DANGER FROM EXPLOSIVES

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22678, 5 April 1939, Page 16

DANGER FROM EXPLOSIVES

SPECIAL LESSONS | PLANNED ‘5

SCHOOL CHILDREN’S I. EXPERIMENTS i

Special lessons will in future be given,in schools to guard againsl the risk'of accident from experiments with '■! explosive chemicals. This information is contained in the latest issue of.’o|jj^ f | New Zealand Education • Gazettes from ’ Z which the* following passages rate taken: — 1 “A study of the accident record in ■. New Zealand discloses that by far the r,y largest proportion of these accident* happens to children attending secondary schools. The young student com;- ‘ '. J mences his scientific studies at this ' ; stage, and; 'no doubt, a rudimentary knowledge of chemistry often serves Jjfl to fire him with a desire to put this to ll practical application. Unless these ambitions result too often in'a# serious consequences. -M “Knowledge of the component 3 materials, at any rate of those to pre- '.3 pare' gunpowder, isobtainable from; « practically , any elementary text book. on chemistry, but it is regrettable that./most of thesettext books omit to.make, any to the hazards attendant bn the - preparation of. explosive; -.I powders. ' • •$ “The omission could be largely-rg remedied if; teachers would make a. 1 point of stressing that attempts to pre- -V pare or experiment with powders of jV this nature are fraught with the gravest ; * danger.” ..'»■■■ •;■■■■'• ;The three main causes of accident are said to be the . breaking open of j?l fireworks to obtain quantities of the composition; the incorporation by mor- 3s tar and pestle or in soide other fashion A; of certain chemicals' to - prepare,■ either gunpowder or a fireworks composition; theuseof these powders in the , preparation of bombs, or their ignition in the open so as to produce an explosion. ■■■■■ ■ . > ■ ' - ‘ '’'ll