Ammonium nitrate
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Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula NH4NO3. It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, bu
Ammonium Nitrate
2020 Beirut explosion
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On 4 August 2020, a major explosion occurred in Beirut, Lebanon, caused by the ignition of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. The chemical, confiscated in 2014 from the cargo ship MV Rhosus and stored
Ammonium nitrate
…explosion of 1921 (one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions), the Texas City disaster of 1947, the 2015 Tianjin explosions in China, and the 2020 Beirut explosion. Ammonium nitrate can explode through two mechanisms…
Aftermath of the explosion, with the destroyed grain silos to the left and the flooded blast crater to the right
The explosion occurred behind the grain silos in this view.
The port of Beirut in 2017, with Rhosus moored on the right. Livestock carriers Abou Karim I and Abou Karim III, both severely damaged in the explosions, are in the center, the latter largely obscuring the former.
The Port of Beirut eleven days after the disaster. The large ship on the right is the French amphibious assault ship Tonnerre, which arrived in the port on 13 August to provide food, construction materials, medical supplies, and personnel.