740 tons of ammonium nitrate stored near Chennai will be safely disposed of in a month: Sources

Chennai: A total of 740 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at a Private Container Freight Station in Manali, about 30 km north of Tamil Nadu’s capital city Chennai, will be safely disposed of within a month, sources said on Thursday. In September 2015, 37 containers, each measuring 20 feet, were seized when they had arrived at the Chennai port from South Korea.

The customs authorities had seized the containers as the recipient company, a private firm, did not have the requisite clearances for handling these explosive/chemicals. It is learnt that the seized chemical is under the process of being sold via the e-auction route and that it would be safely handed over to the buyer.

Top customs officials have stated that these containers are safely stored in the zone of the hazardous material, in containers that have the yellow marking that denotes explosives, in logistics parlance. Besides assuring its safe handover to the concerned party, they have emphasized that it is stored at a location that does not have any inhabitation within a two-km radius.

Ammonium nitrate, which is widely used in fertilizers and explosives has been in the news recently, after the Lebanese government pointed out that it was 2,700 tons of the same chemical which caused a massive explosion at the Beirut port on August 4 evening. In pure form, Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is a white, crystalline chemical which is soluble in water. It is the main ingredient in the manufacture of commercial explosives used in mining and construction.