Govt eases rules for ammonium nitrate, calcium carbide to improve safety

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Tuesday said that India has eased ammonium nitrate and calcium carbide rules in order to improve their safety measures in storage and transportation.

This was done in the backdrop of the lessons learnt from the deadly Beirut explosion that killed about 140 people in August 2020. Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored at Beirut’s port for six years that detonated last year.

There was a need to look at the rules to enhance safety, so that such incidents do not happen in India, Sumita Dawra, additional secretary,