60,000 pounds of an explosive chemical disappears during rail shipment

US broadcaster NBC has reported that 60,000 pounds (27.2 tonnes) of a chemical used as both a fertilizer and an explosive is missing after likely disappearing during a rail trip on Union Pacific Railroad (UP) from Wyoming to California last month, according to federal records.

The broadcaster says a rail car carrying ammonium nitrate left a plant operated by explosives manufacturer Dyno Nobel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 12.

This date was in an incident report filed May 10 by a representative of the company with the National Response Center.

The report states the chemical was released "due to an unknown cause," says NBC. and was discovered missing after the rail car arrived in Saltdale, California, an unincorporated community more than 1000 miles from Cheyenne.

At the time of the report, the car was empty and on its way back to Wyoming, according to the company. Ironically, in April UP announced that Dyno Nobel was one of 95 companies awarded the 2022 Pinnacle Award for their dedication and commitment to safely transporting chemicals by rail.

The annual award honours UP customers who implement release prevention protocols, corrective action plans and have zero non-accident releases of regulated hazardous materials shipments.