valeg96
Hazard to Others
Posts: 254
Registered: 6-4-2014
Location: Italy
Member Is Offline
Mood: Moodless
|
|
Mothballs - what is available where you live?
Just a curiosity, mainly.
Mothballs here in Italy are nowadays only camphor-based, but they used to be made of pure naphthalene or pure p-dichlorobenzene back in the 1990s, at
most with a 2-10% MgSO4.
Napthalene is still rather easy to find around, while p-dichlorobenzene is out. Camphor is, sadly, one of the most useless organics around the house.
What is available/allowed in your country?
|
|
|
Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4618
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Offline
Mood: PhD candidate!
|
|
Last time I checked, napthalene and p-dichlorobenzene were available side by side on store shelves here. I still have some of the napthalene ones that
I bought years ago.
|
|
|
valeg96
Hazard to Others
Posts: 254
Registered: 6-4-2014
Location: Italy
Member Is Offline
Mood: Moodless
|
|
Well now I know what to ask my SS should they be from the US...  
|
|
|
woelen
Super Administrator
Posts: 8027
Registered: 20-8-2005
Location: Netherlands
Member Is Offline
Mood: interested
|
|
Here I only could find p-dichlorobenzene. Never saw naphtalene, nor camphor-based ones.
|
|
|
Oxy
Hazard to Others
Posts: 140
Registered: 1-12-2020
Member Is Offline
|
|
Actually camphore might be not as useless as it looks. Vogel (not only but also physical chemistry textbooks) describes how it might be use for
finding approx. molar mass of pure compound. Definitely not LC/MS but from time to time it might be a fun.
This kind of old techniques might be very handy for a home lab.
|
|
|
Jenks
Hazard to Others
Posts: 163
Registered: 1-12-2019
Member Is Offline
|
|
I only see p-dichlorobenzene moth balls in the US and thought naphthalene was banned due to the cancer risk from their vapor. When I look on ebay,
almost all the naphthalene moth balls are shipping from Sri Lanka.
|
|
|
Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4618
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Offline
Mood: PhD candidate!
|
|
Quote: Originally posted by Jenks  | | I only see p-dichlorobenzene moth balls in the US and thought naphthalene was banned due to the cancer risk from their vapor. When I look on ebay,
almost all the naphthalene moth balls are shipping from Sri Lanka. |
Well, I bought some naphthalene mothballs
at a Walmart in Texas. That was probably in 2015 or 2016 though. Can’t say for certain if they still sell them now.
|
|
|
fredsci93
Hazard to Self
Posts: 84
Registered: 29-12-2017
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Naphthalene moth balls got banned for being an ingestion hazard here. However, the funny thing about naphthalene mothballs being banned where I live
is that as they were phased out people just started selling 98% pure naphthalene as "cat repellent crystals" instead, which are totally legal for some
reason.
|
|
|
draculic acid69
International Hazard
Posts: 1371
Registered: 2-8-2018
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: Originally posted by fredsci93 | | Naphthalene moth balls got banned for being an ingestion hazard here. However, the funny thing about naphthalene mothballs being banned where I live
is that as they were phased out people just started selling 98% pure naphthalene as "cat repellent crystals" instead, which are totally legal for some
reason. |
Bcoz when used to repel cats it's not a risk to a child/baby the way a blanket covered in napthalene is.appareny children have died from having
napthalene covered blankets placed on them. It's very toxic to children.
|
|
|
Fyndium
International Hazard
Posts: 1192
Registered: 12-7-2020
Location: Not in USA
Member Is Offline
|
|
I find it surprising that they would be allowed for consumer sales at any level if they are deemed hazardous. We are living in a society that bans
stuff that might be harmful, after all.
|
|
|
Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4618
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Offline
Mood: PhD candidate!
|
|
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Enoz-Old-Fashioned-Moth-Balls-Nap...
Still available at Walmart
|
|
|
valeg96
Hazard to Others
Posts: 254
Registered: 6-4-2014
Location: Italy
Member Is Offline
Mood: Moodless
|
|
They are banned in Italy as mothballs but they can still be found in some specialized shops that sell it as specialist biocides for wood restoration
and such activities. This year I received a large amount of naphthalene from different sources and had to gift it away so that's where the question
came from. But now I really want some p-dichlorobenzene mothballs  I remember my
grandma used them in the 1990s but by the time I got into chemistry they were banned and I could only find the empty bags
|
|
|
macckone
Dispenser of practical lab wisdom
Posts: 2168
Registered: 1-3-2013
Location: Over a mile high
Member Is Offline
Mood: Electrical
|
|
Colorado, enzo old-fashioned mothballs, 99.95% napthalene.
I have not seen camphor or p-dichlorobenzene.
|
|
|
Jenks
Hazard to Others
Posts: 163
Registered: 1-12-2019
Member Is Offline
|
|
I guess I was wrong and should have shopped harder. This is a good deal.
|
|
|
arkoma
Redneck Overlord
Posts: 1763
Registered: 3-2-2014
Location: On a Big Blue Marble hurtling through space
Member Is Offline
Mood: украї́нська
|
|
p-dichlorobenzene at Dollar General
"We believe the knowledge and cultural heritage of mankind should be accessible to all people around the world, regardless of their wealth, social
status, nationality, citizenship, etc" z-lib
|
|
|
Kobold vor NH4
Hazard to Self
Posts: 56
Registered: 27-8-2019
Location: The sewer underneath your house
Member Is Offline
|
|
Over here in Australia we have pure Camphor and not as pure Naphthalene moth balls at good old Bunnings. I haven't seen any of the p-dichlorobenzene
version anywhere though.
[Edited on 9-10-2021 by Kobold vor NH4]
|
|
|
violet sin
International Hazard
Posts: 1482
Registered: 2-9-2012
Location: Daydreaming of uraninite...
Member Is Offline
Mood: Good
|
|
had to order from an out of state supplier, a while back when I wanted naphthalene mothballs. California is super weird about random stuff. It wasn't
hard or expensive though, to grab a small box for the shelf. Never doing anything with it, was probably the most expensive part.
p-dichlorobenzene is everywhere, last I checked.
|
|
|
draculic acid69
International Hazard
Posts: 1371
Registered: 2-8-2018
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: Originally posted by Fyndium | | I find it surprising that they would be allowed for consumer sales at any level if they are deemed hazardous. We are living in a society that bans
stuff that might be harmful, after all. |
Cigarettes and alcohol are available on every single street in 99% of the world yet marijuana is still labelled a dangerous drug with no medical value
whatsoever.
Common sense isn't common when it comes to things like this
|
|
|
draculic acid69
International Hazard
Posts: 1371
Registered: 2-8-2018
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: Originally posted by Kobold vor NH4 | Over here in Australia we have pure Camphor and not as pure Naphthalene moth balls at good old Bunnings. I haven't seen any of the p-dichlorobenzene
version anywhere though.
[Edited on 9-10-2021 by Kobold vor NH4] |
I've found most mothballs to be p-diclorobenzene and only at one shop did I find napthalene.havent looked in about 5yrs though.
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
