The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-18
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INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
4. n. r.

great war brought to perfection and
wide use q new high explosive which
il really a wonder of modern science.
Trinitrotoluol. or T. N. 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. 1t Is also
the force which wiped out great in
dustrial plants in blasta that shook
the country.
terrific. awe-inspiring. After one OF
| the great munition plant explosions,
a colored workman with a face the
shade Of boiled liver appeared at the
| company office and in a shaking voice
demanded his time. Asked why he
| was quitting when our forces were in
| special need Of T. N. T., he replied:
BOSS, Use just found out that T. n.
7. stands for Travel. Niger. Travels"
For military military purposes ,ss.s high e gs
| Quirements: First, 1t 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 to handle.
| Certain explosives such as nitrogen
iodides and, nitrogen chloride are so
will set them off. These compounds
are unfit for military use. Others.
such as the Eliminates of mercury
and silver and mixtures containing
CELEBRATES are less sensitive. yet mod
| crate shocks will explode them. These
very useful purpose in primers. where
they are employed in very small
| quantities and SO protected that the
| danger of their premature explosion
is reduced to minimum. In this way
! they are used to detonate large
| charges of less sensitive explosives.
| Still other substances such as nitro
glycerine, dry guncotton and pycric
acid are even less likely to be set off
if carefully handled, yet frightful- ac-
cidents have occurred not only in their
transportation, but also when these
materials were stored in magazines
| where there was little chance OF their
being submitted to even light jars.
Trinitrotoluol, however, has been
described as dangerously safe, for 1t
can b0 SO roughly treated without I'M
dergoing any change that munition
workers are apt to. grow very care
less in handling it,
| When pure. INT. is a slightly yell
low, fine crystalline powder which is
insoluble in and unaffected by water.
If heated to about 80 degrees Cent?
grade it melts to a deep yellow liquid
resembling maple syrup in appear
ance, which can be poured into molds
1t cannot be exploded by either flame
or PERCUSSION; and unlike pycre acid
and number of other high explo-
sives, it forms no highly sensitive
compounds with the metals which
would render 1t dangerous to place in
metal containers. If a flame is ap-
piled to a mass of TINT. powder, 1t
melts, takes fire and burns quickly.
evolving a heavy black smoke. 1t will
stand the most severe shocks without
decomposing-in fact, a bullet may be
!. fired into it without effect. Yet II it
is detonated by the sharp explosion OF
illuminate of mercury, it explodes with
the greatest violence even when i'm
mersed in water.
, Both the power and safety Of INT.
|, were well demonstrated several
months ago when a ton or more OF
Gated near one Of our large cities. II
is never clear what causes such
blasts. because those nearby usually
perish: but from our knowledge of the
properties of this substance it was
probably detonated by some other ex-
plosive. The explosion killed sixty
men and rocked the whole surround
ing country for miles; yet close to the
scene of the accident there were stored
, thirty tons of TINT. which, had il
exploded. would have destroyed thu
great manufacturing plant and prob
dOly WIcChtu the nearby CITY. 1Hdnks
to the stability of this compound il
: withstood the shock.
INT. Poisoning.
While INT. can be handled will
almost perfect safety as far as its ex
plosive properties are concerned, an,
t undue familiarity of the factory work
3 ers is not without it's evil effects.
This COMPOUND, is quite poisonous
> even in small quantities, and those en-
orc N 70 ,fo ctr nj
be seriously affected unless they TAXI
e proper precautions.
When the material is melted a Ger
tain amount is volatilized and tn,
breathing of these fumes is quite in
furious. Care must also be taken tina
t In cleaning and packing shells con
tanning INT. the dust from the driet
:, powder is not allowed to get into tn,
i lungs, as it acts upon the blood ant
produces what is known as "toxi
= jaundice."
i The most recent investigation of tn,
department of labor, however, ha
shown that the majority of cases O
INT. poisoning have been due to tn
: absorption of the material thru tn
: skin OF those who. in handling tn
explosive, have allowed it to come int,
contact with their flesh unnecessarily
While a number of cases of TINT
: poisoning have resulted fatally, a bet
= ter understanding of the nature of thi
:, compound and the strict enforcement
OF certain precautionary measures ar
s materially reducing the percentage o
r. poisoned workers. By providing
! plenty of fresh air in the factories
making the laborers wear gloves, an
. requiring them also to change thei
: clothing before entering the worl
= rooms, the danger Of injury froH
q INT. is not great.
q Another Hun Boomeraus,
Curiously enough the Germans we<
the fist to manufacture any quantit
of INT, and in 1902 they adopte
= this substance for high explosiv
l. shells. They found that the ease an
ia safety with which it could be melte
rendered 1t an ideal filling for shell.
u mines and grenades. and when tn