GRIGGS v. DUKE POWER CO., (1971) No. 124 Argued: December 14, 1970 Decided: March 8, 1971
Ammonium Nitrate and fertilizers. Ammonium Nitrate is generally used as a fertilizer. It is actually sold in the form of pellets that are coated with clay. The reason why it is very popular in agriculture is because of the high nitrogen amount in this compound.
Calcium nitrate is used in fertilizers; barium and strontium nitrates are used to color fireworks and signal flares; bismuth nitrate is used in making pharmaceuticals. Most nitrates are soluble in water, and a major use of nitric acid is to produce soluble metal nitrates. All nitrates decompose when heated and may do so explosively.