Interstate 77 closed after chemical spill in Va. [Ammonium Nitrate and blasting caps]

Greensboro Fishwrap ^

[AppyPappy]

Interstate 77 closed after chemical spill in Va.

3-6-03

News & Record

Posted 1:35 p.m.

WYTHEVILLE, Va. (AP) -- A tractor-trailer carrying a potentially explosive liquid crashed on Interstate 77 Thursday, spilling part of its load and causing authorities to close a 20-mile stretch of the highway.

State Police 1st Sgt. David Shaver said the truck was carrying ammonium nitrate, blasting caps and boosters, which are used by quarries for blasting rock. Authorities closed all the northbound and southbound lanes of I-77 while hazardous materials crews cleaned up the spillage.

The truck was traveling from North Carolina to West Virginia when it flipped on its side around 7 a.m., blocking both northbound lanes of the interstate just north of Wytheville. The driver was treated at a local hospital and released, Shaver said. Police did not know what caused the crash.

[AppyPappy]

In the same load. Great.

[mbynack]

I thought it was illegal to carry them together. Maybe that was just a military thing.

[Constitution Day]

D'oh!

[AppyPappy]

I'm thinking "Why not fuel oil and spark plugs too?". Unbelievable.

[American Soldier]

Reminds me of the Far Side cartoon where there's a couple of guys in a rubber life raft on the high seas...They find a crate and one of the guys is peering into and says "Well, we might as well take it aboard... But I don't know what we're going to do with a bunch of broken glass, carpet tacks, and rusty old nails."

[Orangedog]

What kind of idiot trucking company would ship this stuff in the same truck?!

[Orangedog]

I take it these fools have never heard of Texas City.

[FourtySeven]

Blasting caps and ammonim nitrate together........NICE........sounds like a scene out of the campy CHiPs series, where you'd think, "NO one would be STUPID enough to do THAT!"

Put Ponch and Jon on the case!

[Conspiracy Guy]

Thank God that no oxygen cannisters where in the load.

[AppyPappy]

Dude, you're getting a cell

[AppyPappy]

I bet he had his gas grill stowed in the trailer as well.

[Oberon]

What kind of idiot trucking company would ship this stuff in the same truck?!

Guys... let's hold on a minute and review what we know.

Ammonium nitrate is a fertilizer. It is not in itself explosive. When mixed about six percent with No. 2 fuel oil, the resulting mixture is a low-yield explosive suitable for mining operations. The ammonium nitrate functions as an oxidizer, and the fuel oil functions as, well, fuel.

By itself, ammonium nitrate is no big deal.

[Corin Stormhands]

Sheesh! And that's just a few miles south of the tunnel through Big Walker Mountain...

[AppyPappy]

And how close would No.2 Fuel Oil be, to say, Diesel?

[Orangedog]

This was probably part of a convoy carrying acetylene and matches in the lead truck, hydrogen peroxide and silver in the middle truck, and this one brining up the rear...all owned by the same company!

[FourtySeven]

Here's a dude that might get a cell for shootin his Dell!

[Conspiracy Guy]

Sounds logical to me.

[Oberon]

And how close would No.2 Fuel Oil be, to say, Diesel?

Diesel would make a bomb, too... No. 2 is either almost identical or totally identical to Diesel, depending on who you ask. But the stuff has to be thoroughly mixed and properly set off. The odds of that happening during a truck wreck are slim to none.

[Stefan Stackhouse]

The real nightmare would be if a terrorist cell managed to hijack such a load. They would be well on their way to setting up a really big boom. Not only would they have the more important half of an ANFO mix, they would have had the blasting caps to detonate, and even the truck to haul it to the target. That in itself should have been sufficient reason not to carry both in the same load.

More evidence that we still have a very, very long way to go before most people really "get it" about homeland security and start doing what has to be done.

[B4Ranch]

Before you all get into a frenzy about how stupid the truck driver, the dock manager and the trucking company owner must be, please read this short summary.Oberon, you are not included in that sentence.

Summary:
Program Directive A- 93 Issued August 1, 1980 Revised September 16, 1993 SUBJECT: Transporting Blasting Caps With Other Explosives AFFECTED CODES/ DIRECTIVES: OAR 437- 03- 1926.902( d), Construction 1) PURPOSE: Guidelines for evaluating compliance with 1926.902( d). (2) BACKGROUND: Questions have been received in the national OSHA office concerning the simultaneous transportation of blasting caps (including electric) with other explosives on the same vehicle, which is prohibited by 1926.902( d). This provision as been changed and is now permitted by the Department of Transportation in 49 CFR 177.835( g), which outlines the controlled conditions necessary to ensure employee safety 3) ACTION: Pending rule change, employers meeting the following requirements shall not be cited on 1926.902( d), because of the differences between present rules and new DOT regulations. Blasting caps, blasting caps with safety fuse, blasting caps with metal clad mild detonating fuse and/ or electric blasting caps may be transported in the same vehicle with other explosives, provided the following controlled conditions are complied with A. Percussion caps, detonators, blasting caps, or elec-tric blasting caps, shall be carried either in a cloth container having individual pockets for each such cap, or by at least equally safe means. D. Blasting caps, blasting caps with safety fuse, blast-ing caps with metal clad mild detonating fuse or electric blasting caps when not packed in containers referred to in (3) C., must be transported in contain-ers as prescribed in 49 CFR 178.318.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=electric+blasting+caps&btnG=Google+Search