The glitter lamp nerve gas legend

Every time something new gets introduced, the negatarians and conspiracists come out of hiding to say nasty things about it. That happened with glitter lamps, when the career-haters implied they contained nerve gas.

The reality is that some very old "fast movement" glitter lamps contained solvents like trichlorotrifluoroethane which could break down into phosgene gas when exposed to intense flames. But the reality is that even with a building fire, the risk would be extremely low.

Trichlorotrifluoroethane is no longer used due to being a solvent that interferes with the operation of the ozone layer.

Modern glitter lamps tend to use a water based liquid with a heavy salt like calcium nitrate to make the glitter buoyant, and pose no major risk unless you drink the stuff (not recommended!)

The glitter bottle in the video was a DIY one based on perchloroethylene dry cleaning solvent, holographic glitter and mineral oil to balance the density. The solvent based glitter lamps are quite complex to make due to the unknown plastic used in most glitters. Some are soluble in the solvent and will gradually dissolve, making the glitter heavier by changing the plastic to aluminium ratio.