Containing the Threat from Illegal Bombings An Integrated National Strategy for Marking, Tagging, Rendering Inert, and Licensing Explosives and Their Precursors (1998) / Chapter Skim
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4 Rendering Explosive Materials Inert
4 Rendering Explosive Materials Inert
Pages 96-115
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From page 96... ...
Postblast remains of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City, April 1995.
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From page 97... ...
The ideal inerting method is capable of preventing an explosion when the inerted chemical is intimately mixed with other materials (oxidizers or fuels) chosen to provide the correct reaction stoichiometry.
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From page 98... ...
Potential of Common Explosive Chemicals for Use in Large Bombs No records containing information on the use of common explosive chemicals in illegal bombings, prioritized by frequency of use, could be made available
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From page 99... ...
The purpose of the ranking scheme, described in Appendix K, was to characterize commercially available common explosives chemicals according to the following criteria: · Availability and accessibility, · Ease of use in bomb making, · Cost, and · History of prior use in illegal explosives. A search of the literature and other sources was conducted to obtain annual production, price, and related information on commercially available common explosive chemicals (see Appendix K)
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From page 100... ...
The specialty biocides of this type include chlorinated isocyanurates, halogenated hydantoins, and halogenated amines. These chemicals are used in pools and spas, machine dishwashing powders, industrial water treatment facilities, bleaches, and sanitizers.
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From page 101... ...
It had a heavy coating of clay to prevent caking. In the late 1950s an ammonium nitrate producer developed a special blasting prill with good oil absorbency and almost no coating.
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From page 102... ...
Because ammonium nitrate is hydroscopic, these facilities are air-conditioned to maintain a relative humidity below 60 percent. In atmospheres with higher humidity, the prills absorb water and begin to dissolve; this ultimately causes caking, with the worst-case end result being a single chunk of ammonium nitrate weighing hundreds of tons.
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From page 103... ...
This generally means that a larger fraction of the energy from nonideal explosives is available for blast wave expansion, commonly termed "heaving" energy. Most commercial mining operations require the physical displacement of rock or ore materials into a pile where they can be handled efficiently by earth-moving equipment.
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From page 104... ...
by diluting the explosive material with an inert additive that will take energy from the chemical reaction, possibly leading to failure of a detonation or to a lower explosive yield; and (3) by combining the material with an active additive that will catalytically interfere with the detonation process, much as fire retardants are commonly added to textiles and polymers to reduce their potential to burn.
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From page 105... ...
Regulations in South Africa classify porous prilled AN as an explosive, raising its cost and effectively eliminating its use as a fertilizer. As a result, the agricultural and commercial mining industries in South Africa use lime ammonium nitrate, which is not regulated (Rorke et al., 1995~.
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From page 106... ...
Based on its examination of efforts abroad to render ammonium nitrate inert, the claims of the Porter patent, and its own knowledge and experience, the committee concluded that there is no established technical basis at this time to recommend a method for inerting bulk AN. To the committee's knowledge, no approach yet proposed such as dilution of AN by 20 percent with inert additives such as limestone achieves the desired inerting of AN, while preserving its utility as a fertilizer for use in agriculture.
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From page 107... ...
The small-scale retail fertilizer market, on the other hand, is a commercial source where AN can be purchased without purchaser identification or retailer record keeping. It is unlikely that records exist for purchases of AN from these sources, which include home improvement centers and discount retailers, where a potential terrorist might buy AN for the production of a large bomb.
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From page 108... ...
In addition, it will be necessary to have a standard test protocol to evaluate the detonability of any proposed, inerted bulk fertilizer mixtures, whether they are based on ammonium nitrate or other ingredients, under the conditions likely to apply in large-scale bombings. Tests to evaluate the detonability of bulk fertilizer mixtures and proposed inerting schemes should be performed at a sufficiently large scale to ensure that the conclusions will also hold true for car or truck bomb quantities (approximately 80 to 5,000 pounds)
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From page 109... ...
It is currently difficult to propose scientific approaches to achieve these goals, because tools are not available for analyzing nonideal explosives. Improved computer codes that accurately simulate the chemical reaction mechanisms of AN, a goal currently being pursued in several research laboratories, would be particularly useful.6 · New ideas for both desensitizing and inerting several energetic chemicals should be pursued and tested using standard test protocols that also must be developed.
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From page 110... ...
The committee emphasizes that so far none of these critical concerns has received a thorough agronomic or economic analysis. LEGAL ISSUES To properly evaluate the feasibility of inerting certain common explosive chemicals, it is necessary to consider the myriad legal issues involved.
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From page 111... ...
Given the national scope of the ammonium nitrate market, the federal dimensions of terrorist bombing incidents, and the U.S. Supreme Court's broad interpretation of the commerce clause, there is a strong likelihood that regulations controlling the distribution and sale of packaged ammonium nitrate (or other common explosive chemicals)
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From page 112... ...
is rationally related to the legitimate governmental goal of preventing bombings, such restrictions do not seem unnecessarily burdensome or unfair. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions Although a number of common chemicals could be used in illegal bombings, the common explosive chemical likely to be of greatest threat is ammonium nitrate.
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From page 113... ...
11. Packaged ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers typically sold in retail outlets should be sold only as nondetonable mixtures (as defined by a standard test protocol developed in response to Recommendation 9~.
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From page 114... ...
12. The economic impact and agricultural suitability of proposed inerting methods should be thoroughly analyzed before requiring their application to bulk ammonium nitrate.
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