Substance Found in Trash Bin Turns Out to Be Non-Explosive

Sheriff’s investigators said that a chemical removed from a trash bin at Mile Square Park on Monday wasn’t potentially explosive at all and in fact is a common ingredient used in the manufacture of soap.

Fountain Valley Police Lt. Rod Gillman said an anonymous phone caller claimed that nitroglycerin and Thermit--a heat-producing substance which can ignite if confined within a pipe--had been left in a dumpster at the park’s Recreation Center, 16400 Brookhurst St.

When police discovered a one-pound plastic container and a four-ounce glass bottle at the site shortly after 6:15 p.m. Sunday, they evacuated the area and called in the Sheriff’s Department bomb squad.

The bomb experts removed the items and conducted a two-hour search of the area before declaring it safe about 9:20 p.m. After examining the items, investigators found that the four-ounce bottle actually contained glycerin, often used to make soap. It has no explosive properties, said Sheriff’s Lt. George Johnson.

The items appeared to be similar to those found in a high school chemistry lab, although there was nothing on the containers to indicate where they might have been obtained, Gillman said. He speculated that someone may have stolen the materials, then “got a little bit spooked by it” and dumped them at the park before calling police.