>> Straight from the bottle of Ammonium Dichromate I have sitting on my shelf:
>>
>> DANGER!
>> STRONG OXIDIZER
>> KNOWN HUMAN CARCINOGEN
>> OVEREXPOSURE MAY CREATE CANCER RISK
>> HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED, IHALED OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN etc.......
>>
and:
>
>What I was asking, and still not getting an answer to, which I begin to
>think means "no," was has anybody ever seen a bottle of dichromate
>explode or catch fire WHEN IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO?
>
>And if no one has, Why not? Because everyone, including your space-cadet
>students is so all-fired squeaky clean careful?
A bottle of any type of Dichromate is very unlikely to explode,
burn, or do anything nasty when sitting by itself. Oxidizers usually need
to have something to combine with to generate heat, so the stuff will just
sit there unless it accidentally gets combined with somethig else. I've
found a half used bottle of P Dichromate that is at least 20 years old
under my sink. It still looks usable - one of these days I'm going to try
it and see.
So "no" is the answer. Contact dermatitis and perforated nasal
septums are the most likely results of poor handling. Dermatitis is pretty
easily picked up, (I have sensitive skin too) but nasal passage effects are
the results of years of breathing the dust. I've seen a photo of a worker
that had a hankerchief "threaded" through his nose. Pretty yucky, don't try
this at home kids!
- Mike -
mjc5@psu.edu