Posted on 01/04/2012 10:16:29 PM PST by MamaDearest
One of Illinois' new laws requires consumers to reach for their identification as well as their cash when they have a clogged drain.
The law that took effect Sunday requires a valid identification to buy products containing chemicals listed within the Federal Caustic Poison Act in concentrations that require the warning "causes severe burns" on the packaging. Targeted substances include hydrochloric and sulfuric acids.
Purchasers also must sign a log with their name and address.
"We're looking at Drano, Liquid-Plumr -- those are the big ones," Rep. Rich Morthland, R-Cordova, said.
The law was proposed after acid was used as a weapon to cause disfiguring injuries, according to the Illinois Senate Republicans' website. State Rep. Morthland said he heard committee testimony from victims of such attacks whose horrific injuries required multiple surgeries.
Rep. Morthland said among those testifying was Esperanza Medina, of Chicago, who had acid thrown in her face in 2008 and suffered burns over 25 percent of her body.
State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, and state Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, noted some chemicals on the list also can be used to make methamphetamine.
All three legislators said they did not like placing restrictions on residents or businesses, noting they believe most people use the products safely. They said they voted for the measure for the sake of public safety, either to minimize the potential of attacks or to make it harder for people to make meth.
Rep. Morthland said that the measure also got his vote because state groups representing retail merchants and the chemical industry got behind it. There will be an adjustment period, Rep. Morthland said, but people should be able to get used to it.
"If people use these products in a proper way, they won't have any problems," said Sen. Jacobs, who added the business community helped create the law. If the law proves to be overly burdensome, it can be changed, the legislators said.
Initial versions of the law were quite restrictive -- encompassing just about anything in the plumbing and cleaning aisles -- but the scope was narrowed, said Brad Babcook, director of legislative affairs for the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois.
The final version applies to items such as industrial-strength clog removers with substantial concentrations of lye or cleaning products containing hydrochloric acid that can clean chimneys, pavements and sidewalks, he said.
Butch Trevor, owner of Trevor True Value Hardware in Moline, said he had to figure out which products he offers are included in the law. Research let him build a partial list, he said. But he said he still had to spend hours taking a census of his other items.
"From my perspective, it's been a nightmare," he said.
Failure to comply is a business offense under to the law with fines up to $150 for the first violation, $500 for the second and $1,500 for the third and any subsequent violations within 12 months.
Mr. Trevor said people wanting to misuse the substances likely still will find a way to circumvent safeguards. He said he has heard some grumbli>g from customers, but there is not much choice right now. "If they need a drain cleaned, they are going to buy the product," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What does the law cover?
-- Hydrochloric acid and any product with a free or chemically unneutralized version in a concentration of 10 percent or more.
-- Sulfuric acid and any product with a free or chemically unneutralized version in a concentration of 10 percent or more.
-- Nitric acid or any product with a free or chemically unneutralized version in a concentration of 5 percent or more.
-- Carbolic acid, also known as phenol, and any product with it in a concentration of 5 percent or more.
-- Oxalic acid and any product with a free or a chemically unneutralized version in a concentration of 10 percent or more.
-- Any salt of oxalic acid and any product with such salt in a concentration of 10 percent or more.
-- Acetic acid or any product with a free or chemically unneutralized version in a concentration of 20 percent or more.
-- Hypochlorous acid, either free or combined, and any product with the same in a concentration that will yield 10 percent or more by weight of available chlorine.
-- Potassium hydroxide and any product with a free or chemically unneutralized version, including caustic potash and vienna paste, in a concentration of 10 percent or more.
-- Sodium hydroxide and any product with a free or chemically unneutralized sodium hydroxide, including caustic soda and lye, in a concentration of 10 percent or more.
-- Silver nitrate, sometimes known as lunar caustic, and any product with silver nitrate in a concentration of 5 percent or more.
-- Ammonia water and any product with a free or chemically uncombined version, including ammonium hydroxide and “hartshorn,” in a concentration of 5 percent or more.
Source: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Please..please Dear God...stop trying to help us!
How do they expect minorities and the poor to comply with this? I think Eric Holder should look into this.
Absolutely!
And from what I heard tonight on tv (so it must be true)...College students.
The list just grows and grows!
Now one of the idiots on my city council has suggested we need to ban plastic grocery bags. Nonsense like that to distract from their money-wasting incompetence.
Absolutely!
And from what I heard tonight on tv (so it must be true)...College students.
The list just grows and grows!
Is there a waiting period? How about a background check?
Wait... Caustic? or Acidic? Because I grew up being taught that bases were caustic.
/johnny
Bleach apparently escaped, and it’s not the nicest thing to get on your face or in your eyes either.
And what the heck is this supposed to do. OK police can prove one of these acid or alkali attackers actually bought some lye or whatever. Now what?
This is a nanny state joke to rival California and its carseats for eight year old children.
Holder’s People are exmpt ....
It’s for meth manufacturers.
Limit the amount you can purchase at any one time - AND - register what you've purchased over time. Put that in a DB and analyze - purchased a lot of Drano? Expect a visit from BATFE & A(nything else they can think of).
Love it!
And God forbid those poor and unfortunate souls need cold medicine at the same time they clogged their drains ... they may/will be put on a watch list with the rest of us.
On second thought .. who am I kidding, if they are really are poor or just entitled, their drains are unplugged by the landlord man and they have the best medical insurance in the country ... all for free ... its only fair
So it makes no sense they’re parading these chemical attack victims around.
And we’ve already seen what happens. Folks really bent on meth chemistry will come around and pay premium prices to poor people for cans of lye, bottles of toilet cleaner (Sno-Bol and the like that are 20% muriatic acid) etc. They’ll gladly furnish it, and the log watching police are none the wiser.
What’s more piteous, that a person got chemical attacked, or that such a person now thinks that putting people on lists will cut into these chemical attacks? At first only their eyes were blinded. Now their minds are.
Q: What ingredients are used to make meth?
A. Over-the-counter cold and asthma medications containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, red phosphorous, hydrochloric acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel, and antifreeze are among the ingredients most commonly used. Hazards of Meth Ingredients Manufacturing of Methamphetamine
I was buying what was no more than a simple Vicks cold & flu tablet remedy, Nature Fusion; and had to give my age!!! Note many medicines on the shelf are now held behind the counter..all because of the manufacture of Meth etc..
Another designer drug on the rise is "bath salts".
Q: What ingredients are used to make meth?
A. Over-the-counter cold and asthma medications containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, red phosphorous, hydrochloric acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel, and antifreeze are among the ingredients most commonly used. Hazards of Meth Ingredients Manufacturing of Methamphetamine
I was buying what was no more than a simple Vicks cold & flu tablet remedy, Nature Fusion; and had to give my age!!! Note many medicines on the shelf are now held behind the counter..all because of the manufacture of Meth etc..
Another designer drug on the rise is "bath salts".
woops..sorry for 2x
This is how civilizations die...
This is clearly designed to prevent minorities from clearing clogged drains. Requiring ID is racist!
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