Then Beirut:
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. Though there was no proper population census taken, there is an estimated population of 22 lakh. Beirut is also regarded as one of the oldest cities in the world.
Then Beirut is a very important city for Lebanon as many banks and corporations Economically, And also politically as the government buildings like parliament.
After the civil war of 1990, the places of Beirut and Lebanon have undergone reconstructions to match up with the international standards
Today's Beirut:
Banking and tourism are the main two things which give the government their revenue.
So in this situation, it is a great loss for them.
Up to now the death rate is 135+ and injured is 5000+
We all saw in the news that 2750 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate has exploded. So what is ammonium nitrate?
In its pure form, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is a white, crystalline chemical which is soluble in water. It is the main ingredient in the manufacture of commercial explosives used in mining and construction.
This is also used in agricultural fields to increase nitrogen capacity in soil.
So how did this come to Lebanon?
In 2013 A Private Russian Company’s parcel of 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate arrived in the depot with the permission of the Lebanese government, because there was a problem because of the sea winds.
But the Lebanese Port authorities refused to send the ship back. They then decided to keep this and have some money out of this. AS ammonium nitrate is cheaper the owner even decided to leave this here itself.
As room 12 in the Port warehouse was larger they stored it in this room.
THIS WAS UNTIL 2013.
Then as no one came forward to buy this, the authorities decided to send letters to the judging panel of what to do with this parcel. Six letters have been sent. Letters have been sent in 2014, 2015, 2016(twice) 2017, and 2018.
Every time it was advised to sell it to people, to the army, to the official companies that make bombs. But no one came to but this.
Then the last letter was written to the judges stating that there is no proper facility in our seaport to store explosive materials like this. But this time there was no response from the judging panel.
Then the officers forgot about this issue.
This is where destiny plays out. Ammonium nitrate is very dangerous if it is stored in large quantities, that too for a long time because they generate heat.
This was stored in 2013 and now it is 2020. It has 7 years since storage so there will be a lot of heat and if even a single matchstick is lit or some fuel like petrol or diesel or gas is kept near it, there will be a huge explosion in that.
So this might be a reason for the explosion. But America’s President Donald Trump has said that there was some kind of bomb or terrorist activity in that.
But Bomb experts of Lebanon have denied any terrorist activity in this explosion.
Here are some Satellite Images
In INDIA, Production of huge amounts of Ammonium nitrate is illegal near Residential Areas.
According to the latest news, Chennai Customs has seized 740 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate stored in 37 containers since 2015. It was produced by a Karur based firm, but it was seized because it did not have proper licenses and the amount of ammonium nitrate produced in the factory was also high and exceeded our Government’s limits too.
This Ammonium Nitrate should never be placed or stored together that too in this large quantity. The more they keep and the years they leave, the more oxygen would be produced. And we all knew that Fire would be longer in presence of Fire. So separation and segregation is more important.
THANK YOU.
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