One of the things lumped into the $555 billion domestic spending bill that President Bush signed last week was the Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007 (H.R. 1680). The bill had languished in the previous two Congresses. From this article...
Ammonium nitrate is a cheap and easily obtained fertilizer that can be combined with fuel oil to create a powerful explosive. Farmers who depend on it had initially resisted regulation.
Under the new rules, the Department of Homeland Security will require that anyone who produces, stores, sells or distributes ammonium nitrate must register their facility and maintain records of sales. Buyers will be checked against a terrorist screening database. Vendors who fail to comply could be fined up to $50,000.
"I feel very gratified," said Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who had pushed the regulations in the House. "Ammonium nitrate is the weapon of choice of terrorists."
Concern about the fertilizer's illicit use mounted last year after Canadian police foiled a plot involving three times the amount of fertilizer used in Oklahoma City.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), one of the bill's champions in the Senate, said, "This law is more than a decade in the making and will help prevent a dangerous chemical from falling in the wrong hands."
The Oklahoma City bombing was back on April 19, 1995. This bill preempts existing state regulations, except where they are more stringent.
Ammonium nitrate can be used to make several explosives and blasting agents, including nitro carbo nitrate. That brings to mind an enormous explosion that Roseburg suffered nearly fifty years ago. The following is from the Oregon History Project's write-up of "The Blast."
On the night of August 6, 1959, George Rutherford of Chehalis, Washington drove a Pacific Powder Company truck loaded with 2 tons of dynamite and 4.5 tons of nitro carbo nitrate into downtown Roseburg. After scheduling his first delivery for the following morning, Rutherford parked the truck in front of the Garretsen Building Supply Company, near the corner of Oak and Pine Streets, and retired for the night at the Umpqua Hotel. During the night, the Garretsen building caught fire. Alarms were sounded across the downtown shortly after 1:00 A.M., and within minutes firemen arrived on the scene to put out the blaze. Unfortunately, the explosive-laden truck remained unnoticed by both onlookers and firemen alike until just moments before it detonated.
The explosion and the ensuing fire destroyed all of the buildings within an 8-block area and did heavy damage to structures throughout the surrounding 30 blocks. Fire crews from Eugene and Springfield responded to Roseburg’s call for immediate aid, and by nightfall, National Guard units from Roseburg and Cottage Grove cordoned off the worst-hit 30-block area from public access to deter looting. The blast led to the deaths of 14 people and injured another 125. The damages to the city were estimated to be between $10,000,000 and $12,000,000.
Southern Oregon Public Television did an interesting story on The Blast in '05.
The problem with both H.R. 1680 and S.1463
is that both bills only want to regulate ammonium nitrate with a nitrogen content of more than 33 percent. Ammonium nitrate
fertilizer (the pure dry) only contains 34 percent.
The Combating Terrorism Technology Support
Office (DoD)has conducted tests and ammonium nitrate will explode with a nitrogen content of only 10.2 percent
Posted by: Bill Albright | January 08, 2008 at 09:05
So all a manufacturer has to do is dilute the product a bit and sell it without the bureaucracy...hmmm.
Posted by: RoguePundit | January 08, 2008 at 11:11