1. The History of Explosives
N. C. Dept. of Transportation
Safety & Loss Control
Objective
Provide students with historical perspective of the various types of explosives and their relative advantages and disadvantages..

2. Black Powder Saltpeter or “Nitre” Chinese as early as the 10th Century
Roger Bacon published formula in 1242
Berthold Schwartz invented Gun ~ 1300
Black Powder
Probably originated with the Chinese around the 10th Century (mostly for fireworks, rockets, etc.)
Roger Bacon published a formula for Black Powder around 1242
Berthold Schwartz invented the gun around 1300 which resulted in further refinement of black powder.
Blasting with powder replaced “fire setting” for loosening rock around the beginning of the 17th Century.

3. Black Powder First Powder Mill in Massachusetts in 1675
Americans first blasted with powder around 1773
American Revolution hastened manufacture of black powder
New frontiers required blasting to build roads and canals for transporting goods and people (early 1800s)
Black Powder
New world Americans depended heavily upon hunting game for food, increasing the need for black powder.
First powder mill erected in Massachusetts around 1675
First record of blasting in America was in 1773.
American Revolution hastened the production of black powder.
Expanding frontiers required blasting for construction of roads and canals to transport settlers and supplies. Also, discovery of coal in Virginia around 1830 increased the demand.
Increased usage resulted in many accidents.
“Miner’s Safety Fuse” introduced by William Bickford in the early 1830’s.
Commercial production of Black Powder rose from about 25 million pounds in 1860 to over 100 million pounds by the turn of the century.

4. Colonial Williamsburg, VA.
What is This?
Dance Hall?
Baptist Church?
What is this?
Baptist Church?
Dance Hall?
Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg, VA.
Built in 1715
Powder Magazine
Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

5. How Important was Black Powder?
10’ Wall
Guard House
Location
Storage
What are some clues as to the importance of Black Powder to early colonists?
Guard House
24 hour guard, portable fire truck
Location of the Magazine
Center of town
Storage
Not only powder, but shot, wadding, pistols and guns on three floors
10’ high Wall
surrounds the entire magazine
Sheer Size - Gave impression of lots of powder

6. Guard House
Occupied 24 hours a day.
Equipped with a portable fire fighting horse drawn truck

7. Close-Up of Magazine
Built in 1715
Kept powder for all of the Ohio valley
In 1775,Governor Dunnsmore, fearing a rebellion, had all of the powder (15 barrels or 1200 ponds) removed to a ship off the shore of Virginia Beach. The colonist owned the powder and demanded its return or payment. Governor refused and just before a colonist rebellion, he agreed to compensate the colony.
Remember the purpose of a colony was to support the Queen. Black Powder was one of the issues of Taxation without Representation
Independence declared a year later in 1776

8. Reception Hall of the Governors Mansion
Notice all of the rifles on the ceiling

9. Reception Hall of Governor’s Mansion
Also, notice the swords and pistols on the walls
Why do you suppose this room was decorated this way?
As a show of strength to any would-be rebel or rival colony militia. “You’re asking for trouble if you mess with us”.

10. Nitroglycerin and Dynamite
Discovered by Ascanio Sobrero in 1846
Nobel built factory in 1861
Nobel Patented Dynamite in 1867
Problems included fumes, freezing, & headaches
750 million pounds manufactured in 1955
Nitroglycerin discovered by Ascanio Sobrero in 1846
He was afraid of it, destroyed his notes and warned against its use
Alfred Nobel and his father built a small factory in 1861 in Sweden
Loading and transporting nitroglycerin was dangerous (liquid poured in to holes and ignited with various types of black powder igniters
Nobel invented Dynamite by accident and patented his mixture in 1867
Pros: more powerful than black powder, higher detonation velocity and more effective in breaking rock (not only moved, but broke them apart)
Cons: Would freeze, nitro fumes and nitro headaches
Dynamite -
from Dynamis, meaning power

11. Ammonium Nitrate Synthesized in 1659 by J. R. Glauber
Used for fertilizer and explosives products
Texas City explosion
ANFO
Pros: Easier to load, cheaper, and safer than dynamite
Cons: desensitized by water
Over 2.2 Billion pounds manufactured in 1974
First synthesized in 1659 by J. R. Glauber by combining ammonium carbonate and nitric acid.
Two major uses: Fertilizer and Blasting
Initially used to replace a portion of nitroglycerin in dynamite
Dupont introduced NITRAMON in 1935
Dupont called his products “Blasting Agents” due to their safe handling, low cost and non-headaches
Two disastrous explosions resulted in development of ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate & Fuel Oil)
First developed in 1955
ANFO eventually replaced dynamite in dry holes
Pros and Cons
The Texas City Disaster of April 16, 1947 started with the detonation of approximately 2300 tons of ammonium nitrate on board the French vessel Grandcamp in the port at Texas City, Texas. Approximately one and a quarter hours after a fire was reported on board the Grandcamp, the vessel detonated, causing great destruction and damage to the port. An adjacent ship, the High Flyer, contained an additional 1000 tons of ammonium nitrate. Although the High Flyer was severely damaged, its crew was busy attending to the emergency at hand. About 15 hours after the explosion aboard the Grandcamp, the High Flyer, while being towed out of the port after smoke started pouring out of its hold, also blew up.
The Texas City Disaster is generally considered the worst industrial accident in the USA's history. 405 dead were identified; 63 more were never identified. About 100 people were classified as missing, and never found.
Some of the deaths and damage in Texas City were due to the destruction and subsequent burning of chemical plant and other industrial facilities close to the point of the explosions. Fires resulting from the various cataclysmic events were still burning a week after the disaster.
Ammonium nitrate is not known for being capable of detonating without being mixed with a fuel. The disaster at Texas City may be due at least in part to the fact that the ammonium nitrate was destined for a tropical region, and "waterproofed" with paraffin or other solid hydrocarbon that rendered the mixture detonable under the peculiar conditions found in the conflagration.

12. Water Gels Developed in 1940s to solve the water problem
Non-Nitroglycerin
Use increased with development of equipment for drilling large diameter holes
Developed out of research to solve the water problem with Ammonium nitrate products (early 1940s)
Market for these products was not great because most applications called for small diameter products and an economical sensitizer was not available.
Large diameter drilling equipment meant the sensitivity requirement for water gels was not as stringent.
Pros: economics, loading density, low
sensitivity, water resistance, no nitro
Cons: needs sensitizer, not for small holes

13. Binary/Two Component Explosives
Usually consist of Ammonium Nitrate (sensitizer) and Nitromethane (fuel)
Advantages include:
not a Class A explosive until mixed
no danger of fire while in storage
available in correct type and size
can deactivate after mixing
will detonate at minus 140F
Disadvantages include:
cost
time required to mix
Usually made of Nitromethane (a fuel) and Ammonium Nitrate (a sensitizer).
Advantages: from slide
Disadvantages: from slide

14. Initiation Devices Safety Fuse Fuse Caps Electric Blasting Caps
Delay Caps
Vented Caps
Composition Caps
Detonating Cord
Nonelectric Delay Caps
Shock Tube
Safety Fuse
easily ignited, unreliable and fatal, William Bickford's “Safety Fuse”
Fuse Caps
resulted fromproblems igniting nitroglycerin, patented fulminate of mercury in tin capsules in 1867 (first blasting cap
Electric Blasting Caps
First initiation of black powder by an electric spark was in 1745, first electric blasting machine designed by Julius Smith
Delay Caps
Created by introducing a short piece of fuse between ignition and base charges.
Though erratic, rock fragmentation was greatly improved with delays
Vented Caps
Reduced the erratic burning rate of delay caps
Composition Caps
utilized new powerful, yet insensitive explosives. This allowed an intermediate priming charge between ignition and base charge.
Detonating Cord
Invented in It was a lead tube with a TNT core (later replaced w/PETN)
Nonelectric Delay Caps
Introduced in 1076, improved timing and sound levels. Was uses in conjunction with safety fuse.
Shock Tube
Small hollow plastic tube lined with a flash charge. Fired with a mushroom blasting machine and shotgun primer. No fear of unwanted electric currents

15. The morning of 16 April 1947 dawned clear and crisp, cooled by a brisk north wind. Just before 8:00 A.M., longshoremen removed the hatch covers on Hold 4 of the French Liberty ship Grandcamp as they prepared to load the remainder of a consignment of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Some 2,300 tons were already onboard, 880 of which were in the lower part of Hold 4. The remainder of the ship's cargo consisted of large balls of sisal twine, peanuts, drilling equipment, tobacco, cotton, and a few cases of small ammunition. No special safety precautions were in focus at the time. Several longshoremen descended into the hold and waited for the first pallets holding the 100-pound packages to be hoisted from dockside. Soon thereafter, someone smelled smoke. A plume was observed rising between the cargo holds and the ships hull, apparently about seven or eight layers of sacks down. Neither a gallon jug of drinking water nor the contents of two fire extinguishers supplied by crew members seemed to do much good. As the fire continued to grow, someone lowered a fire hose, but the water was not turned on. Since the area was filling fast with smoke, the longshoremen were ordered out of the hold. While Leonard Boswell, the gang foreman, and Peter Suderman, superintendent of stevedores, discussed what action to take, the master, or captain, of the Grandcamp appeared and stated in intelligible English that he did not want to put out the fire with water because it would ruin the cargo. Instead, he elected to suppress the flames by having the hatches battened and covered with tarpaulins, the ventilators closed, and the steam system turned on. At the masters request, stevedores started removing cases of small arms ammunition from Hold 5 as a precautionary measure. As the fire grew, the increased heat forced the stevedores and some crew members to leave the ship. The Grandcamp's whistle sounded an alarm that was quickly echoed by the siren of the Texas City Terminal Railway Company. despite a strike by the telephone workers, Suderman, seriously concerned by now, managed to reach the Fire Department and then called Galveston for a fire boat.

16. It was now about 8:30. At this point, growing pressure from the compressed steam fed into Hold 4 blew off the hatch covers, and a thick column of orange smoke billowed into the morning sky. Attracted by its unusual color and the sirens, several hundred onlookers began gathering a few hundred feet away at the head of the ship. Twenty-six men and the four trucks of the Volunteer Fire Department, followed by the Republic Oil Refining Company fire-fighting team, arrived on the scene and set up their hoses. A photograph taken at approximately 8:45 shows at least one stream playing on the deck of the Grandcamp, which was apparently hot enough to vaporize the water.

17. Around 9:00, flames erupted from the open hatch, with smoke variously described as "a pretty gold, yellow color" or as "orange smoke in the morning sunlight...beautiful to see." Twelve minutes later, the Grandcamp disintegrated in a prodigious explosion heard as far as 150 miles distant. A huge mushroom like cloud billowed more than 2,ooo feet into the morning air, the shockwave knocking two light planes flying overhead out of the sky. A thick curtain of steel shards scythed through workers along the docks and a crowd of curious onlookers who had gathered at the head of the slip at which the ship was moored. Blast over pressure and heat disintegrated the bodies of the firefighters and ship's crew still on board. At the Monsanto plant, located across the slip, 145 of 450 shift workers perished. A fifteen-foot wave of water thrust from the slip by the force of the blast swept a large steel barge ashore and carried dead and injured persons back into the turning basin as it receded. Fragments of the Grandcamp, some weighing several tons, showered down throughout the port and town for several minutes, extending the range of casualties and property damage well into the business district, about a mile away. Falling shrapnel bombarded buildings and oil storage tanks at nearby refineries, ripping open pipes and tanks of flammable liquids and starting numerous fires. After the shrapnel, flaming balls of sisal and cotton from the ships cargo fell out of the sky, adding to the growing conflagration.

18. The sheer power of the explosion and the towering cloud of black smoke billowing into the sky told everyone within twenty miles that something terrible had happened. People on the street in Galveston were thrown to the pavement, and glass store fronts shattered. Buildings swayed in Baytown fifteen miles to the north. The towering smoke column served as a grim beacon for motorists driving along the Houston-Galveston highway, some of whom immediately turned toward Texas City to help. In Texas City itself, stunned townspeople who started toward the docks soon encountered wounded persons staggering out of the swirling vortex of smoke and flame, most covered with a thick coat of black, oily water. many agonizing hours were to pass before a semblance of order began to replace the shock and confusion caused by this totally unexpected and devastating event.

19. As the surge of injured quickly overwhelmed the towns three small medical clinics, the city auditorium was pressed into service as a makeshift first-aid center. Within an hour doctors, nurses, and ambulances began arriving unsummoned from Galveston and nearby military bases. Serious casualties were taken to Galveston hospitals and later to military bases and even to Houston, fifty miles away. State troopers and law enforcement officers from nearby communities helped Texas City's seventeen-man police force maintain order and assisted in search and rescue.

20. The horror was not over yet
The horror was not over yet. As help poured into Texas City, no one gave much thought to another Liberty ship tied up in the adjoining slip. The High Flyer was loaded with sulfur as well as a thousand tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. The force of the Grandcamp's explosion had torn the High Flyer from its moorings and caused it to drift across the slip, where it lodged against another vessel, the Wilson B. Keene. The High Flyer was severely damaged, but many of its crew members, although injured, remained on board for about an hour until the thick, oily smoke and sulfur fumes drifting across the waterfront forced the master to abandon ship. Much later in the afternoon, two men looking for casualties boarded the High Flyer and noticed flames coming from one of the holds. Although they reported this to someone at the waterfront, several more hours passed before anyone understood the significance of this situation, and not until 11:00 P.M. did tugs manned by volunteers arrive from Galveston to pull the burning ship away from the docks. Even though a boarding party cut the anchor chain, the tugs were unable to extract the ship from the slip. By 1:00 A.M. on 17th April, flames were shooting out of the hold. The tugs retrieved the boarders, severed tow lines, and moved quickly out of the slip. Ten minutes later, the High Flyer exploded in a blast witnesses thought even more powerful than that of the Grandcamp. Although casualties were light because rescue personnel had evacuated the dock area, the blast compounded already severe property damage. In what witnesses described as something resembling a fireworks display, incandescent chunks of steel which had been the ship arched high into the night sky and fell over a wide radius, starting numerous fires. Crude oil tanks burst into flames, and a chain reaction spread fires to other structures previously spared damage. When dawn arrived, large columns of thick, black smoke were visible thirty miles away. These clouds hovered over Texas City for days until the fires gradually burned out or were extinguished by weary fire-fighting crews.

21. The Grandcamp's explosion triggered the worst industrial disaster, resulting in the largest number of casualties, in American history. Such was the intensity of the blasts and the ensuing confusion that no one was able to establish precisely the number of dead and injured. Ultimately, the Red Cross and the Texas Department of Public Safety counted 405 identified and 63 unidentified dead. Another 100 persons were classified as "believed missing" because no trace of their remains was ever found. Estimates of the injured are even less precise but appear to have been on the order of 3,500 persons. Although not all casualties were residents of Texas City, the total was equivalent to a staggering 25 percent of the towns estimated population of 16,000. Aggregate property loss amounted to almost $100 million, or more than $700 million in todays monetary value. Even so, this figure may be to low, because this estimate does not include 1.5 million barrels of petroleum products consumed in flames, valued at approximately $500 million in 1947 terms. Refinery infrastructure and pipelines, including about fifty oil storage tanks, incurred extensive damage or total destruction. The devastated Monsanto plant alone represented about $ 20 million of the total. Even though the port's break-bulk cargo-handling operations never resumed, Monsanto was rebuilt in little more than a year, and the petrochemical industry recovered quickly. One-third of the town's 1,519 houses were condemned, leaving 2,000 persons homeless and exacerbating an already-serious postwar housing shortage. Over the next six months, displaced victims returned as houses were repaired or replaced, and most of those who suffered severe trauma appear to have recovered relatively quickly. What could never be made good was the grief and bleak future confronting more than 800 grieving widows, children, and dependent parents.

22. The burial service for the unidentified dead was held Sunday morning, June 22, 1947 at 10:00 A.M. Despite the fact that there was very little advance publicity, cars were park a mile and a half up and down the highway, and the crowd was estimated at 5,ooo. The sixty-three caskets were brought from Camp Wallace by separate hearses from fifty-one participating funeral homes in twenty-eight cities. It was a striking procession, probably the longest in the history of funeral services. Each casket was carried by pallbearers from the American Legion, V.F.W., Labor Organizations and Volunteer Firemen. Each was decorated with a spray of flowers, gifts of the Florist Association. In this small plot of ground, at the time of the service only a scarred prairie, were placed the remains of sixty-three unidentified dead, each in its own casket, each in its own lined grave~numbered and recorded so that if a new inquiry were ever necessary the information would be available. No one else ever has ever been buried in this cemetery; no one else ever will be. It stands as a resting place for those unidentified, and a memorial for all those who suffered during that time.

23. The Memorial Cemetery in Texas City is located on the northern edge of town, where Loop 197 joins Twenty-Ninth Street. It still resembles the 1947 landscape design by Houston artist Herbert Skogland but is not identical to it. Before the 1991 enlargement it was a grassy plot, roughly two acres in size and surrounded by a stone wall. It was presided over by an angel of Italian marble. The stone pillars on either side of a wrought iron gate were simply inscribed "Memorial Cemetery Texas City 1947." Inside remains a rectangular grassy lot with a oval pathway inside. In the pool, in a small concrete circle, stands the marble angel, her eyes downcast and her fingers perpetually strewing a marble flower. The base is inscribed "Texas City Volunteer Firemen." The bodies were buried in three neat rows on either side of the pool, inside the oval. Each site was originally marked with a piece of granite bearing a number which links it to a paper listing everything known about the human being who lies there. In the years between 1947 and 1991 when the cemetery was enlarged and refurbished as a WAR AND PEACE MEMORIAL, many of the small markers were lost, moved, or buried in the thatch grass. When the cemetery was enlarged, the remaining markers were relocated within a brick wall. Thus, it is that now the remains are truly anonymous, known only to God. Who then is buried in the little cemetery? No one will ever no for certain, but among the missing are nineteen members of the Volunteer Fire Department, thirty-one members of the crew of the Grandcamp, and several school children who had been on the pier watching the fire. Also among the missing are Victor Wehmeyer, the funeral director; H.J. Mikeska, President and General Manager of the Texas City Terminal Railway; longshoremen; employees of Monsanto, Republic, and the Texas City Terminal; sightseers; and others whose fate it was to be in the plant or on the dock that day.

24. The notes and pictures from the Texas City disaster extracted without change from .

25. ANFO EXPLOSIVES type ANFO PURPOSE
Explosives type ANFOs are based on ammonium nitrate, fuel oil and additions. They are used for open air and underground blasting works in the mines and quarrieres, where no methane gas, coal dust or water are presented.
INITIATION
Explosives type ANFO are initiated by TNT booster with min.charge of  0,400 kg  or another material of equivalent power with fire detonator, electric detonator, non-electric (NONEL) detonator or detonating cord attached.
TERMS OF STORAGE
Explosives type ANFO have to be stored in dry, indoor stores by temperature from minus 35C  to 35C up to 3 months from the date of manufacturing