# Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000 "2013-04-18T02:48:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/41 "2013-04-18T14:49:11Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes, [but who could have guessed ammonia was explosive](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Disaster)? Ammonium nitrate (Texas City/OKC blasts) isn’t the same thing as anhydrous ammonia, despite them both starting out with “ammoni”. Caution, Windex has ammonia in it! ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/42 "2013-04-18T15:08:10Z")
I know this town well, the Czech Stop is famous for its kolaches and also makes awesome sandwiches. I have stopped there many, many times. Next time you happen to be on I-35 between Austin and DFW exit at #353 and buy some, they are going to need the economic help. I feel so sorry for these folks. This is not an advertising pitch, I happen to love the place and highly recommend it. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/43 "2013-04-18T15:16:23Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > Ammonium nitrate (Texas City/OKC blasts) isn’t the same thing as anhydrous ammonia, despite them both starting out with “ammoni”. Caution, Windex has ammonia in it! I realize that. In the cited blast the explosive nature of ammonium nitrate wasn’t well know, IIRC there had been only been 1 previous explosion somewhere in Europe when dynamite was used to break up a giant pile of the stuff. But this is 2013, the danger of both compounds is well known and should have been accounted for. It was gross irresponsibility to locate homes and businesses so close to the plant. I’m pretty sure we’ll find out that only the minimum required precautions were being taken, at best. There’s already a report that the plant had attested to the EPA that there was no danger of a fire or explosion at the plant. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/44 "2013-04-18T15:20:54Z")
I’m glad to see they’ve significantly lowered the estimated causality estimates this morning. Some of the estimates last night were pretty scary. It’s still pretty overwhelming damage. I can see why the early estimates were so high. A lot of property is wiped out. Its going to take a long time to rebuild. I wonder if that community will ever be the same. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/45 "2013-04-18T15:51:31Z")
> [@D-bear](#): > > I thought these people wanted to succeed from the Union? I’m pretty sure after the election results came out last November, they all wanted to be separated from the USA. It’s horrible that this happened, but this has to be indicative of what a Red-State mentality brings on it’s population… In the spirit of fighting ignorance, which appears to be in abundance here, “these people” didn’t want to secede, which is a different concept than succeed, much more than say the people of Colorado. Judging from the [2012 State Secession Petition](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_state_petitions_for_secession) numbers, it was .48% of the population of Texas vs .44% of the population of Colorado. Hardly “all”, of either state. **Twickster** , I tried to keep this post mainly factual, not trying to do a political debate, just crunching numbers to try to give some perspective. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/46 "2013-04-18T16:00:59Z")
The plant looks pretty old and its several miles outside Waco. Which would have been a safe distance. I get the impression the area around the plant got developed later. Which was a big mistake. No one seemed to recognize the danger. Thank goodness this explosion happened when that school was closed. That would have been really bad. > [@TriPolar](#): > > I realize that. In the cited blast the explosive nature of ammonium nitrate wasn’t well know, IIRC there had been only been 1 previous explosion somewhere in Europe when dynamite was used to break up a giant pile of the stuff. But this is 2013, the danger of both compounds is well known and should have been accounted for. It was gross irresponsibility to locate homes and businesses so close to the plant. I’m pretty sure we’ll find out that only the minimum required precautions were being taken, at best. There’s already a report that the plant had attested to the EPA that there was no danger of a fire or explosion at the plant. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/47 "2013-04-18T16:07:17Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > I know this town well, the Czech Stop is famous for its kolaches and also makes awesome sandwiches. I have stopped there many, many times. Next time you happen to be on I-35 between Austin and DFW exit at #353 and buy some, they are going to need the economic help. I feel so sorry for these folks. > > This is not an advertising pitch, I happen to love the place and highly recommend it. > > **Capt** The Czech Stop is iconic for anybody travelling between Dallas and Austin or San Antonio. Several news stations today have reported that they stayed open all night last night making food for the rescue workers. Love that place and it’s a good example of people doing what they can when tragedy hits an area. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/48 "2013-04-18T16:38:50Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > The reports on the number of the dead are absolutely horrific. Let’s hope they are as inaccurate as some initial reports on the Boston bombing. So far this morning, that does seem to be the case… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/49 "2013-04-18T16:49:21Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > So far this morning, that does seem to be the case… Initial reports often exagerrate the damage, but last night the major outlets were only confirming 2 deaths. There may be hundreds of minor injuries, but the question here is how many severe disabling injuries there were. We’re pretty good at saving lives these days, but there may be many people severely burned. There may still be missing people, a number of homes and buildings were destroyed and it may take some time to search through the rubble. But since it was a small community they should know by now who could be missing. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/50 "2013-04-18T16:50:43Z")
Aerial view of the community before the blast. The plant, school, nursing home are marked. I haven’t found a similar aerial view after the explosion. I know the differences will be pretty shocking. [![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/18/article-2310825-195EF823000005DC-754_964x523.jpg) ](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/18/article-2310825-195EF823000005DC-754_964x523.jpg) A lot of high res photos in this article. > **[Desperate search underway for firefighters missing after devastating Texas...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2310825/West-Texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion-leaves-dead-100-injured.html)** > > The firefighters, who responded to a fire at West Fertilizer Co. on Wednesday night before it suddenly exploded into a fireball, are reportedly missing and feared dead, including Joey Pustejovsky, the city secretary who also volunteers as a... ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/51 "2013-04-18T17:11:37Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The USGS picked up this explosion as a 2.1 on the Richter scale. That is only a measure of ground motion, and the air motion was much worse. > > For comparison sake, the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Building registered a 3.0 on the Richter scale. You do realize this was exactly the same stuff exploding (ammonium nitrate)? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/52 "2013-04-18T17:18:33Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > You do realize this was exactly the same stuff exploding (ammonium nitrate)? The article linked in the OP says anhydrous ammonia exploded near Waco. Not quite the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![TXRebel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@TXRebel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXRebel)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/53 "2013-04-18T18:16:20Z")
West is a nice little town. It is also home of the West Fest. I was very impressed with the fact that such a small town, with so few resources, was obviously led by someone with a great deal of common sense last night. They managed to evacuate, triage,transport and keep the reporters in check in a very organized and effective manner. If I was unfortunate enough to be involved in such a traumatic event I would hope for the same leadership. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Whammo72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo72)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/54 "2013-04-18T18:48:00Z")
Just spoke with one of our stores in corsicana tx. They said they are about 65 miles away and their windows shook. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/55 "2013-04-18T19:04:32Z")
Estimated deaths are currently 18. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/56 "2013-04-18T19:05:58Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Aerial view of the community before the blast. The plant, school, nursing home are marked. I haven’t found a similar aerial view after the explosion. I know the differences will be pretty shocking. > > [http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/18/article-2310825-195EF823000005DC-754\_964x523.jpg](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/18/article-2310825-195EF823000005DC-754_964x523.jpg) > > A lot of high res photos in this article. > [West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion leaves many dead and more than 100 injured | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2310825/West-Texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion-leaves-dead-100-injured.html) Jeez, [this one](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/18/article-2310825-195CE754000005DC-106_964x618.jpg) looks like something out of The Terminator. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/57 "2013-04-18T19:25:22Z")
Looking at Google Earth, it seems they put a fertilizer plant 200 meters from a school, 300 meters from a nursing home and residential buildings are as close as 100 meters. Yet there’s plenty of open space East of the town. They could easily have put it 1 to 2KM away from any substantial number of people. Any idea why the location would be so close? I’d understand the proximity for most industrial buildings but fertilizer is known to be explosive. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/58 "2013-04-18T19:29:48Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The plant looks pretty old and its several miles outside Waco. Which would have been a safe distance. I get the impression the area around the plant got developed later. Which was a big mistake. No one seemed to recognize the danger. > > Thank goodness this explosion happened when that school was closed. That would have been really bad. > [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Looking at Google Earth, it seems they put a fertilizer plant 200 meters from a school, 300 meters from a nursing home and residential buildings are as close as 100 meters. Yet there’s plenty of open space East of the town. They could easily have put it 1 to 2KM away from any substantial number of people. > > Any idea why the location would be so close? I’d understand the proximity for most industrial buildings but fertilizer is known to be explosive. **aceplace** ’s explanation makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is building all those homes and buildings so close to the plant. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/59 "2013-04-18T19:48:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Aerial view of the community before the blast. The plant, school, nursing home are marked. I haven’t found a similar aerial view after the explosion. I know the differences will be pretty shocking. > > [http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/18/article-2310825-195EF823000005DC-754\_964x523.jpg](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/18/article-2310825-195EF823000005DC-754_964x523.jpg) > > A lot of high res photos in this article. > [West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion leaves many dead and more than 100 injured | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2310825/West-Texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion-leaves-dead-100-injured.html) BTW from comparing this and Google and the photos of the events on the ground it looks like the triage was set up rather at the High School’s football field, a couple blocks further away to the left of the picture. The plant supposedly dates from 1962, the town has been around since 1892. From the G maps, the plant is sited on the railroad line, part within town limits, part in the county. The residential area near the plant looks mid-late 20th century, like it probably all was part of the urbanization spreading in that direction. The demolished apartment house seems to have been the closest part of the residential neighborhood, some 300-350 feet from the track, maybe 100 more from the tanks. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000/60 "2013-04-18T22:04:31Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > The article linked in the OP says anhydrous ammonia exploded near Waco. Not quite the same thing. It’s wrong. I checked with a firefighter to be sure - there is no way anhydrous explodes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast/656000.md?page=4)