Ammonium nitrate: Lebanon explosion in Beirut na 2700 tones of dis chemical compound blast damage di port – Simple explanation of dis fireworks wey explode like bomb dey here

Lebanon blast today

Reuters
Lebanon blast today

Lebanon dey mourn afta one huge explosion inside di capital Beirut kill at least 100 pipo and injured more than 4,000 odas on Tuesday.

Di whole of Beirut city shake gbim-gbim-gbim sake of di blast, wey begin wit fire for di port wey later come explode into thick cloud.

President Michel Aoun say na 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate wey dem be store unsafely inside one warehouse for six years cause di Lebanon explosion in Beirut.

Wetin be ammonium nitrate?

Ammonium nitrate get a number of different uses, but di two most common na say dem dey use am as an agricultural fertiliser and as an explosive.

E dey highly explosive wen e come into contact wit fire – and wen e explode, ammonium nitrate fit release toxic gas including nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas.

Contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting. – “Now I’m shaking, all the way from up to down” – Eyewitnesses describe the power of the explosion
The British Broadcasting Corporation

Because e dey so easy to catch fire alias flammable, e get strict rules on how to store ammonium nitrate safely – among di requirements na say di storage site needs to be thoroughly fire-proof, and notin like drains, pipes or oda channels in which ammonium nitrate fit build up, because e go create additional explosion palava alias hazard.

Tori be say dis 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate wey dem bin store unsafely inside one warehouse inside di port of Beirut, na pesin bin try to import am for 2014 but authorities impound am. Na dia dem begin investigate di mata, cari am go court. Di mata still dey for court before dis blast happun at about 15:00 GMT on Tuesday.

Beirut blast

Reuters
Ammonium nitrate explosion can release toxic gases

Ammonium nitrate: How dis chemical compound be

Common industrial chemical wey dem dey use as fertiliser in agriculture

Also na one of di main components in explosives wey dem dey use for mining

No be explosive on its own, e dey catch fire only under di right circumstances

Wen e explode, e fit can release toxic gases including nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas