DHMO Mystery Cache

This cache is along a public trail.  Please do not approach it from the south, as the trail there is on private land, and the landowner does not welcome cachers.  There is no need to stray far from the trail or cross any fences.

I had trouble getting consistent coordinates for the cache due to trees, so I’ve provided a hint for the hide that should make it much easier.

Dihydrogen Monoxide or DHMO is a dangerous chemical sometimes also known as hydroxyl acid, hydrogen hydroxide, hydroxic acid, hydroxylic acid or hydroxilic acid.  Here are some facts about DHMO:

• It is a common industrial solvent
• It is a coolant in nuclear power plants
• It contributes to the “greenhouse effect” and global warming
• It greatly accelerates corrosion of many common metals
• It has been known to cause failures of electrical components
• It has been used as a fire retardant
• It is a major cause of erosion
• It is used in several forms of torture, from millennia ago to today
• It was used in Salem, MA as part of the test to see if a woman was a witch, and often killed the victim in the process
• It has been found in malignant tumors

Nevertheless:

• DHMO is found in nearly all of America’s streams, rivers and lakes
• DHMO is often added to processed food products
• Both the KKK and NAACP have handed out DHMO to boost the energy level of their followers at rallies
• It is commonly used by farmers in order to get both crops and livestock to grow larger, faster
• Large industries often get away with dumping it, even in its undiluted form
• It is NOT REGULATED by the federal or any state government!

There is a web site dedicated to DHMO which discusses efforts to ban it, www.dhmo.org. You should go and check it out, and consider whether you feel you know enough that you would like to write to your congresspeople and senators to see if we can get rid of this scourge.

Here’s the puzzle (this is a puzzle geocache, after all).  There is one more name for DHMO that has five letters.  Do some research and figure out what it is.  Consider A=1, B=2, etc. up through Z=26, and then use L₁ through L₅ to represent the values for the five letters:

L₁ L₂ L₃ L₄ L₅

Then the cache is at 47 38.(L₃)² – L₄ L₅ + L₃/(L₂+L₂)   122 07.L₁(L₂ + L₄) – L₄ + L₃.

The equation is written like a mathematical equation, not a geocaching one. So, L₄ L₅ means multiply, not stick the digits one after another.