EditorialSara Wigginton, a microbiologist at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center, works with samples of water and nitrate at the center in Sandwich, Mass., Dec. 5, 2022. (Sophie Park/The New York Times)
EditorialThe Yara Pilbara nitrate plant on Burrup Peninsula — called Murujuga by Aboriginal people — in Australia, Aug. 16, 2022. (Matthew Abbott/The New York Times)
EditorialWidespread devastation on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, days after tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/The New York Times)
EditorialA funeral in Beirut on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, for a victim of last week’s explosion when tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/The New York Times)
EditorialWidespread devastation on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, days after tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/The New York Times)
EditorialWidespread devasation on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, days after tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/The New York Times)