2750 Tons of Explosives (and fertilizer) in One Location

[dutch508]

Star Member kentuck (98,570 posts)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213858826

2750 Tons of Explosives (and fertilizer) in One Location
Naturally, conspiracy theories would abound.

Why would such a huge amount of explosives be stored in only one place?

It was no surprise that the first person to come forward with his opinion that it was an attack was Donald Trump. Who told him? Why would he make such a dangerous statement?

The first impulse in the Middle East is to blame Israel. In turn, some would say that it was a storage compound for truck bombs across the area. The ship that unloaded the last shipment was reportedly Russian.

There are enough conspiracy theories to go around.

 

Star Member marble falls (32,056 posts)

1. Its been there since 2014

Star Member OAITW r.2.0 (3,257 posts)

3. On another thread, a DUer commented that Russia Today suggested it was a terror attack.

I assume RT is a daily "must read" for DJT. It's how Putin communicates with his puppet.

 

soothsayer (20,678 posts)

5. Yeah i saw that. Trump heard it from RUSSIAN generals

What an effing traitor

 

Star Member LiberalArkie (12,762 posts)

4. If they had not kept it sealed it would not have exploded.

And why did not not use it in their agri?

soothsayer (20,678 posts)

7. Weren't they in the process of welding a door shut?

That was the latest I saw.

To prevent trespassing or theft.

Star Member ProfessorGAC (41,883 posts)

10. A Couple Answers

1. Sealing it doesn't matter either way.
2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate will release energy nearly identical to smokeless powder, but at nearly 100 times the velocity.
5.5 million pounds of ammonium nitrate will detonate with about the force of 600,000 pounds of TNT. That's a third of a kiloton!
It's a powder, so sealed or not, the energy is still going to blow the building to bits and the shock wave will for nealy a mile.
Could it have been stored in a blast bunker, so if it detonated the wave would go straight up? You bet! That's what they should have done.
2. They didn't have it for agriculture. They confiscated it off a Russian ship in 2014. It was contraband, and wasn't intended for use in Lebanon.
Should it have sat there for 6 years? Obviously not. They weren't storing it properly, the whole time!
Not sure how the fire that set this stuff off got started. But, this stuff should have stored in a structure that cannot burn.
Like a concrete blast bunker, maybe?

Amishman (2,723 posts)

8. it was all fertilizer

which also is explosive.

ammonium nitrate is fairly hard to set off, you have to get it very hot first. This is why when used as an explosive its usually soaked in oil.

For this to happen, they had to ignore all safety precautions with storage, have no sprinkler or fire suppression system, and also do a very poor job fighting the fire once it was started.

This disaster has to be the biggest tragic comedy of errors since Trump's election.

BGBD (777 posts)

9. It probably sat there

Because they didn't know what else to do with it or it just wasn't a priority. out of the sight, out of mind.

AN absorbs moisture at higher humidity levels. As it does it forms into a solid mass and eventually a liquid. As this happens it becomes more and more unstable.

Six years sitting oceanside and this stuff was probably completely solid. It would have been nearly impossible to move at that point without some significant engineering work, and very dangerous.

The mistake was made in 2014 when they decided to offload the ship. I believe it may have been damaged in some way, but even if it is it should have been towed to somewhere capable of handing that payload. Perhaps Turkey could have handled it better. At the very lease load it directly onto railcars and send it inland to a low populated area.

 

[Ogre]

Apparently members of the DUmp never heard of the Port Arthur Texas disaster in the late 40's.  A cargo ship loaded with 2,200-2,300 tons of ammonia nitrate fertilizer bound for France had a similar accident.  I believe it is still considered the worst industrial accident in U.S. history.  As a former EOD operator I can tell you that certain compositions of fertilizer react very negatively with water.

[thundley4]

I'm ignorant of Ammonium Nitrate even though I'm surrounded by farmland.

Back to the DUmmies, though. I could google AN and probably find word for word some of their comments.

[landofconfusion80]

I'm ignorant of Ammonium Nitrate even though I'm surrounded by farmland.

Back to the DUmmies, though. I could google AN and probably find word for word some of their comments.

All you need to know: plants love it and it can be used in explosives.  If you find the time, look up what happens with dust at sawmills and corn silos. That can make for a nice pop too

[Carl]

RT has been a lefty go to site.

[thundley4]

All you need to know: plants love it and it can be used in explosives.  If you find the time, look up what happens with dust at sawmills and corn silos. That can make for a nice pop too

I know all about dust explosions. There are two huge grain processing plants within 1 mile or so.