Stash of old dynamite in shed is frozen, can't be moved (Whoa!)

Janeville Gazette ^ | 2.20.04

[mhking]

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. -- A stash of decaying dynamite discovered in a storage shed is frozen and can't be safely moved until the spring thaw, authorities say.

Explosives experts said Wednesday that the 500 to 700 pounds of dynamite posed no immediate danger to nearby residents and businesses - unless someone tampers with it.

The information didn't pacify all the residents and business owners within 1,250 feet of the shed who learned more about the situation at a meeting with officials Wednesday.

"I'm scared and I'm angry," said Shirley Cipra, who lives about 500 feet from the shed. "We've been here all these years. I get sick to my stomach when I think how many times my whole family has been there in danger."

The state Transportation Department bought the shed as part of a highway widening project before state workers found the dynamite in October.

Crawford County Sheriff Bob Ostrander said the dynamite has been stored in the shed for more than 20 years and is thought to have belonged to the owner of a construction company that used it for quarry blasting.

The man died in the early 1980s and the company is no longer in business.

Local law enforcement officials did not learn about the explosives until last week. Joe Farmer, a DOT real estate supervisor, blamed the delay in informing them on an internal communication error in his agency.

If the dynamite were to be ignited, the blast would affect a radius of about 1,250 feet, said Robert Donnelly, an explosives expert from Virginia brought in by the state to oversee the dynamite's removal.

Many homes and about 35 businesses, including hotels and a grocery store, are in the area.

However, the dynamite cannot be safely removed until spring because it needs to thaw, said Donnelly, director of UXB International Inc. Crystals and ice that have formed on the old dynamite could ignite it at the slightest touch.

In the spring, the dynamite will be coated with a special fluid to diminish its volatility, and it will then be removed row by row. The process could take four to 10 days, Donnelly said.

People may have to be temporarily evacuated at that time, though improvements to a sand berm constructed on Tuesday could make that unnecessary, the sheriff said.

Other security measures also have been taken, including 24-hour police surveillance of the shed.

"We don't want someone coming in and tampering with it," Ostrander said. "We're not going to allow it."

The DOT has erected a chain-link fence to secure the building.

Police Chief Mike King said people shouldn't worry.

"It's not going to go off just sitting there in that building," King said. "It's as safe as it's been in 25 years" with the sand berm and extra security.

[mylife]

Hmmm I have family near there in Praire du sac.

Funny froggy name eh?

[AdamSelene235]

. The old stuff sweats nitroglycerine

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought nitro become more stable when frozen? I thought back in the old days, they used to freeze it in order to transport it??

[PAR35]

A triple post.

[kenth]

or CYA

[isom35]

how about a giant hair dryer?

[Dan Evans]

Most of Wisconsin was old growth forest until the 1850's. They clearcut the lower 2/3 of the state of trees, and blasted the stumps by the millions. All the hardwoods, some as old as a few hundred years were floated to mills all along the great lakes.

Times sure have changed.

[Cold Heart]

You just triggered some memories. I grew up in Wisconsin.
I tried making some nitroglycerin. I had just finished distilling off some nitric acid when I bumped the ping pong table & dumped my product & broke dad's beakers & flasks.
The fact that I got no further is scientific proof that there is a God. I was thirteen. Dad is 90 now, I think I'll call him and finally fess up.

[CruisinAround]

Thanks for that from a Wisconsin resident.

Most people don't realize that Wisconsin is nicknamed the badger state not from the animal but rather from the lead miners that settled this region long ago, specifically in the southwest part of the state. They were so-called because they used their tools-of-the-trade not only to mine; but also to burrow their abodes underground to escape the Wisconsin winters.

There are probably a dozens of such caches underground, and if they haven't blown by now, they probably won't.

[Billthedrill]

Ah - a serious question deserves a serious answer - yes, in fact dynamite "freezes" at 42-46 Fahrenheit and they did use to transport it that way...but get it still colder and it becomes extremely sensitive to shock. The fact is that the old stuff is unpredictable in just about any form. I wouldn't really run a blowtorch over it.

A cigarette lighter, yes. But it would have to be one of those long grill-lighting thingies... ;-)

[CurlyDave]

The official recommendation is to burn it, but in small quantities dispersed throughout a wood fire laid out in a fairly large rectangle.

There are known exceptions to the contention that dynamite simply "burns" when ignited, especially when large concentrated quantities are involved.

Hatcher's Notebook describes the effects of a few disasters involving burning of very large quantities of explosives.

While burning 500+ pounds of old dynamite all in one stack would probably not cause a disaster, the chances for a detonation are large enough that I would recommend carefully separating it it into 25 lb lots each dispersed throughout a 4' x 25' bed of kindling before burning.

But then I am kind of a wuss on things like that...

[archy]

Old dynamite grows "hair," if its not used within a reasonable time. We dropped the stuff down the ANFO drill holes to get rid of it.

And gives you headaches.

[HardStarboard]

Well now that it's got publicity, every scotch (vodka, gin, brandy take your pick) drinking deer hunter with anything bigger than 30.06 will be out there plinking at it from 100 yards out.

[archy]

There are known exceptions to the contention that dynamite simply "burns" when ignited, especially when large concentrated quantities are involved.

Hatcher's Notebook describes the effects of a few disasters involving burning of very large quantities of explosives.

I recall one instance in southern Indiana south of Switz City, Indiana in the early 1960s, involving a wooden C&EI railroad boxcar with the older friction bearing wheelsets that suffered a journal bearing hotbox that set fire to the car and its contents.

Fitted with one of the then fairly new metal catwalks aboard its roof, when the car exploded, the catwalk was one of the few pieces found, over a mile and a half away. Another was the manual brake wheel, found about a half mile away...in the other direction. Glass windows in area farm residences were broken out to around 4 miles away.

[wattsup]

It's OK when frozen unless it starts to sweat. When that happens you have to treat it like Nitro. One bump and BOOM

[endthematrix]

"Local law enforcement officials did not learn about the explosives until last week. Joe Farmer, a DOT real estate supervisor, blamed the delay in informing them on an internal communication error in his agency."

Government bumbling in a post 9/11 environment?

[archy]

Well now that it's got publicity, every scotch (vodka, gin, brandy take your pick) drinking deer hunter with anything bigger than 30.06 will be out there plinking at it from 100 yards out.

Hold muh beer, and watch this....

[archy]

"Local law enforcement officials did not learn about the explosives until last week. Joe Farmer, a DOT real estate supervisor, blamed the delay in informing them on an internal communication error in his agency."

Government bumbling in a post 9/11 environment?

Ironically, it was against the law for him to give it to anyone else for disposal. Obey the law as best as you can, endanger your neighbors.

[Walkingfeather]

"I'm scared and I'm angry," said Shirley Cipra, who lives about 500 feet from the shed. "We've been here all these years. I get sick to my stomach when I think how many times my whole family has been there in danger."

They always have to find one person that has freaked out... sheesh. If you werent home and never got a call from the reporter you would have never known. People like that drive me bonkers.

[templar]

I don't suppose anyone would think to put a big tent over the shed and slowly warm it up instead of waiting till spring.

[U S Army EOD]

Which is when it is time to break out the ice cream.

My question to all you people that are going to burn it is how you plan to get it out of the shed? If it has been there long enough the shed itself being wood will absorb some of the exuding nitro and it also will be explosive. If you try to burn the dynamite and the shed also, you had better stand by for an high order because it could and IT DOES HAPPEN. Good luck, and take pictures.