Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:56:46 -0400
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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US_TN: ZION CROSSROADS TRUCK STOP EVACUATED, http://www.nbc 29.com/Global/story.asp?S=12692154

An unusual substance brought business to a standstill at a Louisa County truck stop Tuesday night. Hazmat crews responded around 6 p.m. to the scene of a spill at the CITGO truck just off Interstate 64 at Zion Crossroads.

Hazmat crews were called in from Charlottesville to try and figure out exactly what they found. The parking lot was evacuated and drivers stranded.

A lieutenant with Louisa County Fire and EMS says a truck driver was returning to his cab after fueling up and found the leak. The unidentified corrosive managed to seep out of a metal barrel and eat through the bed of the truck. The lot behind the CITGO serves as a rest stop and scale station for long distance drivers but it was roped off starting at 6 pm.

"Anytime we have a tractor trailer that's placard, dangerous, or flammable, we've got to take out precautions to clear out the area," explained Delbert Feaster with Louisa Fire and EMS. "Just because we don't know how much cargo is in that truck or what he's hauling."

"I don't think it should be taped off the way it's taped off, and holding everybody else up," said Trucker Junior Syrkes. "You've got 50 to 60 trucks out here for something where nobody knows what's going on."

Witnesses say the truck driver met with investigators, but there is no word on where he is from or where his cargo is heade

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US_PA: MAN MIXING POOL CHEMICALS CREATES HAZMAT SCARE, http://www.wpxi.com /news/23987652/detail.html

HARRISON TWP., Pa. -- Allegheny County Hazmat crews were called to a home along Pine Street in Harrison Township Monday night.
Officials said a man in the house was overcome by fumes while he was mixing pool chemicals with bleach.
Emergency workers told Channel 11 this is the fourth similar call they have received during this pool season.
"Ironically, this is the fourth call that our hazardous materials team has responded to this pool season. We're strongly urging residents to follow the recommended directions of the manufacturer of the chemicals to properly put the chemicals in the pool. You should not be premixing your chemicals. Most of the manufacturers recommend directly applying the chemicals to the pool itself," said Alvin Henderson of Allegheny County EMS.

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US_MA: CHEMICAL REACTION COULD BE TO BLAME FOR MONDAY'S HAZMAT INCIDENT, http://milton.patch.com/articles/chemical- reaction-could-be-to-blame-for-mondays-hazmat-incident

A HazMat team monitored and vented a house at 57 St. Mary's Road yesterday after a paint remover apparently reacted with carbon monoxide, sending four people to Milton Hospital.

Milton Fire Chief John Grant said a concrete cause of the vapors that overtook one worker and caused another to feel ill on Monday has not been determined, but it appears that a chemical in the Strip-Ease they were using reacted with carbon monoxide.

The vapors in the home also sent the homeowner and a responding police officer to the hospital. According to Grant those individuals were treated and released.

The conditions of the two workers were not available, but Grant said the worker who was overcome by the fumes suffered chemical burns and was transported to Mass General.

The Milton Fire Department and HazMat team used fans to air out the property while monitoring vapor levels. HazMat left the scene after 3:30 p.m. once the levels dropped below IDLH (Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health) concentrations.

Two firefighters remained at the home to continue to vent and secure the property. Grant said the homeowners are still not permitted in the home. The contractor who employs the two injured workers will hire an environmental cleanup company to secure the home.

OSHA is also conducting an investigation to determine if the incident was caused by negligence. 

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US_WI: HAZMAT SITUATION AT SOUTH MILWAUKEE POOL, http://www.tod aystmj4.com/news/local/96897914.html

SOUTH MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee emergency hazmat team has arrived at a Milwaukee County Pool in South Milwaukee to handle a hazmat situation.

A South Milwaukee Fire Department official tells Newsradio 620 WTMJ that the situation started at about 10:10 a.m. with a report of a smoke from a nearby building.

Fire crews arrived at the scene and discovered that the building had a flooded basement and an electrical problem on site.

We Energies crews then arrived at the scene to shut down the power to the area, and they discovered that chemicals used at Grobschmidt Pool had spilled.

Two chemicals had been released because of the spill, and Milwaukee hazmat teams were called to the area.

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US_OR: HAZMAT EMERGENCY EVACUATES BUSINESS AND SENDS 12 TO LOCAL HOSPITALS | THEPORTLANDER, http://theportlander.com/2010/06/2 2/hazmat-emergency-evacuates-business-and-sends-12-to-local-hospitals/

Emergency crews  responded to a mass casualty incident in Tualatin this morning. At 8:22am, employees at ACS, located at 18277 SW Boones Ferry Rd, called 911 complaining of respiritory problems and nausea. The building was quickly evacuated.
Firefighters arrived to find more than 100 people outside the building, more than 20 of whom complained of respiratory symptoms including burning noses, coughing and watery eyes. Firefighters quickly declared a Mass Casualty Incident and called for more resources as they began assessing employees for injuries. Firefighters determined that 12 patients should be transported to local hospitals.
As additional resources arrived from around the southwest suburbs, firefighters made entry into the building and located the source of the problem. TVF&amp;R has determined that a computer backup system=92s battery (about the size of a car battery) boiled over and the sulfuric acid particulates spread into some areas of the building. Firefighters removed the battery and used HazMat monitors to check the air and ensure that the building was safe to re-enter. At no time during the incident was there a danger to any of the surrounding community and no additional evacuations were necessary. TVF&amp;R advised ACS managers that the building was safe to occupy three hours after arriving on-scene.

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US_OR: MYSTERIOUS YELLOW OOZE SPARKS HAZMAT PROBE IN EUGENE, http://www.katu.com/news/9 6914754.html

EUGENE, Ore. - The first employee to arrive at the offices of the Feynman Group found a newspaper box with a yellow substance in it Tuesday morning.

Not thinking much of it, the employee dumped the yellow stuff out.

Then he found more of the stuff near the front door, and even more near a roll-up door.

Then he smelled an odor and called police.

That employee was taken to the hospital for evaluation as a precaution, Sgt. Eric Klinko with the Eugene Police Department said.

"He suffered some form of exposure to this chemical," Klinko said.

Reporters from KATU's sister station in Eugene, KVAL, have since learned that the man is OK. They spoke with him about what happened.

"It was giving off a little bit of an odor and it was kind of smoking," the man told KVAL News. "I thought the sun was causing that. But as I looked in closer, I took a big whiff of it and felt lightheaded, kind of dizzy. I thought maybe I was going to pass out."

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US_CO: FIRE CREWS CLEAN UP HAZMAT SPILL AT RECREATION CENTER SWIMMING POOL, http://www.kktv. com/news/headlines/96946804.html

Fire crews and a Hazmat team were called out to the Flying Horse County Club in Colorado Springs on Wednesday night after a lifeguard noticed an acid spill in a swimming pool pump room.

He called for help around 8 p.m. Wednesday from the rec center at the country club, at 1880 Weiskopf Pt on the northeast side of the Springs, off of Highway 83.


No one was injured by the spill. The leak came from a hydrochloric acid pump that helps balance the pH levels in the kids swimming pool at the center. 80 gallons were spilled from a 100-gallon barrel of acid, but the dangerous chemical was all contained in a fluid trap. That large amount leaked out over several hours, and it took Hazmat several hours clean up the danger and neutralize the acid with baking soda.

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UK: FIRE CREWS MOP UP CHEMICAL SPILLAGE AT BURTON LAUNDRY, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/stoke_and_staffordshire/10373103 .stm

Staff were evacuated from an industrial laundry after a chemical spillage in Staffordshire.

Peroxides, acids and alkalines are thought to have been deliberately mixed together at Central Laundry in Burton-upon-Trent.

They spilled into the yard, a nearby road, footpaths and approximately 3,000 litres seeped into the drains.

Firefighters spent several hours clearing the scene before the all-clear was given at 0300 BST on Monday.

Seven crews from Burton, Barton-Under-Needwood, Chase Terrace, Lichfield and the Damage Limitation Unit from Hanley attended the scene.

Medical treatment
Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and gas-tight suits to clean up the spillage.

Eight workers at Central Laundry, which provides linen services to the healthcare, hospitality and education sectors, were also evacuated from the site and received medical treatment at the scene.

Paul Cullen, Assistant Area Commander for East Staffordshire, said: "The chemicals were mixing together and releasing hydrogen gas, which is extremely flammable.

"We used gas monitors to ensure it had evaporated before leaving the scene, as our main priority was to make certain there was no risk to the public."

Mr Cullen said the mixed chemicals posed no threat to the public although some people may be able to smell perfume or a bleach-type of aroma from some drains.

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US_OR: CHEMICAL SPILL CONTAINED AT MICROCHIP ON FRIDAY, http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=1277 25292022074000

All of a weak solvent commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing was recovered after a 55-gallon drum spilled around 4 p.m. Friday, June 18, at the local semiconductor manufacturing facility of Microchip Technology Inc. on 21015 S.E. Stark Street.

=93Microchip's containment-trench safety systems completely contained the leak, and all of the solvent was subsequently recovered during the clean up,=94 said Lawson.

There were no injuries, chemical exposures or any other kind of damage, according to Lawson.

The Gresham Fire Department responded to the call of Microchip's Emergency Response Team because of the flammable nature of the edge bead removal solvent.

Hazmat also responded to the call to mitigate the problem.

The storage room where the spill occurred is sealed and equipped with both containment trenches and fire sprinklers.

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US_AL: WORKER'S DEATH PROBED AT MONTGOMERY, ALA. MALL - WSFA 12 NEWS MONTGOMERY, AL |, http://www.wsfa .com/Global/story.asp?S=12681702

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Shoppers turning up at Montgomery's Eastdale Mall on Father's Day were turned away by police after a refrigerant leak and the death of a worker were reported.

Officers had blocked off every entrance of the mall, while the Montgomery Fire Department's HAZMAT team tried to find the source of an R-22 refrigerant leak near the mall's ice skating rink.

Lt. Mark Drinkard, a spokesman for the Montgomery Police Department, says the fire department received a call Sunday morning about the leak, and police received a call reporting a man was dead.

Drinkard says 22-year-old Nicholas Burdette of Millbrook apparently was performing janitorial services when he died.

Drinkard says Burdette's cause of death won't not be known until an autopsy is performed.

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AUSTRALIA: FIRE RIPS THROUGH KAMBRYA COLLEGE IN BERWICK, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news /fire-rips-through-kambrya-college-in-berwick/story-e6frf7jo-1225882499930

The fire broke out in a science block at Kambrya College, Berwick, in Melbourne's southeast.

A specialist Hazmat unit was called to the scene due to concerns about chemicals in the portable classrooms.

...

CFA spokeswoman Andrea Brown said in the latest Berwick incident, callers initially reported explosions, believed to be from gas cylinders.

Fourteen trucks responded to the blaze after nearby residents raised the alarm about 9.45pm.

The fire affected six portables, four of which were destroyed.

"It was quite a significant fire, the first units saw plumes of smoke and large flames as they were mobile,'' Ms Brown said.

Fire examined the scene this morning..

Nearby resident Brett Wakeman said he raced out to the street when he heard fire trucks tearing down the street.

"There was some concern about LPG gas tank next to the building, they were directing the hoses onto that,'' he said.

"I heard on the loud speaker that they had called in the Hazmat team.

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US_MA HAZMAT CONTINUES TO VENT HOME ON ST. MARY'S ROAD, http://milton.patch.com/articles/hazmat-continues-to-vent-h ome-on-st-marys-road

Members of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Hazardous Materials Response team continue to vent the home where two workers and a Milton Police officer inhaled fumes and were transported to Milton Hospital this afternoon.

Milton Fire Chief John Grant said the HazMat team is venting the home at 57 St. Mary's Road. for the second time as they monitor vapor levels.  The vapor being vented from the home is a stripping agent that the two workers were using in the basement around noon on Monday.

"We're not sure if that (Strip-Ease) on its own caused the problems with the victims," Grant said. He added that exactly what affected the victims would be determined by the hospital.

A portion of St. Mary's Road remains blocked off while the venting continues. Grant said there is no timeline for reopening the road, as this situation is, "a matter of keeping an eye on it."

Police were called to a house at 57 St. Mary's Road earlier today after a worker stripping paint in the basement of the home was overcome by fumes. A short time later, a second worker, as well as an officer on the scene were taken by ambulance to Milton Hospital.

 HazMat arrived shortly after 1 p.m. At that time, members of the Milton Fire Department spoke to residents in a few homes close to the house in question. They suggested residents vacate their homes while the 57 St. Mary's Road home was vented. Around 2:30 p.m. those resident's were OK'd to return to their homes. 

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