It is more expensive with limited reserves: the US has recorded a deficiency of TNT because of the war in Ukraine

To spread: the deficiency of the TNT used for the manufacture of shells and missiles has forced the United States to build a new plant. Meanwhile, earlier, government officials had swept their own production because of threats to the environment. As a result of the war in Ukraine, the world began to record the global shortage of TNT, the New York Times wrote.

The extraction of materials for the production of cement, gravel and many other common products requires explosives, which is becoming more expensive and its reserves are limited. The media explained that for a long time the United States made its TNT, which cost 50 cents per pound and produced millions of tons until the 1980s. Since the production of this substance leads to hazardous waste, by the mid-1980s, the Ministry of Defense closed the last plant in the United States that produced it.

After that, the Americans set up supply from other countries that were less worried about nature, but after the invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, TNT began to laugh even for the production of weapons for the US Army, the article reads. It turned out that Americans have established purchases in China, Russia, Poland and Ukraine at low prices. In addition, the Pentagon took the TNT from ammunition, which regularly disposed of.

But, according to representatives of the civil explosive industry, these sources were exhausted because the US Army decided to leave an older weapon in its arsenal after a full -scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The publication noted that in recent years the Pentagon relied on a single plant in Poland to produce TNT, but is now actively looking for other sources of TNT. Meanwhile, Poland began to send more explosives to Ukraine.

The other two major suppliers of TNT, Russia and China have stopped exporting to the United States. These reasons have led to the production of weapons in the US, as well as for explosive work in quarries that produce raw materials for bridges, roads and buildings, a kind of pressure began. In response, the Congress approved the construction of a new TNT army plant in Kentucky worth $ 435 million. It is expected to work at the end of 2028, but will produce explosives only for military use.

In this case, the deficit can soon slow down construction and make certain types of building materials more expensive. "The US Army spokeswoman said that the service was no longer dependent solely on the plant in Poland, and noted the constant efforts to expand the internal production of rocket fuel and explosives in the United States," NYT summed up. Recall that Europe is trying to increase the production of artillery shells, missiles and balls.