goldrush214
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Nitric acid legality
Hello everyone,
I'm planning to do some experimentation with gold and nitric acid, but an issue that didn't cross my mind until I placed my chemical orders was the
legality of this. I am in the USA, specifically, Ohio.. I was unable to find any state or federal law that forbids the possession of nitric acid. Is
it only illegal if you plan to make illicit substances with it?
I went through DGR industrial and this place called "Sciencecompany". Not sure if I'm allowed to post the names, my apologies if I'm not.
Just a little bit worried now.
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forgottenpassword
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Normally companies don't sell illegal things. Not openly, at least! 
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Metacelsus
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It's not illegal to possess in the USA (to the best of my knowledge; I'm not a lawyer).
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goldrush214
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Ah ok, good to know.
My primary concern was that the UPS driver would see the obnoxious "NITRIC ACID - OXIDIZER" on the box and call the police or something.
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forgottenpassword
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Even if it is illegal you have a perfectly legitimate use for it, so I wouldn't expect a long prison sentence! A judge may even understand your
position and find it perfectly reasonable.
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goldrush214
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forgottenpassword
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Why do you live in fear of the police? You have no illegal intentions whatsoever; you order an item from a legitimate company. As I said -- companies
don't sell illegal things by and large. I find the concern totally bizarre, to be honest. You have a clean conscience -- start acting like it!
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goldrush214
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Because there's a daily news story about how the police raid first/ask questions later, sometimes with tragic consequences. You must not watch the
news.
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forgottenpassword
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Not American news, no. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Worse case scenario: they have you down as a bomb maker! Hope that helps.
[Edited on 30-11-2014 by forgottenpassword]
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Darkstar
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I HIGHLY doubt anyone's going to be even remotely interested in you for ordering a little nitric acid. Nitric acid is an extremely common reagent and
is used for all kinds of things, not just making explosives. Now, if you had ordered, say, a few kilos of pentaerythritol to go along with it, you
might get a knock on your door.
As long as you're not using the nitric acid for anything illegal, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If you weren't allowed to have it, the
chemical supplier wouldn't have sold it to you in the first place. Besides, LE are far more interested in drug precursors than anything else these
days.
[Edited on 30-11-2014 by Darkstar]
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Texium
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Yeah, sometimes these situations can be a little overdramatized. In reality, you shouldn't have any problems ordering some nitric acid. As long as you
get it from a legitimate source that will ship it legally (the main thing that can go wrong is that it's shipped wrong and then it leaks or spills)
and you aren't doing anything malicious with it, you have nothing to fear.
The absolute worst case scenario that could actually happen is that law enforcement would come and take a look at your lab and then leave to never
return once they see that you're doing nothing wrong.
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cyanureeves
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not illegal and i bet selling companies would fight tooth and nail if it was made illegal.the only reason i make it is because the shipping rates are
super high.the shipping service and the seller love you right now you nitric acid gold dissolver you.MMmmwaaH !
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forgottenpassword
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It was recently made illegal across the whole of the EU. Selling companies did fuck all... other than comply in restricting its sale!
What makes you think that American companies would fight tooth and nail?! And how much would you like to wager? 
[Edited on 30-11-2014 by forgottenpassword]
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Romain
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That's why I'm glad Switzerland is not part of the EU... Though it may still be illegal in Switzerland.
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Loptr
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I have heard of people getting a visit from ordering quantities of Nitric Acid from Duda Diesel.
I guess it really depends on what you do with your nitric acid, and whether having it at your location constitutes a violation within your locality.
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Magpie
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Quote: Originally posted by Loptr  | I have heard of people getting a visit from ordering quantities of Nitric Acid from Duda Diesel.
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Do you have any more details, such as: What was the quantity involved? Was delivery to a home address? Did the person ordering the acid have a
prior criminal record? Does LE check out all nitric acid sales or was this a random check? Did Duda alert LE? If so, why?
I am not aware of any states or municipalities that have laws against the possession of nitric acid in the US. Why was this sale targeted for
investigation?
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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Loptr
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It was a post of the Duda Diesel forum where a member claimed the state police showed up after an order.
It seems my recall is a bit fuzzy. They ordered two unnamed items of unknown quantity. The OP doesn't explicitly state nitric acid, but there is
mention of nitrates/oxidizers in an admin response.
http://bb.dudadiesel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9607&h...
I may have spoke too soon with this one.
I imagine it was a larger quantity, so I apologize for causing any hearts to skip a beat.
[Edited on 30-12-2014 by Loptr]
[Edited on 30-12-2014 by Loptr]
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macckone
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Nitrate quantities over a certain amount trigger a requirement to notify homeland security. This is true of all suppliers. Duda Diesel has warnings
to this effect on some chemicals.
Other chemicals require DEA notifications for new customers. Those aren't marked but the table is readily available.
BTW the notification threshold is 400lbs for nitrate salts
http://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=snbags
Aluminum powder and Magnesium powder is 100lbs.
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/chemsec_csattopscreenques...
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