DCHAS-L Archives, Jun 29 2019 - Re: [DCHAS-L] CPSC: 4 recalls of fireworks

"they will be in big demand in the more shadowy exchanges"

And how many people, including children, will suffer permanent, life-changing injuries? How many will lose a hand, an eye, their lives?

I was born on the 4^th of July, and I enjoy a good fireworks display, and was a college chemistry teacher for 17 years and did many demos for my students. But my own introduction to the dangers of chemicals began with volunteering as a member of the chemistry club to help with a magic show. I was very fortunate that the accident that happened did not permanently scar me, or blind me, or kill me because it certainly could have.

I had been asked to prepare the solid mixtures for colored flash powders, but without having told me the substance I was instructed to grind was friction sensitive, so eventually, it blew up. I was thrown clear of the resulting fire, and had heat shock on the right side of my face, from the midline of my nose to the back edge of the ear. If you aren't familiar with heat shock, it occurs when the skin it exposed to very high temps, but for very short time. It basically cooks and hardens only the outermost layer of skin, so in a week or two the skin peels like sunburn, without leaving any scarring. I lost my eyelashes and eyebrow on the right, and the front inch or so of my head hair on the right, all the way around to the ear. But the rest of the hair was unaffected, and despite the burned up eyelashes, I must have been blinking, because there was no damage to the eye, although the lid had the heat flash too.

At the time of the accident, I had completed one semester of general chemistry, and was in the second semester for two weeks, and had changed my major to chemistry on the first day of the semester, and joined the chemistry club. The gen chem curriculum taught redox toward the end of the second semester, so I had no idea what an oxidizer was. The substances they had me grinding were a 1:1 mixture of potassium chlorate and sucrose to make a flash powder which would be ignited with a drop of conc. sulfuric. I didn=E2=80™t even know that sucrose was sugar. Then I mixed various salts into the flash powder, so the flames would be colored. (shades of the rainbow experiment.) I worked on grinding these mixtures for about 1..5 or 2 hours, and had 6 little jars filled with the "colored" flash powders although it had not been explained to me that those white salts would burn in colors, and still had about 1/3 of a huge jar of the potassium chlorate, and 1/4 of a huge jar of sugar, as well as 6 little bottles with the salts I was adding, and the six bottles of mixed up flash powder, as well as a large mortar and pestle, where I'd been doing the grinding, with it pulled into my right hip to steady it while I worked. I had decided to take a break, and pushed the mortar away from me, and the benchtop was covered with small amounts of the various chemicals, including both ingredients of the flash powder, so the friction of pushing it away provided enough energy to ignite the stuff on the bench.

I watched the ball of fire on the bench from the floor where I had been thrown, for 10 minutes by the clock on the wall and then was pulled out of the room by the instructor who was supposed to be in charge and monitoring what was being done. He had only arrived 10 minutes or so before the accident, and hadn't spoken to me yet, so had no idea his president of the chem club had set me up doing something so incredibly stupid and dangerous. When the fire burned itself out, the only thing remaining on the bench was the mortar and pestle. All the glass jars, Bakelite lids, and all their contents were gone, vaporized by the heat of the flames. While the ceiling was somewhat scorched, there was no other evidence that there had been a fire. The fire department wasn't called, I wasn't sent to a doctor or emergency room. Those facts are just as scary to me today, imaging what might have happened to me or to the lab where that fire occurred.

The instructor calmed me down, and made me go back into the lab and make more flash powder, "the right way". He had me use sheets of asbestos, put the KClO3 solid onto it, fold it over the solid, and use my hands on the outside to gently push on the solid to break up the lumps. Then pull back the asbestos, add the sugar, and again cover it over to gently mix them. Repeat with the salts to give the color. I did that, remade 6 jars of flash powder for the magic show, and no further accidents occurred. Looking back, it was like when you fall off you bike when learning to ride, if you don't get back up, you may never learn to ride, but if you try again, you will learn to ride the bike. If I hadn't re-made that flash powder, I doubt I would have continued as a chem major or gotten a chemistry degree or become a chem teacher. They let me be the sorcerer's apprentice in the magic show, and it was really fun.

I learned three powerful lessons that day;

Don't grind chemicals that are friction sensitive. (Duh, but I was too ignorant to know that's what I'd been told to do.)
Don't trust your own safety or that of persons you are responsible for, to anyone else's directions. Instead, look up the safety considerations yourself, so you don't get killed by an idiot. (that senior chem major didn't realize, he said, that friction could set the mixture off.)
If there's a really wrong way to handle chemicals, there's a right way too. Be sure you know which is which, and do not take chances that could result in you or others being hurt by doing the wrong things.

When teaching redox, for 17 years I did demos with potassium chlorate and sugar. I'd work in a running hood, with the demo behind an explosion shield. I'd melt about a walnut sized amount of the KClO3, with a Bunsen burner, in a 8 inch long 1 inch wide pyrex test tube, mounted on a ring stand at an 60 degree angle from the vertical. When it was melted, I turned off and removed the burner. Then using a jury-rigged tool I'd made from a scoopula taped to a pair of crucible tongs, (to keep my hand at a safe distance from the mouth of the tube) I'd roll 2 M&M candies down the scoopula into the test tube. (Many students and teachers have told me of seeing or doing this demo with gummy bears, but I never used those since they don't slide well and so can get stuck in the top of the test tube, which can make it possible for the flaming bear to get thrown out of the tube by the force of the flame.) It ignites immediately, and you get colored flames shooting out of the tube, an average of another 8 or 10 inches. It's beautiful, impressive, and can be used to spark a discussion on safe handling of chemicals, keeping oxidizers away from fuel and heat, etc. (Many of my students in Southwest Wisconsin grew up on farms and handled ammonium nitrate fertilizer, in 50 lb. sacks, on a regular basis, with no understanding of the dangers. Several fires in this region have been caused by storing the fertilizer next to bales of hay [fuel] being converted to silage [by bacterial fermentation generating heat], and often in sheds with tin roofs [more heat]. The spectacular fires that result cannot be extinguished until they run out of fuel or oxidizer. All the firemen can do is try to prevent it spreading to other buildings or piles of hay.)

As a person almost killed by someone else's stupidity in handling chemicals, I've always been really safety conscious from that day onward. But I also am a chemist who believes that a safely done demo can be really helpful in teaching the subject matter. Every single time I've done a demo using substances that can hurt you if mishandled, that information has also been part of the lesson, and accompanied by personal stories, or historical stories about disastrous results from not understanding the danger or taking precautions to prevent the occurrence of an accident or injury from ignoring the safety issues.

That's what bugs me so much about YouTube videos of science demos. They never discuss how dangerous what they are doing would be if safety isn't considered important. As a chemistry teacher I always felt it was irresponsible to do a spectacular, but dangerous if done wrong, demo WITHOUT ALSO TEACHING THE SAFETY. I always talked about the things I was doing to keep the students and myself safe, and told stories about the dire consequences if this substance was mishandled. One comment on evaluations that I saw every semester was that the students knew I would keep them safe in lab, even when they didn't like the rules. They knew I put their safety first in every experiment, every demo, every lesson. YouTube has videos of science with no responsibility taken to keep people safe by informing them of the dangers. How do we change that?

Meg Osterby

megosterby**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com
"It's better to be careful 100 times than to be killed once." Mark Twain

From: Monona Rossol
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2019 8:02 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] CPSC: 4 recalls of fireworks

Hazard:
The recalled fireworks are overloaded with pyrotechnics intended to produce an audible effect, violating the federal regulatory standard for this product. Overloaded fireworks can result in a greater than expected explosion, posing explosion and burn hazards to consumers.

The fireworks lovers will see this as national free advertising. They don't approve of the noise limits and the bigger the better. While the company probably can't sell any more on the legit market, they will be in big demand in the more shadowy exchanges.

Monona

-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Fri, Jun 28, 2019 6:07 am
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CPSC: 4 recalls of fireworks

1. Grandma's Fireworks Recalls Fireworks Due to Violation of Federal Standards; Explosion and Burn Hazards:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Grandmas-Fireworks-Recalls-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standards-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards

2. GS Fireworks Recalls Fireworks Due to Violation of Federal Standards; Explosion and Burn Hazards; Sold Exclusively at GS Fireworks:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/GS-Fireworks-Recalls-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standards-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards-Sold-Exclusively-at-GS-Fireworks

3. Patriot Pyrotechnics/Bill's Fireworks Recalls Fireworks Due to Violation of Federal Standards; Explosion and Burn Hazards; Sold Exclusively at Patriot Pyrotechnics:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Patriot-Pyrotechnics-Bills-Fireworks-Recalls-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standards-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards-Sold-Exclusively-at-Patriot-Pyrotechnics

4. Keystone Recalls G-Force Fireworks Due to Violation of Federal Standard; Explosion and Burn Hazards:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Keystone-Recalls-G-Force-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standard-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards

********************************************************************************************

1. Grandma's Fireworks Recalls Fireworks Due to Violation of Federal Standards; Explosion and Burn Hazards:

Recall Date: June 26, 2019

Recall Number: 19-147

Recall Summary

Name of product:

Fireworks

Hazard:

The recalled fireworks are overloaded with pyrotechnics intended to produce an audible effect, violating the federal regulatory standard for this product. Overloaded fireworks can result in a greater than expected explosion, posing explosion and burn hazards to consumers.

Remedy:

Refund

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled fireworks and return them to Grandma's Fireworks for a full refund

Consumer Contact:

Grandma's Fireworks collect at 765-732-3866 anytime or email at gmasheila**At_Symbol_Here**woh.rr.com and hannonc**At_Symbol_Here**aol.com for more information.

Pictures available here:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Grandmas-Fireworks-Recalls-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standards-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards

Recall Details

Units:

About 25,000

Description:

This recall involves 18 different consumer fireworks. The brand name, product name and the item number are printed on the outside wrapping of the firework.

Brand

Product Name

Item Number

Price Sold For

Clown

Rise in the East

CL1000

$24-36 a box, $2 individual

None Listed

Safe cracker

No Model Listed

$24-36 a box, $3 individual

None Listed

Angry Elf

No Model Listed

$39.99 a box

None Listed

Mamba

No Model Listed

$20.00 a box, $2 individual

None Listed

Crazy King

KF0168

$20.00 a box, $2 individual

None Listed

POW!

No Model Listed

$32.99 a box

None Listed

Bang

No Model Listed

$32.99 a box

None Listed

Crazy Robot Flowers

BW500

$24-36 a box, $3 individual

None Listed

Frog Balls

FB5015

$50.00 a box

None Listed

Dragon Artillery (Assorted)

W515B

$30.00 a box

None Listed

Small Festival Balls

N1000

$50.00 a box

None Listed

Cock Rises!

FF5001

$50.00 a box

None Listed

Sammy's Best

No Model Listed

$24.00 a box

None Listed

Katherine's Catapult

PF0402

$24.00 a pack

Clown

Heavy Bomber

GX7502

$20.00 a pack

None Listed

Multiple Rocket

No Model Listed

$50.00 a pack

None Listed

Talon

No Model Listed

$40.00 a pack.

None Listed

Block Buster

No Model Listed

$24-36 a box, $3 individual

Incidents/Injuries:

An 8 year old boy and a 12 year old boy found the broken end of a Talon rocket, lit it and were hurt. The 8 year old boy lost his hand.

Sold At:

Grandma=E2=80™s Fireworks in West College Corner, Indiana from January 2009 through April 2019. There were no online sales.

Manufactured In:

China

Note:

The Oxford (Ohio) Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives investigated these fireworks and worked with CPSC to initiate this recall.

********************************************************************************************

2. GS Fireworks Recalls Fireworks Due to Violation of Federal Standards; Explosion and Burn Hazards; Sold Exclusively at GS Fireworks:

Recall Date: June 26, 2019

Recall Number: 19-148

Recall Summary

Name of product:

Fireworks

Hazard:

Remedy:

Refund

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled fireworks and return them to GS Fireworks for a full refund.

Consumer Contact:

GS Fireworks collect at 616-304-8800 anytime or email jewell.david**At_Symbol_Here**att.net for more information.

Pictures available here:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/GS-Fireworks-Recalls-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standards-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards-Sold-Exclusively-at-GS-Fireworks

Recall Details

Units:

About 260

Description:

This recall involves 26 different consumer fireworks. The brand name, product name and the item number are printed on the outside wrapping of the firework.

Brand

Product Name

Item Number

Universal

1.25" Artillery Shells

W5016(B)

Universal

Blast From The Past

UN5088

Universal

Born Hero 25 Shot Cake

BHL2325

Sin City

Burning Aces 25 Shot Cake

SC5G-1501

None Listed

The Closer 100 Shot Cake

None Listed

Clown Shells

W515B

Clown

Cock Rises Canister Shells

FF5001

Clown

Cock-a-doodle-doo 25 Shot Cake

8299

Hairy Beaver

Crazy Labbits 36 Shot Cake

HB2015

Clown

Dead Heat 100 Shot Cake

BHL999TS

Hairy Beaver

Defenders 49 Shot Cake

BHL999T2

Universal

Don't Panic Canister Shells

BHL5135

Universal

Godzilla Roars 36 Shot Cake

UN2566

None Listed

Horror Night Ball Shells

W5007 (B)

Clown

IT Canister Shells

DP5135

None Listed

Magical Roman Candle

WW2901(A-D)

Universal

Monkey Planet 100 Shot Cake

UN2102

None Listed

Rising Silver - Flowers in Spring 25 Shot Cake

W2825

Yeti

Shrooms 100 Shot Cake

YT5026

Yeti

Sky Jam 96 Shot Cake

YT5026

Hairy Beaver

Spider 25 Shot Cake

HB2002

None Listed

Sun Rise Crackers

W010

None Listed

Thunder King Single Shot Salutes

None Listed

Tommy Gun Single Shot Salute

WG2018S

Clown

Top Notch Fireworks 64 Shot Cake

BHL2064

Clown

Tsunami Alert 100 Shot Cake

8670

Incidents/Injuries:

None reported

Sold At:

Exclusively at GS Fireworks in Wyoming, Michigan from March 2018 through May 2018 for between $10 and $125.

Manufactured In:

China

Note:

The Michigan State Fire Marshal's office investigated these fireworks and worked with CPSC to initiate this recall.

********************************************************************************************

3. Honeywell Recalls Gamewell-FCI and Notifier Photoelectric Smoke Sensors Sold with Fire Alarm Systems Due to Failure to Alert of a Fire:

Recall Date: June 26, 2019

Recall Number: 19-149

Recall Summary

Name of product:

Fireworks

Hazard:

Remedy:

Refund

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled fireworks and return them to Patriot Pyrotechnics/Bill's Fireworks for a full refund.

Consumer Contact:

Bill's Fireworks collect at 616-527-1337 anytime or email fireworks**At_Symbol_Here**casair.net for more information.

Pictures available here:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Patriot-Pyrotechnics-Bills-Fireworks-Recalls-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standards-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards-Sold-Exclusively-at-Patriot-Pyrotechnics

Recall Details

Units:

About 11,000

Description:

This recall involves 22 different consumer fireworks. The brand name, product name and the item number are printed on the outside wrapping of the firework.

Brand

Product Name

Item Number

Clown

Dog Rules 30 Shot Cake

PWF630

Clown

Bite Me 25 Shot Cake

CL2625

Clown

Buster Sword 100 Shot Cake

N/A

Clown

Echo Of Freedom 25 Shot Cake

BHL999T2

Clown

Man's Best Friend Fireworks Cake

PWF680

Clown

No Fooling Around 130 Shot Cake

CL2330

Clown

Top Notch Fireworks Cake

BHL2064

Clown

Dog Don't Stop Barking Artillery Shell 24 Pack

KK5032

Clown

Wonder of Galaxy 100 Shot Cake

CL2103

None listed

Horror Night Artillery 6 Pack

W5007

Thunder Star

American Hero 88 Shot Cake

CL2888

Thunder Star

Romantic Aliens 100 Shot Cake

N/A

Thunder Star

Three's A Charm Artillery Shell 6 Pack

5013B

Universal

Desperate Attempt 100 Shot Cake

UN2033

Universal

Monkey Business 100 Shot Cake

UN2101

Universal

Monkey Go Ape 100 Shot Cake

UN2100

Universal

Monkey's Revenge 25 Shot Cake

BHL2126

Universal

Outcast 49 Shot Cake

QS2149

Universal

Godzilla Roars 36 Shot Cake

UN2566

Universal

Monkey Planet 100 Shot Cake

UN2102

Universal

1.25 inch Artillery shell 18 Pack

W5016B

Windmill

Double Nuts and Triple Ripples Artillery Shell 24 Pack

W5036B

Incidents/Injuries:

None reported

Sold At:

Exclusively at Patriot Pyrotechnics in Sheridan, Michigan from January 2017 through July 2018 for between $100 and $125.

Importer(s):

Patriot Pyrotechnics LLC/Bill's Fireworks, of Sheridan, Michigan

Manufactured In:

China

Note:

The Michigan State Fire Marshal=E2=80™s office investigated these fireworks and worked with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to initiate this recall.

********************************************************************************************

4. Keystone Recalls G-Force Fireworks Due to Violation of Federal Standard; Explosion and Burn Hazards:

Recall Date: June 26, 2019

Recall Number: 19-150

Recall Summary

Name of product:

G-Force Artillery Shell Fireworks

Hazard:

The recalled fireworks are overloaded with pyrotechnics intended to produce an audible effect, violating the federal regulatory requirements for this product. Overloaded fireworks can result in a greater than expected explosion, posing explosion and burn hazards to consumers. The fireworks are banned hazardous substances and are prohibited from being sold under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).

Remedy:

Refund

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled fireworks and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumer Contact:

Keystone collect at 717-299-3180 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, email at info**At_Symbol_Here**keystonefireworks.com or online at www.keystonefireworks.com and click on News and then Product Recall Notice for more information.

Pictures available here:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Keystone-Recalls-G-Force-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standard-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards

Recall Details

Units:

About 1,660

Description:

This recall involves the G-Force Artillery Shells packaged in a box of six with the tube included. The tube contains the G-Force logo in red and yellow. The shells are about 5 inches long, 2 inches in diameter, and are covered in a blue wrapping.

Incidents/Injuries:

None reported

Sold At:

Keystone Fireworks locations from November 2018 through May 2019 for about $60.

Manufacturer(s):

Liuyang Sunwing Import & Export Co Ltd., of China

Importer(s):

Keystone Importing & Sales LLC, of Lancaster, Pa.

Distributor(s):

Keystone Importing & Sales LLC, of Lancaster, Pa.

Manufactured In:

China

********************************************************

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to a product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about your experience with the product on SaferProducts.gov.

Media Contact

Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests.

Phone: (301) 504-7908

Spanish: (301) 504-7800

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline

800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)

Times: 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime

Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.

-----------------------------

This message is from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (https://www.cpsc.gov),

an independent federal regulatory agency, located at 4330 East West

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 Toll-free hotline: (800) 638-2772.

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