I think Mark’s point with hasty production ramp up sounds more plausible.

Hi Mark
“Whatever the actual cause of the munitions explosion, these are war casualties.”

I agree with that! he ramping up of this type of production, when it’s not usually done by these makers ( lack of experience) for the expansion of war in multiple theaters is exposing workers to harm.

“”I see it as the war coming to their homeland, play with dangerous toys and get burned.””

War comes home in many ways, for sure- hadn’t thought in those terms, but, once I read what you wrote, it’s seems so obvious and yet so easily missed. Including by myself
Thanks

Nope it’s not always- the place the phosphine is made doesn’t have that distant of a parking lot- In the case of TNT, just starting the cars engines would be super risky

The Trump regime has initiated a rapid ramping up in the production of destructive arms and ammunition to feed the meat grinders in Palestine, the Ukraine and eventually Iran. The explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems (not so accurate) might be due to a hasty expansion of production, perhaps the addition of a second or third shift. Such addition of new workers often has a negative effect on safety standards.

I see it as the war coming to their homeland, play with dangerous toys and get burned.

And yeah that is some dangerous material specially since its colorless, wouldn’t approach that without suitable gear.

Hey Kaz
did you notice the images of this facility- the distance between the parking lot and the main building?- that caught my eye!

Hubby has previously worked (thankfully that was quite a few years ago and he’s never been back) in a place that manufactures this product – Phosphine
Check the hazard chart?

https://www.acs.org/molecule-of-the-week/archive/p/phosphine.html

Thanks for a thorough explanation.

I was thinking that through drug cartels they might attempt to sabotage US weapon production. But that might be far fetched….

Accident by using a more riskier production method does seem more likely.

I see they deal with TNT- from what little I know of this explosive it’s unstable- I’d be more inclined to believe this is an accident based on that fact.

“TNT is unstable because it contains a high-energy structure with three nitro groups (\(NO_{2}\)) on a toluene molecule, creating strain from the proximity and repulsion of the electron groups. This chemical strain means the molecule can release a large amount of energy if initiated, but it is not so unstable that it detonates spontaneously”

https://archive.ph/xBcHh

“An explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, a company in Hickman County, Tenn., that produces explosives and demolition charges for the U.S. military and the domestic blasting industry, underscores the dangers inherent in the fabrication and storage of such material.
Aerial videos of the site show numerous small fires burning amid rubble, along with what appear to be dozens of small neon-green canisters on the ground.
According to the Accurate Energetic Systems website, the company produces TNT, or trinitrotoluene, which is one of the most commonly used explosives for military and commercial applications.
Photos on the company’s website show that one of the products made at its Hickman County plant is a series of booster charges made of TNT encased in small cylinders that are similarly bright green. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TNT booster charges play a key role in commercial blasting and quarrying, as they are the most common method of initiating massive columns of ammonium-nitrate-based explosives to break apart tens or hundreds of thousands of tons of rock at a time.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the mass production of explosive weapons like artillery shells, missiles and rockets by Russia and countries arming Ukraine has made TNT more scarce in the United States, forcing prices for the explosive to rise.”

It seems this company has recently started manufacturing or manufacturing more using an unstable process???

“Accurate Energetic Systems advertises that it can complete the loading, assembly and packing of explosive charges and munitions, which typically involves melting flakes of explosives in a heated kettle and pouring the molten material into munitions casings or molds that are then carefully cooled until it solidifies.

“*****”That process is considered highly dangerous, as particles of explosives can become airborne and can be highly sensitive to heat, shock, friction and electrostatic discharges.”******”

-Leaning even more towards an accident in the process

For that reason, workers in so-called melt-pour facilities usually wear respirators to keep such particles out of their airways as well as protective clothing made of natural fibers that will not produce static electricity.

– was the right protective clothing being used?

“Workers in those areas are also generally **prohibited from carrying personal electronics, out of concern that a camera or cellphone could inadvertently cause airborne explosive particles to burn or blow up and lead to a mass detonation** of the material being handled inside.”

Did someone use a cellphone/camera?
Were they appropriately monitoring levels of chemicals in the air?

Hubby’s worked in a few chemical places- can attest to the no phone/camera policy- and hates places like that because the chance of something going wrong and becoming very bad, very quick is cause for a great deal of concern!!