ATF pumps brakes on wetted nitrocellulose reclassification
http://www.guns.com/2016/09/01/atf-pumps-brakes-on-wetted-nitrocellulose-reclassification/9/01/16
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has walked back an announcement it now viewed wetted nitrocellulose as a high explosive and will work with the firearms industry on clarification.
In the agency’s June 2016 Explosives Industry Newsletter, ATF determined that nitrocellulose– also known as flash cotton or guncotton– containing greater than 12.6 percent nitrogen is a high explosive and had to be stored moving forward in a Type 1 or 2 magazine, adding a new level of control and oversight in its transport. In its wet state, nitrocellulose was considered safe to handle and ship and relatively inert, needing to be dried before use. This changed the logistics of acquiring a component used in propellant and ammunition production which had before then not been considered an explosive material....
...Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told Guns.com the trade group was pleased at change of events.
“We welcome ATF’s announcement today and look forward to engaging ATF in a constructive dialogue on behalf of our industry,” said Keane in an email. “We appreciate ATF’s goal is to protect public safety and look forward to resolving any confusion or misunderstanding that may have arisen and explaining how longstanding ATF-approved industry practices have achieved that goal.”
