Ammonium Nitrate: Oklahoma City Bombing
Ammonium nitrate or NH4NO3 is “an odorless, colorless or white, crystal salt produced by the reaction of ammonia and nitric acid” that has become the cause of numerous fatal explosions and hundreds of innocent deaths (The Fertilizer Institute, pp. 1, n.d.). It is most commonly used in the creation of fertilizers. The original problem that led to the use of this chemical was the increasing population and larger demand for food which meant farmers needed to grow higher yield crops at a faster rate. Fertilizers were heavily used to provide nutrients with ingredients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, which are essential chemical elements for plant growth and increases growth rate and photosynthesis …show more content…
Along with the increased use of insecticides to kill crop-damaging insects, ammonium nitrate was added into fertilizer mixtures because it is soluble and dissolves in water, “relatively stable under most conditions and inexpensive to manufacture” (Lallanilla, pp. 4, 2013). Images of ammonium nitrate in solid form and a chart of common fertilizer chemicals can be found below in figures 1 and 2.
Ammonium nitrate is made up of two nitrogen, four hydrogen, and three oxygen atoms, and has two ions, an ammonium ion HH4+, and a nitrate ion NO3 (Study.com, n.d.) as seen in figure 3 below. While ammonium nitrate by itself is not combustible, “an explosion occurs when ammonium nitrate decomposes rapidly into nitrous oxide and water …show more content…
Evidence of the misuses and dangers of ammonium nitrate can be shown through the event of the Oklahoma City Bombing which took place outside the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in 1995. Approximately 500 people were injured in the explosion with 168 people killed, including 19 children from the nearby daycare center and the site was considered unsafe for almost a month (The Oklahoma City Bombing, 2014). The explosion was created using ammonium nitrate fertilizer, racing fuel, gas caps, and a detonator (Nitrates and Nitrites, 2011). Incidents such as this bring up the global debate over whether or not it is ethical to continue to use ammonium nitrate in fertilizers for mass crop
Ammonium nitrate or NH4NO3 is “an odorless, colorless or white, crystal salt produced by the reaction of ammonia and nitric acid” that has become the cause of numerous fatal explosions and hundreds of innocent deaths (The Fertilizer Institute, pp. 1, n.d.). It is most commonly used in the creation of fertilizers. The original problem that led to the use of this chemical was the increasing population and larger demand for food which meant farmers needed to grow higher yield crops at a faster rate. Fertilizers were heavily used to provide nutrients with ingredients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, which are essential chemical elements for plant growth and increases growth rate and photosynthesis …show more content…
Along with the increased use of insecticides to kill crop-damaging insects, ammonium nitrate was added into fertilizer mixtures because it is soluble and dissolves in water, “relatively stable under most conditions and inexpensive to manufacture” (Lallanilla, pp. 4, 2013). Images of ammonium nitrate in solid form and a chart of common fertilizer chemicals can be found below in figures 1 and 2.
Ammonium nitrate is made up of two nitrogen, four hydrogen, and three oxygen atoms, and has two ions, an ammonium ion HH4+, and a nitrate ion NO3 (Study.com, n.d.) as seen in figure 3 below. While ammonium nitrate by itself is not combustible, “an explosion occurs when ammonium nitrate decomposes rapidly into nitrous oxide and water …show more content…
Evidence of the misuses and dangers of ammonium nitrate can be shown through the event of the Oklahoma City Bombing which took place outside the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in 1995. Approximately 500 people were injured in the explosion with 168 people killed, including 19 children from the nearby daycare center and the site was considered unsafe for almost a month (The Oklahoma City Bombing, 2014). The explosion was created using ammonium nitrate fertilizer, racing fuel, gas caps, and a detonator (Nitrates and Nitrites, 2011). Incidents such as this bring up the global debate over whether or not it is ethical to continue to use ammonium nitrate in fertilizers for mass crop