West, Texas is a town located in McLennan County in the central part of Texas. It has a population of around 2,800 people. During the evening of Wednesday the 17th April of 2013 a massive explosion occurred in the small town. The West Fertilizer Company; which is owned by Adair Grain Inc. which had stockpiles of anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate amongst other agricultural items; was the center and cause of the blast. It is not the first time that an explosion such as this has happened in the state of Texas; in 1947 in Texas city, Texas an explosion that caused nearly 600 deaths had ammonia as a key part in the blast (Jonsson, 2013).
Anhydrous ammonia is stored as a liquid in pressurized tanks and after it has been sold to local farmers, they use it by injecting it directly into their soil where it then turns into a gas. It has a melting point of around -108 degrees Fahrenheit and an explosive range between a Lower explosive limit (LEL) of 15% and an Upper explosive limit (UEL) of 28% when mixed in air. Ammonium nitrate is typical found and used in its prill form where it is spread across the fields as a fertilizer. Ammonium Nitrate does not typical, under normal circumstances, pose an explosive hazard alone by itself but when combined with some sort of fuel it will act as an oxidizer during that process, literally adding fuel to the fire. “Both of these common fertilizers can become explosive under the right conditions.” (Fernandez & Schwartz, 2013)
The West Fertilizer Company began its operation in the small town that it took its name sake from in 1962. It was licensed, permitted and inspected by the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commissi...
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When most people drive downtown, they are almost always in a hurry. But, if a person actually stops and looks around, it is easily seen that Fond du Lac contains a lot of history. Every old church and store in this city has a special story connected to it. When a disaster strikes, the story can be lost; only to be found again through old newspapers. These churches meant a great deal to the citizens of Fond du Lac during the time of their existence. Couples were married, babies baptized, and generations of families gathered on Sunday mornings for worship in these churches. In the early days, catastrophic fires threatened these structures, and Fond du Lac did not have a proper fire department handle the disaster. Most often, if something caught on fire, it had to be left to burn. Then the expensive rebuilding could begin.
Ammonium nitrate, on its own, is relatively harmless in regards to explosives. Ammonium Nitrate is a secondary explosive; it requires a primary explosive for detonation. It is able to burn without detonating and can withstand shock in which primary explosives are unable to do When ammonium nitrate is mixed with fuel oil and detonated the results can be catastrophic. The Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 is evidence of the impact of a blast using ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, known as ANFO. Timothy McVeigh parked a van filled with ammonium nit...
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In the early twentieth century, San Francisco, a bustling city full of people with diverse cultures, stood in the midst of the Second Industrial Revolution. At this time, the brilliant inventions of airplanes, automobiles, and radios were changing the everyday lives of many. San Francisco had just recovered from the four-year burden of the bubonic plague (“Bubonic”). However, right when things were getting back to normal, a destructive earthquake hit the city on April 18, 1906. Although the shaking lasted for less than a minute, the devastated city had crumbled buildings and a substantial loss of lives. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 had a lasting effect on the city and its people, and it proved to be one of the most catastrophic disasters in history.
Ten million California residents who lived closely from the major fault lines could have been endangered in many extreme ways. (House, 56). A tragic thing was that after the earthquake a multitudes of fire followed right after. The situation led to the water mains being destroyed and the firefighter being left with no water to settle the growing fire which continued blazing. The bay water was planned on putting all of the dure out but it was to far in distance to be able to transport it (Earthquake of 1906, 2). The firefighters who were putting out the fire were either surrounded or being burned by the fire that was blazing in all directions (San Francisco Earthquake, 2). A resident who was present during the event mention that he/she saw men and women standing in a corner of a building praying, one person who became delirious by the horrific ways that were surrounding him while crying and screaming at the top of his lungs “the Lord sent it, the Lord”. Someone also mentioned that they experience themselves seeing Stones fall from the sky and crushing people to death. Reporters say there were 100 cannons going off (San Francisco Earthquake, 3). People who lived fifty miles away from the fire was able to “read the newspaper at
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The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history. Practically overnight the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the O’Leary’s barn and spread throughout the city. Many attempts were made to put out the fire but there were too many errors and problems in the beginning. After the fire many people were left homeless and had to help build their city again (Murphy, 39)
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