Wednesday, August 13, 2008

chemophobia



It's becoming increasingly apparent that engaging in chemistry as a hobby is unacceptable behavior. Earlier this year, a kid in South Hadley, Massachusetts, was raided by the ATF, which descended on his home in force, removed his basement lab and blew it up at a nearby landfill.

Now a retired chemist -- in Massachusetts again -- has drawn the ire of the Man. Firefighters responding to a call about a burning air conditioner on the second floor of Victor Deeb's house found a well-stocked laboratory in the basement. (Once a chemist, always a chemist?)
Vessels of chemicals were all over the furniture and the floor, authorities said. The ensuing investigation involved a state hazardous materials team, fire and police officials, health officials, environmental officials and code enforcement officials. The Deebs were told to stay in a hotel while the slew of officials investigated and emptied the basement.

The result of their investigation?
None of the materials found at 81 Fremont St. posed a radiological or biological risk, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. No mercury or poison was found. Some of the compounds are potentially explosive, but no more dangerous than typical household cleaning products.
It's not clear why the "authorities" thought they should dismantle Mr. Deeb's lab. In fact, it they hadn't even figured that out themselves. It seems the mere practice of chemistry is enough to signify that a law has been broken, whether you can identify the specific law or not:
Pamela A. Wilderman, Marlboro’s code enforcement officer, said Mr. Deeb was doing scientific research and development in a residential area, which is a violation of zoning laws.

“It is a residential home in a residential neighborhood,” she said. “This is Mr. Deeb’s hobby. He’s still got bunches of ideas. I think Mr. Deeb has crossed a line somewhere. This is not what we would consider to be a customary home occupation. … There are regulations about how much you’re supposed to have, how it’s detained, how it’s disposed of.”
I love that "somewhere". And the "we". Wilderman has no idea what's going on there, but it scares her, and that means something's wrong with it! Not that she's ignorant. Science!!!! "Research and development"!!! Horrors. Do you think they ever raided Julia Child for doing research and development? It's not like she wasn't doing exploratory chemistry too. But then only someone who knew what chemistry is would understand that it's fundamental to cooking.

There's a great post at Make:, a magazine for amateur technologists. Here's a noteworthy passage:
There's a lesson here for all of us who do science at home, whether we're home schoolers or DIY science enthusiasts. The government is not our friend. Massachusetts is the prototypical nanny state, of course, but the other 49 aren't far behind. Any of us could one day find the police at the door, demanding to search our home labs. If that day comes, I will demand a warrant and waste no time getting my attorney on the phone.
For all you subversives out there, a samizdat download.

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