[pct-l] Potassium permanganate

Howdy listers,
I was talking yesterday with a pilot that had just completed a 2 day
survival school here in the desert.  He was singing the praises of
potassium permanganate (KMn04 if my memory of chemistry is correct).
The pilot has spoken with some municipal water treatment agencies that
use it and it was reported to be more effective than iodine or
chlorine.  I asked about taste and color (it's dark purple) and he said
that at the concentrations used for water purification (don't know the
exact numbers), the color and taste were not noticeable.   At higher
concentrations where the water is purple, it can be used as a soak to
treat athletes foot.  From my aquarium days, I vaguely remember
something about it's antifungal properties.  Lastly, he mentioned that
they used it as a fire starter.  A gram or two sprinkled on an ounce of
sugar was wrapped in a gauze pad (the kindling).  Place on a hard
surface and then scrape hard with a stick.  Poof!!!  Fire.  The gauze
pad caught on fire long enough for small sticks to be added.  Thought
I'd throw this out on the list to see if anyone has pros or cons, or the
concentrations that should be used.  Sounds intriguing to me, at least
enough to start some investigating anyway.
                    Jeff Jones

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