Posted on 10/08/2013 10:06:49 PM PDT by beaversmom
STONE RIDGE, N.Y. -- A Marbletown man was arrested Friday on endangerment-related charges after police responded to the Marbletown Elementary School following a report of a minor explosion in one of the classrooms, Ulster County Sheriff Paul J. VanBlarcum said.
Thomas D. Fitzgerald, 52, of 3701 Route 209, is alleged to have sent a quantity of dry ice in a sealed container in his 5-year-old child’s backpack in connection with a school experiment, unbeknownst to any school staff member. The explosion was caused by expanding gases inside the container, the Sheriff’s Office said.
There were no injuries and only minor property damage to a chair, VanBlarcum said. The 5-year-old was not wearing the backpack at the time of the explosion, he said.
Fitzgerald was charged with the misdemeanors of reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal nuisance. He was released with tickets to return to Marbletown Town Court.
An investigation is continuing, according to VanBlarcum, who said the incident is considered to have been an accident.
Besides sheriff’s deputies, state police at Ulster and Wawarsing and their bomb disposal unit were at the scene.
Criminal charges? What kind of police state has America become?
Back in the 1980s when I managed a photo lab, Kodak shipped control strips and other temperature-sensitive materials packed in dry ice. We’d have loads of fun with it, dropping chunks of it into a sink-full of warm water.
Hmmm. Not a great idea to put it in a sealed container. And, isn’t dry ice frozen CO2? Maybe they’ll charge him with a hate crime. Hate against the climate. Anything’s possible anymore.
Assault and battery against Gaia.
My thought as well. Kind of sets the groundwork for state supervision of parents I think. Little Johnny may have to wear a wire home someday.
The charge? Being educated in a public school.
Did he put the dry ice in a pressure cooker?
Don`t Hold Your breath!
Carbon Dioxide is now listed by ATF as a component of bomb-making materials.
Where`s my baking Soda?
Now that is funny.
If child endangerment is a crime, the people who wrote compulsory attendance laws in some school districts need to be imprisoned as felons.
Carbon dioxide is life giving and interesting
It sublimates. Meaning it won’t exist in our world as a liquid
Goes from gas. To vapor. No in between
This does mean that if you put it in a sealed container the laws of nature being what they are it will expand to 22.4 l per 44 g of “CO2 ice”
Inasmuch is 44 g only equals about 1.5 oz of solid geezh! That’s gonna be a lot of gas
Ie. KABOOM!
Nuff sed
Unreal.
Dry ice bombs have some serious risks:
- Premature explosion. Burst pressure can occur within seconds, injuring the handler.
- Dry ice is very cold: −78.5 °C (−109.3 °F). The explosion can carry shards of dry ice that had not sublimed.
- The shock wave can be extremely loud and hearing damage can occur even at substantial distances.
- The blast can propel fragments of the container at very high speeds causing cuts and puncture wounds.
- Added shrapnel such as nails, marbles, and metal fragments can cause blunt force trauma to the body.
Dud bombs which fail to explode are a major safety problem. They cannot be left, yet cannot be safely approached. Unexploded bombs can be shot or otherwise ruptured from a safe distance. Injuries are common, with glass bottles in particular posing a risk of serious injury or death.
Sounds like fun! Just be careful.
It seems to me that the problem with a highly volatile bomb like that is that it might not give you enough time to get far enough away from it.
Thank you Mr Clavin
True, unless it is under pressure. At more than 5.1 atmospheres or 75 psi CO2 will form a liquid. Liquid CO2 is generally cheaper to purchase than liquid nitrogen however it is more reactive and requires more expensive equipment to handle.
If there was a 50 dollar charge for being stupid that would be about right.
I was thinking the same thing. It all depends on the tensile strength of the container.
One agency short of the Boston Lock Down.
...which means the ATF can arrest anyone who is breathing for possessing "bomb making equipment". Perfect. Just perfect.
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