Pyrotol

Pyrotol was an explosive available for a time after World War I.[1] It was reprocessed from military surplus, with a typical composition of 60% smokeless powder, 34% sodium nitrate, and 6% of 40% nitroglycerin dynamite.[2] Usually used in combination with dynamite, it created an incendiary blast. Since it was very inexpensive, it was often used by farmers to remove tree stumps and clear ditches.[3] The substance was known for being used to commit the Bath School bombing in 1927.[4][5] Distribution of pyrotol for farm use was discontinued in 1928, due to exhaustion of the supply of surplus explosives.[6]

This article is about pyrotol, the explosive. For the industrial catalyst, see pyrotol catalyst.

Pyrotol was intended to make a use after the war for a large surplus of smokeless powder. It was manufactured in a contract awarded to the DuPont Company and was created in three DuPont plants: Gibbstown, N.J., Barksdale, Wisconsin, and DuPont, Washington. The active ingredient of these cartridges, Pyrotol, was free, and included in the cartridge's price; the consumer paid for the preparation and freight of these cartridges.[7]

Pyrotol was said to cause no ill effects, like headaches, or staining hands or clothing, although the validity of this statement is unknown. A 6-ounce (170 g) cartridge of pyrotol was said to be as powerful as an 8-ounce (230 g) cartridge of dynamite, and came in 50-pound (23 kg) boxes containing 160 cartridges of the substance.[8]

References
  1. Virginia. Dept. of Agriculture and Commerce (1922). Yearbook 1922. Virginia Department of Agriculture and Commerce. p. 125. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  2. Wool Production, Extension Bulletin #136(Issues 135-184). State College of Washington. April 1926. p. 74. Pyrotol is a mixture of 60% smokeless powder, 34% sodium nitrate and 6% of 40% nitroglycerin dynamite.
  3. Buhk, Tobin T. (2011). True Crime: Michigan: The State's Most Notorious Criminal Cases. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0713-8. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  4. Gado, Mark. "Hell Comes to Bath". crimelibrary. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  5. Schechter, Harold (2012). Psycho USA: Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of. Random House Digital, Inc. pp. 277–278. ISBN 978-0-345-52448-5.
  6. "Heavy Orders Cut Supply of Pyrtol". Granite Falls Record (Newspaper Archive of Granite Falls Historical Society, Granite Falls, Washington). September 30, 1927. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  7. "Report - United States. Bureau of Public Roads - Google Books". 1923. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  8. Seitz, Charles E. (1925). "Project No. 10 – Land Clearing". Virginia Tech. hdl:10919/90121.


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