Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 09:36:50 -0500
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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FLAME BEHIND SCHOOL UNDER INVESTIGATION =BB TOP NEWS =BB CULLMANTIMES.COM - CULLMAN, ALABAMA, http://www.cullmantimes.com/local/x1758585509/Flame-b ehind-school-under-investigation

COLD SPRINGS =97 An apparent malfunction in a gas line caused a flame to shoot nearly 30 feet into the air tonight behind Cold Springs High School.

Officials reported the flame did not cause damage in the area. A maintenance worker for the school shut off the gas. Firefighters from the Cold Springs and Bremen fire departments are at the scene with Cullman County HAZMAT workers to investigate the situation.

An officials reported that the malfunction was apparently related to an ignitor that connects to gas lines in an area behind the gym and parking lot behind the school.

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GAS LEAK FORCES EVACUATION OF LONG ISLAND BUILDING - WSJ.COM, http://online.wsj.com/article/APfa671556ea874823a7595fdc6f5bed87.html

FREEPORT, N.Y. =97 Twenty-five workers at a Long Island packaging plant were hospitalized for exposure to carbon monoxide.

Firefighters responded to the LaMar Plastic Packaging company in Freeport Tuesday morning. The county's hazmat team determined the carbon monoxide likely came from the plant's faulty gas-fired heaters.

Mark Stuparich (STEW'-pah-rich), a Freeport assistant chief, says indoor air readings indicated more than 500 parts per million of carbon monoxide. Normal levels are 5 parts per million or less, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The incident is under investigation.

The injuries are not considered serious, with workers complaining of headaches, dizziness and nausea. Along with the 25 who were hospitalized, another 20 were treated at the scene.

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RETIRED FIRE OFFICIAL CREDITED WITH STOPPING REDLAND CHLORINE LEAK - THE LUFKIN DAILY NEWS: LOCAL &AMP; STATE, http://lufkindailynews.com/news/local/article_d9991 244-12c4-11e0-a43e-001cc4c002e0.html

A potentially deadly chlorine leak at Redland Water Supply was contained Tuesday thanks to the quick action of a retired Lufkin Fire Department captain, according to a current Lufkin Fire official.
Grover Holst, now a water operator at Redland Water Supply, was changing one of the chlorine tanks with his manager, Michael Moore, when something went wrong around 11:45 a.m., according to Lufkin Fire spokesman Capt. Steve McCool. As a cloud of toxic gas leaked into the air, Holst put his HAZMAT training to work.
=93I had to get an air pack and went back in to shut it off,=94 Holst said, taking a moment to cough. =93Chlorine is pretty rough. My manager got a lot more chlorine in his lungs than I did.=94
Moore was taken by ambulance to Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin because he was having difficulty breathing, McCool said. He was expected to recover.

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UPDATE: FIVE-ALARM FIRE DESTROYS HISTORIC BUILDING IN SOUTH SHORE, http://www.wsaz .com/news/headlines/112497274.html

SOUTH SHORE, Ky. (WSAZ) - The cause of a five-alarm fire that gutted the historic S.M. Robertson Building remains undetermined.

Built in 1926, the building has served as a community center, as well as a department store that sold groceries.

It also was a farm store that stored chemicals, pesticides and fertilizer - all materials that led to a series of explosions that rocked the small town. Fire literally shot across the street, with debris that broke the windows out of another building and threw glass city blocks away.

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ANALYSTS: PLANT FIRES WON=92T AFFECT PETRONAS CHEMICALS=92 BUSINESS, http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.as p?file=/2010/12/28/business/7692135&amp;sec=business

PETALING JAYA: The fire that occurred at the aromatic plant belonging to Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd is not expected to have any major impact on its business; however, any prolonged closure could affect its revenue.

According to OSK Research analyst Jason Yap, the plant is used to produce paraxylene and benzene, which make up about 20% of forecast revenue for financial year ending March 31, 2011 (FY11).

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FLAMMABLE CHEMICAL SPILLED AT COLORADO PLANT | NEWSFIRST5.COM | COLORADO SPRINGS | PUEBLO |, http://www.newsfirst5.com/news/flammable-chemical-spilled-at-c olorado-plant/

BOULDER - Boulder fire officials say more than 700 gallons of flammable liquid were spilled from a manufacturing plant and led to the evacuation of one of its buildings.
Boulder Fire Chief of Operations David Cain told the Boulder Daily Camera the liquid did not get into any of the city's storm or sewer water drains Monday afternoon. No injuries were reported.
The spill happened at the Roche Colorado plant. Cain says the liquid was a mixture of methanol and water. He says the spill likely happened because of a faulty valve on a pipe carrying the liquid or a pipe leak.
Roche Colorado manufactures peptides used in pharmaceuticals.

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OFFICIAL: ODOR FROM CHEMICAL SPILL, NOT GAS LEAK | ASSOCIATED PRESS | THE TIMES LEADER, WILKES-BARRE, PA, http://www .timesleader.com/news/ap?articleID=6143981

Authorities in suburban Philadelphia say they believe the spill of a chemical that smells like natural gas led hundreds of residents to think there was a gas leak.

Abington Township Fire Marshal Kenneth Clark says about a gallon of a substance believed to be mercaptan (mur-CAP'-ten) spilled on Monday. The chemical is added to natural gas to give it a detectable odor.

Clark says a container of the substance was accidentally punctured during snow removal at an Abington business. Strong winds carried the odor to neighboring townships, and Clark says hundreds of residents called authorities and utility companies.

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MICHIGAN TOWN TOLD TO STAY INSIDE DURING CHEMICAL FIRE | NEWSFIRST5.COM | COLORADO SPRINGS | PUEBLO |, http://www.newsfirst5.com/news/michigan-town-told-to -stay-inside-during-chemical-fire/

People in Lansing Township in Michigan were told to stay upwind of a dangerous chemical fire this morning. 

Residents near the Adams Plating Company in were first told to evacuate the area, then they were told to remain inside their homes with windows and doors sealed as tightly as possible. 

Hazardous materials were inside the building and local traffic was diverted from the area. 

The township fire chief says the building is a total loss and they're letting the chemicals burn out.

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HAZMAT CALLED AFTER METH INGREDIENTS FOUND AT POLICE STATION | ABC7CHICAGO.COM, http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;id= 7863791

December 25, 2010 (CHICAGO) -- A Washington cab passenger has been charged with manufacturing and delivering methamphetamines after police found the drugs in his bag after he became unresponsive in the back of a cab.

The cab driver, upset the unconscious man could not pay the fair, drove to a North Side police station -- prompting a hazardous materials response when the highly-volatile drugs were found.

Joseph Hoffman, 25, of Vancouver, Wa., was arrested at 2:08 p.m. and charged with manufacturing and delivery of methamphetamine after a mobile meth lab was found inside his bag, police said.

Police also found about three pounds of methamphetamine valued at $448,800, police said.

A cab driver arrived at the Rogers Park District police station at 6464 N. Clark St. and told police a passenger was unresponsive in the backseat of the cab and unable to pay to fare, police said.

Officers called paramedics and began searching the man's bag in an attempt to identify him, police said. While searching the bag, officers noticed a strange odor and drug paraphernalia.

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BURNT WAREHOUSE LACKED FIRE SAFETY, http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=167474

The warehouse of Goodknight Mosquito Coil and Spray at the capital's Khilkhet had no fire-extinguishers and the workers there were not trained to do their jobs properly.

Statements of workers and warehouse authorities vary sharply. And mystery shrouds what actually the workers were doing in the warehouse when it went up in flames. It is still to be ascertained what caused the fire.

The blaze at the warehouse on Friday night killed six workers, five on the spot, and left five others critically injured. The deceased workers are Almas, Tofazzal, Aminul, Yusuf, Russel and Anwar. Of them, Russel, Yusuf, Tofazzal and Aminur were of the same family.

The injured were having treatment at the Burn and Plastic Surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Six of them were brought in early yesterday, but Anwar, 26, succumbed to his injuries.

According to sources, the fire broke out when workers, basically labourers with little skill, were puncturing cans to let out the chemicals and gases. The cans had expired their best-before-use dates.

They said the liquid chemical from the punctured cans was kept in large barrels that also caught fire, resulting in a blow up.

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THREE INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT | AHN, http://www.allhead linenews.com/briefs/articles/90028649?Three%20injured%20in%20explosion%20a t%20Texas%20chemical%20plant

An explosion at an industrial chemical plant east of Houston sent three workers to the hospital on Friday.

Two of the victims were transported by helicopter with burns to the face and neck and the third person was transported by ambulance. All three victims were reportedly in stable condition.
The explosion happened at the KMCO LP chemical plant in the 16500 block of Ramsey Road near the Crosby-Dayton Road in Crosby, Texas. 
It was the result of a small fire in a reactor for fuel additives used by oil and gas companies. The accident is under investigation.

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