Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:13:17 -0400
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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FAIRDALE HOME EXPLOSION PUTS FIREFIGHTER IN ICU  LOUISVILLE NEWS,
http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Fairdale-ho me-explosion-puts-firefighter-in-ICU-99281169.html

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- An explosion rocked a Fairdale neighborhood Sunday night after one man was remodeling his basement.  The explosion left the home destroyed and has one firefighter in the Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital.  Mark Long, a Camp Taylor firefighter, suffered second and third degree leg burns after falling through the floor of the burning home. 
The explosion happened in the basement of the home on Minute Men Court in Fairdale.  Mark Sturgeon, the owner of the home, was staining the concrete floor in his basement.  He used materials he had researched and bought online.
=93I tried to do it myself and save some money.  You know, because I was thinking I could do it because I do my own construction on my own personal property,=94 Sturgeon said.
The process required acetone, a highly flammable chemical.  Sturgeon said the hot water heater switched on automatically causing an explosion.  It created enough pressure to smash the windows from the back of the house. 
=93The vapors were contained within a confined area so they were going to find an ignition point within a matter of time.  There's no way to really ventilate a basement for that product in my opinion,=94 Chief Don Wittry, the Fairdale Fire Department, said.

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FIRE SHUTS REFINERY IN TAIWAN - WSJ.COM, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 4052748703995104575390310223268720.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

TAIPEI=97Formosa Petrochemical Corp. shut its 540,000-barrel-a-day complex in Mailiao, Taiwan, the country's largest refinery, after a fire broke out Sunday.

The fire, which started at a residue desulfurization unit, is expected to have a significant impact on the regional oil market, because Formosa Petrochemical is one of Asia's largest gasoline and middle-distillate exporters. The private Taiwan refiner also imports significant amounts of crude oil.

Just how much trade will be affected is unclear, as the length of the shutdown remains uncertain.

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BBC NEWS - NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CREWS CALLED TO CHEMICAL FACTORY FIRE, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-10767115

Firefighters have been tackling a blaze at a chemical factory on an industrial estate in Northamptonshire.

Nine fire crews were called to Powdertech on Cockerell Road, Corby, at just after 1230 BST to a fire at a building on the site.

Fire crews brought the fire under control in the afternoon.

Firefighters wearing gas suits are entering the building to remove chemical material which has been contaminated by the fire.

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TUCSON TRACTOR-TRAILER CRASH: WRECK, CHEMICAL SPILL INJURED 4 ON ARIZONA 77, htt p://www.newyorkinjurynews.com/2010/07/24/Tucson-Tractor-Trailer-Crash-Wrec k-Chemical-Spill-Injured-4-on-Arizona-77_201007244451.html

Tucson, AZ=97A semi-truck collision on Arizona 77 injured four people and spilt sulfuric acid onto the highway on Monday, July 19, 2010. The crash occurred around 9:15 a.m., at milepost 120 along Arizona 77, just six miles north of Mammoth, reports the Arizona Daily Star.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials stated a tractor-trailer hauling the hazardous materials and pick-up truck collided on the northbound lane of Arizona 77. Officials have yet to say what exactly caused the crash or who was at fault.

Four people were injured in the wreck and were airlifted by responding emergency crews to a hospital for treatment of their non-life threatening injuries. The identities of the victims are currently being withheld. Officials did not say if the driver of the semi was among those who were injured.

The crash caused tractor-trailer to begin leaking sulfuric acid, which can be very corrosive. Hazmat crews were called to scene to clean-up the acid.

The DPS shut down the highway in both directions while hazmat crews cleaned up the spill, and while investigations were underway.

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CHEMICAL EXPLOSION KILLS FOUR, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id =2&amp;objectid=10661202

An explosion at a petrochemical factory on Iran's largest oil terminal has killed four people and injured several others.

Iran's official news agency said high pressure in the central boiler of the factory led to an explosion and fire at the facility on Khark island in the Gulf.

So far the bodies of three of the victims have been found and the blaze is under control.

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TRUCK DESTROYED IN CHEMICAL BLAZE - ABC NEWS (AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION), http:// www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/26/2963801.htm

The highway has been blocked since a truck carrying herbicide caught fire late on Sunday.

Emergency services say the mop-up will be a long process because of the dangerous cargo.

The fire destroyed the b-double truck about 25 kilometres west of Bordertown.

The driver stopped when he noticed smoke coming from a rear wheel.

He was able to disconnect the prime mover before the blaze spread.

Firefighters from South Australia and Victoria worked overnight to contain the burning chemicals.

Some traffic is being diverted onto the Riddoch Highway.

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NATIONAL TEAMS PROBE ZINC PLANT EXPLOSION, http://www.po st-gazette.com/pg/10205/1074986-57.stm

Investigators from the federal government were on hand Friday at the Horsehead Corp. zinc plant in Beaver County to figure out what caused an explosion Thursday that killed two steelworkers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and representatives from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board were sifting through the facility's zinc oxide refinery in Potter, near Monaca, where molten zinc is turned into zinc oxide.

A blast at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday killed James Taylor, 53, of Aliquippa and Corey Keller, 41, of Newell, W.Va. Both were pronounced dead at the scene about two hours after the explosion.

Autopsies showed both died of asphyxiation from smoke inhalation.

Two other workers were hurt, one with scrapes and bruises and the other with a neck injury.

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TWO KILLED IN FIRE AT ANKLESHWAR CHEMICAL - SURAT - CITY - THE TIMES OF INDIA, http://timesofindia.indiati mes.com/city/surat/Two-killed-in-fire-at-Ankleshwar-chemical/articleshow/6 211851.cms

BHARUCH: At least two persons were killed and seven injured when a fire broke out in a chemical unit at Ankleshwar GIDC on Friday night. 

Continuous blasts at the three purification reactors at Uma Organic and Chemicals because of the fire left the plant completely destroyed. 

"Within minutes, the entire factory was in flames. We tried to rush out, but got trapped in the fire," an injured worker Deepak Mistry said. 

About 15 fire tenders had rushed to the site. "It was a major fire, but we brought it under control after a three-hour fight," fire and safety officer, DPMC Ankleshwar, Manoj Kotariya said.

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BBC NEWS - MAN CHARGED OVER LUTON AIRPORT CHEMICAL ALERT, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-10749903

A 21-year-old man has been charged after a flight from Luton airport was delayed for six hours by a chemical scare.

Dariusz Tkaczyk, from Slough, is due to appear before Bedford Magistrates' Court charged with behaviour likely to endanger an aircraft.

He was arrested after cleaning fluid leaked from luggage on to a bag loaded on to the Portugal-bound aircraft.

The fire service were called as a major security alert was triggered on Friday.

The aircraft was isolated and check-in suspended while both were inspected and cleaned.

A man made himself known to the authorities and claimed he had packed high-strength cleaning fluid in his bag.

Officers trained to deal in hazardous materials and wearing protective suits examined the fluid.

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DeKALB - A city well that is down the street from a chemical fire that occurred Wednesday will be monitored, but it is believed to be safe, according to a water department official.

Bryan Faivre, assistant director of public works, was out on the scene of 234 Harvestore Drive Friday morning, he said. That's where a tank full of chemicals Right Pointe Company uses to manufacture construction materials caught fire Wednesday, injuring one worker. 

A city well is west of the Right Pointe property, near the water tower on the corner of Harvestore and Corporate drives, Faivre said. Because the chemicals were contained to the property and the well is confined, it is believed the hazardous materials will pose no threat to the water supply, he said.

"The potential for any contamination due to this or any other kind of containment spill would be rare," he said.

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MOBILE, Alabama -- Mobile Fire and Rescue responded earlier today to a report of a hazardous chlorine leak in an industrial area of Chickasaw.

Mobile Fire and Rescue found a defective 1-ton chlorine cylinder leaking at 1300 Yeend Ave. near Grand Bay. The Fire Department quickly controlled the leak, a spokesman said.

Because of the cylinder's location in an industrial area, no one was evacuated, but the leaking chemical forced responders to wear hazardous materials gear while on the scene, the department spokesman said.

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