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Burning is a way of recovering the silver from the base (the ash is processed to reclaim the silver), but it needs to be done properly by a certified reclamation facility.
If you suspect you have large volumes of it on hand, then contacting your fire department is possibly warranted, and probably strongly advised. Risks rise with volume of material due to potential of chain reaction - A single roll going off when prying open an old steel case isn't the end of the world, but a single roll catching fire while you're standing in a room with potentially thousands of other rolls? Well that's where 'problems begin', as you exit the realm of an ER visit for some limited burns, and head toward the world of morgue visits as the number of rolls involved increases.
I would call the fire department's non-emergency line, and ask if a member or two from the hazmat team could come over to help inspect and advise on further action. Especially if you're unsure of the long term storage conditions or actual volumes involved.
Odds seem good that the film, if its lasted this long, is either fairly stable as far as nitrocellulose goes, or is not actually nitrocellulose film. But personally I would rather have someone with breathing gear and a fire extinguisher in the next room rather than sitting at the fire hall across town while I'm looking through it to be sure.
But personally I would rather have someone with breathing gear and a fire extinguisher in the next room rather than sitting at the fire hall across town while I'm looking through it to be sure.
I'm not sure an extinguisher would do much good:
EDIT: I'll add that the film projector I used to use had a cutoff mechanism that basically cut the film in the projector (about maybe a foot) so if the film caught on fire, the projector would seal up, and the only film lost was bit inside the projector, and the fire didn't spread to to the ~2000 feet above or below the the projector on the feed or take up reels.
Call your local hazardous waste disposal agency. Modern gun powder is made with nitrocellulose amongst other things.A friend of mine has thousands of rolls of old nitrocellulose film in his archive. The shots (mainly passport pics and wedding pics from the 1950s) are not particularly worth preserving, besides IP rights issues probably block further use / sale / ... for at least another half century, so he asked me how to dispose this film properly. The trashcan will do for a few rolls, but given the amount, this seems like the wrong way to go. A bonfire of this magnitude is out of the question, totally no option!
What would be the safe and proper way to dispose these films?
The guy in that video used CO gas at his attempt. Suffocating extinguishing makes no sense. Instead sufficient water has to be used, to cool down the film.I'm not sure an extinguisher would do much good:
RaushcenOderKornThe guy in that video used CO gas at his attempt. Suffocating extinguishing makes no sense. Instead sufficient water has to be used, to cool down the film.
Likely solid CO, as CO-snow, could have worked too.
it gives off a toxic gas that will kill people who breath it in. it was the cleveland clinic fire, whose burned nitrate film toxic fumes killed people that
forced kodak to release safety film. best thing to do with it is to call a hazardous waste disposal unit and have them take it off your hands
and get a signed bill of lading saying you disposed of it properly.
good luck !
i never knew it was around, but just not used..
i love being wrong and schooled
thanks !
NO, you cannot extinguish a nitrate fire, only contain it until it burns out; It generates its own oxygen and will burn under any liquid or in any inert gas environment.
In fact, the WORST thing you can do it to try to smother the flames, as that causes incomplete combustion and results in even more unburned, toxic and combustible gasses which accumulate into a pocket and cause a "flashover" and explosion.
Not trying to be snooty, just concise...
NO, Water is THE means to extinguish a NC fire. As such it is even explicitely advised by one manufacturer.
Of course, as with any fire, the package density is of influence on the cooling effect.
NC is still manufactured for non-explosive use! It thus is no stuff from hell. But is has to be dealt with extreme care.
Yes, smoldering NC fire produces nitrouse gases. Which the same time means that not all NC fires produce such toxic gas.
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