Ispra Workshop on Ammonium Nitrate

	Workshop on "AMMONIUM NITRATE" 30 January – 1 February 2002, Ispra/Italy  Background At the end of January 2002 the Major Accident Hazard Bureau of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy hosted a workshop on ammonium nitrate. The workshop was specifically convened to address concerns raised about current practice relative to prevention of ammonium nitrate incidents following the catastrophic incident on 21st September at the Grande Paroisse site in Toulouse, France. The incident killed 30 people, 8 of which were outside the establishment, and injured over 2,500 - a number of them very seriously – and caused material damage provisionally thought to be between € 1.5 and 2.3 billion. The purpose of the workshop was to review existing theory and practices for preventing industrial incidents involving ammonium nitrate with the view to strengthening existing prevention practices and policies. Approximately 90 representatives of government and industry attended the workshop, representing over 20 different countries. Representatives from fourteen Member States attended the meeting. Additionally, there were representatives from Norway, Switzerland, two accession countries (Estonia and Lithuania), Canada and the United States. Participation was fairly evenly divided between government and industry, and also included specialists from academia and research organisations. Experts in both the fertiliser and explosives industries were present. The expected outcome of the workshop was to review and generate a common understanding of ammonium nitrate hazards and related hazard reduction strategies among industry and government experts. In particular, the workshop was to focus on the properties of ammonium nitrate as they related to potential causes of chemical incidents, the conditions under which these properties might represent significant risk, and the recommended strategies for reducing the risk and preventing such incidents. It was intended that the information would then be used to form the basis of a consensus on what further measures might be necessary to reduce risks associated with ammonium nitrate. Indeed, the discussions at this workshop have helped facilitate a thoughtful and informed deliberation of various proposals related to Toulouse and the management of ammonium nitrate risks at the European level. To view the workshop agenda, final report (download version) and download or view presentation given at the workshop, please click on the following links.
		Agenda of the presentations held
		Overview of the presentations with the possibility to on-line view and download
		Final Report, summarizing the workshop proceedings, conclusions and recommendations.

 
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