Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 07:46:01 -0400
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Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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us_ri: Homes evacuated in Woonsocket due to chemical scare
Kids playing with water led to a hazardous chemical scare in a Woonsocket neighborhood Sunday afternoon, firefighters said.
Residents of a Grove Street home said they noticed a strong smell of ammonia coming from the basement around 3:00 p.m. Taronda Robinson, who called 911, said the odor was overpowering.
"You couldn't stand it," Robinson said. "You had to go back upstairs and get fresh air."
Firefighters said they found a smoking 7-gallon barrel of sodium hydroxide in the basement. They evacuated the three-story home and two others nearby, and shut down Grove Street.
Sodium hydroxide is commonly used to clear drains, and reacts strongly with water.
Investigators determined water dripped into the barrel while a group of kids were having a water gun fight in the basement.
Hazmat crews said the heat from the reaction melted the lining inside the barrel, which generated the pungent smell. They said it could have gotten hot enough to start a fire.

us_tn: Train Derails near south Broad Street
A CSX train passing through Chattanooga jumped off its track around 4:30 this afternoon near the 3200 block of Broad Street.
Battalion Chief Rick Sewell said that several fire companies responded to the scene, along with the haz-mat team, since trains often carry large loads of hazardous materials. In this case, CSX officials said most of the rail cars were empty. However, one car was loaded with Ferrous Sulfate, which CSX personnel said was used as a fertilizer.
Chief Sewell said the car carrying the fertilizer was damaged in the wreck and about 100 pounds of the pelletized material spilled onto the ground. Concerned that the spilled material could contaminate Chattanooga Creek, which is located nearby, an environmental cleanup company was brought in to clean up the spill. Chief Sewell said the rail car will have to be off-loaded before it can be moved back on the track.

us_ok: Possible Meth Lab Sparks Tulsa Motel 6 Fire
TULSA, OK -- Tulsa Police are investigating a possible meth lab fire that caused the evacuation of the Motel 6 at 1011 South Garnett Road at about 3:40 a.m. Sunday.
Tulsa Fire extinguished the blaze after finding heavy smoke coming from Room 248. They found evidence of a possible meth lab and called in police and Hazmat crews.
One man had been seen running from the scene. Tulsa Police caught and questioned him. Several other people in the room were questioned.
One man reported breathing difficulties and was transported to a local hospital. Damage to the hotel is estimated at $25,000.

uk: Man is treated for chemical face burns at Wrexham firm
A man was taken to hospital with chemical burns to his face after an incident on an industrial estate.
North Wales fire service say four crews, the specialist response unit and an environmental protection unit were called to a unit on Wrexham Industrial Estate at around 2200 BST on Friday.
The man was taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital in an ambulance service rapid response car.
His injuries were not thought to be serious.
Firefighters closed down the section of the unit at Cytec Engineered Materials and wore specialist gas-tight suits to clean up the chemicals involved.

us_wa: Chemical Cloud At Lakewood Building Causes Hazmat Response - News Story - KIRO Seattle
LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- Three firefighters and one other person were taken to the hospital after being exposed to a chemical cloud created by a mix of cleaning solutions at a Lakewood building.
A custodian at the Lakewood Professional Center was mixing cleaning solutions which somehow created a chemical cloud that set off the building=E2=80=99s smoke detectors.
When the Lakewood Fire Department responded to the building in the 7500 block of Lakewood Drive, three firefighters and a woman cleaning the building began to feel eye irritation and nausea.
The crew left the building and the four people were taken to a local hospital as a precaution. All were OK and were later discharged.
A Department of Ecology spill response team worked for four hours at the building and is gathering the chemicals for disposal.

india: Fire in chemical shops, three hurt
A major fire broke out in some chemical shops in the old city area on Friday morning, damaging goods worth several lakhs and left three injured. The fire, which broke out in a chemical shop situated in the busy Trunck Bazaar area, spread to the third floor of the building and soon engulfed adjacent shops within seconds.
The flames emanating from the highly inflammable material and chemicals were so strong that a dozen of fire tenders failed to douse it.
...
Eyewitnesses said the fire broke out around 10.15 am, when an employee was mixing two chemicals, which led to an explosion. Two workers were badly injured while one received minor burns.
Residents said minor fires were a common feature in the area, but today=E2=80=99s incident has raised some serious questions, such as why the authorities allowed the shop-owners to store highly inflammable material in congested areas.

us_tx: Regional Roundup for 5-21
Crews tackle chemical spill; city unsatisfied
Crews worked Thursday to finish cleaning a spill of the industrial solvent xylene, a day after the chemical seeped out of a truck in northern Richardson.
City officials believe that Thursday's rain diluted the chemical and that it posed no threat to residents.
The chemical began seeping after a container fell over inside a truck Wednesday in the 2500 block of Custer Parkway, near Lookout Drive. It dripped for about a mile to a parking lot at the southeast corner of Custer and Renner Road. The driver notified his trucking company, and a cleanup company was called.
But on Thursday, city officials said the job was incomplete. City spokesman Greg Sowell said the cleanup company would be cited.

us_de: UD Researcher Hurt In Campus Lab Accident - cbs3.com
NEWARK, Del. (AP) =E2=80=95 A University of Delaware official says a graduate researcher was injured in an accident in a campus laboratory.
University chemical hygiene officer Kevin Eichinger says the a woman was cut by glassware that shattered in Worrilow Hall, an agricultural research facility, around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
The woman was taken to Christiana Medical Center with injuries described as minor lacerations. Another graduate researcher who was with the woman at the time refused treatment.
State Fire Marshal's deputies and university officials are investigating the incident. The building was not evacuated.

us_id: HAZMAT crews say leaking barrels pose no health threat
GARDEN CITY -- Boise Fire HAZMAT crews determined the substances leaking from a couple dozen barrels in Garden City are not hazardous.
The Hazardous Materials team is clearing the scene and now the clean-up of the leakage is up to the property owners.
The HAZMAT crews were called to a storage lot on 42nd street in Garden City at about 1:45 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Crews tentatively identified the substances as paint thinner, solvents and anti-freeze.
Boise Police say about two dozen barrels were stakced on pallets, and appear to have been stored there for some time but it is not known how long they have been leaking.
The Boise Fire Battalion Chief says they do not believe the leaking barrels pose any sort of health threat.
The leakage is not near any sort of drain, gutter, or roadway -- and are confined to the storage lot.

us_ny: HazMat officials respond to refrigeration leak at Sunnyside deli
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Emergency officials responded to a freon leak at a deli at the foot of Clove Road and Howard Avenue in Sunnyside today.
HazMat units were summoned to Mignosi's Supermarket, at 1490 Clove Rd., for the incident, which occurred in a refrigeration unit, according to radio transmissions.
The problem stemmed from defectiveness with the system's compressor, according to an FDNY spokesman.
Two workers were overcome by the fumes and taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton. Two other workers refused treatment on the scene.
Officials announced the situation under control at 1:47 p.m.
Numerous emergency vehicles responded, blocking one lane of Clove Road.
The Wagner College graduation ceremony up Howard Avenue while the response was at its height. The combination of emergency vehicles and graduation traffic caused heavy delays in the area. Traffic control agents were needed to assist.

us_pa: Pool Shock Mix Causes Chemical Explosion In West Mifflin
EST MIFFLIN, Pa. -- 
A homeowner who was preparing his pool for swimmers had a few unexpected guests on Thursday morning.
Hazmat crews were called to the man's home in the 5000 block of Homeville Road shortly before 8:30 a.m.
The homeowner told Channel 4 Action News he was mixing chlorine in his laundry room sink to shock his pool.
The man said he believes the mixture overflowed into a second sink, which had something in it that caused a chemical reaction and a "bang."
"I backed away and then the bucket exploded with the chlorine in it. It reacted with the soap and the chlorine is what the hazmat guy told me," said Rege Fath.
Hazardous materials crews were called because of the chemicals.
There were no reports of any injuries, but Fath did say his hearing was affected by the sound of the explosion.

us_ca: Worker injured in explosion at Pasadena chemical company
PASADENA - A worker west to the hospital with minor injuries Wednesday after an oven explosion at a chemical manufacturing plant, authorities said.
The incident was reported about 6 p.m. at Materia Inc., 60 N. San Gabriel Boulevard, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
The worker, a man in his 20s, suffered minor burns and possible inhalation injuries, she said.
A small explosion and fire had occurred in one of the company's processing ovens, Derderian said. The fire was out when firefighters arrived, but the building remained full of smoke.
Because the explosion was an industrial accident, she added, Cal/OSHA was summoned to investigate the cause.
Derderian said the fire remained contained to the oven and caused about $7,000 worth of damage.

us_tx: UPDATE 2-Lyondell to halve Houston refinery runs for a month|
HOUSTON, May 20 (Reuters) - LyondellBasell [ACCELC.UL] said on Thursday crude oil refining at its 268,000 barrel per day (bpd) Houston refinery would be cut in half for about four weeks while damage from a Monday fire is repaired.
The company also said the restart of a crude distillation unit unaffected by the fire was on schedule.
"We remain on schedule to have that unit on line by the end of the week," said Lyondell spokesman David Harpole on Thursday.
The Monday afternoon fire broke out in the second CDU at the refinery. The two CDUs perform the initial refining of crude oil coming into the refinery. Each CDU accounts for about half of the refinery's crude refining capacity of 268,000 bpd.
No injuries were reported in the fire, which burned for about an hour before being extinguished by Lyondell firefighters.

us_al: Fire, Chemical Spill At Masland Carpets
A Wednesday night fire at Masland Carpets in Atmore and a chemical spill were quickly contained.
The fire was reported about 9:30 p.m and was quickly extinguished by the Atmore Fire Department. A potential hazardous materials situation was turned over to Masland for cleanup.
Authorities said a mishap caused powdered bleach and a dioxide to be mixed, and the combination spontaneously combusted.
The entire facility was evacuated during the incident. Workers were able to return to the building in about 45 minutes, and the overnight shift reported to work as normal.
There were no injuries reported.
The Atmore Fire Department, Poarch Creek Fire Department and the Atmore Police Department responded to the incident.


us_nc: Marion Walmart evacuated after chemical exposure
MARION =E2=80=94 The Walmart store in Marion was evacuated and a dozen people were taken to the hospital after exposure to chemicals in the air, authorities said.
The patients suffered respiratory and eye irritation, but Marion Fire Chief Jim Neal said he doesn=E2=80=99t believe anyone was seriously injured.
Neal said a store employee cleaning bathrooms apparently mixed bleach with an absorbent and a chemical used in recreational vehicle septic tanks.
"It could have been a reaction between what she mixed together that caused the problem,=" he said. "We do know that some kind of strong irritant resulted from it.="
McDowell County Emergency Medical Services Director William Kehler said personnel responded to the store on U.S. 70 around 6 p.m. Tuesday following a report of someone having difficulty breathing in the rear of the building.
The store was immediately evacuated and 12 people were taken to the emergency department at McDowell County Hospital, he said.



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