Which statement is accurate about the 2013 West Fertilizer Company incident?

Which statement is accurate about the 2013 West Fertilizer Company incident?

• A. It involved detonation of ammonium nitrate stored at the facility
• B. It involved ammonia gas release
• C. It involved propane explosion
• D. It was caused by a flood

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that this incident centers on a hazardous storage disaster involving a fertilizer chemical that can detonate under certain conditions. Ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer, can become highly explosive when heated or subjected to confinement. At the West Fertilizer Company site, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored there detonated, producing a massive blast and widespread destruction. This is why the accurate description is that the event involved detonation of ammonium nitrate stored at the facility. The other scenarios—an ammonia gas release, a propane explosion, or a flood—do not match what happened in this incident.

The key idea here is that this incident centers on a hazardous storage disaster involving a fertilizer chemical that can detonate under certain conditions. Ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer, can become highly explosive when heated or subjected to confinement. At the West Fertilizer Company site, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored there detonated, producing a massive blast and widespread destruction. This is why the accurate description is that the event involved detonation of ammonium nitrate stored at the facility. The other scenarios—an ammonia gas release, a propane explosion, or a flood—do not match what happened in this incident.