1969912 0 #1 March 8, 2009 Anyone living in the area when this happened? Over 8 million pounds of Ammonium Perchlorate, NH4ClO4, was stored at the plant and exploded as the result of a fire. The explosions were HUGE. see the video for how huge. Only 2 killed, thankfully. "The PEPCON disaster was an industrial disaster that occurred in Henderson, Nevada on May 4, 1988 at the Pacific Engineering Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) plant. The chemical fire and subsequent explosions claimed two lives, injured 372 people, and caused an estimated US$100 million of damage." Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJVOUgCm5Jk. Note the shockwaves stirring up dust along the ground and how far away the camera was. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEPCON_disaster "Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ." -NickDG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtval 0 #2 March 9, 2009 20 years ago there wasnt much in las vegas. NOW, if that happened in the same place there'd be a lot of dead and burned people. It was interesting to hear about it from people who lived there when it exploded.My photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969912 0 #3 March 9, 2009 I looked at a recent satellite image of the area where PEPCON used to be and it's pretty densely populated with buildings now. "Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ." -NickDG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LongWayToFall 0 #4 March 9, 2009 BOOOOM. Lots of energy being unleashed right there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bozo 0 #5 March 9, 2009 I was there and watched it happen. I worked for Nevada Dept of Transportation at the time. They sent my crew to shut down the hiway leading into Henderson while the gasline was burning in case of a "gas" explosion. No one told us that the AP could or would explode. When it did...me and two other guys were standing on the opposite side of our truck from the site. We were two miles away when the first boom went off. We thought the world had come to an end. The initial bast scared the shit out of us as we hunkered down behind our 1 ton Chevy.....the big blast blew the windshield in on the truck..AT 2 MILES AWAY ! We were peppered with sand but unhurt. At our roadblock people coming from the area of the blast , the paint was gone off the side of their cars and trucks, windows were gone and almost all of them had cuts , abrasions and bruises from the windows blowing in on them. It was quite a big deal. bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969912 0 #6 March 9, 2009 QuoteI was there and watched it happen. I worked for Nevada Dept of Transportation at the time. They sent my crew to shut down the hiway leading into Henderson while the gasline was burning in case of a "gas" explosion. No one told us that the AP could or would explode. When it did...me and two other guys were standing on the opposite side of our truck from the site. We were two miles away when the first boom went off. We thought the world had come to an end. The initial bast scared the shit out of us as we hunkered down behind our 1 ton Chevy.....the big blast blew the windshield in on the truck..AT 2 MILES AWAY ! We were peppered with sand but unhurt. At our roadblock people coming from the area of the blast , the paint was gone off the side of their cars and trucks, windows were gone and almost all of them had cuts , abrasions and bruises from the windows blowing in on them. It was quite a big deal. Betcha never forget that day! "Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ." -NickDG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #7 March 10, 2009 Aw come on now, there's a college perfessor here that swears that this rocket motor stuff ain't dangerous at all! By gosh, people buying the substance shouldn't oughta be subjected to the humiliation of any kind of regulations. Harmless stuff! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LongWayToFall 0 #8 March 10, 2009 It is harmless. You are talking about a couple lbs versus thousands. Does anyone know how much of it you need to make a detonation? Rocket motors are built to not detonate. I used to be involved with model rockets, and the feds are cracking down like fuck on the hobby. You tell me that the motors need to have a shitload of regulations, and I'll tell you that aads need to be checked by TSA on every flight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joeyk 0 #9 March 14, 2009 I wasn't here when it happened, but my first house was less than a mile from that spot. I'm waiting for Timet to blow now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
