{"id":73256,"date":"2025-11-13T10:45:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=73256"},"modified":"2025-11-13T11:23:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:53:03","slug":"understanding-ammonium-nitrate-fuel-oil-the-explosive-used-in-the-red-fort-blast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/understanding-ammonium-nitrate-fuel-oil-the-explosive-used-in-the-red-fort-blast\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil: The Explosive Used in the Red Fort Blast"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A preliminary report indicates that the <\/span><b>Red Fort blast<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was carried out using A<\/span><b>mmonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> combined with a detonator, likely triggered manually. The explosion killed may people, occurring just hours after a major crackdown on a <\/span><b>Jaish-e-Mohammed terror module<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bomb was placed inside a <\/span><b>white Hyundai i20 with Haryana plates<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a vehicle that had been <\/span><b>resold multiple times<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including to a man from <\/span><b>Pulwama<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to mislead investigators.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) Triggers Powerful Explosions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ammonium nitrate (NH\u2084NO\u2083) is a widely used fertilizer but also a strong oxidiser capable of causing intense, high-temperature explosions when combined with the right substances.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>On its own, ammonium nitrate cannot explode<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 it must be mixed with a volatile secondary material, such as fuel oil, and then triggered by an external detonation that generates extremely high heat.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, if exposed to <\/span><b>high temperatures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or a <\/span><b>strong shock<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it can <\/span><b>violently decompose<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and sometimes <\/span><b>explode even without added fuel<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as seen in several past industrial accidents.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mixture, known as <\/span><b>ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil),<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is easy and inexpensive to produce and is commonly used in mining and construction because it is stable, safe to store, and extremely powerful when properly detonated.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A typical ANFO charge is roughly 94% ammonium nitrate and 6% fuel oil; industrial-grade ammonium nitrate can be used to make such a mixture.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On its own it usually will not detonate unless exposed to very high heat or a detonator.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stronger the initiating blast, the more intense the resulting explosion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>How Investigators Confirm Ammonium Nitrate Use After a Blast<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even after a blast site is washed, investigators can detect ammonium nitrate through residual particles left behind.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ANFO explosions release gases like nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, which disperse quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But unburnt ammonium nitrate particles often settle on windows, vehicle parts, road surfaces, dust, or clothing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although washing removes some material, sensitive chromatographic tests can still identify trace amounts of the chemical on almost any surface, helping confirm its use in the explosion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>How Investigators Identify If Fertilizer Was Converted Into an Explosive<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ammonium nitrate used as <\/span><b>fertilizer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is generally safe, but it becomes dangerous if exposed to <\/span><b>high heat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or a <\/span><b>strong shock<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which can cause violent decomposition and even detonation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To intentionally convert fertilizer into an explosive, fuel oil is added to create <\/span><b>ANFO. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This combination still requires a <\/span><b>detonator<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to trigger the blast.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Investigators can determine misuse by checking for:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Presence of <\/span><b>fuel residues<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Signs of <\/span><b>detonator components<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chemical ratios matching ANFO,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trace elements indicating industrial-grade ammonium nitrate.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These clues reveal whether ordinary fertilizer was transformed into a <\/span><b>powerful explosive mixture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Legal Controls on Ammonium Nitrate in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India strictly regulates the sale and possession of ammonium nitrate.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under rules introduced in 2012 and updated in 2021, <\/span><b>any mixture containing over 45% ammonium nitrate is legally classified as an explosive<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>District Magistrate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may permit possession of up to <\/span><b>30 metric tonnes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while larger quantities need approval from <\/span><b>Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PESO issues licences for the manufacture, storage, transport, and use of large quantities of ammonium nitrate.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buyers must clearly state why they need the chemical, and all licensed transactions are tracked through the <\/span><b>System for Explosive Tracking and Tracing (SETT)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that its manufacture, storage, transport, and use require licences from the <\/span><b>Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO),<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and unauthorised individuals are prohibited from purchasing or possessing ANFO or related substances.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given these restrictions, a key question for investigators is how the terrorists obtained such large quantities of ammonium nitrate and other explosive materials used in the Red Fort blast.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/delhi\/red-fort-blast-case-why-investigators-are-tracking-ammonium-nitrate-link-between-delhi-blast-and-faridabad-haul-10362059\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/india-news\/delhi-red-fort-car-bomb-live-updates-delhi-red-fort-car-blast-news-red-fort-car-bomb-supsect-umar-mohammed-ammonium-nitrate-fuel-oil-9613477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NDTV<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) was used in the Red Fort blast. Learn how ANFO works, how investigators detect it, and why India tightly regulates ammonium nitrate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":73273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3678,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-73256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-ammonium-nitrate-fuel-oil","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}