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Subject: Re: Chemical Safety headlines from Google
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 13:05:49 -0500
Author: Jim Tung 		Next by Date:
Subject: Re: Texas Tech list of violations
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 15:30:11 -0400
Author: List Moderator


Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 13:42:38 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: Margaret Rakas <mrakas**At_Symbol_Here**SMITH.EDU>
Subject: Re: Chemical Safety headlines from Google
In-Reply-To: <F1C8440381C2A945824AD871CE314CB3049D20EE**At_Symbol_Here**PHXEXCMB-PN01.ecorp.egn>

If you scroll down to the very bottom of the article, past the "Contacts if you want to comment", they are listed there.
 
I don't know whether the listing is because Texas Tech is a public institution or because they figure that listing their violations will help others, but I certainly applaud the openness.  It IS incredibly helpful for me to be able to point to this.
 
Someone a while back lamented the poor reporting and follow-up...I have to wonder how much is driven by the PR folks and/or attorneys.  I was very surprised to hear that in academic geology circles, statistics are kept on how many field researchers are in car accidents, fall off cliffs, etc.  Hopefully it will not take legislation to have those in the chemical community become more open about root causes.
 
The above is my personal opinion only, not business or legal advice,and may not reflect that of my employer or any group to which I belong.
Margaret


>>> "Latimer, Lee" <Lee.Latimer**At_Symbol_Here**ELAN.COM> 8/4/2010 12:04 PM >>>

Does anyone have a list of the 20 deficiencies in the Texas Tech report, and the actions taken by the university for correction in all their labs as noted in the report below?

 

Thanks,

 

Lee Latimer

 

 

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Ralph Stuart
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 5:09 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST .UVM.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google

Links to details available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

1,500 GALLONS OF DIESEL LEAK FROM DERAILED TRAIN CAR | THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, http://www.sltrib .com/sltrib/home/50044177-76/fuel-hunt-lake-leaked.html.csp

About 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel spilled Tuesday from a punctured tanker car in Salt Lake City.< /o:p>

Union Pacific Spokesman Aaron Hunt said that at about 9:50 a.m., a remote control engine derailed from the UP's Warm Springs switching yard, near 800 North and 500 West. A fuel tanker was punctured and began spilling fuel.

No injuries had been reported. Hunt said no waterways were impacted, and responders removed fuel from the tank as well as some of the fuel that leaked.

Hunt said the spilled fuel was vacuumed up and contaminated soil removed, so no long-term problems were anticipated .

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EVACUATIONS AFTER CHEMICAL REACTION - CBS 21 NEWS - BREAKING NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER FOR THE HARRISBURG PENNSYLVANIA AREA, http://www.whptv.com/news/loc al/story/Evacuations-after-chemical-reaction/Xoq52959G02iWkCAJeTpRA.cspx

Hazmat crews and emergency responders  ;responded to the 300 block of Shrobs Hill rd. in West Manheim township around nine Tuesday for a vehicle fire involving a chemical reaction. 

         Firefighters say the Ma ryland company van contained pool chemicals that somehow combusted. It was parked in one resident's driveway. 

         First responders extinguished the fire, but the chemical reaction forced them to evacuate near by homes.

         No one was injured and people will likely be able to go back home tonight.  

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CHLORINE CAUSES ILLNESS AT HAYSVILLE POOL, http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/99907684.html?ref=684

There have been reports of several illnesses at the Haysville City Pool on Sarah Lane during a National Night Out celebration.

Early reports indicate a chlorine leak may be the cause.

Fire crews, hazmat and ambulances are responding to assess several possible patients.

Ambulances are transporting two people to the hospital with potentially serious injuries.

KAKE News has a crew on the way and will bring updates as soon as they are available

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FAYOBSE RVER.COM - &LT;DIV&GT;BUS FUEL SPILLS INTO CREEK&LT;/DIV&am p;GT;, http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/08/03/1018648?sac=Home

A kerosene spill at the city bus terminal Monday night forced firefighters to build a dike where Cross Creek empties into the Cape Fear River.

Battalion Commander Calvin Bishop with the Fayetteville Fire Department said city hazmat crews responded to reports of a fuel spill at 455 Grove St. just before 9:30 p.m.

As of 11:30 p.m., Bishop said more than 760 gallons of kerosene had spilled from a malfunctioning fuel pump at the Fayetteville Area System of Transit's refueling terminal.

Kerosene is used to fuel some of the newer buses in the fleet, Bishop said.

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BLAST PROBE FINDS 20 SAFETY VIOLATIONS | LUBBOCK ONLINE | LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, http://lubbocko nline.com/local-news/2010-08-04/blast-probe-finds-20-safety-violations< /SPAN>

Texas Tech investigators have linked a Jan. 7 laboratory explosion that severely injured a doctoral candidate to 20 surrounding violations of the university's safety policy, according to documents released Monday.

University officials ordered the probe after a highly explosive chemical combusted in 29-year-old Preston Brown's hands, sending him to Uni versity Medical Center with three severed fingers and a perforated eye.

In their April report to administrators, investigators concluded the chemistry department had failed to meet some 20 safety standards outlined in the university's Chemical Hygiene Plan, or lab safety manual.

Only a handful of the these violations played a direct role in the incident, but the breadth and severity of the infractions alarmed Tech's administrators and prompted a complete overhaul of the university's safety standards.

Taylor Eighmy, Tech's vice president for research, said the university has corrected the mistakes at all of Tech's labs. His office is also forming a permanent safety committee with university-wide oversight.

"A lot has happened since the accident, in that department and across campus, around our working towards being very compliant toward all of our safety protocols," Eighmy said. "It's a continuous, ongoing process to remain compliant."< /P>

-----------------------

Two Kelowna beaches will remain closed at least until Wednesday following a chemical spill into Okana gan Lake.

Water used to fight a warehouse blaze Saturday night mixed with chemicals in the building and flowed into nearby Mill Creek, which runs through Kelowna.

The building housed a welding shop and a turf business.

The next morning, residents reported Mill Creek, a spawning habitat, was green and foul-smelling.< /o:p>

City officials closed both Hot Sands Beach in City Park to the north of the mouth of the creek and Lake Ave nue Beach to the south. Other beaches remained open.

Tests of the creek water Sunday showed the presence of nitrates, often used in fertilizer.

Swimming in Okanagan Lake is not recommended for 500 metres north and south of the mouth of Mill Creek, which enters the lake to the south of Bennett Bridge, castanet. net reported Monday.

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HAZMAT INCIDENT REPORTED AT WESTERN PA. ENERGY LAB - KDKA.COM, http://kdka.com/wireapnewsfnpa/Hazmat.spill.reported.2 .1838735.html

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Officials say a chemical spilled inside a delivery truck as it arrived at a western Pennsylvania laboratory, sending the driver to the hospital.< /o:p>

Spokesman David Anna says the truck apparently hit a bump just inside the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory near Pittsburgh at about 1:45 p.m. He says a drum of acrylic acid tipped over, spilling less than a gallon of the material, which was not intended for the laboratory.

Anna says the driver reported some breathing problems and dizziness and was checked out at a hospital and then returned to the site. Anna says the spill was confined to the truck, and Altoona-based Ward Trucking Company will remove the drum. Laboratory and county hazardous materials team and local firefighters responded.

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HAZMAT CLEANUP TOOK SEVERAL HOURS - WECT TV6 - WECT.COM - WILMINGTON, NC NEWS AND WEATHER -, http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=12908501

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WECT) - The State Hazmat Team and Bladen County officials were on the scene of a head on collision in Bladen County, near the Cumberland County border off NC 87 Monday morning.

According to officials with the North Carolina Emergency Management Team, two tractor trailers collided early Monday morning. One of those trailers was carrying 7,000 gallons of Me thanol Gas and the gas was leaking between five to seven gallons a minute.

Bladen Emergency Management Director Bradley Kinlaw said that about 6,000 gallons of Methanol has leaked out at this point.  Cleanup crews were on the scene to maintain the spill.

-----------------------

EL PASO - A chain reaction crash involving five cars and two tractor-trailer trucks backed up traffic on I-10 East this afternoon.

The crash occurred about 2:30 today on I-10 East near Cotton. One of the tractor-trailer trucks spilled a load of car batteries, slowing the cleanup.

-----------------------

WESTWOOD - A 29-year-old man was severely burned Sunday evening after attempting to rid his property of a beehive, police said.

The unidentified victim, of Cardinal Lane, poured several chemicals on the hive, which was outside the residence, said Westwood Police Chief Frank Regino.

"The chemicals reacted...and he was set on fire," Regino said.

A neighbor tried to extinguish the flames, Regino said. A 911 emergency call came into police at 8:13 p.m., and the man, who was severely burned, was airlifted from a field in nearby Washington Township and taken to St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. The house did not catch fire, Regino said.

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MICRON FIRE CLOSES FREEWAY - KTRV FOX 12, http:// www.fox12idaho.com/Global/story.asp?S=12910926

Boise, Idaho-- Thick smoke billowing from a fire at Micron Technology shut down part of 1-84 Monday morning.

Crews rushed to the scene.  They found the fire burned through the heating and cooling system on top of a building that helps support the company's development of solar panels.  ; Some workers were evacuated as a precaution, luckily no one was injured.

It took firefighters about half and hour to put out the flames.  They had to shut down electricity tot he site, to make sure the problem wouldn't spread to high voltage lines in the area.  The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Micron doesn't expect the incident to disrupt any ongoing business.  This is the second fire at Micron over the past few months. The first happened back in May.

It was a flash fire that broke out after a chemical reaction in one of the mix stations.  One employee was injured in that fire, several first responders were treated for chemical exposure.

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Officials continue to monitor water quality in Mill Creek and Okanagan Lake in Kelowna following chemical contamination as a result of an industrial fire Saturday.

Hot Sands Beach in Kelowna City Park and the beaches around the mouth of Mill Creek on Okanagan Lake will remain closed until further notice. All other beaches remain open.

Water sampling will occur again Wednesday morning.

Boaters are also asked to stay 200 metres from the affected beaches.

A combination of pesticides, glycol, nitrates and fertilizer were washed into the storm sewer from a Kirschner Road chemical distribution warehouse, one of at least seven businesses in the Stewart Centre that burned down in the spectacular blaze.

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