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killswitch
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A Call to Action: Removing Hydrogen Peroxide from the Dept. of Homeland Security's List of Scheduled Chemicals.
Dept. Homeland Security Scheduled Chemicals Appendix A
Specifically, page 17, section 8.
They consider hydrogen peroxide at or in excess of 35% concentration to be of interest, requiring institutions possessing quantities above a threshold
amount (in this case about 40 gallons) to submit to registration with the DHS and to periodic security inspections, as well as constructing a report
system to inform the DHS of loss or theft of materials.
I believe the intent of these regulations was to help prevent theft of materials in quantities sufficient for truck bombs (which, in my estimation,
seem to be the only real way for terrorists to inflict more casualties in one attack than would be possible by employing an assault rifle with an
extended stock and illegally modified for automatic fire).
While TATP presents a security concern as an easily synthesized primary that enables the initiation of an explosive charge without a lead-based primer
or aluminium flash powder, the idea of a truck bomb using TATP as a main charge is laughable on its face. Assuming the material can be synthesized
faster than previous batches sublimate, the fact remains that even if the perpetrators aren't killed by a premature detonation while synthesizing the
charge or loading the truck, a simple speed bump, pothole, or particularly sharp turn is all that would be required to prevent them reaching their
target. On top of all this, TATP is an inferior explosive due to the entropic nature of its decomposition.
HMTD presents equal difficulties, with the exception of sublimation of the product. This advantage is offset by its incompatibility with metals and
additional difficulties in procuring the required materials, rendering an HMTD truck bomb equally unfeasible.
On top of this, reliable syntheses for peroxides in greater than gram quantities simply do not exist for obvious reasons, resulting in either a
protracted and tedious manufacture, or risking unpredictable yields from a dangerous and untested procedure.
For the small batch quantities wherein peroxides actually present some degree of utility (though inferior to other methods), the unavailability of
over-the-counter 35% or higher H2O2 presents no difficulty. Aqueous solutions of H2O2 can be concentrated to up to 50% by volume via
freeze-distillation, utilizing the eutectic properties of H2O2 and H2O. For the small quantities required for an initiator, shoplifting sufficient
quantities of 3% H2O2 to produce an improvised detonator would present no obstacle to someone determined enough to build a vehicle-borne IED.
Other than HMTD and TATP, hydrogen peroxide of 50% concentration or less is not an explosive precursor, other than for novelty explosives that are
even more difficult and expensive to synthesize in the mass quantities required to serve as a main charge for a vehicle-borne improvised explosive
device (VBIED).
Conclusion
In light of the near-impossibility of constructing a vehicle-borne improved explosive device that utilizes organic peroxides as a main charge,
combined with the de facto over-the-counter availability of concentrated hydrogen peroxide due to the ease with which solutions of 50% H2O2 by volume
can be produced from lower-grade sources,
It is hereby proposed that that DHS adopt OSHA’s and EPA’s standard approach to
listing hydrogen peroxide at a 52% concentration under their Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations and Risk Management Program (RMP),
respectively.
Hydrogen peroxide of 50% concentration or less should be removed from the Department of Homeland Security's list of scheduled chemicals.
[Edited on 25-3-2012 by killswitch]
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Bot0nist
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That is very well written killswitch. Good luck in your cause, even though your motivation is the make organic peroxides, which are scary to me. BTW,
you can just get a vacuum pump (fridge) and maybe $50-$100 worth of glass and you can crank out as much HT peroxide as you need from the easily
acquired concentrations with just a bit of electricity for the pump and a bit of heat. Plus having vacuum and capable glass opens many doors to you in
chemistry.
[Edited on 25-3-2012 by Bot0nist]
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killswitch
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Uh, my goal isn't to make organic peroxides easier to make for myself. My goal is to reform an unnecessary and ineffective law. Filing the appropriate
reports with the DHS has a significant burden of administrative overhead. This should not be imposed on institutions that use a substance with massive
and wide-ranging industrial applications, and which a determined criminal could produce in his own home after a trip to Walgreens.
Hydrogen peroxide is quite possibly the most environmentally-friendly oxidizer in the chemical industry. For those interested in chemistry in general
and freedom to experiment in particular, especially those with professional ties, this is a change for the better that should be expedited, purely on
a rational basis.
Therefore, any input or support from chemists and scientists is welcome. Of particular interest would be polishing the message of the
initial post into a form that can be presented directly to DHS officials and local, state, and federal legislators to state the case for raising the
regulated concentration of hydrogen peroxide from 35% to 52%.
[Edited on 25-3-2012 by killswitch]
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Pulverulescent
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| Quote: | | My goal is to reform an unnecessary and ineffective law. |
The law won't be relaxed . . .
Whatever about its effectiveness, the DHS see it as wholly necessary since HMTD and TATP can be used in boosters intended to initiate insensitive
explosive compositions!
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones"
A Einstein
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killswitch
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Quote: Originally posted by Pulverulescent  | | Quote: | | My goal is to reform an unnecessary and ineffective law. |
The law won't be relaxed . . .
Whatever about its effectiveness, the DHS see it as wholly necessary since HMTD and TATP can be used in boosters intended to initiate insensitive
explosive compositions! |
Burdensome laws are never overturned by defeatism.
Those who are capable of killing others with explosives would easily procure what they need from 3% peroxide via freeze distillation. The only effect
is to place an administrative and financial burden on institutions (including small businesses) that seek to employ more environmentally-friendly
oxidizing agents.
I believe that now is the time to start rolling back what was hurriedly laid out in a state of irrational panic over ten years ago.
The case for hydrogen peroxide is stronger than for any other listed chemical. If we succeed here, it will send a message to scientists and engineers
both professional and hobbyist that we can make headway in loosening the strictures the DHS and DEA have placed on the building blocks of matter that
strangle hobbyist chemistry.
Some restrictions, obviously, should still apply, as we don't actually want people making huge bombs unless they're employed in landscaping or mining.
The theft of, say, a hundred gallons of nitric acid should obviously be reported to law enforcement. Nor do we want criminals making dangerous drugs
that negatively affect society.
But you simply can't paper over nitrogen, oxygen, and chlorine with red tape, any more than you can legislate the value of pi.
And even were the campaign to stall after H2O2, you'd have accomplished something. Something good. Good for science, good for industry, and good for
the environment.
[Edited on 25-3-2012 by killswitch]
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bbartlog
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What is the threshold amount? I browsed the linked document and couldn't find it. I bought 15 gallons of 35% peroxide last year (OTC) so (while I
agree in principle with you) I'm curious how much of a hassle this particular monitoring represents.
The less you bet, the more you lose when you win.
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killswitch
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| Quote: Originally posted by bbartlog | What is the threshold amount? I browsed the linked document and couldn't find it. I bought 15 gallons of 35% peroxide last year (OTC) so (while I
agree in principle with you) I'm curious how much of a hassle this particular monitoring represents.
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400 lbs (880 kg), including the water. So, by my calculations about 163 liters, or 43 gallons. So you're in the clear, but not by all that much.
Edit: It seems their threshold amounts for compounds in column 15 are intended to hover closely around "Whatever we think a terrorist can reasonably
cram into the bed of his Tacoma after he incapacitates the truck driver."
[Edited on 26-3-2012 by killswitch]
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bbartlog
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On the one hand, I agree that it's hard to find a feasible terrorist use case for 50 gallons of 35% peroxide that isn't served equally well by one
gallon. On the other hand, if they're intent on tracking all this stuff, I don't see this threshold as a particularly onerous one. I don't think any
home experimenter is going to need amounts over the threshold. I don't accept the existence and mission of the DHS as valid (being a libertarian
radical), but given acceptance of it I can't see a strong argument against this particular restriction.
The less you bet, the more you lose when you win.
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killswitch
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| Quote: Originally posted by bbartlog | | On the one hand, I agree that it's hard to find a feasible terrorist use case for 50 gallons of 35% peroxide that isn't served equally well by one
gallon. On the other hand, if they're intent on tracking all this stuff, I don't see this threshold as a particularly onerous one. I don't think any
home experimenter is going to need amounts over the threshold. I don't accept the existence and mission of the DHS as valid (being a libertarian
radical), but given acceptance of it I can't see a strong argument against this particular restriction. |
First, glad to find another person willing to speak out against the DHS. (Though such people would probably gravitate here, if they gravitate
anywhere).
Second, there seems to be no strong argument in favor of the restriction, either.
It puts a regulatory burden on small businesses such as dental supply companies, salons and spas, cleaning companies that use peroxide bleach instead
of chlorine, hardware stores, and many more. Transporting lower concentrations simply wastes fuel, since water doesn't need to be trucked around by
18-wheeler. Hydrogen peroxide is at least as prevalent as acetone, and has just as many, if not more, consumer applications.
I think all of us here can all agree that listing it doesn't make the world one iota safer. Instead, it wastes time and money, and in such a way that
all of us are negatively affected. Increased costs of basic commodities are spread throughout the economy, raising prices and depressing wages for
everybody.
And nobody's losing their jobs over this: the "Compliance Officers" who help mid-size companies deal with these regulations will be doing something
more useful instead, and the DHS doesn't have to lose face over it, as all they're doing is changing the regulated concentration.
[Edited on 26-3-2012 by killswitch]
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Fleaker
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You know, the form that Univar or Brenntag hands out for this chemical is the exact same as they hand out for nitric acid, or sodium nitrate (which we
were shocked at since it's relatively innocuous and we use it en masse for silver flux). It's a simple form. I don't know where the form goes but
we've had to have it signed starting last year on orders as small as 15 gallons of 35% peroxide, but it's a one time form from the company per
chemical. I don't really think it's a big deal, as it's still available if you have legitimate use. While I agree that the reportable quantity is
rather arbitrary, I have found little effect in this law for those in business with a reason to have this material (and others).
We use peroxide every day for dissolving metals (mostly as a W or Mo etchant or for platinum). No inspections so far. And if, God forbid there was a
loss, I'd certainly get in contact with the authorities anyway. We have to keep quantity records for mass balance for the EPA anyway, so it's not like
these regulations are particularly onerous.
Much ado about nothing, in my honest opinion.
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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killswitch
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| Quote: Originally posted by Fleaker | You know, the form that Univar or Brenntag hands out for this chemical is the exact same as they hand out for nitric acid, or sodium nitrate (which we
were shocked at since it's relatively innocuous and we use it en masse for silver flux). It's a simple form. I don't know where the form goes but
we've had to have it signed starting last year on orders as small as 15 gallons of 35% peroxide, but it's a one time form from the company per
chemical. I don't really think it's a big deal, as it's still available if you have legitimate use. While I agree that the reportable quantity is
rather arbitrary, I have found little effect in this law for those in business with a reason to have this material (and others).
We use peroxide every day for dissolving metals (mostly as a W or Mo etchant or for platinum). No inspections so far. And if, God forbid there was a
loss, I'd certainly get in contact with the authorities anyway. We have to keep quantity records for mass balance for the EPA anyway, so it's not like
these regulations are particularly onerous.
Much ado about nothing, in my honest opinion. |
It's still unnecessary, and rescheduling it would be a step in the right direction. Wasn't the Millennium Bomber the last time a North American
terrorist ripped off an industrial facility for materials? That was back before anyone in domestic law enforcement was paying any attention at all.
These days, a plan like that would never fly.
It's important that we start dismantling this thing before it becomes "just the way things are." The only hope here is "death by a thousand cuts."
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neptunium
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i completly agree , some people here have valid argument but i think they are missing the point. Its not so much about the danger of the chemical
itself ,more than the bureaucratic burden, the unnecesary paperwork and the slow (but steady )restriction of liberty.
Changing the concentration limit wont make a huge difference but its a step in the right direction. and it sends a message that the government cannot
ignore. There are people still awake and watching whats going on.
Sign me up if you send the request killswitch
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watson.fawkes
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| Quote: Originally posted by killswitch | | Those who are capable of killing others with explosives would easily procure what they need from 3% peroxide via freeze distillation. The only effect
is to place an administrative and financial burden on institutions (including small businesses) that seek to employ more environmentally-friendly
oxidizing agents. |
Your whole argument hinges upon the word "easily", since if the regulation makes it harder
for their targets to acquire 35% peroxide, then it's effective for the purpose of the regulation. And indeed the regulation is effective, because most
people are unable, for any number of reasons, to actually carry out the concentration step.
So if you want your argument to hold weight, you need to change the facts on the ground and make it easier for them. The best way to do this is by
researching the requisite chemical engineering, proving your concept, and educating the public by publication. Concentration of hydrogen peroxide is a
regular affair within the chemical industry, but not so much at the pilot scale. After all, why would any one who has a legitimate need for a 55
gallon drum of H2O2 make it themselves when they can buy it? Note: that drum weighs about 500 lbs, so you can tell where the reporting limit comes
from.
The problem, and I'll quote the old chestnut, is that the gap between theory and practice is smaller in theory than in practice. So the needed pilot
plant, in order to actually avoid the reporting limit, would have to be capable of making one drum of 35% H2O2. Presumably the raw material would be
sourced from retail 3% H2O2. Assume that raw material, and let's assume some modest losses, is around 15 times the volume of the final product, so we
need 15 drums of 3% peroxide, and since that's hard to find, we'll just go with 3300 quart jugs of 3%. Presumably there's a big enough smurf network
to acquire this. And enough budget. If you buy on sale, you're still looking at $3000 just in reagent acquisition.
You did say "easily", right?
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killswitch
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| Quote: Originally posted by watson.fawkes | | Quote: Originally posted by killswitch | | Those who are capable of killing others with explosives would easily procure what they need from 3% peroxide via freeze distillation. The only effect
is to place an administrative and financial burden on institutions (including small businesses) that seek to employ more environmentally-friendly
oxidizing agents. |
Your whole argument hinges upon the word "easily", since if the regulation makes it harder
for their targets to acquire 35% peroxide, then it's effective for the purpose of the regulation. And indeed the regulation is effective, because most
people are unable, for any number of reasons, to actually carry out the concentration step.
So if you want your argument to hold weight, you need to change the facts on the ground and make it easier for them. The best way to do this is by
researching the requisite chemical engineering, proving your concept, and educating the public by publication. Concentration of hydrogen peroxide is a
regular affair within the chemical industry, but not so much at the pilot scale. After all, why would any one who has a legitimate need for a 55
gallon drum of H2O2 make it themselves when they can buy it? Note: that drum weighs about 500 lbs, so you can tell where the reporting limit comes
from.
The problem, and I'll quote the old chestnut, is that the gap between theory and practice is smaller in theory than in practice. So the needed pilot
plant, in order to actually avoid the reporting limit, would have to be capable of making one drum of 35% H2O2. Presumably the raw material would be
sourced from retail 3% H2O2. Assume that raw material, and let's assume some modest losses, is around 15 times the volume of the final product, so we
need 15 drums of 3% peroxide, and since that's hard to find, we'll just go with 3300 quart jugs of 3%. Presumably there's a big enough smurf network
to acquire this. And enough budget. If you buy on sale, you're still looking at $3000 just in reagent acquisition.
You did say "easily", right? |
I have no clue why the hell they would need that much peroxide, because making more than 20g of TATP is ridiculously unsafe. For the amounts they
would need, they could easily shoplift the required 3%. And as for the concentration step:
Easy: Put it in the freezer. The liquid that doesn't freeze is your concentrated peroxide.
I had some 3% store-bought H2O2 that expired in 09 and was stored at room temperature. The tamper-proof cap was swelling from O2 buildup. A few weeks
ago I put it in the freezer overnight. As I attempted to remove the tamper-seal, the hole I pricked immediately released a jet of liquid (no doubt
propelled by the O2) that caused the most painful H2O2 embolisms I have ever experienced. There was at least 8 mL of 30%+ H2O2 emitted. And this
wasn't even at the eutectic point, which is quite a bit colder than -40 degrees and beyond my refrigerator. Imagine what dry ice and some fresh
bottles could do. At the right Wal-Mart or H-E-B, you could pick up dry ice, acetone (in the hardware or automobile section), hydrogen peroxide, and
the Works, which makes for a decent catalyst.
And all this is not to mention that TATP can be made using sodium percarbonate (available at hardware stores and is the main ingredient in OxyClean)
as the oxidizer, so controls on H2O2 don't seem to prevent criminals from manufacturing peroxide initiators.
Mass production of TATP or HMTD is a non-starter, as they cannot be used as a main charge. It's the guy who shoplifts one or two bottles each from a
Walgreens, a CVS, a Target, and a Wal-Mart and jams them in the freezer to make 5+ grams of material that is the real issue, and detecting him will be
a matter of detecting his production of a main charge.
[Edited on 27-3-2012 by killswitch]
[Edited on 27-3-2012 by killswitch]
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watson.fawkes
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| Quote: Originally posted by killswitch | | Mass production of TATP or HMTD is a non-starter, as they cannot be used as a main charge. It's the guy who shoplifts one or two bottles each from a
Walgreens, a CVS, a Target, and a Wal-Mart and jams them in the freezer to make 5+ grams of material that is the real issue. |
Well, you appear to be mistaken about that. If that were the actual issue, the reporting limit would have been set differently. It
appears that what they're worrying about is indeed using organic peroxides as a main charge, because that's the synthesis that the regulation actually
affects. The threat model does not seem to be the small guy, because the regulation has no effect on them.
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Bot0nist
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| Quote: | Mass production of TATP or HMTD is a non-starter, as they cannot be used as a main charge. It's the guy who shoplifts one or two bottles each from a
Walgreens, a CVS, a Target, and a Wal-Mart and jams them in the freezer to make 5+ grams of material that is the real issue.
|
Retoric like that would be excellent to enact further legislation of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to encompass the readily
available 3% variety.
U.T.F.S.E. and learn the joys of autodidacticism!
Don't judge each day only by the harvest you reap, but also by the seeds you sow.
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neptunium
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anyone going arround buying large quantity of H2O2 will get noticed sooner or later. i think the legislation is trying to takle the liquid bomb plot
of 2006 .
when 20 some terrorists plotted from England to use it as a weapon .
Thats the reason why no liquids are allowed on a plane anymore.
They do not give too much details on the device for obvious reason and they can protect plane by simply not allowing liquids.
but on the ground this new regulation is probably the counter measure resulting from yet another scare .
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weiming1998
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| Quote: Originally posted by Bot0nist | | Quote: | Mass production of TATP or HMTD is a non-starter, as they cannot be used as a main charge. It's the guy who shoplifts one or two bottles each from a
Walgreens, a CVS, a Target, and a Wal-Mart and jams them in the freezer to make 5+ grams of material that is the real issue.
|
Retoric like that would be excellent to enact further legislation of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to encompass the readily
available 3% variety. |
Probably not. 3% H2O2 is used to clean wounds, dye hair, and other uses. Even if they will ignore these uses, the banning of all hydrogen peroxide
will spark an outrage in the "alt med" community, as some of them drink diluted hydrogen peroxide as a way to "oxygenate" their blood and detoxify
themselves. Others think that H2O2 and baking soda is the universal cleaner and sodium percarbonate cannot replace it.
As the H2O2 therapy supporters are extremely numerous, far more in number than amateur chemists or people that etch circuit boards, plus they are a
group of people that thinks that the government is hiding the miracle from us. If the government bans H2O2, they will start conspiracy theory websites
everywhere on the net, and even in real life, maybe even protests. The government simply cannot ever risk to get a massive group of people saying that
they are evil, and possibly reduce the amount of people that takes vaccines to a very small amount (if government is so evil it bans the cure all
H2O2, then they are lying about vaccines and they really do cause autism!), reducing the numbers below herd immunity and possibly start an epidemic.
Even if that doesn't happen, they still don't want protesters going everywhere and the amount of people taking conventional medicine to decrease.
Edit: Just Google "H2O2 therapy" if you don't believe me.
[Edited on 27-3-2012 by weiming1998]
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killswitch
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| Quote: Originally posted by weiming1998 | | Quote: Originally posted by Bot0nist | | Quote: | Mass production of TATP or HMTD is a non-starter, as they cannot be used as a main charge. It's the guy who shoplifts one or two bottles each from a
Walgreens, a CVS, a Target, and a Wal-Mart and jams them in the freezer to make 5+ grams of material that is the real issue.
|
Retoric like that would be excellent to enact further legislation of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to encompass the readily
available 3% variety. |
Probably not. 3% H2O2 is used to clean wounds, dye hair, and other uses. Even if they will ignore these uses, the banning of all hydrogen peroxide
will spark an outrage in the "alt med" community, as some of them drink diluted hydrogen peroxide as a way to "oxygenate" their blood and detoxify
themselves. Others think that H2O2 and baking soda is the universal cleaner and sodium percarbonate cannot replace it.
As the H2O2 therapy supporters are extremely numerous, far more in number than amateur chemists or people that etch circuit boards, plus they are a
group of people that thinks that the government is hiding the miracle from us. If the government bans H2O2, they will start conspiracy theory websites
everywhere on the net, and even in real life, maybe even protests. The government simply cannot ever risk to get a massive group of people saying that
they are evil, and possibly reduce the amount of people that takes vaccines to a very small amount (if government is so evil it bans the cure all
H2O2, then they are lying about vaccines and they really do cause autism!), reducing the numbers below herd immunity and possibly start an epidemic.
Even if that doesn't happen, they still don't want protesters going everywhere and the amount of people taking conventional medicine to decrease.
Edit: Just Google "H2O2 therapy" if you don't believe me.
[Edited on 27-3-2012 by weiming1998] |
Ehh... that's a little tinfoil-hatty for most people's tastes, and most alt-med stuff is bullshit. The simple truth is that the government CAN'T ban
hydrogen peroxide in its totality. Could you imagine trying to ban hair bleach? Carpet cleaner? Tooth-whitening mouthwash formulas? It'd be
ridiculous.
The simple truth: The only place TATP manufacture could be completely prohibited is in a place like North Korea.
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killswitch
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| Quote: Originally posted by watson.fawkes | | Well, you appear to be mistaken about that. If that were the actual issue, the reporting limit would have been set differently. It appears that what
they're worrying about is indeed using organic peroxides as a main charge, because that's the synthesis that the regulation actually affects. The
threat model does not seem to be the small guy, because the regulation has no effect on them. |
Then the government regulation is retarded. They were actually considering adding acetone and urea to the list of scheduled chemicals until industry
professionals pointed out how stupid that would be. As I pointed out in the first post, main-charge VBIEDS based on TATP or HMTD have so many issues
with them that they simply can't be used.
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Bot0nist
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I never said ban it, bit they sure like to wrap stuff up in red tape and bureaucracy. I don't believe anything will become of 3%. I was just pointing
out that killswitch was seemingly arguing for it restrictions. Everyone is in a tinfoil hat wearing, conspiracy theory having mood lately it seems.
[Edited on 27-3-2012 by Bot0nist]
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watson.fawkes
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| Quote: Originally posted by killswitch | | Then the government regulation is retarded. They were actually considering adding acetone and urea to the list of scheduled chemicals until industry
professionals pointed out how stupid that would be. As I pointed out in the first post, main-charge VBIEDS based on TATP or HMTD have so many issues
with them that they simply can't be used. |
Before I lay into you, I want to point out that I agree with the
sentiment of your original post. I just think you're being horribly ineffective about it.
There are two rather common fallacies that circulate around here. You're exhibiting some of each.I don't understand it,
therefore impossible.I don't understand it, therefore conspiracy. You don't understand how anybody might use organic peroxides in a
vehicle-weapon, therefore you've discounted its possibility. You don't understand why the regulators wrote the rule you did, so you call it retarded.
My surmise is that you may be about to look for their ulterior motives, the first step on the road to conspiredom. The second of these is easy enough
to address and has indeed already been mentioned: | Quote: Originally posted by neptunium | i think the legislation is trying to takle the liquid bomb plot of 2006 .
when 20 some terrorists plotted from England to use it as a weapon .
[...]but on the ground this new regulation is probably the counter measure resulting from yet another scare . |
The people who wrote the regulation know something you don't. There was very likely some discovered plot involving drum-sized
quantities of H2O2, so now it's restricted. We know of a number of these already that fit this exact pattern. Shoe-bomber, therefore "take off your
shoes".
The first concern simply requires more imagination. If you ask the question "How could an organic peroxide be used in a vehicle bomb?" you'll
head down a much better path. There seems to me a very straightforward way of doing this, which is (1) to use a refrigerated truck ("reefer"), (2)
synthesize the peroxide compound in the back of the truck, and (3) explode the truck. A refrigerated truck has as rather high-capacity chiller in it,
ideally suited for such syntheses. It would take only modest effort to take the coolant loop and repurpose it for chilling a reaction vessel. Such
trucks commonly idle constantly to run the refrigeration system, so such behavior wouldn't be suspicious. Most of the sensitivity concerns go away
when you don't ever have to repackage or even manipulate the material.
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bbartlog
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| Quote: | | You don't understand how anybody might use organic peroxides in a vehicle-weapon, therefore you've discounted its possibility. You don't understand
why the regulators wrote the rule you did, so you call it retarded. My surmise is that you may be about to look for their ulterior motives
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I don't think a vehicle-scale preparation of peroxide explosives is feasible. It's possible that the regulators know something I don't (we'll call
this the 'government is smarter than I am' hypothesis or maybe heuristic). It's also possible that they're kind of stupid, at least when acting
together in committee: they may have decided that it would be practical to make a 100 kilo charge of TATP just because making a 50g charge is easy.
Call that the 'stupid government' hypothesis.
I've seen enough stupid government and little enough smart government that I always lean towards the stupid government hypothesis. No ulterior motives
required.
| Quote: | | There seems to me a very straightforward way of doing this... |
Straightforward *to you*, because you're highly intelligent. I don't know whether you've noticed, but the reason terrorists haven't succeeded in doing
much to us is because the overwhelming majority of them are stupid - even the 'straightforward' plot you describe would be logistical rocket science
to them.
The less you bet, the more you lose when you win.
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watson.fawkes
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| Quote: Originally posted by bbartlog | It's also possible that they're kind of stupid, at least when acting together in committee: they may have decided that it would be practical to make a
100 kilo charge of TATP just because making a 50g charge is easy.
[...]
Straightforward *to you*, because you're highly intelligent. I don't know whether you've noticed, but the reason terrorists haven't succeeded in doing
much to us is because the overwhelming majority of them are stupid - even the 'straightforward' plot you describe would be logistical rocket science
to them. |
I assure you, the chemists that work in this field for the government are not stupid. I would guess
that the threat I laid out has already been examined. It doesn't need to be easy so much as plausible in their eyes, not even so high a standard as
"likely".
I highly recommend reading Mike Davis's book Buda's Wagon, a monograph history of the car bomb. Completely fascinating. It seems
straightforward to me perhaps because, frankly, it doesn't seem like much of a stretch from what's gone before. There's a table of near the beginning
of that book titled (paraphrasing) "Major Technological Developments". Using a reefer truck seems completely plausible to me in light of that table.
Also, "terrorists" include both the foreign and domestic variety. Although the focus has been on foreign-origin terrorism for the last decade, the
home-grown variety hasn't dropped off the map. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that it's a domestic incident that led to the restriction.
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quicksilver
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Quite some time back we had a discussion of this sort. It's significant to ask oneself "why" the law was enacted. It's my opinion that often times
laws that don't make direct sense on their surface are used as "Prosecution Padding". The issue (which also pulls in discussions on the Patriot Act
II) allows the Prosecution in a courtroom to have heavier bargaining weight.
DHS has "Watched Chemicals", DEA has "Listed Chemicals" (please do a Search). One is dope-oriented, the other weapons-oriented. The DHS 2011 budget is
higher than the DoD!!!! Substantially higher than Justice (& the DEA). They learned quickly that Courtroom leverage is a bargaining chip for
annoyance Felons. This actually started from unbelievably stupid drug cooks who even though they made a small amount of drugs, their product was
potentially lethal, superficially poisonous, & generally a serious problem to the community. They didn't have enough product to get the stupid
jerk off the street so they "padded" the laws with more restrictions on other materials aside from the completed drugs. This was also called "The
Precursor Law" and it worked in states where a judge would let an individual go with Time Served, fine, ect. He could now stop the individual from
continuing. (This was actually first discussed during the Parkinson Disease- like nightmare from Fentnyl as the cooks continued to make the product
and the results hit the Middle-Class.)
Arrests by DHS for actual or attempted domestic terrorism do not have to be made public by that agency (Patriot Act) unless subpena issuance other
than Defense Counsel & the local news doesn't like to spend money for a story when there are free stories available.
The DHS "Watched Chemicals" are not "restricted" in the manner of "Listed Precursors" from the DEA. The actual issue is to prevent (1.) large quantity
thefts, (2) Prosecution padding.
It's important to understand where these laws come from & how they are used. It's basically a TRACKING law.
The ATF (who is actually IN the courtroom much more frequently than the DHS) uses expressions such as "azide explosives", "ammonium nitrate
explosives", or "ammonium perchlorate with smaller size than 15um" - purposely to be ambiguous (to give the Prosecution some breathing room) - not to
achieve to direct prosecution but to seal a Plea Bargain. This in turn allows gov't agencies to get annoyances off the street and serious problems
serious years in prison.
I deeply doubt that many people here would get even a glance for a container of 50%+ H2O2. However if fingers, testicles, & eyeballs went flying,
it would give someone a chance to stop that person from "sharing" his dysfunctional agenda. Additionally, it would bring to heel some serious domestic
terrorist assholes who believe that killing children is their right of free expression.
Here is the DHS CSAT & the ATF list:
Attachment: chemsec_csat_sva-1.pdf (1.3MB)
This file has been downloaded 1229 times
Attachment: 2011_list.pdf (140kB)
This file has been downloaded 831 times
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