Toulouse chemical factory explosion

On 21 September 2001, an explosion occurred at the AZF (French initialism for AZote Fertilisant, i.e. nitrogen fertiliser) fertiliser factory in Toulouse, France, belonging to the Grande Paroisse branch of the Total group.

Toulouse chemical factory explosion
AZF from city center, 4 or 5 km (through tourist public telescope)
Date21 September 2001
VenueAZF factory
LocationToulouse, France
TypeExplosion (~20–30 tons of TNT)
CauseSodium dichloroisocyanurate and ammonium nitrate mishandling and reaction
Deaths31
Non-fatal injuries2,500

Three hundred tonnes of ammonium nitrate was stored (the maximum capacity was 2,000 tonnes) in hangar #221. The entire factory was destroyed, making a crater with a depth of about 7 metres (23 ft) and a diameter of 40 metres (130 ft).[1] Steel girders were found 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away from the explosion. The blast measured 3.4 on the Richter scale,[2] with an estimated power equivalent to 20-40 tons of TNT.[1] The explosion was heard 80 km (50 miles) away. Due to the acoustics of the hills and the large sound, the explosion was reported as occurring in multiple places. Police at first believed that at least five bombs had simultaneously gone off. There is still controversy over the exact number of explosions.

The factory was close to the city: one of the most inhabited areas, Le Mirail, is 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away. Several schools, a university campus, a general hospital and a psychiatric hospital had to be evacuated.

Victims

The disaster caused 31 deaths, about 30 seriously wounded, and 2,500 light casualties.[3] Two thirds of the city's windows were shattered, causing 70 eye wounds. The total damages paid by insurance groups currently exceed 1.5 billion euros.

Investigation

On 4 October 2001, France's then Environment Minister Yves Cochet announced that the explosion "may have been a terrorist attack" (the explosion occurred ten days after the September 11 attacks) and identified Hassan Jandoubi, a plant sub-contractor killed in the blast, as a person under investigation. French anti-terrorist authorities were prohibited by the Toulouse prosecutor from searching Jandoubi's house for five days after the incident.[4]

Police declared that Jandoubi had "possible Islamic fundamentalist sympathies," yet by the time the search was finally conducted, they said that Jandoubi's girlfriend had disposed of all traces of his clothes and photos. Authorities described the delay as damaging to the investigation.[5][6][7][8]

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See also
  • Ammonium nitrate disasters

References
  1. Barthelemy, Francois; Hornus, Henri; Roussot, Jacques; Hufschmitt, Jean-Paul; Raffoux, Jean-Francois (24 October 2001), Report of the General Inspectocorate [sic] for the Environment: Accident on the 21st of September 2001 at a factory belonging to the Grande Paroisse Company in Toulouse (PDF)
  2. Barbier, Pascal (2003), Urban Growth Analysis Within a High Technological Risk Area: Case of AZF Factory Explosion in Tolouse (France), Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques
  3. government report (archive)
  4. Paul Seabright What Explosion? London Review of Books Nov 1 2001
  5. Paul Seabright AZF: L'enquête assassinée AZF:l'enquête assassinée
  6. Anti-Terror probe into French blast Archived 2007-11-03 at the Wayback Machine CNN Oct 4 2001
  7. Explosion in France may have been Terrorism Archived 2007-12-16 at the Wayback Machine The Michigan Daily Oct 5 2001
  8. Terrorism link to French explosion The Guardian Oct 5 2001

Further reading
  • (in French) Daniel Dissy : "AZF-Toulouse, Quelle vérité ?", 2006, ISBN 2-915681-30-9, Library of Congress Control No : 2007370387.
  • (in French) Franck Hériot & Jean-Christian Tirat : "AZF: L'enquête assassinée",Plon. ISBN 978-2-259-20824-6
  • (in French) Daniel Dissy : "AZF, l'Enquête secrète - Le Mystère de la Trace Noire ou comment AZF a explosé", éditions des Traboules, Paris, 2009, ISBN 2-915681-99-6.

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