Ammonium nitrate: fertilizer behind many industrial accidents

Fireworks and ammonium nitrate appear to have been the fuel that ignited a massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut, experts and videos of the blast suggest. The scale of the damage _ from the epicenter of the explosion at the port of Beirut to the windows blown out kilometres (miles) away _ resembles other blasts involving the chemical compound commonly used as an agricultural fertilizer.