A natural earthquake caused the explosion at the AZF fertilizer factory.

• A. True
• B. Not sure
• C. False
• D. There was an industrial accident

Answer: (C)

Determining whether an industrial blast is caused by a natural event or by internal process hazards is about the initiating cause. For the AZF fertilizer plant, the explosion occurred after a fire in or near a facility storing ammonium nitrate, which then detonated. There is no evidence of an earthquake triggering this incident, so attributing the blast to a natural earthquake is not correct. Since the root cause was an industrial accident involving storage and ignition of a reactive chemical, the statement is not true. This case highlights how hazardous materials like ammonium nitrate can produce massive explosions when processed or stored improperly, emphasizing the difference between natural events and internal process hazards in risk analysis.