What Is Ammonium Nitrate, the Chemical That Exploded in Beirut?

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August 05, 2020

Dear Reader, While we don't know for sure what set off the catastrophic explosion in Beirut yesterday, the Lebanese prime minister Hassan Diab said the blast was caused by around 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse near the capital city's cargo port. At least 78 people were killed and thousands more suffered injuries. For an industrial ammonium nitrate disaster to occur, a lot needs to go wrong. Tragically, this seems to have been the case in Beirut. Today's main story explains what the highly reactive chemical is and how it could have caused the deadly blast.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Chemistry What Is Ammonium Nitrate, the Chemical That Exploded in Beirut? The blast injured thousands and killed at least 78 people By Gabriel da Silva,The Conversation US

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FROM THE STORE Scientific American Space & Physics, Volume 3, Issue 4

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FROM THE ARCHIVE What are the processes that determine the strange shape of a mushroom cloud after a nuclear, thermonuclear or major chemical explosion? October 21, 1999

QUOTE OF THE DAY "One thing that was clear is that crisis-stricken Lebanon, in the throes of a major economic collapse and battling rising numbers of coronavirus infections, is in little position to cope with another disaster, especially on this scale." Liz Sly, Sarah Dadouch and Louisa Loveluck via The Washington Post

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