Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: caww

Was this AN stockpile capable of spontaneous detonation, similar to a grain silo?
If not, what was the detonating agent?
And was this blast without fuel oil?


50 posted on 08/06/2020 1:39:16 PM PDT by citizen (Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars. A,ll the other genders you make up are from Uranus.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies ]


To: citizen

I believe that Ammonium Nitrate requires a fairly high temp to detonate or a severe shock (e.g. blasting cap), but until it reaches that temp it will burn rather energetically.

I doubt that there was fuel oil mixed with it, but who knows what else was stored nerby and could have been unintentionally? mixed into some of the bags of pelletized Ammonium Nitrate.

Once I saw reports that repairs had been carried out on the door that day, I viewed the most likely scenario as careless worker improperly disposing of a cigarette or not properly shielding some procedure that threw sparks starting a fire, and no one who knew how to put out the fire able to extinguish it before detonation temp was reached. Ammonium Nitrate is both fuel and oxidizer for the fire, thus very hard to extinguish.


54 posted on 08/06/2020 3:40:08 PM PDT by Fraxinus (My opinion, worth what you paid.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson