Letter Re: Dry Hypochlorite (Pool Shock) Bleach for Disinfecting Water

Mr R.:
Your blogs’ post on Ca++ hypochlorite as a stable disinfectant stock for water treatment was golden advice.
I had some liquid chlorine bleach stored. It actually eroded out through the bottom of the plastic container. It dripped down and ate through steel mess trays underneath. Eroded completely. I remembered that chlorine is an oxidizer, and will do damage – duh ! – to organic material … hence it’s value as an antibacterial/anti-parasitic treatment. Cleaning up the dried bleach was irritating to eyes and airways. Again – duh ! – as terrorists in Baghdad have made evident.
Fortunately other gear was inside contractor bags/plastic crates, and damage was minimal. But, the lesson learned was great. And contractor bags are worth every penny. They are in all our fannies, bags, and packs
CERT protocols call for isolating / separating potentially caustic/toxic/flammable chemicals. Good advice.
Pool shock beats the h**l outta liquid chlorine bleach. Better advice.
Check your stocks / gear / supplies regularly – best advice.
Thanks, – MurrDoc