Hydrazine Preparation Hazard
To t h e Editor: A recent article in THIS .IOIIHNAI. (11 drew attention t o the cantinued value of t h e study of t h e chemistry of hydrazine. Hydrazine a n d itssalts can readily he prepared on a laboratory scaleso t h a t t h e preparation and a study o f t h e reactions of hydrazine provide very useful related practical work. During a recent student preparation ofhydrazine sulfate in our laboratories, using a standard preparative method (21, the liquid reaction mixture detonated violently. T h e containing evaporating dish was shattered and t h e ashestos gauze driven down thmugh the opening a f t h e supporting tripod. Apart from mild shock and temporary deafness, no injury was sustained, as the reartinn. which had reached the wanoration staee. was heine carried uut in a l u m r ~ u p h ~ w with ~ t the hwnl d c ~ t l,\. & m d rea u n a i f m c d nv I ~ ePx p l c ~ w n 11111 . studenti S ~ O W C I I H marked reluctance t o continue with t h e experiment. This preparation had been incorporated into the practical schedules for our T.E.C. Higher Certificate program. T h e T.E.C. standard unit, Inorganic Chemistry V(TEC U7916591, draws specific attention t o t h e chemmtry of hydrazine, as does the recent article i n ' r ~ l JOURs
NAL.Hitherto this preparation has been carried out in our laboratories hv,students on our degree and other courses without anv difficultv. \VP h a w l w n unahlc I < ) ldentli) ;mv sprcili: rnuce nitrogen trichloride. Because t h e evaporating dish was completely shattered it was not possible t o check whether leakage of reaction mixture through a hairline crack in the dish might have been theeause of t h e explosion. T h e laboratory staff and the student concerned considered t h a t t h e dish wassaund a t t h e commencement of t h e ex~~~~
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