An explosion occurred during a perchloric acid reaction in a USF campus fume hood on January 15th, 2003. The process contained just five grams of perchloric acid. The incident was caused either by the concentration of the heated perchloric acid mixture, or by contamination of the stock solution.
The pictures below show the damage caused by this incident. It is important to follow the proper safety guidelines when working with hazardous chemicals. All reactions that involve heated perchloric acid should be performed in designated perchloric acid hoods.
