Army makes safe quantity of unstable chemicals

An Army Bomb Disposal team made safe a quantity of unstable chemicals at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Celbridge, Co. Kildare this evening.

The Defence Forces deployed the team to the laboratory where the chemical, picric acid, had been found during a routine audit of chemicals.

The team arrived on scene at 5pm and removed the chemical to nearby waste ground. The team carried out a controlled explosion in order to make the chemical safe.

Picric Acid is a chemical re-agent and is routinely used in laboratories but can crystallise and become unstable over time.