Tovex

The Tovex family of products, sometimes generically called "water gels," were developed by the Explosives Department at DuPont (E.I.

du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc.) in the mid-to-late 1960s when pelletized TNT was included in aqueous gels to create a slurry form of ANFO that displayed water-resistant properties in wet bore holes.

[1] TNT-sensitized water gels were commercially successful, but the TNT led to problems with oxygen balance: namely elevated amounts of combustion by-products such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen-dioxide complexes.

As of 2008[update], explosives sold under DuPont's original "Tovex" trade name are distributed in Europe by Societe Suisse des Explosifs, Brigue, in Switzerland.

[4] The blasting product is malleable to the extent that it can be cut to length, laid out, or bundled for a wide variety of applications.

Typically, Tovex and other commercial explosives employ embedded taggants which identify the product and often the agency which purchased the material.