Dive Brief:

• An explosive chemical called picric acid was brought into a Household Chemical Roundup program by a resident of Aurora, Colo.
• A bomb squad from the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Department was alerted and arrived on the scene to dispose of the industrial cleaner, which is as explosive as dynamite.
• Picric acid can explode if jostled or shocked when it is in a crystallized state.

Dive Insight:

The six cups of picric acid should not have been kept in a residential neighborhood. The person who brought the substance in was cleaning up old chemicals and drove it to the recycling event. The driver was fortunate the explosive material did not detonate while being transported in the car on the way to the program.