Huge explosion in Beirut

[vtsnowedin]

The explosion was next to the national grain store. 80+% of the nation's grain is now in a contaminated heap clearly visible in the videos. Lebanon is now facing serious hunger as the country imports a high percentage of it's food, the largest port is out of action, it's national reserve have been destroyed, the currency has fallen 80% in value this year, and unemployment is 40%.

And they are in the middle of a pandemic

This is what national collapse looks like

Lebanon has been very close to the edge for decades. I would expect some aid to come in from neighboring oil exporting countries.

[kenneal - lagger]

The fact that the explosion was next to the national grain store is enough to make me wonder whether the explosion was deliberate or not. Hezbollah or the Israelis? Who knows!

[BritDownUnder]

There have been comments in Australia about there is a similar ammonium nitrate storage in Newcastle Port in Australia. Apparently 14,000 tonnes is there. In an interview with an explosives expert on TV tonight he said that it will explode on its own but has to catch fire and melt then find some 'fuel' that will allow it to explode.

The reaction in Australia has been one of sympathy to the Lebanese people.
I agree with the comments about the place being a failed state - many countries with in the region are. I doubt the oil producers will help. They have enough problems with low oil prices to feed their own people.
Supposedly this ammonium nitrate was the property of a Russian oligarch.

Not sure if Israel is involved. They are no doubt very accustomed to being blamed for the regions ill and are probably not that sad that it happened.

I hope I have mentioned ammonium nitrate enough times in this post for the authorities to take an interest. Ha ha ha.

[stumuz1]

The explosion was next to the national grain store. 80+% of the nation's grain is now in a contaminated heap clearly visible in the videos. Lebanon is now facing serious hunger as the country imports a high percentage of it's food, the largest port is out of action, it's national reserve have been destroyed, the currency has fallen 80% in value this year, and unemployment is 40%.

And they are in the middle of a pandemic

This is what national collapse looks like

Wot that man said.

It can happen so quickly.

[stumuz1]

I hope I have mentioned ammonium nitrate enough times in this post for the authorities to take an interest. Ha ha ha.

There are different types of ammonium nitrate content and combustible content, the Beriut one looks like it would be rejected as an ‘off spec’ grade'

‘'Off spec’ materials and fertilisers not satisfying the detonation resistance test which are rejected during the manufacturing process and ammonium nitrate compound/composite fertilisers that are being or have been returned from the final user to a manufacture, temporary storage or reprocessing plant for reworking, recycling or treatment for safe use.
These fertilities, which do not satisfy the detonation resistance test, but at the time of delivery to a final user satisfied the detonation resistance test but later become degraded or contaminated and are temporarily present at the establishment of the final user prior to their return for reworking, recycling or treatment for safe use.

In the UK if you store Dangerous substances you need to comply with COMAH.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/background/comah15.htm

The amount of ‘off spec’ you are allowed to store in the UK before needing to comply with Comah?


10 tons.

Beriut had 2750 tons

The mind boggles.

[clv101]

The explosion was next to the national grain store. 80+% of the nation's grain is now in a contaminated heap clearly visible in the videos. Lebanon is now facing serious hunger as the country imports a high percentage of it's food, the largest port is out of action, it's national reserve have been destroyed, the currency has fallen 80% in value this year, and unemployment is 40%.

And they are in the middle of a pandemic

This is what national collapse looks like

Wot that man said.

It can happen so quickly.

The UK isn't immune to national collapse, I give it 10-20% in the next decade. Rising to 40% by 2050.

[adam2]

I agree. The UK is unlikely to suffer a Lebanon style collapse, because we hopefully store ammonium nitrate more responsibly, and we don't keep a large proportion of our a food stores in one place.

We are however vulnerable to other disasters and setbacks that could lead to a collapse.

[Mark]

In the UK if you store Dangerous substances you need to comply with COMAH.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/background/comah15.htm

Sorry to be a pedant, but just to clarify on COMAH.
Most of the time it applies where a company stores a relatively large amount of hazardous substances.

In the case of normal fertilizer grade Ammonium Nitrate, the max amount is 1,250T, but as stumuz points out, this reduces to 10T for 'off spec' material.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/ammonium/comah.htm
COMAH is fairly onerous to comply with, so some companies 'manage stocks' to stay out of the regulations (ie they might choose to only store a max. of 1,000T).

However, the rules may well change after this ?

[vtsnowedin]

When you consider that a 1000 acre corn farm needs 95 tons/ year having over 1000 tons in one location central to a farming area is not unusual but you could and should place your larger stockpiles out in the country somewhere safely away form residential areas in the same way the military stores munitions in ammo dumps and bunkers where a bomb going off in one doesn't set off all or flatten a personnel living area.

[stumuz1]

In the UK if you store Dangerous substances you need to comply with COMAH.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/background/comah15.htm

Sorry to be a pedant, but just to clarify on COMAH.
Most of the time it applies where a company stores a relatively large amount of hazardous substances.

In the case of normal fertilizer grade Ammonium Nitrate, the max amount is 1,250T, but as stumuz points out, this reduces to 10T for 'off spec' material.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/ammonium/comah.htm
COMAH is fairly onerous to comply with, so some companies 'manage stocks' to stay out of the regulations (ie they might choose to only store a max. of 1,000T).

However, the rules may well change after this ?

Just to be a little more pedantic

Comah is location and county specific not company specific.

So Stumuz ltd can store 9.9 tons in Manchester and 9.9 in Dorset.

[PS_RalphW]

It is now reported in the guardian that the warehouse was also used to store several sacks of fireworks. There are also reports that an electric welder was being used on a door before the fire started.

Port workers say they were directed to store them there by the military.

The President now says the explosion may have been caused by an enemy missile.

[BritDownUnder]

I hear that the people who were complaining about the safety of putting the ammonium nitrate there there have all been arrested.

Some of those firework explosions are a quite spectacular on their own like this one for instance in Colombia. I like the way they play the explosion backwards then forwards again at the end of the video.

Looking at the videos of this event the shockwave in particular was almost nuclear in scale. I like the crater where the wharf used to be and the cruise ship turned on its side a few hundred metres away.

As expected, the "Zionist Entity" is getting the blame over this one. Lots of magically created money from central banks will no doubt be heading over there shortly from Western countries.