Ammonium Dichromate: A Useful But Toxic Chemical Compound

Chemicals are known to be volatile. Certainly without proper information about their characteristics and nature, you could not expect things to go well. Anything could happen if dealt with incorrectly. Even to the point that they could explode, this is a common occurrence. For this reason, chemicals are used in reactors and various bombarding areas. However their use is not limited to just exploding purposes, instead they also have various other uses.

To be more precise, there have been many chemicals which have proven their usefulness for various fields whether for domestic or for commercial use. The areas of application for chemicals are quite large. Including cleaning chemical materials, manufacturing or even food preservation; chemicals have shown their lucrative properties. Some of them are also very simple to prepare and use. However utmost care should always be taken while working with chemicals.

Chemicals are also used for the purpose of demonstrations, to show their actual properties. These types of demonstrations can be very good at engaging the audience.

As such one of the chemicals in this regards is Ammonium dichromate. Which has the chemical formula (NH4)2Cr2O7. This compound is highly favored to be used for volcanic demonstrations. This chemical has also been regarded as carcinogen, and hence requires careful handling and proper use of safety equipment.

The explosion of ammonium dichromate volcano is always a classic demonstration. The chemical glows and produces sparks. Furthermore the demonstration is easy to prepare. Apart from that, the chemical is known to have particles that are toxic to humans. It means that if this chemical is swallowed or comes into contact with the skin. Then there are possible curable and incurable issues that can occur.

A number of symptoms could be observed during this period, some of which include-

Corrosion of mucous membranes in mouth, throat and esophagus.

• Epigastric pains • Ulceration of all membranes • Circulatory collapse with clammy skin • Late esophageal, gastric and pyloric strictures • Uncorrected circulatory collapse

Further it is highly irritating and affects skin and respiratory systems. Hence the condition becomes pretty risky for the people working with this chemical. Thus, the workers should be entirely shielded while making use of this chemical component.