Explosive Substance Turned In At Household Chemical Disposal Event
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Authorities in Aurora stopped an event to dispose of household chemicals on Saturday after someone turned in an explosive substance.
The Arapahoe County Bomb Squad was called in to destroy a potentially dangerous sample of picric acid.
Picric acid is a compound used for industrial use. When crystallized it can be explosive.
After years of living in a home, what's inside can sometimes be a mystery. Depending on what it is, it can also become a household hazard.
"I'm sure that people have things laying around that they either didn't own before or have been sitting around for years and kind of got forgotten about," Aurora resident Jim Walsh said.
Diane Lord with the Aurora Fire Department says the person who brought the picric acid to the event inherited their house from a relative and the acid had been there for years.
"Very explosive, very sensitive," Ford said.
Aurora fire says people who have questions about a chemical shouldn't move it, but instead have call the fire department and have them come to their home. Another good idea is to find the name of the chemical and do research on the Internet.
