(156b) Process Safety in Transit: A Fatal Explosion of a Truckload of Ammonium Nitrate

On March 27, 2019, a truck loaded with ammonium nitrate exploded on an Arkansas highway, killing the driver. While recent ammonium nitrate explosions, like the Beirut explosion in August 2020, the Port of Tianjin explosion in August 2015, and the West Fertilizer explosion in April 2013, are widely reported in the global press, explosions of ammonium nitrate while in transit have been fatal as well but often go underreported, escaping the attention of process safety specialists.

Process safety responsibilities do not end at the fence-line. Process safety specialists have a professional duty to protect the public and environment as hazardous materials move through and between communities.

Why did the truck in Arkansas explode? A wheel catching fire is an inadequate explanation. And given the warning that the driver had, why was he killed? Understanding the answers to these questions will help all process safety specialists to better protect the public and the environment, as well as workers, from the consequences of process safety incidents, whether they involve ammonium nitrate or other hazardous chemicals.