El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-12-20
Mr.. And Mrs. Ell
PaSO, Shake The
Hand Off, ~ Z.
An Introduction To The
Powerful Explosive We
May Store Near Here.
By FRIEDRICH J. HAsKIN.


is really wonder Of modern science
TrinitrotoluoI or T. y. T. is the sub
stance which wiped cities off the map
/ OF Europe. shattered submarines in
the depths Of the sea. blew whole
companies Of men TO pieces. It is also
the force which wiped out great in
/ dustrial plants in blasts that shook
the country.
InasmEen as Fl PasO wants =
storage plant for this and other
high explosives located near that
city. Its people are doubtless IN
terested I'm this explosive.
The performances Of 7. y. T are
terrific awe-inspiring- After one Of
the great runition plant explosions. a
colOred workman with a face the
shade Of boiled liver appeared at the
company office and in q shaking voice
demanded his time Asked why he
was quitting when our forces were in
special need Of T y. T. ne replied;
Boss. Is fust found ont that
r. n T. stands for Travel NsgEer.
TraveI!r
For military purposes a high ex-
plosive should meet three main re-
Quirements- First. It must yield the
greatest possible explosive force per
Unit weight OF substance: second, its
manufacture must not involve too
much risk; and third. It must be con-
venient and relatively safe % handle.
some Minor Details.
Certain explosives such as nitrogen
iodides and nitrogen chloride are so
sensitive that the touch Of q feather
viii Sc them off. These compounds
are unfit for military use. Others, !
such as the Eliminates of mercury 4
and silver and mixtures containing ]
CELEBRATES are less sensitive. yet mod
latter substances, however, serve a 4
very useful purpose in primers, where 4
they are employed in very small
quantities and so protected that the
danger Of their premature explosion
IS reduced to a minimum In this
way they are used TO detonate large
OF less sensitive explosives.
Still other substances such as nitro
dry guncotton and pycric
acid are even less likely TO be set off
II carefully handled. yet frightful ac-
cidents have occurred not only in
their transportation. but also when
these materials were stored in maya
zines where there was little chance of
their being submitted TO even slight
jars.
s.DangerOusIy Safe
Trinitrotoluol, however, has been
described as dangerously safe, for it
can be so roughly treated without
workers are apt to grow very careless /
in handling It
When pure, T. n. T. Is a slightly
yellow. fine crystalline powder which I
IS insoluble IN and unaffected by
water If heated TO about so degrees
Centrigrade it melts TO a deep yellow
liquid resembling maple syrup in ap
Dearance. which can be poured into
nolds and shells with almost perfect
safety It cannot be exploded by
either a flame or PERCUSSION, and IN
ike pycric acid and number Of other
nigh explosives. It forms no highly
sensitive compounds with the metals
which would render II dangerous to I
llace in metal containers # a flame
3 applied to a mass OF T. n. T. J
powder, it melts. takes fire and burns Z
quietly, evolving a heavy black
smoke. 1t viii stand the most severe
Ihocks without decomposing-in fact s
! bullet may be fired into It without :
fleet. Yet II Il Is detOnated by the :
harp explosion Of illuminate of mer- Z
ury. Il explodes with the greatest
-iolence even when imersed IN water. Z
WheE II ExpIOdes.
Both the power and safety OF 7. y :
!, were well demonstrated several /
months ago when a ton or more OF
his substance exploded at a plant 10
ated near one OF our large cities. It is
ever clear what causes such blasts,
ut from our knowledge Of the prop
rites Of this substance It was prob
bly, detonated by some other ex-
losive. The explosion killed so men
nd rocked the whole surrounding
ountry for miles; yet close to the
Gene OF the accident there were
tOred so tons Of T. y T which had
exploded. would have destroyed the
-reat manufacturing plant and prob
bly, wrecked the nearby city Thanks
o the stability OF this compound it
-ithstood the shock
T. y. T. Poisoning.
While T. y T. can be handled with
lmost perfect safety as far as its ex-
lcsive properties are concerned, any
ndue familiarity Of the factory
7orkers is not without its evil ef-
acts.
This compound is quite poisonous
ven in small quantities and those
ngaged in its manufacture are apt to
2 seriously affected unless they take =
roper precautions I
When the material is melted a Ger
ain amount is volatilized and the
reathing Of these fumes is quite in s.
1rOus. Care must also be taken that y
I cleaning and packing shells con- !,
aiming T. \. T. the dust from the :.
ried powder is not allowed to get X
Ito the lungs, as It acts upon the n
lood and produces what is known as le
-o11c Jaunulce- :
Absorbed Through skin. p
The most recent investigation OF il
he department Of labor. however, has
Town that the majority Of cases of a
n. T poisoning have been due to V
le absorption Of the material il
trough the skin OF those who. in Al
andling the explosive. have allowed al
10 come into contact with their II
esh unnecessarily. IA
While a number Of cases of 7. y. 7. ~
aisoning have resulted fatally, a I Al
stter understanding Of the nature OF n
lis compound and strict enforcement NJ
certain precautionary measures are -
aterially reducing the percentage Of h,
1isoned workers. By providing q,
enty Of fresh air IN the factories. =
aking the laborers wear gloves, and
.quiring them also to change their q
othing before entering the work =
IONS, the danger of injury from T. y. .
is not great.
Another Hun boomerang. IN
Curiously enough the Germans were
.e first to manufacture any quantity
! 7 y T, and in 1902 they adopted =
is substance for high explosive
Tells They found that the ease and
.fety with which It could be melted
.ndered il an ideal filling for shells,
ines and grenades, and when the
ar opened they were infinitely bet
T equipped for its manufacture than
~ other nation The allies. however
ere not long in recognizing the
ilUe Of this explosive. and they
ere soon producing and using II IN
istIy greater quantities than Ger
any. not only for the same purpose, pi
II also as the main ingredient Of the m
.pth bombs which have permanently r.