Explosive Hazards Identified during the Manufacture and Transportation of 1-Bromoacetyl-3,3-dinitroazetidine (RRx-001)

On August 4, 2020, a massive chemical detonation rocked the Port of Beirut, Lebanon. This explosion, which resulted from the accidental detonation of approximately 2750 tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate, serves as a cautionary tale and an urgent reminder to exercise extreme caution at all stages of the synthesis, handling, storage, and disposal of high-nitrogen containing energetic compounds. As a representative case study that illustrates the hazards concomitant with the use of energetic materials, an overview of the synthesis and transportation of the clinical candidate compound, 1-bromoacetyl-3,3-dinitroazetidine, or RRx-001, a derivative of the explosive 1,3,3-trinitroazetidine or TNAZ, is briefly provided herein. RRx-001 and its analogues are nitrogen heterocycles that derive their intrinsically high energy value from both oxidation and ring strain.