Company Warns of Stolen Chemicals

Two canisters of chemicals stolen last weekend from a local business has the company’s president concerned about potentially fatal consequences should they be opened and inhaled.

Douglas Holmes, president of Telcom Devices Corp., said the canisters contain pressurized liquid chemicals that would emerge as a gas when opened.

“Both of those canisters contain potentially lethal materials,” he said.

Sheriff’s deputies are looking for one or more thieves who stole the canisters--one containing chlorine, the other silicon tetrachloride--from Telcom’s storage facility.

Although the canisters are clearly marked as containing poisonous chemicals, authorities are concerned that youths who are unaware of the dangers of inhaling the gases might be in possession of them, according to Sheriff’s Department spokesman Daniel Place.

He urged anyone who sees the canisters to contact police.

Both canisters are 18 inches long and 8 inches in diameter. The silicon tetrachloride is in a gray steel canister with a gray steel lid, while the chlorine is in a gray steel cylinder with a blue steel lid.