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Bomb Squad Searches House Over Teenager's Chemistry Experiments

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-are-you-titrating? dept.

McGruber writes: On Wednesday, authorities in the south Fulton County, Georgia town of Hapeville shut down a street for hours and used their bomb squad to search a home. According to the suspect's father, the bomb scare started after his 18-year-old son was arrested for trespassing, entering an abandoned warehouse and salvaging mercury switches, which can be used to detonate explosives. When police searched the teen's home on Virginia Avenue at Rainey Avenue in Hapeville, they said they found chemicals inside. "He's not building bombs. He does do a lot of experiments. A lot of them I don't fully understand, but I'm certain he's not making bombs," said the suspect's father, Allen Mason. Mason says chemistry is his son's hobby and he wants to be a chemical engineer. Mason also said police told him what they found is not illegal to own. One neighbor, who couldn't return home for hours, said he didn't feel the teen was a threat. "I don't see a problem with this, but you have to trust the authorities in they're doing what they think is best," said Curtis Ray. In February 2015, Hapeville authorities evacuated businesses and called out the bomb squad to investigate a pinhole camera that was part of a Georgia University Art Project.

6 of 431 comments (clear)

  1. no you dont by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "I don't see a problem with this, but you have to trust the authorities in they're doing what they think is best," said Curtis Ray.

    Um... no you don't

  2. Paranoia by ArylAkamov · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I love how they say that Mercury switches can detonate explosives, as if any other switch can't.

    This is exactly the reason I got out of the hobby, too many hobbyists getting raided (Especially after 9/11). And if they do decide they want to go after you, you're screwed. Magnetic stirrers, pyrex glasses, even coffee pots can be considered "bomb making equipment" in their eyes.

    1. Re:Paranoia by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Vitamin C is a reducing agent and makes a pretty good explosive if you have an oxidizer, even a mild one like a nitrate salt. It has an electron pair that it's dying to get rid of.
      I used to make nitrogen triiodide out of iodine and ammonia. In an excess of ammonia it seemed pretty stable, but once the stuff dries out, a feather can make it detonate. I'd leave a soaked paper towel in front of some other kid's house, run off, and once it dried... kaboom! So of course, I spilled it on my shirt once, and the crystals were already going snap-crackle-pop before I could take it off. I remember my mother asking why my shirt was making such a racket.

  3. How times have changed. by trout007 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    when I was about 12 in the mid 80's I rode my bike 10 miles to Radio Shack and bought all of the Mercury Switches they had (4?) for about $1.50 each. I built people detectors which consisted of a copper tube with batteries, Mercury switch, on/off push button, and siren. When we played hide and seek or paintball I could arm one and put a string across a path. If someone hit the string the siren would go off.

    I lost one or so I thought. A kid found one and took it home. His Mom called the cops because she thought it was a bomb. The kid ratted me out as the builder. The cop showed up at my house and asked me to come look at something. I followed him and one of these devices was in the street. I told the cop what it was and he laughed and told me to pick it up and take it home.

    I can't imagine what would happen today.

    --
    I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
  4. Re: Like the nazi used to say by david_bonn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Oh, and by the way, mercury is a toxic substance with pretty specific rules with respect to disposal. I doubt leaving it in an abandoned warehouse is complying with those rules.

    Seriously, some kid likes to play with chemistry. Good on him.

    I made plenty of bombs when I was a kid. Even had a cop talk to me. All he said was make sure nobody got hurt and don't start a fire you can't put out.

  5. Re: Like the nazi used to say by bearded_yak · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Some kid broke a couple of thermometers in a classroom a couple years ago around here and the EPA was called when word got out to some helicopter parent. They brought in a device to measure the mercury vapor level in the room and the room was declared a hazard after taking the air measurements. The room became a suit-up, limited exposure-time environment while they figured out what to do. Students houses were visited and clothing and shoes bagged for hazmat disposal. Seriously. I believe the room's carpet is now rolled up and buried in a hazardous chemicals disposal facility. The paranoia prevalent today about mercury is ridiculous and is unfortunately being backed up by supposed scientific authorities.

    It's funny that my generation is not the one with all the crazy levels of autism claims, and we're the ones that freely played around with mercury in our chemistry classes.