Fertilizer Producers Exit Ammonium Nitrate

HOMELAND SECURITY

Citing security concerns, fertilizer producers J. R. Simplot and Agrium announced last week that they will cease production and sale of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate, a material used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

These announcements follow a decision last year by Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan to cease production of ammonium nitrate used in fertilizers. Terra Industries, by far the largest U.S. producer of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate, says it will not follow suit, however.

Bill Whitacre, president of Simplot AgriBusiness, says his company has worked with trade associations in the U.S. and Canada on security measures. "While we applaud these efforts, we think the best way for Simplot to prevent possible misuse of this product is to no longer make it available to the marketplace."

Terra says it is backing efforts by the Fertilizer Institute; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Department of Homeland Security to establish security protocols and a permitting program for buyers and sellers of ammonium nitrate fertilizers. A U.S. Senate bill--the Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2005--introduced in May, would promulgate a registration system for all handlers of the fertilizer.

A Terra spokesman says ammonium nitrate accounts for 80% of the nitrogen fertilizer market in the U.K. and that it is a popular choice in the southeast U.S. Farmers prefer it because it can be spread on top of crops in the ground without volatilizing as urea-based fertilizers do, he says.