Container of liquid-filled vials found in safe believed to - Local News - WRGB CBS 6 Albany 

ALBANY -- Police say a man brought into their headquarters Wednesday morning a plastic container containing what was originally thought to be a possibly hazardous substance. 

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The man said his son found the container of liquid-filled ampoules inside a safe he'd opened this morning, and was afraid it may be hazardous, according to public safety spokesperson Det. James Miller. The Albany Fire Department haz-mat team responded and removed the ampoules, and State Police took them afterward. 

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Investigat ors believe at this time the liquid may be phosgene, a chemical gas used in World War I, as well as to safeguard safes.

us_ny  discovery  response  phosgene  

Nitro-trichloromethane (nitro-chloroform, chloropicrin) has been around for a while.=C2=A0 It was used as a lachrymator and more, code Agent PS, by both sides in World War I; as deterrent for would-be safe crackers until the 1960=E2=80=99s; and as a soil and grain fumigant.=C2=A0 We have responded to commercial incidents where it was referred to as nitro-glycerin. =C2=A0=C2=A0(You know =E2=80=93 some kind of bad chemical. =C2=A0They=E2=80=99re all alike.) =C2=A0On a separate incident, an attempt was made by a bomb squad to destroy chloropicrin by open burning.=C2=A0 This would work well for nitroglycerin but not so well for nitrochloroform.=C2=A0 Several firefighters/bomb squad members were affected, severely but temporarily.=C2=A0 The involuntary reflex exposure level is about 30 parts per billion.=C2=A0 When shipping it for disposal, chloropicrin is regulated by DOT as Hazard Class 6.1, Packing Group I, Zone B.=C2=A0 This makes packaging and loading/segregation somewhat interesting.=C2=A0 Not all RCRA-regulated incinerators will accept it for disposal.

I have made a serious mistake here =E2=80=93 I am assuming since the vials of liquid were in a safe, they were chloropicrin.=C2=A0 From my experience, vials of liquids on the back of a safe door are chloropicrin.=C2=A0 I cannot imagine why anyone would use phosgene or nitroglycerine as a deterrent for safe crackers.

The reason for this message is to alert everyone.=C2=A0 We have seen that once someone gets some bad news, they call around, hoping for a different opinion.=C2=A0 The best assumptions to make are (1) the caller is not providing complete and accurate information and (2) never make assumptions.

Happy New Year

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