Propane Terrorists?

FBI probes thefts of 100 propane tanks in Denver area, fearing terrorists

The FBI is investigating the reported thefts of scores of propane cylinders in the Denver area, a crime spree that has raised fears of a terrorist attack.

Propane terrorists, criminals, anarchists or your federal politician? With the possession of propane which one do you fear and why?

"I think I'll buy that SUV now, the one with the bullet proof glass and dual sided air bags"

Just a thought..

they could be just taking them for fear of a terrorist attack that would destroy water / electricity & gas supplies.

Stock pilling against a possible attack is a normal thing to do. this happened in WW2.

Just a theory...

Doubtfull...just sounds like easy places to rob to me...100 cylinders? cmon.
Fear for the machine, fear for the machine...

What kind of crazy rubbish is that?

People always manage to link things to terrorists today.

Sure question things and be paranoid sometimes but thinking everything is to do with terrorism is not good.

Once people are like that, the 'terrorists' have achieved a goal; to have inspired fear.

There have been warnings issued about stationary propane tanks being targets. Without getting too "sensitive" has anyone looked into what kind of damage a gas station or similar sized tank would cause? I mean does someone just shoot the tank or what? I'm always kind of nervous when I'm near one of the refill tanks at the gas station because I just have this mental picture of some sniper getting ready to shoot the tank as I walk by. Though I guess if it were that easy, terrorist-types would already be doing it, right?

My dad and I were discussing the annoying terrorism threats this morning, among other things, and I told him about the crop duster (plane) that was stolen in Mexico, and that's when he told me about the propane tanks being stolen. I told him I would read about it here when I got home, but it took a little bit to see something pop up about it.

Anyways, he said that the military has used propane bombs before. The gas is heavier than the air; It just sinks and is ignited. POOF!!

Personally, I don't see how that much can be stolen w/out someone noticing [i[something going on. How would they have carried it out? Unnoticed cargo plane!!

Guess I'll have to wait to find out.....

I think it's terrorists with a lot of hamburgers and hotdogs to grill...all that planning and mixing of chemicals makes for hungry work!!!

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO @BBQ'S

Good reply

IMHO this is bull. It's 1500 kg (3000 lbs) of relatively low density stuff, real awkward to lug around and likely to cause suspision when you try to move it. What's more, you have to mix it with oxygen (air) to make it effective, and this is hardly under control if you just release the gas. The energy yield will be suboptimal. You'll also probably suffocate yourself doing so (gas mask won't help).

So if there are terrorists dumb enough to attempt it, they'll be basically fighting the terror, by eliminating themselves in the process of creating a moderate size fire.

Now I'm craving BBQ

But seriously, if propane tanks or trucks are enough of a worry to issue alerts about (not just the news item about smaller tanks being stolen) there must be some way propane can be used for a bigger malfeasance. Or would it be just the general mayhem of having a tank fire or something?

Folks,

Although it seems humorous, i assure you this is no laughing matter when it comes to the destruction capabilities of propane. Anyone with an anarchist cook book can easily souce how to build a potenent propane bomb.

Not only that, but the canister serves a greater purpose.

Marwan Ben-Ahmed is a big terrorist fish

They now believe Ben-Ahmed was planning to fill the propane canisters with a deadly poison gas in hopes of killing hundreds if not thousands of people and was coordinating his efforts with al-Qaeda cells in Britain and elsewhere

Read it for yourself here..

Still think it's funny?

Originally posted by syntaxer
Folks,

Although it seems humorous, i assure you this is no laughing matter when it comes to the destruction capabilities of propane. Anyone with an anarchist cook book can easily souce how to build a potenent propane bomb.

Not only that, but the canister serves a greater purpose.

Marwan Ben-Ahmed is a big terrorist fish

They now believe Ben-Ahmed was planning to fill the propane canisters with a deadly poison gas in hopes of killing hundreds if not thousands of people and was coordinating his efforts with al-Qaeda cells in Britain and elsewhere

Read it for yourself here..

Still think it's funny?

Thanks for that link. I was asking for info on how & why propane is dangerous aside from the fact it's a flammable gas under pressure. No, the danger isn't funny, but there is so much scary stuff going on lately that sometimes a little levity is a welcome break.

Saerlaith

Fine, another thing that doesn't make sense here: the canisters were stolen from different locations, and over a period of time.

If a terrorist organization was planing something, wouldn't it be less suspisious if they simply bought the stuff in portions over time until they get the desired amount?

I also don't believe they would consider pumping cyanide gas into the canisters. It's simply too dangerous for themselves, a small leak woould be deadly.

Did you ever stop and think, maybe they are broke, have no job and they were stock piling to have heat this winter. I know of alot of homes that heat on propane. But then again I guess thats too logical....

I don't know anything about the propane, but at my school, our welding tanks were seized because they "could be used for terrorism"

I think this is more a case of school administration stupidity than anything to do with the government, though.

Twenty-eight propane cylinders have been stolen from Dal-Tile Corp. of Denver, including 10 in the past six months, said Randy Warren, operations manager at the ceramic tile manufacturer.

Because some local crack heads know they can get 3 dollars a piece for them in Mexico or somewhere else. If there were mass thefts in 20 different cities, then we may have an issue.

Dry run BBQ's?