On Wednesday, November 5, a powerful explosion occurred at a hydrogen and nitrogen production plant in the American state of Mississippi, leading to an ammonia leak. Residents of nearby areas were ordered to evacuate. This was reported by Associated Press, according to UNN.
Details
According to Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, the incident occurred at the CF Industries plant in Yazoo City, which produces hydrogen and nitrogen compounds.
Thanks to all the first responders and emergency managers in Mississippi for their quick response to the leak.
A statement from CF Industries said no one was injured and "all employees and contractors on site at the time of the incident were safely evacuated."
Local resident Andre Robinson, who lives about half a mile from the plant, said he and his son were about to cook gumbo when he heard a sound like an explosion or a large tree falling on the house.
There was a loud rumble, and then the house shook.
Robinson added that when he looked outside, he saw a large plume of gray smoke rising above the building and smelled a strong odor of ammonia.
The Yazoo City facility has an ammonia plant, four nitric acid production lines, and other facilities. It can store about 48,000 tons of ammonia, although the exact amount of the substance at the time of the explosion has not yet been determined.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said in a post on the X platform that "air quality monitoring is ongoing and will continue for as long as necessary to ensure public safety."
According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, anhydrous ammonia is used as a fertilizer to provide corn and wheat with nitrogen. Contact with the substance in gaseous or liquid form can cause burns.
Recall
In November 2024, a powerful explosion occurred at the Givaudan Sense Colour plant in Louisville, killing at least two people.
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