700 Pounds Of Explosives Stolen From Warehouse

MSNBC ^ | 10:40 p.m. CDT October 10, 2001

[Darth Sidious]

I've seen this stuff being used before. Can do some pretty surgical blasting with it.

[seeker41]

Yikes I live in Houston proper. Thanks for posting.

[Grassontop]

Maybe the Halloween threat from an email might not be a prank after all, who knows?

[spunkets]

What is a shaved charge?

[in the Arena]

Could that be "shaped" charge ? http://www.sandia.gov/explosive/projects/shpcharg.htm

[American Soldier]

Well we can be thankful for one thing: At least this is just an isolated incident and not part of some broad terrorist conspiracy aimed at the U.S. That fact is all that's keeping me sane!

[Bill Rice]

Nothing on "shaved charges" on Google.

I'll bet they mean SHAPED charges - lots of blast power focused on
a small area that will penetrate thick armor plating.

[seeker41]

Investigators told News2Houston that they don't believe this incident is terrorist-related, but they are taking it seriously because of the amount that was stolen.

Nah, it's not related to terrorism. Lots of nervous folks here as they make their way to work downtown tomorrow.

[seeker41]

And they stole 300 blasting caps as well. Oh my..

[in the Arena]

Must be an isolated incident...indeed...what would a terrorist want with a charge that has been designed to: "cut or penetrate large sections of steel, thick reinforced concrete..."

[spunkets]

No, shaped charges are formed(cast) for a particular cutting, or penetrating job. This article calls them shaved. Plastic isn't used in construction and drilling. Shaving sounds like it's just shaved off the package, or the package is shorted. They also mention the outside of the shaved charge doesn't explode, as if the stuff was really shaved off.

[spunkets]

and it's mostly package.

[seeker41]

Well, splain to me what 700 lbs of this stuff and 300 caps will do in terms of damage. I work in the tallest building in Houston and am interested in an assesment.

[spunkets]

300 blasting caps is a lot, that would suggest they plan on making ~300 devices. It doesn't say what the explosive is, they just say it's much less powerful than dynamite. They use a cheap black powder NaNO₃, instead of KNO₃ and diluted anfo. The articles not very informative. As far as blowing up buildings...I don't think so. This is a small truck bomb. If the stuff has much less power than dynamite, it will only make a mess. If it's terrorists, I think 300 suicide, or exploding molotov bombs. This is to small a qty. to take down a building w/o placing, and wiring the charges. Beware the electrician. LOL.

[seeker41]

Thanks for the info, I feel somewhat reassured.LOL

[Have Ruck - Will Travel]

FYI

[phalynx]

As I understand it, a shape charge is chevron shaped charge like a ">" shape. The inside of the chevron contains a copper sheet that is very thin. The rest of the > shape is high explosive. The concept is, the explosive is ignited and forces the piece of copper forward like a knife. They use it in building demolition.

Before any of you get mad at me posting, just watch Discovery Channel. That is where I learned about it.

[spunkets]

700 lbs is about the size of a 55gal drum.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Hey I learned about shaped charges in high school Army ROTC, these charges are no secret. I imagine plenty of people in the constuction industry know about them too. To use them with any effect, plenty of prep work is needed at the scene. They are of limited use. My best guess is the people who stole them are either idiots or want to blow a bank vault.