Bromine avail. - does it make a source unsafe?

[weedar]

Let's say a site aimed at science fair projects sold
lots of different equipment, including chemicals.

Sounds like a good deal? But what if that company also
offered "Technical Bromine"? I thought Bromine was
so hazardous it wouldn't bee possible to sell to
individuals?
(I know it doesn't always work like that)

[Organikum]

This depends on local laws and not on actual dangers from a certain chemicals.


I guess you can buy the parts for your new bong there without hassle, but dont blame me......  

[Vitus_Verdegast]

Then you'd be amazed at certain other HazMat materials that can be sold to individuals in some places...  

The shipping and handling costs are a different matter of course. Especially if you want to ship it from another country. But then it will only cost you much money, but most probably it will not draw unwanted attention at all.

[ApprenticeCook]

Although bromine is not fantastic for your health, it is not on any of the sheduled substances lists (in swims country anyway) so threes no reason apart from health risk to NOT sell it to you.....

All the source will say is maybe limit the size of the bromine sent as transport if not done my hazmat transporters have limits for certain materials.

So your source is ok, not to worry, just check if your country is the same as swims country and don’t watch bromine.  

[GC_MS]

I thought Bromine was so hazardous it wouldn't bee possible to sell to individuals?

In times long forgotten, a scientist known by the name Paracelsus, endued us with the proverb Dosis sola facit venenum, which means nothing more than that only the amount of a certain substance is responsible for its toxicity. As long as chemical compounds are handled by people who know what they are dealing with, there are no problems. Indeed, bromine is not the best substance to be directly exposed to, but there is no real reason to panic if you see a bit of bromine fume going up from your 10 mL beaker containing a few drops of the compound.

As you see, chemistry is for wise people only   .

[weedar]

I'll order the parts for my bromine-bong right now.

[stratosphere]

reading msds's youd almost think bromine was a chemical weapon or something, my experience with it shows that it can be handled with only moderate precautions without causing personal injury.

in fact its even used in hottubs in place of chlorine, although thats at a fairly dilute concentration.

i don't know if that changes your view of this supplier or not, bromine is not a chemical id want to sell to a 6th grader making a science project, but on the otherhand its not exactly mustard gas either.

[mr_pyrex]

Only thing is though the bromine you find in spas is NOT in the form of free bromine.  It is a compound of bromine.  Such as sodium bromide.  If it were in the elemental form of bromine you'd have no skin left on ya if you jumped in the water.  If you plan on using elemental bromine you'd be wise to have breathing apparatus and use it.  Bee careful and good luck.  Pyrex out of the pool business :-)

[stratosphere]

spa chemicals are a system of NaBr and an oxidizer that works so as to keep an equilibrium of a very low concentration of Br2 at any time, like ppm or maybe even ppb concentrations, much as pool chemicals work to keep a low concentration of Cl2.

you definitly don't want to be in a closed room with an open container of Br2, nor do you want to handle it with out gloves and long sleaves, but irriitation to the mucus membranes starts to occur long before toxic levels are absorbed, and in terms of corrosiveness id say its less potent then strong acids or lye.
my point in mentioning that is not that one should be careless with it, but rather my point is that its not something terribly inappropraite for a chem supplier to offer to "amatuer" chemists, no more so then concentrated HCl for instance.