Flammability

The flammability of an explosive is defined as the characteristic that deals with the ease of initiation from spark, fire, or flame. Some explosive compounds will explode from just a spark while others can be burned and will not detonate. Flammability is important from the standpoint of storage, transportation, and use. Some explosives, although very economical, have lost their marketability due to flammability. A good example is liquid oxygen and carbon, which was used in the 1950’s as a blasting agent. Its flammability and inherent safety problems caused its demise. Most explosive compounds used today are not anywhere near as flammable as liquid oxygen. However, accidents still occur due to flammability.

Over the past 2 decades, explosive products, in general, have become less flammable. Some manufacturers indicate that certain products can be burned without detonation in quantities as large as 44,093 pounds. This can lead to a false sense of security and the assumptions that all modern products today are relatively inflammable. This false sense of security has led to the death of people who have been careless with explosives. All explosive compounds should be treated as highly flammable and no smoking or open flames should be allowed.