In TACS units in the AF we handled a lot of different fuels. The tricky stuff with the modified diesels (kerosene) (which JP4 is one) is that they are much higher in volatility than regular diesel but not as much as gasoline. This leaves a toxicity problem that is often overlooked in safety briefings. Because gasoline is so volatile it often evaps off before you are in really bad shape from it, but all those vapors will kill just as easily. With the jp4 it doesnΉt evap quickly and because of the volatiles in it will penetrate the body much more easily than regular diesel. As it doesnΉt vaporize as readily as gasoline it is less flamable but the vapors are much denser making breathing the vapors actually more dangerous. Then the very tricky part. Most jp fuels have very toxic additives in them...
For example jp8 (replacing jp4) jp4 with a lot of very toxic additives. (there is ethylene glycol in jp4, jp6, and jp8. jp7 (used in the SR71) used a different additive base. Made a great weed killer and took a blow torch to ignite. If any of you have the webasto type diesel heaters in your vans, if they have the MF or Mil mark on their stamp label you can burn jp4/jp8 in them. jimt Planned insanity is best. Remember that sanity is optional. http://www.tactical-bus.info (tech info) http://www.westydriver.com |
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