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North Carolina http://www2.mooresvilletribune.com/content/2009/nov/23/mooresville-waste-s tation-reopens-after-chemical-i/ Mooresville waste station reopens after chemical incident injures 2 By Melinda Skutnick | Mooresville Tribune The Mooresville Waste Transfer Station reopened Monday afternoon following a morning chemical-disposal incident that injured two sanitation workers and shut down the facility. About 10:30 a.m., two Town of Mooresville employees received minor burns when acid-based materials in a residential trash can on Boger Street created a small explosion as they were collected and compressed in a garbage truck. Mooresville Fire Battalion Chief J.L. Barrier said town firefighters and the Mooresville Hazardous Materials (Haz-mat) squad were called to the scene. Additional contamination occurred at the transfer station on N.C. 150 when the town garbage truck was unloaded. To neutralize the chemical waste there and in the truck, a special cleanup company was brought in. The transfer station reopened to the public by 4:30 p.m. Monday. In a news release, Barrier said the two injured workers were treated for minor burns and released. David Lambert, director of solid waste for Iredell County, said that "whoever disposed this material made a mistake." He said chemical waste spills are not common in the county, and that he only recalled one other incident, in Statesville, in the past 16 years. However, he and Mooresville Public Works Manager John Finan said events such as this reiterate the need for the proper disposal of chemical materials. "It's a dangerous profession and we always seek to protect employees," said Finan. Lambert noted that residents should contact the Iredell County Solid Waste Department whenever they are unsure about the safe handling and disposal of any chemicals. === Hazmat team called to University of Utah http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705346157/Hazmat-team-called-to-Univers ity-of-Utah.html Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 11:06 p.m. MST The Salt Lake City Fire Department cleaned up a minor chemical spill Friday at the University of Utah. Two security guards checking an open door at the Henry Eyring Building about 7 p.m. noticed a chemical smell, said fire department hazmat specialist Mark Bednarik. The pair's eyes began burning, Bednarik said. They called their supervisor, who called 911. Crews found glycol, spilled from the heating and air conditioning system, and cleaned it up. Bednarik said the guards' symptoms cleared up after they left the building. === http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/24/content_12527435.htm Chemical plant explosions injure four in France www.chinaview.cn PARIS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Four men were injured during a series of explosions which happened Monday evening in a chemical factory belonging to French major chemical producer SNF in central France. The first explosion happened at 5:45 p.m. local time in the chemical plant which is located in Andrezieux-Boutheon, a central town of Loire department, while the second occurred ten minutes later at the same workshop. The injured suffering from burning and scratches were all sent to hospitals. There was no big fire triggered by the explosions, the firefighters said. The government of Loire said that they had not detected any leak of dangerous chemical element caused by the explosion, confirming the environmental safety for nearby residents. The plant with an area of over ten square kilometers is located15 kilometers away from the nearest habitant community in Saint-Etienne, which has been partly evacuated after the accident, local media reported. There are about 50 firefighters working on the site to determine the source of the blasts although primary investigation says chemical reaction during the experiments carried out in the workshop was the cause. The France-based SNF company is a world leading producer of water treatment chemicals, with branches planted in American, European and Asian countries. =E3=80=80 === Australia http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,26388189-2682,00.html?fro m=public_rss 'Poor maintenance caused deadly Gladstone blast' court told JORDANNA SCHRIEVER, COURT REPORTER November 23, 2009 03:00pm MACHINERY blamed for the Gladstone munitions factory explosion had not been properly maintained, a court has heard. And records of its maintenance were not kept in the years leading up to the May 2006 blast. Today, the trial of Quin Investments and its responsible officer, Nikolai Kuzub, for two counts of alleged breaches of workplace safety laws began in the Industrial Relations Court. The explosion at the factory near Gladstone, in the state's Mid North, on May 9, 2006, killed Damian Harris, Matt Keeley and Darren Millington and injured Cameron Edson and Damian John. Today, prosecutor Liesl Chapman told the court Quin Investments and Mr Kuzub had failed "to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practical, a safe work environment". On the day of the explosion the five workers were creating a pre-mix for cartridge explosives in a ribbon blending machine. Ms Chapman said a displaced shaft in the blender, or mixer, had created friction, triggering a chemical reaction inside the secondhand piece of machinery, to cause the explosion. She said the workers could not be blamed for the explosion. She told the court neither the blender, nor other "critical items" of machinery had proper maintenance records. She said the presence of "explosive and flammable items in and around the factory while the premix was being made", including cast TNT and moulten TNT had also posed a danger to factory workers. But Grant Germein, for the defendants, said the cause of the blast was "hotly contested". He said the company was being used as a scapegoat and SafeWork SA's investigation into the incident was "not directed at the cause of the explosion", but to "see if they could find a culprit". "But knowing that we will be convicted, and that's because this tragedy has been downgraded to a workplace incidents so that it can be put before this court as a industry matter without any investigation as promised by the Premier undertaken," Mr Germein said. He said the "victims and their families have been short-changed and the public has been dudded" because the government's promised inquiry had never been done. If convicted, the maximum penalty for each count is a $100,000 fine. === General Interest: http://www.fireengineering.com/index/articles/display/1258992572130/articl es/fire-engineering/hazmat-survival_tips/2009/11/hazmat-survival_tips.html Hazmat Survival Tips: 10 Initial Response Considerations for First Responders Beyond the Rule of Thumb Survival Tip 46 By Steven De Lisi First responders learn a considerable amount of information during their basic training, including how to safely respond to incidents involving hazardous materials. Unfortunately, there are almost always "disconnects=" between academia and the real world. Hazardous materials response is no exception. This is not to say that basic training is inadequate, but that real-world exposure helps first responders learn what is really important to ensure their survival. The 10 initial response considerations discussed in this column are based on personal experience in dealing with numerous incidents and represent items first responders sometimes overlook despite their training and best efforts to manage an incident effectively. (more at URL above) === The Department of Energy has released am extensive (237 page) guidance document on the handling of elemental mercury, to include storage and transportation, as well as spill response procedures: http://www.mercurystorageeis.com/Elementalmercurystorage%20Interim%20Guida nce%20(dated%202009-11-13).pdf
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