Las Vegas-A tractor-trailer mounted with a blasting truck carrying 30,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate for a construction project overturned at an intersection at 5:44 a.m. Feb. 25, not far from the downtown area. According to city spokesman Jace Radke, the rig ended up spilling 5,000 pounds of the load, along with diesel from the truck. Radke told Green Markets the rig is usually not driven on streets and was on a detour for Interstate 15 northbound enroute to a blasting job in northeast Nevada. “The driver was making a turn, and because of the top heavy load the rig flipped on its side,” he explained. There were no injuries. He said the area is commercial and residential, and shop owners were advised to remain closed and occupants of an apartment building were notified to evacuate because of concerns about the diesel mixing with the spill while a fire department HazMat team secured the site and brought in a backhoe for cleanup. Firefighters remained on scene until the truck was up righted, and all the materials were cleaned from the street. There was no word about where or how the AN was disposed of. The tractor-trailer, operated by Sanders Construction of Henderson, was enroute to Glendale north of Las Vegas.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain