Explosion Hazard: Pyridine "Perchromak" It has been brought to our attention by Professor H. J. Emeleus that pyridine "perchromate" bas been known to explode violently. The preparation of pyridine "perchromate" is described in J. S., '*Advanced Practical Inorganic our recently published book (ADMS, D. M., and RAYNOR, Chemistry," John Wiley & Sons Ltd., London, 1965, p. 50). Dr. E. A. V. Ebsworth of Cambridge University sufferedthe loss of several fingers as a result, of an explosion involving little more than 5 grams of the solid; this had been standing around for some time and exploded when touched with a stainless steel spatula at room temperature. In our classes we have never had an explosion with this compound, probably because most of a preparation is used straight away for further tests, and the material has not been allowed to dry out completely. We want to draw the attention of teachers of chemistry to this hazard, which wss not known to us at the time the book was published. If prepared, the compound should be used on the same day, and surplus material should be destroyed by treatment with dilute alkali before leaving the laboratory.
D. 11. ADA^ and J. B. RAYNOR
94
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Journal o f Chemical Education
