You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (August 2010) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 AZF from city center, 4 or 5 km (through tourist public telescope) | |
 | |
| Date | 21 September 2001 |
|---|---|
| Venue | AZF factory |
| Location | Toulouse, France |
| Type | Explosion (~20–30 tons of TNT) |
| Cause | Sodium dichloroisocyanurate and ammonium nitrate mishandling and reaction |
| Deaths | 31 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 2,500 |
On 21 September 2001, an explosion occurred at the AZF (French initialism for AZote Fertilisant, i.e. nitrogen fertiliser) fertiliser factory in Toulouse, France, belonging to Grande Paroisse, a subsidiary of Total.
Three hundred tonnes of ammonium nitrate was stored (the maximum capacity was 2,000 tonnes) in hangar 221 222.[1] The entire factory was destroyed, making a crater with a depth of about 7 metres (23 ft) and a diameter of 40 metres (130 ft).[1] Steel girders were found 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away from the explosion site.[2] The blast measured 3.4 on the Richter scale,[3] with an estimated power equivalent to 20-40 tons of TNT.[1] The explosion was heard up to 100 km (62 mi) away, with the sound of the explosion audible as far away as in Canejan, Spain 90 km (56 mi) south of Toulouse.[4][5] Due to the acoustics of the hills and the loud sound, the explosion was reported as occurring in multiple places. Police at first believed that at least five bombs had simultaneously gone off. There is still controversy over the exact number of explosions.[according to whom?]
The factory was close to the city: one of the most inhabited areas, Le Mirail, is 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away. Around 10 percent of the inhabitants of Toulouse had to be evacuated.[6]
Victims
editThe disaster caused 31 deaths, about 30 seriously wounded, and 2,500 light casualties.[7] Two thirds of the city's windows were shattered, causing 70 eye wounds.[citation needed] The total damages paid by insurance groups exceeded 1.5 billion euros.[citation needed]
Investigation
editThis section needs to be updated. (August 2020) |
On 4 October 2001, France's then Environment Minister Yves Cochet announced that the explosion "may have been a terrorist attack" (the explosion occurred ten days after the September 11 attacks) and identified Hassan Jandoubi, a plant sub-contractor killed in the blast, as a person under investigation. French anti-terrorist authorities were prohibited by the Toulouse prosecutor from searching Jandoubi's house for five days after the incident.[8]
Police declared that Jandoubi had "possible Islamic fundamentalist sympathies", yet by the time the search was finally conducted, they said that Jandoubi's girlfriend had disposed of all traces of his clothes and photos. Authorities described the delay as damaging to the investigation.[9][10][11][12]
In May 2006, the official investigation released a final report supporting a chemical accident theory in which sodium dichlorocyanurate mixed with 500 kg (1,100 lb) of ammonium nitrate spilled on the main nitrate pile 20 minutes before the explosion.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Explosion in the AZF fertilizer plant September 21st, 2001 Toulouse France (PDF), French Ministry of Sustainable Development - DGPR / SRT / BARPI, retrieved 23 August 2025
- ^ "Boss jailed for for[sic] AZF explosion". www.connexionfrance.com. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Barbier, Pascal (2003), Urban Growth Analysis Within a High Technological Risk Area: Case of AZF Factory Explosion in Tolouse (France), Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques, archived from the original on 3 August 2020, retrieved 17 September 2010
- ^ Marlowe, Lara. "Toulouse factory blast cuts city off from rest of France as death toll rises". Irish Times. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Chaineaux, Jacques (2023). The Mechanisms of Explosions. ISBN 9781394209408.
- ^ France, Connexion (20 November 2009). "No blame for AZF deadly explosion". www.connexionfrance.com. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ government report (archive)
- ^ Paul Seabright What Explosion? London Review of Books Nov 1 2001
- ^ Paul Seabright AZF: L'enquête assassinée AZF: l'enquête assassinée
- ^ Anti-Terror probe into French blast Archived 2007-11-03 at the Wayback Machine CNN 4 Oct 2001
- ^ Explosion in France may have been Terrorism Archived 2007-12-16 at the Wayback Machine The Michigan Daily, 5 Oct 2001
- ^ Terrorism link to French explosion The Guardian 5 October 2001
Further reading
edit- (in French) Daniel Dissy : "AZF-Toulouse, Quelle vérité ?", 2006, ISBN 2-915681-30-9, Library of Congress Control No : 2007370387.
- (in French) Franck Hériot & Jean-Christian Tirat : "AZF: L'enquête assassinée", Plon. ISBN 978-2-259-20824-6
- (in French) Daniel Dissy : "AZF, l'Enquête secrète - Le Mystère de la Trace Noire ou comment AZF a explosé", éditions des Traboules, Paris, 2009, ISBN 2-915681-99-6.
External links
edit
- (in French) Unofficial AZF website
- (in English) AZF -a judicial fiasco ? (French News, 8.Oct.2008)
- (in French) AZF: L'enquête assassinée
- (in French) Le Dossier AZF by Daniel Dissy
