Dry Ice Safety
1-Dry Ice is extremely cold, -109°F (-78°C). Avoid contact with skin and eyes; use gloves and safety glasses in handling. Do not ingest. Keep away from children.
2-Dry Ice expands as it changes from a solid to a gas. Do not keep in stoppered or tightly closed containers. Store in a safe place away from people. Be sure storage area has adequate ventilation.
3-Dry Ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is 1.5 times as heavy as air and can can collect in low-lying areas. Carbon dioxide can cause asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen, and in sufficient concentrations is toxic. Never lay down in Dry Ice fog or any other fog. Always provide adequate ventilation to low-lying areas such as basements, trap rooms, and orchestra pits. Provide adequate ventilation in automobiles during transport.
4-People walking in Dry Ice fog must be instructed to be aware of stairs, obstructions, openings in the stage, etc., which may be obscured by thick fog. Be careful of water vapor condensing on the stage floor.
Carbon Dioxide
(CO2), chemical compound, occurring as a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about 1 1/2 times as dense as air under ordinary conditions. It does not burn and will not support combustion of ordinary materials. Its weakly acidic aqueous solution is called CARBONIC ACID. The gas, easily liquefied by compression and cooling, provides the sparkle in carbonated beverages. Solid carbon dioxide, or dry ice, is a refrigerant. Dough rises because of carbon dioxide formed by the action of yeast or baking powder. Carbon dioxide is a raw material for PHOTOSYNTHESIS in green plants, and is a product of animal RESPIRATION in the decay of organic matter. Carbon dioxide occurs both free and combined in nature, and makes up about 1% of the volume of dry air. It can cause death by suffocation if inhaled in large amounts.
Making the Most of Your Dry Ice
Dry Ice will sublimate (change from a solid to a gas) at a rate of 10 pounds every 24-hours in a standard insulated container. the more Dry Ice you have stored in the container, longer it will last.
Transporting Dry Ice
Plan to pick up your Dry Ice as close as possible to the time you will need it. Bring an insulated container like an Ice chest, Styrofoam container. Store your Dry Ice in the same type of container to slow sublimation rate.
Refrain from opening and closing the insulated container as much as possible.
When you remove items from the container fill the empty space with wadded news paper or a paper bag. Any “dead air space” will cause the Dry Ice to sublimate faster.
Storing Dry Ice
Do not store Dry Ice in your refrigerator freezer. The extremely cold temperature will cause your thermostat to turn off your freezer. (Also it will keep things frozen if your refrigerator breaks down in an emergency).
Do not store Dry Ice in an air-tight container without proper ventilation; the carbon dioxide gas will cause any airtight container to explode.
Halloween Uses for Dry Ice
Fog Effect -
Fill a metal or plastic container 1/2 full with hot water, add a few pieces of dry ice every 5 to 10 minutes. (As water cools it will be necessary to start over with hot water to maintain the fog effect).
You can even place the container inside a pumpkin as shown in the picture here. Be careful when placing the dry ice and container inside the pumpkin and always wear gloves and eye protection when handling dry ice.
Witches Brew -
Place a smaller metal or plastic container 1/2 full with hot water and a few pieces of dry ice into a larger punch bowl, then add punch to the punch bowl making sure that the dry ice does not come into contact with the punch. (Again, as the water cools it will be necessary to start over with hot water to maintain the fog effect)
As a rule of thumb, 1 pound of dry ice will create 2 to 3 minutes of fog effect. (The hotter the water the more fog, but the quicker dissipation of the dry ice)