Ammonium Nitrate Background Information

A couple of documented comments about ammonium nitrate in current events have been posted in this blog recently, one by me and one by a reader. Just to ensure that everyone knows what was being talked about, I am going to provide some additional supporting information. Ammonium Nitrate in Afghanistan In his comment made on the initial post about fertilizers Red Team wrote:

“Even today, NATO forces realize the threat and potential danger in Afghanistan. They currently have a program where they attempt to purchase AN from farmers who have large stock piles. Insurgent fighters have been using it in VBIEDS; NATO is just trying to reduce the availability.”

Well, it seems that his information was just a little bit out of date. According to a Washington Post article posted on their web site, the government of Afghanistan has now outlawed the possession or use of ammonium nitrate all together. The article states that:

“NATO troops have seized tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in raids over the last five months in southern Afghanistan, and the government has been discouraging farmers from using it for years for environmental reasons.”

A recent decree by the government completely banned “the use, production, storage, purchase or sale of ammonium nitrate on the recommendation of Afghan intelligence services” and gives farmers and retailers 30 days to use or turn in their stocks. Missing Canadian Ammonium Nitrate I closed out my second post on fertilizers with the following comment:

“We (the United States) may be ‘fortunate’ because the boom might happen next month in Vancouver with the 6,000 ‘missing’ pounds of AN lighting up a Winter Olympic venue. That will be a Canadian problem, but it will get an appropriate reaction here. Hopefully I am wrong and it is an accounting error or maybe the RCMP will find the material before it explosively decomposes. In any case, I am afraid that that is what it is going to take.”

I was referring to an apparent incident that has been in and out of the Canadian news for a couple of months now. The most recent article can be found at EdmontonSun.com. A Canadian shipper of ammonium nitrate had initially reported that a large quantity had disappeared enroute from the shipping facility to the final customer. Then it said that, no, it was just an accounting error. According to this latest article, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is still not convinced that the material wasn’t stolen. Their investigation continues. They are, of course, being extremely cautious because the Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, BC next month. It is just too inviting a target not to take this a little more seriously than normal.