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Ammonium Nitrate : Cause of Beirut Blast ( a deadly explosion)

Ammonium nitrate , (NH 4 NO 3 ), a  salt  of  ammonia  and  nitric acid , used widely in fertilizers and explosives.  The commercial grade contains about 33.5 percent  nitrogen , all of which is in forms utilizable by plants,  it is the most common nitrogenous component of artificial  fertilizers .  Ammonium  nitrate  also is employed to modify the detonation rate of other explosives, such as  nitroglycerin  in the so-called  ammonia dynamites , or as an oxidizing agent in the  ammonals, which are mixtures of ammonium nitrate and powdered aluminum. Ammonium nitrate is highly explosive when it comes into contact with fire , and when it explodes, ammonium nitrate can release toxic gases including nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas. There are strict rules in how to store it safely- including requiring the storage site to be thoroughly fire proofed, and not have any drains, pipes or other channels in which ammonium...