Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2010 07:19:02 -0400
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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

CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT ADMIRAL HARDY IN GREENWICH | GREENWICH.CO.UK, http://www.greenwich.co.uk/news/03958-em ergency-services-called-to-chemical-incident-in-greenwich/

The London Ambulance service received the first report at 2.20 PM with a single responder and hazardous area response team attending first. Four adult males were assessed on scene for inhalation of fumes and were transported in a single ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, for further assessment.
A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade confirmed that an unknown quantity of floor cleaner and bleach had been mixed and firefighters attended the scene with specialist detection equipment but did not find any elevated levels of a dangerous chemical. College Approach and Creek Road reopened at 4.30 PM.

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OLD DHAKA HUB LEFT OUT OF FIRST DAY'S DRIVE, http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=157094

Day one of the drive against warehouses of combustible chemicals in the city's residential areas yesterday ended without visiting its nerve centre in Old Dhaka amid lack of coordination between the mobile court and fire service officials.

Starting around 12:45pm, the court managed to raid only four warehouses of inflammable chemicals and a plastic factory at Elephant Road and outer part of Old Dhaka in three hours.

Of them, the three chemical storehouses at Elephant Road were found empty, as their owners have already shifted them outside of Dhaka in line with the government directive.

Following the devastating Nimtoli fire that killed at least 121 people in June this year, the government directed the owners to shift their warehouses of combustible chemicals from residential areas within September 30.

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CBC NEWS - MONTREAL - EXPLOSION, FIRE AT QUE. FORMICA CANADA PLANT, http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/10/0 1/formica-plant-explosion-richelieu.html

Fire officials have blocked off a security perimeter around a factory in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., after an explosion Friday morning.

The blast happened at 11:15 a.m. in a chemical reservoir at the Formica Canada plant on Mercier Street, not far from the CEGEP Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu campus.

No one was injured and the fire is under control.

The facility, which has about 200 workers, has been evacuated. Fire officials are asking people in the area to keep their windows closed.

Officials from Environment Quebec are on the scene.

A Formica spokesperson said the reservoir contained resin or methanol.

The plant produces laminate for kitchen and bathroom counters.

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is located 40 kilometres south of Montreal.

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BRAZILIAN BLOWOUT HAS A CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL... | GATHER, http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978564778

For many women, Brazilian Blowout is a miracle cure for awful hair. For some women, Brazilian Blowout has become their worst nightmare! The popular hair straightening product is under fire for possibly carrying a deadly cancer-causing chemical, Formaldehyde.

According to ABC, many women have complained that Brazilian Blowout has caused them nose bleeds, burning eyes and even difficulty in breathing! One can assume the women who experienced all these negative side effects stopped using Brazilian Blowout as soon as it happened.

Even though the maker of the Brazilian Blowout claims the hair straightening product is made with amino acids and does not contain formaldehyde, government scientists say differently. Small amounts of formaldehyde were found in samples the scientists tested. Unfortunately, nothing can be confirmed until more testing has been done.

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WOMEN DIE IN TOXIC GAS =91SUICIDE PACT=92 IN PUTNEY | NEWS, http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sta ndard/article-23883862-women-kill-themselves-in-chemical-suicide-pact.do

Detectives were today examining computer records amid fears that two women killed themselves in a chemical suicide pact after meeting over the internet.

The bodies of the pair, both in their twenties, were discovered in a flat filled with toxic fumes in Putney yesterday afternoon.

Fire crews in biohazard suits and breathing apparatus had to force their way into the property in Lower Richmond Road. Windows, doors and air vents had been sealed up to prevent the lethal gas escaping.

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FIRE PUTS RESIDENTS ON TOXIC ALERT - LOCAL NEWS - NEWS - GENERAL - THE WARRNAMBOOL STANDARD, http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/ne ws/general/fire-puts-residents-on-toxic-alert/1957702.aspx

KOROIT residents braced for the worst after being warned of toxic fumes but have been told the measure was largely a precaution.
Eight hundred litres of pesticide spray Roundup was destroyed by flames on Thursday, with a further 750 litres of the chemical damaged.

Country Fire Authority operations officer Chris Eagle said Roundup fumes would have dissipated on contact with air, removing the risk of paddock or dam contamination.

Murray Goulburn staff would need to assess smoke-affected goods inside the farm supplies business to determine whether they could be salvaged, he said.

The blaze started inside the store's office, later spreading to chemical storage areas.

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CHEMICAL REACTION, http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/news/Chemical+reaction/3608960/stor y.html

Abbotsford Fire Rescue crews contained a chemical fire at an industrial building in the 33700 block of Morey Avenue around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Fire Chief Don Beer said crews arrived to find the structure showing smoke and the staff evacuated.

The source of the fire was a chemical reaction that had occurred inside the building. The AFRS hazardous material unit was called to the scene to deal with the incident. No injuries were reported and crews managed to contain the spill and vent the building.

The exact cause of the reaction and the chemicals involved are being investigated at this time, Beer said.

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COVINGTON FIRE CREWS ON SCENE OF HAZ-MAT INCIDENT AT CHEMICAL COMPANY, http://www.kypost. com/dpps/news/local_news/covington-fire-crews-on-scene-of-haz-mat-incident -at-chemical-company_5178299

COVINGTON, Ky. - Operations are back up and running after a small fire at a Covington chemical company.

The Covington Fire Department responded to 1025 Mary Laidley Drive off KY 17 just before 1 p.m. The address houses the Iofina Chemical Company.

According to the company's website, the company "manufactures iodine-based antiseptic and antimicrobial products for use in food, agriculture, dairy, cleaning and disinfection as well as a preservative for paint and lumber products."

Firefighters say a chemical ignited on a machine during the grinding process creating a small fire. 

Plant workers put the fire out but there was concern about breathing hazards from the burning chemical.

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FIRE FIGHTERS SAVE SUGAR MILL | NORTHERN RIVERS NEWS | LOCAL NEWS IN NORTHERN RIVERS | NORTHERN STAR, http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2010/10/0 2/fire-fighters-secure-sugar-mill-save-rescue/

TWEED firefighters battled a combustible situation at the Condong Sugar Mill for almost 14 hours over two days.

About 30 firefighters from the Tweed Heads and Murwillumbah fire brigades rotated shifts to contain the situation after a heat source was located inside up to 700 tonnes of sugar cane mulch being held a storage facility.

There were fears the heat source would spontaneously combust.

Firefighters were first called out to the fire about 11.30pm Thursday.

Crews worked through the night before retiring about 5am yesterday.

However, they were called back just hours later after more heat sources were detected.

The incident was finally brought under control about 3pm yesterday.

Station officer Leo Ayoub said the incident was a tough time for all involved.

=93It was a prolonged incident, all up it was a very long night,=94 firefighter Ayoub said.

=93We used thermal imaging cameras to locate the hot spots inside the mulch. It=92s like hay bales, they are prone to spontaneous combustion.=94

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MAN APPARENTLY COMMITS SUICIDE AT I-95 REST AREA - WEST PALM BEACH NEWS STORY - WPBF WEST PALM BEACH, http://www.wpbf.com /news/25238531/detail.html

FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- An Orlando man apparently committed suicide in his car at an Interstate 95 rest area by inhaling fumes from a mixture of toxic chemicals he had concocted, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
A security guard at the Fort Pierce rest area called 911 about 6:45 a.m. Friday after finding a sign on the windshield that read, "Do not approach. Hydrogen sulfide."
Images
Sheriff's deputies, the Florida Highway Patrol and members of the St. Lucie County Fire District's hazardous materials team were called to the rest area.
The first responding trooper came in contact with the fumes and had to be transported to the hospital.
"Before she could actually walk away from the vehicle, she became sick and had to be assisted away from the vehicle," St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said.

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ONE LEGAL MESS, ONE DIESEL MESS | CITYDESK | BOISE WEEKLY, http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2010/10 /01/one-legal-mess-one-diesel-mess

While Idaho's Supreme Court is in a special session to consider the safety of allowing big rigs to haul massive loads across U.S. Highway 12, crews have begun an assessment of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel that spilled from a load on Wednesday.


COURTESY OF LIN LAUGHY
The high court is considering an appeal by Idaho's Transportation Department to green light ConocoPhillips' request to haul giant drums from the port of Lewiston across U.S. 12 and into Montana. If approved, it could also clear the road for hundreds of similar shipments by Exxon/Mobil.

But while the sun was coming up on U.S. 12 this morning, hazmat crews and state police were still on the scene, where a tractor trailer failed to negotiate a curve and slammed into a rock pit. Rocks from the hillside ruptured the trailer, and more than 7,000 gallons of diesel began spilling.

The hazmat crew's main assignment: doing its best to keep the diesel from invading the Lochsa River.

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TANKER ACCIDENT CLOSES SUBURBAN INTERSECTION | ABC7CHICAGO.COM, http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;id= 7700390

October 1, 2010 (HICKORY HILLS) (WLS) -- An accident this morning shut down a busy intersection in west suburban Hickory Hills for most of the day.

A tanker truck carrying sodium hydroxide hit a utility pole at 95th Street and 76th Avenue.

The pole fell across the truck's trailer, which became tangled in power lines.

The crash caused sodium hydroxide to leak from the tanker.

Two nearby restaurants were evacuated as a precaution.

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HAZMAT SITUATION CLOSES POST ROAD, http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/haz mat-situation-closes-post-road

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Hazardous Materials teams were called to an accident just south of 33rd Street and Post Road just after 12:30 Friday.

Police tell 24-Hour News 8 that the semi carrying the hazardous cargo was trying to turn and the back wheels went off the pavement.

Nearby schools were told to shelter and place while Post Road was briefly closed due to the accident.

All of the chemicals were safe in their containers.

The trailer was carrying Sulphur Dioxide, Hydrogen Peroxide, Acetic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Propyl Acetate and Benzene Butyl Phosphate.

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HAZARDOUS GAS SCARE AT KOP BUSINESS | 6ABC.COM, http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&amp;id =7700766

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - October 1, 2010 (WPVI) -- A hazmat situation in Montgomery County forced the evacuation of a King of Prussia business.

Authorities were called out to an office complex at 216 Mall Boulevard around 11:30 a.m. Friday.

According to the Upper Merion Fire Marshal, a machine in the building leaked fluorine gas.

The machine is designed to shut down when this happened and also clean the fluorine out of the air.

According to the fire marshal, the machine worked properly and when they arrived on scene there were no traces of fluorine in the air.

The building was evacuated as a precaution for about two hours while MontCo Hazmat crews responded to the scene. Everyone was allowed back inside the building and there were no injuries.

Note: the accompanying picture showed the response was to a Lasik clinic

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TRANSFER STATION REOPENS AFTER HAZMAT VISIT - BOSTONHERALD.COM, h ttp://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20101001transfer_station_re opens_after_hazmat_visit/srvc=home&amp;position=recent

CHATHAM - The disposal area of the town transfer station is open for business today after a caustic substance sickened transfer station employees yesterday afternoon and a Hazardous Materials Team was called to the scene, reports the Cape Cod Times.

Transfer station workers called the fire department and reported that a substance had irritated their eyes, noses and throats, according to a Chatham Fire Department official.

No one was seriously hurt, but one employee was transported to Cape Cod Hospital for evaluation, he said.

The Hazmat team worked late into the night to clean up the transfer station, according to the official. Several substances were found, including commercial-grade muriatic acid and pool-cleaning chemicals like chlorine, said the official.

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BOMB SQUAD CALLED TO DUBLIN LAB - THE IRISH TIMES - FRI, OCT 01, 2010, http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1001/breaking49.ht ml

An Army bomb disposal unit today carried out a controlled explosion on an unstable chemical at a laboratory in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.

Authorities at the college on St Stephen's Green contacted the emergency services shortly before 12.30pm after an internal audit of the lab found the chemical had degraded to a dangerous state.

Following an examination of the chemical by the bomb disposal team, the chemical was deemed unsafe to transport and was subsequently made safe through a controlled explosion on nearby waste ground.

The offending material is understood to have been 30g of picric acid, a potentially explosive substance which is commonly used by laboratories in the analysis of metals and ores.

When the substance goes beyond a certain timeframe, it can become dangerous to transport.

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