In these days of heightened fears about our safety in relation to terrorists, it's only natural that we begin to look for ways that we might be threatened. While it might seem reasonable to look to the skies for airplanes with bombs or to the food supply for possible poisoning, maybe the answer is right in front of our eyes. Everyday chemicals that we use in manufacturing and agriculture can be turned into weapons of destruction, even on a smaller scale. Here's what you need to know about the widely used anhydrous ammonia.



What Anhydrous Ammonia is and What it is Used For

Agriculture relies on chemicals to help speed up the process of growing as well as to keep away unwanted pests and rodents. But just because they're used for positive reasons does not mean that they can not be used for other more nefarious things. Anhydrous ammonia, for example, is a well known fertilizer that is used in commercial farming. What it does is introduce more nitrogen into the soil that allows for better growing conditions for the plants. Made of one part nitrogen and three parts hydrogen, this is an unstable chemical that needs to be handled carefully in order to be safe to use.

When it is used to fertilize crops, it comes in a liquid state and is sprayed into the soil or into the plants, depending on the needs of the farmer.

The Dangers of Anhydrous Ammonia

The main problem with anhydrous ammonia is due to its chemical state. The term 'anhydrous' means 'without water.' Because this chemical does not have any water in it, it will combine rapidly with sources of water in order to balance this deficit. What does this mean? If anhydrous ammonia were to come into contact with your skin, your skin would instantly dry out. This is a good thing when it is in a liquid form and being used for fertilizing. The combination of the water in the soil and the waterless state of the chemical allows the nitrogen to quickly enter into the soil.

But when the skin is exposed to this chemical, it can cause severe burns in addition to dehydration. When it is released in a gaseous state, the chemical can enter into the lungs which can cause burning in the lungs and problems breathing if there is enough damage. It is also quite dangerous to the eyes since it will adhere to the water and cause the eyes to dry out and potential long term vision loss.

What's more is that this chemical can also corrode metals like zinc and copper, causing structural damage when items are made from these materials.

Why You Should be Concerned

Because anhydrous ammonia is readily available and legal to purchase, those that might want to cause damage to others can purchase this liquid/gas and simply transport it to where they want to cause the damage. Since the compound needs to be kept in a pressurized state in order to be safe, any shift in the pressure of this container would cause the anhydrous ammonia to be released into the air with great impact to those in the area.

In order to keep this from being used as a terrorist tool, there should be stricter watch kept over those that choose to purchase this chemical. These chemicals should almost be treated as dangerous weapons for which those that want to buy it need licenses that verify their identity.

But in truth, anyone that wants to get a hold of this chemical will probably be able to - and that's the truly frightening part.