Safety of Ammonium Nitrate Fertilisers

Keywords: Ammonium nitrate safety, Ammonium nitrate, Fertiliser accidents, Safety.

This paper discusses aspects of ammonium nitrate safety during process design, manufacture, storage and distribution. It briefly reviews the major accidents which happened in the 1900-1950 period. Learning from these accidents and systematic investigations led to a better understanding of the hazardous properties of ammonium nitrate and the development of guidelines for safer products, processes and associated operations.

A detailed review of significant accidents which happened since 1960 has been carried out which shows that the number of fatalities caused by ammonium nitrate accidents has dropped substantially. The review includes a detailed analysis of various factors such as types of accidents, products, activities and consequences. A number of causative factors and learning points have been brought out which can help to reduce the risk of accidents with ammonium nitrate. The accident data and their review fill an important gap in the ammonium nitrate safety literature. The paper also briefly discusses the development of legislation affecting ammonium nitrate fertilisers.

Kish Shah, ICI Chemicals and Polymers, Wilton, UK.

36 pages, 2 Tables.