A tanker truck carrying ammonium nitrate exploded in southern Arkansas on the morning of March 27, killing the driver and injuring three firefighters. The massive explosion, which was heard by residents living more than 20 miles away and registered as a seismic event at an Arkansas Geological Survey station some 12 miles from the blast, blew windows out of nearby homes and vehicles in the area and left a 15-foot deep crater in the road.
The explosion occurred at 7:30 a.m. on U.S. Highway 287 west of Camden, a town of about 12,000 in Ouachita County, near the Louisiana border. A statement from the Arkansas State Police confirmed the victim as Randall McDougal, 63, of El Dorado, Ark., who was employed by Blann Tractor Company of Hampton, Ark. Police said the truck was carrying ammonium nitrate from El Dorado to Texarkana, Ark.
The police statement said area fire department personnel were notified at about 6:40 a.m. that the truck’s brakes had overheated and ignited a tire, and the driver was attempting to extinguish the blaze. The first fire department personnel promptly began evacuating residents within a one-mile radius of the scene, and reportedly witnessed McDougal returning to the truck when it exploded.
Photos from the scene showed a massive orange mushroom cloud rising above the blast, a crater spanning the full width of the highway and more, and numerous blackened and denuded pine trees around the site. Officials closed nearby Highways 57 and 24 in addition to Highway 287, and the Ouachita Electric Cooperative confirmed that the explosion knocked out power to 295 customers in Ouachita and Nevada counties.
Local news reports said residents from as far away as El Dorado, Magnolia, Holly Springs, and Haynesville, La., reported hearing the explosion.
Industry sources said the truck was likely a pneumatic tanker carrying 20-25 tons of ammonium nitrate, but those details were not confirmed by investigators. By way of comparison, the deadly 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. facility in West, Texas, was triggered by 30 tons of ammonium nitrate, according to investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (GM Jan. 9, 2016).
The Blann Tractor Co. had no comment on the blast, citing advice from legal counsel.
Mark Behrman, CEO of LSB Industries Inc., told Green Markets that the truck had loaded at the company’s El Dorado Chemical Company plant, which produces high density ammonium nitrate and ammonia for fertilizer, as well as a range of industrial and mining products. Behrman said LSB would have no additional comments until the investigation is complete.
McDougal’s remains were sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for positive identification. Camden Fire Chief Robert Medford and two other firefighters were treated for minor injuries and released from an area hospital. “This was a bigger explosion, a bigger explosive event than I have ever witnessed,” Medford told a FOX16 news reporter.
Responders at the scene included personnel from the Ouachita County Sheriff’s Office, the Camden Fire Department, the Stephens Volunteer Fire Department, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, and at least one ProMed Ambulance team.
A number of fire department vehicles sustained heavy damage from the blast, and first responders at the scene reported only small pieces remaining of the Blann Tractor truck and trailer. A Camden Fairview School District bus that was attempting to turn around at a roadblock was also damaged in the blast, but no students were on the bus at the time.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation confirmed on March 28 that work was underway to repair Highway 287, with plans to lay new asphalt in the afternoon. Officials estimated that the highway would reopen to traffic late on March 28.