Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 8:15:01 AM

   A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
   Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
   All article summaries and tags are archived at 
http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

Table of Contents (18 articles)

THE CITY DIARY
Tags: India, laboratory, release, response, ammonia

NWCN.COM WASHINGTON
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, gasoline

COPS BUST WORKING METH LAB IN EAST COUNTY
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, injury, meth_lab

CHEMICAL LEVELS HIGH AFTER BUFFALO INDUSTRIAL FIRE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, environmental, benzene, follow-up

HOMEOWNER TO FOOT BILL IN MERCURY MESS
Tags: us_TX, public, release, environmental, mercury

WLNS TV 6 LANSING JACKSON MICHIGAN NEWS AND WEATHER
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, injury, chlorine

CHEMICAL LAB DISCOVERED IN SURREY
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, injury, unknown_chemical

FIRE CREWS BATTLE CHEMICAL BLAZE ON SOUTH SIDE
Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, 
pharmaceutical

FIREFIGHTER INJURED AFTER FIRE, SHELTER-IN-PLACE AT NASA JOHNSON SPACE 
CENTER
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, batteries

MORE DETAILS RELEASED IN SAWYER TANKER EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MI, transportation, explosion, injury, corrosives, follow-up

PRODUCTION BACK UP AT DUFERCO AFTER FIRE THAT INJURED TWO
Tags: us_OH, transportation, fire, injury, hydrogen

LIGHT-UP BLAMED IN LOO EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT SPILL CLOSES ROUTE 460
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, injury, diesel

'HERO' SAVED FAMILIES FROM METH LAB FIRE
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, response, meth_lab

INTERSTATE 84 LANE CLOSURE CONTINUES AFTER TANKER CRASH
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, gasoline

FIREFIGHTERS CONTAIN LEAK OF AMMONIA
Tags: us_GA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

GENOA FAMILY HURT AFTER CHEMICAL REACTION
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, injury, pool_chemicals

FIRM IN COURT OVER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION FIRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, injury, waste, follow-up

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

THE CITY DIARY
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110727/jsp/calcutta/story_14294605.jsp
Tags: India, laboratory, release, response, ammonia

Ammonia leak: Ammonia gas leaked out of an organic chemistry laboratory 
at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, opposite 
Jadavpur University, while five researchers were working inside on 
Tuesday afternoon. Fire department officers rushed to the spot and 
entered the groundfloor laboratory and sealed the cylinder from which it 
had leaked. No one was affected and the laboratory was closed down for 
the day.

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

NWCN.COM WASHINGTON

http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=126221463&fPath=/news/local&fDom
ain=10202
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, gasoline

BRIDAL VEIL, Ore. -- A major cleanup project continues on I-84 in the 
Gorge, where a tanker truck rolled near Multnomah Falls and spilled more 
than 1,000 gallons of gas.
HazMat teams were preparing the site for major excavation and taking 
soil samples Tuesday. Some of the gas seeped into the soil and experts 
were also concerned it could get into groundwater and eventually reach 
the Columbia River.
Starting early Wednesday morning, the HazMat crews will dig up the 
contaminated soil and vacuum out the gas.

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

COPS BUST WORKING METH LAB IN EAST COUNTY

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Cops-bust-meth-lab-in-E-Mult-County-12617760
3.html
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, injury, meth_lab

GRESHAM, Ore. -- Police arrested seven people during a drug raid at a 
Gresham apartment Monday night, including a man who they said was in the 
process of cooking methamphetamine.
The alleged meth cook - Lance Gerber - splashed chemicals into his eyes 
during the police raid and had to be treated with an emergency eye wash, 
then evaluated at a local hospital, police said.
He was later arrested and booked into jail on charges of possessing and 
manufacturing methamphetamine. Four other men and two women were also 
arrested during the raid for lesser charges.
Two of those men had to be decontaminated before their arrests.
A HazMat team cleared the apartment, located at 172nd and Burnside. 
Investigators said it was the first active meth lab they've dealt with 
in the last two years.
"Meth labs have diminished so drastically since 2005, when 
pseudoephedrine became a controlled substance in Oregon," explained Sgt. 
Jan Kubic, with the Multnomah County HazMat Team.

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

CHEMICAL LEVELS HIGH AFTER BUFFALO INDUSTRIAL FIRE

http://www.firehouse.com/news/top-headlines/chemical-levels-high-after-ny-
industrial-fire
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, environmental, benzene, follow-up

esting of air samples taken near the site of a daylong fire July 13 at 
the Niagara Lubricant plant in Buffalo's Black Rock neighborhood 
revealed high levels of benzene, a carcinogenic compound, according to 
the executive director of the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York.
Erin Heaney said her group, which took the air samples from about six 
blocks away on Amherst Street, received the results of testing Monday.
"The levels were very high," Heaney said, following a meeting Monday 
with residents in the city's Black Rock and Riverside neighborhoods.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "benzene is safe 
at nine parts per million, but our tests show that, on the day of the 
fire, it was at 100 parts per million."
"That's definely a lot. That and the compound toluene were also above 
the EPA guidelines for short-term exposure," Heaney added.
She said the results of the testing also found a number of compounds 
that not over the EPA guidelines, but they are known to magnify the 
effects of benzine. One of them is xylene, a clear, often colorless 
flammable liquid.

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

HOMEOWNER TO FOOT BILL IN MERCURY MESS
http://www.ksat.com/news/28667244/detail.html
Tags: us_TX, public, release, environmental, mercury

Hazmat was called to a home in 12800 block of Terrace Pass just after 
midnight where they found three pounds of mercury spilled onto the 
garage floor.
The team was only able to handle a small part of the cleanup because of 
the large amount of mercury.
"The hazmat team made entry and attempted to clean it up, but it was 
just too much to clean up," Capt. Troy Teague, with the San Antonio Fire 
Department said.
Now the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will work with the 
home owner's insurance company to find a contractor to complete the 
clean up.
The hazmat team said mercury is very difficult to clean up because the 
small liquid particles can easily vaporize, and the chemical exposure 
could be dangerous.
The homeowner was taken into custody, but later released.
Authorities say the homeowner won't face charges, but he will likely 
face a big bill. The city of San Antonio can charge him for the time 
hazmat was at his home. For six vehicles, that will run around $18,000.

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

WLNS TV 6 LANSING JACKSON MICHIGAN NEWS AND WEATHER

http://www.wlns.com/story/15148737/chemical-reaction-causes-evacuation-of-
bwl-plant
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, injury, chlorine

A chemical leak Tuesday created a plume of chlorine gas which prompted 
evacuations in south Lansing.

It all started around 9:45 a.m. when officials with the Board of Water 
and Light say a truck unloading 1,200 gallons of chlorine put it in the 
wrong tank causing a chemical reaction. It happened at their plant on 
the city's southwest side at Jolly and Wise Roads.

"I've been talking to some people from the Board of Water and Light who 
have been here for 30 plus years and their recollection is there has 
never been this significant of a chemical incident, said Mark Nixon, 
Board of Water and Light.

The Lansing Fire Department was evacuating homes, a community center and 
a nearby park but those were lifted shortly after. Fire officials say 
they now know that those areas are not dangerous.

"Everything was contained in the plant, at this time not off-gasing into 
the environment, Charles Stadt, Lansing Fire Department.

Officials say two people were hospitalized, a BWL worker and the truck 
driver, but are expected to be okay.  

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

CHEMICAL LAB DISCOVERED IN SURREY

http://www.globaltoronto.com/Chemical+discovered+Surrey/5163596/story.html

Tags: Canada, public, discovery, injury, unknown_chemical

SURREY - A chemical lab was discovered in the 15000 block of 101A Avenue 
in Surrey last Saturday night, and officials spent some time dismantling 
the lab on Tuesday night.

The clandestine lab was discovered when a 30-year-old man was found 
unconscious in the home on July 23. He was transported to hospital where 
he still remains for treatment, and although Mounties have not said what 
he is suffering from, the lab was found in the garage attached to the 
home.

Members of the RCMP Federal Drug Enforcement Clandestine Lab Team, the 
Surrey RCMP, the Surrey fire department, the BC Ambulance Service and 
chemists from Health Canada worked to dismantle the lab.

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

FIRE CREWS BATTLE CHEMICAL BLAZE ON SOUTH SIDE

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/07/26/fire-crews-battling-chemical-blaze-o
n-south-side
Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, 
pharmaceutical

A fire that started in a freezer destroyed a building housing a 
pharmaceutical research company in southeast Edmonton on Tuesday.

Clouds of smoke billowed, drifting across the south side of the city as 
flames shot through the roof at 4290 91A St. The building housed a 
chemical research company, NAEJA Pharmaceutical Inc.

No one was hurt. The fire was brought under control by 9 p.m. Tuesday 
night and an air quality advisory for residents was lifted.

The first call from the alarm company came in at 1:30 p.m.

=93They reported alarms ringing and a fire that had resulted from some 
sort of bang or explosion,=94 said Edmonton fire spokesman Tim Wilson.

=93They reported a small explosion and a small fire. The fire crews 
arrived, they could smell something, they brought in Hazmat ... and 
shortly after 2 p.m., there were some more bangs or explosions,=94 
Wilson said.

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

FIREFIGHTER INJURED AFTER FIRE, SHELTER-IN-PLACE AT NASA JOHNSON SPACE 
CENTER
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8270096
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, batteries

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A firefighter was injured after a fire and 
shelter-in-place at NASA Johnson Space Center.

The Houston Fire Department says it was dispatched to a building fire 
with HazMat at JSC just after 9:30am Monday morning.
HFD says a battery was being tested inside a containment system when it 
overheated and caught some of the insulation on fire. Initially, it was 
believed that one of the bi-products of combustion could be dangerous so 
NASA issued a shelter-in-place for the facility.
HazMat conducted air monitoring and revised the shelter-in-place to 
include only the building of origin.
HFD said the fire was extinguished just before 11:30am.
One firefighter was injured when a hydrant cap blew off and struck him 
in the knee. There were no other reported injuries.

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

MORE DETAILS RELEASED IN SAWYER TANKER EXPLOSION

http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/More_details_released_in_Sawyer_tank
er_explosion_126125688.html
Tags: us_MI, transportation, explosion, injury, corrosives, follow-up

Chikaming Township officials have released more details about a tanker 
that exploded Thursday night in Sawyer, Michigan.

Police also released dramatic video from a patrol car dash camera that 
shows the tanker exploding. Watch NewsCenter 16 tonight at 5:30 to see 
that video for yourself.

Thursday evening, the driver of the tanker had pulled over at the TA 
travel lodge for dinner, but noticed vapors come from the tanker when he 
returned.

Officers were called out, and employees at the travel lodge were 
evacuated.

Soon later the tanker exploded, sending shards of metal flying into the 
air.

Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt.

Chikaming Township Fire Chief Mike Davidson confirmed to NewsCenter 16 
that the tanker was heading from Illinois to Canada and was carrying a 
substance of combined water and sodium hydroxide.

The substance is highly corrosive. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, 
is used to make paper, soap and drain cleaner.

The tanker was aluminum. Davidson said he cannot say whether that was a 
safe container to be transporting the substance, but said the matter is 
under investigation.

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

PRODUCTION BACK UP AT DUFERCO AFTER FIRE THAT INJURED TWO

http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Production-Back-Up-at-Duferco
-After-Fire-That/fEUIgrwkpkiaYomaB954UQ.cspx
Tags: us_OH, transportation, fire, injury, hydrogen

Production resumed Monday at Duferco Farrell Corp. after a tanker truck 
making a delivery there Sunday night caught fire, injuring two.

Mercer County emergency crews were called to the plant at 5 Roemer Blvd. 
in Farrell around 7 p.m.  An official at the scene said it happened 
after a driver with Air Liquide was delivering a hydrogen tank to the 
plant. When he attempted to hook it up, the tank caught fire. 

Officials said it took nearly 12 hours to burn off the 6,000 gallons of 
the chemical. 

The man driving the truck suffered cuts and burns to his face and was 
taken to a local hospital. Another Air Liquide employee was also injured 
and was taken to Akron Burn Center for treatment.

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

LIGHT-UP BLAMED IN LOO EXPLOSION

http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/07/26/light-up-portaloo-bla
med-in-explosion-rockhampton/
Tags: Australia, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

A ROYAL Australian Air Force member was expected to be airlifted to 
Brisbane last night after suffering horrific burns in a portaloo 
explosion apparently sparked by a cigarette.

The man suffered third-degree burns to his head, face, arms, chest and 
airways in an incident at the Rockhampton Airport about 9.30am 
yesterday, the Department of Community Safety said.

=93There was some sort of explosion in a portaloo.

"It's believed the man was lighting a cigarette at the time,=94 a 
Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said.

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

HAZMAT SPILL CLOSES ROUTE 460
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/traffic/incidents/hazmat-spill-closes-route-460-
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, injury, diesel

SOUTHAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) - A Southampton HAZMAT spill on route 460 will 
take two or more hours to clean up.

Sgt. Michelle Anaya with the Virginia State Police said the accident 
happened in Southampton County on route 460 eastbound, just west of 
Ivor.

An empty tractor trailer ran off the right side of the road, over 
corrected, struck a vehicle and was hit head on by a tractor trailer 
that was full of slag.

Slag is a by-product made during the smelting of metallic ore.

The driver of the empty tractor trailer was taken to Sentara Norfolk 
General with major injuries.

The driver of the trailer carrying slag suffered minor injuries and was 
taken to Sentara Obici hospital.

About 400 gallons of diesel fuel, oil and engine debris were left on the 
roadway.

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

'HERO' SAVED FAMILIES FROM METH LAB FIRE

http://www.kspr.com/news/local/kspr-hero-saved-families-from-meth-lab-fire
-20110725,0,456383.story
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, response, meth_lab

Springfield, MO=97 Deputies said it was a meth lab that sent people 
running into the streets at the Cloud Drift Motel near Sunshine and West 
Bypass.

Outside Unit 17, crime scene tape was blocking off people from the area. 
But residents wonder, how the meth makers got into their community.

"They are sick. They are drug addicts. They are sick people. They don't 
care. If you do stuff like that you are either sick and need help or you 
just don't care," said Kathy Stafford, whose family lives in the 
community.

Long term residents of all ages spent the day reliving their horrifying 
morning. Renters explained a fire broke out around 5:30 Monday morning. 
People were screaming "fire" and banging on the doors to ensure everyone 
was out safely. Stafford explained her brother, Arnold Bruton, helped to 
save lives and extinguish the flames.

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

INTERSTATE 84 LANE CLOSURE CONTINUES AFTER TANKER CRASH

http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=1311636815499445
00
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, gasoline

The right eastbound lane of Interstate 84 east of Multnomah Falls will 
remain closed for about a mile through Monday, July 25, and perhaps 
through Tuesday, July 26, where a gas tanker crashed Sunday night.

The lane closure will allow hazardous materials investigators to inspect 
for damage caused by 900 to 1,000 gallons of gasoline leaking from the 
two tankers that crashed at about 5 p.m. Sunday, July 26, near milepost 
34, about two miles east of Multnomah Falls, said Kimberly Dinwiddie, 
Oregon Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

Investigators will check for damage to the road, to the adjacent area 
and for seepage under the highway roadbed.

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

FIREFIGHTERS CONTAIN LEAK OF AMMONIA

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/localnews/headlines/Firefighters_contain_
leak_of_ammonia_126152668.html
Tags: us_GA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

DORAVILLE =97 Firefighters from Gwinnett and DeKalb counties helped 
contain an ammonia leak at a Doraville refrigeration facility Monday 
night.

Gwinnett County firefighters and the department=92s Hazmat team 
responded to Nordic Cold Storage on the 4300 block of Pleasantdale Road 
at about 8:15 p.m., finding the business already evacuated, spokesman 
Capt. Tommy Rutledge said.

Calling in DeKalb County=92s Hazmat crew as backup at the scene near the 
Gwinnett-DeKalb line, firefighters donned special suits and carried 
monitors as they entered the building to find the leak coming from a 
=93pump packing valve,=94 Rutledge said.

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

GENOA FAMILY HURT AFTER CHEMICAL REACTION

http://www.wrex.com/story/15145314/genoa-family-hurt-after-chemical-reacti
on
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, injury, pool_chemicals

GENOA -
A Genoa family of five is taken to the hospital for breathing in too 
much chlorine gas.

Almost a dozen different fire departments were called to 802 Evans 
Avenue earlier tonight after some pool type chemicals were mixed 
together.  Hazmat crews were also called out to help clean the chemical 
reaction up.  All five people hurt went to Kishwaukee Hospital.  Their 
conditions aren't known.

Emergency responders are working with the family though to get the 
chemicals cleaned up.

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

FIRM IN COURT OVER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION FIRE

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/lep-business/jobs/firm_in_court_over_chemical_ex
plosion_fire_1_3615125
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, injury, waste, follow-up

A Preston firm has admitted a health and safety breach following a huge 
chemical blaze which shot aerosols into the air like rockets.

The fire broke out at Aztec Aerosols in Crewe, Cheshire, in June 2007 
after an explosion in an aerosol shredding unit designed by 
Preston-based company, Pakawaste.

Many of the aerosols shot into the air and onto nearby roads after 
catching fire, damaging buildings near the waste recycling plant.

It took more than 100 firefighters with 25 engines to put out the blaze.

Fire chiefs said it was =93extremely lucky=94 no-one was injured in the 
fire or the explosion, which could be heard up to half a mile away.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found a fault in the 
shredding unit=92s design and manufacturing process had resulted in the 
unit exploding.

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

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post