Residents of suburbs surrounding a State government approved explosives factory in Ipswich fear another Beirut style explosion which could cause devastation and loss of human life. Exactly how this facility was approved so close to residential areas in Collingwood Park, Riverview, Dimnore, Bundamba and Blackstone is a mystery. Locals have also observed that few security measures are in place at the facility where large quantities (up to 500 tonnes) of Ammonium Nitrate are stored. https://www.dnrme.qld.gov.au/business/mining/safety-and-health/alerts-and-bulletins/explosives/regulation-of-security-sensitive-ammonium-nitrate-ssan-in-queensland
Given that everything within a 3km radius of the Beirut explosion was totally destroyed and deaths and injuries occurred up to 10km away, residents, some living less than 1km away, are clearly concerned about the siting of the Sun Mining Services factory so closes to their homes.
When searching for information on the public register of Environmental Authorities, no EA was found for this site.
After operating for several years without any permits or licenses, ICC approved this operation in August 2019.
IRATE members using their own channels have managed to obtain a copy of the EA for the SMS explosives factory
Some details extracted from it reveal:
Oxidising Substance 1 = Ammonium Nitrate
Oxidising Substance 2 = Sodium Nitrate
Oxidising Substance 3 = Sodium Nitrite
Oxidising Substance 4 = Sodium Chromate
Using these "oxidising substances" and other chemicals such as Nitric Acid, Sun Mining Services manufactures 4 explosive precursors:
• SX2 Solution • Roger Solution • Exel Solution • Wala gel
According to its DA material, the site stores up to 500 tonnes of AN. This alone has a potential explosive force equivalent to 160 tonnes of TNT.
