Links to details available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas<
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An
explosion caused by hydrogen gas in a University of Missouri
biochemistry research lab on Monday injured four people and destroyed
the laboratory, university and fire department officials
report.
The blast occurred in the lab of biochemistry
professor Judy D. Wall, who studies sulfate-reducing
bacteria.
The injured researchers included one graduate student,
two postdoctoral researchers, and a staff research scientist, says
University of Missouri spokesperson Christian Basi. Three were treated
at the hospital and released; the fourth was hospitalized and reported
to be in good condition on Tuesday.
The gas, which is extremely
flammable and can form explosive mixtures with air, was being used for
an experiment when the explosion occurred, says Columbia, Mo., fire
department investigator Brian Davison. Investigators have not yet
determined whether the gas was ignited or exploded spontaneously,
although they do believe the explosion was an accident, Davison
says.
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WEST SPRINGFIELD -- The Erie County Hazardous
Materials Team cleaned up a small chemical spill from a tractor-trailer
this afternoon in Springfield Township.
The
hazmat team responded to the call just after 3 p.m. at a Sunoco gas
station and convenience store at Interstate 90 and Route
215.
Crews cleaned up a caustic liquid chemical,
Springfield Volunteer Fire Department Captain Luke Weldon
said.
There were no injuries reported.
The
driver of the double tractor-trailer was eastbound on I-90. He pulled
into the Sunoco station after noticing that one of his trailers was
leaking, Weldon said.
One of his trailers contained three 300-gallon barrels
of the caustic liquid, Weldon said. The other trailer contained
household items.
The load shifted and spilled inside the trailer,
Weldon said.
Weldon said most of the chemical spill was contained
within the trailer.
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UPDATE:
Cal-Fire says all eastbound lanes have reopened and only one westbound
lane remained closed Tuesday afternoon after haz-mat teams determined no
dangerous chemicals leaked from an overturned big rig.
The crash
was reported just after 7 p.m. Monday when a big rig hauling about 4,500
pounds of methyl parathion, an agricultural-grade pesticide in powder
form, crashed with at least one other vehicle, which caught fire,
according to the California Highway Patrol.
People at
the scene used fire extinguishers to put the fire out, according to the
CHP. Two people were transported to hospitals with minor to moderate
injuries, according to Cal Fire-Riverside County.
There
were initial concerns the pesticide load was liquid, extremely
hazardous, and that it was leaking. Authorities advised clearing a
five-mile radius around the traffic crash scene.
By 11
p.m., county hazmat and environmental health workers determined none of
the material had leaked. A private contractor was called out to clean up
about 380 boxes of the pesticide, according to Cal Fire-Riverside
County.
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ELLIOT, Pa. -- Emergency
responders blocked off Bucyrus Street in Elliot Tuesday morning after a
cleaning crews found a barrel of potassium cyanide inside a
home.
Neighbors were told to stay indoors while hazardous
materials crews investigated the situation.
Police
said no one was living at the home for about a month.
Firefighters said a 100 gallon barrel was half-full of the
highly toxic substance. HAZMAT crews were able to safely take control of
the substance and said it was never exposed to anyone.
Crews
said the substance could have been used to clean concrete by the people
who lived there before. Potassium Cyanide can also be used in the mining
process and to clean jewelry.
Police are now investigating. No injuries were
reported.
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Catskill, NY 06/28/10 State Police assigned to the New
York Sate Thruway investigated a tractor-trailer rollover accident which
occurred at approximately 1:50am this morning. The accident occurred in
the Town of Catskill in Greene County. The northbound vehicle, a tank
truck owned by Slack Chemical Company of Carthage, NY, carrying
approximately 4,700 gallons of hypochlorite solution, overturned and
spilled about 3,200 gallons of the cargo. The driver, Robert Lawrence,
age 55, of Galway, NY stated that he lost control of the vehicle when he
swerved to miss a deer in the roadway. He was treated at the scene for
minor lacerations and later transported to Albany Medical Center for
precautionary measures. Emergency services including NYS Department of
Environmental Conservation Spill Response, the Greene County Hazmat
Team, a NYSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit and multiple local fire
and ambulance services responded to the scene. Northbound traffic was
detoured off the Thruway at the Saugerties interchange as the accident
was investigated and the spill contained. Both northbound lanes were
closed until 9:00am. The chemical was described as being stronger than
household liquid bleach, but weaker than swimming pool shock treament,
with contact being the primary hazzard. Cleanup of the spilled product
is being addressed; the remaining product in the tanker was off loaded
into another tanker. No tickets were issued to the
driver.
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US_MO:
HUMAN ERROR BLAMED IN UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI BLAST, h
ttp://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/29/missouri.university.explosion/<
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(CNN) --
An explosion that injured four people at a University of Missouri
science lab Monday afternoon was caused by human error, authorities
said.
Lab personnel failed to turn
off a hydrogen tank during an experiment and the building concentration
of gas eventually exploded, the Columbia Fire Department said after an
initial investigation. The building's sprinkler system put out the
fire.
"Glass and debris from the
third floor Biochemistry Lab had rained down onto the sidewalk,
courtyard and driveway to the building, fire officials said. "Seventeen
third-story windows were blown out."
The
injured were transported to University Hospital, officials said. Three
of the victims had been released by late Monday. The fourth was being
treated in the hospital's burn unit.
"The
number of injuries was certainly reduced due to the campus being on
summer break, with a significantly reduced number of people in and
around this facility," fire officials said.
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RICHLAND,
Wash. -- A hazardous waste facility in Richland was destroyed in a fire.
Fire investigators say flames broke out at the Horn Rapids Landfill
around 5:15 PM Sunday.
Fire crews say hazmat teams were called because of the
chemicals release in the blaze. 220 gallons of flammables and pesticides
burned.
Before the damage can be cleaned up, the Department of
Ecology will assess the safety risk. Fortunately, the chemicals caught
in the water from firefighters ran off into a contained pool built for
that very purpose.
There was still a strong chemical odor in the air
Monday afternoon.
Assistant Fire Marshall James Jordan describes the
scene firefighters arrived to, "When they arrived it was fully involved.
We had small canisters, propane bottles, aerosol cans blowing up. One of
them started a secondary fire on some grass about 200 feet away. It was
quickly knocked down by an arriving crew."
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DESERT
CENTER (CBS) =E2=80=95 Officials say a five mile stretch of the 10
Freeway has been closed in the Desert Center area after a tanker truck
overturned.
Cleanup along the eastbound Interstate 10 between
Desert Center and Indio continued after a hazardous materials crash
Monday night, authorities said.
The crash
occurred just east of Hayfield Road, between Desert Center and Indio and
was reported just after 7 p.m.
A big rig
carrying about 4,500 pounds of methyl parathion, an agricultural-grade
pesticide in powder form, crashed into at least one other vehicle and
later caught fire.
People at
the scene used fire extinguishers to put the fire out, according to the
CHP. Two people were taken to local hospitals with minor to moderate
injuries, according to Cal Fire-Riverside County.
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Gas truck accidental explosion kills 18, wounds
40
A truck carrying chemicals accidentally exploded on
Monday in southern Pakistan after pressure built up in its storage tank,
killing 18 people and wounding 40, police said.
Hundreds
of people rushed to the truck depot in Hyderabad city to search through
the rubble of destroyed shops for dead and wounded, local television
footage showed.
Authorities ruled out militarism and determined the
blast occurred from a pressure build-up, said the senior police official
in Hyderabad.
The truck was carrying 30-thousand litres (7,925
gallons) of "thinner," said the police chief in Sindh province where
Hyderabad is located.
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