[Histonet] Picric Acid

[Tony Henwood]

John and Jim,

A recent newspaper article in Sydney may be appropriate here. The gist of it
is as follows:

ACID EVACUATION

About 160 people were evacuated from a factory and homes in Sydney yesterdat
afternoon after authorities identified a dangerous chemical.
NSW Fire Brigade spokesman Ian Krimmer said a small amount of an acid, which
had the potential to react violently, had been found in a jar and removed
from a factory in Kingsgrove.
"A small amount of picric acid in a jar [was] in an unstable condition."

Tony Henwood JP, BAppSc, GradDipSysAnalys, CT(ASC)
Laboratory Manager
The Children's Hospital at  Westmead,
Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, 2145, AUSTRALIA.
Tel: 612 9845 3306
Fax: 612 9845 3318

http://www.histosearch.com/homepages/TonyHenwood/default.html
http://us.geocities.com/tonyhenwoodau/index.html



-----Original Message-----
From: John Kiernan [mailto:jkiernan <@t> uwo.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, 11 November 2003 4:12 PM
To: jim; Histonet Listserver
Subject: Re: [Histonet] Picric Acid


Wash under a tap. Put some water
in the jar if it has dried out.

Picric acid explodes if its temperature
goes above 300C. Sources: Lange's
Handbook of Chemistry, just checked;
also remembered from various textbooks 
read over the years.  This cannot happen 
in the presence of liquid water. 

Nearly all anecdotes about picric acid
explosions in labs are urban legends
(= untrue). For confirmation of this
assertion, check it out with Google,
but allow a couple of hours and use
your brain to evaluate the produce.
__________________________________
> jim wrote:
> 
> Has anyone information or data on the safe disposal
> of Picric Acid (crystals have formed on lid of
> bottle).
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Jim Manavis
> Senior Hospital Scientist
> Department of Neuropathology
> Institute of Medical & Veterinary Science
> Adelaide, SA, 5000
> Australia
> Phone: 61-08-8222-3668
> FAX: 61-08-8222 3204
> e.mail: jim.manavis <@t> imvs.sa.gov.au
> Disclaimer: Not this little black duck!
> 

-- 
-------------------------
John A. Kiernan
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
The University of Western Ontario
London,   Canada   N6A 5C1
   kiernan <@t> uwo.ca
   http://publish.uwo.ca/~jkiernan/

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