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Ammonium Nitrate Disasters
__FORCETOC__ When heated, ammonium nitrate decomposes non-explosively into gases of oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor; however, it can be induced to decompose explosively by detonation into nitrous oxide and water vapor. Large stockpiles of the material can be a major fire risk due to their supporting oxidation, and may also detonate, as happened in the Texas City disaster of 1947 which led to major changes in the regulations for storage and handling. There are two major classes of incidents resulting in explosions: * In the first case, the explosion happens by the mechanism of shock to detonation transition. The initiation happens by an explosive charge going off in the mass, by the detonation of a shell thrown into the mass, or by detonation of an explosive mixture in contact with the mass. Examples are Kriewald, Morgan, Oppau, Tessenderlo, and Traskwood. * In the second case, the explosion results from a fire that spreads into the ammonium nitrate (AN) itself (Texas City, Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ammonium Nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is predominantly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer.Karl-Heinz Zapp "Ammonium Compounds" in ''Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry'' 2012, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Global production was estimated at 21.6 million tonnes in 2017. Its other major use is as a component of explosive mixtures used in mining, quarrying, and civil construction. It is the major constituent of ANFO, a popular industrial explosive which accounts for 80% of explosives used in North America; similar formulations have been used in improvised explosive devices. Many countries are phasing out its use in consumer applications due to concerns over its potential for misuse. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deflagration To Detonation Transition
Deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) refers to a phenomenon in ignitable mixtures of a flammable gas and air (or oxygen) when a sudden transition takes place from a deflagration type of combustion to a detonation type of explosion. Description A deflagration is characterized by a subsonic flame propagation velocity, typically far below , and relatively modest overpressures, typically below . The main mechanism of combustion propagation is of a flame front that moves forward through the gas mixture - in technical terms the reaction zone (chemical combustion) progresses through the medium by processes of diffusion of heat and mass. In its most benign form, a deflagration may simply be a flash fire. In contrast, a detonation is characterized by supersonic flame propagation velocities, perhaps up to , and substantial overpressures, up to . The main mechanism of detonation propagation is of a powerful pressure wave that compresses the unburnt gas ahead of the wave to a temp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ludwigshafen-Oppau
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area. Known primarily as an industrial city, Ludwigshafen is home to BASF, the world's largest chemical producer, and other companies. Among its cultural facilities are the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. It is the birthplace and deathplace of the former German chancellor Helmut Kohl. In 2012, Ludwigshafen was classified as a global city with ' Sufficiency' status by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC). History Early history In antiquity, Celtic and Germanic tribes settled in the Rhine Neckar area. During the 1st century B.C. the Romans conquered the region, and a Roman auxiliary fort was constructed near the present suburb of Rheingönheim. The Middle Ages saw the foundation of some o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Town
A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporary, "Hell on wheels" towns, made mostly of canvas tents, accompanied the Union Pacific Railroad as construction headed west. Most faded away but some became permanent settlements. In the 1870s successive boomtowns sprung up in Kansas, each prospering for a year or two as a railhead, and withering when the rail line extended further west and created a new endpoint for the Chisholm Trail. Becoming rail hubs made Chicago and Los Angeles grow from small towns to large cities. Sayre, Pennsylvania and Atlanta, Georgia were among the American company towns created by railroads in places where no settlement already existed. In western Canada, railway towns became associated with brothels and prostitution, and concerned railway companies started ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aetna Chemical Co
Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, primarily through employer-paid (fully or partly) insurance and benefit programs, and through Medicare. Since November 28, 2018, the company has been a subsidiary of CVS Health. The company's network includes 22.1 million medical members, 12.7 million dental members, 13.1 million pharmacy benefit management services members, 1.2 million health-care professionals, over 690,000 primary care doctors and specialists, and over 5,700 hospitals. Aetna is descended from Aetna (Fire) Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The name of the company is based on Mount Etna, at the time the most active volcano in Europe. History 1800s * ''1819'': Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, Yale graduate and attorney, became the second president of Aetna (Fire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oakdale, Pennsylvania
Oakdale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States and is a Pittsburgh suburb. The population was 1,459 at the 2010 census. Its zip code is 15071. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all of it land. Robinson Run, a tributary to Chartiers Creek, flows through the southeastern part of the borough. Oakdale is bordered by North Fayette Township to the north and South Fayette Township to the south. Government, management and politics Local leaders *Mayor: Steve Trusnovic *Borough Council President: Mark Maximovich *Borough Council Vice President: Jonathan DeBor *Councilman: William Hartman Jr Al Pifer Barbara Rossen *Police Chief: James Lauria *Fire Chief: Bill Hartman, Jr. * Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Director: Bill Hartman, Jr. Political affiliation Oakdale is predominantly supportive of the Republican Party. The town generally supported incumbent Republican president Donald Trump o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, providing access to dissertations, theses, ebooks, newspapers, periodicals, historical collections, governmental archives, cultural archives,"Jisc and ProQuest Enable Access to Essential Digital Content" retrieved May 21, 2014 and other aggregated databases. This content was estimated to be around 125 billion digital pages, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with one of the country's largest medieval cathedrals, it is the largest settlement and has the largest urban area in East Anglia. The population of the Norwich City Council local authority area was estimated to be 144,000 in 2021, which was an increase from 143,135 in 2019. The wider built-up area had a population of 213,166 in 2019. Heritage and status Norwich claims to be the most complete medieval city in the United Kingdom. It includes cobbled streets such as Elm Hill, Timber Hill and Tombland; ancient buildings such as St Andrew's Hall; half-timbered houses such as Dragon Hall, The Guildhall and Strangers' Hall; the Art Nouveau of the 1899 Royal Arcade; many medieval lanes; and the winding River Wensum that flows through the city ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinity). For this reason the limits of the Thames Estuary have been defined differently at different times and for different purposes. Western This limit of the estuary has been defined in two main ways: * The narrow estuary is strongly tidal and is known as the Tideway. It starts in south-west London at Teddington Lock and weir, Teddington/Ham. This point is also mid-way between Richmond Lock which only keeps back a few miles of man-made head (stasis) of water during low tide and the extreme modern-era head at Thames Ditton Island on Kingston reach where slack water occurs at maximal high tide in times of rainfall-caused flooded banks. In terms of salinity the transition from freshwater to estuarine occurs around Battersea; east of the Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. It is home to the longest pleasure pier in the world, Southend Pier. London Southend Airport is located north of the city centre. Southend-on-Sea originally consisted of a few poor fishermen's huts and farms at the southern end of the village of Prittlewell. In the 1790s, the first buildings around what was to become the High Street of Southend were completed. In the 19th century, Southend's status of a seaside resort grew after a visit from Princess Caroline of Brunswick, and Southend Pier was constructed. From the 1960s onwards, the city declined as a holiday destination. Southend redeveloped itself as the home of the Access credit card, due to its having one of the UK's first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faversham Explosives Industry
Faversham, in Kent, England, has claims to be the cradle of the UK's explosives industry: it was also to become one of its main centres. The first gunpowder plant in the UK was established in the 16th century, possibly at the instigation of the abbey at Faversham. With their estates and endowments, monasteries were keen to invest in promising technology. Faversham was well placed. It had a stream which could be dammed at intervals to provide power for watermills. On its outskirts were low-lying areas ideal for the culture of alder and willow to provide charcoal, one of the three key gunpowder ingredients. The stream fed into a tidal creek where sulphur, another key ingredient, could be imported, and the finished product loaded for dispatch to Thames-side magazines. The port was also near the Continent where, in time of war, demand for gunpowder was brisk. Gunpowder The first factories The first factories were small, near the town, and alongside the stream, between the Lond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
