Ammonium perchlorate, NHClO, is a white, crystalline material that is soluble in water. It is a strong oxidizing agent and a skin, eye and respiratory irritant. Ammonium perchlorate is shock sensitive and may explode or detonate when exposed to heat-reducing agents or by spontaneous chemical reaction. (A reducing agent is a material that removes the oxygen from the compound.) Oxidizers can be dangerously explosive materials even though they are not classified as explosives. Closed containers can rupture violently when heated. Ammonium perchlorate decomposes at 464F and produces oxides of nitrogen, hydrogen chloride, and ammonia. It has four-digit UN identification number of 1442. The NFPA 704 classifications is health 1, flammability 0, and reactivity 4. The prefix “oxy” is placed in the white section at the bottom of the 704 diamond.