Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 07:31:56 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
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< /div>

OSHA ISSUES 787000 IN PENALTIES AGAINST WISCONSIN FIRM -- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH &AMP; SAFETY, http://ohsonline.com/a rticles/2010/12/14/osha-issues-787000-in-penalties-against-wisconsin-firm. aspx?admgarea=news

OSHA issued $787,000 in proposed penalties Tuesday against a hazardous waste management and solvent recycling company, WRR Environmental Services Co. of Eau Claire, Wis. There were 14 willful and one serious citation filed for allegedly failing to implement measures to prevent chemical fires and explosions at its plant in Eau Claire, where an OSHA investigation took place after a June 29 explosion and fire in a solvent sludge feed tank.

The tank's roof blew off, and a nearby tank also exploded. "Employees had been working in the area of the solvent sludge feed tank immediately prior to the explosion. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries," OSHA stated in its news release.

"Even after WRR Environmental Services experienced a devastating fire that destroyed the facility in 2007, the company still failed to implement an adequate program to ensure safe operating conditions," said OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels.

-----------------------

NTSB SAN BRUNO REPORT: CAUSE OF EXPLOSION STILL UNCLEAR - SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county/ci_16856549?nclick_che ck=1

Federal investigators looking into the Sept. 9 natural gas explosion in San Bruno that killed eight people and destroyed 35 homes reported Tuesday that they still don't know what caused that section of pipe to burst, but have ruled out external corrosion and have found no sign of damage from excavation.
The update from the National Transportation Safety Board also noted that "no physical evidence suggests that a pre-existing leak occurred in the ruptured pipe pieces."
In the days immediately following the blast, some experts had speculated that the 54-year-old steel gas transmission pipe may have been weakened by corrosion or by work in 2008 on a sewer line in the same location.
Saying the agency is
continuing to analyze the chemical and mechanical properties of the pipe, as well as unspecified "environmental factors at the accident site," the report added, "the investigation is still in an early phase and there is much factual information to be developed."
Lingering uncertainties over what caused that section of pipe to rupture has aroused widespread concern that other sections of PG&amp;E pipe may have similar vulnerabilities, especially since PG&amp;E officials insist they had inspected that portion of pipe and found nothing wrong. In the first report on the accident, which was issued Oct. 13, the safety board noted only that the steel pipe fractured lengthwise and at welds that held it together.

-----------------------

FOUR FIRE CREWS BROUGHT IN TO DEAL WITH CHEMICAL SPILL AT TILBURY DOCKS (FROM THURROCK GAZETTE), http://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/news/8737384.Chemical_sp illage_at_Tilbury_Docks/

FOUR fire crews spent nearly two hours clearing up a chemical spill at Tilbury Docks this afternoon (Tuesday).

Crews from Grays and Orsett were called at 3.11pm after a valve on a tank broke and ethanol, a volatile and flammable liquid, started to leak.

A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue described the ethanol =93pouring=94 from the container which can hold up to 33,000 litres of the liquid.

The firefighters laid down a blanket of foam to prevent risk of ignition and contain the spillage while the Port of London Authority brought a new container to put the remainder of the liquid into.

-----------------------

WORKERS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN HOLBEACH ST MARKS - NEWS - SPALDING GUARDIAN, http://www.spaldingtoday. co.uk/news/workers_taken_to_hospital_after_chemical_spill_in_holbeach_st_m arks_1_1919110

TWO factory workers had to be taken to hospital following a chemical spill at a site in Holbeach St Marks.

Bakkavor Pizza on Sluice Road had to be evacuated and about 30 firefighters called in just before 9pm on Saturday.

Two staff members were left suffering from breathing difficulties from the incident, which was caused by an overconcentration of a chemical.

They were given oxygen before paramedics arrived on the scene and were later taken to hospital after showering and changing their clothes.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said Bakkavor workers had diluted a cleaning agent down and flushed the area before fire crews arrived.

-----------------------

UPDATE: UW-L'S COWLEY HALL EVACUATED AFTER FIRE - WXOW NEWS 19 LA CROSSE, WI - NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS |, http://www.wxow .com/Global/story.asp?S=13673212

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) - UPDATE:  A magnesium fire in a kiln inside Cowley Hall on the UW-L campus has forced students and faculty from the building.

According to a La Crosse Fire Department spokesperson, there is no danger to anyone or the building.  The department plans to let the small amount of magnesium burn itself out. There was a concern over possible chemical reactions if water or other fire suppression chemicals were used.  Firefighters wearing hazmat gear as a precaution are in the building monitoring the situation.    

The spokesperson was not sure how many people were in the building when the fire started around 4pm. 

There are no reports of any injuries.

-----------------------

JHB FACTORY TOLD TO AFTER AMMONIA LEAK: NEWS24: SOUTH AFRICA: NEWS, http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Jhb-factory-t old-to-after-ammonia-leak-20101214

Johannesburg - The Johannesburg Emergency Management Services Fire Safety Directorate has issued a notice to an ice manufacturer in Richards Street after a dangerous ammonia gas leak was reported on Tuesday.

"At approximately 10:00 this morning, our call centre received a frantic call from one of the business owners, operating in the same location, about an unusual gaseous odour emanating from a neighbouring factory," said spokesperson Percy Morokane.

"A Hazardous Materials Team (HAZMAT) was dispatched to the scene and all employees were evacuated.

"The team investigated, traced the source and the substance which was leaking was identified as ammonia."

The factory's manager was instructed to close the factory and he brought in their contracted technicians.

-----------------------

CREWS CLEAN UP OIL SPILL ON I-76 IN BRIGHTON - THE DENVER POST, http://www.denve rpost.com/technology/ci_16859297

Interstate 76 was closed at Bromley Lane in Brighton for about three hours as crews cleaned an oil spill caused by a Chevy pickup that veered across traffic.

John Bradley, a spokesman for Brighton Police, said the accident happened just after 5 p.m.

A man in his 50s who was driving the pickup was in the eastbound lanes and crossed into westbound traffic, hitting a semi-trailer head on, Bradley said.

The semi-trailer =97 carrying two tankers filled with crude oil =97 "veered about 150 to 200" feet and eventually ended in the eastbound lanes and lost its second tanker as it rolled on the highway.

There is no estimate as to how much oil was spilled, but Bradley said each of the tankers had a capacity for about 80 barrels of oil.

-----------------------

OIL LEAK NEAR LEMONT=92S CITGO REFINERY HALTS TRAFFIC, METRA - LEMONT, IL - LEMONT REPORTER, http://www.mysuburbanli fe.com/lemont/features/x1167176913/Oil-leak-near-Lemont-s-Citgo-Refinery-h alts-traffic-Metra

A crude oil leak from a pipeline connected to the Lemont Citgo Refinery has roads closed and was responsible for re-routing an inbound commuter train during this morning=92s commute.

Fire crews and hazmat teams are currently on the scene and assessing potential damage caused when a 12-inch pipeline broke open, said Kathy Hoffmeyer, a representative for the Will County Sheriff=92s Office.

As of 1:30 p.m., the Will County Sherriff's Police had left the scene, Hoffmeyer said.

The leak, reported at about 8 a.m. this morning, closed New Avenue from Archer Avenue to 135th Street in Romeoville, Hoffmeyer said. The leak has been patched, but crews are not sure how much oil leaked or for how long it had been leaking, she added.

-----------------------

KEARNEY STUDENT'S DEATH BEING INVESTIGATED BY POLICE | NEWS 5 | NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS FOR HASTINGS | KEARNEY | GRAND ISLAND | NEBRASKA | COVERAGE YOU CAN COUNT ON | LOCAL NEWS, http://www.khastv.com/news/local/Kearne y-students-death-being-investigated-by-police-111817544.html

Kearney Police are investigating the mysterious death of a University of Nebraska Kearney Student after a dangerous chemical is found in his apartment.

Sunday police responded to a call at an apartment complex on 23rd Street in Kearney.

21 year old Khoa Tam Vu was found in his bedroom by his roommate Sunday afternoon.

During the investigation, the Buffalo County hazmat team was called to secure a suspected dangerous chemical found in the apartment.

Police said they're working with the University of Nebraska Kearney chemistry department to determine what the chemical was.

-----------------------

S. MAINE SPILL CLOSES ACCESS ROADS, http://www.necn.com/12/13/10/S-Maine-spill-closes-access- roads/landing_newengland.html?&amp;blockID=3&amp;apID=bf7740af cd1445768eef2e5c68cebe12

FALMOUTH, Maine (AP) =97 Officials say a spill from a broken container of muriatic acid that was illegally dumped in Falmouth forced the temporary closing of an access road and sent two people to the hospital, but they were treated and released with no serious injuries.

Assistant Fire Chief Doug Patey of the Falmouth Fire Department said police were called Monday morning after the two public works employees went to retrieve a recycling container behind the West Falmouth Shopping Center, and discovered a liquid chemical inside and outside of the container.

-----------------------

STUDENTS BACK IN CLASS AFTER CHEMICAL ODOR SCARE - PASADENA, MD PATCH, http://pasadena.patch.com/articles/students-back-in-cla ss-after-chemical-odor-scare

Bob Mosier, Public Information Officer for Anne Arundel County Schools, said that the chemical odor issue at Northeast High School caused by the remains of an organic solvent has been addressed in full and that students were back in class the same day.

"The kids were back in the classrooms and they were back in their classes that day," said Mosier.

Mosier said he believed that the school responded effectively to the situation.

"They contacted the fire department and they decided to bring the hazmat unit out to be safe," said Mosier. "That required students to stay out of class longer; it's certainly unfortunate that the students had to be out on a very cold day and the evacuation lasted so long."

-----------------------

FIRE CREWS INVESTIGATE BIODIESEL PLANT FIRE - ABC27 NEWS, http://www.abc 27.com/Global/story.asp?S=13660099

Fire officials continued their investigation on Sunday into what sparked a three-alarm blaze that destroyed a biodiesel plant in Adams County.

The fire started at the Soy Energy biodiesel plant on Oxford Road in Tyrone Township around 2:00 PM Saturday. 16 different fire departments battled the blaze for 10 hours.

Soy Energy owner Dan Scharrer met with the Fire Marshall on Sunday.

"I was happy nobody was hurt," Scharrer said.  "Because, at the time, the plant was shut down."

Fire crews monitored hot spots as investigators rummaged through the smoldering pile searching for clues on how the fire started.

"I still can't figure out what may have happened," Scharrer said.  "Something just sparked or something. I don't know."

Soy Energy's biodiesel plant also produced a slight chemical scare, according to authorities. Officials said soy bean oil, methanol, and sodium methylate flowed into the runoff. Officials said hazardous material crews thoroughly cleaned up any dangerous mess. Officials said the water is safe to use.

-----------------------

CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES ROUTE 50 =95 TOP STORIES (WWW.HOMETOWNANNAPOLIS.COM - THE CAPITAL), http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/to p/2010/12/13-01/Chemical-spill-closes-Route-50.html?ne=1

Route 50 was closed in both directions from Annapolis to Davidsonville for hours Sunday night while the county's hazardous material crew cleared a chemical spill near the Interstate 97 split, county Fire Department officials said.

AP VIDEOmore&gt;&gt;

A DuPont tanker truck was traveling west on Route 50 near I-97 around 6 p.m. when the driver noticed a large vapor cloud coming from the vehicle, said Capt. James Rostek, a county Fire Department spokesman. The vehicle was coming from New Jersey.

The truck driver pulled over and called 911. Firefighters and paramedics found the 50-year-old driver on the roadside, sickened from fumes he had inhaled. The driver suffered respiratory problems and was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment, Rostek said.

A small vapor cloud still surrounded the truck when crews arrived.

-----------------------

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.