Russian industrial explosion, RT tries to spin it as above ground nuke test

[Balog]

Oh Russia Today, you're even more of a communist propaganda outlet than MSNBC. Trying to make a major industrial accident out to be a saber rattling propaganda victory is even ballsier than pretending an SU-24 flying over a ship has a magic physics defying EW package that made a bunch of sailors clinically depressed. Pretty big boom, I wonder what went up? Oil refinery maybe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4dgmLNGDI3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf4yRL7nOTM&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOwTSzjC6Ew&feature=youtu.be

[Sergeant Bob]

Kind of hard to tell from the first two videos but, in the third video, it appears there might have been a couple of smaller explosions prior to the big one.
Leads me to believe it was an industrial accident.

[Balog]

Kind of hard to tell from the first two videos but, in the third video, it appears there might have been a couple of smaller explosions prior to the big one.
Leads me to believe it was an industrial accident.

Yeah, I've also seen a lot of meteor speculation but I think industrial accident is way more likely.

[TommyGunn]

Hasn't Russia already obtained its quota of meteors for the decade?   

[griz]

As big as that was it was still within a few miles of the camera.  The residents will know what used to be at that site, even if they parrot the "test" line for international interviews.

[dogmush]

Hell, everyone will know the next time Google Earth updates their imagery.

[MechAg94]

Some kind of fire lit up the sky.  

I have seen facility flare stacks open up like that, but not quite that big.  I was also thinking about a pipeline leak/fire or some sort of natural gas leak, maybe even a salt dome.  I am not sure if those would behave like that or not.  There was a natural gas salt dome leak and explosion near Brenham, TX in the early 90's that blew up with a big fuel air explosion, but it was day time so I don't know if it was that bright.

[230RN]

I used to keep an eye on the U.S. dot-gov earthquake sites and was a little suspicious about the occasional >3.0  then-Richter-scale "mining operations" in Montana and Wyoming.  Seemed like a lot of energy just from busting up rocks up there.

Then along came the Pepcon explosions near Henderson, NV, which registered 3.0 and 3.5 on that Richter scale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMofeKl4hpY

There was a sequence of explosions in that one, as noted in the link.

Then I heard about the "BLEVEs" in this one, which also had a series of explosions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf3WKTwHpIU

So it's not too unusual to have a couple of boomies in the same industrial accident.

Like Sergeant Bob, I don't think this was an "underground nuclear test" because (A) I don't think one would light up the sky like that, and (B) I don't think there would be a sequence of boomies unless the conventional explosives failed to ignite the fission/fusion process right away (unlikely).

The big explosion in North Korea a couple of years ago engendered the same kind of suspicion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanggang_explosion

(I'm just referencing that one without expressing an opinion.)

Terry, 230RN

REFs ("BLEVEs", "New" Richter Scale):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_liquid_expanding_vapor_explosion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_magnitude_scale

[Brad Johnson]

Nuke would (or at leas should) produce an expanding fireball of superheated air that will visibly glow for much longer than what's shown in the vid. I second the industrial accident hypothesis.

Second vid seems to show a ground flare of some kind towards the end of the vid. Overhead flare looks to be light reflected off the cloud base.

Whatever it was, a big-adz something went "poof", nuke or otherwise.

Brad

[HankB]

I used to keep an eye on the U.S. dot-gov earthquake sites and was a little suspicious about the occasional >3.0  then-Richter-scale "mining operations" in Montana and Wyoming.  Seemed like a lot of energy just from busting up rocks up there.

I remember seeing a show about mining operations - they use a series of MANY charges, and they deliberately induce a delay between them so they don't get a single big bang that might mimic the seismic footprint of a small nuclear test; they said they did it that way because of "nuclear test ban treaty" provisions.

As for the Russian video - industrial or military accident (conventional munitions) is my guess. Not without precedent - the Russkies had a pretty big blast in the '80s when their missile stockpile blew up at their Northern Fleet naval base.   http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/11/world/soviet-naval-blast-called-crippling.html

[Doggy Daddy]

...   Then along came the Pepcon explosions near Henderson, NV, which registered 3.0 and 3.5 on that Richter scale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMofeKl4hpY   ...

I remember that one pretty well.  I was in downtown LV, "resting" upstairs at the DTC (Downtown Transportation Center) when the shock wave hit.  I jumped up and looked out the window.  Saw the big mushroomy-type cloud and thought it had hit the fan.

[Scout26]

If it was a nuke, then Russia violated the Test Ban treaty.   

So I think we can rule that out.   I'll take "Industrial Accident" for a $1000 please Alex.



I think the real reason they due the delays in mining ops has to do with not wanting to blast the ore (or overfill) all over to hell and beyond when it's easier to scoop it out if the cascade the blasts.

[tokugawa]

I remember that one pretty well.  I was in downtown LV, "resting" upstairs at the DTC (Downtown Transportation Center) when the shock wave hit.  I jumped up and looked out the window.  Saw the big mushroomy-type cloud and thought it had hit the fan.

 Good thing to wait for the shock wave to hit before looking-
 in Halifax, apparently a lot of people were inside watching the burning ammo ship in the harbor.
 When the explosion occurred, they kept looking-till the glass shards of the windows blinded them. They might have had time, if they knew, to turn away- I don't know what the distance was. 

[MechAg94]

Nuke would (or at leas should) produce an expanding fireball of superheated air that will visibly glow for much longer than what's shown in the vid. I second the industrial accident hypothesis.

Second vid seems to show a ground flare of some kind towards the end of the vid. Overhead flare looks to be light reflected off the cloud base.

Whatever it was, a big-adz something went "poof", nuke or otherwise.

Brad

A ground flare could be what it was.  If so, it was a big ground flare with a lot of high pressure gas dumped to it.

[Balog]

Good thing to wait for the shock wave to hit before looking-
 in Halifax, apparently a lot of people were inside watching the burning ammo ship in the harbor.
 When the explosion occurred, they kept looking-till the glass shards of the windows blinded them. They might have had time, if they knew, to turn away- I don't know what the distance was. 

  

[Doggy Daddy]

Good thing to wait for the shock wave to hit before looking-

Yeah, thanks.   

I'd take credit for the possibly vision preserving delayed response, except the delay was on account of my Xtreme "resting" skilz.   

[RoadKingLarry]

So, even if it was an above ground nuke test who is gonna do anything about it?

[HankB]

So, even if it was an above ground nuke test who is gonna do anything about it?

We'd probably send them a harshly-worded note.

[griz]

We'd probably send them a harshly-worded note.

As harsh as it can be while being respectful.

[Scout26]

How about a red "reset" button?