Senegal Seeks to Remove 2,700 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate from …

DAKAR – Office Senegal said they had asked for 2,700 tonnes ammonium nitrate moved from Dakar port, which is close to residential areas. This amount is the same as the amount of the chemical causing it big explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.

Officials said the chemical was part of a shipment weighing 3,050 tonnes destined for neighboring Mali. Port officials said 350 tonnes had been transported to the neighboring country.

The Senegalese government said the owner of the shipment had asked to store the chemical in a warehouse in Diamniadio, about 30km from Dakar.(Read: Apart from the Beirut Explosion, These Are The 5 Most Deadly Ammonium Nitrate Blasts)

However, the Senegalese Ministry of Environment has yet to approve the request, arguing that the site has not met all the requirements, including conducting environmental and social impact studies.

“We have asked the owner to arrange for the product to be transported outside of Senegal,” said one ministry official Baba Drame as quoted from BBC, Saturday (22/8/2020).

It is not clear who the owners of the items are and what they are using them for in Mali. Port officials have also not disclosed the date the shipment arrived at the port.

Moving consignments to Mali poses challenges given the current political uncertainty following the country’s recent military coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.(Read: Held hostage and armed, the President of Mali resigns)

A 2,700-ton ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut destroyed the city center, killed more than 200 people, and damaged buildings throughout the city.(Read: Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Urges International Investigation of the Beirut Blasts)

(ber)

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