Gargamel
Hazard to Others
Posts: 166
Registered: 9-3-2013
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Mood: No Mood
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Airport Scanners and possible Traces of HE
Hi guys,
well I haven't touched anything for some 2 years or so...
To much work and to little playtime.
I did a lot of HE and pyro stuff...
And just one example: Of course I had my contaminated clothes sitting in my washing machine, where all my regular clothing is washed too. There must
be some molecules here and there in my surrounding, the traces will be miniscule though. But who knows, the latest technology seems to be very
sensitive.
How is your experience, I think a lot of you guys here that do post regularly in the HE section must have had that situation at the airport. How did
it work out?
(I'm talking about NOW, not ten years ago or so)
I wont have any luggage that can contain anything like laptops or bigger cameras, just clothes and the usual...
Well I'm going on a vacation next week and this makes me nervous.
[Edited on 19-9-2018 by Gargamel]
[Edited on 19-9-2018 by Gargamel]
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macckone
Dispenser of practical lab wisdom
Posts: 2168
Registered: 1-3-2013
Location: Over a mile high
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Mood: Electrical
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If the clothes have been washed repeatedly since then the chances of anything detectable are minimal. Gardening would be more likely to set off
alarms as fertilizer contains nitrates. Sweat also contains nitrates. I have gotten an extra patdown just for being sweaty in 105F weather but that
is all they did. My wife had the stroller test positive for nitrates when the kid was little. Because some ice melt products contain urea and that
can test positive for the test they were using then, it may have changed. It certainly wasn't explosives, whatever tested positive. Again they look
through your bag for anything that resembles real explosives and pat you down. It is an extra five minutes at security. They are testing for
nitrates not particular explosives as there are too many. I have heard that TATP and perchlorates won't even set off alarms. Although that may have
changed after a few high profile uses of TATP in overseas bombings. Perchlorates aren't usually considered explosives since they tend to burn rather
than detonate and making them detonate is going to be harder.
If you are nervous, triple wash everything you are taking with you.
Also make sure you don't have anything explosive laying around your place while on vacation. And it might be a good idea to box up any lab stuff if it
isn't already. Things can happen and the last thing you want is the police investigating a break in finding explosives or lab gear without someone
around to explain it. But at least in the US, they can't look in boxes for a burglar unless the box is big enough for a burglar to fit in. In
general if you aren't using lab gear, it is still a good idea to store it as it invites less questions.
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Herr Haber
International Hazard
Posts: 1236
Registered: 29-1-2016
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Mood: No Mood
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Back in may I took a plane. During the week prior my flight I dissolved 1kg of silverware in nitric acid, nitrated some fingers and hanged clothes to
dry 5 meters from where the silver was dissolving.
I was pretty damn sure I would set off some alarms when the lady at the airport gestured me towards the swab test.
Nothing, nada.
So I was pretty surprised and chatted with the lady. I asked what would happen if during summer I went to a cave and speleologists were blasting their
way there.
In an enclosed space you're bound to be heavily contaminated right ?
She casually answered that I would probably be just asked what happened to me and that would be it.
I guess I'd rather have law enforcement asking too many questions at an airport than not enough 
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Gargamel
Hazard to Others
Posts: 166
Registered: 9-3-2013
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Well, nothing happened.
But they did not chose me for the wiping test.
I dont know how they checked my suitcase.
My Cabin Luggage was just ran through the xray machine.
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Pyro_cat
Hazard to Others
Posts: 243
Registered: 30-4-2018
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I thought of this too as I usually bring some bottle rockets in my backpack when we go out fishing after discovering the echos of the reports under
this one bridge are fantastic. Often similar to the sound of throwing rocks onto a frozen pond with thin ice if the report echos right. I love the
reactions people who never experienced it have. Its also interesting when the sea is dead calm quite at night seeing how far away from things you can
hear the echos come back.
I wiped the backpack down a little but I figured they are smart dudes at the airport so hopefully they can tell some nerd who had some bottle rockets
in his packpack from a terrorist. I did get pulled aside because I forgot to take out my laptop and they wiped it too but nothing came of it.
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mysteriusbhoice
Hazard to Others
Posts: 477
Registered: 27-1-2016
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Mood: Became chemistry catboy Vtuber Nyaa
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Just tell them that you clean your house and got the bleach all over you one time.
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roXefeller
Hazard to Others
Posts: 463
Registered: 9-9-2013
Location: 13 Colonies
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Mood: 220 221 whatever it takes
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I've flown a couple weeks after handling RDX. They wiped my luggage at the time and no alarm. I brought my ATF HE manufacturing license with me as a
precaution however.
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Microtek
National Hazard
Posts: 872
Registered: 23-9-2002
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Mood: No Mood
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Many innocuous substances contain more or less energetic chemicals, eg. nitroaromatics in some shoeshines or nitric esters (PETN or NG in particular)
in pills against angina pectoris. There are probably not as many of these examples as there used to be, but there are still some. If the detectors
were as sensitive as has been claimed, I think there would be many more false alarms.
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