WBAL Channel 11 November 17, 2004
Farm Chemical Also Has Explosive Use
Should Sale Of Ammonium Nitrate Be Regulated?
BALTIMORE -- Ammonium nitrate is one of the world's cheapest fertilizers.
But mixed with some ordinary ingredients, it becomes a terrorist's weapon of choice.
How do you keep it out of their hands? WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter David Collins exposes the fertilizer controversy.
It turns Maryland pastureland green and helps grow local corn tall and sweet.
But this fertilizer mixed with other simple ingredients can also turn buildings into rubble.
John Pike, director of Global Security: "Ammonium nitrate sprinkled with fuel oil -- those are the ingredients of choice if you are going to build a really big truck bomb."
Ammonium nitrate -- 5,000 pounds of it -- took down the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
An ammonium nitrate bomb damaged the World Trade Center in New York back in 1993. Yet pure ammonium nitrate is still available to anyone who wants it -- no questions asked, no ID required, no paperwork to fill out.
Donal Ponikvar from Cobra Emergency Response Tools: "It is very clear that the No. 1 terrorist threat by a long shot is improvised explosive devices ranging from truck bombs to pipe bombs."
An 11 News I-Team producer had no trouble buying more than 50 pounds of pure ammonium nitrate over the Internet.
Back in July, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning of a potential threat involving truck bombs. The directive notes the "tactic has been used before and it is credible that it is now being considered for further use."
Counter-terrorism experts believe the threat is especially striking since extremists have mastered the technique.
Pike: "Based on the track record they've had with truck bombs, the thing that I am most worried about in attacks in this country would have to be truck bombs using fertilizer against soft targets -- particularly schools or shopping centers."
There is a voluntary program aimed at detecting sales of ammonium nitrate for criminal use. The Fertilizer Institute and the ATF have left calling cards with an 800 number across the country. Fertilizer dealers are asked to keep track of sales, take a photograph of the customer, and report unusual interest in the product.
Kathy Mathers of The Fertilizer Institute: "A suspicious sale would be anyone who can't explain what they are going to use the product for, perhaps a suspicious call about ammonium nitrate, someone who might insist on ammonium nitrate above all other fertilizers."
But reporting is voluntary. An I-Team producer visited several fertilizer stores asking about pure ammonium nitrate. While it wasn't in stock, no one asked her any questions about her intent.
Collins: "As a member of the House Select Intelligence Committee, is something like this on the radar screen?"
Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, (D) Md.: "Everything is on the radar screen for national security."
Ruppersberger believes regulating the sale of ammonium nitrate is a state issue, not a federal one.
Ruppersberger: "It will be a big bureaucracy, and in the end, we won't get the result that we are looking for."
State Homeland Security Director Dennis Schrader claims tracking ammonium nitrate sales would be a waste of state resources.
Schrader: "I don't believe that would be the right thing to do. What we need to do is to continue to focus our attention on those materials that are regulated like TNT and blasting caps."
However, national security experts warn these bombs are easy to make. Recipes are only a click away on the Internet. They also point out that terrorists have already proven they have no trouble getting blasting caps or other types of detonators.
Some congressional leaders are worried about the unregulated sale of ammonium nitrate. There's talk on Capitol Hill requiring ID and background checks on bulk purchases.
But so far, no legislation has been introduced.
© Copyright 2004, WBAL Channel 11
