Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:51:34 -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>


SPARK IN LAB AT DRL CAUSES PANIC | FIRE SPARK | | INDIAN EXPRESS, http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/spark-in-lab-a t-drl-causes-panic/238723.html

HYDERABAD: Eruption of a fire spark in one of Dr Reddy's Laboratories unit gave jitters to its employees today. The spark in one of the units, located at Bachupally, was claimed to be outcome of a chemical reaction. But there are no casualties or injuries, according to the company officials.
As a precautionary measure, the company also called a fire engine to avoid untoward incidents. Recently, there was a fire in one of the DRL's units at Bollarum wherein a chemist and a contract worker died due to a gas leak at the US Food and Drug Administration-approved plant that produces active pharmaceutical ingredients. A threemember committee, comprising two officials from the Directorate of Factories and one pharma expert, are probing into the gas leak incident at Dr Reddy's Laboratories production unit.

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

FIRE DESTROYS LAB AT IICT | FIRE | LABORATORY | INDIAN EXPRESS, http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/fire-destroys-lab-at- iict/238722.html

HYDERABAD: A major fire gutted a chemical laboratory in the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) at Habsiguda today evening.
Initial inquiry by the police and fire services officials suggested that the fire might have occurred due to electric short circuit. However, none was injured in the mishap.
The fire broke out in the Discovery Laboratory in a ground-plus-two building on the IICT campus where a huge quantity of solvents used in experiments was stored.
The fire control room received a call at 4.53 p.m and a fire tender from Moula Ali, which is stationed within the IICT campus, was rushed to the spot.
According to sources, a couple of scientists working in the laboratory ran out after the fire started.
With solvents catching fire, the fire services personnel could not use water to douse the flames. They had to rely on foam. As the fire could not be controlled, more fire tenders, a multi-purpose tender and a dry chemical powder tender had to be rushed to the spot.
"The fire in the lab was so intense that the fire services department had to press five fire tenders into service. It took about two hours to put out the fire," Nacharam police inspector T Manohar Reddy said.
The lab that caught fire was on the first floor of one of the blocks in the IICT. Luckily the blaze did not spread to other floors. The extent of property loss is yet to be ascertained, said police.
According to reports, solvents like methanol, ethanol and acetene were stored in drums in the lab. "The solvents are highly inflammable and they caught fire within minutes," a fire services officer said adding that the fire might have started from an electric switch in the laboratory.

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

EXPLOSION IN REDFORD, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO ASSESS IMPACT | HOMETOWNLIFE.COM | THE OBSERVER &AMP; ECCENTRIC NEWSPAPERS AND HOMETOWN WEEKLIES, htt p://www.hometownlife.com/article/20110111/NEWS16/110111008

An explosion rocked Duratech Systems, 12546 Beech Daly Road, at 9:15 a.m.
Redford Township Officials released a statement minutes ago that indicated the explosion occurred as workers were cleaning out storage tanks at the facility. There were no apparent injuries but two DuraTech employees were taken to a local medical clinic as a precautionary measure.

=93We had numerous calls,=94 said Redford Township Supervisor Tracey Schultz Kobylarz, including one that said the blast waves were felt as far away as Five Mile and Inkster.

Officials do not believe air quality has been compromised but they have called in the Department of Environmental Quality to assess the situation. All local roads remain open.

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

LIGHTS &AMP; SIRENS - =BB ATTEMPTED THEFT APPEARS CAUSE OF AMMONIA LEAK IN KENT THE NEWS TRIBUNE BLOGS, TACOMA, WA, http://blog.thenewstribune.com/crime /2011/01/11/attempted-theft-appears-cause-of-ammonia-leak-in-kent/

Attempted theft of ammonia gas perhaps by old-school methamphetamine cookers appears to be the cause of a leak in a cold storage plant in downtown Kent this morning.

Investigators found that someone had taken the cap off an outside valve that was no longer used.

Kent Fire Department responded to a 6:45 a.m. report of a strong chemical smell in the 300 block of Railroad Ave. N. at Washington Cold Storage. Ammonia is used in the plant=92s refrigeration process and is considered toxic.

Firefighters quickly cordoned off an area surrounding the business and Kent Police closed West James Street in both directions in order to ensure that no one was exposed to the toxic gas. The gas leak also affected the operations of Mill Creek Middle School and the Regional Justice Center.

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

CHEMICAL DISPERSANT AT POLICE DISPATCH CENTER CAUSES EVACUATION =BB CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES, http://www.caller.com/news/2011/jan/10/chemical-dispe rsant-at-police-dispatch-center/

CORPUS CHRISTI =97 For dispatchers Monday at the Corpus Christi police station, an emergency occurred in their own office.

Dispatch center staff were evacuated for nearly two hours from the fourth floor of the building in the 300 block of John Sartain Street about 5 p.m. after its fire alarm system was triggered, spraying a chemical dispersant, said police spokesman Tony Acevedo.

=93It was some kind of false alarm,=94 Acevedo said. =93The fire department came and checked it out and no injuries were reported.=94

Staff were moved to the department=92s Emergency Operations Center at the Frost Bank Building, Acevedo said.

The building=92s Halon alarm system is designed to extinguish a fire without the use of water and not damage electronics, fire officials said.

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

FAMILIES FORCED OUT BY CHEMICAL SPILL - EVENING TIMES | NEWS | EDITOR'S PICKS, http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/editor -s-picks/families-forced-out-by-chemical-spill-1.1079250
< div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; ">
Residents were today allowed to return to their homes almost 20 hours after they were evacuated following a chemical spill.

Six houses were evacuated after the spillage on an industrial estate in Ayrshire around midday.


The alarm was raised following reports of a chemical release at Mahle Engine Systems UK Ltd.

She said: =93A neighbour knocked on the door and said to keep the windows closed as there had been an ammonia leak.

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

EXPLOSION FROM AQUEOUS HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND ACETIC ANHYDRIDE | THE SAFETY ZONE, http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zon e/2011/01/explosion-from-aqueous-hydrogen-peroxide-and-acetic-anhydride/

WE ARE WRITING to report on an accident that occurred in the chemistry department at Northwestern University on Dec. 3, 2010. Unfortunately, one of our advisees was seriously injured. The accident=97a reaction mixture detonation=97occurred during an attempt to synthesize 2-(tert-butylsulfonyl)iodosylbenzene, a partially soluble form of iodosylbenzene that is particularly convenient for use as an oxygen source in studies of catalytic chemical oxidations, such as olefin to epoxide reactions. The synthesis had been performed about a dozen times previously at Northwestern without incident.

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

THE ARGUS-PRESS: NEWS - DERAILED TRAIN CLEAN-UP COMPLETED, http://www.argus-press.com/news/communit y/durand/article_40aabbe2-1ccd-11e0-a0e4-001cc4c03286.html

VERNON TWP. =97 Clean-up of a derailed train near Pittsburg and Reed roads continued over the weekend after a Canadian National Railway car carrying hydrochloric acid was punctured Thursday evening, spilling the hazardous chemical.
 The tracks were =93all cleared=94 Sunday around 8 p.m., Durand Fire Chief Richard Rinker said this morning.
=93The cause (for the derailment) is still under investigation,=94 Canadian National Railway Public Affairs Director Patrick Waldron said.

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

BBC NEWS - MAHLE PLANT AMMONIA LEAK PROMPTS KILMARNOCK EVACUATION, http: //www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-12156181

Fire crews have been called to a engineering works in East Ayrshire following a chemical leak.

Residents were evacuated from a number of homes in Kilmarnock as a precaution following the suspected ammonia leak at the Mahle plant in New Street.

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

THE HINDU : FRONT PAGE : MAJOR BLAZE IN IICT LABORATORY, http ://www.hindu.com/2011/01/11/stories/2011011157960100.htm
< div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; ">
HYDERABAD: A major blaze swept through a laboratory in the prestigious Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) gutting stocks of stored solvents and laboratory re-agents, on Monday evening. There was no loss of life.

The chemical blaze, reported to the fire control at 4.53 p.m., rendered almost half of the Discovery Laboratory useless. Authorities did not hazard a guess on the cause of fire and extent of damage saying they were yet to receive details from IICT officials.

Four fire control vehicles, including a dry chemical power tender and a multi-purpose tender, dashed from different parts of the city to the IICT, located near Habsiguda on eastern side of Hyderabad abutting Osmania University. More than a dozen firemen battled the blaze for over an hour to control it.

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

FOUR DELHI CHILDREN RECEIVE BURN INJURIES, http://www.indiablooms.com/NewsDetailsPage/newsDetails100111d.php

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS) Four children sustained serious burn injuries when the fire they lighted to keep themselves warm caught a chemical drum causing an explosion in south-east Delhi early on Monday, police said.

They were taken to hospital with critically damaged limbs.

The accident took place outside a printing press where the children were burning waste materials to beat the freeazing cold.

Delhi has been experiencing a bitter cold as mercury dipped to nearly 4 degree Celsius.

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

HAZMAT CREWS CLEAN UP HUNDREDS OF GALLONS OF SPILLED DIESEL FUEL, http://www.whs v.com/news/headlines/Hazmat_Crews_Clean_Up_Hundreds_of_Gallons_of_Spilled_ Diesel_Fuel_113238114.html?ref=114

After spending hours in the Compton area Monday, Page County crews have almost finished cleaning up 750 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled after a truck hit a guardrail.

State police say the driver, David Grimsley of Winchester, was heading southbound on Route 340.

They say Grimsley was crossing the bridge over Compton Creek when he lost control as he poured a cup of coffee. He hit the guardrails on both sides of the road.

Joe Taylor, a hazardous materials officer with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, says, anytime a combustible or flammable material gets on the ground, their main concern is the environment.

"Any kind of chemical getting into the environment or waterways that way, potentially harming any fish or wildlife and certainly the potential for harm of getting into the drinking water," says Taylor.

He says this is an unusual situation, since the truck crashed and began leaking on the bridge with a dry Compton Creek below it.

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

PCP EXPOSURE FELLS EAST WINDSOR COP &AMP; CAPITAL HEALTH EMT, HAZMAT TEAM SWEEPS UP THE ANGEL DUST - TRENTONIAN.COM, http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2011/01/11/news/doc4d2b 48ff966d1222895666.txt

EAST WINDSOR =97 A township cop and Capital Health emergency medical technician were sickened and hospitalized Monday morning after being exposed to hallucinogenic PCP, a potent drug known on the streets =93animal tranquilizer,=94 =93embalming fluid,=94 and =93angel dust,=94 cops said.

The incident began about 10:30 a.m. when a township cop escorted a man out of the East Windsor Municipal Court after the man reported he felt ill from consuming a substance suspected to be a PCP-laced cigarette, cops said.

The cop located the drugs in the man=92s possession, and then the cop started to experience lightheadedness, according to township police, who didn=92t identify the cop or suspected PCP man by name.

Not long afterward, the unnamed Capital Health EMT experienced lightheadedness while treating the suspected PCP man in an ambulance parked in front of township police headquarters, cops said.

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

WSVN-TV - MERCURY SPILLS IN PASSENGER'S LUGGAGE, http://ww w.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21003236431591/

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (WSVN) -- HazMat crews arrived at a South Florida airport Sunday to contain a hazardous chemical.

The incident occurred Sunday morning in the customs area of Miami International Airport. Police said a passenger had Mercury in their luggage, and it spilled.

Haz-mat crews were called to the scene to contain the chemical.

Officials said operations at customs were not affected.

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

EXPLOSIVE DEVICE LEFT AT A WALGREEN'S, http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/local/011011-ex plosive-device-left-at-a-walgreens

WINTER PARK, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Aloma Avenue was closed Monday evening for several hours as a hazmat team investigated a suspicious device which was left just outside the front doors of a Walgreen's located near N. Palmetto Avenue. A bomb squad with the Orange County Sheriff's Office was also called to the scene to X-ray the device in question.

Authorities were first contacted around 5:30 p.m. and it was later determined through the use of bomb-detecting equipment and a K-9 that the device was an explosive and required detonation. Shortly after 9 p.m., the Walgreen's store, the pharmacy parking lot and nearby business were evacuated and the device was removed and destroyed.

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

I-75 REOPENS AFTER SPILL | CINCINNATI.COM | CINCINNATI.COM, http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110110/NEWS01/3011 00024/SB-75-closed-for-hours

ARTIMIS reports the accident occurred at 10:10 a.m. More than 2,000 gallons of fuel spilled from the tanker. Dozens of firefighters and hazardous materials units are on the scene.

Traffic is being diverted off at Ohio 129. 

The overturned truck is blocking all southbound lanes and about 2,000 gallons of spilled fuel are being flushed by firefighters and two hazmat crews.

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

AP IMPACT: METH FLOURISHES DESPITE TRACKING LAWS - YAHOO! NEWS, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_on_re_us/us_drug_war_track ing_meth

ST. LOUIS - At the height of the methamphetamine epidemic, several states turned to a new weapon to disrupt the drug trade: electronic systems that could track sales of the cold medicine used to make meth.
Tracking sales by computer allowed pharmacies to check instantly whether a buyer had already purchased the legal limit of pseudoephedrine =97 a step that was supposed to make it harder to obtain raw ingredients for meth.
But an Associated Press analysis of federal data reveals that the practice has not only failed to curb the meth trade, which is growing again after a brief decline. It also created a vast and highly lucrative market for profiteers to buy over-the-counter pills and sell them to meth producers at a huge markup.

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.