thebean - 24-3-2014 at 18:31
I was considering purchasing an ounce of iodine from UN. They restrict sales to one ounce per address so I tried to find less than an ounce because I
don't need that much. They only ounces. Being an American citizen I am terrified of being pinned as a cook. Do any of you (from the US) have
experience ordering iodine from there or any other online stores?
thesmug - 24-3-2014 at 18:36
It would probably be best to buy the whole ounce since you can't buy it again and you never know when you might need it. I have bought iodine from
them before and no legal issues have been faced. The government actually buys from UN and works with them (they are technically a military supply
company) and the government fully realizes that this is a scientific site and not some illegal or suspicious marketplace. The reason they restrict to
1 oz/y is to prevent actual cooks from being successful. It is still legal to purchase iodine, the only difference is that it is heavily restricted
(you can actually buy small amounts from OTC pharmacies). I wouldn't be too worried.
Now phosphorus, on the other hand...
[Edited on 3/25/14 by thesmug]
Texium - 24-3-2014 at 18:47
Yeah, the government buys stuff from them, but still raid their place occasionally...
*FWOOSH* - 24-3-2014 at 18:53
You don't need to worry about buying I2 from UN. They restrict sales to one ounce because anyone trying to "cook" is going to need a hell of a lot
more than that.
I've actually not only bought their Iodine I went and picked it up from their warehouse, didn't get a second look, haven't been raided lately either
.
thebean - 25-3-2014 at 06:06
Heh, I'm mostly worried about being on a watch list. Sounds like I'll be alright though.
MrHomeScientist - 25-3-2014 at 07:25
I think people are generally a little too paranoid about being put on "watch lists," whatever that means. I've bought iodine from eBay with zero
problems. If you're really concerned, buy potassium iodide instead and isolate iodine from that. It's extremely simple, and there's nothing suspicious
at all about KI (which makes the whole restriction of I2 completely pointless).
There seems to be two camps as to how to go about practicing home chemistry. On the one hand, some say as long as you keep a tidy lab, aren't doing
anything questionable, and can easily and confidently explain yourself should questions arise, you'll be fine. On the other hand, some people want you
to lock all of your things in a bomb shelter and never ever tell a soul that you even own chemicals.
As you might guess by my wording, I'm in the former camp. I'm doing nothing illegal, so I don't try to hide what I do (hiding in itself would arouse
suspicion, IMO). I've done several public demonstrations at neighborhood block parties. Most people in my neighborhood know me as "the scientist guy."
The occasional bright light or smoke cloud from my back yard isn't anything special, and I encourage anyone that has questions to drop by.
neptunium - 25-3-2014 at 07:38
hmmm....i wonder who is your home policy inssureance guy? its fine and makes sense and you are a lucky one in a great understanding neighborhood. . .
. untill something happen and they will all point the finger at the "scientist guy" am i wrong?
MrHomeScientist - 25-3-2014 at 13:07
I would hope that instead of pointing fingers, they would come ask first. If I was at fault I'd certainly do what I could to fix the problem. All of
my experiments are small-scale, so I won't be producing clouds of noxious gas or anything like that. The neighbors shouldn't really even notice
anything during my normal experimentation. The people I've met seem friendly and genuinely interested. I will admit you never know what people will do
in bad situations, though.
Edit: As for insurance, I doubt that there is a "chemistry lab insurance" package. Not a bad idea to talk to my provider, at least.
[Edited on 3-25-2014 by MrHomeScientist]