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Aug 5, 2020 · Reuters. The destruction in Beirut is widespread. How dangerous are the gases produced? When ammonium nitrate explodes, it can release toxic gases including nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas....
- What Is Ammonium nitrate?
- How Dangerous Is It?
- Has This Kind of Accident Happened before?
- Are The Gases It Produces Dangerous?
- Why Did It Produce A Mushroom Cloud?
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula NH4 NO3, and it's made by combining ammonia with nitric acid. It is most commonly used as fertilizer for agricultural purposes — since it is highly soluble — but it is also used as an industrial explosive. The reason it's used as an explosive, said Andrea Sella, a professor of chemistry at Un...
In small amounts, ammonium nitrate isn't dangerous, Sella said. "It's an interesting molecule because you have these white crystals, which if you keep them in a jar will sit for years on your laboratory shelf. But on the other hand, given the right kind of kick, [it can] explode." That kick is an ignition source, particularly if ammonium nitrate is...
Sella said that one of the most notable accidents was in Oppau, Germany, in 1921, when ammonium nitrate being stored in a silo had hardened over winter. Finding it difficult to break apart to prepare for packaging, workers tried to use dynamite. The subsequent explosion levelled the town and killed 700 people. One of the most recent incidents was i...
When ammonium nitrate is changed from a solid to a gas, one of the byproducts is nitrogen dioxide. But what about the Beirut case, where a massive amount of nitrogen dioxide was released into the atmosphere in one sudden explosion? "Because you have the fire in the first place, then the very hot explosion, the gas will actually be chimneyed effecti...
"Any big explosion gives us a mushroom cloud," said Cheryl Rofer, a chemist who retired from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Washington, D.C. "I think what threw a lot of people off and might have made them think it was nuclear was that spherical white cloud that formed and then dissipated rather quickly." And what most people associate with ...
- 1 min
- Nicole Mortillaro
Oct 7, 2020 · It can be stored safely, but when contaminated, mixed with fuel, or exposed to intense heat, ammonium nitrate can explode. Ammonium nitrate fumes created the white smoke seen in videos of the...
On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$ 15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless.
- 4 August 2020
- 7,000+
- 218
- Beirut, Lebanon
Aug 7, 2020 · What can cause ammonium nitrate to explode? OGLE: It’s stable under normal conditions, but you can do things to it that will cause it to misbehave. The main trigger is an external heat source.
Sep 9, 2020 · Explosives experts said the ammonium nitrate on its own would have been difficult to ignite. But the fireworks could serve as detonators, effectively turning the ammonium nitrate into a...
Aug 5, 2020 · Lebanon explosion: How tons of ammonium nitrate were stranded in Beirut port for years | CNN. A Russian ship’s cargo of dangerous ammonium nitrate was stranded in Beirut port for years....
