Feds find huge stash of chemicals in Graniteville home and Mariners Harbor storage facility

[Ian David]

Feds find huge stash of chemicals in Graniteville home and Mariners Harbor storage facility; 1 arrested; Authorities do not believe incident to be terror-related
Posted by Staten Island Advance June 29, 2007 3:56AM
Categories: Breaking News


Fears of home-grown terrorism shuttered through Graniteville last night when local and federal authorities uncovered about 2,500 pounds of potentially explosive chemicals stashed in a home and nearby storage facility.

Potassium nitrate, sulfur, mercury and peroxide were among the 21 different types of chemicals discovered during a raid of 199 Ada Drive, police said. Quantities ranged from 5 pounds to 215 pounds, according to one law enforcement official speaking on the condition on anonymity.

The disturbing discovery led to the evacuation of more than 200 residents from 56 homes on Ada Drive, between Elson Court and Arlene Court.

<snip>

Investigators say Miguel Serrano, 57, the homeowner of 199 Ada Drive, who was also renting the storage space, had purchased the chemicals in bulk and was reselling them for a profit on the Internet.

It is believed that Serrano was also using some of the chemicals, including mercury and peroxide, to clean his pool.

He was charged with reckless endangerment; other charges are pending, said police.

More:
http://blog.silive.com/advanceupdate/2007/06/feds_find_huge_stash_of_chemic.html

[soothsayer]

1. shuttered or shuddered?

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Precisely why is it illegal to have these chemicals? n/t

[formercia]

3. Probably not illegal

I would bet he was using the mails to ship them. That can be illegal.

Check Ebay and see how many are shipping materials through the mail that are hazardous.

A couple of years ago, I had a chat with the Postal Inpectors because of some of the items being sold and shipped via mail. They admitted it's a serious problem.

[Solo_in_MD]

4. I can not quote you the law, but the general concern is proper storage

to avoid site contamination and unplanned reactions. Its also appropriate to notify local first responders etc.

Similar laws exist for smokeless powder and black powder (types of gun powder)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. yep, every business (at least here in Oregon)

has to fill out a yearly form listing every chemical on site. This is registered with the Fire Department, so they know what they are up against when they respond to an incident.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. These include some fairly hazardous materials. Large quantities should only be ...

stored at a licensed facility, with technically competent personnel and approved emergency equipment including fire sprinklers and/or Halon automatic fire extinguishers. Details will vary from state to state, city to city.

If you had, say, 5 oz bottles of each of these you probably wouldn't be breaking any laws.

Note that the first two items listed are ingredients in old-fashioned gunpowder. Mercury is insidiously toxic, and cleanup of mercury spills requires great thoroughness.

All in all, this was a fairly stupid move. If this guy wanted to resell these things he should have invested in an appropriate (safe) storage facility in a district zoned for mfg/ hazard storage. That would have cost a lot of $$$.

edit for details

[ReadTomPaine]

7. Seems there are a rash of these types of stories today.

Interesting.