West Fertilizer Co. reported having as much as 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand in an emergency planning report required of facilities that use toxic or hazardous chemicals.
But the report, reviewed Wednesday night by The Dallas Morning News, stated “no” under fire or explosive risks. The worst possible scenario, the report said, would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would kill or injure no one.
Sometimes those who fill out EPA SARA 311 / 312 reports know absolutely nothing of their business, the chemistry, and unfortunately the risk of their business.
Look up BLEVE. Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion. Most likely cause of the explosion from the ammonia tank going up due to the fire.
Also: Under normal circumstances, anhydrous ammonia is not explosive. It has a very tight explosive range (13-15wt% in air). So their statement would be correct for an ordinary release from the tank. However, there was a massive fire raging - so there was an ignition source for the ammonia.
‘West Fertilizer Co. reported having as much as 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand in an emergency planning report required of facilities that use toxic or hazardous chemicals.
But the report, reviewed Wednesday night by The Dallas Morning News, stated “no” under fire or explosive risks. The worst possible scenario, the report said, would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would kill or injure no one. “