4 ms·

I think the ammonium nitrate was confiscated and customs put it in a warehouse thinking it would be moved asap. But then no one moved it.

jborichevskiy 6y ago
Yep - the Wikipedia page has some more context: > Various customs officials had sent letters to judges requesting a resolution to the issue of the confiscated cargo, proposing that the ammonium nitrate either be exported, given to the Lebanese army, or sold to the private Lebanese Explosives Company.[e][14] Letters had been sent on 27 June and 5 December 2014, 6 May 2015, 20 May and 13 October 2016, and 27 October 2017.[14] One of the letters sent in 2016 noted that judges had not replied to previous requests, and "pleaded":[14] >> In view of the serious danger of keeping these goods in the hangar in unsuitable climatic conditions, we reaffirm our request to please request the marine agency to re-export these goods immediately to preserve the safety of the port and those working in it, or to look into agreeing to sell this amount https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Beirut_explosions#MV_Rhosus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Beirut_explosions#MV_Rhos...
- anonu 6y ago
  Corruption and incompetence beyond comprehension. Hopefully serves as a turning point for a new form of management in the country
  - square_usual 6y ago
    I hope, but their economy is imploding and it's not a good time for Lebanon overall.
  - guykdm 6y ago
    Corrupt officials would happily auction it. This is stranger.
    - VLM 6y ago
      Its hygroscopic, stored next to the water, in a poor country. It was likely unsellable within weeks. Or, to be blunt, every undamaged package was probably already sold within weeks. Once the remainder amalgamates into a giant lump, its an environmental remediation problem that'll cost money, not a make money fast sales scam. That's the whole point of why historically explosives were used to crack chunks apart.
walrus01 6y ago
There are apparently photos and videos of the confiscated ammonium nitrate, in forklift-size bags, in video from Ukrainian media in 2014 when the ship was abandoned in Beirut.
- tyingq 6y ago
  One of the photos: https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/XCLpJqhpk68aHsAKkvosmw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTk0MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/YFPHBk1VC1JB13yxfl.hzw--~B/aD05NjA7dz03MjA7c209MTthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/nbc_news_122/2c903643712e55af317820aae996eb33 https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/XCLpJqhpk68aHsAKkvosmw--/Y...
  - walrus01 6y ago
    Nitroprill HD material datasheet: https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/1290795532701425664 https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/12907955327014256...
jcims 6y ago
Typically ammonium nitrate needs some type of fuel to detonate. In the Texas City explosion there was ample hydrocarbons in direct contact with the AN to support the reaction. I’m curious if there is any speculation what provided the fuel in this case. Maybe they were coated prills?
- GeorgeWBasic 6y ago
  Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to be explosive: it's explosive on its own, fuel just makes it more efficient.
  - jcims 6y ago
    Thanks for the info! I had no idea.
- refurb 6y ago
  Ammonium nitrate is a high explosive all on it's own, but not a very good one. It's a very insensitive explosive and tends to absorb water from the atmosphere, so fuel oil is added to make it a more efficient and stable explosive.
  - jcims 6y ago
    Thanks for the info!!!
- jandrewrogers 6y ago
  Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to detonate. Even if you add heavy diesel, you will still be need to use the same boosters (usually PETN) that you would use for pure ammonium nitrate to achieve reliable detonation. Ammonium nitrate has a positive stoichiometric oxygen balance when it detonates so it is typically mixed with chemicals with a negative oxygen balance (such as heavy diesel) to inexpensively improve explosive performance. It has nothing to do with making it detonate. While ammonium nitrate is quite difficult to detonate at room temperature, it becomes considerably less stable as it approaches its melting point, which is relatively low. Sensitivity can also be increased chemically but that requires significant effort and intent.

jborichevskiy 6y ago

Yep - the Wikipedia page has some more context: > Various customs officials had sent letters to judges requesting a resolution to the issue of the confiscated cargo, proposing that the ammonium nitrate either be exported, given to the Lebanese army, or sold to the private Lebanese Explosives Company.[e][14] Letters had been sent on 27 June and 5 December 2014, 6 May 2015, 20 May and 13 October 2016, and 27 October 2017.[14] One of the letters sent in 2016 noted that judges had not replied to previous requests, and "pleaded":[14] >> In view of the serious danger of keeping these goods in the hangar in unsuitable climatic conditions, we reaffirm our request to please request the marine agency to re-export these goods immediately to preserve the safety of the port and those working in it, or to look into agreeing to sell this amount https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Beirut_explosions#MV_Rhosus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Beirut_explosions#MV_Rhos...

anonu 6y ago
Corruption and incompetence beyond comprehension. Hopefully serves as a turning point for a new form of management in the country
- square_usual 6y ago
  I hope, but their economy is imploding and it's not a good time for Lebanon overall.
- guykdm 6y ago
  Corrupt officials would happily auction it. This is stranger.
  - VLM 6y ago
    Its hygroscopic, stored next to the water, in a poor country. It was likely unsellable within weeks. Or, to be blunt, every undamaged package was probably already sold within weeks. Once the remainder amalgamates into a giant lump, its an environmental remediation problem that'll cost money, not a make money fast sales scam. That's the whole point of why historically explosives were used to crack chunks apart.

walrus01 6y ago

There are apparently photos and videos of the confiscated ammonium nitrate, in forklift-size bags, in video from Ukrainian media in 2014 when the ship was abandoned in Beirut.

tyingq 6y ago
One of the photos: https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/XCLpJqhpk68aHsAKkvosmw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTk0MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/YFPHBk1VC1JB13yxfl.hzw--~B/aD05NjA7dz03MjA7c209MTthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/nbc_news_122/2c903643712e55af317820aae996eb33 https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/XCLpJqhpk68aHsAKkvosmw--/Y...
- walrus01 6y ago
  Nitroprill HD material datasheet: https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/1290795532701425664 https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/12907955327014256...

jcims 6y ago

Typically ammonium nitrate needs some type of fuel to detonate. In the Texas City explosion there was ample hydrocarbons in direct contact with the AN to support the reaction. I’m curious if there is any speculation what provided the fuel in this case. Maybe they were coated prills?

GeorgeWBasic 6y ago
Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to be explosive: it's explosive on its own, fuel just makes it more efficient.
- jcims 6y ago
  Thanks for the info! I had no idea.
refurb 6y ago
Ammonium nitrate is a high explosive all on it's own, but not a very good one. It's a very insensitive explosive and tends to absorb water from the atmosphere, so fuel oil is added to make it a more efficient and stable explosive.
- jcims 6y ago
  Thanks for the info!!!
jandrewrogers 6y ago
Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to detonate. Even if you add heavy diesel, you will still be need to use the same boosters (usually PETN) that you would use for pure ammonium nitrate to achieve reliable detonation. Ammonium nitrate has a positive stoichiometric oxygen balance when it detonates so it is typically mixed with chemicals with a negative oxygen balance (such as heavy diesel) to inexpensively improve explosive performance. It has nothing to do with making it detonate. While ammonium nitrate is quite difficult to detonate at room temperature, it becomes considerably less stable as it approaches its melting point, which is relatively low. Sensitivity can also be increased chemically but that requires significant effort and intent.