10-year effort leads to bomb-safe fertilizer.

• Author: Magnuson Stew, Parsons Dan
• Position: Homeland Security News

In the late 1990s, Honeywell researchers stumbled upon a molecule that would not only make a more potent fertilizer, but it was more stable than those found in traditional nitrate-based compounds that farmers spread on their fields to increase crop yields.

They immediately saw its potential.

It had only been five years since Timothy McVeigh used about 5,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and diesel fuel to destroy the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City. Honeywell is not known as an agribusiness. Its researchers discovered the molecule while developing new flame retardant chemicals, said Murat Bleak, strategic business director of Sulf-N 26 at Honeywell Specialty Materials.

"In the lab we identified this new molecule that is much safer than nitrate fertilizers but at the same time has very very strong and effective fertilizer properties," Ricak said in an interview.

Honeywell patented the new Sulf-N 26 ammonium sulfate nitrate fertilizer, and spent a decade not only proving that it was safe and effective to use on crops, but also a viable alternative to the fertilizers that could be used for bombs.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Honeywell obtained SAFETY Act certification for the new fertilizer, which provides incentives for manufacturers to develop homeland security related products without fear of being sued in the event of a successful terrorist attack. The Department of Homeland Security grants the certification when a company can thoroughly document that the technology works as advertised. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also tested the new compound and gave it its seal of approval.

...