Here is the response I got when I emailed the reporter. She passed it on to the camp director.
Ms. Umbaugh,
Lisa Olliges relayed the concerns you shared regarding our Explosive Chemistry Academy. I appreciate you bringing these matters to our attention. The camp has now ended, but I can assure you that we will conduct a thorough review of our safety protocols and make any adjustments necessary to ensure the safety of our campers.
Sincerely,
Michael McCambridge
Director of Student Enrichment
Janice Umbaugh
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU] On Behalf Of Monona Rossol
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2019 8:48 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (13 articles)
This Greenbush academy project doesn't appear to be a hoax. It if it for real, we have to do something NOW. I'm contacting CPSC and AFT hot lines, it would help if you did too. And you chemists will carry more weight with them than I do as a mere industrial hygienist even though I'm a technical editor for the Encyclopedia of Pyrotechnic Chemicals.
1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477)
Email: ATFTips**At_Symbol_Here**atf.gov(7)
It isn't only the fire and safety hazards, some of the chemicals commonly used are powerful acute poisons. Barium nitrate and barium chloride have both been used to murder people. They barium compounds mimic a heart attack. And there are antimony, lithium, chlorates (thyroid issues), chrome VI (carcinogen/sensitizer), and dozens of other chemicals kits have no business releasing on their desks when when open fire works.
Lead is not banned under the CPSC rules and the APA standard allows 0.6% probably in order to make it possible to use lead peroxide or lead azide as an initiator and still meet the standard (which isn't even a low). Plus Amazon's 2019 statement for the reason they do not sell consumer fireworks includes the following CPSC information:
"When CPSC looked at imported fireworks with US Customs and Border Protection last year, they found that 67 percent of the tested shipments contained items that violated federal regulations."
And that is in the piddling number of shipments they actually test.
EXPLOSIVE CHEMISTRY ACADEMY LETS KIDS CREATE FIREWORKS
Tags: us_KS, education, explosion, environmental, fireworks, sodium_bicarbonate
GREENBUSH, Ks - Usually kids are warned not to play with fireworks but exactly the opposite is happening at the Greenbush Education Center. Middle school kids are even making their own fireworks at the Explosive Chemistry Academy.
"It's four teaspoons of powdered sugar, one teaspoon of baking soda," Kenzie Heatherly goes through what sounds like a cake recipe but add a sprits of alcohol and a lighter and the faces of kids like Isabella Walsh light up with excitement. They're create their own exploding snakes.
Isabella said, "It'skind of cool. We use it for baking and you can think of it, you're eating something that could explode. It's kind of cool."
Joey Flessner exclaimed, "I love this camp! It's really fun."
They dissect snappers or poppers by unwrapping or cutting them open.
And they disassembled cracklers to find "pieces of silver fulmates," explained Heatherly.
-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Wed, Jul 3, 2019 6:34 am
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (13 articles)
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 at 6:32:40 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
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