A binary explosive or two-component explosive is an
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...
consisting of two components, neither of which is explosive by itself, which have to be mixed in order to become explosive. Examples of common binary explosives include
Oxyliquit (liquid oxygen/combustible powder),
ANFO
ANFO ( ) (or AN/FO, for ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) is a widely used bulk industrial high explosive. It consists of 94% porous prilled ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) (AN), which acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel, and 6% number ...
(ammonium nitrate/fuel oil), Kinestik (
ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the 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, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...
/
nitromethane
Nitromethane, sometimes shortened to simply "nitro", is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in ...
),
Tannerite and
ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder. TNT is added to create T-ammonal which improves properties such as brisance. The mixture is often referred to as Tannerite, which is a brand of ammonal.
The ammonium ...
(ammonium nitrate/aluminum), and FIXOR (
nitroethane
Nitroethane is an organic compound having the chemical formula C2H5NO2. Similar in many regards to nitromethane, nitroethane is an oily liquid at standard temperature and pressure. Pure nitroethane is colorless and has a fruity odor.
Preparati ...
/physical sensitizer).
Binary explosives are often used in commercial applications because of their greater handling safety.
Law
United States
In the United States, in states where a stricter rule is not in place (see below),
ATF regulations allow the components of some binary explosives to be legally purchased, when neither one is an explosive by itself. ATF advises: "Persons manufacturing explosives for their own personal, non-business use only (e.g., personal target practice) are not required to have a Federal explosives license or permit." A prohibited person (a person barred by federal law from buying or owning a firearm) cannot legally possess mixed explosives. Explosives for lawful target practice must be used once mixed: any transport, storage or commercial use of mixed explosives falls under federal explosives laws,
[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, "Binary Explosives"]
atf.gov, 22 Sep 2016. and cannot be transported in mixed form without following strict regulations including insurance, packaging, signage on the transport vehicle, storage magazines, etc.
Various regulations also govern the storage of unmixed explosives. As oxidizers and combustibles, the unmixed components still have some shipping restrictions in the United States.
/ref>
/ref>
A Maryland law intended specifically to ban the sale or ownership of consumer products containing binary explosive components (such as Tannerite brand rifle targets) became effective on October 1, 2012, and expanded the definition of an explosive to include, in addition to "bombs and destructive devices designed to operate by chemical, mechanical, or explosive action", "two or more components that are advertised and sold together with instructions on how to combine the components to create an explosive".
On August 5, 2013, the United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
(USFS) and the U.S. Attorney's office
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
in Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
announced that the USFS is implementing a closure order to prohibit the use of unpermitted explosives, particularly exploding targets, on all USFS lands in the Rocky Mountain Region. This region includes national forests and grasslands
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...
in the states of Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
, and South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
. According to the USFS, at least 16 wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
s in the Western states had been associated with exploding targets. It cost more than $33 million to extinguish the fires. Such a ban has already been implemented by the USFS in Washington, Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
and Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
. The Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...
has banned the use of all exploding targets on BLM land in Utah.[{{cite web , url=https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/LAB/458, title=New York State Labor Law, Section 458 , website=New York State Senate , access-date=August 27, 2021]
See also
* Binary (chemical weapon)
* Hypergolic propellant
References
External links
Types of Explosives
FIXOR, a commercial binary explosive sold for mine clearance
from a presentation by the N. C. Dept. of Transportation