I keep seeing planes flying releasing some sort of red/white powder. I know it lessens even puts out the flames but what exactly is it?
2007-10-24 09:12:59 · 6 answers · asked by koolkid776 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Agriculture
It is fire retardant. The red colored one is Phoscheck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phos-Chek
2007-10-24 09:21:43 · answer #1 · answered by yes_its_me 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Potassium bicarbonate is used as a fire suppression agent ("BC powder") in some dry powder fire extinguishers, as the principal component of the Purple-K powder. It is the only dry chemical fire suppression agent recognized by the National Fire Protection Association for firefighting at airport crash rescue sites. It is about twice as effective in fire suppression as sodium bicarbonate. [1]
2007-10-25 09:55:16 · answer #2 · answered by coryw029 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a fire retardant. There are photos posted on the Web from AP that have that as the caption and show the planes dropping that.
2007-10-25 13:06:23 · answer #3 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe it is potassium bicarbonate....the same chemical substance used in fire extinguishers.
2007-10-24 09:24:35 · answer #4 · answered by TLC♥1981 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i heard on tv this morning that it is powerded limestone with dye so they can see the areas that need to be sprayed.
2007-10-24 09:23:07 · answer #5 · answered by Phil Deese 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one knows, it's a secret no one will tell us about. Frustrating huh?
2007-10-24 09:16:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋