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posted by takyon on Wednesday August 05 2020, @12:09PM   Printer-friendly

Ammonium nitrate: what is the chemical blamed for blast in Lebanese capital?

The likely cause of the huge blast in Beirut on Tuesday appears to have been the highly reactive chemical ammonium nitrate.

Lebanon's prime minister, Hassan Diab, said 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded after lying unsecured in a warehouse for six years, tallying with reports that a ship carrying a similar quantity of the chemical had unloaded its cargo at the port in 2013. It remains unclear what caused the chemical to ignite.

Ammonium nitrate.

Beirut explosion: over half the city damaged in blast that killed at least 100 and wounded 4,000 – live updates

AFP is quoting the governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, as saying the damage from the port blast has extended over half of the city, with the cost of damage likely above $3bn.

He has also upped his previous estimate of the number of "homeless" to 300,000, which is close to the total population of the central part of the capital. Again, we are not sure if he is talking about homelessness or people whose homes have been damaged.

As Death Toll Rises After Deadly Blast, a Search for Answers and Survivors: Live Updates

As Death Toll Rises After Deadly Blast, a Search for Answers and Survivors: Live Updates:


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 05 2020, @05:20PM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 05 2020, @05:20PM (#1031831) Journal

    More and better details here - https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/08/beirut-blast-wrap-up.html?cid=6a00d8341c640e53ef0264e2eca7f4200d [moonofalabama.org]

    "Nitroprill HD" is a knock-off product of the trademarked Nitropril, a premium grade porous prilled ammonium nitrate manufactured and sold by the Orica Mining Services in Australia. It is used as a commercial explosive in mining and quarrying. The safety sheet of the original product says it "May explode under confinement and high temperature, but not readily detonated. May explode due to nearby detonations."

    An Orica safety assessment (pdf, Appendix III) sets the TNT (military explosive) equivalence for fire of bulk Nitropril in big bags at 15%. 2,750 tons of Nitropril are thereby the equivalent of 412.5 tons of TNT.

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  • (Score: 2) by corey on Thursday August 06 2020, @04:16AM (1 child)

    by corey (2202) on Thursday August 06 2020, @04:16AM (#1032141)

    Talking about Orica, they have a store of 4x the Beirut amount near residents in Newcastle, NSW:

    https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-05/beirut-blast-raises-concern-about-newcastle-ammonium-nitrate/12527546 [abc.net.au]

    I've been there a dozen times, it's not that close to residents but I'd want it gone too, after what just happened...

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday August 06 2020, @11:36AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 06 2020, @11:36AM (#1032210) Journal

      As a maintenance man, I have a smartass saying for people when I finish a job. "It'll work until it doesn't." Well, Orica's plant will be perfectly safe, until it isn't. Beirut was safe, until it wasn't.

      Stuff happens!!