60,000 lbs of Ammonium Nitrate disappears

[shockie]

60,000 pounds of explosive chemical ammonium nitrate lost in shipping: report

About 60,000 pounds of an explosive chemical disappeared from a rail car last month as it was being shipped through the western US, according to reports.

nypost.com

Says it fell out the bottom of the train Container during shipping.

 

[hobie1dog]

it said the seal was still intact upon arrival, so how could they have fallen out along the way?

 

[Worsaer]

It may have been a bottom dump hopper. If so, imagine fertilizer spread on train tracks for many, many miles.

 

[Exactimator]

it said the seal was still intact upon arrival, so how could they have fallen out along the way?

When they say seal they mean a tag security seal like this.

Trailer Seals, Truck Seals, Trailer Hitch Locks in Stock - ULINE - Uline

Uline stocks a wide selection of security seals including trailer seals, truck seals and trailer hitch locks. Order by 6 pm for same day shipping. Huge Catalog! Over 41,000 products in stock. 13 locations across USA, Canada and Mexico for fast delivery of

www.uline.com

 

[ONAWHIM]

Reminds me of the train heist in Breaking Bad season 5, episode 5

 

[cwbullet]

It may have been a bottom dump hopper. If so, imagine fertilizer spread on train tracks for many, many miles.

View attachment 582322

They can ship it in tanker cars, but it is not usually shipped in hoppers.

I suspect it was shipped like this:


Since OK City, they keep tight wraps on this stuff.

 

[Worsaer]

That makes more sense Chuck, and makes it more concerning.

 

[tsmith1315]

Shipped from Dyno Nobel, they believe “ a leak through a bottom gate on the rail car may have developed in transit.”

This would indicate bulk pellets, unpackaged.

https://www.powderbulksolids.com/chemical/where-60k-lb-ammonium-nitrate-went-missing

 

[cwbullet]

Shipped from Dyno Nobel, they believe “ a leak through a bottom gate on the rail car may have developed in transit.”

This would indicate bulk pellets, unpackaged.

https://www.powderbulksolids.com/chemical/where-60k-lb-ammonium-nitrate-went-missing

Thanks for sharing that. I have not seen that on the news, but it makes it much less concerning. They should find a trail to prove it.

 

[NateB]

Thanks for sharing that. I have not seen that on the news, but it makes it much less concerning. They should find a trail to prove it.

I would think they would find some, but most was probably quickly absorbed into the ground and rocks supporting the tracks. It's just fertilizer. Maybe they'll discover a line of lush weeds along the path.

 

[jderimig]

Fun with math. Density of ammonium nitrate 0.036 #/cu in.
60000 lbs -> ~1,600,000 cu in
one layer of pellets ~ 0.125"
trail is 8" wide, the trail would be 25 miles long.
Other combinations can be calculated.

 

[SolarYellow]

 

[tsmith1315]

one layer of pellets ~ 0.125"
trail is 8" wide, the trail would be 25 miles long.

Good thought.

Loaded in Cheyenne, WY and discovered in Saltdale, CA. The trip was just over 1000 mi, according to Google. Even spread over the entire trip, that only reduces the width to a couple of pellets.

 

[danb]

Who is going to be responsible to mow the tracks in a couple of weeks?!

 

[cwbullet]

Fun with math. Density of ammonium nitrate 0.036 #/cu in.
60000 lbs -> ~1,600,000 cu in
one layer of pellets ~ 0.125"
trail is 8" wide, the trail would be 25 miles long.
Other combinations can be calculated.

Wow. That is one heck of a track.

 

[kuririn]

Who is going to be responsible to mow the tracks in a couple of weeks?!

In a related development. Dyno Nobel has submitted a purchase order for 60,000 lbs of RoundUp.

 

[Grog6]

Next summer it will be easy to tell if it spilled. You should be able to see it in google earth, as either a green line around the tracks or a brown line depending on concentration.

 

[K'Tesh]

I would think they would find some, but most was probably quickly absorbed into the ground and rocks supporting the tracks. It's just fertilizer. Maybe they'll discover a line of lush weeds along the path.

and/or fires when those weeds are dry and hit with sparks from the train.

 

[rharshberger]

it said the seal was still intact upon arrival, so how could they have fallen out along the way?

It was a hopper car if my understanding of the article is correct, and a gap opened in on of the two or three unload gates on the bottom and allowed the product to sift out, its a very plausible reason

 

[hobie1dog]

It was a hopper car if my understanding of the article is correct, and a gap opened in on of the two or three unload gates on the bottom and allowed the product to sift out, its a very plausible reason

I always relate to semi trucks, and the rear doors have the seals put on them usually tight enough to where there's no way that the doors can come open as the seal would have to be broken before they would come apart that far, but I guess railroad cars must be a completely different system. And as you can tell, i'm not the most intelligent person on the forum

 

[NateB]

AN prills are pretty small. You wouldn't need a big gap for some to spill out. I remember seeing corn and soy beans spilled along railroad tracks and AN prills are smaller.

 

[hobie1dog]

AN prills are pretty small. You wouldn't need a big gap for some to spill out. I remember seeing corn and soy beans spilled along railroad tracks and AN prills are smaller.

I'm sure somebody has already been tempted to look for the original source of the leak and take a match and light it (as they do in the cartoons) so it would go all the way down the railroad tracks to where it ended

 

[Bill S]

I hope you all are right, and said missing fertilizer wasn't instead appropriated for some destructive activities by illegal citizens of an large country we are approaching conflict with. To say more would risk getting political, etc.

 

[NateB]

One could try, but nothing happens if you light it with a match.

 

[Exactimator]

One could try, but nothing happens if you light it with a match.

Well that's no fun. What about hitting it with a hammer?

 

[NateB]

Well that's no fun. What about hitting it with a hammer?

Without containment and without fuel, I have a hard time imagining the small amount you could hit wkth with a hammer would do much.

Of course, AN can contain itself in large enough piles so decomposition from shock or heat can lead to a runaway reaction. Remember the explosions in Beirut, West Texas, and Texas City?

 

[rharshberger]

I always relate to semi trucks, and the rear doors have the seals put on them usually tight enough to where there's no way that the doors can come open as the seal would have to be broken before they would come apart that far, but I guess railroad cars must be a completely different system. And as you can tell, i'm not the most intelligent person on the forum

Both use similar "seals", modern seals tend to be light sheetmetal or plastic "bolts" with metal cores to resist easy cutting. I am a truck driver by trade.

 

[Buster]

If the Poke Salad suddenly blooms between the rails we’ll know.

 

[CoyoteNumber2]

Poke Salad

Because it's grass and raw meat?

 

[tsmith1315]

Because it's grass and raw meat?

This here weed. Toxic if you don’t cook it right: