Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2010 07:42:16 -0500
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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GLASS VIAL EXPLOSION CAUSES EVACUATION OF SOUTH WING OF CU ENGINEERING CENTER | NEWS CENTER | UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER, http://www.colorado.edu/news/r/5b4e46ed3462c665ed6993bf998e891a.html

A minor explosion in a glass vial at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Engineering Center at approximately 2:45 p.m. today caused the evacuation of the south side of the building that houses the chemical engineering department. One minor injury was reported.

The explosion occurred during an experiment being conducted by a chemical engineering graduate student. The student sustained a minor cut on the chin from the exploding glass vial and was treated and released at Wardenburg Health Center on the CU-Boulder campus.

The student was managing a chemical reaction between three chemicals: tripropargylamine, tetraethylene glycol diazide, and copper (II) disoprophyl salicylate.

No other students were in the room at the time of the explosion and there was no structural damage to the laboratory.

The Boulder Fire Department and CU Police responded to the scene. Hazmat crews conducted a walk-through of the area to make sure there was no further danger.

As of 4:50 p.m., all of the building had reopened except for the corridor where the lab is located.

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FIRE BREAKS OUT IN JAIPUR`S CHEMICAL FACTORY, http://sify.com/news/fire-breaks-out-in-ja ipur-s-chemical-factory-news-national-kl4wucibadd.html

A major fire broke out in a chemical factory located in Sudershanpura industrial area here today.

Around 10 to15 fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the fire and the managed to control it.

"It's a chemical and paint factory. Fire broke out in this factory and 10 to 15 fire brigades are trying to douse the fire. More fire brigades have been called," said Loknath Soni, the Additional District Magistrate of Jaipur.

The reason of the fire has not yet been ascertained but the locals said it could have happened due to a short circuit.

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HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL PROMPTS EVACUATION IN MIRA LOMA - DAILYBULLETIN.COM, http://www.dailybul letin.com/news/ci_16739493

Firefighters evacuated 20 employees from a Mira Loma business Monday after someone brought a container of hazardous chemicals to a fire station.
Cal Fire officials said a small container of calcium carbide was dropped off at Station 17 in the 10400 block of San Sevaine Way in Mira Loma at 4:49 p.m.

The substance can be used to make acetylene gas and is flammable when it comes in contact with water, Cal Fire officials said.

Firefighters evacuated a neighboring business as a precaution. The workers were near the end of their work day and were sent home.

Hazardous materials personnel removed the container from the fire station.

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MISSISSAUGA ARTICLE: CHEMICAL SPILL HOSPITALIZES WORKER, http://www.mississauga.com/news/article/910196--chemical -spill-hospitalizes-worker

A man has been rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a chemical spill and fire this morning at a south Mississauga industrial building.
The man, who was working inside Armstrong Manufacturing, at 2485 Haines Rd., near Cawthra Rd., was taken to Trillium Health Centre at about 11:30 a.m. after suffering second-degree burns to 80 per cent of his body, according to Mississauga fire crews.
Peel Regional Police evacuated the company, which makes cleaning products.   
Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services' Hazardous Materials Unit is on the scene.
The worker was apparently separating mixtures when the spill and subsequent fire occurred, according to reports. The product that caused the damage was insecticidal soap concentrate, according to firefighters.

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HALF-TON OF METH SEIZED IN NORCROSS "SUPERLAB"  | AJC.COM, htt p://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/half-ton-of-meth-759047.html

Officers were raiding what would turn out to be one of the largest methamphetamine labs in the nation just a few houses down from Campbell, in an otherwise quiet crook of Newbury Road. Local and federal law enforcement officers carted away 984 pounds of methamphetamine worth an estimated $44 million. The slate gray two-story house in question had been unoccupied since 2008 and no one had been seen coming or going in months, Campbell said.

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CHEMICALS FOUND AT SITE - TIMES UNION, http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/S uspicious-looking-chemicals-prompt-evacuation-846620.php
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BETHLEHEM -- The discovery of "suspicious-looking" chemicals in a basement storage area, prompted the evacuation of the Cherry Arms apartments for more than seven hours Tuesday and fueled reports the findings may be linked to the brother of a teen boy whose Delmar house exploded last year.

Last December, Keenan Sanchez, then 15, was badly burned when his 151 Adams Place home in Delmar exploded. Police later said he may have been handling chemicals in the home's basement.

Residency records show that his older brother, Jason, 24, lives in the apartment complex evacuated Tuesday.

Police, who remained on the scene after 10 p.m., were saying little about the situation or what type of chemicals were removed from the apartment storage area.

There also were unconfirmed reports that a young man was seen being led away from the complex by police.

Dozens of firefighters and emergency personnel rushed to the complex off Delaware Avenue about 2 p.m. and told residents they had to leave their homes immediately.

A county hazardous materials team evacuated the apartment complex and two neighboring buildings. A resident at the complex at the corner of Delaware and Cherry avenues spotted the chemicals in a common shelf-type storage unit and reported the find to authorities, Deputy Police Chief Timothy Beebe said.

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HAZMAT SCENE NEAR ODU | WAVY.COM | NORFOLK, http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/norfolk/ha zmat-investigation-42nd-street-norfolk

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Four people were arrested in connection with the discovery of suspected bottle bombs in the backyard of an apartment complex in the 1500 block of 42nd Street near Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

Leah Holloway, an ODU student living next door to the apartment complex where the four suspects live said she was the one who called 911.

"They were mixing bleach, Drano, and gasoline and trying to light it on fire. They were mixing chemicals for two hours. They actually left and came back to get more chemicals because the first set of chemicals did not work," Holloway said.

Fire officials arrived on scene just after 4 p.m. to find what they said appeared to be bottle bombs in the back of  the apartment complex.

The apartment building and a house next door were evacuated and part of Powhatan Avenue was blocked.

The bomb squad brought in a robot which fired shots at the bottles to render them safe and then investigators began examining the evidence to determine exactly what types of chemicals were used. 

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MAN MIXING CHEMICALS AIRLIFTED - WWW.RECORD-BEE.COM, http://www.record-bee.com/c i_16738354

CLEARLAKE -- A Clearlake man required aerial transport to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after inhaling a deadly combination of toxins on Wednesday.

According to Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta, medical response was requested around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday on Konocti View Road. Medics arrived to find the victim suffering of extreme shortness of breath, which they soon determined to be caused by hazardous materials released inside the residence. Sapeta said the situation was caused by a combination of Drano and sulfuric acid.

"People should not combine chemicals," Sapeta said. "Unknown chemicals mixed together can be fatal."

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MONTCO WOMAN FLOWN TO HOSPITAL FOR CHEMICAL BURNS - POTTSMERC.COM, http://pottsmerc.com/articles/2010/11/29/news/doc4cf42a22845540 12236323.txt

HATFIELD =97 A woman working at Laboratory Testing Inc. was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital for treatment of chemical burns she suffered in a workplace accident Monday afternoon.

The accident occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m., according to township Fire Marshal Mikele Waldron.

=93She was working with nitric acid and had some type of boil over in the container she was working in, and it splashed her on the head,=94 said Waldron.

=93She did have safety glasses on when it happened, and that probably saved her a lot more pain and agony,=94 he said, adding that she remained conscious, alert and oriented the entire time.

The accident took place while the woman was working alone in a room at the company=92s headquarters, located on Topaz Drive off Sandstone Lane.

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BURNABY HOUSE FIRE LIKELY CAUSE OF DEAD FISH IN BYRNE CREEK, http://www.burnabynow.com/news/Burn aby+house+fire+likely+cause+dead+fish+Byrne+Creek/3900958/story.html

Byrne Creek streamkeepers are, but again, counting dead fish after another chemical spill in the creek. This time, it appears to be linked to a fire upstream.

Streamkeeper Paul Cipywnyk got a call from fellow volunteers around 9 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 28, reporting foam in the creek in a ravine near Southridge Drive. Cipywnyk went further upstream only to find a pond with lots of foam and roughly a dozen dead trout and coho.

They looked around the neighbourhood and saw a fire truck near Kingsway and 16th Avenue, where there had been a house fire.

"We asked the firefighters if they'd used foam, and they said yes, a full load from one of their trucks. The drainage flow from the site of the fire into storm drains was evident," Cipywnyk reported.

"Streamkeepers are certainly not going to question firefighters for doing an outstanding job in ensuring the safety of the community. It's just unfortunate if this is confirmed as the source of the kill."

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METH LAB DISCOVERED IN SHAWANO | WFRV GREEN BAY: NORTHEAST WISCONSIN NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS | LOCAL, http://www.wfrv.com /news/local/111003979.html

SHAWANO, Wis. (WFRV) -- Shawano Police have uncovered what they believe to be the first meth lab in the county.

The lab was discovered during a fire call to an apartment on South Main St. in downtown Shawano, about a block away from the police station.

The call came in just after midnight Sunday morning from a bar across the street from the meth lab. When fire crews got to the apartment they did not find anyone there, but quickly recognized many toxic materials lying around.

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THREE POISONED AFTER TRUCKS CRASH CAUSING CHEMICAL SPILL, http://engl ish.cri.cn/6909/2010/11/29/2321s607636.htm

Three people were poisoned in a chemical spill after a tanker carrying a toxic chemical and two trucks smashed into each other Sunday noon in east China's Zhejiang Province, local fire authorities said Monday.

A tanker carrying 30 tonnes of isopropylamine was involved in a crash with two trucks Sunday noon in the countryside of Quzhou City, which resulted in the chemical leaking out, vaporizing, and slightly poisoning three workers at a nearby factory, said Hu Xiaofan with the city's fire brigade.

The workers were rushed to hospital, along with the two truck drivers who sustained physical injures in the crash, Xu said.

Firefighters evacuated the factory and the hole in the tanker was blocked about two hours later. The chemical leak did not have a major affect on the environment, Xu said.

The flammable and toxic isopropylamine is mainly used to produce pesticide.

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1 DEAD, 4 INJURED IN SEPARATE FIRE INCIDENTS IN AHMEDABAD, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/1-dead -4-injured-in-separate-fire-incidents-in-ahmedabad/717905/

One person died and two others sustained injuries when a fire broke out at a factory in Vatva GIDC on Monday. Officials said the fire broke out around 12.25pm at Honest Bio Vet Pvt Ltd on the Jashodanagar Crossroads.

The factory manufactures medicines and pharmaceutical products. The deceased has been identified as Babu Rathod (45). Ashok Rathod and Babuji Rathod sustained injuries during a chemical spill, said fire officials. Factory owner Gulam Abdul has reported a loss of Rs 20 lakh.

In another incident of fire, two persons sustained injuries when a boiler at Montek Industries, a chemical factory in Naroda, started leaking. Jitendra and Bansi suffered burns on their head and hands, said fire officials.

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SMOKE ODOR REPORTED AT HOSPITAL - LEAVENWORTH, KS - LEAVENWORTH TIMES, http://www.leavenworthtimes.com/newsnow/x1384145400/Smo ke-odor-reported-at-hospital

Leavenworth firefighters responded Saturday to Cushing Memorial Hospital for a smoke odor that turned out to be the result of a chemical reaction, a Fire Department official said.

No injuries were reported. The incident was reported at 4:35 p.m. Saturday at the hospital, 711 Marshall St.

The chemical reaction was caused in a laundry room by a leaking bleach solution coming into contact with plywood, according to Assistant Fire Chief Mark Nietzke.

=93It charred the wood and the wood started burning,=94 he said.

Nietzke said he doesn=92t know if the chemical reaction produced any flames.

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