Is chemical that caused deadly explosion in Beirut stored in Tacoma, Seattle ports?
A chemical that was reported to have caused a deadly explosion at a port in Beirut, Lebanon a week ago is not being stored at Seattle and Tacoma ports, according to the Northwest Seaport Alliance.
Ammonium nitrate is an industrial chemical used around the world, most commonly for agricultural fertilizer but also in explosives for mining.
On Aug. 4, about 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate stockpiled at a Beirut port warehouse exploded, killing more than 200, injuring thousands and leaving many displaced. The explosion was reported to have been caused by a fire that broke out at the port. The investigation is ongoing.
The chemical was confiscated from a passing ship in 2014, according to Lebanese officials, and has been sitting there in bulk ever since, despite warnings.
The incident led some to wonder whether there was a presence of ammonium nitrate at their local ports.
“It caused us to ask the question,” Port of Tacoma Commission president John McCarthy told The News Tribune.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance, the port authority for Seattle and Tacoma, responded to questions from The News Tribune related to the chemical earlier this week.
“No, The Northwest Seaport Alliance and the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma do not have the facilities capable of handling bulk quantities of this product and our leases do not permit the long-term storage of this product,” spokesperson Akiko Oda said.
Oda added that the handling of ammonium nitrate is regulated by the International Maritime Organization, the U.S. Coast Guard and local fire departments.
U.S. Coast Guard petty officer Michael Clark told The News Tribune on Tuesday that in 2019, the Coast Guard authorized 38 operations (inbound and outbound shipments) that included ammonium nitrate in the Port of Seattle, with each shipment averaging about 55,000 pounds.
Still, the chemical cannot be stored anywhere for long periods of time and is on the Coast Guard’s list of contaminates and substances looked at during safety inspections.
“If it’s going to be waiting to put on a vessel to be shipped, it can only be there for six hours,” Clark said.
The Port of Tacoma does not have any record in the past three years of that chemical even being handled, McCarthy said. There was a pass-through of a shipment in 2017.
“It’s not a material we normally handle,” he said.
The incident in Beirut has impacted people across the globe.
“The explosion in Beirut was an enormous tragedy and our hearts go out to the people of Lebanon,” Oda said in an email.
