Ammonia Incident Summaries |
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By reviewing past incidents, your responses will improve.
One of the best approaches to learn how to respond to an anhydrous
ammonia incident is to carefully study what others have done. By
learning from their experiences your responses will improve and
the public will benefit from your knowledge.
Below is a list of anhydrous ammonia incidents with a brief summary
followed by appropriate links. More incident summaries will be added
in the future.
Tractor-Trailer Tip Over in Mankato, Minnesota, October
20, 2005
At approximately 10:20 a.m. on October 20, 2005, a tanker truck
hauling 20 tons of anhydrous ammonia rolled over onto its side just
off Highway 169 shutting down portions of the highway and causing
the evacuation of local residences in Mankato. Although little if
any ammonia released the potential existed and therefore as a precaution
a limited evacuation was warranted. Since the trailer was on its
side, only a limited amount of ammonia could be off-loaded through
the valves. Once up-righted the remaining ammonia was pumped out
into another tanker.
- Mankato Free Press-Online, Mankato, Minnesota.
Selected stories from October, 2005. (PDF:
129 KB / 4 pages)
- Photographs taken by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture
during the off-loading and up-righting of the tanker. October
20, 2005. (PDF:
1.58 MB / 4 pages)
 Nurse
Tank Rupture,
June 6, 2005
An internal non-code weld had weakened the shell of an anhydrous
ammonia nurse tank causing the tank to rupture. The full, pressurized
tank was propelled across the facility yard narrowly missing bulk
agricultural chemical tanks and buildings as it flew. The tank
came to rest approximately 250 feet away after first splitting a
tractor in half. An extensive cloud of ammonia vapor drifted away
from all major populated areas although some nearby residents were
treated for exposure. This tank was manufactured in 1973.
Minot,
North Dakota Freight Train Derailment, January 18, 2002
At approximately 1:37 a.m. on January 18, 2002, a freight train
derailed 31 of its 112 cars about ½ mile west of the city
limits of Minot, ND. Fifteen of those 31 cars that derailed were
hauling anhydrous ammonia. A total of 240,000 gallons of anhydrous
ammonia released to soil and air creating a vapor plume that covered
the derailment site and drifted toward Minot. One resident was
fatally injured, 11 people sustained serious injuries, and 322
people, including the two train crew members, were seen by medical
personnel. Damages exceeded $2 million and more than $8 million
has been spent for environmental remediation.
- National Transportation Safety Board. 2004. Railroad accident report,
NTSB/RAR-04/01. (PDF:
1.45 MB / 92 pages)
- Minot Daily News-Online Edition, Minot North Dakota. Selected
stories from January 18 to March 21, 2002. (PDF:
511 KB / 60 pages)
 Anhydrous Ammonia Pumped into Propane Storage
Tanks, October 21, 1999
Two
30,000-gallon propane tanks, each at seventy percent capacity were
accidentally topped off with anhydrous ammonia. Similar plumbing
on both transport and storage tanks made the transfer possible.
The galvanized fittings on the propane tanks would have corroded
through causing the release of ammonia and propane if not immediately
emptied. Compounding the problem was that the individual pressures
of ammonia and propane together in a tank are additive which would
have caused pressure relief valves to open when the internal tank
temperature reaches 70°F.
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