Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:34:41 -0500
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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BODY FOUND, EVACUATIONS AT DENVER-AREA HOTEL, http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/ Body_Found_Evacuations_at_Denver-area_Hotel_109800914.html?ref=914

An investigation and evacuation were launched Sunday night at the Marriott Denver West, following the discovery of a body at the hotel and a suspicious odor.

A very active crime scene developed outside the hotel. The call-out involved several fire agencies, the police department, a hazmat mobile unit, the bomb squad and K-9 units.

Thirty-two guests were evacuated from their rooms, left to wonder what had prompted the emergency.

Kristy Kon was just one of the many guests evacuated from the Marriott. According to Kon, =93It=92s kind of creepy. Who knows what=92s going on especially with all these ambulances?=94

It all started around 5 p.m., when two maids found a person dead in their room, along with noticing the strong smell of sulfur.

Firefighter Micki Trost with West Metro Fire District said, =93The items that they saw and the smell that they encountered, is not going to cause harm to anyone else in the building and identify what is in that room.=94

Initial reports were given that the body found was a possible suicide.

Authorities aren=92t saying what types of items were found in the room, or in what quantities. They=92re also monitoring the air to determine what the odor might be, and when it will be safe for guests to return to their rooms.

During the evacuation, the guests have been allowed to stay in the hotel=92s restaurant which was deemed to be safe.

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4 DIE IN CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST, http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_60572 4.html

BEIJING - AN EXPLOSION at a chemical factory in northern China has killed four and injured 37, state media reported on Sunday, citing local authorities.

The blast occurred on Saturday night in the city of Jinzhong, in northern Shanxi province, at the Yushe Chemical Co, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a provincial government statement.

The cause of the explosion was still under investigation, the report said, adding firefighters worked through the night to put out the resulting fire.

The factory produced an array of chemicals ranging from common food additives to compounds used in making plastics and paper, according to the company website.

Two of the injured were in serious condition, the report said.

In China an average of 187 people were killed in work-related accidents on each day in the first half of this year, the government has said. -- AFP

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NO DANGER TO PUBLIC AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT HONEYWELL: A'BURG FIRE CHIEF, http://www.windsorstar.com /health/danger+public+after+chemical+leak+Honeywell+burg+fire+chief/386082 5/story.html

AMHERSTBURG, Ont. -- There is no risk to the public after a "substantial" chemical leak at the Honeywell plant Saturday morning, says Amherstburg fire Chief Rick Murray.

At about 6:23 a.m., Murray was notified of a hydrofluoric acid leak at the Front Road East plant. Between 45 and 100 gallons of the highly corrosive acid were released, forming a white gas cloud over the Honeywell property, he said.

The plant's mitigation system kicked in immediately, dousing the gas cloud with water and knocking it down before it drifted off the property, Murray said. The leak was stopped by 7:10 a.m.

"Everything was done according to protocol and the emergency response was executed well," Murray said.

As part of the town's emergency plan, the police chief and the mayor were also notified and the fire department's own hazmat team was on standby in case the acid leak spread beyond Honeywell grounds.

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GARDEN CITY POLICE OFFICER OVERCOME AFTER DISCOVERING APPARENT METH LAB | WSAV TV, http://www2.wsav.com/news/2010/nov/1 9/3/traffic-stop-garden-city-leads-hazmat-investigatio-ar-1109619/

A traffic stop at a Garden City apartment apparently resulted in one officer being rushed to the hospital.  Police Chief David Lyons tells us that what started out as stop for drunk driving turned into a drug trafficing arrest and a hazmat investigation.

He says Sgt. Shawn Meyers and some other officers followed a man into his driveway on suspicion of drunk driving, after observing the man driving on the wrong side of the street.  Lyons says after prescripton narcotics were found in the vehicle, the man was placed under arrest for possession and trafficing of narcotics and shortly after, gave consent for police to search the apartment. 

"Our best guess at this time is that meth cooking had been going on inside," Lyons tells us. He says Sgt. Meyers discovered a bag in a kitchen cabinet, which apparently had some kind of chemical residue "from the cook" left inside the bag. Chief Lyons says when Meyers opened up the bag, he "caught a face full of fumes" and was overcome.

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UPDATE: ELECTROCHEM EXPLOSION IN RAYNHAM UNDER INVESTIGATION - RAYNHAM, MA - RAYNHAM CALL, http://www.wickedlocal.com/ray nham/news/business/x794469383/Firefighters-respond-to-explosion-at-Electro chem

A violent explosion and fire at a lithium battery-making plant blew out a wall in a test lab just after 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 18 and shut down business for the day.

The explosion occurred in a self-contained, reinforced corner room at Electrochem, located at 670 Paramount Drive.

None of the 215 employees in the building at the time was injured. They were evacuated as part of standard safety procedures and later sent home. 

Jennifer Bolt, director of operations for Electrochem, said a battery exploded as it was being =93pushed to its limits=94 in an oven before going to market.

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CHEMICAL SCARE DRAWS HAZMAT TO AIRPORT - LOCAL NEWS STORY - KJCT GRAND JUNCTION, http://www.kjct8.c om/news/25853819/detail.html

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The Grand Junction Fire Department and Hazmat crews arrived at West Start Aviation Friday morning to identify an unknown chemical leaking from a vehicle.
It wasn't a West Star vehicle so employees didn't know if the chemical was dangerous to them or to the environment. In a case of safe being better than sorry, they contacted the Grand Junction Fire Department and a Hazmat crew.
The fire department showed up to analyze the chemical. They determined it was a non-hazardous, industrial rust and scale inhibitor. The source of the leak was an open valve on a tank. Fire crews secured the valve and successfully stopped the leak.

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UPDATE: ONE MAN REMAINS IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER AMMONIA LEAK - KXXV-TV NEWS CHANNEL 25 - CENTRAL TEXAS NEWS AND WEATHER FOR WACO, TEMPLE, KILLEEN |, http://www.kxxv .com/Global/story.asp?S=13534110

HEIDENHEIMER - A Central Texas community just southeast of Temple is safe again after an Anhydrous Ammonia spill sent two people to the hospital Thursday night.

It happened at the Blackland Grain and Storage at 5580 Avenue F in Heidenheimer, just southeast of Temple, around 8:20 p.m.

Hazardous fumes sent two men to the hospital.

One of them is in critical condition.

Two other people drove themselves to the hospital to get checked out.

Some of them had to be hosed down to get the chemical off of them.

Firefighters say a valve on an ammonia tank was not sealed off all the way likely causing the leak.

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BUCKETS OF TOXIC MERCURY FOUND IN CALIF HOME - SACRAMENTO NEWS - LOCAL AND BREAKING SACRAMENTO NEWS | SACRAMENTO BEE, http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/17/31 92149/buckets-of-toxic-mercury-found.html#mi_rss=AP%20State%20News

HESPERIA, Calif. -- Buckets of toxic mercury have been found in a Southern California desert home, forcing evacuation of the house until hazardous material experts clear the structure.

San Bernardino County fire spokesman Jay Hausman says authorities, acting on a tip, showed up at the Hesperia home early Tuesday.

Hausman tells the Victorville Daily Press that a pound of the liquid metal was found in buckets.

He says a man in the home was extracting mercury from computer components, but it's unclear what he planned to do with the metal.

The man, whose name hasn't been released, was cited for possession of a highly toxic substance.

Hausman says the man and a teenager were ordered to leave the home until a private hazardous materials team removes the mercury.

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