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[44RedHawk]

Speaking of Chlorate, 29 years ago today Aug 11, 1982, at approximately 2:45 p.m. EST, a series of explosions leveled the Rockingham Fireworks Manufacturing & Display Co. at Seabrook, NH, U.S.A., taking the lives of workers and seriously injuring the GM. Cause of the blast was directly attributed to the mishandling of a Chlorate blue color star composition.

Workers were manufacturing cut stars out doors and placing trays along the factory's main driveway in the afternoon sun to dry. They were in the process of cutting Chlorate / Paris Green blue stars when just minutes after returning from break a worker proceeded to "scrape off" dried chlorate blue comp from his cutting knife by scraping action along the top metal rim of a 55 gallon fiber drum that was filled with a fresh batch of raw mixed blue composition being readied for processing. The scraping action produced an instantaneous flare that ignited and exploded the barrel of dry comp the flames of which spread to hundreds of pounds of co-located cut stars along the factory road which in turn spread to outbuildings and other live inventory causing massive explosions and loss of life.

The company had been making chlorate color stars, flash and water falls tubes without incident for many years prior proving once again that Chlorate compositions can be and have been made commercially for many decades when proper safety precautions are observed. There is a limit, however, to what one can get away with handling chlorate based compositions and this is yet one example of just how true that is.

[Bonny]

Speaking of Chlorate, 29 years ago today Aug 11, 1982, at approximately 2:45 p.m. EST, a series of explosions leveled the Rockingham Fireworks Manufacturing & Display Co. at Seabrook, NH, U.S.A., taking the lives of workers and seriously injuring the GM. Cause of the blast was directly attributed to the mishandling of a Chlorate blue color star composition.

Workers were manufacturing cut stars out doors and placing trays along the factory's main driveway in the afternoon sun to dry. They were in the process of cutting Chlorate / Paris Green blue stars when just minutes after returning from break a worker proceeded to "scrape off" dried chlorate blue comp from his cutting knife by scraping action along the top metal rim of a 55 gallon fiber drum that was filled with a fresh batch of raw mixed blue composition being readied for processing. The scraping action produced an instantaneous flare that ignited and exploded the barrel of dry comp the flames of which spread to hundreds of pounds of co-located cut stars along the factory road which in turn spread to outbuildings and other live inventory causing massive explosions and loss of life.

The company had been making chlorate color stars, flash and water falls tubes without incident for many years prior proving once again that Chlorate compositions can be and have been made commercially for many decades when proper safety precautions are observed. There is a limit, however, to what one can get away with handling chlorate based compositions and this is yet one example of just how true that is.

A great reminder of what CAN happen!

When I started out I went right into using potassium chlorate for stars. I never had any problems, but stopped when I used up my first few lbs. I am considering using it again, with an added respect from a few years of experience and from reading posts like this.