[NHCOLL-L:4056] RE: Fwd: [H&S] Fwd: Safe disposal of picric acid

[John E Simmons]

Picric acid is most commonly used in Bouin's Solution, which is a
histological fixative.  Bouin's Solution is has a distinctive yellow color.
Specimens that were once fixed in Bouin's and later transferred to alcohol
may still contain traces of the picric acid in Bouin's Solution.  Picric
acid is not dangerous as long as it is in solution, but when it dries it is
very explosive.  Yet another reason why the preservation history of
specimens should be part of the catalog record...Unfortunately, we rarely
have this information for our collections.

--John

John E. Simmons
Museologica
128 E. Burnside Street
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010
simmons.johne at gmail.com
303-681-5708
and
Adjunct Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
19 Deike Building
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-2709
jes67 at psu.edu

On Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 11:35 AM, Bryant, James <JBRYANT at riversideca.gov>wrote:

>  Thank you all for the background on this preservative. I'm curious as to
> why picric acid was ever used? It's new to me.
>
>
>
> James M. Bryant
>
> Curator of Natural History
>
> Museum Department, City of Riverside
>
> 3580 Mission Inn Avenue
>
> Riverside, CA 92501
>
> (951) 826-5273
>
> (951) 369-4970 FAX
>
> jbryant at riversideca.gov
>   ------------------------------
>
> *From:* owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:
> owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] *On Behalf Of *CAHawks at aol.com
> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 29, 2008 5:33 PM
> *To:* NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
> *Subject:* [NHCOLL-L:4048] Fwd: [H&S] Fwd: Safe disposal of picric acid
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Catharine Hawks
> Conservator
> 2419 Barbour Road
> Falls Church VA 22043-3026 USA
> t/f 703.876.9272
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> From: BallardM at si.edu
> Reply-to: aic-health at lists.stanford.edu
> To: aic-health at lists.stanford.edu
> Sent: 10/29/2008 9:58:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
> Subj: Re: [H&S] Fwd: [NHCOLL-L:4037] Safe disposal of picric acid
>
>
>
> Common name: Picric Acid
>
> Color Index Name Acid Yellow (no number)
>
> C.I. Constitution Number: 10305
>
> Discovered by Woulfe, 1771.
>
> Solubility: sparingly soluble in water (yellow); readily soluble in
> ethanol.
>
> Toxicity information From NISax et al. Dangerous Properties of Industrial
> Materials 6th ed. 1984
>
>
>
> Can cause allergic irritation as well as dermatitis. Sympoms of systematic
> poisoning are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, yellow discoloration of skin &
> convulsions, as well as stupor, skin eruptions, anemia, abdominal pain and
> oligeria
>
> Explosion hazard: dangerous when shocked or exposed to heat. Keep out of
> contact with metals. Forms unstable salts with concrete, ammonia and bases.
> Picric acid is a more powerful explosive than TNT.
>
> Disaster hazard: highly dangerous, shock will explode it on decomposition
> it emits highly toxic fumes and explodes. Can react vigorously with reducing
> materials.
>
>
>
> If you want to know what it looks like it's 2,4,6 trinitrophenol.
>
>
>
> Mary W. Ballard
>
> Senior Textiles Conservator,
>
> Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution
>
> 4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland MD 20746 U.S.A.
>
> tel: 301-238-1210 fax: 301-238-3709
>
> email ballardm at si.edu
>   ------------------------------
>
> *From:* aic-health-bounces at lists.stanford.edu [mailto:
> aic-health-bounces at lists.stanford.edu] *On Behalf Of *CAHawks at aol.com
> *Sent:* Tuesday, October 28, 2008 9:22 PM
> *To:* aic-health at lists.Stanford.edu
> *Subject:* [H&S] Fwd: [NHCOLL-L:4037] Safe disposal of picric acid
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Catharine Hawks
> Conservator
> 2419 Barbour Road
> Falls Church VA 22043-3026 USA
> t/f 703.876.9272
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> From: Morris.Robert at saugov.sa.gov.au
> To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
> Sent: 10/28/2008 3:52:59 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
> Subj: [NHCOLL-L:4037] Safe disposal of picric acid
>
>
>
> Dear All,
>
>
>
> We have a number of Helminth specimens housed in picric acid solution that
> we would like to rebottle and store in a less volatile medium. The specimens
> remain in solution but are housed in old food jars with metal lids. This
> really is an OHS no no and one we need to address before the safety auditors
> land on our doorsteps.  Although reasonably stable if left alone, our fear
> is that by trying to unscrew the metal lids we may ignite the crystalline
> form that may have formed on the underside of the lids.
>
>
>
> One thought would be to immerse the jars in a water tank and allow them to
> slowly fill with water before attempting to unscrew the lids. Has anyone
> encountered this problem and if so what methods did you adopt to safely
> extract specimens from picric acid solution?
>
>
>
> Any advice would be appreciated
>
>
>
> Robert Morris
>
> Head of Collections
>
> *South** Australian Museum*
>
> North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
>
> Tel. +61 (0)8 82077455, Fax. +61 (0)8 82077222
>
> www.samuseum.sa.gov.au
>
>
>
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