#hazardous flammable materials

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Donald Trump brought his 2024 presidential campaign to East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after a cataclysmic train derailment prompted an environmental disaster in the small town following the release of toxic chemicals.

The former president's visit to the northeastern village preempted Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's arrival by one day, and Trump relished every opportunity to castigate his Democratic successors, saying Buttigieg "should have already been here," and commanding President Joe Biden to "get over here," according to local reports.

While assuring East Palestine residents that they had "not been forgotten," Trump managed to tout his own presence in the besieged community and brush off questions about his administration's noted history of rolling back regulations on both rail safety and hazardous chemicals.

Trump started his day by briefly visiting with local leaders, according to WKBN-27, before conducting a small press conference at a fire station, where, donning his signature "Make America Great Again" hat, he handed out a flurry of red baseball caps to attendees.

During his speech, Trump pledged to donate thousands of bottles of cleaning supplies, as well as pallets of Trump-branded water bottles to members of the community, many of whom have expressed continued concern over the safety of the town's water supply following the derailment.

"You wanna get those Trump bottles, I think, more than anybody else," Trump said, while flanked by state and local leaders, including Republican Sen. JD Vance.

The former President dismissed questions about his administration's rollback of Obama-era rail safety regulations saying he "had nothing to do with it."

The Trump administration slashed several environmental and rail regulations while in office, most notably rescinding a 2015 proposal to require faster brakes on trains that were carrying highly flammable or hazardous materials.

The Norfolk Southern Railroad Company freight train involved in this month's crash was carrying vinyl chloride, a colorless gas and known carcinogen, which produced a plume of smoke over East Palestine.

The Department of Transportation under Trump justified the rollback with a 2018 analysis arguing the cost of requiring such brakes would be "significantly higher" than the expected benefits of the update.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Following his Wednesday news conference, Trump visited a local Ohio McDonald's where he handed out more MAGA hats and bought meals for firefighters.

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Frank! Lets make a gif together. I'll walk you through the steps.

First draw a picture of a person. Draw that exact same person with their weight shifted to one foot and their hip out to the side. Mirror the second drawing and save it as its own file. Upload all three images to Tumblr for me to make it into a gif.

Look, I already have an algorithm for getting gifs to mirror each other, I don't need yours --

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Go to your local friend’s of the library shop. You can and will find weird books.

[constructionsafetynetwork]

Handling Flammable Materials

In the dynamic world of construction, handling flammable materials safely is a critical concern. This article delves into why managing these substances with care is vital and how to do it effectively. Understanding and implementing these practices are essential for preventing accidents, ensuring worker safety, and maintaining a secure construction site. Understanding Flammable Materials In the…

[reasonsforhope]

Green energy is in its heyday. 

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days. 

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market. 

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going. 

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. 

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan. 

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining. 

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said. 

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills. 

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations. 

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. 

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote ​​in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron. 

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June. 

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on. 

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

--

Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for outing my father at his old job?

I (M22) recently got a job hauling hazmat across the US in a semi. I had to take tests to not only receive my CDL, but to know what to do in case of an emergency when hauling things like explosives, flammables, corrosives, etc. The hazardous material part of the test was done on computer on site, however if you fail they let you log in and try again from home. But I passed that part right away because I already knew everything that would be on the test.

My father (M53) worked the same job for the same company and when I was in middle and high school, and pressured me into taking the hazardous material test for him so he could get the job. His reasoning was he had been out of school for so long he wasn't good at studying for tests, but I was used to it. Plus he was dyslexic and ADHD (both true), and he would probably fail the test no matter how many times he tried it because he couldn't read well or pay attention. I said it was probably important for him to know this stuff since it IS hazardous material, but he said he DID know everything he needed to, he was just bad at tests. And that if I didn't take it for him he would fail, and then he would be unemployed, and then we would be out on the street and it would be my fault. So I studied his hazardous materials booklet front to back and took the test for him and he passed.

It didn't stop there, though. With this job you're also required to take refresher safety courses online every week, and you can't get your next assignment till you pass. He used the same argument to get me to take those tests for him every week as well, until I knew everything about the placards and hazmat and road safety etc better than he did.

The trainer (M49) I was assigned was friends with my dad when he worked here, and said something like "If you're as quick a study as your dad then you'll be our best driver," and I said something like "I've been your best driver for almost a decade, you just didn't know it." He asked what I meant and I told him how I was the one taking those safety tests for my dad every week until he quit 3 years ago, and actually he quit because I was moving out and I said no to coming over to his house every week to keep taking the test for him.

I told the trainer because A) I thought it didn't matter because my dad didn't work there anymore, and B) Honestly? I've never really gotten along with my dad, and some part of me wanted to tell on him for one of the many things he pressured me into doing as a kid. I expected to make him lose a friend, maybe tarnish his "perfect" reputation a little bit, but it's gotten a lot bigger than that.

My dad doesn't work with hazmat anymore, but he did have a job delivering food to nearby grocery stores that he apparently lost because that trainer called and told his boss what I told him, and my dad called me and cussed me out and said because of me he probably would lose his CDL and not be able to be a truck driver anymore, and that's all he knows. He's not exactly rich, either, so he's probably just a couple missed paychecks away from being in serious trouble, and he also lost his health insurance. I for sure didn't mean for it to go this far. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[reality-detective]

Was the Baltimore Bridge attacked? 👇

The Baltimore bridge collapse was an “absolutely brilliant strategic attack” on US critical infrastructure - most likely cyber - & our intel agencies know it. In information warfare terms, they just divided the US along the Mason Dixon line exactly like the Civil War.

Second busiest strategic roadway in the nation for hazardous material now down for 4-5 years - which is how long they say it will take to recover. The bridge was built specifically to move hazardous material - fuel, diesel, propane gas, nitrogen, highly flammable materials, chemicals and oversized cargo that cannot fit in the tunnels - that supply chain now crippled.

Make no mistake: this was an extraordinary attack in terms of planning, timing & execution.

The two critical components on that bridge are the two load-bearing pylons on each end, closest to the shore. They are bigger, thicker and deeper than anything else. These are the anchor points and they knew that hitting either one one of them would be a fatal wound to the integrity of the bridge.

Half a mile of bridge went in the river - likely you will have to build a new one. Also caused so much damage to the structural integrity of the bottom concrete part that you cannot see & won’t know until they take the wreckage apart. Structural destruction is likely absolutely.

Attack perfectly targeted.

“They have figured out how to bring us down. As long as you stay away from the teeth of the US military, you can pick the US apart. We are an arrogant and ignorantly - lethal combination. Obama said they would fundamentally change America and they did. We are in a free-fall ride on a roller coaster right now - no brakes - just picking up speed.”

The footage shows the cargo ship never got in the approach lane in the channel. You have to be in the channel before you get into that turn. Location was precise/deliberate: They chose a bend in the river where you have to slow down and commit yourself - once you are committed in that area there is not enough room to maneuver.

Should have had a harbor pilot to pilot the boat. You are not supposed to traverse any obstacles without the harbor pilot.

They chose a full moon so they would have maximum tidal shift - rise and fall. Brisk flow in that river on a normal day & have had a lot of rain recently so water was already moving along at a good pace.

Hit it with enough kinetic energy to knock the load-bearing pylon out from under the highway - which fatally weakens the span and then 50 percent of the bridge fell into the water.

All these factors when you look at it  - this is how you teach people how to do this type of attack and there are so few people left in the system who know this. We have a Junior varsity team on the field.

Tremendous navigational obstruction. Huge logistical nightmare to clean this up. The number of dead is tragic but not the whole measure of the attack.

That kind of bridge is constantly under repair - always at night because there is so much traffic and they cannot obstruct that during the day. So concern is for repair guys who were on foot (out of their vehicles) working who may now be in the water - 48 degrees at most at this time of year.

When you choke off Baltimore you have cut the main north-south hazardous corridor (I-95) in half. Now everyone has to go around the city - or go somewhere else.

To move some of that cargo through the tunnel you may be able to get a permit but those are slow to get and require an escort system that is expensive and has to be done at night.

For every $100 dollars that goes into the city, $12 comes from shipping. Believe this will cripple the city of Baltimore at a time when they do not have the resources to recover.

- Lara Logan

The traffic issue was mentioned in this 👇 post

Maybe we have to dig deeper into this Bridge collapse further. Could it be a deeper issue? What's in those shipping containers? Who owns the ship?

Is it for this 👆

It has been 3 years and 3 days since the Evergreen blocked the Suez Canal. Does the number 33 mean anything?

Was this a "Black Swan Event?"

I'm just asking questions? 🤔

[jessiarts]

Seeing the difference in coverage (news media vs social media) on the Feb 3rd train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, USA on and all the issues caused by the incident, I want to see something;

The incident summed up (and there may be even more I missed):

train carrying 150 cars, twenty of which contained hazardous materials, derailed due a failure of a wheel bearing, due to poor inspection because inspections were cut from 3 minutes per train to 90 secs per train. (Remember the railroad strike? Yeah. Part of what they wanted, in addition to better conditions, was more time to inspect trains and to get faulty parts fixed. They were refused, and now we're here.)

the derailment (of 50 cars) caused a fire which threatened to make a car(s) with the vinyl chloride explode, so a controlled release (burn) of the vinyl chloride (toxic, flammable gas) was done to prevent this

residents within a 1 mile radius were evacuated beforehand

the event resulted in contamination of the air/water and mass deaths of animals like fish and chickens

residents were told it's safe to return home a week after the evacuation, and found their pets dead; water smells wrong; air smells and/or burns their eyes

People miles away are having the same issues with animals dying (schools of dead fish in water, livestock sick/dying) and water contamination

The chemicals are contaminating the Ohio River Basin (which is more than just the Ohio River, and effects/includes KY, WV, TN, IN, OH, and parts of IL, PA, VA, and NC) and could potentially also lead to the whole Mississippi River Watershed being contaminated. (that's like, 40% of the continental United States and starts to touch into Canada.)

That all said,

Please reblog if you vote so we can get a larger sample size!

Many think the Railroad company (and the government, because they sided with the railroad company in ending the strike) are trying to cover this up in the news as much as possible, and that most coverage is coming from social media (specifically TikTok) and I want to see just how true that is.

I'm not not kidding when I say I have people IRL, who do keep up with the news, who never heard about the derailment at all until I told them just a couple days ago. It doesn't look good.

[sniperct]

Some highlights

Given the prevalent flaws in the previously tested 1/3 scale model, and the visible flaws in the carbon end samples for the Titan, Lochridge again stressed the potential danger to passengers of the Titan as the submersible reached extreme depths. The constant pressure cycling weakens existing flaws resulting in large tears of the carbon. Non-destructive testing was critical to detect such potentially existing flaws in order to ensure a solid and safe product for the safety of the passengers and crew. The counterclaim also details a meeting at OceanGate’s Everett, Washington, facility with engineering staff where “several individuals had expressed concerns over to the Engineering Director.” The OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush, asked Lochridge to conduct a quality inspection of the Titan. Per the complaint:

Over the course of the next several days, Lochridge worked on his report and requested paperwork from the Engineering Director regarding the viewport design and pressure test results of the viewport for the Titan, along with other key information. Lochridge was met with hostility and denial of access to the necessary documentation that should have been freely available as part of his inspection process.

And these parts are damning:

At the meeting Lochridge discovered why he had been denied access to the viewport information from the Engineering department—the viewport at the forward of the submersible was only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, although OceanGate intended to take passengers down to depths of 4,000 meters. Lochridge learned that the viewport manufacturer would only certify to a depth of 1,300 meters due to experimental design of the viewport supplied by OceanGate, which was out of the Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy (“PVHO”) standards. OceanGate refused to pay for the manufacturer to build a viewport that would meet the required depth of 4,000 meters. Paying passengers wouldn’t know or be informed about Lochridge’s concerns, according to his complaints. They also wouldn’t be informed “that hazardous flammable materials were being used within the submersible.” Lochridge expressed concerns about the Titan again. But OceanGate didn’t address those concerns, and Lockridge was fired.

[yarnhamlet]

PSA: Safety Eyes

Just a little warning about safety eyes* and amigurumi!

Always be cautious about the materials you use when creating toys. While safety eyes may appear to be secured within the doll or stuffed animal, know that there's always the risk that the eyes may be wiggled out by babies or toddlers. My personal preference is for eyes that have been stitched onto the woven yarn, whether you use buttons or embroidered eyes.

This advice isn't just for people making gifts for children, but also for online sellers. In many places, people who make amigurumi toys are required by law to test their products for safety (flammability, for example). Your toys could be a gift for a very young child.

Edit: safety eyes on toys can also be a hazard for pets, and I would advise not using them in handmade pet toys.

Happy crafting!

*safety eyes are a small accessory, commonly made of hard plastic, used to add "eye" embellishments to toys, and function by pushing the post of the "eye" into the fabric from the outside, and then pinning the eye in place by fitting a ring of plastic over the post on the inside of the fabric

[libraford]

I remember early on in the trump administration- I was sitting at the mechanic's lobby and he was on the news with a giant stack of papers wrapped in a big red ribbon. And he talked about how the regulations imposed by previous administrations got in the way of business and prevented every day americans from reaching the american dream. And he took a pair of shears and cut the ribbon, symbolically cutting the red tape, as a promise to undo all regulations that hot in the way of moving forward.

And I looked to the woman waiting in the lobby with me, in her 60s, who shook her head along with me at the gesture, because we both lived on a low income side of town and people in our tax bracket know what happens when regulations are slack- people get sick, they get hurt, they die.

Disaster happens when people are careless and each regulation is written in blood.

Fuck that guy.

Picture id/transcript: (a screenshot of a news report by Heather Cox Richardson from february 15 2023)

But the derailment of fifty Norfolk Southern train cars, eleven of which carried hazardous chemicals, near East Palestine, Ohio, near the northeastern border of the state on February 3 has powerfully illustrated the downsides of deregulation. The accident released highly toxic chemicals into the air, water, and ground, causing a massive fire and forcing about 5,000 nearby residents in Ohio and Pennsylvania to evacuate. On February 6, when it appeared some of the rail cars would explode, officials allowed the company to release and burn the toxic vinyl chloride stored in it. The controlled burn sent highly toxic phosgene, used as a weapon in World War I, into the air.

Republican Ohio governor Mike DeWine has refused federal assistance from President Biden, who, he said, called to offer “anything you need.” DeWine said he had not called back to take him up on the offer. “We will not hesitate to do that if we’re seeing a problem or anything, but I’m not seeing it,” he said.

Just over the border, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said that Norfolk Southern had botched its response to the accident. “Norfolk Southern has repeatedly assured us of the safety of their rail cars—in fact, leading Norfolk Southern personnel described them to me as ‘the Cadillac of rail cars’—yet despite these assertions, these were the same cars that Norfolk Southern personnel rushed to vent and burn without gathering input from state and local leaders. Norfolk Southern’s well known opposition to modern regulations [requires] further scrutiny and investigation to limit the devastating effects of future accidents on people’s lives, property, businesses, and the environment.”

Shapiro was likely referring to the fact that in 2017, after donors from the railroad industry poured more than $6 million into Republican political campaigns, the Trump administration got rid of a rule imposed by the Obama administration that required better braking systems on rail cars that carried hazardous flammable materials.

According to David Sirota, Julia Rock, Rebecca Burns, and Matthew Cunningham-Cook, writing in the investigative journal The Lever, Norfolk Southern supported the repeal, telling regulators new electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on high-hazard flammable trains (HHFT) would “impose tremendous costs without providing offsetting safety benefits.” Railroads also lobbied to limit the definition of HFFT to cover primarily trains that carry oil, not industrial chemicals. The train that derailed in Ohio was not classified as an HHFT.

Nonetheless, Ohio’s new far-right Republican senator J. D. Vance went on the Fox News Channel show of personality Tucker Carlson to blame the Biden administration for the accident. He said there was no excuse for failing infrastructure after the passage last year of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, and said that the administration is too focused on “environmental racism and other ridiculous things.” We are, he said, “ruled by unserious people.”

:end id/transcript

[longlistshort]

Sarah Meyohas, “Interference #19”, 2023, Holograms, mirrored black glass, aluminum

Georgia O’Keeffe, “Poppy”, 1927, Oil on canvas

Francis Picabia “The Church of Montigny, Effect of Sunlight” 1908, Oil on canvas (left); Christian Sampson “Projection Painting”, 2023, Acrylic and films with LED light; and Claude Monet “The Houses of Parliament, Effect of Fog, London” 1904, Oil on canvas (right)

The Nature of Art exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg merges art from the museum’s collection with loaned works to explore- “art’s crucial role in our evolving quest to understand our relationship with nature and our place in the cosmos”.

One of the benefits of an encyclopedic museum is that visitors have the opportunity to experience art throughout history, and to revisit works that resonate with them. For the section titled Artist as Curator, Sarah Meyohas and Christian Sampson chose pieces from the museum’s collection to pair with their own work.

From the museum-

At first glance, perhaps, these may seem like unusual combinations, but upon deeper contemplation, their selections reveal complementary artistic intents. For instance, Meyohas and Georgia O’Keeffe share an interest in close looking, particularly in finding new ways to examine underappreciated aspects of the natural world. Sampson, influenced by the California Light and Space Movement, is interested in current scholarship that suggests the hazy fog found in Claude Monet’s work is an early depiction of air pollution, offering an entirely new perspective on the artist’s representations of light.

Sampson also created the four-part installation, Tempus volat, hora fugit, on view until 2025 at the museum.

Below are some of the works from additional sections of the exhibition.

Postcommodity, “kinaypikowiyâs”, 2021, Four 30.5-metre industrial debris booms

Postcommodity is an interdisciplinary art collective comprised of Cristóbal Martínez (Genizaro, Manito, Xicano), and Kade L. Twist (Cherokee).

About Postcommodity’s work, kinaypikowiyâs, (seen above) from the museum-

This work is composed of debris booms, used to catch and hold environmental contaminants such as garbage, oil, and chemicals. The colors of the booms correspond to different types of threats— red (flammable), yellow (radioactive), blue (dangerous), and white (poisonous)-in the labeling system for hazardous materials. To indigenous peoples, these are shared medicine colors that carry knowledge, purpose and meaning throughout the Western Hemisphere. Suspended like hung meat, the booms represent a snake that has been chopped into four parts. Each part represents an area of the colonial map of the Western Hemisphere: South America, Central America, North America, and all of the surrounding islands. The title, kinaypikowiyâs, is a Plains Cree word, meaning snake meat. Divided by borders, Postcommodity asserts that all people living in the Americas are riding on the back of this snake.

James Casebere, “Landscape with Houses (Dutchess County, NY), 2009, Archival pigment print mounted to Dibond

James Casebere creates architecturally based models for the large scale photographs seen above.

Duke Riley's Reclaimed ocean plastic sculptures and “Tidal Fool” wallpaper

Duke Riley’s work, which was previously shown at Brooklyn Museum, addresses issues of environmental pollution by using discarded plastics found in the ocean and other waterways to create new work inspired by the past. You can hear him discuss his work in this video.

From the museum-

Inspired by the maritime museum displays he saw while a child growing up in New England, Riley’s scrimshaw series is a cutting observation of capitalist economies-historic and today-that endanger sea life. The sculptures were created for the fictional Poly S. Tyrene Memorial Maritime Museum, and are contemporary versions of sailors’ scrimshaw, or delicately ink-etched whale teeth and bone. Riley first thought about using plastic as an ode to scrimshaw when he saw what he thought was a whale bone washed up on the beach in Rhode Island; it turned out to be the white handle of a deck brush. Riley regularly removes trash from beaches and waterways, and often uses this refuse in his work.

Riley collaborated with Brooklyn-based Flavor Paper to create these two custom wallpapers for his solo exhibition DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash at the Brooklyn Museum. Tidal Fool exhibits Riley’s trademark humor in the face of devastating water pollution; notice the Colt 45-guzzling mermaid. Wall Bait vibrantly references Riley’s meticulous fishing lures, which he crafts from refuse found in the waters around New York City.

Daniel Lind-Ramos,"Centinelas de la luna nueva (Sentinels of the New Moon)", 2022-2023, Mixed media

From the museum about this work-

In Centinelas de la luna nueva, he evokes the elders of the mangroves, spiritual beings who watch over and ensure the health of this essential coastal tree. Mangroves are the basis for a complex ecosystem that shelters sea life and serves as the first line of defense in the tropical storms that batter the sub-tropics -including Florida.

Lind-Ramos's practice reflects the vibrant culture of his native Loíza, Puerto Rico, by honoring local agriculture, fishing, cooking, and masquerade. His sculptures also evoke Hurricane Maria (2017), the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing environmental degradation. Lind-Ramos is committed to the survival and sustenance of Afro-Taíno traditions and people of the Puerto Rican archipelago. However, his art engages the global community through shared emotions, parallel histories, and the commonality of human experience.

The next post will discuss two other artists in the exhibition, Brookhart Jonquil and Janaina Tschäpe.

[dynmghts]

I am putting my whole brain through chemistry hell with what little I remember from high school chemistry to understand how nitroglycerin works (thanks to one whole thread that's just meant to be silly and goofy, and also ignoring that the substance he makes is described as "nitroglycerin-like"). And man, when I tell you... Katsuki simply has to be built different to deal with his Quirk.

For one, it's a good thing that the nitroglycerin only produces from his hands. For two, remember that nitroglycerin is only slightly soluble with water - which also checks out with how Horikoshi draws the sweat beads sometimes, because they're not exactly combining with the nitroglycerin he makes.

But that likely means the nitroglycerin Katsuki makes is... Quite literally pure.

(This got long, so the rest is under the read more!)

Basic fundamentals to understand about nitroglycerin: it is both flammable and combustible. Wikipedia (bc this shit is the only thing making it make sense) says that "flammable applies to combustible materials that ignite easily and thus are more dangerous and more highly regulated". This is because of nitroglycerin's extremely reactive nature, prone to explosion via shock, friction, heat, and flame.

It is a class A explosive under OSHA, which is defined as: "possessing, detonating, or otherwise maximum hazard; such as dynamite, nitroglycerin, picric acid, lead azide, fulminate of mercury, black powder, blasting caps, and detonating primers".

Its HMIS diamond scaffold is as follows (based on this):

Health: 2 (can cause temporary incapacitation or residual injury)

Flammability: 3 (can be ignited under almost all ambient temperature conditions)

Instability: 4 (readily capable of detonation or explosive decomposition or explosive reaction at normal temperatures and pressures)

Special: N/A

Solid nitroglycerin (at 13°C or lower) will destabilise and explode if melted too quickly. A bottle of pure liquid nitroglycerin (14°C-50°C) will explode if it's dropped on the ground. It will begin to decompose at 50-60°C and explode at a temperature of 218°C. Its decomposition has an exothermic reaction, thus it can literally ignite itself. Nitroglycerin does not need oxygen to explode, because it has enough oxygen molecules in its chemical formula.

Its chemical formula in question is C3H5N3O9. The products after exploding are 3 CO2 + 2.5 H2O + 1.5 N2 + 0.5O...

A clean equation looks something like:

4 C3H5N3O9 -> 12 CO2 + 10 H20 + 6 N2 + O2.

Heat liberated from a nitroglycerin explosion exceeds temperatures of 5,000°C. the detonation wave from this reaction reaches a velocity of 7,280-7,700 metres per second, and creates the development of 20,000 atmospheres of pressure. Its explosive energy density sits at about 6.23 kJ/g, which is one of the higher power outputs in terms of explosive molecules.

So what does this mean for Bakugou Katsuki?

Well, simply put, he does not need a substantial amount of nitroglycerin on his palms to create detonations. The tiny sparks he creates are arguably miniscule doses of nitroglycerin that he's spontaneously igniting.

The method of ignition is thankfully obvious: he can heat his palms. He can shock the nitroglycerin on his palms with this rapid heat, thus spurring the molecules into the desired reaction.

It also explains how Katsuki needs to store sweat so he may create larger explosions later on - it's likely that he doesn't typically produce enough nitroglycerin from his palms to immediately justify any large-scale detonations that he desires. So, to achieve this, he has to work harder and sweat more to garner enough of the substance for the result he's after.

In the realm of BNHA, it's pretty clear that Katsuki's explosions don't exhibit the exothermal properties of nitroglycerin, or we would be seeing some very devastating burns left behind. While I think that he is ultimately capable of heat-related damage, his explosions overall are more force-based. I think his ultimate moves (Howitzer in particular) utilise the full force of nitroglycerin's reaction... Maybe, sometimes, reduced to varying degrees depending on the person he's fighting (plus the use of support items, skill, etc.).

For instance, compare his standard Howitzer Impact used against Todoroki in the sports festival to the Cluster-boosted Howitzer against Shigaraki in the final war:

While it was an ultimate move used on Todoroki, he was less experienced at the time, likely hindering its effectiveness. (I want to say he dialled it back so it wouldn't, you know, cause irreparable damage... But it's possible that inexperience trumped its overall power, because he wanted to win with everything he had.)

Then, against Shigaraki, it was so much force that it quite literally moved floating U.A. across the sky. He combined his support gear, his experience, and the amount of nitroglycerin stored to achieve this level of force.

As a further note, because of nitroglycerin's extreme reactivity and explosive properties, it cannot really produce a flame of its own. Because Katsuki's explosions seem to be more force-based on top of that, he is not necessarily capable of setting things alight... (Seen in the training camp arc, where he tried and failed to start a fire, instead just exploding the wood.)

As for Katsuki's natural resistances to his own Quirk (of which I have described before, but I want to reiterate):

Larger explosion sound levels can be anywhere between 120 decibels and 210 decibels... And a human's "safe hearing" level is about 85 decibels. In my headcanon, Katsuki has a natural adaptation which means he can withstand higher decibels than others, but that does not make him immune - so while he can tolerate large-scale explosion sounds in an open area, especially with him at the centre point, he would suffer if it were the same explosion in an enclosed area.

The aforementioned heating on his palms are only a part of Katsuki's adaptation to his Quirk; the skin is also significantly thicker on his palms and fingers, making his tolerance for touching hot things at a higher level. Like... Much, much higher. It accommodates for when nitroglycerin requires 218°C to explode in a controlled environment. It's why he can handle hot things out of the oven, and why he doesn't know what burns on his hands feel like.

The musculature on his arms and shoulders also have a natural level of strength to withstand the force of his quirk, but this isn't impervious either. He's had to train hard and build on that natural strength to best withstand the higher outputs of force.

Exposure to pure nitroglycerin for any individual is ill-advised, but with manga logic and creative liberties, I don't think anyone who wants to hold Katsuki's hand should have to worry. (I'm 99% sure that he washes his hands thoroughly after working out, anyway.) As for Katsuki himself, I think he does exhibit some symptoms of a nitroglycerin overdose when he's pushed himself way past his limit... But these episodes are incredibly rare, and often very short-lived.

The final notes:

Constant detonation of nitroglycerin means Katsuki has a bit of a smoky smell. Past that, there is also a faint caramel smell.

Also do not taste the nitroglycerin (for whatever reason there is to lick his hand or something? Which Katsuki will literally kill you for doing that, because what the fuck). It does not taste as nice as it smells.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Earlier this month, a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, triggering a massive fire and forcing everyone within a 1-mile radius of the crash to evacuate. To avoid a potential explosion, officials conducted a controlled detonation of five tankers three days later, sending carcinogenic vinyl chloride into the air. Two days later, residents of the 4,500-person village were told they could safely return home. Many questioned the safety of the air and water supply.

Since then, reporting has made clear that this environmental disaster was less a freak accident than a predictable outcome of lax safety measures and capitalist greed. Here’s what you need to know about the Norfolk Southern rail company.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN CHOSE NOT TO UPGRADE ITS TRAINS’ “CIVIL WAR-ERA” BRAKES.

A report in The Lever notes that the train that crashed in East Palestine was not equipped with Electronically Controlled Pneumatic brakes—fully electric brakes that experts say could have reduced the severity of the crash. Although Norfolk Southern once touted its use of ECP brakes, it lobbied against requiring them on trains carrying hazardous materials. An Obama-era rule required that HHFTs have ECP brakes, but the Trump administration overturned this rule.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN WORKERS DON’T GET PAID SICK TIME.

Remember when the Senate voted to avert a rail strike and deny workers sick leave? Norfolk Southern workers were among those affected. When investors encouraged Norfolk Southern to offer paid sick leave, the company said, OK, we won’t furlough people as often. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) has since demanded that rail companies offer workers at least seven days of paid sick leave.

RAIL COMPANIES REFUSE TO HIRE ENOUGH WORKERS.

Unions say that the rail industry’s use of furloughs to reduce the workforce stretches staff too thin. As Timothy Noah wrote in the New Republic, the 141-car train that crashed in East Palestine carried just two crew members and one trainee:

"On February 10, Anya Litvak of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that security camera footage 20 miles short of where the derailment occurred showed a rail car axle that appeared to be on fire. Why this information was not transmitted quickly to the train crew remains unknown, but it seems likely that the answer has something to do with the number of people who were in a position to sound the alarm."

NORFOLK SOUTHERN HAS SPENT BILLIONS ON STOCK BUYBACKS.

Norfolk Southern made $4.8 billion in operating profit in 2022, More Perfect Union reported, and paid shareholders $4.7 billion in stock buybacks and dividends.

As my colleague Hannah Levintova explained last year:

"A buyback is when companies purchase shares of their own company from investors, driving up the value of the remaining stock because there are fewer shares circulating. Buybacks are taxed at the lower capital gains rate, which maxes out at 20% for the wealthiest households. But for those investors who don’t sell their shares back to the company, there’s no tax—even though the value of their holdings has increased. Until that investor sells the asset, their wealth will grow tax-free. And thanks in part to a tax code loophole that enables the wealthy to pass shares on to their heirs, who can then skip paying capital gains taxes on them altogether, buybacks play a role in building untaxed generational wealth."

THE TRAIN THAT CAUSED THE CLOUD OF SMOKE OVER EAST PALESTINE WAS NOT CATEGORIZED AS A “HIGH-HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAIN.”

Thanks to pressure from industry lobbyists, the “high-hazard flammable train” categorization applies only to trains carrying a narrow set of materials, like crude oil, The Lever also reported. That designation would have required that the train follow specific speed and braking restrictions.

DESPITE MAKING BILLIONS IN PROFIT, NORFOLK SOUTHERN INITIALLY OFFERED JUST $25,000 TO EAST PALESTINE.

Norfolk Southern managed to scrape together $25,000 for the town that’s been doused in toxic chemicals. People who fled their homes under fear of death can claim $1,000 per person per household. Since then, the company has announced increases in charity.

[jeanjauthor]

This 600 Year Old Fabric Is WATER RESISTANT

The Boy Scouts used to promote (and might still, dunno) a waterproofing paste made out of boiled linseed oil, melted beeswax, and turpentine (which accelerates drying the linseed oil, which helps make the beeswax flexible as well as works as a waterproofing agent; proportions & instructions can be found online).

Once it has been thoroughly mixed together as a liquid and then solidified in a non-seeping paste (you want all the liquids thoroughly blended before they cool down), it can be used.  Apply it to the cloth or leather, and carefully heat it (hair dryer or low heatgun works well, same with carefully holding near embers (but not flames) from a campfire) until it absorbs into the material.  (This would be the grain of the leather, weave of the fabric, etc.)  When it dries, it’s very water resistant.

The hazards of this waterproofing material is that it IS flammable, but such risks can be carefully managed, so the benefits usually outweigh those risks.