Mounties revisit truck explosive case

VANCOUVER — A week before the Olympics, the Mounties have said they’re not quite sure that those missing explosives have really been accounted for.

Friday, the RCMP said that they’re still investigating how two tons of ammonium nitrate went awol from a shipment being transported by Kinder Morgan, one of the biggest pipeline and energy-storage companies in North America.

Until Friday, the lost explosive material had been deemed a clerical error.

The most recent announcement, according to media reports, opens the possibility that the material — the key ingredient used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed more than 600 people as well as in the plans of the Toronto 18 — might really be unaccounted for.

Quick back story: Kinder Morgan contacted the Mounties on December 31, reporting that they couldn’t account for two bags out of a 6,000-bag shipment that arrived at its Vancouver facility from Alberta.

The fertilizer was manufactured by Calgary-based Agrium, then shipped to a bagging facility owned by Calgary-based Dyno Nobel, which serves the mining industry. Then, it was sent to Vancouver by truck.

RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Annie Linteau said the RCMP’s threat level for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games remains low and that authorities do not plan to change the threat level as a result of this investigation.

No doubt, though, that trucks in the area might receive some extra scrutiny until authorities are sure the materials have been accounted for.