New "Chemical Weapon" in Iraq? Nope

The opening paragraph from this Washington Times story sure sounds scary:

U.S. troops said yesterday that they had found two large caches of nitric acid -- a highly corrosive substance with chemical weapons potential -- in abandoned houses used by Sunni insurgents in western Baghdad.

But chemistry PhD, Globalsecurity.org senior fellow, and blogger extradordinaire George Smith tells DANGER ROOM that there's nothing to get freaked out about here -- well nothing beyond Iraq's usual mayhem.

*Nitric acid is one of the big three common strong inorganic acids, hydrochloric and sulfuric being the other two. It wouldn't be practical as a chemical weapon and there's no way to make it so. Of the three acids mentioned, it's the easiest to handle, although all are common and pose no threat when clearly labeled. Burns skin slowly, staining it yellow. Is not particularly hazardous if spilled although you wouldn't want to walk in it. In terms of inorganic acid spills, HCl [hydrochloric acid] makes a bigger and far more noticeable mess. And as a corrosive directly against skin, sulfuric acid is the worst of the three. None have any application as chemical weapons in the classic sense. ** HN03 [nitric acid] can be used to make homemade TNT -- although why this would be necessary in Iraq is beyond me. You would have suspected to find a lot of toluene and sulfuric acid, too, if this were the case. *Looks like the diversion of industrial chemicals, hoping they'll get lucky with something. That won't happen with the level of savvy which seems to be indicated.

Fellow chem-bio blogger Bugs n' Gas Gal adds:

While the story seems to imply the purpose of the nitric acid "could" be to produce a toxic chemical hazard or even a chemical agent, the simplest explanation is the most probable: it is being used to produce home made explosives (HME). They are certainly going through a lot of it and large caches of precursors would not be surprising.

Why are folks so damn eager to cry "chemical weapon" any time a new explosive is found in Iraq?

PREVIOUSLY*:*

* Inside a Chlorine Bomb Attack
* How to Handle a Chlorine Bomb
* Everything is WMD
* Coping with Chlorine Bombs
* Chlorine Bomb Countermeasures
* Gas Masks and Chlorine Choke Points