Do not store smokeless powder where it will be exposed to sunrays. Avoid storage in areas where mechanical or electrical equipment is in operation.
Restrict from the storage areas heat or sparks which may result from improper, defective or overloaded electrical circuits. Check old powders for deterioration regularly. Destroy deteriorated powders immediately. This information is intended to increase the knowledge of all concerned individuals and groups regarding smokeless powder. The statements and recommendations made are not intended to supersede local, state, or Federal regulations.
Proper authorities should be consulted on regulations for storage and use of smokeless powder in each specific community. Smokeless powders, or propellants, are essentially mixtures of chemicals designed to burn under controlled conditions at the proper rate to propel a projectile from a gun.
The energy released from double-base smokeless powders is derived from both nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin.
All smokeless powders are extremely flammable; by design, they are intended to burn rapidly and vigorously when ignited. Oxygen from the air is not necessary for the combustion of smokeless powders since they contain sufficient built-in oxygen to burn completely, even in an enclosed space such as the chamber of a firearm.
In effect, ignition occurs when the powder granules are heated above their ignition temperature. This can occur by exposing powder to: A flame such as a match or primer flash.
An electrical spark or the sparks from welding, grinding, etc. Heat from an electric hot plate or a fire directed against or near a closed container even if the powder itself is not exposed to the flame. When smokeless powder burns, a great deal of gas at high temperature is formed. If the powder is confined, this gas will create pressure in the surrounding structure. The rate of gas generation is such, however, that the pressure can be kept at a low level if sufficient space is available or if the gas can escape.
In this respect smokeless powder differs from blasting agents or high explosives such as dynamite or blasting gelatin, although smokeless powder may contain chemical ingredients common to some of these products. High explosives such as dynamite are made to detonate, that is, to change from solid state to gaseous state with evolution of intense heat at such a rapid rate that shock waves are propagated through any medium in contact with them.
Such shock waves exert pressure on anything they contact, and, as a matter of practical consideration, it is almost impossible to satisfactorily vent away the effects of a detonation involving any appreciable quantity of dynamite. Smokeless powder differs considerably in its burning characteristics from common "black powder. When ignited in an unconfined state, smokeless powder burns inefficiently with an orange-colored flame.
It produces a considerable amount of light brown noxious smelling smoke. It leaves a residue of ash and partially burned powder. The flame is hot enough to cause severe burns. The opposite is true when it burns under pressure as in a cartridge fired in a gun. Then it produces very little smoke, a small glow, and leaves very little or no residue. The burning rate of smokeless powder increases with increased pressure.
If burning smokeless powder is confined, gas pressure will rise and eventually can cause the container to burst. Under such circumstances, the bursting of a strong container creates effects similar to an explosion.
For this reason, the Department of Transportation formerly Interstate Commerce Commission sets specifications for shipping containers for propellants and requires tests of loaded containers - under actual fire conditions - before approving them for use.
The acquisition, storage and sale of propellants and ammunition require a dwelling, a storage unit or an explosives licence depending on the quantity and type of explosives being handled.
Any person handling explosives must be at least 18 years of age or older unless otherwise exempted by the Explosives Act and Regulations. A person may acquire and store up to 5 kilogram gross mass of smokeless powder for use in an attached dwelling if the containers are greater than 1 kilogram gross mass. A person may acquire and store up to 20 kilograms gross mass of smokeless powder for use in an attached dwelling if the containers are less than or equal to 1 kilogram gross mass. A person may acquire and store up to 25 kilograms gross mass of smokeless powder for use in a detached dwelling or a storage unit attached to a detached dwelling.
This value is inclusive of all the propellant powders at the dwelling. A person may acquire and store up to 75 kilograms gross mass of smokeless powder for use in a storage unit.
When propellant powders, percussion caps or black powder cartouches are stored in a storage unit:. A person may acquire and store greater than 75 kg gross mass of smokeless powder for use in a magazine if they hold an explosives licence. A person may acquire and store up to 5 kilogram gross mass of smokeless powder for sale in an attached dwelling if the containers are greater than 1 kilogram gross mass.
A person may acquire and store up to 20 kilograms gross mass of smokeless powder for sale in an attached dwelling if the containers are less than or equal to 1 kilogram gross mass. A person may acquire and store up to 25 kilograms gross mass of smokeless powder for sale in a detached dwelling or a storage unit attached to a detached dwelling.
A person may acquire and store up to 75 kilograms gross mass of smokeless powder for sale in a storage unit. A person may acquire and store greater than 75 kg gross mass of smokeless powder for sale in a magazine if they hold an explosives licence.
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