Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:18:24 -0400
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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HAZMAT CRASH CLOSES EASTBOUND I-70 PRIOR TO I-695, http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news /region/baltimore_county/hazmat-crash-closes-eastbound-i-70-prior-to-i-695

Eastbound lanes of I-70 prior to I-695 have been reopened after a four car crash involving a truck carrying hazardous chemicals closed them during Thursday's rush hour.

It happened around 5 p.m.

Baltimore County Fire Officials say four vehicles, including one carrying dry chlorine and sulfuric acid, collided.  Several people are injured and at least one person has been taken to Shock Trauma

Fire crews worked to clean up the chemicals and reopened the highway around 7:30 p.m.

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ILLEGAL HAZMAT FOCUS OF CAN-AM BLITZ - TODAY'S TRUCKING, THE TRUCK NEWS SITE., http://ww w.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=24557

OTTAWA -- Interpol reports 85 hazmat-related violations identified during a recent coordinated enforcement effort in New York, Michigan, and Ontario.

The second operation of its kind, enforcement agencies across the U.S. and Canada participated in a two-day operation aimed at cracking down on the illegal transportation of hazardous materials.

During the blitz on Aug. 17-18, the agencies checked 313 vehicles, identified 85 violations and launched two investigations.

The operation, which also identified criminal gang involvement in the illegal transport of hazmat, targeted major transportation routes in the New York, Michigan and Ontario, according to a release by Interpol, an international police organization, with 188 member countries.

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EXPLOSIVES FOUND DURING RAID OF ROCKLAND HOME, http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/ explosives-found-during-raid-of-rockland-home-20100826

ROCKLAND - Authorities recovered explosives during a raid of a Rockland home on Thursday night, the fire marshal=E2=80=99s office said.

The man arrested is a man police know well for this type of offence.

Robert Rinaldi has been arrested several times for making explosives, most recently in Plymouth in 2008.

Rinaldi was arrested and charged with multiple counts of manufacturing fireworks, possession of explosives and possession of component parts. The suspect could be the first person charged with possession of component parts since a new bill was passed that can punish people for having the parts for an explosive but have not assembled them yet.

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METH LAB FOUND IN EAST RIDGE MOTEL ROOM - WRCBTV.COM | CHATTANOOGA NEWS, WEATHER &AMP; SPORTS, http://www.wr cbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13047652

EAST RIDGE, TN.(WRCB)--  On Wednesday afternoon at around 12:30 East Ridge Police discovered a meth lab at the Knights Inn on Ringgold Road after receiving an anonymous tip.

Jamie A. Walston, age 29, of East Ridge was the occupant of the room. He was arrested and charged with initiation of the manufacture of meth, possession of schedule II (Meth), and possession of drug paraphernalia.  

Hazmat was called to remove paraphernalia and dispose of dangerous chemicals in the room. Detectives are working closely with the hotel owners to ensure the room is properly cleaned and is safe.

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CHEMICAL SPILL ON RADIUM SPRINGS ROAD : NEWS : MYSOUTHWESTGA.COM, http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.a spx?list=~%5Chome%5Clists%5Csearch&amp;id=502654

ALBANY, GA. -- Around 11:30 Thursday morning, the Albany Fire Department, Dougherty County Police, Dougherty Public Works, and the local Hazmat team converged on Radium Springs Road.

A pecan sprayer lost a tire and fell onto its side but the bigger concern was the puncture in the sprayer=E2=80=99s tank.

"The tank=E2=80=99s carrying a thousand gallons of water and stratego chemical, which is a fungicide they spray pecans with," said Albany Fire Department Battalion Chief Keith Ambrose.

The powerful chemical was leaking directly into a storm drain so authorities acted quickly to prevent any contamination of the water supply.

"The crews that first got here immediately started dyking the storm drain to keep it out of the storm drain," said Ambrose.

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CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSES TREATMENT ISSUES AT FALLON WATER PLANT - MY NEWS 4 - KRNV, RENO, NV, http: //www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=26421&amp;n=122

A large hydrochloric acid spill at a water treatment facility Monday that supplies drinking water to the city of Fallon caused an interruption in the plant's regular service.

At about 2 p.m. Monday, while a shipment of hydrochloric acid was being delivered to the plant about 8- to 10,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid- used in the treatment plant-spilled out of the truck and into a containment area designed to catch spills if they happen.

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STATE POLICE INVESTIGATE EXPLOSION THAT INJURED MAN | SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM | SHREVEPORT TIMES, http://www.shreveporttim es.com/article/20100826/NEWS01/8260335/State-police-investigate-explosion- that-injured-man

NEAR SHONGALOO =E2=80=94 The state police hazardous materials unit will focus in the coming days on determining what sparked an explosion Wednesday at a natural gas compression station and the release of any hazardous materials that critically injured one man.

"It is an active investigation," Troop G spokesman Cordell Williams said. "We are more concerned about why this happened, where, what caused the leak; everything centered around the nature of that leak; the release of any hazardous materials that caused the critical injury. Our role will consist of determining why that happened and any preventative measures. We don't want that to happen again."

Meanwhile, the lone injured man remains in critical condition inside the burn unit at LSU Hospital in Shreveport. Heath Warford, a DCP employee from the Shongaloo area, was burned when the explosion took place around 4 a.m. at the DCP, or Duke Energy, natural gas compressor station, south of state Highway 157 near Walker Road at Mulberry Road. Warford walked to a residence for assistance and was flown from the scene.

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VENICE RV SEWAGE: VENICE RESIDENTS SAY RVS DUMPING HUMAN WASTE ON STREETS - KTLA, http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-venice-rv-sewage,0,4384226.sto ry

VENICE -- Authorities in Venice have removed about a dozen RVs from one neighborhood after complaints about human waste being dumped on the street.

HazMat crews cleaned up the area around Rose and Third avenues Tuesday night after receiving complaints from Venice residents and activists.

The LAPD then made the owners of about 12 RVs move them out out of the area.

A local activist said as "Boston Dawna" said no one was cited. She said the RVs were back in the same spots by Wednesday morning.

A woman who allegedly uncapped a sewage tank on an RV on Pacific Avenue near Fleet Street, letting waste spill out as her partner drove the vehicle, was arrested over the weekend.

Boston Dawna witnesses and reported the incident.

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BOY, 13, CHARGED IN CHEMICAL ATTACK ON TWO CHILDREN :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: CHICAGO CRIME, http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2632738,children -burned-chemical-thrown-082410.article

A 13-year-old boy has been charged with heinous battery for apparently intentionally throwing a chemical at two young children from a South Side porch Tuesday afternoon.

A 10-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl suffered burns when the chemical was thrown from a porch onto a sidewalk at 956 W. Garfield Blvd. at 2:02 p.m., Fire Media Affairs spokesman Quention Curtis said.

Both were taken to University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital in good condition, he said.

It appeared the children suffered burns to their head and chest, officials said.

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MD. MAN CHARGED WITH DETONATING CHEMICAL BOMB | DELAWAREONLINE.COM | THE NEWS JOURNAL, http://www.delawareonline.com/a rticle/20100824/NEWS/100824026/Md.+man+charged+with+detonating+chemical+bo mb

 24-year-old Maryland man was charged with set off a chemical bomb Sunday in a residential neighborhood.

State fire officials charged Maurice C. Chapman, of the first block of Kenneth Drive in Rising Sun=E2=80=99s Bay Country Manor Estates Mobile Home Park, with manufacturing a destructive device and disorderly conduct, Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray said.

The incident occurred about 11 a.m. when a loud explosion was reported by the facility=E2=80=99s manager and neighbors.

An investigation determined that Chapman used household chemical to make a homemade explosive device and discharged it on his front porch, Mowbray said.

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EVACUATION ORDERED FOR TWO HOURS AFTER CHEMICALS COMBINE AT FAIRHOPE GARBAGE WAREHOUSE | AL.COM, http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/evacuation_ordered_for_two_hou.html

FAIRHOPE, Alabama -- Police and firefighters evacuated Fairhope=E2=80=99s Public Works compound and closed a portion of Section Street for about two hours this morning after city workers reported a strong "chemical smell" at the city=E2=80=99s household garbage warehouse, said Sgt. Craig Sawyer, police spokesman.

At about 9:30 a.m., workers at the warehouse smelled noxious fumes while they were using bulldozers to push household waste into the trailer of an 18-wheeler, said Dan McCrory, Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department spokesman.

The workers left the facility, and at 9:37 a.m. Fairhope firefighters were called to the scene. Assistant Fire Chief Chris Ellis immediately ordered an evacuation of the Public Works area, which includes several buildings and warehouses, as well as the nearby animal shelter, The Haven.



The team determined that, as machines pushed the waste toward the truck trailer, a number of chemicals had been accidentally combined in a single 3-by-5-foot area, McCrory said.

The combination apparently created a chemical reaction, he said. The team=E2=80=99s instruments detected at least four chemicals:
Muratic acid, which in high concentrations can be used to etch concrete
Calcium chloride, a highly water-absorbent salt made of calcium and chlorine
Chlorine dioxide, used as household bleach, and
Calcium hydroxide, known colloquially as "lime," which has a variety of uses including the creation of mortar and plaster and the treatment of sewage.

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TWO CHARGED FOLLOWING 13-HOUR STANDOFF IN GLADSTONE - WDAF, http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-gladstone-standoff-ends-0824 10,0,7614913.story

GLADSTONE, Mo. - A 12-hour standoff ended overnight in Gladstone, but the suspect did not give up willingly: police had to use tear gas to get him out. Police had to break every window in the house and use 20 cans of tear gas to get the suspect out.

Now the homeowners have to hire a HAZMAT crew so they can simply breathe in their home again.

"Because of all the powder from the gas that's on the carpet, we're going to have to rip out the carpet," homeowner Denise Petersen said. "We've got to have HAZMAT team come in and clean everything, repaint everything, we've got to to fix the roof, there are five holes in the roof."

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UPDATE 9: AMMONIA LEAK IMPACTS LOCAL BUSINESSES - WRCBTV.COM | CHATTANOOGA NEWS, WEATHER &AMP; SPORTS, http://www.wr cbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13033535

DALTON, WHITFIELD COUNTY (WRCB) - A hazardous gas leak, shut down several streets in downtown Dalton Tuesday.

Officials gave the all clear at 3:30 p.m., but not before downtown business owners and employees were forced to spend most of the day in a holding pattern. 

The call first came in at 6:00 a.m.

As soon as emergency crews realized what they were dealing with, they set up a perimeter in downtown Dalton. Every business and street within a half mile radius of Reddy Ice was shut down. 

...
The gas in question is called anhydrous ammonia.  At high concentration levels it can cause severe skin and breathing irritation, which is why officials felt shutting down the downtown business district was necessary.

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HAZMAT CREW CLEANS MERCURY SPILL AT MILWAUKEE HOME - WCCO.COM, http://wcco.com/wireapnewswi/Hazardous.material.team.2.1877324.html

MILWAUKEE (AP) =E2=80=95 Authorities called in the Fire Department's hazardous materials team after workers removing items from a house in Milwaukee spilled a small amount of mercury Tuesday.

Battalion Chief Spencer Vassel says no one was injured by the mercury. He says the spill occurred around 12:20 p.m. as workers were removing items from a house being readied for an estate sale.

He says a glass container holding mercury broke while being carried from the basement inside a garbage bag. The mercury spilled out along a path that stretched up the basement stairs and outside the house before workers noticed the spill.

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TEXAS TECH LESSONS | SCIENCE &AMP; TECHNOLOGY | CHEMICAL &AMP; ENGINEERING NEWS, http://pubs.acs. org/cen/science/88/8834sci1.html


The students=E2=80=99 laboratory notebooks and the TTU police and EH&amp;S investigation reports, along with related interview transcripts and summaries, collectively reveal a lack of attention to safety at TTU at all levels=E2=80=94lab, department, and university. The incident has prompted changes in TTU=E2=80=99s laboratory safety program as well as new oversight of laboratories funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which funded Brown=E2=80=99s research through Northeastern University=E2=80=99s Center of Excellence for Awareness &amp; Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT).

"This was a very unfortunate and unnecessary accident that could have resulted in loss of life very easily,=" says T. Taylor Eighmy, a civil engineer and TTU=E2=80=99s vice president of research. "I think that the graduate student in question has culpability here of carelessness in the lab.=" And beyond that, at the department and institutional level, "the culture around safety was just not as prevalent as it should have been,=" Eighmy says.

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