State probe of South Hadley teen's laboratory continues

SOUTH HADLEY - Among the chemicals seized from a South Hadley home last month were dangerous substances that could be used as raw materials for explosives. That may explain why federal agents raided the Dartmouth Street home of 17-year-old Jack Robison and turned a residential neighborhood upside down for three days.

Other toxic and industrial-grade chemicals, from solvents and herbicides to compounds containing lead and mercury, were also discovered in the teenager's basement laboratory by emergency responders who tested the materials at the scene, according to a field sample log obtained by the Gazette.

State officials, including the Northwestern district attorney's office, have declined to discuss the incident in detail, or release a list of the types and amounts of chemicals authorities removed from 23 Dartmouth St. on the weekend of Feb. 16-17. The chemicals were transported in nearly a dozen trips to a nearby landfill and destroyed in a series of explosions that shook the homes of residents in the area.

"That list is part of an ongoing criminal investigation, and we're not prepared to release it," said Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state Fire Marshal's Office.

Mary Robison, Jack Robison's mother, said in an interview following the incident at her home that she had been instructed by federal authorities not to talk about the experiments her amateur chemist son was working on, or what types of chemicals he was using. Officials last month said Robison would not be charged by local police with any criminal offenses.

Other local officials, including South Hadley District 1 Fire Chief Bill Judd, said this week his team provided only a supporting role during the seizure, which involved the Massachusetts Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a state hazardous materials response team.

As of this week, Judd said he was not aware of the many chemicals confiscated from 23 Dartmouth St., though it was his impression they were dangerous.

"He was experimenting, no doubt about it," Judd said.

Judd also said he, among others, had viewed video clips on the Internet site YouTube that showed Robison detonating minor explosions near high-tension wires in Amherst, which may have been another cause for alarm by federal authorities.

The field sample log reviewed by the Gazette details an array of chemicals that experts say could have a broad range of applications, including agriculture, pottery, explosives and pyrotechnics. The field sample log is a working document and is not considered a final report on the nature of the materials seized.

Some of the compounds listed are as innocuous as car or floor wax, according to chemicals noted in the field test log. However most, like Gallium III Nitrate and Lanthanum III nitrate hexahydrate, are not commonly found in a home, according to several area chemists interviewed.

"Usually they are found in laboratories and industrial settings," said Prof. Dula Amarasiriwardena, a chemist at Hampshire College.

A student at Holyoke Community College, Robison purchased chemicals on the Internet, according to federal authorities, who later told the South Hadley Police and Fire Departments that they would be investigating suspicious Web purchases at the boy's home.

Among the names of substances listed that caught at least one chemist's attention is PETN, which is an acronym for pentaerythrite tetranitrate, one of the most powerful high explosives.

Prof. David Bickar, a chemist at Smith College, said PETN is a compound used in some types of smokeless gunpowder and in "Primacord," an explosive fuse used in blasting.

"That seems to be a likely item to raise an alarm," said Bickar, who has a background in pyrotechnics. "PETN is a powerful explosive; it requires a hard shock to set off, striking it with a carpenter's hammer, for example, but given that, it will explode. Given enough PETN, one could make a big explosion."

Ammonium nitrate, often associated with agricultural uses, is also a potential explosive, and is listed more than once on the field log.

Among other substances that caught chemists' attention was Ketamine Hydrochloride, which is a drug sold as a veterinary sedative or hospital grade anaesthesia. The substance also is used as a recreational drug that acts as a hallucinogen and has a street name "Special K."

"It's a strange quasi-hallucinogen," said Bickar. "It doesn't have a broad range of recreational users. I can't think of any other possible application than as a drug."

The Ketamine Hydrochloride is listed in a sample that also includes Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate, a disinfectant used in drinking-water, and Bromacil, which is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a general use herbicide, along with a collection of carbon-based solvents.

Authorities said many of the chemicals taken from Robison's home were mixed, and few samples listed on the field log state "no match."

Several experts who reviewed the list said it was difficult to speculate about what experiments Robison may have been working on in his basement laboratory, given the wide assortment and combination of chemicals.

"I have no idea what they would be doing with this," said Prof. Craig T. Martin, a biochemist at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Martin did note that some of the materials, particularly those containing lead and mercury, are not substances one would want hanging around the house.

Chemists interviewed said some of the items listed, such as benzene and ethanol, are flammable; others are toxic if ingested. Some of the substances are dangerous in other ways, they noted. Concentrated, or fuming nitric acid, for example, could cause acid burns if handled improperly.

In an interview after the seizure, which triggered the evacuation of homes in the neighborhood, John Elder Robison, Jack Robison's father, said federal ATF agents had told him his son's lab was impeccable and followed proper storage procedures.

Those familiar with the chemicals say not everything on the list rises to the level of a home seizure. The beeswax identified can make a great lip balm. Aspirin, which also appears on the emergency responders' log, has well-documented medical benefits.

Although several chemists say they wouldn't feel comfortable having many of the hazardous materials in their homes, they said most of the chemicals, while potentially dangerous, are not unreasonable for a young man who wants to practice chemistry to obtain. "There are some things I think he shouldn't have," said Bickar, before adding, "I sort of sympathize with a kid who is interested in chemistry and collecting a chemistry set - which is entirely possible."

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.