Ammonia Theft May Cause Releases and Injuries

Wednesday, January 24, 2001
by Karl Hartman, Ammonia PSM

A couple of young thieves trying to steal the anhydrous ammonia from a nursing tank in a cotton field in Mississippi had an accident and the pressurized gas escaped, burning them and about 25 to 30 acres of the field. "They were extracting it from the tank, and because it was pressurized, they either couldn't cap it back off or couldn't contain it in their tank," an officer said. "The chemical began to release and got on their clothes and burned them. "They stripped off their clothes and ran to a creek where the sheriff found them buck naked and arrested them," he said.

Anhydrous ammonia theft has been happening at Cross Plains Grain and Peanuts, a co-op in North Texas, for nearly a year according to owner Glenn Winfrey. "Usually we don't know right away that we've been hit, but on the morning of July 21 there was no doubt." According to Winfrey, his son Mike was driving by the company yard about 8:45 a.m. when he saw a vapor cloud. Worried that a safety relief valve had lifted on one of the anhydrous tanks, he stopped to check it out. As he came up to the yard, he saw a man emerge from a nearby creek bed covered with severe chemical burns. The man had two small propane tanks, a walkie-talkie, and a flashlight with him. Authorities believe he was attempting to flee when one of the bottles containing anhydrous ammonia exploded. He was treated for his burns, and later faced criminal charges.

Stolen ammonia can be unintentionally released, causing injuries to employees, emergency responders, and the criminals themselves. As a result of these and many other theft-related ammonia releases from agricultural product dealers and facilities with ammonia refrigeration systems, the EPA recently issued a chemical accident alert. The accidents, causing leaks and spills, have occurred for a variety of reasons: valves were left open after anhydrous ammonia was siphoned off; locks were sawed or broken; anhydrous ammonia was transferred inappropriately into makeshift containers; plugs were removed from anhydrous ammonia lines at refrigeration facilities; or the wrong hose and/or fittings were attached to storage containers. One of the real dangers of ammonia (to the thieves) is they're putting it in containers that are not safe. They use containers like gas grill propane tanks. These tanks are too thin-walled for ammonia under pressure. Another drawback is they have brass valves which are easily corroded by ammonia. Either the valve will begin to leak or it will stick and have to be broken open. Either way, the effects are potentially fatal.

Ammonia is used in the illegal production of methamphetamines, the drug known on the street as "speed," "crank," "crystal," "ice," or "go-fast." Illegal drug makers often steal anhydrous ammonia from areas where it is stored and used. Cookers subcontract "gasmen" to steal the ammonia from readily available tanks at co-ops, farms, feed stores, and refrigeration facilities. Meth producers in the northwest do not have many farmers from whom to steal - so they turn to chicken and turkey plants and cold-storage businesses. Farmers pay pennies a gallon to rent 1,000-gallon tanks. "Cookers" will pay $500 for a gallon of ammonia: They only need a few teaspoons to make a typical 4-ounce batch. Law enforcement officers say just five gallons of NH3 can be turned into 10-15 pounds of meth with a street value of nearly a half million dollars. Sgt. Kirk Beauchamp, assistant commander of the North Texas Narcotics Task Force calls NH3 theft an epidemic, he said, "Meth is the crack cocaine of the new millennium." You can smoke it, snort it, shoot it up, eat it or drink it. You can even learn from the Internet how to make it, Beauchamp said. He believes it is worse than heroin because of the effect it has on addicts. "It is going to make you do things that are totally horrific. It is the devil, causes people to hurt other people …. It makes people kill." he said. Just as worrisome is the potential liabilty to legitimate facilitites that store and/or use ammonia. That may sound far-fetched, considering that the ammonia is being taken illegally. Not so, according to a Portland attorney who recently addressed a meth awareness seminar. "It's hard to believe, but if a thief gets hurt while stealing from you, you could get sued," he said. "Unless, of course, you can show the court that you took reasonable precautions.

Common clues you've had ammonia stolen:

The ground has been disturbed around tanks, piping, or valve groupings. (Fresh tracks in mud or snow).
Valves are not closed tightly (sometimes the result of tampering)
Suspicious items have been left near the tank like duct tape, garden hose, bicycle inner tubes, buckets, flash lights, coolers, etc.

Prevention & Safety Tips:

Educate employees about the theft problem.
Keep close tabs on your ammonia inventory.
Visually inspect ammonia tanks each morning. Many thefts occur on weekends, so check tanks then as well.
Consider keeping anhydrous ammonia tanks in good lighting or along a high traffic area.
Consider installing fencing, lighting and surveillance cameras around ammonia tanks.
Consider locking up tanks with padlocks.
Don't confront or attempt to stop suspicious people yourself. Many times, anhydrous ammonia thieves are high on meth, which means they have not slept or eaten in days and are very paranoid. They are extremely dangerous.

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