MEC&F Expert Engineers : BOMB MADE FROM TINFOIL AND DRAIN CLEANER (DRANO) IN A GATORADE BOTTLE INJURES LYNCHBURG COLLEGE GROUNDSKEEPER

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

BOMB MADE FROM TINFOIL AND DRAIN CLEANER (DRANO) IN A GATORADE BOTTLE INJURES LYNCHBURG COLLEGE GROUNDSKEEPER






TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015

LYNCHBURG COLLEGE, VIRGINIA

A bomb made from tinfoil and drain cleaner in a Gatorade bottle caused minor injuries to a Lynchburg College groundskeeper Monday morning.

According to Bob Driskill, director of campus safety and security, the groundskeeper found the bottle during his morning cleanup duties in the 300 block of College Street and picked it up. As he was walking back to his truck, it exploded, Driskill said in an interview.

The college has determined the device was a “works” bomb.  Drano is formulated as a combination of liquid lye and sodium hypochlorite.

“The chemical reaction between the Drain-o and the Tin Foil makes a volatile buildup of gases and subsequently detonates the bottle with a great amount of force,” wrote Driskill in an email to the campus community.  The gas that is generated is actually hydrogen gas, H2. “Once the detonation occurs, the chemical substance that is in the bottle is actually boiling liquid.

Sodium Hydroxide (which is the active ingredient in many drain cleaners, including Drano (Drano MSDS Here)) does indeed react fairly violently with aluminium to produce Hydrogen gas.

2 Al + 2 NaOH + 2 H2O → 2 NaAl(OH)4 + 3 H2

The Sodium Hydroxide breaks down the passivation layer that naturally forms on the surface of aluminium due to it's reaction with atmospheric oxygen. It's my understanding that: 

The Sodium Hydroxide dissolves the passivation, which allows the NaOH and H2O to come in direct contact with the Aluminium metal. 

The Aluminium reacts to give NaAl(OH)4, and hydrogen as a gas ultimately ending up with a lot of heat, hydrogen gas, and various aluminium hydroxide species.

“The amount of force that is generated at the time of the explosion is enough to sever fingers and also delivers 2nd and 3rd degree chemical burns to the victim. The chemicals can possibly cause blindness and the toxic fumes can be harmful.”

Driskill said the chemical splashed the employee on his eyes, skin and clothing. After flushing out his eye at the campus health center and changing clothing, he returned to work later in the day, Driskill said.

The following advice was given to the college community in the email:

“If you find a soda bottle or any other bottles, look at it carefully. If it shows signs of swelling, or melting in any way, DO NOT TOUCH IT! Call Campus Security 434.544.5555 and let us respond in concert with the Lynchburg Fire Department.”

Lynchburg College employees investigated the front yard of a college-owned student house where the bottle was found and discovered debris of similar, previously exploded bomb. The house is not a sorority or fraternity, he said.

Driskill said “works” bombs typically are set up to detonate in a short period of time, so it’s likely the one the groundskeeper picked up was defective in some way.

He said about a year ago, there was an explosion on campus officials suspect was a similar “works” or “Drano” bomb dropped by a moving vehicle passing through campus. No one was injured and they weren’t able to obtain debris, he said. That’s the only similar incident he’s aware of at the college.

Lynchburg Fire Marshal Thomas Goode said it’s a Class 5 felony, and the Fire Marshal’s Office is assisting Lynchburg College with the investigation.

“People walk through there all the time,” Goode said of the area where the bomb went off. “There’s no cameras in the vicinity.”

It appears to be an isolated incident, so far.  More likely a student prank.  Only this is a very dangerous prank.

“It’s not like a serial bottle bomber at this time,” Goode said.

Anyone with information regarding the bomb is asked to all the Fire Marshal’s Office at (434) 455-6349.