About 350 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, along with other ammunition, were recovered from Faridabad near Delhi after a tip-off from an arrested doctor who had terror links. The recovery by the Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday has been described as one of the largest seizures of explosives linked to the region in recent years.
Ammonium nitrate is an odourless, white crystalline chemical that can trigger explosions when exposed to intense heat.
The material famously caused the massive warehouse explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2020, which killed at least 1000 people after 2,750 tonnes of it were stored at a port without safety measures.
Mixed with other substances, it can be used to make bombs.
Sources said that if the amount recovered was mixed with other substances, it could create a blast that would have a radius of 50 to 100 metres. A third of the area would be destroyed. It would also cause damage to structures that are within 120 metres of the explosion.
What exactly is ammonium nitrate?
Ammonium nitrate is a salt of ammonia, NH3 and nitric acid, HNO3, making it NH4NO3.
Commercial, industrial ammonium nitrate is a major component of nitrogen-rich fertilisers. It is water-soluble and used as part of irrigation. It is also used in explosives for mining and quarrying.
The presence of nitric acid in the material makes it an oxidiser, which means it can contribute to the oxidation of other materials or oxidise itself.
However, the material is not explosive by itself, especially when it's stored safely, away from heat and contamination.
One way the material could explode is by being exposed to fire or a combustible substance during a fire. The accident in Lebanon occurred in this manner.
The other way is by combining it with another explosive substance, like fuel, for instance, which would turn it into a cheap bomb.
The 350 kilograms of the salt, when mixed with a fuel like diesel, could produce energy equivalent to 140 kilograms of TNT. An explosive device made with the material, if dropped in the middle of the city, could kill about 500 to 1000 people. The heat from the material would also create fires.
Earlier, the material found at the doctor’s residence was reported to be RDX, or hexogen, another explosive compound that is also white, odourless, and tasteless. RDX is more expensive and more widely used in the creation of explosives and is much more sensitive than ammonium nitrate. It can explode just with minimal sparks or force.