Edelstein, Ill.–The driver of a truck pulling two anhydrous ammonia tanks last Thursday Dec. 5 is reported still in critical condition in the burn center at St. Johns Hospital in Springfield after for some unexplained reason he lost control of the rig and one of the tanks exploded and was thrown by the force into an adjacent cornfield.
"We think that because of the vehicle accident one of the tanks actually ruptured and the force of the explosion threw the tank 100 yards into a cornfield and emptied about 1,000 gallons of ammonia," according to Jean Payne, president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association. "In my career this is the first time I’ve seen a tank rupture like this. In our industry this is something you just don’t see."
An investigation into the incident was opened immediately by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Transportation.
Payne indicated that the driver could have been distracted by a big weather system that was moving in at the time and that Thursday actually was the last day of the fall ammonia season. She said the accident occurred in a residential section but fortunately the tank was propelled away from the homes.