Ammonium Nitrate found in backpack in Arlington Cemetery -

[vaskidmark]

- maybe.  

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-news/2011/jun/18/TDMET03-marine-reservist-in-custody-after-pentagon-ar-1116614/

Marine Reservist, a naturalized citizen from Ethiopia, found in Arlington Cemetery.

The telling quotes from the story:
1) Melaku had a bag with a substance that at least initially appeared to be ammonium nitrate, which can be used in explosives with the correct concentration, according to a law-enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the investigation. The chemical compound is also widely used in fertilizers.

But the official said there was nothing in the bag that could have detonated or resulted in an explosion.

2) "I can tell you this was not a device and that the products in the backpack are inert," said Brenda Heck, special agent in charge of the counterterrorism unit at the FBI's Washington field office.

3) Melaku remained in the custody of the U.S. Park Police as investigators in protective white suits and bomb-sniffing dogs went through his brick town home in suburban Washington and removed evidence.

I swear to <insert diety of choice> that everything these days is part of a terrorist plot, even when it is totally unrelated to terrorism.

Admittedly the jerk does not sound like he is long for a career in the USMCR, but that's got nothing to do with ZOMG IT'SABOMB!eleventy111

stay safe.

[Lanius]

Admittedly the jerk does not sound like he is long for a career in the USMCR,

Maybe not the USMC, but did you know the Al-Qaeda African embassy attacks were planned and surveilled by an ex-green beret who was honorably discharged as an sergeant in 1989?

[vaskidmark]

Maybe not the USMC, but did you know the Al-Qaeda African embassy attacks were planned and surveilled by an ex-green beret who was honorably discharged as an sergeant in 1989?

Yes.

It is this

Melaku was arrested last month in Leesburg on grand larceny charges, accused of damaging a series of cars and stealing items from them

that is going to get the Lance Corporal a general or less discharge.

Now, can we focus on the ZOMG ammonium nitrate that was not, and the hazmat-suited goons going through his apartment?

stay safe.

[Lanius]

People are so hysterical that if someone spills a bag of flour somewhere, they bring out hazmat suits..

[230RN]

The chemical compound is also widely used in fertilizers.

It's also used in cold packs. It has the property of getting real cold when dissolved in water -an endothermic reaction when it dissolves.  Most of the cold packs, where you break a bag of water inside them to get them cold, contain NH4NO3.

To illustrate how dissoving stuff in water can generate or absorb heat, when you dissolve sodium hydroxide (common lye) in water, it gets very hot --an exothermic reaction.

Common knowledge for the common chemist.

The way the story reads, it sorta sounds like that's what it might have been, but this is just an hypothesis to explain their squirrely wording.

Like it was a big secret or something.  Feh.

Maybe the miscreant had a sore toe.