Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:43:36 -0500
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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95.9 WATD - BRIDGEWATER: BSU EMPLOYEES SICKENED BY UNKNOWN CHEMICAL, http://www.959watd.com/news.php?Bridgewater-BSU -employees-sickened-by-unknown-chemical-4644

Two Bridgewater State University employees were taken to the hospital after they were sickened by an unknown chemical Thursday.

At 11:41 a.m. the Bridgewater fire department was called to Bridgewater State University and began a tier 1 haz-mat response-- the least serious response level.

Two food service employees were working near a dishwasher and food disposal area in a kitchen in the east campus commons, when they became ill.

"They were nauseous, they were dizzy, they were vomiting," said Eva Gaffney, Director of the Office of Institutional Communications at BSU. "They were treated by the town of Bridgewater's ambulance crews and subsequently sent to Brockton Hospital for further treatment and evaluation."

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STUDENT CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL AT USC SCIENCE BUILDING - WIS NEWS 10 - COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA |, http://www.wis tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13642360

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) =E2=80=93 Columbia firefighters are on the scene of chemical spill at the University of South Carolina's Graduate Science Research Center on Sumter Street.

Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said a student in one of the labs knocked over and broke a container of a chemical called Tetrahydfuran that was being using for an experiment. Jenkins said Tetrahydfuran can be flammable and cause respiratory problems, and is known to evaporate quickly once exposed to air.

There were about three people inside the fifth-floor laboratory when the spill occurred, and about 15 to 20 people were evacuated from the building. Jenkins said everyone was able to make it out of the building okay.

A hazardous materials team has entered the building and is ventilating the facility. There were no reports of damage to the building.

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CHEMICAL ODOR SCARE AT NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL - PASADENA, MD PATCH, http://pasadena.patch.com/articles/chemical-odor-scare-at- chesapeake-high-school

Northeast Senior High School in Pasadena was evacuated this morning after reports of a chemical odor.

Cpt. James Rostek with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department said that the first reports of the odor came at 9:29 this morning. The fire department's hazardous materials team was dispatched to the school and the cause was determined to be an organic solvent that was used on the floor tiles overnight.

Rostek said that the solvent was only known to be an irritant.

As of this writing, students were being picked up by parents and guardians but school was not dismissed.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: 2 KILLED IN EXPLOSION AT W.VA. CHEMICAL PLANT, http://www.google.c om/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gwOgoqWilkZpuGSz6qRVuDQVgNrg?docId=03bf3d 95d67c48118a26fb22af67390d

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. (AP) =E2=80=94 An explosion rocked a small chemical plant Thursday in West Virginia's northern panhandle, killing two workers and injuring two people, police and company officials said.
The explosion happened around 1:20 p.m. at the AL Solutions Inc. plant in New Cumberland, a small town about 33 miles west of Pittsburgh.
The first officer on the scene, Lt. Jeremy Krzys, said he had been sitting at a traffic light when he heard the blast and immediately rushed to the plant.
"I just heard a loud bang and all of a sudden you saw black smoke pouring out," Krzys said.
Krzys said he saw two injured men run out of the building when he arrived. He said one man was badly burned, while the other was still on fire. Krzys says co-workers used blankets to extinguish the man who was on fire.

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MAILBOX DESTROYED IN SODA BOTTLE EXPLOSION - THURSDAY, DEC. 9, 2010, http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Mailbox+des troyed+in+soda+bottle+explosion&amp;articleId=db153fd2-7879-4839-841 d-785acf8281a9

LEBANON =E2=80=93 Three teens turned themselves into police in connection with a soda bottle bomb that destroyed a mailbox in the Daisy Hill area of the city.
The names and ages of the teens were not released because they are juveniles, according to Lt. Shawn Freitas. The charges against them will proceed in Juvenile Court, he said.
Police said the mail box exploded into pieces, with some landing more than 20 feet from the post. Pieces of the mailbox had a strange brownish liquid on them and the bottle had a chemical smell.
The mailbox was blown up Sunday morning by what police describe as a "works" bomb, a chemical reaction bomb made from common chemicals and powerful enough to deliver second or third degree chemical burns, serious injuries or death.

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CHINA PLANT SUFFERS TWO EXPLOSIONS - FIERCEPHARMA MANUFACTURING, http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story /china-plant-suffers-two-explosions/2010-12-09

Chinese investigators report finding no contamination following two explosions at a Shandong Yanggu Zhongshi Pharmaceutical factory in Liaocheng City, about 600 miles northwest of Shanghai. Seven people suffered injuries, the worst of which appears to be a broken leg.

The first explosion took place at 5:40 a.m. local time Wednesday. The second occurred at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, producing "a large fireball and thick smoke," according to local press reports. Firefighters still tending the first explosion were waiting for it to burn out when the second blast occurred. The chemical aniline fueled the second explosion.

Air quality tests for benzene, xylene, amine and hydrogen sulfide yielded findings within acceptable levels as far as a half mile from the plant. Some 8,000 people had been evacuated from nearby villages.

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WSVN-TV - TRUCK CRASHES, SPILLS LOAD ON I-95, http://ww w.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21002952505668/

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A jackknifed tractor trailer spilled its load onto Interstate 95, affecting the morning commute Wednesday.

Stacks of plywood scattered across the southbound lanes of the I-95, just before the Broward Boulevard exit, after two trucks collided. The spill backed up traffic for miles as crews spent several hours cleaning up nearly 600 sheets of plywood.

Complicating matters, 150 gallons of diesel fuel also leaked onto the interstate and HAZMAT crews had to be called to the scene. "They were able to control the fuel spill and get it cleaned up rather quickly," said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky.

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FIRE CREWS STILL IN ATTENDANCE AT HOPWOOD SERVICES INCIDENT (FROM REDDITCH ADVERTISER), http://www.redditchadvertiser .co.uk/news/8726292.Fire_crews_still_in_attendance_at_Hopwood_services_inc ident/

REDDITCH fire crews are still at the scene of a chemical leak at Hopwood Park Services at Junction 2 of the M42.

Fire crews wer called out at 7am this morning to the incident which involved a hydraulic leak after a lorry caught on fire.

The fuel supply at the services had been stopped but has now been restored.

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EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT SPRAYS CHEMICAL IN EYE, TAKEN TO HOSPITAL FOR EVALUATION - SCARSDALE, NY PATCH, http://scarsdale. patch.com/articles/edgemont-high-school-student-sprays-chemicals-in-eye-ta ken-to-hospital-for-evaluation

=EF=BB=BFA 14-year-old Edgemont High School student was taken to the hospital for evaluation after a chemical was sprayed in her eye during a biology class.=EF=BB=BF

"We hope that she is fine," said Principal Barry C. Friedman. "The nurse acted properly, did whatever triage was needed=E2=80=A6and flushed her eyes out. The school then called the EMTs and the girl's parents, and they decided to take her to the hospital to check her out."

The accident, which occurred at approximately 12:10 p.m., prompted Greenburgh patrol officers, EMTs and a fire truck to arrive at the school. It isunclear which experiment was being performed during the biology class, how the accident occurred or what sort of chemicals were involved.

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