Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:21:13 -0400
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Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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WKSR.COM, http://www.wksr.com/wksr.php?rfc=src/article.html&amp;id=269 26

According to Giles County Sheriff Kyle Helton, one person suffered severe chemical burns March 3rd while allegedly cooking meth in the residence at 218 Ella West Circle in Lynnville.

Although the suspect has not been identified, Helton said the subject was attempting to seek medical help in Maury County when a traffic stop occurred. That person was taken from the traffic stop by ambulance to Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia, then transported to the burn unit at Vanderbilt in Nashville by LifeFlight. 

=93Charges are pending with a Giles County grand jury,=94 Helton said. =93A search warrant was served at the Ella West residence by Sheriff=92s Narcotics Investigator Mike Thomason. There, officers found a meth lab or what was left of one.=94 

Giles Fire and Rescue members stood by for fire control, a haz-mat team with Giles Office of Emergency Management and Pulaski Police Investigator Joey Turner, who is a meth certified officer, were also on the scene while officers made entry into the home, which has now been posted quarantined due to meth contamination.

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LARGE 'SHAKE-N-BAKE' METH LAB DISCOVERED IN ST. ALBANS  - NEWS - THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE - WEST VIRGINIA NEWS AND SPORTS -, http://wvgazette.com/News/ 201103150612

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State Police discovered what they called the largest "shake-n-bake" methamphetamine lab ever found in the state in St. Albans Tuesday.

The method of manufacturing the drug allows meth "cookers" to place all of the chemicals into a two-liter bottle before shaking it to start a chemical reaction, according to Kanawha County officials. The bottle needs to be burped during the process to relieve the pressure inside the container, inside which an actual fire is burning.

That means a much higher chance of an explosion or fire and is dangerous for the cook, who holds the bottle during the entire cooking process, according to officials.

Police found 41 containers both inside and outside the meth lab at 301 Vine St. George Russell Hannoush, 32, and Alisha Dawn Liberty, 32, were each arrested on three felony charges, according to criminal complaints filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. Liberty is five months pregnant, according to the complaint.

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FIRE CREWS FROM THREE CITIES RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN MONTEREY PARK COMPUTER CHIP FACTORY - PASADENA STAR-NEWS, http://www.pasad enastarnews.com/news/ci_17618259

MONTEREY PARK - A hazardous chemical spill in a computer chip factory early Tuesday morning required fire crews from three cities to clean it up, but no one was injured in the incident.
Monterey Park fire Capt. Matt Hallock said the fire department was notified of an alarm at Kotura, 2630 Corporate Place, about 3:30 a.m.

=93When they arrived, they saw a chemical haze inside building and immediately called hazmat,=94 Hallock said.

The response included all remaining fire crews from Monterey Park and hazmat teams from Glendale and Burbank, which Hallock said are better equipped for these types of incidents.

The spill was determined to consist of ammonia and hydrogen bromide, both of which can burn the lungs if inhaled, but the crews were able to clean it up in about four hours.

Hallock said the cause of the leak has not yet been determined.

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CHEMICAL SPILL FORCES EVACUATION AT LOCAL MANUFACTURING PLANT, http://www.kwtx.com/news/he adlines/Chemical_Spill_Forces_Evacuation_At_Local_Manufacturing_Plant.html ?ref=424

TEMPLE (March 15, 2011)=97A chemical spill Tuesday morning at Akzomobile on the north side of Temple forced evacuation of employees from the plant, but authorities report no one was injured.

Temple Fire and Rescue officials reported at about 10:30 a.m., 50 gallons of xylene spilled from a 700-gallon tank.

The spill was contained in a spill room which is specifically designed for that purpose.

Xylene, a substance similar to gasoline, is used in making adhesives.

The workers were evacuated by company officials because that is procedure in such incidents, firefighters said.

Temple firefighters and HazMat crews were on hand at noon doing atmospheric tests to determine the there was danger of explosion or fire.

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AUTHORITIES SECURE CHEMICAL SPILL IN BRIDGEPORT - CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-hazardous-mater ial-alert-in-bridgeport-20110315,0,7928110.story?track=rss

Hazardous material crews this afternoon have secured a chemical spill in the city's Bridgeport neighborhood, authorities said.

It remained unclear exactly what chemical was spilled in the 2800 block of South Archer Avenue, just south of the Stevenson Expressway.

Two city garbage collectors came into contact with an item that emitted a strange odor, police spokesman Robert Perez said, citing an initial report.

One of the men, who complained of feeling ill, was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center for treatment, fire department spokesman Richard Rosado said. He was unsure of the patient's condition.

Fire crews were called to the scene about 12:30 p.m. and asked for a precautionary hazardous materials call, Rosado said. Fire officials secured the scene by 1:35 p.m., he added.

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ABECEDER | INDEPENDENT MINDS : UNIQUE SOLUTIONS            ; , http://www.abecede r.co.uk/newsarticle_5814.php

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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UPDATE: HAZMAT SITUATION CLOSES I-71 IN OLDHAM COUNTY - WAVE 3 NEWS - LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, http://www.wave3.com/story/14260217/hazmat-situation-clos es-i-71-in-oldham-county

PENDLETON, KY (WAVE) - Southbound I-71 is closed at mile marker 28, the Pendleton exit, because crews are dealing with a hazardous materials situation.  Firefighters say the fire is out, but cleanup will last through the morning commute.

Dispatchers say a semi tractor-trailer carrying hazardous materials caught fire one mile south of La Grange at about 2:30 a.m.  Police on the scene say the truck is carrying some sort of chemical that includes zinc, and they crews couldn't use water to extinguish it.

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HAZMAT CREWS ON SCENE OF SEMI ACCIDENT - KTXL, http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-ha zmat-crews-on-scene-of-semi-20110315,0,1218808.story

Part of a big rig ended up hanging over the side of an overpass on I-5 North just north of Laguna, and the Cosumnes Fire Department says it leaked about 100 gallons of diesel fuel into Stonelake Creek.

They CFD deployed a containment boom around the spill.

The accident ruined the evening commute, and it took crews 4.5 hours to remove the big rig.

The California Highway Patrol says the driver may have been going too fast for the rainy conditions. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

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MYSTERIOUS LIQUID ON TROOPER'S CAR PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSES | SEATTLE NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS, BREAKING NEWS | KOMO NEWS | NEWS, http://www.komonews.c om/news/118023579.html

TACOMA -- A corrosive liquid left on a trooper's car that was vandalized at his home prompted a hazardous materials response at two separate locations around the Tacoma area Tuesday morning.
The trooper came out to his car in the morning and found a pink substance had been poured on his patrol car and an empty container was sitting next to the vehicle, said patrol spokesman Guy Gill.

The trooper bagged up the container and drove it to the state patrol office on 112th Street East in Parkland, officials said.

But once there, officials called a hazmat team to the patrol's office to determine the source of the liquid, and the trooper was taken to a local hospital just to be checked out and was later released. He was the only person exposed, officials said.

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DAYTON DAILY NEWS : I-75 RAMP SHUT DOWN DUE TO CRASH, OIL SPILL, http://m.daytondailynews.com/dayton/db_101691/contentdetail.htm?contentg uid=65aPr36z&amp;detailindex=0&amp;pn=0&amp;ps=8

DAYTON =97 The exit ramp from I-75 southbound to First Street in downtown Dayton was still closed during Tuesday=92s early commute.

The ramp was shut down late Monday while fire and Hazmat crews cleaned up a large amount of fuel leaking from a semi tractor trailer that crashed there just before midnight.

According to Dayton police Sgt. Dan Williger, the driver, who suffered a minor hand injury in the crash, appears to have missed the lane markings for the exit lane and then over-corrected trying to get back into the southbound interstate lanes.

The truck did not tip over, but struck a concrete barrier and a guard rail, puncturing the vehicle=92s gas tank.

The driver, who was hauling auto parts to Kentucky, may be cited for failure to control his vehicle, Williger said.

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PEPPER SPRAY SCARE CAUSES KENT APARTMENT EVACUATION - NEWS STORY - KIRO SEATTLE, http://www.kirotv .com/news/27187448/detail.html

KENT, Wash. -- Dozens of people evacuated a downtown Kent apartment building after some reported difficulty breathing late Sunday night.
Police said 50 evacuated the building on West Smith Street and a hazmat team responded.
Firefighters used a large fan to clear out the fumes from what they determined was pepper spray.
One person went to the hospital to get checked out but everyone else was OK.
There was no word on where the pepper spray came from.

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NITRO WORKERS SICKENED BY BLEACH  - NEWS - THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE - WEST VIRGINIA NEWS AND SPORTS -, http://wvgazette.com/News/ 201103140217

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Three Nitro city workers exposed to a chemical while collecting garbage on Monday may have been sprayed with nothing more dangerous than household bleach.

Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto said the workers were compacting trash in their garbage truck on 18th Street at about 10 a.m. when something in one of the garbage bags burst, spraying the workers with an unknown chemical.

"It looks like it was bleach," Casto said Monday afternoon. "They found bleach [in the trash] and they found weed killer."

Officials did not initially know what the men had been exposed to. Casto said two of the employees were taken to CAMC General Hospital. The third refused treatment.

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SCHAUMBURG FIRE DESTROYS CHEMICAL TANK - DAILYHERALD.COM, http: //www.dailyherald.com/article/20110313/news/703139847/

A small fire inside a Schaumburg manufacturing facility destroyed a tank containing an acidic chemical Sunday afternoon, according to fire officials.

The facility, on the 1600 block of Mitchell Boulevard, which specializes in manufacturing circuit boards, has built-in components to prevent the chemical from spilling out of the building, said Batallion Chief Michael Diaferia.

Firefighters responded to a general alarm just after 4 p.m. and found an employee inside the building who had seen smoke in the rear of the facility, Diaferia said.

Firefighters found that a heating unit for a chemical holding tank had malfunctioned and created a small fire that was prevented from spreading by the building=92s sprinkler system, he said.

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FIRE GUTS =91ILLEGAL=92 CHEMICAL FACTORY, OWNERS ON THE RUN, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fire-guts- illegal-chemical-factory-owners-on-the-run/762599/

A Major fire broke out at a chemical factory in Vatva GIDC area on Monday morning. No casualty was reported.

Bright Dyes and Chemicals is located in GIDC Phase II, and owned by Sanjay Patel and Ashok Prajapati, who allegedly fled along with the staff soon after fire broke out with a series of blasts, said a Fire Brigade official. The official added that the people nearby informed them about the incident around 10.30 am.

Chief fire officer M F Dastoor and his deputy Rajesh Bhatt said they suspect that the factory was functioning without obtaining explosives licence and that is why the owners fled and did not contact the authorities after the mishap.

Malfunctioning of some equipment is believed to be the reason behind the fire, but the exact cause is yet to be ascertained.

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CHEMICAL SPILL IN LAGRANGE SENDS 8 TO HOSPITAL - CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM, http:/ /www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-chemical-spill-in-l agrange-sends-8-to-hospital-20110314,0,7460751.story

Eight workers at a LaGrange manufacturing plant this morning suffered nausea caused by a chemical spill and were taken to a local hospital for observation, officials said.

The workers were taken to Advocate LaGrange Memorial Hospital, fire officials said. All were released by noon Monday.

LaGrange Fire Chief Bill Bryzgalski said ink was spilled shortly before 6:30 a.m. at Grayhill Inc., 541 W. Hillgrove Avenue, which makes keypads for electronic devices. A worker cleaning the spill used a chemical thinner called =93VD Thinner,=94 which released fumes and sickened eight workers, Bryzgalski said.

"They just didn't get it ventilated properly," he said.

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FIRE AT PETROCHEM PLANT - THE TIMES OF INDIA, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ko lkata-/Fire-at-petrochem-plant/articleshow/7705934.cms

HALDIA: Coulds of smoke hung in the air at Haldia town all through Monday with scary fireballs shooting out of the Haldia Dhansiri Petrochem and Tea Ltd since noon after a major fire broke out in the plastic manufacturing unit. Worse, the chemical tanks at a stone's throw from the plastic godown are getting hot and may catch fire anytime. There has been no casualty though. 

The fire broke out around noon while plastic granules were being carried to the plant. Fire officials said a short circuit had triggered it. Initially, company employees tried to fight the flames with outdated fire extinguishers, failing which employees of the neighbouring units came with whatever they had. According to locals, the fire engines reached an hour late. 

When the fire tenders exhausted their own stock of water, firemen could not find source of water within the compound. They had to source water from the villages.

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