BILL INTRODUCED TO REGULATE AMMONIUM NITRATE

Will it help protect Americans from terrorist bombings?

U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) recently introduced legislation to prevent the use of ammonium nitrate by criminals and terrorists in the making of bombs. Ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer, was a key ingredient in the bombs used in Oklahoma City in 1995 and at the Bali nightclub in 2002, which killed a total of 370 people.

In the aftermath of these bombings, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) studied the feasibility and practicability of imposing controls on precursor chemicals used to manufacture explosives. The report concluded ammonium nitrate is the explosive chemical likely to be the greatest threat in illegal bombings. NAS recommended that at greatly increased threat levels, sellers of detonable nitrate fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate should be required to have licenses, and purchasers should be required to obtain permits.

Hinchey's bill, the Ammonium Nitrate Security Act, would implement the National Academy's recommendations and require:

• sellers of detonable nitrate fertilizers to be licensed, and purchasers to obtain permits;
  
• facilities and individuals storing nitrate fertilizers to follow safety and security regulations promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF);
  
• immediate reporting to ATF of theft or loss from manufacturers, distributors or retailers.

This is the first bill introduced in Congress to address the threat posed by ammonium nitrate. The federal government already requires permits for the use of many explosives and the states of South Carolina and Nevada already restrict the sale of ammonium nitrate.