Q's? about In-Home Labs, Licensing, & Laws...

[inuhbad]

Hello Everyone...

 

One of the main reasons why I've joined up here is to contribute to the Physics (particularly mechanical physics / kinematics studies) forums, and hopefully spur some people's creative minds, and also to get some answers in the areas of chemistry that I'm not too well educated in...

 

You see, I'm certified armorer and I'm currently designing some parts/accessories for various firearms on the market. I've been working on a few prototype parts designs lately, but I've also been hoping to do more research & testing in the areas of Metal / Steel Alloy Finishes & Corrosion Protection.

 

I'm using my years of physics, MechE, and other knowledge that I learned in college to hopefully create a product to someday fulfill a niche in which certain current designs are lacking.

 

One of the problems I'd like to overcome is the issues of corrosion & rust protection. Since most of my projects to date were dealing with existing firearm designs, I wanted to stick with their existing steel finishes.

 

In most firearms these finishes are a blued steel finish, or a 'parkerized' phosphating finish. There is abundant information in these chemical processes, but I feel there is much room for improvement in some areas of metal corrosion protective finishes and I would like to experiment more in this area, on my own time in my own laboratory at home.

 

(Edited to add Emphasis to this Sentance) The problem I'm concerned with is the issue of legalities involved with having a chemistry lab in your own home or in your back yard. I know when I'm refinishing steel in my back yard (for ventilation purposes), I tend to get some odd looks and stares from the neighbors.

 

Unfortunately, with the current trends of American Society, anything that is not understood by 'everyday people' of somewhat lacking intellect levels, is something that they are being taught to fear. As such, when refinishing metal parts in my yard, I often get some strange stares, and odd looks from neighbors, and passers-by. They slooooow down, look, and then keep going while scratching their heads.

 

In a time when anything not understood is feared by the general populace, I find our current national mentality to be quite disturbing! A good case in point is this:

http://io9.com/5119166/teen-with-home-chemistry-lab-arrested-for-meth-bombs

Lewis Casey, an 18-year-old in Saskatchewan, had built a small chemistry lab in his family's garage near the university where he studies. Then two weeks ago, police arrived at his home with a search warrant and based on a quick survey of his lab determined that it was a meth lab. They pulled Casey out of the shower to interrogate him, and then arrested him...

 

...A few days later, police admitted that Casey's chemistry lab wasn't a meth lab - but they kept him in jail, claiming that he had some of the materials necessary to produce explosives...

 

...Casey is now living at home, but he is no longer allowed to engage in chemistry experiments except under supervision in school labs. He is also required to inform the chemistry department of the charges against him. His trial continues on January 26.

 

This is a stark example of how scientific curiosity is still regarded with suspicion - even in an era where home labs are becoming more and more common.

I find it truly sad that our society's "Education" system is actually becoming much more of an "INDOCTRINATION" system. They appear to be ACTIVELY DISCOURAGING INTEREST IN THE SCIENCES under the guise of 'protecting' the children from 'dangerous' information...

 

If you look into many of your local laws & legislation written to combat 'Drug Labs' or 'Meth Labs' you'll find they were deliberately written in an incredibly vague manner. This is obviously so they can use nearly anything to make their drug charges stick in court.

 

If you read my state's drug laws, they ban the use of Filter Funnels, Pyrex Beakers, and Heating Elements! I'm not sure if our legislators were looking around, but that Mr Coffee percolator machine sitting in the corner of their office is a piece of BANNED chemistry equipment... If someone else nearby might have a household chemical that could be used as a reagent, and one of their co-workers happens to have some Actifed/Sudafed in their purse, while someone else has a bottle of Caffiene pills in his desk, I'm sure a Drug Raid could turn up the same charges! It's RIDICULOUS!

 

As such, since I'm interested in working with metal finishing at home, I'm somewhat afraid that my ignorant-minded 'Sheeple' neighbors will call the police on me for having a 'Drug Lab' or for 'making explosives' when the reality is that's FAR from what I'm doing... I mean, to create a blued steel finish, that involves the use of Nitric Acid, Hydrochloric Acid, and Metal Salts. Some metal finishes require Sulfuric Acid to create other chemicals (with retorts/condensers) needed in the finishing processes... I'm sure that any common street cop that doesn't know any better will look at a little 'Explosives/Drug Lab ID CARD' to see what 'items' are in my possession that could otherwise be used for 'Nefarious Intent', see if I have Nitric, Sufluric, and other Acids, as well as a variety of household cleaners under the sink upstairs in the cleaning cabinet, and powdered substances (metals/salts) they cannot identify, they'll drag me into the county lockup and charge me with having an 'Explosives' lab or some such non-sense!

 

Granted, I'm sure in a trial by jury I'd be exonerated once the evidence & truth comes to light, but that's a hassle and interruption in life that I don't want to deal with, not to mention it's likely around $20,000 in legal defense fees I don't want to pay either.

 

I kind of wish this nation wasn’t such a ‘Nanny State’ that is SO UNTRUSTING of its populace that it actively discourages curiosity in the studies of Science, Physics, and Chemistry!

 

I wonder when burning free-thinking people at the stake will come back into style? “How dare he want to learn science! Anybody interested in science must have nefarious intentions!” Give it a couple more years, it’ll be the trendy thing to do again someday! I find it somewhat pathetic if you ask me the way society is getting turned into ignorant Sheeple living in such a ‘bigger government will take care of all my problems’ society. Nobody is taking personal responsibility for their actions, nor taking financial responsibility for their poor decisions.

 

Can you even find a ‘Chemistry Set’ anymore for children to play with??? Not in any stores these days as far as I've seen. No, that’d be Dangerous, and Irresponsible to teach kids to be interested in Science & Physics. Remember they used to even come with a little Alcohol burner to do your experiments & stuff (oh but that could burn your house down). Where are all the kids’ brain-toys? Where are the ‘Electronic Experiment’ kits where kids can make an AM radio from a spool of copper wire, a razor blade, and a safety pin!?!? Oh, no, they can’t do that! They might cut someone with the razor or stab someone with the safety pin!

 

Anyway, Are there state-wide licenses that people could get for creating their own in-home chemistry labs??? Something that would help them legally keep such ignorant 'enforcement' of incredibly vague laws from being a concern???

 

I will soon have my first-born child, and due to the nature of the local public school system, if we cannot afford private school for our children, we're going to be homeschooling them for at least the first few years. If they remain homeschooled throughout their high-school years, I want to ensure they have an incredibly in-depth understanding of Math (Calc & Trig) and the various sciences (particularly Physics & Chemistry) so they will score well on their college placement tests.

 

So, how do the rest of you home chemistry lab owners do your experiments within the ever constricting legalities imposed upon us science-minded free-thinking intelligent individuals???

 

IS there a state-license I could get before buying more lab equipment to create a more 'formal' home laboratory to help reduce the likelihood of over-zealous scrutinizing Law Enforcement Officers, or ignorant fearful sheep from creating problems in our lives??? I mean, a license 'allowing' us to have an in-home chemistry lab??? Does such a thing exist?

 

What are some other laws regarding in-home chemistry labs that I should know before I drop a lot more coin on a dedicated in-home lab???

 

I certainly miss the good old days in college where I could just schedule time to use a University Lab, I could fork over cash for the materials, reagents, and chemicals I wanted, and then I could do whatever I needed to within the time constraints of my scheduled lab time! No questions asked, nobody to bother you, unless someone else saw & found your experiments interesting & wanted to watch...

 

These days if I need to use any lab equipment I go to a friend's place (he was a Materials Science Major, now working for 3M), and I just use his home-lab since he doesn't have close neighbors to look at him funny.

 

Any suggestions? Ideas? Concerns?

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Consecutive posts merged

After a sizable bit of online reading & research, I found the answers to my questions on local legalities...

 

It would appear there are a few state laws I have to work within, and I'll need to fill out some paperwork with my County Sheriff, and notify the local Fire Marshall prior to ordering certain things.