Railroad Torpedoes result in NJ neighborhood evacuation

“houses in a neighborhood in Garfield, N.J. were evacuated that afternoon after a homeowner on Manner Avenue called them. Police said the man had bought a flare box at a flea market in Burlington County, in South Jersey, on Sunday. On Monday, when he realized "railroad torpedoes" were in the box, he called police.” https://patch.com/new-jersey/jersey-cit ... b0c8f32bb4

While dangerous evacuating more than one house seems excessive. Does anyone know if aging makes the torpedoes more sensitive?

CLamb wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 2:23 pm While dangerous evacuating more than one house seems excessive. Does anyone know if aging makes the torpedoes more sensitive?

Potassium chlorate is not a particularly stable substance to begin with, and torpedoes contain sulfur which makes it less happy. Considering that it can decide to violently react with common household materials even without the sulfur, and it’s not something you probably want to keep around in the home. Source: my old chem courses, and google for torpedo composition.

Probably an overreaction to evac the rest of the neighborhood, but when the police hear “explosives” they tend to get a bit jumpy I guess.