Roommate hoopla, help identifying stuff in this garage please....

[thebarbaricnoodle]

Red Iron Oxide
Fuses (10's foot)
Acetone, TSP, other items related to auto restoration
Sodiunm Hydroxide
Sodium Nitrate
Commercial grade 99% pure Urea 46% Nitrogen content
numerous beakers, glassware
Potassium Hydroxide
Other lye product
Potassium Permanganate
Potassium Nitrate
Ammonium Dichromate
Zinc Oxide
Calcium Hypochlorite
Centrifuge (800-1)
Aluminum Oxide
Aluminum Powder
Hexamine
DMSO liquid
Verious superfine graphite rod
Glycerin, food grade
Methanol
Hyudrochloric acid
Nitric acid
Sulfuric Acid (93%)
Concentrated sulfuric acid (98%)

I'm writing because I've been renting a place in Draper for a while now and have learned that there has been an ongoing situation in the house where one of the tenants has been violent and abusive to some of the others. Not to me, and this is not something that I've witnessed myself, but it is definitely something that has created a situation where the owner (we are all renting) has decided to sell. As I had been talking with some of the other tenants, I learned a few stories about times when one of the tenants (T) had screamed at some of the others, broken a number of things in a rage, and more.

I have bene living here since June of last year, and I have occasionally had to access the detached garage in the backyard to access tools and parts for my car. Whta I had seen out there I didn't think much of, but as I started to do a little research I began to get worried that some of the intentions of the owner of this stuff might be somewhat nefarious. Perhaps I have just seen too much Breaking Bad, and I certainly didn't learn enough in phyics or chemistry classes to know what or how all this stuff could be used for, but I do believe that I have qualified that some of the stuff can be used to manufacture items such as fireworks, etc.. Since the items seem to belong to the one tenant that has a history of being violent, I just wanted to speak to someone to try to determine if this is stuff that we need to be worried about. It may simply be that this is just a hobby or that it could be school-related, but since I'm moving out and since the owner has decided to sell, I feel that it would be irresponsible of me not to say anything. I'm sure that by way of this note that someone can be engaged to help assuage a few of my worries, but I definitely don't want to have said nothing and then find out later that something had happened.

This is all stuff that is in that garage, which is pretty much a common area, but it's not at all a subject that I know anything about, and so just wanted to send out feelers. I've started to post to get some more details from anyone 'in-the-know', and the truth is that after hearing stories about this guy that has me thankful I never saw some of his behavior, but I worry about the guy and hope that he's alright, or at the very least that he gets whatever help he needs to adjust his attitude. But the stuff in that garage, I just have no idea about.

Any suggestions or commends are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[pinball1970]

Mmm. Fuses and high Nitrogen source? Where is Borat when you need him?

 

[PeterDonis]

Since you're a renter, it seems to me that your main responsibility is to make sure the owner of the property is aware that all this stuff is there. What to do about it is the owner's problem.

 

[berkeman]

I'm writing because I've been renting a place in Draper for a while now and have learned that there has been an ongoing situation in the house where one of the tenants has been violent and abusive to some of the others. Not to me, and this is not something that I've witnessed myself, but it is definitely something that has created a situation where the owner (we are all renting) has decided to sell.

Welcome to the PF.

Since it's not clear who all that stuff belongs to, and if there is dangerous stuff among it all, your best approach is probably to take your list and some pictures to the house owners to ask their for their thoughts. Depending on how that goes (like if it mostly belongs to the unstable roommate, and contains suspect stuff), you can take the list and pictures to your local police department to ask if they want to do anything about it. They may need to consult with your local fire department's HAZMAT coordinator to get their opinion.

Beyond that, there is not much more we can suggest, so I'll close this thread. If you need to discuss this more, please click on my avatar and Start a Conversation with me. Hope things work out okay for you and your roommates.