The reason why I am so involved in doing demo outreach is to show the world that we do not always play with fire and blow things up, but that we still enjoy what we do. I use those moments when they ask if we are going to blow things up as an educational opportunity, as well. It was funny as I watched my daughter do a workshop with a group of seventh graders today and heard her use the same words as I do as she explained that "blowing things up will only happen in our labs if something goes horribly wrong"...one of my many moments of pride.

Monique Wilhelm
Laboratory Manager
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of Michigan " Flint

-----Original Message-----
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU] On Behalf Of David Roberts
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2018 11:18 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (10 articles)

I honestly hate that question, but it is something that is often asked when I do demos. I feel there is a major disconnect between what they define as "blowing things up" vs what I define as "blowing things up". I"m pretty sure my definition would not only blow something up but also cause them to soil their britches (or something of the sorts), and so I really don"t think they are looking for that directly. I have found that baking soda/vinegar, or even just simply blowing up a balloon by placing dry ice in a test tube and putting the balloon above is enough to "thrill" them to stop asking that question. Every now and then when I"m feeling feisty I challenge them on the "blow up" question, and let them know my view of that - and that I would not want to be within a city block of any potential reaction that would cause something to blow up. But usually I refrain, and just laugh with them and move on.

But it is really hard that they feel that all chemists do is blow things up. In all honesty, beyond second semester P-chem bomb calorimetry oh so many years ago, I have yet to really blow something up (looking for wood). I truly hope I can make it a few more years without ever experiencing that feeling ;)

Take care

Dave

> On Feb 28, 2018, at 9:34 AM, Samuella Sigmann wrote:
>
> Interesting that you should say this, Monique. I just submitted a paper last night to J Chem Ed that a group of us worked on concerning the MeOH fires. The paper has the following statement in it.
>
>> Experience tells us that when a group of grade school students are asked to describe what a chemist does elicits at least one answer of "They blow stuff up". Indeed, in many outreach activities, that will be the first question we get, "Are you going to blow stuff up?"
>
> It is significant in the MeOH fire discussion because this is, in part, why teachers feel the need to perform flashy demonstrations.
> S-
>
> On 2/28/2018 8:30 AM, Wilhelm, Monique wrote:
>> Is anyone else bothered by the accounts of things in today's posts? "Only" one person injured at CSU. A student was exposed to a chemical during "normal" experiments.
>>
>> .....no wonder the public seems to think that because I am a chemist I just blow things up all the time!!! Sorry for the rant...but it is a week of outreach demos and I keep hearing this from the kids over and over.
>>
>> Monique Wilhelm
>> Laboratory Manager
>> Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry University of Michigan " Flint
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [
>> mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU ] On Behalf Of DCHAS Membership Chair
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2018 7:43 AM
>> To:
>> DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
>>
>> Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (10 articles)
>>
>> Article summaries are also available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
>>
>>
>> Table of Contents (10 articles)
>>
>> NOTRE DAME CLEARS BUILDING AFTER SMALL EXPLOSION IN LABORATORY
>> Tags: us_IN, laboratory, explosion, injury, acid
>>
>> CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL FOUND IN SOME SANTA ROSA DRINKING WATER
>> Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, benzene
>>
>> KANSAS MAN SUING AFTER E-CIG BATTERY CAUGHT FIRE IN POCKET
>> Tags: us_KS, public, explosion, injury, batteries
>>
>> BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILLS IN LAB
>> Tags: us_GA, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
>>
>> CHEMICAL FIRE BURSTS IN CSULB ENGINEERING BUILDING, ONLY 1 INJURED
>> Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, injury, other_chemical
>>
>> CHEMICAL RELEASE SENDS 11 OFFSET PAPERBACK WORKERS TO HOSPITAL AFTER EVACUATION
>> Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
>>
>> IS THIS WHY FACEBOOK IS SUCH A TOXIC DUMP? HP, HPE SUED FOR 'LEAKING CHEMS' INTO OFFICE SITE
>> Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, solvent, toxics
>>
>> 5 HOSPITALIZED AFTER DRUG EXPOSURE AT TRI COUNTY REGIONAL JAIL
>> Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
>>
>> CHEMICAL EXPLOSION // THE OBSERVER
>> Tags: us_IN, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
>>
>> UNIVERSITY OF UTAH STUDENT HOSPITALIZED AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO CHEMICAL
>> Tags: us_UT, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> NOTRE DAME CLEARS BUILDING AFTER SMALL EXPLOSION IN LABORATORY
>> http://cbs4indy.com/2018/02/26/notre-dame-clears-building-after-small-explosion-in-laboratory/
>>
>> Tags: us_IN, laboratory, explosion, injury, acid
>>
>> Authorities evacuated an academic building at the University of Notre Dame following a small chemical explosion in a laboratory.
>>
>> University spokesman Dennis Brown says the explosion occurred Monday morning on the third floor of the Stinson-Remick Hall of Engineering.
>>
>> He says "a staff member was working with some acidic solutions and there was a small explosion. The acid washed up onto her so she was treated immediately."
>>
>> Brown says the unidentified staff member was transported to a hospital as a precaution.
>>
>> The building was expected to reopen later Monday.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL FOUND IN SOME SANTA ROSA DRINKING WATER
>> https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2018/02/27/cancer-causing-chemical-detected-in-fountaingrove-drinking-water/
>>
>> Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, benzene
>>
>> Some drinking water in Santa Rosa remains undrinkable months after the North Bay fires, and pressure is mounting on the city"s water department to locate and control the cause.
>>
>> "The city is very interested to get people back and rebuilt into their homes, of course, as soon as possible," says Bennett Horenstein, the City of Santa Rosa"s Water Director.
>>
>> "This contamination is certainly attributable to the fire."
>> Bennett Horenstein, Santa Rosa Water Department Fire savaged the neighborhood around Fountaingrove parkway last October. Where more than 350 families once lived, 13 homes remain standing. In November, people returning to the neighborhood complained of foul smelling and tasting water.
>>
>> Engineers for Santa Rosa"s water department isolated water service for Fountaingrove, in an aim to prevent wider contamination. The department ordered residents not to drink or boil the water there. Then its tests found benzene, a chemical that can cause cancer.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> KANSAS MAN SUING AFTER E-CIG BATTERY CAUGHT FIRE IN POCKET
>> http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article202246854.html
>>
>> Tags: us_KS, public, explosion, injury, batteries
>>
>> A Derby man is suing a Wichita vaping shop after he says a spare battery for his e-cigarette exploded in the front pocket of his pants.
>>
>> Daniel Anderson suffered chemical and thermal burns to his left leg and hands caused by fire and heat that rolled out of the lithium ion battery, which he bought from Big E"s Vapor Shop, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 6 in Sedgwick County District Court.
>>
>> "It was like a flame thrower. It just ignited and was a big ball of fire," said Wichita attorney Dustin DeVaughn, who is representing Anderson in the case.
>>
>> Anderson was carrying the spare battery, his car keys and coins in his left front pocket of his pants the morning of Feb. 29, 2016, while he was at work. When the metal items touched, it caused a short to the outside of the battery.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILLS IN LAB
>>
>> http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/lab-evacuated-after-possible-chemical-reaction-causes-fire-officials-say/708158681
>>
>> Tags: us_GA, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
>>
>> COBB COUNTY, Ga. - A laboratory in Cobb County was evacuated after a spill.
>>
>> Investigators say Chemlink Laboratory on Royal Drive in Kennesaw reported spoke in the building Tuesday afternoon.
>>
>> The lab manufactures high-performance adhesives, sealants, coatings and related products.
>>
>> The Cobb County fire Department said sodium percarbonate, a product similar to that used to clean front loader washing machines, spilled. Something then caused the sprinklers to go off, which caused the diluted product to run.
>>
>> The entire building was evacuated and Hazmat was called to the scene.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> CHEMICAL FIRE BURSTS IN CSULB ENGINEERING BUILDING, ONLY 1 INJURED
>>
>> http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/?p=36866
>>
>> Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, injury, other_chemical
>>
>> A chemical fire erupted in the Engineering and Computer Sciences (ECS) Building of California State University, Long Beach on Tuesday, Feb. 27, resulting in one injury and an evacuation, according to Jake Heflin, the public information officer for the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD).
>>
>> Heflin said the call was received at approximately 1:23pm.
>>
>> Firefighters identified chemicals" lithium hydroxide and lithium in a solid state" inside of an unknown container. He said it is not clear as to why those chemicals were in the classroom, but he believes it was part of a school project or experiment.
>>
>> "There was a reaction and a subsequent fire," Heflin said. Firefighters extinguished the fire at 1:50pm. The fire did not spread from inside the classroom where it started, however. Heflin said the room suffered from smoke damage and the sprinkler system was activated.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> CHEMICAL RELEASE SENDS 11 OFFSET PAPERBACK WORKERS TO HOSPITAL AFTER EVACUATION
>>
>> http://citizensvoice.com/news/chemical-release-sends-11-offset-paperback-workers-to-hospital-after-evacuation-1.2307135
>>
>> Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
>>
>> DALLAS TWP. - Federal and state officials are investigating this morning"s chemical release at Offset Paperback Manufacturing that sent 11 employees to the hospital, a deputy fire chief who responded said Tuesday afternoon.
>>
>> The facility along Memorial Highway was evacuated around 7:30 a.m. when employees fell ill from the release of a chemical commonly used in the printing industry, said Deputy Chief John Wilkes, of the Back Mountain Regional Fire and EMS.
>>
>> Officials used a school bus to transport 11 employees to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, Wilkes said.
>>
>> "Most were complaining of headaches and itchy skin," Wilkes said.
>>
>> Members of Dallas Township and Luzerne County"s emergency management agencies responded to the scene.
>>
>> A hazardous materials response team from Datom Products in Dunmore was called in to decontaminate the site.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> IS THIS WHY FACEBOOK IS SUCH A TOXIC DUMP? HP, HPE SUED FOR 'LEAKING CHEMS' INTO OFFICE SITE
>> https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/27/stanford_hp_hpe_hazmat/
>>
>> Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, solvent, toxics
>>
>> Stanford University is suing the descendants of Hewlett-Packard and Agilent for allegedly contaminating a property in Palo Alto, California, with toxic chemicals.
>>
>> The Silicon Valley uni has demanding the IT giants pick up its hazmat cleaning bill to scrub the site of industrial solvents and other pollutants.
>>
>> The property, 1601 S. California Avenue, was leased by the school to HP from 1970 through 2005. Agilent, a HP spinoff, used the building beginning in 1999 until 2005. In 2015, HP split into HP Inc and HPE.
>>
>> After HP left, the building was inhabited by Facebook for two years before Zuck and Co landed at their Menlo Park facility in 2011. Facebook is not named in the lawsuit, and there is no suggestion Facebook caused or added to the chemical mess, but funnily enough, it turned into a toxic hell hole anyway.
>>
>> Upstarts in solvent
>> Some time over the course of those three and a half decades, Stanford claimed, the building, while in use by HP, leaked polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and trichloroethylene (TCE) into the soil. PCBs are used in things like coolant fluid, dielectrics, and carbonless-copy paper, while TCE is an industrial solvent.
>>
>> When, in 2015, Stanford sought to build new faculty housing on the plot, they found the land contaminated with the two hazardous materials, and were forced to bring in a cleanup crew that cost it "millions of dollars."
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> 5 HOSPITALIZED AFTER DRUG EXPOSURE AT TRI COUNTY REGIONAL JAIL
>> https://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/local/drug-exposure-incident-creates-hazmat-incident-tri-county-regional-jail/Y8dxAJpPben1W2Lv2kMe1H/
>>
>> Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
>>
>> MECHANICSBURG "
>> Five officials, including two correctional officers and three deputies, were hospitalized after an inmate brought a substance into the Tri County Regional Jail Monday night.
>>
>> OTHER LOCAL NEWS: Firefighter arrested on OVI charge
>>
>> According to Urbana Fire Chief Mark Keller, a HAZMAT team was dispatched to the jail around 11:30 p.m. for a potential chemical substance an inmate brought into the jail.
>>
>> The five officials were transported to area hospitals after quickly showing flu-like symptoms including vomiting and nausea not long after the female inmate was booked into the jail.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> CHEMICAL EXPLOSION // THE OBSERVER
>>
>> http://ndsmcobserver.com/tag/chemical-explosion/
>>
>> Tags: us_IN, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
>>
>> A chemical explosion in Stinson-Remick Hall of Engineering caused the building to be evacuated for several hours starting around 9:45 a.m. Monday, according to an email from University spokesman Dennis Brown. According to the email, the "small" explosion occurred on the third floor of the building and splashed a staff member with an acidic solution. The
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> UNIVERSITY OF UTAH STUDENT HOSPITALIZED AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO CHEMICAL
>> http://fox13now.com/2018/02/26/university-of-utah-student-hospitalized-after-being-exposed-to-chemical/
>>
>> Tags: us_UT, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
>>
>> SALT LAKE CITY " The Salt Lake City Fire Department said that a student was transferred to the hospital after her hands were exposed to a chemical.
>>
>> According to a tweet by the fire department, the 28-year-old female was exposed to triethylaluminium, a liquid that is ignited when it is exposed to air.
>>
>> After being exposed, the woman was transported to the University of Utah Hospital for treatment. The fire department said that she was in good condition.
>>
>> The student was exposed to the chemical during normal experiments, the fire department said.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>>
>> ---
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>
> --
> ******************************************************************************
> We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do everything with nothing. Teresa Arnold paraphrased from Konstantin Josef Jire€?ek (1854 " 1918)
>
> Samuella B. Sigmann, MS, NRCC-CHO
> Senior Lecturer/Safety Committee Chair/Director of Stockroom
> A. R. Smith Department of Chemistry
> Appalachian State University
> 525 Rivers Street
> Boone, NC 28608
> Phone: 828 262 2755
> Fax: 828 262 6558
> Email: sigmannsb**At_Symbol_Here**appstate.edu
>
>
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