and how the explosive fertilizer vanished.
“The FRA investigation is still being finalized,” a spokesman with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FRA told Cowboy State Daily in an emailed statement.
The spokesman also wrote that the findings in the report are “pending potential enforcement actions.”
The spokesman did not elaborate on the enforcement actions, who they may be issued for and how serious they might be.
"FRA's investigation is focused on both the railroad and the shipper," the agency told Cowboy State Daily. "Enforcement action would be taken against any party which violated rail safety regulations."
A rail car carrying 30 tons of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in explosives in Wyoming coal mines, left Cheyenne’s Dyno Nobel factory on the western edge of the city April 12, 2023.
When the Union Pacific train carrying the load of fertilizer more than 1,000 miles arrived in Saltdale, California, 13 days later, the rail car carrying the fertilizer was empty.
The loss of the fertilizer is concerning to federal authorities.
At mines and other industrial sites, the ammonia nitrate is mixed with other chemicals, such as diesel fuel, and then blasting caps are used to make it explode.
Ammonium nitrate is primarily used as a fertilizer, but it also was a key chemical used in the bomb that terrorist Timothy McVeigh built to blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
Unintentional Release The FRA statement to Cowboy State Daily indicates that the FRA conducted a hazmat incident investigation, classified as a “non-accident release,” and determined that a faulty bottom outlet on a covered hopper car caused the “unintentional release” of ammonium nitrate fertilizer pellets, also known as prills.
The release of the pellets happened while the shipment was in transit from Dyno Nobel to California. Initial media reports stated that the seals on the rail car were still intact when it arrived in Saltdale.
The FRA stated that the fertilizer was noticed missing when the rail car arrived in Mojave, California, about 35 miles southwest of Saltdale.
A non-accident release occurs when a hazardous material is unintentionally released during transportation, encompassing activities like loading and unloading while under railroad control, but excluding incidents like derailments or collisions, according to the Association of American Railroads.
These releases can result from leaks, splashes or other malfunctions in valves, fittings or tank shells, as well as the venting of non-atmospheric gases through safety relief mechanisms.
All Signs Point To Leak Dyno Nobel made its report May 10, 2023, to the federal National Response Center.
A spokeswoman for Dyno Nobel could not immediately comment on the investigation.
Mike Jaixen, a spokesman for the Union Pacific, told Cowboy State Daily in an email that the railroad had completed its investigation of the incident and fully cooperated with authorities.
“As we have previously indicated, all the available evidence suggests this was a leak that occurred over the course of transportation from origin to destination,” Jaixen said. “Such a leak is unlikely to pose any risk to public health or the environment.”
He also said that Union Pacific has no reason to believe any criminal or otherwise malicious activity took place during transport.
Vikki Migoya, a public affairs officer with the FBI’s Denver field office, said that her agency is aware of the situation.
“Any updates on that incident will come from the companies involved,” Migoya said.
Earlier this month, Dyno Nobel was fined nearly $400,000 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency for safety violations at its Cheyenne plant unrelated to the loss of fertilizer last year.
Dyno Nobel, which is a business unit of Australian-based industrial chemicals giant Incitec Pivot Ltd., agreed to pay a $394,906 civil administrative penalty as part of the company’s violations of the Clean Air Act related to chemical accident prevention practices at the facility.
Four years ago, Incitec Pivot opted to not sell Dyno Nobel following a strategic review of the business.
In fiscal 2023, Dyno Nobel Americas saw its profitably fall 23%, according to an Incitec securities filing in Australia.
Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.
👌😁👍........................
Yes, that’s the likely explanation — it simply leaked all along the route. Perhaps the chutes weren’t properly secured. From the story: “As we have previously indicated, all the available evidence suggests this was a leak that occurred over the course of transportation from origin to destination.” And yes, it’s just fertilizer.
To be sure, there would be many who would volunteer to provide a little help along the rail.
Or was it never loaded onto that particular train and is stored for later use?
30 tons of fertilizer is a bit much to hide or misplace...............
Election year and all that.
It would be a no-brainer if someone DID steal it, that they would leave an open valve or something like that to allow for just such an "explanation" by lazy investigators.
IIRC, the valves were closed when the railcar made it to California.................
I blame Walter White. Seriously though with the fertilizer shortage it could have gone missing for that purpose.
True, it is a fungible commodity.........................
At how many sidings, and how long at each siding did the railcar sit unattended? 1000 miles is a maximum of 3 days travel uninterrupted on a freight train.
LOL, You and I both posted that clip.
We used to use ammonium nitrate out here on the farm until the OKC bombing and then the local COOP wouldn’t sell it to us anymore, had to be urea nitrogen, even after forty years of us buying it from them. It’s an inert compound until you mix it with diesel fuel. 30 tons? That could make a pretty big bang.
The headline should include words like “BOMBSHELL” and “EXPLOSIVE”.
It does.................
I have read stories of car oil changes where the oil is drained out but the mechanic forgot to put oil back in....
Then there is a story about not bolting in a door plug in an airplane....
There will be lots of happy plants along the route.
I’ve grown a few ‘Happy Plants’...................😎
That actually happened to a former co-worker of mine.
She took her SUV to one of those 10 minute oil change places and they didn’t tighten the drain plug.
She got a new engine.......................
when the rail car arrived in Mojave, California, about 35 miles southwest of Saltdale.
= = =
Did you check out where Saltdale is?
Looks like the middle of nowhere.
Who uses the explosive there?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.