Fears over 'hazardous' fertiliser

Ammonium nitrate is already stored in warehouses at Shoreham

Residents near a West Sussex port are concerned about a plan to increase storage capacity for a farm fertiliser which is also used in terrorist bombs.

Shoreham Port, which already stores up to 1,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in its warehouses, wants permission to increase the capacity to 2,800 tonnes.

The substance is classed as hazardous and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recommended refusal.

The port has said its security systems exceed the legal national requirements.

It wants to store the ammonium nitrate brought in by sea in a shed before it is taken on to farmers by road.

Sussex Police raised no objection and an officer from the National Anti-Terrorist Unit who inspected the site said there were no security issues.

AMMONIUM NITRATE - THE FACTS Millions of tons produced each year for use as fertiliser Sales of the fertiliser are tightly restricted in the EU Mining companies mix small amounts of explosive grade ammonium nitrate with fuel oil to create explosives It is "not impossible" to make explosives with fertiliser grade Used in several IRA bombings Also used in the Bali and Oklahoma City bombings Source: New Scientist What is ammonium nitrate?

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service did not object, but said that if a fire occurred, it would treat it as a "potential explosive situation".

Crews would not operate within a 400m cordon and there would be a likely gas cloud which would require the evacuation of a large residential area and closure of the A259 and railway.

Michael Allen, of residents' group the Southwick Society, said people were "very concerned" about the proposal.

"This is a very volatile substance if not treated properly," he said.

"There is 24-hour surveillance with video cameras but they are only good for recording what has happened - not raising the alert.

"If people were trying to break in, or if there was terrorist activity, I doubt whether they would raise the alarm."

Counter-terrorism expert Garth Whitty said the fertiliser was inert under normal conditions and would be unlikely to explode even in the event of a fire.

"It requires a detonator to cause an explosion," he said.

The port said in a statement it used a private security firm to patrol the site several times every 24 hours.

It also said it had installed CCTV cameras, which was beyond the legal security requirement.

Adur District Council, whose planning committee first considered the application in September, has deferred a decision until January to await a further report from the HSE.