The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1899-12-08
A ADANGEROUS TRADE.
PGRILS THAT BESET THE MAKING OF
NlTRoGLYCERIN.

| Care Tint Has to he Exercised In
the Factories.
Nitroglycerin and its pecullarities
are little known, even in localities
where it Is made. People generally
give 1t n wide berth, and even q less
number know how 1t is manufactured.
Probably In no place In the United
States is there such a great amount Of
the explosive used as In the Indiana
oilfelds. Indiana has four nitroslycerln
factories, and they are seldom visited
by curious people.
The explosive is made from compo-
sition of acids and glycerin. 1t Is sener-
ally pale yellow in color and quite col
| orless when pure. 1t Is odorlesS, and
has n sweet, punGent, aromatic favor.
If touched by ones tongue, or even
brought into contact with the skin, 1t
| will produce severe headache.
large tank, called an agitator, Is where
the fluid is mixed, and the mixture Is
composed Of equal parts of nitric and
sulphuric acids. Inside the tank arc
several paddles, like those Of churn,
and it Is here that the real danger In
| the manufacture exists. The paddles
are put In operation and steady
stream OF sweet glycerin Is turned into
u vat until $50 pounds are thoroughly
mixed with the 1880 pounds Of acid.
The chemicals coming In contact pro-
ducc an intense heat, and in order to
obviate the danger cold water is run
through pipes cncircling and running
through the vat. At S5 degrees +. n
| -, n. 7
cutting off the supply of glyccrin in the
| agitator does not lower the temper
! aturc, it is time to say farewell. Before
| 80 degrees are reached nothing but
atoms Of the structure and its contents
are left,
In its manufacture water is used to
food the workroom, since drop fall
| ing on the floor might lead to an explo-
sion. Not nail Is to be found In the
floor of the factory, and the visitor Is
cautioned not to drag his feet. Those
| who make the dangerous fluid say that
/ n jar will not cause an explosion; that
| friction and fire are the only agencies
by which 1t can he discharged. One
may pour a barrel Of nitroglyccrin
from high building 10 a cement walk
below and 1t will not explode, but q
small quantity Of 1t dropped from the
| same height in can Will blow the
| building down. \ sharp concussion In
stantly touches 1t Off. Factories be-
come useless after n few years opera
tion and have to be destroyed. The
timber becomes saturated with nitro
Glycerin and IN explosion is imminent
at any time.
The average production Of nitroglyc-
erin from 1900 pounds of acid and go
pounds OF glycerip Is about Loo quarts.
, About 1G0 quarts constitute an average
shot for an Indiana oil well. While
| magazine explosions are not rare, the
real cause Of the blowing up never be-
| comes known. Those who are close
! eHough to see the cause always go up
| with the building. The average time
for q shooter OF aitroglyccrin maker to
remain in the business does moi exceed
five years. Death Is instant. and no
!, one has ever recovered from nitro
glycerin accident. Bodies are torn to
atoms no larger than bits Of sausage.
, The wages Of employees OF the fac
! tories range from S125 to $3.50 n month.
| Colonel William 4. Myers of Bolivar,
n. Y, was the man who made and OK
; ploded the first pound Of nitroglycerin
in an oil well. He built the first fac
tory in the United States near Titus
! yille, Pa, in 1868. Up to that time
| powder had been psed to torpedo oil
/ wells. 1t was then thai 10 explosive.
that could be discharged under wafer
was found in nitrosiyoerin. Colonel
| Myers father was Philadelphia
chemist and taught his son how to
make 1T.
| The first well torpedoed was on Colo
mel Mills lease, near Titusville. and the
/ charge consisted Of only two pounds.
Oh was worth 50 barrel then. and q
torpedo that WQn!a double the produc-
tion Of q well was worth almost what
the maker chose to ask for it. Colonel
! Myers built 12 different factories In
different parts Of the oil regions from
1858 to 1885, when he retired from the
BUSINESS. Only one Of the or!g:nal fac
tories STANDS intact today. Myers made
several fortunes and spent his money
like prince, but. fortunates for bin,
he still has snug sum laid by,
Well shooters spin great yarns OF
their experiences, and the stories are
| Of the hair raising order. Well shoot
ers generally are fataljsts to a consid-
erable degree in their belief, and it Is
probably one reason why they do not
fear the fluid. They state that when
one would think 1t was tile most dam
gerous the explosive is tLa.,safcst.
The smallest drop can be placed on an
anvil and struck by the heaviest
sledge hammer, and the hammer will
bound back over the shoulder OF the
striker, no matter how much he may
try to hold it. Some claim that it will
tear the arm off, but this is exaggera-