benzene

16airassualt

hi,im new to this forum but i was just wondering where i could get a small ammount of benzene,perhaps one litre and is there any restrictions of sale imposed on the solvent,thanks

Delphi91

16airassualt wrote: »

hi,im new to this forum but i was just wondering where i could get a small ammount of benzene,perhaps one litre and is there any restrictions of sale imposed on the solvent,thanks

1 litre - a small amount???

Benzene is carcinogenic - avoid it like the plague. Its been banned in schools for this very reason.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Delphi91 wrote: »

1 litre - a small amount???

Benzene is carcinogenic - avoid it like the plague. Its been banned in schools for this very reason.

seconded, it's very dangerous

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene#Health_effects

SOL

NowI know I'llend up with a reputation for telling people thingsare very dangerousall the time, but seriously a litre of benzene??? Where are you planning on using this and for what?

Also have you considered alternatives? Toluene, Xylene, maybe even Hexane, these are a little bit safer, although still not to be taken lightly...

backhand bertie

Delphi91 wrote: »

1 litre - a small amount???

Benzene is carcinogenic - avoid it like the plague. Its been banned in schools for this very reason.

"Avoid it like the plague" is a bit hysterical don't you think? There's probably about a litre of benzene in an average cars petrol tank.

Delphi91

backhand bertie wrote: »

"Avoid it like the plague" is a bit hysterical don't you think?...

Not really. Have a look at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/cis/products/icsc/dtasht/_icsc00/icsc0015.htm. Notice what it says under Exposure???

BTW, Benzene is also a component of cigarettes

SOL

Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon that occurs naturally in crude oil and hence in the petrol derived from it. Additional benzene is formed in the refining process; however, since 2000 the level of benzene in petrol has been limited to a maximum of 1% by volume.

That applies to UK but its probably the same here...

Spyral

benzene has never caused cancer in humans apparantly.. its good for washing off oil from your hands according to my chem lecturer

SOL

Spyral wrote: »

benzene has never caused cancer in humans apparantly.. its good for washing off oil from your hands according to my chem lecturer

Name your source?

Is this one of those technicality things that if you were in a sterile environment with only benzene then it wouldn't be a problem, because it needs light or somesuch to help it in its carcinogenicity?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Spyral wrote: »

benzene has never caused cancer in humans apparantly.. its good for washing off oil from your hands according to my chem lecturer

It would probably be more correct to say that no instance of cancer has every been solidly attributed to benzene (if, indeed, that it the case).

Delphi91

Benzene is considered to be a Group 1 carcinogen, i.e. "the agent (mixture) is definitely carcinogenic to humans. The exposure circumstance entails exposures that are carcinogenic to humans."

Here's a section from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety:

Will benzene cause cancer?

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that there is sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity to humans. The overall IARC evaluation is Group 1 - carcinogenic to humans. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has determined that benzene is a substance known to be carcinogenic. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has designated benzene as a confirmed human carcinogen (A1). There are common limitations in the human studies because exposures usually cannot be accurately assessed, the numbers of cases is small and frequently there is exposure to other chemicals. However, there are so many case reports and epidemiologic studies of exposed workers, that a causal relationship between benzene exposure and leukemia has been clearly established. Benzene exposure has also been associated with cancer of the lymph system (lymphoma), lung cancer and bladder (urothelial) cancer.

16airassualt

ttthe reason i wanted to obtain some benzene is because i wanted to recreate vietnam era napalm(napalmB,the one manufactured by dow chemical 33%petroleum,46%polystyrene and 21%benzene)because iam doing my special topic in history in the leaving cert on it and i wanted to take a look at it first hand and write a personal account on it.i can only imagine what you are all thinking but its actually safe,normal petrol poses far more dangers.so does anybody know how to go about obtaining some??

Thomas_S_Hunterson

lol. I don't know about how legal that is, but the benzene really isn't required.

No school curriculum will appropriate any extra marks for dangerous 'projects' such as this.

16airassualt

there is no legal issue as it only comes under a flamable substance.there isnt that much of a danger issue either due to the fact that polystyrene makes it alot less likley too ignite than petrol or benzene alone.im only looking to make about a beakerfull aswell and would mix the components in a well ventilated area aswell

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Well as I said above, you don't need the benzene. You'll make perfectly adequate napalm with just petrol and polystyrene.

16airassualt

not exactly,there is not enough benzene in petrol alone to fully disolve the polystyrene.im aware it sounds weird,but dont worry im not planning on napalming the dail or anything lol...realy it would be a great help if you could point me towards a supplier/source of benzene

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Petrol on it's own will dissolve the polystyrene. There is NO need for benzene. A bit of acetone might help.

Creature

Lol I think there might be laws against making homebrew chemical weapons mate. And even if you do find a retailer willing to sell a chemical like benzene to a teenager it'll probably be very expensive.

16airassualt

its the media that has the word"napalm" branded in peoples minds as something as bad as plastic explosives etc...its merely two flammable liquids with something to gel and stablise them(polystyrene).there is no way it can be defined as a chemical weapon or even a weapon as it poses a far lesser threat than even common white spirits.petrol is used in petrol bombs but we dont put restrictions on petrol or classify it as a weapon

Creature

Well you may see it that way but I doubt the police would if they found it.

Look you shouldn't take this personally but the fact is benzene is a potentially very dangerous chemical and anyone with an ounce of responsibility wont help you in obtaining some, especially a litre of it.


Hey I admire your interest though, Actually you remind me of me . I did my history special topic on chemical weapons in WWII and I wanted to make some mustard gas but thankfully common sense took over and I didn't.

breadmonkey

You are completely insane.

Delphi91

16airassualt wrote: »

ttthe reason i wanted to obtain some benzene is because i wanted to recreate vietnam era napalm...

I love this quote about Napalm-B (Super Napalm or Vietnam era Napalm):

Napalm-B had one great advantage over the original napalm -- ignition can be readily controlled. Napalm is less flammable than gasoline and therefore less hazardous. The more polystyrene in the mixture, the harder it is to ignite. Napalm is actually harder to ignite than might be expected. A match or even a road flare will not ignite napalm. A reliable igniter is used to start napalm-B burning. Thermite is typically used to ignite napalm. Some forms of modern napalm cannot be ignited by a hand grenade.

Might one enquire as to how you actually intend to ignite the stuff should you manage to be foolish enough to make it?

BTW, speaking as a chemistry teacher, I seriously hope that this is NOT the type of activity that is being accepted/encouraged as a history project for LC.

Kold

breadmonkey wrote: »

You are completely insane.

Hahaha. Whole thread provided me with an ear to ear grin but that actually made me laugh.

dfx-

Insane is the best description so far:D

Isn't a licence needed for it including giving a reason why you intend to use it? Recreating Napalm wouldn't look great I'd imagine..

breadmonkey

Delphi91 wrote: »

Might one enquire as to how you actually intend to ignite the stuff should you manage to be foolish enough to make it?

Hehe. /awaits thermite thread

Delphi91

breadmonkey wrote: »

Hehe. /awaits thermite thread

Yeah, I was kinda subtly referring to that!

chem

Strange as it may seem. No licence or permission is needed to add polystyrene to petrol. napalm is not explosive. I worked in the explosives industry for years and know Irish explosives laws. Look up the laws at www.DOJ.ie if you want. Most date back to the 1800`s:rolleyes:

If you add polystyrene to petrol it will form a sticky clump. Benzene was used to dissolve this clump into a more gel like form. An explosive charge was used to burst the shell containing the napalm and the termite used as an ignition afew milly secounds after the base charge exploded. The base charge also spread the naplam over the area intended. Benzene was leter replaced by lye (sodium hydroxide) when the dangers of benzene became known.

You will NOT get your hands on benzene from any licenced chemical house as most dont even stock it anymore.