This review is compiled from the experimental results of investigations that were carried out from the 1970s to 2004 in the laboratory and in the Department of Technological Processes Reliability and Safety, which was headed by Professor Boris N. Kondrikov. Sensitization to detonation by the addition of acids, amines or unsaturated substances, by introduction of porosity and by raising the initial temperature is described. All of these factors are examined in the context of the reliability and safety of technological processes.