Volunteer
FD (various positions including Chief Officer)
since 1966-Still a Life Member
Paid Firefighter/Driver-Operator/HazMat Tech/EMT-B/Retired as Station Captain after
30 years in 2001
Fire Service Instructor in several disciplines
since 1975
STILL "Doin' it!"
STILL learning new things!
STILL loving it!
NPS;
I always got a kick out of doing up MSDS sheets for WATER when I was working! You ARE correct
about all of the "lawyers 'metastasizing..."
And FFs now are SUPPOSED to have AT LEAST the
Hazardous Materials Awareness course in their training at the basic level. So they SHOULD be able
to make a RECOMMENDATION to the owner of the HazMat as to how/where to safely dispose of it.
Carbon tet BTW is a LIQUID, not a powder. Yes, it was a dry-cleaning solvent and as I said it used to
be readily available OTC at hardware stores! (But so was Chloridane!) But now it is no longer common
in homes and people may not realize it's potential for harm. In the quantities present even in small
extinguishers, it could prove harmful if handled wrong. Especially those glass globes. They seem to
turn up a lot in flea markets and even firematic shows! Everything is just fine as long as the stuff stays
in the container. But if it is let loose, THEN the problems could begin. Best just to dispose of it properly.