[neact] More on HS chlorate explosion
- From: Stephen Stepenuck <sstepenuck@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "neact@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <neact@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:22:26 -0500
Some follow-up info on the high school potassium chlorate explosion. This
too is from the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety¹s email list.
This account seems to me to be a strong argument for purchase and use of
portable safety shields, and long heavy gloves for the teacher.
[Apologies for accidental post earlier. Maybe when I¹m 137 I¹ll learn to
triple-check the address line...]
Steve
* * * * * * *
New York
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/01/21/news/doc4b57e5a7a57482739218
60.txt
Teacher recovering; cause of blast uncertain
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010
By JAY BRAMAN JR.
Correspondent
BOICEVILLE ? The explosion on Tuesday that injured an Onteora High School
chemistry teacher and seven of his students came as a surprise to everyone,
but probably no one more than the longtime teacher himself.
Donald Bucher was demonstrating an experiment with the chemical potassium
chlorate when the explosion ? which was strong enough to damage a window in
the classroom ? occurred. Onteora school district Superintendent Leslie Ford
said on Wednesday that Bucher had conducted the same experiment dozens of
times before, without incident, and that the cause of the explosion remained
a mystery.
Ford said Bucher was resting at home on Wednesday, recovering from his
injury, and that an investigation of the incident will begin shortly.
³We still don¹t know what happened,² the superintendent said. ³But we will
debrief Mr. Bucher when he is well enough to return.²
Ford said a small piece of glass punctured Bucher¹s arm and cut an artery.
³He was bleeding quite a lot,² she said.
A reporter¹s calls to Bucher¹s home were not answered on Wednesday.
The seven students who were injured, all 11th-graders, were treated at
Kingston and Benedictine hospitals, primarily for minor cuts, and released.
Ford said the explosion occurred when Bucher dropped a stick of gum into a
test tube containing potassium chlorate, a chemical used in matches,
explosives, gunpowder and fireworks.
Ford said school district officials reviewed the chemistry class¹ lesson
plan and concluded the experiment had been performed safely by Bucher in the
past. She also said it is a standard high school chemistry experiment and
that Bucher executed each of its steps properly on Wednesday.
³The goal of the experiment was to determine the amount of oxygen in the
potassium chlorate,² Ford said.
The superintendent said possible causes of the accident were a faulty test
tube or the chemical itself being compromised.
All the remaining potassium chlorate in the classroom was removed, bagged
locked in a secure location elsewhere in the building by Michael O¹Rourke of
the Risk Management Department at Ulster BOCES, Ford said.
O¹Rourke said on Wednesday that the chemical will be disposed of properly
and other chemicals in the school will be checked for problems.
According to a Web site co-maintained by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, potassium chlorate is a white crystalline solid.
It is used in matches, explosives, gunpowder and fireworks; as a
disinfectant; and as an oxidizing agent. It forms a flammable mixture with
combustible materials, and the mixture can be explosive if combustible
material is finely divided.
Potassium chlorate can be ignited by friction, and contact with strong
sulfuric acid may cause fires or explosions, according to the Web site.
Also, it may spontaneously decompose and ignite when mixed with ammonium
salts and may explode under prolonged exposure to heat or fire.
Ulster County Emergency Management Director Art Snyder appeared before the
Onterora Board of Education during the body¹s regularly scheduled meeting
Tuesday evening. He outlined the procedures for hazardous materials
disposal, though Ford noted the procedures were not required in Tuesday¹s
incident.
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