Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-07-09

When you handle il be
careful. Here's why
by
Paul W. KeazneY

\ KosT urban householders who bring
N home ice cream on hot summer days
oVo know what dry ice is. Many of us
have handled it, too. lifting it quickly out
of the oontainer, juggling it and perhaps
dropping small piece into glass of water to
watch it flzz.
But not 50 many, apparently, are aware
of the hazards of this remarkable product, for
accident records show an increasing number
of mishaps due to the mishandling of this
commonplace-looking stuff. Children, espe-
cially, are falling victims to it hence this
word of warning.
First of ALL it is important to remember
that dry ice is approximately l400 colder
than ordinary ice and can impart vicious
burn" if handled without adequate pro-
lection for the bare fingers.
Secondly, it does not melt in the accepted
sense, but gives off considerable volume of
gas at ordinary temperatures. For this reason
it should nerer be confined in a tigh4ly-clOsed
container. such as glass bottle or Mason jar,
because the continued gas pressure will ex-
plode the container.
Ignorance of these basic facts have resulted
in number of casualties lately. Children,
getting bits of dry ice at ice-cream stores,
have discovered that it lends itself to tricks
that are exciting - but too often tragic.
Put small piece in bottle with some
water, hold your finger over the orening and
shake well, and it will squirt water all over
the place. But in Chicago a lad who held on to
the bottle second too long lost three fingers
of his hand.
Put stopper in the bottle and run, and
it will blow up like a hrecracker. But in
Minnesota boy at a picnic was blinded when
a capped Mason jar containing dry ice ex-
ploded prematurely.
Put small hunk in your mouth and wait
second, and you can blow of steam like a
locomotive. But in Montana another boy died
from injuries incurred while doing the same
trick, and in California a kid who was showing
his friends how to blow of steam" spent ten
agonized days in the hospital with fright
fully burned tongue.
Dry ice is wonderful thing but it is not
a toy. 1t is not enough to warn your children
against handling it: whenever you bring any
into the house, be sure that it is placed we'll
out of their reach until it has dssipated itself.
In the interim don't handle it yourself
with bare hands.
Never, never try to chill drinking water
with it. No substance rating 1902 below zero
should be used for that purpose. For one
thing, excessively cold water is harmful as a
beverage; for another, floating particles may
be swallowed with dire results.
Don't chew dry ice no matter how hot you
may be- Last summer foolish mother gave
her infant piece of dry ice to suck on. The
baby died
Finally. don't ever put dry ice into any con-
tainer that is securely closed. As commonly
employed in cardboard ice-cream cartons,
solidfed carbon dioxde is safe because the
pressure of the gas produced can escape grad
ually. The mistake many folks make is to
transfer the cream and the ice" to some
other vessel for a picnic And the pressure
that is rapidly built up inside the rigid con-
tainer can't help but burst the thing into
smithereens
This doesn't mean that carbon dioxide gas
is explosive - on the contrary, it is one of the
finest fre-extinguishing agents known. widely
used under the name fire snow" But in that
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