Evacuation to HTL Mödling: Pikrinic acid ensures alarm mood

Evacuation to HTL Mödling: Pikrinic acid ensures alarm mood

On October 22nd, a dramatic situation occurred at HTL Mödling when Pikrinic acid was discovered in a laboratory. This chemical connection ensured immediate alert, which resulted in the evacuation of around 3500 students. The security forces had the task of bundle this dangerous fabric and safely disposed of. Interestingly, there were no injuries in this assignment.

Pikric acid is safe in its liquid form, but its solid form is considered highly dangerous and explosive - even more explosive than TNT. According to the Carinthian Country Schemist Michael Fuchs, pikric acid can explode in the event of friction, bumps or even opening the closure. "Already 100 to 200 grams of this acid can reach the explosive power of a hand grenade," said Fuchs.

discoveries in other schools

The evacuation and the discovery of the dangerous substance meant that the Ministry of Education ordered a comprehensive investigation in schools in order to find possible remains of picric acid. As a result, the acid was found in two schools in Carinthia during the autumn holidays and properly removed. A particularly concise example is a school in which picric acid, which was previously used for experiment purposes, was in liquid form. In another school, the condition of the substance was initially unclear.

The director of one of the affected schools confirmed that the picric acid was in the curator for over ten years and nobody knew whether it was still fresh or already dry. In order to assess the risks, an explosive organ was consulted and the affected space was closed. Ultimately, however, it turned out that in this case, too, the picric acid was a watery solution.

The situation is reminiscent of similar missions that took place in the Waldviertel last year. At that time, the discovery of dried out pikrinic acid led to evacuation of the Groß-Siegharts middle school and the new middle school in Bad Großpertholz. In the past, too, there have been similar incidents, such as the discovery of Pikric acid in a Viennese school and at the Innsbruck Unicampus in 2016.

The current developments show the urgency and importance of security measures in schools to identify and remove dangerous chemicals. The continuous review of the chemical stock in educational institutions is likely to gain importance in the coming weeks.