An example of devastating accidents occurred in the US state of Iowa on May 16 earlier this year. A freight train transporting fertilizer in no less than 47 wagons then derailed and several of the wagons also started to burn. Less than a day before, another freight train with 28 carriages derailed in Minnesota. It carried, among other things, hydrochloric acid, which is an important ingredient for fertilizer.
These are just two of the unusually high number of accidents that have affected manufacturers and transports of fertilizers in the past year. An American train driver with over 30 years of experience commented that “we have more derailments with fertilizer trains this year than during my entire professional time”.
But CF Industries has been plagued by manufacturing plant shutdowns. As Free West Media explains:
In Louisiana, is CF Industries’ largest ammonia factory in the world, but it was closed down for safety reasons the day before [hurricane] Ida struck, but could not resume production after it had passed due to the power outage.
A couple of examples are two factories in the UK, one in Billingham and one in Cheshire, which closed in mid-September. The two plants account for no less than around 45 percent of domestic demand. Industry insiders have pointed out how they found it strange that these were owned by CF Industries.
Instead of compensating for delays due to the hurricane, CF chose to close two more factories two weeks later.
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