[quote=“Belgian Pie”][quote=“Blaquesmith”][quote=“Icon”]Were they using high pressurized powder machines in other parts of the world? Seriously?
Are we that unlucky or what exactly were the other places doi g differently?[/quote]
Well, usually, the colour festivals are held during the day, so everyone can see the colours, and for safety reasons: Most of this festivals use wheat or rice flour with food colouring to avoid toxicity. The problem with that is that flour is a flammable material, specially when suspended in the air. Wheat flour, specifically, can explode when suspended if it gets near a hot lightbulb. Hence, it is a good idea doing it during the day. At night, you have to rely on high-power illumination, and if they use big old school spotlights (as it seemed to be the case), it would be enough to produce the explosion.
On the emergency side of things, that place is a trap. People can’t evacuate quickly, and as it was pointed out previously, the walls on the sides won’t allow an optimal dispersal of the dust or the evacuation of the people. The park should be sued for holding this activity in an unsuitable time frame and in a dangerous space. The people who managed the show should also be sued for not foreseeing the dangers.[/quote]
They used cornstarch which is flammable as shown in a Youtube clip. But actually any food/grain based flour is flammable if the concentration mix oxygen/fuel is just right![/quote]
The Holi festival in Barcelona used rice flour dyed with food colouring. They had this event that alternated throwing colours into the air with pyrotechnics, and there wasn’t a single incident. I can only assume that rice flour is somehow less flammable, and that the more ventilated conditions were crucial to avoid a catastrophe.
Compressed air is not CO2, it’s compressed air. Air’s composition is mostly nitrogen, but also includes oxygen (and CO2, in a lesser amount). Since compressed air also has O2, you’re effectively making it easier for the stuff to blow up. If they had used compressed nitrogen, which is inert, it would have been much more difficult to start the combustion. Same thing for CO2, but CO2 can be toxic in high levels, so it’s better to use nitrogen.