Restrict sale of ammonium nitrate: Experts

MUMBAI: In the wake of the Mulund train blast, forensic experts have suggested restricting the sale of ammonium nitrate, a chemical that is widely used to make fertiliser but can also be used for bombs.
Ammonium nitrate was the chief ingredient of the Mulund bomb as well as of the improvised explosive devices that ignited in a BEST bus in Ghatkopar on December 2 and in a street market at Vile Parle on January 28.
"I have suggested to the chief minister that ammonium nitrate should not be freely available to anyone who asks for it," said Rukmini Krishnamurthy, director of the state forensic laboratory.
Ammonium nitrate bombs are commonly used by terrorists across the world. The bomb that went off in New York''s WTC in 1993, a couple of weeks before Mumbai''s serial blasts, was made of ammonium nitrate.
So were the bombs that flattened the Federal building in Okalakhoma in 1995, the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998 and the Bali nightclub last October.
Experts estimate that two tonnes of ammonium nitrate were used by the Okalahoma bomber, while the Bali bomb contained 150 to 250 kg of the chemical.
The Irish Republican Army, the Tamil Tigers and some Middle Eastern groups have also used ammonium nitrate bombs. In fact, the Philippines banned it s import shortly after the Bali blast.
According to Ms Krishnamurthy, approximately four kg of ammonium nitrate were used in the Mulund bomb, which was placed in a steel container. "Pieces of steel were found embedded in the bodies of the victims," she said.
However, nails-commonly used to maximise injuries - were absent. The container was kept in a cloth bag and held in place by padding it with with rags and paper.