Around 60,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, commonly used as a fertilizer and in explosives, have disappeared from a rail shipment on its way from Wyoming to California.
The shipment went missing in April and still has not been found, according to The New York Times.
Chemical manufacturing company, Dyno Nobel, reported the missing chemicals to the US government. It issued a statement saying that it was investigating what led to the disappearance.
The company noted that the rail car carrying the chemicals was sealed when it left its manufacturing site in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and confirmed seals were intact when the train arrived in Saltdale, California.
Dyno Nobel said it believe that a "leak through the bottom gate on the rail car may have developed in transit."
The rail car has since been sent back to Wyoming for further inspection, according to the company.
“We take this matter seriously and will work to understand how it happened and how it can be prevented from occurring again,” a spokesperson for Dyno Nobel said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily News.
A spokesperson for rail carrier Union Pacific said that Dyno Nobel's investigation was still in its "early stages," noting that if the chemicals did leak out of the rail car, it is intended for use in soil and can be absorbed without harm.
“The fertilizer is designed for ground application and quick soil absorption,” spokesperson Kristen South said. “If the loss resulted from a rail car leak over the course of transportation from origin to destination, the release should pose no risk to public health or the environment.”
The company said it does not believe theft or malicious activity was to blame for the disappearance of the chemicals.
The Federal Railroad Administration and the California Public Utilities Commission are also investigating the incident, according to KQED.
Ammonium nitrate can be used as an explosive when combined with pressure, heat and a fuel source. Mining and construction companies sometimes use the chemical in that capacity, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The chemical was used in explosives in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and in the 2011 bombings in Delhi, India.
The chemical is more typically used as a fertilizer or in cold packs found in first aid kits.
