(a) Don’t store detonators with explosives. Detonators should be kept by themselves.
(b) Don’t open packages of explosives in a store house.
(c) Don’t open packages of explosives with a nail puller, pick or chisel. Packages should be opened with a hard wood wedge and mallet, outside of the magazine and at some distance from it.
(d) Don’t store explosives in a hot or damp place. All explosives spoil rapidly if so stored.
(e) Don’t store explosives containing nitro-glycerine so that the cartridges stand on end. The nitro-glycerine is more likely to leak from the cartridges when they stand on end than it is when they lie on their sides.
(f) Don’t use explosives that are frozen or partly frozen. The charge may not explode completely and serious accidents may result. If the explosion is not complete the full strength of the charge is not exerted and larger quantities of harmful gases are given off.
Fig. 121.—Electric Fuse.
Full size.
(g) Don’t thaw frozen explosives in front of an open fire, nor in a stove, nor over a lamp, nor near a boiler, nor near steam pipes, nor by placing cartridges in hot water. Use a commercial or improvised thawer.
(h) Don’t put hot water or steam pipes in a magazine for thawing purposes.