Officials acting on behalf of the Port of Dakar on Thursday requested the removal of 2,700 tonnes of highly combustible ammonium nitrate stored in the Senegalese harbour.
It is almost the identical volume of the chemical which caused the disastrous explosion in Beirut on 4 August.
Like its Beirut counterpart, the Port of Dakar is adjacent to congested downtown Dakar. The general directorate of the port says the unnamed owner of the stockpile, which consists of 3,050 tonnes of assorted industrial chemicals, has found a warehouse to deposit it outside the city.
Statement about cargo
The directorate issued a statement saying: “He [the owner of the stockpile] is currently working with the Environment Ministry to obtain approval to urgently remove this cargo.” It did not say how long the port had been storing the consignment, which was bound for Mali.
The Port of Dakar adheres strictly to international rules on the management and storage of dangerous materials, it said.
The 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which exploded in Beirut early this month had been held for six years without safety measures. The explosion killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and left about a quarter of a million people without a home.
The statement from the high commander of the Senegalese port said it was “the dramatic situation that Beirut has just experienced” which had prompted Dakar to take journalists on a tour of the facilities to show that its security measures are up to standard.
Using ammonium nitrate
Experts say that the Beirut blast should be a wake-up call to countries worldwide soun the dangers of ammonium nitrate.
The chemical, which is commonly used in fertiliser and as an industrial explosive, is considered relatively safe when handled properly, but has triggered some of the world’s deadliest industrial accidents.
If high concentrations of ammonium nitrate dust are inhaled they can cause respiratory tract irritation. Symptoms of this include coughing, sore throat, shortness of breath and even suffocation.
Nana Abena Dokua Ofori-Atta
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