⁍ Ammonium nitrate is an industrial chemical commonly used in fertilisers.
⁍ It is extremely dangerous if contaminated, mixed with fuel or stored unsafely.
⁍ Some of the world’s deadliest industrial accidents were caused by ammonium nitrate explosions.
– The blast that rocked Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 100 and injuring more than 4,000, was probably “among the biggest non-nuclear explosions of all time,” says the head of a company that specializes in disposing of explosive ordnance. “On a scale, this explosion is scaled down from a nuclear bomb rather than up from a conventional bomb,” Roland Alford tells Reuters. “This is probably up there among the biggest non-nuclear explosions of all time.” Lebanese President Michel Aoun says the blast was caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at a port without safety measures for six years, the AP reports. He says the chemical was improperly stored near fuel tanks. Aoun says the blast was caused by a gas leak, not a gas leak or gas explosion, Lebanon’s Daily Star reports.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-blast-explosive-fact/factbox-what-is-ammonium-nitrate-and-why-is-it-dangerous-idUSKCN25126F