Sounds more like the phorphorus flash product than the nitrocellulose.  Unless the nitrocellulose flash paper was in a closed container if probably couldn't do that.   I had to do expert witness to get a young man out of jail who was being held as a terrorist.  He was playing with the phosphorus product and blew off most of one hand. He was planning to be come a magician. That dream was dead.

That was in California, too, Santa Rosa.

Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist

President:  Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.

Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE

181 Thompson St., #23

New York, NY 10012     212-777-0062

actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com   www.artscraftstheatersafety.org

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bret Mayo <bret.mayo**At_Symbol_Here**NDSU.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Tue, Jan 24, 2017 10:04 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Pyrotechnics in the Teaching Lab

There was an incident at one of our institutions here last year - in some respects similar to the Texas Tech incident.  I don't want to share details, but a small quantity of flash powder detonated with a force strong enough to shatter one of those one inch thick phenolic laboratory benchtops and caused life-changing injury.  Even if it were worth the logistical hassle, it is not worth the risk to staff and students, in my opinion.

 

Bret Mayo

Associate Director of Environmental Health and Safety

NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Office Phone:  701-231-6299

Cell Phone:  701-238-2720

Email Address:  bret.mayo**At_Symbol_Here**ndsu.edu
https://www.ndsu.edu/police_safety/

 

 

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU] On Behalf Of Melissa Anderson
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2017 7:18 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Pyrotechnics in the Teaching Lab

 

We're in the process of converting one of our introductory chemistry classes into a project-based curriculum. One of the ideas that's getting tossed around is a project built up around movie special effects, and the subject of pyrotechnics and other fire effects came up.

 

One spirited discussion later, we (well, some of us) were left wondering about the safety and legal constrains of creating theatrical pyrotechnics as part of a chemistry lab project. In particular, I know that fireworks are 100% illegal in our city, which seems to imply that anything involving flash powder-type reactions might not only be dangerous, but illegal. However, I'd like to bring more than my own initial bias to our next meeting.

 

I'd like to be able to bring some insights back to the group on:

 

1) What kind of evidence exists for or against the legality and safety of such a project? (i.e. laws, anecdotes, case studies, etc.)

 

2) Is this idea, overall, worth the logistical hassle?

 

3) Are there some particularly good alternatives that would have the same "wow" factor (i.e. allows students to experiment with variables and has a neat effect) but with decreased risk.

 

Any suggestions or insights would be most welcome!

 

Melissa Anderson

Chemistry Instructor

Pasadena City College

Pasadena, CA

--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org