Mixing chems

[murderskill]

Alright there are alot of very fine chemicals out there. Alot of the times the stuff get airborne. Like with aluminum powder and potassium perchlorate they can mix in the air. What is the safest way to mix explosive chems like the ones i just mentioned? Like i heard humidity plays a factor cause of static electricity. Do you do it in your garage with fans on and garage door open or what do you do? And what shouldnt you do..eg smoke, open flame, enclosed area. Stuff like that.

Please guys do not flame me i just want to see What type of enviroments you make your fireworks in.

[FrKoNaLeaSh1010]

I usually mix them in a closed unventilated room so there is no wind disturbances and then once i'm done working I open a window and point a fan out it to blow out airborne particles and then i clean and wipe down the work space while its ventilating. I also rarely use a dust mask. I also do sometimes smoke cigarettes on the other side of the room but only if there is no mixed and live compositions....individual chems or stuff under water is alright but dry flame sensitive mixtures i wont smoke in the room then.

[Rogue Chemist]

Same as Frk, minus the smoking.

[aquaman]

Frk's procedure is pretty usual (It's what I do). I like to wear a dust mask only when I'm making airfloat charcoal (it gets everywhere) or something like it.

[murderskill]

Just because I will be working with 625 + al powder I will be wearing a mask, and a apron to protect my clothes and im spraying everything down with static gaurd. Is that going to far? I always say its better to be extra safe than not safe enough.

[Mumbles]

I usually just work in an enclosed environment, no vetilation, no fans. I probably should as everything is becoming covered in a fine layer of black dust(and silver from last week, damn you bright flake Al). When I am weiging out bulk chemicals I do it out doors. For chemicals I usually wear gloves, and sometimes a dust mask. I've only been using the dust mask for Barium nitrate lately.

 

My work area needs a good cleaning.

[justanotherpyro]

My work area has plenty of ventilation, but unfortunately I do the nose in shirt thing for my " respirator ". It's sort of disturbing though when you blow your nose and what comes out is black from charcoal.

[TheSidewinder]

Since you asked us......

I always use the "nuclear-safety" plan when mixing chems.

 

Ok, ok, what I do is ALWAYS weigh and mix OUTDOORS. I do so on a day with the relative humidity higher than 50%. I wear cotton clothing only, use a full respirator, and gloves. I setup a Black & Decker Workmate bench on the back lawn (not on driveway, theoretically it could cause sparking when I walk on it), with a wood work surface which I've coated with Minwax Spar Urethane (Marine grade polyurethane). I also make sure I work "crosswind" so that chemical dusts drift AWAY from me. Working directly downwind or upwind causes wind eddies that will swirl chems right in your face. AND I NEVER SMOKE WHEN WORKING!!!! (Sorry Frk but you're violating a MAJOR safety rule if smoking inside the workroom, and I think you know it )

 

Now then, does this guarantee that I'll NEVER have an accident?

 

Nope, it doesn't.

 

But it DOES guarantee that my chances of having one are smaller than anyone who's posted their work habits so far....

 

M

[Pyrohawk]

I do pretty much the same as everyone else. All my mixing is done in an unventilated room with no fans or anything to disturb the air.

 

My safety equipment I wear is different for each chemicals. I use dust mask with airfloat stuff most the time. I only wear gloves if I have a cut, blister, etc. on my hands (my room is next to a bathroom I might add and I wash my hands about every 5 minutes when I'm working with stuff). Goggles I only wear when I'm working with liquids.

 

The exception to these is Ba(NO3)2, I break out all the safety junk for it. Dust mask, gloves, and sometimes goggles as well.

[Swany]

I wear glasses, so I usually neglect goggles. I don't wear gloves much, because I lose dexterity, and I wash my hands frequently during the whole process, and I wish I wore my respirator more.

 

I have never had colored snot, even after working with airfloat in a closed enviroment, sin respirator/dust mask.

 

I am still happily alive, though I need to be more safety conscious.

[justanotherpyro]

So do I. I will however take more precaution when I start working with more hazardous substances, like Ba(NO3)2. I get colored snot from spending a long time sifting out fine C from the coarse. That will end though, once I get my ball mill jar worked out and I can rely on it to powder my C.

[murderskill]

If I still smoked I would never smoke in the same room with the chems. Lol

[kwstag]

Hmm.. Same as freak I guess, but I won't be getting into pure pyro for another couple of months (Until summer). What I usually have to be careful with all the time are my acids.. H2SO4, HNO3, HCl.. The HCl vapors are terrible.. When I deal with acids and such, I put on my arms legnth chemical resistant gloves, and respirator.. I dont wear any eye protection as I should, but I will have to start to since I've had a few close encounters.. Solvens are not so bad on skin, but not good to breath; inhale.

 

My 625 mesh Al powder always gets all over the place, it's so fine..

[gwx]

For normal mixing of chemicals and stuff I do not wear neither a dust-filtering respirator or googles or anything. But I'm considering wearing an N-95 for mixing fine dusts so that I do not get any long term effects

 

Normal mixing is not that dangerous unless its flash powder or HE or hazardous substances like barium compounds.

 

Silly me didn't know that barium nitrate was poisonous or hazardous. I had the solution run on my hand something like last year.... Thank God it is not readily absorbed through the skin.

 

Ba(NO3)2

Potential Health Effects

----------------------------------

 

Inhalation:

Causes irritation to the respiratory tract. Symptoms may include coughing, shortness of breath. Systemic poisoning may occur with symptoms similar to those of ingestion.

Ingestion:

Toxic! May cause tightness of the muscles of the face and neck, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, muscular tremors, anxiety, weakness, labored breathing, cardiac irregularity, convulsions, and death from cardiac and respiratory failure. Estimated lethal dose lies between 1 to 15 grams. Death may occur within hours or up to a few days. May cause kidney damage.

Skin Contact:

Causes irritation to skin. Symptoms include redness, itching, and pain.

Eye Contact:

Causes irritation, redness, and pain.

Chronic Exposure:

No information found.

Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions:

Persons with pre-existing skin and nervous system disorders or impaired respiratory or kidney function may be more susceptible to the effects of this substance.

[Mephistos Minion]

Mixing is a cunt for me as I do it all in the shed at my property (lots of damn wind out there).

 

When I leave home I will set up a nice shed/work in a fireworks factory.

 

As far as safety goes I bought a russian gas mask (yet to use it). I mainly work with KNO3, C and S. Bit of Al and Zn but nothing majorly poisonous. This is soon to change when I get my HNO3 to make BaNO3. Then my mask will see some use. Also when I make a metal griding machine (starting work on it after my 72 pin 1/4" star plate which will be done this week hopefully) I will need it, don't really want to breathe in flake metal particles...

[gwx]

Careful about Al... It causes Alzheimer's

[Mumbles]

Pure metallic Al does not cause Altzheimers. It has to be in ionic form. Even when it is, less than 1% is even absorbed by the body, and then all of that is flushed out by the kidneys. The danger comes in old age when metabolic functions start to suffer, such as the removal of aluminum by way of the kidneys. Aluminum is one of the central metal ligands in the plaque proteins that coat the end of nerve cells in the brain. This coating slows the thought process, and causes forgetting and such.

 

You are going to get altzheimers faster by taking aspirin, using deodorant, or by drinking soda than you ever will from pyro.