A final rule on 27 CFR Part 555 was issued by the Department of Justice on Monday, April 1.
Beginning May 31, 2019, all ammonium nitrate will be subject to the § 555.220 Table of Distances when stored within the sympathetic detonation distances of high explosives and blasting agents listed under the table at § 555.220. Ammonium nitrate explosive mixtures that are high explosives pursuant to § 555.202(a), or are defined as a blasting agent pursuant to § 555.11, will be subject both to the table of distances for storage of explosives materials at § 555.218 and to the § 555.220 Table of Distances.
“The Department of Justice is amending the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to remove the reference to an outdated guidance document in an explanatory note following the table of separation distances of ammonium nitrate and blasting agents from explosives or blasting agents. This final rule also clarifies that those separation distance requirements apply to all ammonium nitrate,” states a summary from the Federal Register, Vol. 84, No. 62.
For more information contact, Denise Brown, Enforcement Programs and Services, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives at (202) 648-7070.