Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 07:34:33 -0400
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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BOTTLE EXPLOSION INVESTIGATED IN CLARKSVILLE, http://www.wnewsj.com/main.asp?SectionI D=49&amp;SubSectionID=156&amp;ArticleID=186718

A clear plastic beverage container with an explosive device detonated in Clarksville early Tuesday morning but no one was injured in the explosion.

...

Firefighter Darren Brown from the Clinton-Warren Fire District tested the liquid in the bottle that exploded and identified it as an acid-based chemical. Aluminum foil balls were also inside the bottle. =93The end result is an explosion which spews forth acid into the air and surrounding area,=94 Underwood said.

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BOULDER POLICE INVESTIGATE MAILBOX EXPLOSION - BOULDER DAILY CAMERA, http:/ /www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_16318499

Boulder police are investigating a mailbox explosion in the 3600 block of 26th Street early Monday =97 adding to the list of suspected home-made explosives that have been reported across the county over the past few months.  

    

The one found Monday appeared to have been made with a two-liter plastic bottle and chemicals, said Boulder police Cmdr. Kim Stewart. The owner said he didn't hear anything during the night, and firefighters responded in the morning to flush and neutralize chemicals found at the scene. 

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TWO AIRLIFTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE - NEWS - LEP.CO.UK, http://www.lep.co.uk/news/two_airlifted_to_hospital_after _chemical_fire_1_2028802

A large fire has broken out at a Lancashire chemical plant.

More than 10 fire crews tackled the blaze at a chemical plant in Burscough, where smoke could be seen pouring out of the roof from up to four miles away.

The crews were called to the business in Tollgate Road at around 10am on Tuesday and two casualties were believed to have been airlifted to hospital.

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TESORO FIRE ERUPTS, LEVEL TWO WARNING ACTIVATED | THE MARTINEZ NEWS-GAZETTE, http://www.martinezgazette.com/ne ws/story/i1531/2010/10/12/tesoro-fire-erupts-level-two-warning-activated

A heavy black smoke plume hovered above the Tesoro Golden Eagle Refinery near Martinez on Sunday afternoon after a fire erupted in a facility holding tank, according to the Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services.

Members of Tesoro=92s internal fire department eventually extinguished the blaze that burned for roughly three hours. The company told the OES that maintenance repairs to a tank containing diesel fuel and water sparked the blaze, and the contract worker performing the work was transported to a local hospital due to smoke inhalation but released late Sunday night.

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GAS LEAK FORCES EVACUATIONS IN WELLS - WCAX.COM LOCAL VERMONT NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS-, http://www.wcax .com/Global/story.asp?S=13312540

A gas leak forced evacuations in Wells Tuesday.

A woman driving home from work fell asleep at the wheel, went off the road and crashed into a propane tank at the Wells Country Store.

Rescue teams responded to the scene at around 8 a.m. and evacuated a mile around the store, including the Wells Village School. They feared the tank could explode.

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FUMES SICKEN 2 GARBAGE WORKERS IN WEST HARRISON; ACID BLAMED | LOHUD.COM | THE JOURNAL NEWS, http://www. lohud.com/article/20101013/NEWS02/10130329/-1/newsfront/Fumes-sicken-2-gar bage-workers-in-West-Harrison--acid-blamed

WEST HARRISON =97 Two town sanitation workers were overcome by acidic fumes from a garbage truck and rushed to the hospital Tuesday morning.

A routine residential garbage run down Locust Avenue turned dangerous around 8:45 a.m.

While a Harrison sanitation crew was collecting trash, their garbage truck began spewing smoke.

A Westchester County Hazardous Materials Response Team determined that the smoke was caused by acid thrown out with trash, said Caren Halbfinger, spokeswoman for the county Health Department.

Police are investigating what acid it was and what house it came from.

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THE ATMORE ADVANCE =BB METH LABS BUSTED, 8 ARRESTED, http://www.atmoreadvance.com/2010/10/12/meth-labs-busted-8-arrested/

A hazmat team assisted twice in recent days as officers with the drug task force and Escambia County Sheriff=92s Office cleaned up two different methamphetamine labs. The meth labs were part of several investigations late last week that netted eight arrests.

Arrested Oct. 7 at 1573 Manning Road in the Huxford community were Timothy Scott Sims, 41; William Allen Hall, 33; and Erica Lynn White, 25. Hall is a resident at the address.

Escambia County Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said officers with the Escambia County Sheriff=92s Office went to the Manning Road home on a warrant for Sims.

=93When the officers arrived at the home contact was made with Sims,=94 Lambert said. =93Sims and two other people were in the home at the time. As officers took Sims into custody, they noticed needles/syringes in the room. As Sims was searched officers found two bags of what they believed to be crystal meth.=94

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PROPANE LEAK EVACUATES HILLSBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL, http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/re gion_tampa/propane-leak-evacuates-hillsborough-high-school

TAMPA - Students and staff at a Tampa high school had to be evacuated earlier this afternoon after a propane gas tank started leaking outside the school's cafeteria.

Firefighters responded around 12:30 to Hillsborugh High School, 5000 Central Avenue, after a valve on top of the cylinder began to leak. A small vapor cloud could be seen just above the leak.

Students and staff were safely evacuated to the football field and no one was hurt.

Hazmat crews were able to almost completely stop the gas flow, and  other responders used gas meters to check the inside of the school  for gas. None was found

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LAKEWOOD FIRE DEPT., COUNTY HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO FUEL SPILL - POST-JOURNAL.COM | NEWS, SPORTS, JOBS, COMMUNITY INFORMATION - JAMESTOWN | POST-JOURNAL, http: //post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/573367/Lakewood-Fire-Dept---Coun ty--HAZMAT-Crews-Respond-To-Fuel-Spill.html?nav=5192

LAKEWOOD - A fuel spill at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday has been kept from reaching Chautauqua Lake, according to HAZMAT officials at the scene.

An unknown amount of fuel spilled from the tanks at the Arrowmart gas station on Fairmount Avenue, across from Smith Boys Marina, Tuesday morning. Booms were immediately deployed in a neighboring creek, which helped prevent the spill from reaching the lake.

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OFFICIALS: CUMENE INCIDENT CONTAINED IN PORT RICHMOND | 6ABC.COM, http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&amp;id =7719604

PORT RICHMOND - October 12, 2010 (WPVI) -- Hazmat officials are investigating a release of Cumene at a facility along Delaware Avenue.

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The release was reported around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at a facility, located on the 3300 block on N. Delaware Avenue. The facility is believed to be Kinder Morgan, an energy company operating a large network of natural gas and refined petroleum product pipelines.

Initial reports indicate 850 gallons of Cumene were released into a containment dike while off loading from a vessel to the tank.

Cumene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a gasoline type odor. It's normally used as a thinner for paints, lacquers and enamels.

The incident was placed under control shortly after 11:00 a.m.

Because the Cumene fell into the containment dike, officials say there is no risk of exposure.

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HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE NORTHAMPTON METH LAB | CBS 3 SPRINGFIELD - NEWS AND WEATHER FOR WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS | LOCAL NEWS, http://www.cbs3springfield. com/news/local/Hazmat-Crews-Investigate-Possible-Northampton-Meth-Lab-1048 15779.html

Hazmat crews are working to figure out if a Northampton home was the site of dangerous drug activity. Police say chemicals found in a box there may have been used in an illegal methamphetamine lab.
The large-scale, multi-agency operation all started yesterday when the owner of 277 Bridge Street decided to begin cleaning out the vacated second floor and attic apartment. That's when she found a box full of bottles of chemicals, and got sick when she knocked one over.
Detective Corey Robinson, Northampton Police, says: "We're going to be as safe as possible."
They're worried the tenants who vacated that apartment may have been cooking chemicals to make meth.

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PENNSYLVANIA: HAZMAT SPILL CLOSES I-81 RAMP, PORTION OF PA. 696, http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaysto ry&amp;story_id=254571&amp;format=html

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. =97 Exit 24 of northbound Interstate 81 in Franklin County, Pa., was closed for about five hours Monday after a tractor-trailer=92s load shifted and caused hazardous material to leak on the ground, a Pennsylvania State Police spokesman said.

The tractor-trailer contained 20,000 pounds of sulfuric acid, according to the Franklin County Department of Emergency Services.

The incident, which occurred at about 8 a.m., prompted officials to close the portion of Pa. 696 from I-81 to Woods Road, police said.

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HAZMAT ON THE SCENE OF VEHICLE EMERGENCY, http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/hazmat-on-the-scene-of-vehicle-emergency

Westlake Hills, TX (KXAN) - Hazardous materials teams are at the scene of a vehicle with a suspicious odor at 1203 South Capitol of Texas Highway.  Westlake Hills Public Information Officer Melissa Warren said a person that was in the vehicle was unconscious. The person had to be extracted from the vehicle.

Investigators are trying to figure out what chemical if any is in the vehicle. Hazmat crews are taking precautions because of the unknown substance.

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DEAD MAN FOUND IN CAR WITH NOTE IN PENNSBURY CAUSES A STIR | PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER | 10/12/2010, http://www.philly.com/inqu irer/local/pa/20101012_Dead_man_found_in_car_with_note_in_Pennsbury_causes _a_stir.html

A dead body in a car - and a note warning people not to come near - kept neighbors guessing and a street barricaded for hours Monday as emergency vehicles and personnel in white hazmat suits converged on a spot in Pennsbury Township, Chester County.

Patty Mains, a spokeswoman for Chester County's Department of Emergency Services, said a 911 call about 12:30 p.m. suggested that a man's body inside a car was a result of "chemical suicide." The car was on Hillendale Road.

Neighbors said the car apparently veered down a gravel path into a nearby field. A neighbor who was walking his dog made the discovery - and saw a written message that warned him not to open the car door, he said.

Little could be learned about whether dangerous substances had been found in or around the car. State police from the Avondale barracks said they would have no public information until their investigators completed work at the scene. At 7 p.m., the troopers were still there.

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BUSINESSES EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN CREWE - CREWE CHRONICLE, h ttp://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/crewe-news/local-crewe-news/2010/10/11/busi nesses-evacuated-after-chemical-spill-in-crewe-96135-27447768/< /div>

STAFF from businesses on the Crewe Gates Industrial Estate were evacuated after police and fire crews were called to a report of a chemical spillage.
The chemical, which has been identified as formic acid, is believed to have been spilled at around 7pm last night following a burglary at Newday House on First Avenue.
Police, who were called to the incident just before 7am this morning, have since studied CCTV footage and believe that the spillage was caused whilst the thieves stole containers which were holding the acid.
Cheshire Police, together with the Cheshire Fire &amp; Rescue Service, placed a cordon in the immediate area and evacuated staff from local businesses whilst an assessment and removal of the substance took place.

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FIRE FLARES AFTER DRY CHEMICALS USED - BRANTFORD EXPOSITOR - ONTARIO, CA, http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2794553

A Friday evening fire on Terrace Hill was an important reminder that grease fires should be treated differently than other household fires.

Fire Capt. Grant Dix said a stove-top grease fire at 55 Terrace Hill turned into $100,000 in damage when the occupant shot it with a dry chemical fire extinguisher. "That just splashed it," Dix said Saturday.

"Don't ever shoot dry chemicals at grease fires: just cover them with a pan. Smother it."
The two-storey brick house at 55 Terrace Hill is a duplex and the fire, on the second storey, was well underway when the department arrived, three minutes after receiving the call.

Overall, 21 people were on the scene, including fire prevention.

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KINGSVILLE MAN BURNED IN CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION =BB CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES, http://www.caller.com/news/2010/oct/11/kingsville-man-burne d-in-chemical-plant/

CORPUS CHRISTI =97 BISHOP =97 A 53-year old Kingsville man is in critical condition at Brooke Army Medical Center=92s burn unit after an explosion at a chemical plant Sunday.

Tim Zahn was working at a process unit owned by his employer Oxea, when flammable vapors ignited at about 6:45 p.m., burning him, according to Kingsville community leaders and an e-mailed statement from Oxea spokeswoman Sharon Patterson.

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VT. COMPANY SAYS PRODUCT SPILL POSES NO THREAT, http://www.necn.com/10/11/10/Vt-company-says-product-s pill-poses-no-t/landing_nation.html?&amp;blockID=3&amp;apID=37 6c598d368944e98a563ad458f89b70

FLORENCE, Vt. (AP) =97 An official at a Vermont calcium carbonate plant says the release of 500 pounds of finished product into the environment poses no threat to human health.

Officials at the Omya Inc., plant in Florence say the fine powder was released Sunday morning when a valve on a silo malfunctioned.

Most of the product was contained inside the plant, but some spilled outside.

The company says there were no injuries and state and local officials were notified.

Omya spokesman Linda Pleiman tells the Rutland Herald workers will continue cleaning up the spill on Monday.

Calcium carbonate is made from ground marble. It is used in thousands of products from antacid tablets to plastics.

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