From: glhurst@onr.com (Gerald L. Hurst)
Newsgroups: alt.engr.explosives,rec.pyrotechnics,misc.survivalism
Subject: Re: Explosive "pancake" mix...
Date: 6 Apr 1996 04:14:11 GMT

In article <4k4gjj$127k@news.express.co.nz>, bruce@faxmail.co.nz (Bruce
Simpson) says:

>billn@PEAK.ORG (Bill Nelson) wrote:
>
>>Bruce Simpson (bruce@faxmail.co.nz) wrote:
>>: billn@PEAK.ORG (Bill Nelson) wrote:
>
>>: >Follow these directions, and you are likely to die. Nitromethane is rather
>>: >toxic.
>
>>: If it were that toxic I think you'd find a lot of dead model airplane
>>: enthusiasts strewn about the local flying fields :-)
>
>>Model airplane flyers do not mix their fuels with their bare hands, or
>>breath the fumes for extended periods of time.
>
>You must know some very meticulous modelers then.  Where I come from people
>don't wear rubber gloves or anythign when handling fuel.  Around here
>people still use plastic squeeze bottles to fill the tanks on small models
>(the ones most likely to use high levels of nitromethane) and it's often
>necessary to prime these engines through the exhaust ports by squirting
>fuel directly in (and around :-).  Larger engines often require the intake
>to be choked to draw the initial fuel through and a naked finger is the
>best tool for this job.   Also, many of these engines are two-strokes which
>means a not insignificant amount of the fresh (unburnt) fuel charge is lost
>in the exhausts stream which means raw fuel (methanol/nitro) comes out the
>exhaust pipe to a certain degree.

As organics go, NM and methyl alcohol aren't bad. That's another
way of saying that they take longer to kill you. It is unwise to risk
repeated exposure to any organic chemicals because the toxicity may 
be cumulative over a period of many years, slowly attacking the liver 
and kidneys without any symptoms whatsoever until one day the doctor 
tells you you are going to die. When that happens, you will not know 
what it was that got you and neither will your doctors.

I speak from very bitter experience.

Jerry (Ico)