Pre Cursor Chemicals
The vast majority of terrorist attacks both in the UK and overseas have employed explosives against the intended targets. In the UK the robust security regime that is applied to both commercial and military explosives means that terrorists have been forced to either make their own or to smuggle them in from abroad. In fact, over 90% of terrorist attacks in the UK have used Home Made Explosive (HME). Products such as fertiliser, weed killer and hair bleach have all been used as ingredients in powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) resulting in many fatalities, injuries and damage on a massive scale.
Manchester 1996 – an IRA device, carried on a lorry was made from a mixture containing agricultural fertiliser. Manchester city was devastated by the explosion but prompt police action prevented any fatalities.
Omagh 1998 – a RIRA device, carried in a saloon car was again made from a mixture containing agricultural fertiliser. The device was detonated on a crowded shopping street killing 29 people and injuring hundreds.
London 2005 – near simultaneous attacks by a small group of Islamist extremists on the London tube and a double-decker bus using a mixture containing hydrogen peroxide. 52 innocent people died and hundreds injured, many severely.
NaCTSO together with trade associations, industry and businesses seeks to restrict access to such chemicals by a range of activities including:
‘Know Your Customer’ campaigns – these aim to raise awareness among site operators about the ‘dual-use’ nature of their products and to give basic advice about ensuring that they supply those products to known customers. The campaigns also encourage them to be more enquiring of new customers and to report suspicious enquiries to police. For an example of ‘Know Your Customer’ (Adobe PDF file, 65 Kb) .
Secure Your Fertiliser Website – www.secureyourfertiliser.gov.uk seeks to raise awareness specifically in the fertiliser and farming sectors. Supported by DEFRA, HSE, AIC and the English and Welsh Farmers’ Unions.
Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme (FIAS) – this voluntary assurance scheme, initiated by DEFRA and supported by NaCTSO seeks to address some of the security issues around fertiliser by requiring members to submit to an annual independent audit of their operations. Compliance with the scheme will ensure that members can provide evidence that they have handled fertilisers safely and securely.
‘Secure Storage of Fertiliser on Farms’ (Adobe PDF file, 1.1 Mb) (Welsh version, NI version) this leaflet, produced by NaCTSO seeks to remind farmers about the need to secure their fertiliser and to report thefts and losses promptly. It was initially posted directly to most farms across the UK and is still available from local police forces.