Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Port chemicals ‘not the same as Beirut’
DUNDEE’S port authority has sought to reassure the public that stores of fertiliser containing ammonium nitrate is “very different” to the dangerous explosives that led to the Beirut disaster.
The Tele contacted the port after a source claimed a large supply of the highly explosive compound was being stored not far from the Sea Cadets’ training centre on East Camperdown Street.
However, the port authority has stressed that although the substance it has in place does contain ammonium nitrate, it is an inactive, or inert, version of the chemical.
A spokesman from the Port of Dundee said: “The Port of Dundee imports and exports many agricultural products and in doing so supports the Scottish farmers, growers, brewers and distillers.
“Fertiliser products are used in the community to help grow the crops which allow Scotland to be a world leader in a number of industries.
“At the port we import a number of ‘fertiliser finished’ products, the most predominant is NPK (N – nitrogen, P – phosphorus and K –potassium).
“This finished product is very different to the basic form of ammonium nitrate and any nitrogen content in the NPK has been manufactured and certified to be inert.
“The products imported into port are not stored for long periods of time and our facilities are strictly regulated by the Health and Safety Executive.”
Lebanon’s capital city was devastated on August 4 when an estimated 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate confiscated from a cargo ship ignited.
Videos of the powerful second explosion showed an enourmous mushroom cloud rising above the city, destroying buildings and shattering windows several miles away.
So far more than 200 have been confirmed dead, 6,000 have been injured and an estimated 300,000 people have been left homeless.
Lebanon’s government resigned as a result of the disaster, with many blaming the administration for the explosion due to years of corruption and negligence.