WINNIPEG (Reuters) — North America’s regulations for handling ammonium nitrate, are the strictest in the world, the chief executive officer of Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien Ltd said on Tuesday.
An ammonium nitrate stockpile exploded Aug. 4 in Beirut, killing at least 171 people, injuring 6,000 and leaving a quarter of a million people homeless.
Nutrien, the world’s biggest fertilizer maker, produces ammonium nitrate at Redwater, Alta., for the mining industry, CEO Chuck Magro said. The company does not sell ammonium nitrate for agricultural use, and the industrial chemical is a small part of the company’s overall business, he said.
“I strongly believe that what we’re doing here to produce this product, that is needed for the mining industry, is very well-handled in Canada,” Magro said.
