Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 08:17:50 -0500
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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HAZMAT SCARE LEAVES NEIGHBORHOOD ROPED OFF | NBC NEW YORK, http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-be at/Hazmat-Scare-Leaves-Neighborhood-Roped-off-115549084.html

A tanker accident and resulting leak in The Bronx has clean-up crews busy this morning and leaves one Eastchester neighborhood roped off to traffic.
The accident happened just before 3 a.m. on the off ramp of exit 14 southbound on the New England Thruway. That's the exit that takes drivers to the Hutchinson River Parkway.
Fire department officials say the tanker was carrying carbon dioxide which escaped and created a cloud of gas in the immediate area. The exit ramp is closed at this hour. No injuries have been reported.

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TWO TRANSPORTED IN HAZMAT INCIDENT | ABC11.COM, http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&amp;id =7946740

DURHAM (WTVD) -- The Bethesda fire chief tells ABC11 that two people were transported to the hospital Tuesday after exposure to anhydrous ammonia fumes.

The incident happened around 3 p.m. at Cree Headquarters on Silicon Drive in Durham.

Authorities say one person passed out and the other person pulled him to safety, but then got sick from the fumes too.

Both were transported as a precaution. Their conditions are not known at this time.

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MAN SEVERELY HURT AFTER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN ALACHUA - NORTH FLORIDA HERALD: NEWS, http://northfloridaherald.com/news/article_c504ba30-33 c2-11e0-b26a-001cc4c002e0.html

ALACHUA - A chemical explosion severely hurt a man in a lab near Progress Corporate Park in Alachua this afternoon.
The SynQuest Labs chemist was mixing at least two chemicals when the process exploded in his face.
At one point, people were asked to stand upwind of the lab as the Gainesville Fire Department Hazardous Materials Unit dressed in bright yellow, sealed suits and prepared to go inside the building.
The explosion occurred in a sealed room, and fire officials don't believe any of the chemicals escaped, said Alachua County Fire Rescue Chief Larry Stewart.

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BBC NEWS - CHEMICAL TANKS EXPLODE AT DESIGN FACTORY IN MALDON, http://www.bb c.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-12397161

Two chemical tanks have exploded during a blaze at a design manufacturing plant in Essex.

Six fire crews were called to the Sil-Die factory in Fullbridge, Maldon, at 1245 GMT.

Two phosphorus tanks have exploded and crews have been hampered by a number of potentially explosive chemicals.

The fire service said the two-storey property has been "totally destroyed" and a heavy plume of smoke can be seen over the town.

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FIRE STRIKES MONT BELVIEU CHEMICAL FACILITY - THERECORDLIVE.COM, http://therecordlive .com/article/Beyond_the_County/Beyond_the_County/Fire_strikes_Mont_Belvieu _chemical_facility/60310

A Mont Belvieu chemical facility was being searched today for a missing worker after a fire started at the plant. The worker being searched for was thought to be away from the work site, but the search was being conducted for safety measures. A spokesman for Enterprise Products, said there were no reported injuries from the fire.
The plant is a Texas natural gas and chemical facility
The cause of the fire, which broke out shortly after noon at a facility used to store natural gas liquids, was unknown. Emergency personnel cleared a two-mile perimeter around the facility, and a nearby school was on lockdown.
According to its website, Enterprise Products owns or has interest in approximately 19,200 miles of onshore natural gas pipelines that provide for the gathering and transmission of natural gas in Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming.

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CHANDLER CREWS CONTAIN TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILL, http://www.azcentral.com/c ommunity/chandler/articles/2011/02/08/20110208chandler-xylene-spill-clean- up-abrk.html

Nearly 300 gallons of the toxic liquid xylene spilled out of a holding tank in a light industrial park near 101 South Mckemy Avenue in Chandler on Tuesday, according to the Chandler Fire Department.

Authorities believe the level monitoring system in a 3,000 gallon holding tank malfunctioned, allowing the flammable liquid to overflow, according to Battalion Chief Paul Nies of the Chandler Fire Department. Firefighters were able to contain the highly flammable liquid and prevent any additional overflow.

The xylene that flowed out of the tank collected in a containment pit. Xylene is a clear, colorless liquid that has a characteristically sweet smell.

It is commonly used as a solvent in the printing and rubber industries and as a cleaning agent.

Contractors hired by the owner of the tank are expected to clean up the spill with fire crews providing protection.

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BLOTTER: FIREFIGHTERS CLEAN UP IMPROPER ANTIFREEZE USE | DENTON RECORD CHRONICLE | NEWS FOR DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS | LOCAL NEWS, http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/d rc/localnews/stories/DRC_Blotter_0208.13391ddfc.html

A resident=92s chemical solution to the winter storm=92s effect on a driveway led to a need for cleanup by Denton Fire Department personnel.

Police responded to a call in the 1300 block of Marble Cove Lane to assist the fire department with a report of illegal dumping. Responding officers met with fire personnel, who reported receiving a call about antifreeze being poured into a city storm drain.

Upon arrival, they found a large amount of antifreeze in the gutter leaking into the storm drain in front of the original caller=92s house, the report said. The caller=92s children noticed the leaking when they returned home from church.

The fire department had already begun cleanup when officers arrived. Officers theorized the owner of the home tried to use the antifreeze to melt the ice and snow on the driveway, the report states.

There was no response when officers knocked on the door of the residence where the substance was originating from.

It was estimated that 4 gallons of antifreeze had been used. When officers arrived, the fire department had already used 100 pounds of absorbent material in the cleanup effort.

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POLICE: LEAK REPORTED AT ADRIAN CHEMICAL FACILITY - CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi -ap-mi-chemicalleak-mich,0,7680810.story

ADRIAN, Mich. =97 Authorities say a leak at a facility that makes swimming pool chemicals released a cloud over the city of Adrian. 

Police Chief Terry Collins says two workers were taken to a hospital to be checked out as a precaution following the leak about 5:30 a.m. Monday at the Chemtura Corp. facility. He says they appeared to be OK. 

Collins says classes were delayed for some area schools following the leak. Adrian is located in about 60 miles southwest of Detroit.

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HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO I-20 WEIGH STATION, http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/hazmat-crews-cal led-to-i-20-weigh-station-020711

ATLANTA - Hazmat crews were on the scene of a chemical clean-up on Interstate 20 eastbound, between Lee and Thornton Roads Monday.

A carrier went through a weigh station and people working there noticed a leak.

Three people reported not feeling well. Two people were treated on the scene by Douglas County fire crews. A third person was transported to WellStar Douglas Hospital.

Hazmat crews responded to the scene to clean-up the leak.

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COMPANY APPEALS FATAL BLAST CONVICTION - ABC NEWS (AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION), http:// www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/07/3131816.htm

An explosives factory prosecuted over a fatal blast is appealing against a magistrate's findings in the Industrial Court.

The factory at Gladstone in the mid-north exploded in 2006, killing three workers and injuring two.

The Industrial Court found the explosion was triggered by a cook-off effect inside a poorly-maintained chemical-mixing machine.

The company Quin Investments and its chief operating officer Nick Kuzub were convicted of breaching workplace safety laws and fined $95,000 each.

Lawyer Grant Germain has argued on appeal that the magistrate's findings were implausible and Mr Kuzub should have his conviction quashed.

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CHEMICAL FIRM SENTENCED AFTER WORKER SUFFERS TOXIC BURNS, http://www.h se.gov.uk/press/2011/coi-nw-80abacus.htm

A chemical company has been sentenced after a worker suffered toxic burns to his arms and chest at an Ellesmere Port factory.

The employee at Abacus Chemical Ltd was mixing two chemicals together on 7 May 2009 when they exploded, causing him to be drenched in a hot, toxic chemical solution.

The company was prosecuted in a joint case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency following the incident at its plant on Oil Sites Road in Ellesmere Port.

Chester Magistrates' Court, sitting in Knutsford, heard that the company had mixed 22 kilograms of sodium cyanide pellets with hydrogen peroxide to make them less toxic. By taking this action, Abacus avoided having to pay a licensed hazardous waste company to dispose of the pellets at a cost of less than =A3300.

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FIREFIGHTERS CONTAIN, CLEAN DIESEL-FUEL LEAK ON HWY. 99 | VISALIATIMESDELTA.COM | VISALIA TIMES-DELTA AND TULARE ADVANCE-REGISTER, http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20110207/NEWS01/102070306

Tulare County and Visalia firefighters combined efforts to contain and clean up a diesel-fuel spill Saturday on Highway 99 about a mile north of the Caldwell Avenue exit just west of the Visalia city limits, firefighters reported.

A 500-gallon diesel-fuel tank towed by a pickup truck sprung a leak around noon Saturday while heading south on Hwy. 99, reported Charlie Norman, battalion chief and fire marshal for the Visalia Fire Department.

California Highway Patrol officers pulled the truck and diesel tank over, and both Tulare County firefighters and Visalia-based members of a hazardous-materials team responded, Norman reported.

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HOUSES GIVING OFF TOXIC FUMES - SACRAMENTO POLITICS - CALIFORNIA POLITICS | SACRAMENTO BEE, http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/06/3383307/houses-giving-off-toxi c-fumes.html

Dangerous vapors in houses near two former Modesto dry cleaners triggered notices from state overseers to local public health officials.

Some occupants say technicians indicated that levels of PCE detected in their homes were no big deal. These people appeared surprised that the state's formal letter to Stanislaus County leaders suggests otherwise, and said they received no formal notice.

"There is reason to believe that the illegal discharges are likely to cause substantial injury to the public health," reads the letter from Michael Vivas, project manager with the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control to county officials, dated Dec. 22.

Although 14 current or former Modesto dry cleaners have polluted groundwater, high concentrations in soil samples at two prompted state officials to request "emergency" action by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Airborne perchloroethylene, or PCE, showed up in levels exceeding the state's limit in all 13 houses tested in May.

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