15 Years Later, US May Restrict Explosive Fertilizer Chemical

"WASHINGTON — More than 15 years after a fertilizer bomb was used to blow up a government building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, the federal government is proposing to regulate the sale and transfer of the chemical ammonium nitrate.

The proposal comes nearly four years after Congress gave the Homeland Security Department the authority to develop a program to regulate the compound.

Ammonium nitrate is one of the most common farm fertilizers in the world, and instructions for turning it into a bomb are available on the Internet. Its deadly potential was once again realized on July 22, when a Norwegian man allegedly blew up a government building in his country, killing eight people with a bomb that investigators believe was made with ammonium nitrate.

On Tuesday, the Homeland Security Department’s proposal is expected to be posted on the Federal Register website and the public will have 120 days to comment."

Eileen Sullivan reports for the Associated Press August 2, 2011.

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"US To Propose Ammonium Nitrate Regulations" (AP)