Explosive Contamination

BLS(p-CHLOROBENZOYL)PEROXlDE (94-17-7) Explosive solid or paste. Thermally unstable above 80°F/27°C explosion can be caused by exposure to direct sunlight, hot surfaces, or heat above 1()0°F/38°C. Highly toxic chlorinated biphenyls are emitted in fire. A powerful oxidizer. Reacts violently with many materials, including reducing agents, combustible materials, metallic powders, organic substances, polymerization initiators, thiocyanates, or contaminants. Explosive polymerization may be initiated by shortwave radiation. 

However, plans currently also call for installation of a system employing a detonation technology or the Nonstockpile Chemical Materiel (NSCM) Project s Explosive Destruction System (EDS) to process leaking munitions and/or contaminated explosive components. Detonation technology is not... 

When the above tests have been completed, wash thoroughly with water all apparatus contaminated with the sodium derivative, since the latter, if allowed to dry, becomes very explosive. 

Soil. Composting of soils contaminated by high explosives is being carried out at the Umatilla Army Depot near Hermiston, Oregon (70). Soil from munitions washout lagoons is being treated iadoors ia compost rows of 2,000 m, and the estimated cost is less than one-third the estimated cost of iaciaeration. If this is successful, there are 30 similar sites on the National Priority List that could be treated ia a similar way. 

A wide variety of special-purpose incinerators (qv) with accompanying gas scmbbers and soHd particle collectors have been developed and installed in various demilitarisation faciUties. These include flashing furnaces that remove all vestiges of explosive from metal parts to assure safety in handling deactivation furnaces, to render safe small arms and nonlethal chemical munitions fluidized-bed incinerators that bum slurries of ground up propellants or explosives in oil and rotary kilns to destroy explosive and contaminated waste and bulk explosive. 

D. Layton and co-workers. Conventional Weapons Demilitarisation, A Health and Environmental Effects Data Base Assessment Explosives and Their Co-Contaminants, UERL-21109, Livermore National Lab., University of California, Livermore, Dec 1987. 

In the absence of air, TEE disproportionates violently to give carbon and carbon tetrafluoride the same amount of energy is generated as in black powder explosions. This type of decomposition is initiated thermally and equipment hot spots must be avoided. The flammability limits of TEE are 14—43% it bums when mixed with air and forms explosive mixtures with air and oxygen. It can be stored in steel cylinders under controlled conditions inhibited with a suitable stabilizer. The oxygen content of the vapor phase should not exceed 10 ppm. Although TEE is nontoxic, it may be contaminated by highly toxic fluorocarbon compounds. 

Microscopists in every technical field use the microscope to characterize, compare, and identify a wide variety of substances, eg, protozoa, bacteria, vimses, and plant and animal tissue, as well as minerals, building materials, ceramics, metals, abrasives, pigments, foods, dmgs, explosives, fibers, hairs, and even single atoms. In addition, microscopists help to solve production and process problems, control quaUty, and handle trouble-shooting problems and customer complaints. Microscopists also do basic research in instmmentation, new techniques, specimen preparation, and appHcations of microscopy. The areas of appHcation include forensic trace evidence, contamination analysis, art conservation and authentication, and asbestos control, among others. 

All phosphoms oxides are obtained by direct oxidation of phosphoms, but only phosphoms(V) oxide is produced commercially. This is in part because of the stabiUty of phosphoms pentoxide and the tendency for the intermediate oxidation states to undergo disproportionation to mixtures. Besides the oxides mentioned above, other lower oxides of phosphoms can be formed but which are poorly understood. These are commonly termed lower oxides of phosphoms (LOOPs) and are mixtures of usually water-insoluble, yeUow-to-orange, and poorly characteri2ed polymers (58). LOOPs are often formed as a disproportionation by-product in a number of reactions, eg, in combustion of phosphoms with an inadequate air supply, in hydrolysis of a phosphoms trihahde with less than a stoichiometric amount of water, and in various reactions of phosphoms haUdes or phosphonic acid. LOOPs appear to have a backbone of phosphoms atoms having —OH, =0, and —H pendent groups and is often represented by an approximate formula, (P OH). LOOPs may either hydroly2e slowly, be pyrophoric, or pyroly2e rapidly and yield diphosphine-contaminated phosphine. LOOP can also decompose explosively in the presence of moisture and air near 150° C. 

Restraining a gaseous plasma from expanding and compressing is also a form of plasma modification. Two reasons for plasma confinement are maintenance of the plasma and exclusion of contaminants. Plasmas may be confined by surrounding material, eg, the technique of wall confinement (23). A second approach to confinement involves the use of magnetic fields. The third class of confinement schemes depends on the inertial tendency of ions and associated electrons to restrain a plasma explosion for a brief but usehil length of time, ie, forces active over finite times are required to produce outward particle velocities. This inertial confinement is usually, but not necessarily, preceded by inward plasma motion and compression. 

Mesitylene is converted to a dye iatermediate, 2,4,6-trimethyl aniline [88-05-1] (mesidine), via nitration to l,3,5-trimethyl-2-nittobenzene [603-71-4] followed by reduction, eg, catalytic hydrogenation (38). Trinitromesitylene has been prepared for use ia high temperature tolerant explosives (39). The use of mesitylene to scavenge contaminant NO from an effluent gas stream has been patented (40). 

HBr reacts with metals, producing highly explosive hydrogen gas. If aleak or spill occurs, exposure to the vapors should be avoided. If a high concentration of aqueous acid is accidentally spilled, it should be diluted immediately with water to reduce fuming prior to neutralization. Hydrobromic acid may be neutralized with soda ash or lime sprinkled over the contaminated area. An aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide may also be used to neutralize the diluted acid. 

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