portions of his lab suddenly blew up; the RRT responded to this situation. 

 You are also probably aware of the picric acid problem in this country. 

 Picric acid is more potent than TNT and is found in perhaps every chemical 

 laboratory in this country. On dessication, it forms crystals. . .if a bottle 

 is jostled off the shelf, an explosion will ensue. The Department of Educa- 

 tion and most of the school systems are calling for the removal of picric 

 acid. RRT's have been convened because of this problem. 



During the nuclear power incident in Harrisburg, there was a truck 

 wreck in nearby Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The truck was carrying 89 hermet- 

 ically sealed drums of white phosphorus. These drums of phosphorus (which, 

 on exposure to air, autoignites and explodes) were loaded on trailers in 

 Gettysburg and shipped to Hagerstown, Maryland. The drums were of a 30- 

 gallon capacity, each drum weighing 400 pounds. They were placed inside 

 55-gallon drums and overpacked with water to prevent exposure of the phos- 

 phorus to air. When Maryland officials heard about the presence of more 

 than 16 tons of white phosphorus in Hagerstown, they became yery nervous and 

 ordered it removed. After all, Pennsylvania had ordered it out of their 

 State. 



The RRT met and entered into one of those activities that I call the 

 "warm bubble gum syndrome." Have you ever stepped on warm bubble gum in a 

 parking lot? When you try to wipe it off, everything you touch is besmeared. 

 The EPA team member told the On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) that phosphoric acid 

 was being formed in the drums, which was in turn reacting with the metal 

 drums, creating hydrogen gas. Harrisburg had one bubble; we had 89. In 

 addition, moving the convoy a great distance might cause the small drums 

 inside the large drums to bang back and forth and set off a spark. The team 

 scientists thus specified that the drums not be moved move than about 200 

 miles . 



The U.S. Department of Defense team member found a military installation 

 after doing a risk assessment study on all commands within a 200-mile radius. 

 A detonation program was conducted at Ft. A. P. Hill in Virginia, and 16 tons 

 of phosphorus were exploded, two drums at a time, eight installments a day. 

 The incident started on 8 April, and the last drum was detonated on 12 April. 



Another incident involved an Italian freighter filled with 64 tons of 

 organic phosphates; it suffered hull fractures near the Azores, turned 

 around, and came back to this country. The State of Virginia would not allow 

 the freighter to come into Norfolk for repairs. Several other States also 

 refused to accept the vessel in their ports. Virginia did not want to find 

 out how kepone and organic phosphate pesticides mix. The U.S. Coast Guard 

 then was faced with that warm bubble gum syndrome. The freighter was in 

 danger of sinking and could not enter American waters, but the U.S. Coast 

 Guard did not want to send it away, because most assuredly the seamen were 

 in danger. 



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