Marietta Daily Leader

Ordnance Experts Insist That It Is
Safe and Yet the Cause of the
Disasters to the Explosive
Is Unknown.

While navy smokeless powder has
demonstrated its keeping qualities in
every test known to science, naval ordnance
experts are awaiting with keen
interest the result of the investigation
at Mare island, where a magazine was
wrecked by an explosion several days
ago, says a Washington special to the
Herald.

While ordnance experts insist that
navy smokeless powder is safe, they
have not lost sight of the fact that explosions
have occurred at the Indian
Head proving grounds, Mare island, the
Dupont powder works, and the works
of Laflin & Rand. In none of these explosions
has the cause been established.

Navy smokeless powder is made under
the formula of the bureau of ordnance.
The gun cotton from which the
powder is developed is subjected to the
standard heat test of 150 degrees
fahrenheit for 30 minutes. A desiccated
sample of the finished powder is
subjected to a heat test of 212 degrees
fahrenheit for ten minutes. In many
cases it stands this temperature for
an hour. The ignition test of smokeless
powder must not fall below 341
degrees fahrenheit.

If the sample shows no sign of decomposition
as a result of these tests,
and the inspection made during manufacture
is satisfactory, the lot it represents
is accepted. When stored in
magazines several boxes have their
lids loosely in place, and it is the duty
of the inspector who visits the magazines
daily to examine the powder to
ascertain if decomposition has set in.
When smokeless powder decomposes
it throws off nitrous vapors, and if confined
the pressure causes decomposition
to increase. The odor and appearance
change so that detection is easy.
Rear Admiral O'Neil states that the
force of the explosion frequently destroys
the cause, and in the Indian
Head proving ground case it was impossible
to establish a reason for the
explosion.