A wounded man is helped as he walks through debris following the explosion. An ammonium nitrate explosion produces massive amounts of nitrogen oxides. Ammonium nitrate fertilizer is cheaper and more readily available than other explosive materials making it the weapon of choice for many Middle East insurgents. Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a red, bad-smelling gas. A woman looks out of the collapsed facade of a Beirut apartment on Wednesday. "Customs and State Security sent letters [to the authorities] asking to remove or re-export the explosive materials six years ago, and we have been waiting since then for this issue to be resolved, but to no avail," Kraytem said. Previous disasters linked to the chemical have led to improved regulations for its safe storage, Associate Professor Stewart Walker, from the school of Forensic, Environmental and Analytical Chemistry at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, told CNN said; such rules mean it tends to be kept away from population centers. This aerial photo, taken on Wednesday, shows ruined structures at the port. Triaminotoluene (TAT) vs. trinitrotoluene (TNT). A Pictorial History of Texas City Explosion 1947. A woman, whose son is said to be missing after Tuesday's explosion, waits outside Beirut's port on Thursday to receive information from rescue teams. Ammonium Nitrate Regulations in India According to emails exchanged by Prokoshev and a Beirut-based lawyer Charbel Dagher, who represented the crew in Lebanon, the ammonium nitrate was unloaded in Beirut's port by November 2014 and stored in a hangar. Chemically, it's not at all surprising that ammonium nitrate can detonate. In its pure form, ammonium nitrate isn’t usually explosive – in fact, it’s safe to handle. Can a Vile Smelling Chemical Make Vaccines Work Better in the Elderly? It also has three nitro groups, which are itching to escape as carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and water. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry. Christelle Helou hugs the coffin of her cousin Nicole in Sarba, Lebanon, on Thursday. But when the hydroxyl groups are converted to nitrate esters you have a completely different beast. Others. They would eventually abandon the ship. The idea that such a quantity would have been left unattended for six years beggars belief and was an accident waiting to happen.". An explosion of ammonium nitrate was responsible for the worst industrial accident in US history in 1947. Chemical Agents. It was carrying 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, an industrial chemical commonly used around the world as a fertilizer -- and in explosives for mining. Contributions are fully tax-deductible. An explosion occurred in a warehouse storing some 300 metric tons of ammonium nitrate in the southern French city of Toulouse. Pentaerythritol, a common chemical intermediate for the production of plastics, paints, and cosmetics. Chinese authorities claimed the first explosion had been triggered after the heat of summer caused a highly flammable compound called nitrocellulose to spontaneously catch fire. A rescue worker walks along a pile of rubble at the explosion site in Beirut, Lebanon, on Saturday, August 8. ANKARA Turkey reported 20,316 more coronavirus infections, including 3,546 symptomatic patients, over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data released Sunday. A component of fertilizer, ammonium nitrate is potentially explosive. Ammonium Nitrate Compound #1. A helicopter fights a fire Tuesday at the scene of the explosion. NH4NO3 (s) -------> N2 (g)  +   2H2O (g) + 1/2 O2 (g). She told Jordan's state-owned channel Al Mamlaka that the exchange is being considered in relation to the potential cause of the deadly Beirut blast. It comes in a metal can with a label on which you need to write the date the bottle was first opened. With that, here's the answer to the question people around the world – and especially in Lebanon – are asking themselves: Why does it explode? A woman walks with her belongings on Wednesday. The more … On explosion, ammonium nitrate yields N 2, O 2, and water as the by-products. The order of ammonium nitrate was intended for manufacturing explosives for mining companies in Mozambique, the spokesperson said. Lebanese Red Cross officers carry an injured woman on Tuesday night. It's no accident that ammonium nitrate is an explosive; it has much in common with other well-known explosive chemicals: Those trapped gases are none too happy about being crammed together in a little molecule. So, without going into thermodynamics (neither of us wants this) the take-home message here is that when a lot of gas is released quickly from a molecule packed with it bad things happen. And you get... quite a bang for your buck. Hundreds of people have been reported missing. The American Council on Science and Health is a research and education organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Daher confirmed to CNN earlier on Wednesday that his office sent "a total of six letters to the legal authorities" but that the authorities never responded to any of their letters. 2. Rescue crews search a street for survivors on Tuesday night. The Next Plague and How Science Will Stop It. This aerial photo, taken Wednesday, shows the aftermath of the explosion. "People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones, and it is difficult to search at night because there is no electricity," Health Minister Hamad Hassan. Relatives of people who are missing hold hands Thursday as they wait outside the port to receive information from rescue teams. A wounded person is carried after the blast. Injured people sit on a street after the blast. The resulting fire caused an explosion and additional fires that damaged more than 1,000 buildings and killed nearly 400 people, according to the website of the Texas Historical Association. Ammonium nitrate provides both, intimately associated in each molecule. Pentaerythritol vs. Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN). A ship in the harbor of Texas City, Texas, carrying approximately 2,300 tons … That's when the ship's owner told the Russian and Ukrainian sailors that he had run out of money and they would have to pick up additional cargo to cover the travel costs -- which led them on a detour to Beirut. "At the time, on board of the dry cargo ship there were particularly dangerous goods -- ammonium nitrate, which the port authorities of Beirut did not allow to unload or transfer to another ship," it added. People walk near the scene of the explosion. It is not explosive. Damage is seen inside an apartment on Wednesday. What has Denmark done right in its Covid-19 responses? 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