In view of the fact that high explosives were produced in such enormous quantities and that it was necessary to carry on these tremendous manufacturing operations with an inexperienced force, the toll of life taken in the production was remarkably small. Only two explosions of any magnitude occurred in plants where explosives were manufactured and both of these took place in T. N. T. producing plants. One of these happened at Oakdale, Pa., in the plant of the Aetna Explosives Co. in May, 1918. This cost the lives of 100 persons. The other took place on July 2, 1918, at Split Rock, N.Y., in the plant of Semet-Solvay Co., where 60 people lost their lives. At the time of the explosions neither of these plants was operating on War Department contracts.
Before the great war about 58,000,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate used in the manufacture of commercial explosives were being produced annually in this country, at an average cost of about 12 cents a pound. By January, 1917, the commercial explosives manufacturers had extended their facilities so that they had increased their production by 1,700,000 pounds monthly. This expansion, however, was insufficient to meet our demands, and a Government ammonium nitrate plant was erected at Perryville, Md. This plant was operated under the supervision of the Atlas Powder Co., who also cooperated in its erection.
It did this manufacturing under the Brunner-Mond process that was developed in England under the patents of Capt. Freeth. Under this process ammonium nitrate is produced by the double decomposition of ammonium sulphate and sodium nitrate.
In December, 1917, the Atlas people detailed several technical men to go to England and study the Brunner-Mond process as carried on there. In 1918 these men returned to the United States and prepared designs as a result of the information they had gained abroad.
Ground was broken for the plant at Perryville March 8, 1918, and it was in production by July 15. This plant is a large one, of excellent construction, and absolutely fireproof, as is necessary because of the nature of the work conducted in it. Because of the type of the building the rapidity of its construction may well be classed as phenomenal. Even while the plant was being put up, experimental work of a highly technical nature was being carried on.
At the time of the signing of the armistice production of ammonium nitrate at the Perryville plant had reached 452,000 pounds a day, and this was greatly in excess of that being obtained at the English plant of a similar size that had been in operation for months before ground had been broken for our American plant.
Each of the Government-owned nitrogen fixation plants at Muscle Shoals, Ala., and Sheffield, Ala., was also equipped to produce ammonium nitrate by neutralization. Our total capacity from all sources at the time of the signing of the armistice was 20,000,000 pounds monthly. Ammonium nitrate is the one material in the field of explosives that shows an increase in price over that of normal times. The average cost of this substance used for military purposes was 17½ cents a pound. There were on hand 60,500,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate on November 11, 1918.
Picric acid as such is not used by this country directly for military purposes. But it is one of the raw materials used in producing ammonium picrate, or explosive D, and in the manufacture of the poisonous gas known as chlorpicrin.