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Methanol Cannon Accident

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 11:20:07 -0500 (EST)
From: Labsafe@aol.com
To: LABSAFETY-L@SIU.EDU, Safety <SAFETY@UVMVM.UVM.EDU>, Safe-NZ@niwa.cri.nz,
"Nat'l.al Assn. for Res. in Sci. Teaching"
<NARST-L@science.coe.uwf.edu>,
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chemlab_L@vax1.bemidji.msus.edu, CHEMCOM@LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU,
biopi-l@sku.edu, APCHEM-L@LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU,
"Assoc. for the Educ. of Teachers in Sci." <AETS-L@science.coe.uwf.edu>,
AERA-K@ASUM.INRE.ASU.EDU
Subject: Methanol Cannon Accident

Recently, there was a serious accident at a high school in
California. The posting on the CHEMED discussion are
below.

Does anyone have any more information on what went
wrong?

If anyone gets the newspaper articles, I would appreciate
receiving copies.

LSW will be conducting seminars in Hartford the first week
of January, throughout Florida in January and February and
in California in March. ... jim


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METHANOL CANNON ACCIDENT FILE......

Subj: CHEMED-L digest 867
Date: 98-11-29 04:31:42 EST
From: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Sender: owner-chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
To: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu (Chemistry Education Discussion List)

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 12:04:30 +0000
From: wlee <wlee@lausd.k12.ca.us>
To: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: Methanol Cannon Accident

We just had a tragic science activity accident last Wednesday at one of
the local high schools. A physics class was conducting velocity
measurements on tennis balls launched from two methanol powered cannons
on the P.E. field. An explosion and fire occured at one of the cannons
badly burning two students. Both students are hospitalized, one with
second and third degree burns over 50% of his body. The more severly
burned student, who was holding the cannon at the time of explosion,
also has damage to his lungs from the inhalation of super heated gas,
and according to reports from the attending physican his survival will
be "touch and go". The teacher had split the class of 35 students into
two groups and was working with the other group when the explosion
occurred.
The cannon was contructed by soldering two juice cans together with a
metal disc between, perforated by button size holes. Metanol in the
lower can was ignited through a hole in the bottom can exploding through
the holes into the upper can where the tennis ball was lodged.
According to witnesses, students were disappointed at how little
distance the balls flew, and were adding more and more methanol from a
one gallon container, in an effort to hurl the ball further. According
to officals at the high school, this was a standard experiment, which
physic classes had been conducting for several years. I have never
heard of this activity and from what I have read in the newspaper it
appears to have a number of safety problems. Is anyone on the list
familiar with an alcohol powered cannon activity? Any comments?

Bill Lee wlee@lausd.k12.ca.us, Science Department Chairperson
Chemical Safety Hazard Coordinator,
Granada Hills HS voice (818) 360-2361 x405
10535 Zelzah Ave. FAX (818) 363-9504
Granada Hills CA 91344

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:55:27 PST
From: "Brian Becker" <cejla_elf@hotmail.com>
To: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: Re: Methanol Cannon Accident

I know of a couple of High schools that do this activity with the
physics class, but the teacher is always the one who ignites the cannon,
and the are alwas set off on the ground woth no one holding it.

Brian J. Becker, email: cejla_elf@hotmail.com
home page: http://www.geocities.com/area51/lair/2349

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 14:00:01 -0700
From: "Jeffrey J. Ayres" <jayres@ycpo.yavapai.cc.az.us>
To: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: Re: Methanol Cannon Accident

Chemed-l,
Projectiles should never be allowed in a school setting unless it is a
Military installation. Even the firing of Estes rockets is not allowed in
most schools. The use of juice cans as a barrel is outrageous. The ATF of
the federal government will probably issuing warrants in conjunction with
lawsuits from the parents of the children involved. Many fireworks
ordinances were broken. The only people who can lawfully ignite explosives
are licensed. The URL of the California regulations was posted a month or
so ago, it was very explicit. Students undergo enough fright in the
science classroom, incidents such as this make it even more difficult for
them to sign up for science. My sympathies to the families involved.

Jeff Ayres

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 16:19:24 -0500 (EST)
From: Tom Kenney <tkenney@umd5.umd.edu>
To: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: Re: Methanol Cannon Accident

On Sat, 28 Nov 1998, wlee wrote:

We just had a tragic science activity accident last Wednesday at one of
the local high schools....(snip)

The only time I've seen this done was at a Demo Day for chemistry
teachers. The "cannon" was the bulb from a turkey baster, ignition was by
an inserted flint and wheel, the projectile was a ping-pong ball, and the
methanol was measured out in drops.

Deepest sympathies to all the affected people.


Tom Kenney e-mail: tkenney@umd5.umd.edu
s-mail: Chemistry Department
Montgomery College
Rockville, MD 20850

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 15:50:03 -0600
From: Rick_Strickert@radian.com
To: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: RE: Methanol Cannon Accident

The construction, use, and precautions for different "methanol cannons" are
described in a number of books on demonstrations, including: The Dick and
Rae Physics Demo Handbook (D. Rae Carpenter, Jr. and Richard B. Minnix,
Virginia Military Institute, DICK and RAE, Inc., Lexington Virginia, 1993,
p. M-562), Chemical Magic from the Grocery Store (Andy Sae, Chemistry
Department, Eastern New Mexico State University, Portales, NM, 1991,
p.30-31), and Chemical Demonstrations: A Sourcebook for Teachers (Lee R.
Summerlin and James L. Ealy, Jr., American Chemical Society, 1985, p.170;
also in the 2nd Edition (1988), Volume I, p. 25).

The injuries to the students are tragic examples of what I consider a
MISUSE of the methanol cannon, an educational and entertaining classroom
chemistry demonstration that I've used many times. There are several
problems I saw from information provided in Bill Lee's post:

1. High school students should NOT be permitted to operate or hold
explosive devices in laboratory class experiments.

2. The methanol cannon is ill-suited for repetitively (or
reproductively) "conducting velocity measurements on tennis balls launched
from methanol powered cannons."

3. Only a few drops of methanol are needed for the cannon demo;
having a gallon container of methanol available for two (or 200!) cannons is
totally unwarranted.

4. There is the clear danger from the temptation to increase the
tennis ball velocity (physics students would not be very tempted in trying
to decrease the velocity) by inappropriately increasing the amount of
methanol.

5. One instructor is not adequate for 35 students involved in the pouring
and igniting of a flammable liquid.

6. Even in a normal demo, not all of the methanol is usually burned
(Summerlin and Ealy noted this; I can confirm it from my experience);
repetitive use of the cannon without cleaning out the residue may result in
leaking of burning methanol from the ignitor hole (I can also confirm this
from experience.)

When used by a demonstrator, the cannon is held at a distance from students
and pointed away or over the heads of the students. I also use a small Nerf
ball instead of a tennis ball.

Fire and explosive demonstrations can serve a good purpose for a chemistry
or physics class, but only if the demonstration is performed by a person who
is familiar with the hazards and takes the obvious precautions to protect
the students from possible accidents involving the use and misuse of such
demos.

My prayers go with the injured students and their families.

Rick Strickert, Ph.D., Radian International
Austin, TX rick_strickert@radian.com

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 16:56:45 -0600
From: Rick_Strickert@radian.com
To: chemed-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: RE: Methanol Cannon Accident

More on the accident is in the Saturday edition of the San Fernando Valley
news section of the LA Times available at:
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/VALLEY/t000108676.html
<http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/VALLEY/t000108676.html>

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