Whom amongst us could ever have seen that coming?

  • JayDee@lemmy.sdf.org
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    9 days ago

    Article on it.

    • Article says ‘mishandling’.
    • Shipment was in two shiploads from China.
    • article also says the fuel type was ‘sodium perchlorate’-based.

    Thoughts overall on what factors contributed? Is sodium perchlorate super volatile?

    Edit: Wikipedia says that sodium perchlorate mixtures used in rockets and fireworks are not shock-sensitive and do not spontaneously detonate.

    • Agent641@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 days ago

      It’s a precursor to Ammonium perchlorate, which is the preferred format for solid fuel rocket motors. It would have been converted in a relatively simple chemical processing plant.

      It was purchased from a Chinese chemical company in its precursor because it’s not a weapons grade chemical, it can be used for many things. We all know what it was going to be used for, and who would have used it.

      • JayDee@lemmy.sdf.org
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        9 days ago

        That makes more sense, since ammonium perchlorate can be shock-sensitive and reacts with various chemicals.

        So it’s possible this happened while/after synthesizing the sodium perchlorate into ammonium perchlorate.

        Edit: I am maybe jumping the gun here, I’m not sure at all whether this was being synthesized at time of explosion.