Safer Huntington WV

I, like many people in Huntington, spend a portion of each of my days picking up trash around town. However, today I was informed about a serious risk to anyone who is picking up a discarded plastic bottle. It’s called “Works Bomb” or a bottle bomb. The bomb consists of a soda or water bottle with some household chemicals mixed together in it. The chemicals react and begin to boil so that once the lid is placed on the bottle the gases created via the boiling reaction create pressure in the bottle. Eventually the pressure builds up enough that the bottle explodes.

The force created by the bottle explosion is enough to remove fingers, seriously disfigure your face, or destroy a mailbox. Thus it behooves you to approach any closed bottle containing liquid with caution. If the bottle appears to be melting or seems swollen call 911 and ask for assistance. I haven’t heard about these kinds of incidents here but it can’t hurt to be on the safe side.