Is "Sodium Hydrochloride" in
the last article a typo? Is it supposed to be "sodium hypochlorite" (
bleach)?
Cheers,
Katherine C. House, CCHO
Laboratory Coordinat
or
Chemical Hygiene Officer
Cormetech, Inc.
5000 International Dri
ve
Durham, NC 27712
919.620.3044 (office)
919.815.2024
(mobile)
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DCHAS
-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDUSubject: [DCHAS-L] 4 Chemical Safety news stories fr
om Google
http://www.upi.com/
Top_News/US/2009/12/24/UPI-NewsTrack-TopNews/UPI-69531261673858/Four people killed in factory explosion
OSAKA, Japan, Dec. 24 (UPI)
-- Four people died Thursday morning in Osaka, Japan, in an explosion at a
chemical factory, police say.
Osaka Prefectural Police said the dea
dly blast took place at the Kanzakigawa Plant owned by Morita Chemical Indu
stries
Co. and involved a boron trifluoride storage tank, The Mainichi Daily News
reported.
The four workers killed in the blast were on top of the t
ank when the explosion occurred. The victims were identified as Kazuhiro Ha
yashi, 47, Tatsuya Nakatani, 45, Tomoyuki Kanazawa, 33, and Keisuke Nishida
, 30.
Police said sparks caused by an employee sawing a hole into th
e tank may have caused the explosion. The incident is under investigation.<
br>
The Daily News said boron trifluoride is toxic but not flammable. Th
e chemical compound is used to help manufacture petroleum resin.
===
http://www.rexburgstandardjourna
l.com/articles/2009/12/23/news/47.txtIdaho, US
Station r
eopens after big explosion
TERRETON -- Ike's Tesoro service station
has reopened in Terreton, but cleanup is still underway following the gas
tanker explosion on Dec. 17.
According to owner Ike Tomlinsen, the
area is still under investigation by several insurance companies, after whi
ch it will be subject to an investigation and cleanup operation by the Idah
o Department of Environmental Quality.
Steve Heaton, a DEQ represent
ative, said that following the removal of the gas tanker wreckage by the in
surance companies, the DEQ will begin to oversee cleanup of both the fuel s
pill and chemical foam used to fight the fire.
"We are providing in
the field oversight of the cleanup activity," said Heaton. "Our primary con
cern is the fuel that was released."
The DEQ will be excavating seve
ral layers of soil to look for ground contamination.
In a phone inte
rview, Tomlinson expressed some frustration that the cleanup was not alread
y under way.
"Its still under investigation -- we can't do anything
as far as cleanup until after," said Tomlinson.
At the
moment, the station is offering all of its services except for the sale of
fuel, although it has been delivering bulk fuel to customers via trucks fr
om Idaho Falls.
Tomlinson said he is unsure when the investigations
will be complete or when he will once again be able to sell fuel.
Th
e monetary costs of the damages caused by the explosion have not yet been a
ssessed.
Last Thursday, three above-ground fuel tanks and a gas tank
er truck exploded during a scheduled refueling of the above-ground tanks. T
he cause of the explosion was due to an apparent overfilling of one of the
tanks.
Observers at the gas station reported that the series of expl
osions could be seen in the night sky as far away as Rexburg, which is more
than 30 miles away. Residents who lived a far as 5 miles away reported hea
ring and feeling the series of blasts.
Seven fire districts and clos
e to 100 emergency personnel responded to the accident.
The
explosion also temporarily knocked out phone service for Terreton resident
s. The service has since been restored.
NATE SUNDERLAND
=
==
Australia
Highway lane reopens after chemical spill
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/1
2/24/2780291.htm?site=riverinaOne lane of the Hume Highway no
rth of Tarcutta has reopened after a chemical spill which closed two northb
ound lanes just after midnight.
A police highway patrol car noticed
a leak from a tanker carrying 16,000 litres of ferric chloride solution, wh
ich contains hydrochloric acid.
More than half the liquid chemical l
oad has spilt.
The leak ran from Tarcutta north about 20 kilometres
to just past the Sturt Highway junction, causing detours until 6:30am (AEDT
).
A New South Wales Fire Brigades spokesman says contract cleaners
are about
to start decanting the remaining chemical from the truck and a check for e
nvironmental damage has begun.
===
Georgia, US
http://
www.macon.com/149/story/964187.htmlCentral State Hospital evacu
ated for chemical spill
By AMY LEIGH WOMACK -
awomack**At_Symbol_Here**macon.com
Patients and employees were evacuated from the Craig Nursing Ce
nter at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville Wednesday following a chemi
cal spill, according to the Baldwin County Fire Department.
Some of
the patients and employees were treated for possible inhalation injuries fo
llowing the 5:17 p.m. spill, according to a news release.
Firefighte
rs determined the chemical spilled was Sodium Hydrochloride. The scene was
secured and turned over to the hospital's administration for clean-up, acco
rding to
the release.
