Federal investigators have joined the investigation of a missing 30-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate that could be used to build high-powered explosives, like the one used in the Oklahoma City bombing.
About 60,000 pounds of the chemical, which was in pellet form, disappeared during a two-week journey from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Saltdale, California.
The shipment left a production site of Dyno Nobel, an explosives manufacturer, on April 12, and the report on the missing ammonium nitrate was made on May 10.
Preliminary research suggests that a leak in the train car containing the chemical caused it to leak during the journey. Union Pacific, the operator handling the delivery, told DailyMail.com it does not believe there was any “criminal or malicious activity.”
But neither the railroad nor Dyno Nobel – whose explosive products are used in mining – have confirmed whether the chemical has been located or what caused it to disappear.
The cargo of ammonium nitrate disappeared during a two-week journey from the Dyno Nobel plant in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Saltdale, California. A map indicates the routes it could have taken along the Union Pacific rail network
The shipment left a production site of Dyno Nobel (pictured), an explosives manufacturer, on April 12, and the report on the missing ammonium nitrate was made on May 10.
Ammonium nitrate was a key component in the bomb used by domestic terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols to carry out the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people
Ammonium nitrate was a key component in the bomb used by domestic terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols to carry out the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
An estimated 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of the chemical was used in the attack on April 19, 1995, meaning that the amount that disappeared could be used to make about 30 equivalent explosives. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by the explosion.
In another incident in 2013, 15 people died and more than 260 were injured when ammonium nitrate exploded at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas.
More than 200 people died when about 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at Lebanon’s Beirut port. The colossal blast also injured 7,000 people and caused damage worth $15 billion.
Ammonium nitrate fertilizer costs about $600 a ton, so the missing shipment would have been worth about $18,000.
A map of Union Pacific’s network indicates that the shipment may have traveled via tracks in Denver and Utah or through Wyoming to Utah before then traveling through Nevada and California.
Dyno Nobel was approached for comment. The company said earlier that it is suspected that the ammonium nitrate may have leaked from the car during the journey.
Timothy McVeigh (left) and Terry Nichols (right) used ammonium nitrate in the explosives used in the Oklahoma City bombing. Officials investigating the missing shipment said they “do not suspect any criminal or malicious activity.”
More than 200 people died when about 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at Lebanon’s Beirut port
The colossal blast in Lebanon also injured 7,000 people and caused damage worth $15 billion
“The train car was sealed when it left the factory in Cheyenne and the seals were still intact when it arrived in Saltdale. The initial estimate is that a leak may have occurred during transit through the bottom gate of the train car,” a spokesman said.
A spokeswoman for Union Pacific told DailyMail.com: “Our investigation is ongoing at this time. Union Pacific cannot comment on the details or status of an active investigation, other than to say that at this point in the investigation, we do not believe there is any criminal or malicious activity.”
Stan Blake, a former Wyoming state legislator and retired train conductor, told Cowboy State Daily that it wouldn’t be difficult to rid one of the hopper trucks of its load of pellets.
The cars have two or three sections, Blake said, and at the bottom is a gate. “You can use a big bar and open that gate and it will pour out,” he said.
He also suggested it’s possible the pellets never got on the train in the first place, as the chemical could be transported from the open gate into a truck using a mobile conveyor belt.
Union Pacific, which ran the train carrying the explosive chemicals, said if the pellets had leaked from the train, it would be harmless. Pictured is a Union Pacific train carrying bulk grain across Kansas
A map shows the origin of the shipment and the point in Saltdale, California where workers realized the ammonium nitrate was missing
He said cars were sometimes registered as load carriers but were empty, and vice versa.
He said when cars were put together they could sometimes slam into each other and part would pour out. He told the outlet that he had asked people to collect it in plastic bags and place it on their lawns.
“It’s great fertilizer,” he said.
The Federal Railroad Authority said both Dyno Nobel and Union Pacific could face federal sanctions if found to have broken rules that caused the chemical to disappear.
A spokesperson added: “As Union Pacific and Dyno Nobel investigate this incident, they must engage all necessary parties, including law enforcement, to ensure that potential causes and consequences are promptly and thoroughly addressed.
UP’s initial findings suggest that this was likely a leak caused by a part of the train car. Rail freight forwarders and railways are responsible for properly securing train carriages.’