[Gandalf_The_Gray]

One of the networks said that there were many tons of ammonium nitrate stored there. Maybe 100 tons.

"100 tons"? You ain't seen nothing yet!

On 21 September 1921 an explosion in a nitrogenous fertilizer plant near Oppau Germany involving some 4,500 tonnes of ammonium sulphonitrate fertilizer detonated creating a 90meter X 125meter crater, over 20meters deep. The official casualty report listed 561 deaths, 1,952 injured and 7,500 people left homeless. The explosion was heard in Munich, 275km from the plant.

On April 16, 1947, A French vessel the SS Grandcamp loaded with 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate to be turned into fertilizer. Docked at the Port of Texas City it erupted in flames, causing a massive explosion that killed approximately 576 people and flattened 1,000 buildings in the city. All of the city's firefighting equipment was destroyed in the blast and 26 firemen were killed. A second ship at the port, also carrying ammonium nitrate, caught fire in the blast and exploded 16 hours later. With the destruction of the city's fire-fighting equipment in the first blast, Texas City was helpless to contain the damage of the second blast.

It was the worst industrial accident in U.S. history.

Accidents and human stupidity have created a long history of destruction through the improper handling of chemical fertilizers.

Regards,
GtG

PS Ammonium nitrate is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air) and when shipped or stored in bulk tends to clump together into a solid, concrete-like mass. Accepted practice used to be to bore holes and break up the mass using dynamite. Sound like a good idea to you?

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

For those of you speculating about the cause of the West Texas explosion, ammonium nitrate is not all that easy to set off. It is widely used to quarry rock as it is fairly safe to handle, even when mixed with fuel oil (ANFO). The accepted practice is to use det cord and blasting caps to set off a high explosive (dynamite) in each bore hole as a primer to get the ANFO started. However, in large bulk piles of ammonium nitrate, if a fire starts and is not promptly extinguished, it is possible to get a spontaneous detonation. A fifty pound sack of 0-0-32 fertilizer is perfectly safe w/o the primer.

In the Texas City disaster in 1947, both of the ships that detonated were on fire for hours before they blew. The problem they had there was getting water on the fire in the hold of the French ship. The fire was so hot that hull plating was visibly glowing. By the time the second ship caught fire there was nothing left of the Texas City fire department to even try. Nether fire was controlled because ammonium nitrate is an oxidizer which means it liberates oxygen as it decomposes, allowing any available fuel to burn quite readily.

Regards,
GtG