Following the concern expressed over the storage of ammonium nitrate, the chemical behind the Beirut explosion, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has directed Customs and field formations across India to immediately verify and confirm that any hazardous and explosive material lying in warehouses and ports in the country meets all safety and fire standards. They have also been asked to ensure that it presents no danger to life and property.
Customs officials had issued a statement on Thursday that the ammonium nitrate is safe and there is no residential area up to 2 kilometers around the depot. However, a statement from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board contradicts the claim by the Customs Department and states that there are two residential areas, with a population of around 12,000 people, around the depot — one at a distance of 700 metres in the northern direction and another at a distance of 1500 metres in the eastern direction.
Similar concerns were also raised over Visakhapatnam, which is a major port where most of India’s ammonium nitrate import comes in.
Speaking to TNM, J Siva Sankar Reddy, Joint Chief Inspector Factories for Visakhapatnam said that the cargo firm Sravan Shipping Services Private Limited has been storing 18,800 metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate at their Chukkavanipalem godown in Visakhapatnam. However, there is no clarity on what grade of chemical this is, as there are different grades including explosive and fertiliser grade.
The ammonium nitrate is stored in bags, each weighing 1 ton each, across four godowns in the warehousing facilities. “The buyers of the ammonium nitrate come to the godown to take it to their respective godowns,” he said.
The Pollution Control Board on Thursday issued a show cause notice to Sravan Shipping services for flouting fire safety norms and storing high quantities of explosive grade ammonium nitrate in one place. A team of officials from the PCB and district administration and the factories department visited the premises on Friday morning and issued instructions to improve the safety at the godown.
Port officials and pollution control board officials gave different versions when asked who is supposed to ensure that any such chemical is stored safely.
A port official said the task of ensuring safety of the chemical rests with the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) and with the Department of Factories once the ammonium nitrate leaves the port premises to the godowns.
But an official with the APPCB, who wished to remain anonymous, said the role of the Board is limited to checking documents of the importer.
“The importer prior to the ship docking at the port has to inform us about the consignment. We only check if they have the necessary safety certificates from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and Department of Factories."
The official explained that PESO oversees the grade, the quality and grade of the Ammonium Nitrate and the Department of Factories oversees the safety if the Ammonium Nitrate is stored at factories. If the material is stored at godowns, it comes under the purview of the APPCB.
The Office of Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives under PESO told TNM that the officials, in the wake of the Beirut tragedy, intend to undertake inspections at places where ammonium nitrate is stored.
According to India’s Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, ammonium nitrate has been categorised as an explosive under the meaning of the Explosives Act, 1884. Ammonium nitrate is a white, water-soluble, crystalline substance that has a melting point of 170°C. It is used as an ingredient for manufacture of explosives, anaesthetic gases, fertilizers, cold packs, etc.
Ammonium nitrate is not an explosive by itself. However, it is one of the ingredients used for manufacture of explosives. It is classified as an oxidizer as per UN classification for Dangerous Goods. Other ingredients like fuel, etc., have to be added to make it an explosive. For such explosive mixtures to explode, initiators like detonators are required.
As per the ammonium nitrate Rules, 2012, the storehouse shall not be located in populated areas and no ammonium nitrate shall be converted at any place except at converter's premises duly licensed. It is also forbidden for any person to extract ammonium nitrate from any fertiliser, including by any chemical or physical process.
The storehouse must be constructed at ground level without any mezzanine floor, upper floor or any basement, with the floor (plinth) level not less than 45 centimetres from the ground level and well ventilated; and with at least 23 centimeter thick walls built of brick or stone mortar, or concrete and with roof of RCC, asbestos, fibre or GI sheets.
“Any storehouse used for possession for sale or possession for use of ammonium nitrate shall have a floor area not less than one square meters per Metric Tonne of ammonium nitrate and the storehouse total holding capacity shall not exceed 5000 MT, provided that one stack of bagged ammonium nitrate shall not exceed 200 tonnes. A minimum clearance of two metres shall be maintained between the adjacent stacks and at least 06 metre wide gangway shall be maintained between the stacks and the walls of the storehouse,” the rules add. They also add that the maximum stack height shall not exceed 2.5 metres from the floor level and the same shall be prominently marked on the walls of the storehouse.
The rules also mandate that the facility go under regular inspections — every six months — by a senior sub-inspector.
Though ammonium nitrate is not an explosive on its own, but as an oxidiser, it can be highly lethal if mixed with contaminants like fuel. In fact, ammonium nitrate has been used as an ingredient in many terror attacks reported over the years in India, including the Pulwama attack and the Hyderabad blasts in 2007 as well as in 2013. In 2007, terrorists used Neogel-90, an ammonium nitrate base, in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and in 2013, it was packed tightly with iron nuts and bolts and a copper string. Ammonium nitrate was also used in the 2006 serial bombings in Mumbai where 209 people were killed.