According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), approximately 9,200 people were treated for fireworks-related injuries in 2006. ATF reports some 50 people killed and 500 injured by explosives each year in the US.
Tragically, a large portion of statistics are represented by the “home experimenter”. Lack of formal training in handling best practices results in catastrophe. Dangerous chemical compounds are prepared in rudimentary conditions – more often than not resulting in disaster.
Many consider experimenting with gunpowder and “M-80s” a “rite of passage”, yet the potential for injury and even death is high.
This area, while in no way any substitute for formal explosives training, has been assembled to give a introduction to the theory and safe handling practices recommended by the explosives industry and military.
Certain explosives can, and are used with relative safety in industry and military applications without accidental detonation, though many compounds are considered unstable by nature and no amount of safety training can lead to the safe handling of them.
Read up on best handling practices and guidelines for explosive use in our exhaustive collection of books below.
