A Fertilizer Plant Just Exploded Near Waco, Texas

waco4.png
 
torchbearer said:
i just did a google search, i can't find another fertilizer plant explosion on the internet database. though there is the potential. obviously. put, you'd think the people handling the stuff knows that. but if i wanted to make a big statement- i'd detonate a smaller explosion to set off the bigger one. that is plausible too.
Click to expand...

Fertilizer is not explosive.

Some fertilizers are Oxidizers. They would need to be mixed with something and then set off. And setting it off is not easy.

a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It can also lead to wrong assumptions.
 
Police radio reports heavy damage in North Side of town, multiple structures destroyed.
 
Draining the city swimming pool to get water to fight the numerous fires, per police radio.
 
pcosmar said:
Fertilizer is not explosive.

Some fertilizers are Oxidizers. They would need to be mixed with something and then set off. And setting it off is not easy.

a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It can also lead to wrong assumptions.
Click to expand...

I know a guy that set off distilled 34-0-0 ammonium nitrate with either a blasting cap or a quarter stick of dynamite. He didn't recall mixing it with anything but says he may have. He was around 13 at the time and picked up a copy of the Anarchist cookbook and all 4 volumes of the Poor Man's James Bond series.

He said if you put heat to it it would just melt.
 
The Texas City disaster was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history. The incident took place on April 16, 1947, and began with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp which was docked in the Port of Texas City. The fire detonated approximately 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate[1] and the resulting chain reaction of fires and explosions killed at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City fire department.[2] These events also triggered the first ever class action lawsuit against the United States government, under the then-recently enacted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), on behalf of 8,485 victims

The Grandcamp was a recently re-activated 437-foot-long (133 m) Liberty ship. Originally named the SS Benjamin R. Curtis in Los Angeles in 1942, the ship served in the Pacific theatre and was mothballed in Philadelphia after World War II. In a Cold War gesture, the ship was assigned to the French Line to assist in the rebuilding of Europe. Along with ammonium nitrate—a very common cargo on the high seas—it was carrying small arms ammunition, machinery, and bales of sisal twine on the deck. Another ship in the harbor, the SS High Flyer, was docked about 600 feet (200 m) away from the SS Grandcamp. The High Flyer contained an additional 961 tons of ammonium nitrate[1] and 3,600,000 pounds (1,800 tons) of sulfur. The ammonium nitrate in the two ships and in the adjacent warehouse was fertilizer on its way to farmers in Europe. The Grandcamp had arrived from Houston, Texas, where the port authority did not permit loading of ammonium nitrate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Disaster
 
Last edited:
Preliminary Reports indicate at least 130 injured, 6 blocks destroyed...one fire fighter critically wounded per live feed. None of this is confirmed yet. Second Explosion possible, evacuation of the city is underway.
 
Last edited:
FunkBuddha said:
I know a guy that set off distilled 34-0-0 ammonium nitrate with either a blasting cap or a quarter stick of dynamite. He didn't recall mixing it with anything but says he may have. He was around 13 at the time and picked up a copy of the Anarchist cookbook and all 4 volumes of the Poor Man's James Bond series.

He said if you put heat to it it would just melt.
Click to expand...

Fertilizer "Bombs" are some type of fuel and fertilizer mix. The fertilizer is the oxidant. And it needs a charge to set it off.

But a quick search,, it seems that in the production of some there is a risk..

As well as with storage of large amounts.
Ammonium nitrate decomposes into the gases nitrous oxide and water vapor when heated (non-explosive reaction); however, ammonium nitrate can be induced to decompose explosively by detonation. Large stockpiles of the material can be a major fire risk due to their supporting oxidation, and may also detonate, as happened in the Texas City disaster of 1947, which led to major changes in the regulations for storage and handling.

There are two major classes of incidents resulting in explosions:

In the first case, the explosion happens by the mechanism of shock-to-detonation transition. The initiation happens by an explosive charge going off in the mass, by the detonation of a shell thrown into the mass, or by detonation of an explosive mixture in contact with the mass. The examples are Kriewald, Morgan (present-day Sayreville, New Jersey), Oppau and Tessenderlo.

In the second case, the explosion results from a fire that spreads into the ammonium nitrate itself (Texas City, Brest, Oakdale), or from a mixture of ammonium nitrate with a combustible material during the fire (Repauno, Cherokee, Nadadores). The fire must be confined at least to a degree for successful transition from a fire to an explosion (a phenomenon known as "deflagration-to-detonation transition", or DDT). Pure, compact AN is stable and very difficult to ignite, and there are numerous cases when even impure AN did not explode in a fire.
Click to expand...

I played with it as a kid as well.
It was really hard to ignite. Totally unsuitable for rocket propulsion.
 
Last edited:
Anhydrous ammonia is very reactive (as are many nitrogenous compounds) is exposed to air, metals, and halogens. A tank full of the stuff would have the explosive capacity to level the better part of a small town.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

PAF
Militarized Law Enforcement Reaches a New Level under Trump
Replies
17
Views
187
Invisible Man
I
PAF
DC Police Withholding Full Details About Gun Seizures During Federal Takeover… For Now
Replies
2
Views
174
acptulsa
acptulsa
Swordsmyth
Trump's USDA Ends a Biden Administration Injustice
Replies
1
Views
26
acptulsa
acptulsa
PAF
Why We Need the Rule of Law
2
Replies
30
Views
177
69360
6
PAF
Will an Iran Cyber Attack Panic Usher In a New Patriot Act?
Replies
9
Views
92
unknown
unknown
Back
Top