Explosives in Shoes Indicate High Level of Sophistication

When the FBI revealed Friday that shoe-bomb suspect Richard C. Reid had used a volatile compound called TATP to turn his sneakers into a relatively sophisticated explosive device, it offered tantalizing clues in the bizarre case.

TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, has a history of use by terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere. The compound is considered so unstable that one expert said the sound of clapping hands could detonate it. Another expert described setting off explosions by stomping one’s foot on small quantities of TATP.

In Reid’s case, FBI testimony Friday in a Boston courtroom, combined with information supplied by other government sources, suggest the “sneaker bomb” was relatively sophisticated, though not beyond the capability of an individual acting alone.

Triacetone triperoxide is made by combining acetone, peroxide and other readily available materials. TATP is roughly equivalent to TNT in explosive power.

One government official said TATP is sensitive to heat, shock, friction, temperature changes and static electricity. Recipes for making it are available by the dozens on the Internet.

Among experts, the compound is considered too unstable to be used alone, but in small quantities it can be an effective booster or detonator component for larger quantities of other explosives.

That was how Reid apparently planned to use it, according to a senior Justice Department official.

The official said Reid’s shoes contained a potent combination of two explosives: TATP and PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate.

According to the Washington-based official, who asked not to be identified, the TATP was designed to be an igniter, or precursor explosive, and “the PETN is the basis for the explosive itself.”

A “very small quantity” of the TATP was to be lit by flame applied to a fuse or detonating cord that also was connected to the PETN, which is a plastic explosive that cannot usually be set off simply by applying fire to it, the official said.

“The fuse, which starts the process, takes you to the first chemical, which is the TATP, which would ignite the plastic [explosive], which is PETN,” the official said. The detonating cord also was “laced with PETN,” the official said, and Reid had a larger quantity of PETN than TATP.

Both chemicals are very powerful, and the combination easily could have blown a hole in the fuselage, according to law enforcement officials.

PETN is a key ingredient in Semtex, a plastic explosive that is a favorite of terrorists. Its presence in Reid’s shoes suggests an “unusual degree of sophistication,” according to a federal law enforcement official.

In its dry form, TAPT is a white powder resembling coarse salt--a fact that has led to accidents when authorities mistook it for drugs and set off explosions while performing drug tests.

Paul Turk, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said bomb detection machines at U.S. airports do not have the ability to detect TATP but that detection capability exists. “We have tested for the stuff . . . but have not deployed it [detection capability] to the field,” he said.

Another FAA official, however, said the agency plans to adjust existing equipment to be able to detect the explosive within weeks.

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Times staff writer Josh Meyer contributed to this report.