Term: Caustic bombs
Catagory: Conventional Explosives
Definition: Alkali based devices mixed with water and luminum foil. The most common ingredient is sodium hydroxide, a corrosive in both liquid and solid forms that can immerdiately cause serious burns to skin on contact. Comercial sources of sodium.
By JOSEPH SWAVY
State News Staff Writer
Bottle bombs, homemade explosive devices, have been found detonated in Holden Hall four times since Nov. 5. No one has been injured in the blasts, but potential for major injury or death exists, authorities warn.
The devices are commonly called “MacGyver bombs,” because the Richard Dean Anderson character constructed one on the show, police said.
The bombs are made by mixing household chemicals with tin foil in a sealed bottle.
“The idea is to have a chemical mix that builds up pressure until it explodes,” said East Lansing police Capt. Stephen Chubb. “We have had them over the years, but the last one was probably a year ago.”
The bottles do not use fuses, so there is no way to know when they will burst. It depends on the chemical reaction within the bottle, Chubb said.
“They self-detonate, and that is one of the problems, because they are so unpredictable,” he said. “It is different with every time, depending on the quantities, mixtures and temperatures.”
When the device explodes, the bottle is shattered and the chemicals are thrown outward. The bottle pieces can cause injuries and the chemicals can cause burns, Chubb said.
“The chemicals are usually in a plastic bottle, but the last few have been in glass bottles,” said MSU police Lt. Dale Metts. “That can be deadly.”
Chubb said the only injuries he can recall involve an East Lansing high school student who was close to a bottle bomb when it exploded. The student sustained chemical burns after he was splashed with residue, but he did not require immediate medical attention.
East Lansing Fire Marshall Gary Waterman said the city hasn’t had a major problem with the devices.
“It seems like they were more prevalent a year ago,” he said. “Typically, the problem is kids putting them in mail boxes in rural areas.”
People who make or detonate the devices can be charged with a variety of crimes, depending on the magnitude of the explosion and the size of the device, Chubb said.
One possible charge, manufacturing with unlawful intent, is a felony punishable with no less than two years and no more than five years in prison. Offenders also could be charged with disorderly conduct, malicious destruction of property, or felonious assault, Chubb said.