Industrial Poisons Used or Produced in the Manufacture of Explosives (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ... PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF POISONS. NITRATION. The process of nitration is essential for all the products which are covered by this investigation. In making of explosives it is necessary to provide oxygen in some easily available form to cause combustion of the substances which make up the explosive, and this is usually done by treating them with nitric acid in such a way that the group NO2 enters into combination, the oxygen of which is readily given up. Because all these explosives are nitrated compounds the most common form of poisoning in the industry is that from nitrogen oxide fumes--usually called nitrous fumes--which are given off more or less in all nitration processes. The higher the nitration the greater the danger from fumes, unless great precautions are taken. The 1,300 to 1,400 men on our list who suffered from these fumes were employed in making nitrocellulose, or nitrocotton, picric acid or trinitrophenol, the nitrotoluols, nitrobenzols, nitronaphthalenes, nitroglycerin, and the nitric acid needed for these processes. NITROGEN OXIDE POISONING--" FUME SICKNESS." In the making of explosives a mixed acid is used for nitration, one ingredient of which is sulphuric acid and the other nitric acid 100 per cent strong. When it is remembered that the "strong" or "fuming" nitric acid of the chemical laboratory is only about 70 per cent pure it can readily be seen how great is the danger from fumes in connection with this work. When the mixed acid is exposed to the air, or when it is being mixed with the substances to be nitrated, a rapid decomposition sets up at once, with the evolution of the lower oxides of nitrogen, which rapidly take up oxygen from the air and change to the higher oxides. The lower oxides are pale or colorless;...