Chemistry of Hazardous Chemicals Week V multiple choice questions and Essay

Chemistry of Hazardous Chemicals Week V multiple choice questions and 2 questions - Essay Example The second method is the oxidation-reduction process. Most of the compounds decomposed by this method react explosively to thermal decomposition. For this reason, DOT does not allow carriers to transport them. A good example of these compounds is the ammonium dichromate (NH4)2Cr2O7(s), which decompose to chromium (III) oxide Cr2O3 (s), nitrogen (N2 (g)) and water (H2O (l)) on heating as illustrated in equation 2. Sulfur and finely divided metals are flammable; hence ignite readily at normal burning temperatures. In this regard, they can quickly expose ammonium nitrate to fire if not segregated. However, exposing bulk ammonium nitrate to fire may result in an explosive thermal decomposition of this compound to various products, including the toxic nitrogen dioxide (Meyer, 2010). As such, OSHA requires the segregation as mentioned earlier to prevent explosion of ammonium nitrate and life-threatening gases like nitrogen dioxide. This precaution is meant to ensure that ammonium nitrate does not leak into areas that it might be confined in case of fire. As seen from recent research (Meyer, 2010), exposing bulk ammonium nitrate to fire scenes results into its thermal decomposition at explosive rates, from which it might also produce the toxic nitrogen dioxide gas. Water is the primary solvent used to dissolve solutes. Additionally, metallic oxidizers are readily soluble in water. For this reason, their chemical reactivity is eliminated through diluting them in water. In doing this, the oxidation-reduction reaction of oxidizers is slowed down. As result, water as a solvent turns out as an excellent extinguisher of an oxidizer-supported fire. The compromised container will cause leakages of trichloro-s-triazinetrione or calcium hypochlorite stored in it. Being a strong oxidizing agent, it may cause thermal explosion. The primary rationale to support this argument is that the water left behind after the firefighters efforts to