Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google Monday, August 15, 2011 8:25:13 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 (12 articles) 5-ALARM FIRE BURNS POOL SUPPLY WAREHOUSE Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, pool_chemicals ACID SPILL SHUTS DOWN DIAGEO'S FIFE DISTILLERY Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid HOLLY HILL FIREFIGHTER BECOMES ILL AFTER CHEMICAL SPLASHES ON HIM Tags: us_FL, public, fire, injury, ammonia SPILL TRIGGERS WINDY HILL EMERGENCY Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, chlorine HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO COLONIAL HEIGHTS CALL Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, pepper_spray ORICA DIDN'T TELL FIRE SERVICE OF LEAK Tags: Australia, industrial, release, environmental, unknown_chemical DEP FILES COURT ACTION AGAINST FIRE-DAMAGED HARBORCREEK BIODIESEL FACILITY Tags: us_PA, public, fire, environmental, biodiesel, follow-up TECHNICIAN DIES IN BLAST AT IDL Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical ISU CHEMICAL SPILL QUICKLY CONTAINED Tags: us_IL, laboratory, release, response, waste POLICE FIND P LAB IN FOUR STAR HOTEL ROOM Tags: New_Zealand, public, discovery, response, meth_lab CHEMICALS CAUSE HAZARDOUS SITUATION, BLOCKED ROAD IN FORT LAUDERDALE Tags: us_FL, laboratory, discovery, response, ammonium_nitrate 10 TREATED AFTER EXPOSURE TO POWDER IN COVINGTON Tags: us_GA, industrial, explosion, injury, batteries, dust --------------------------------------------- 5-ALARM FIRE BURNS POOL SUPPLY WAREHOUSE http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/127653638.html Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, pool_chemicals Dallas Fire-Rescue was on the scene of a five-alarm fire in Dallas where a swimming pool supply warehouse caught fire after 10 a.m. The warehouse, occupied by Leslie's Swimming Pool Company sits on 4202 Dan Morton Drive. The North Texas Food Bank also occupied part of the warehouse, although they had not started to move into the space yet. Officials say the warehouse contains chemicals used in pool maintenance. Hazmat crews are on scene as part of the overall agency response to the fire, though the primary goal of fire crews was to simply contain the fire. A fire spokesperson said the EPA may look into the toxicity of the smoke that blew through the area but firefighters found no harmful substances in the water run-off from the hoses. --------------------------------------------- ACID SPILL SHUTS DOWN DIAGEO'S FIFE DISTILLERY http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/08/15/acid-spill-shut s-down-diageo-s-fife-distillery-86908-23346348/ Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid Workers have been evacuated from a distillery as firefighters deal with a nitric acid spill at the site. They were called to Diageo's Cameronbridge Distillery in Fife after a leak from a 28,000-litre tank. Diageo said the plant has been safely shut down while emergency services tackle the incident. Nearby residents have been advised to keep their doors and windows closed as a precaution. A chemical tanker from Glasgow has been sent to the site to pump out the affected area. Fife Fire and Rescue Service said the alarm was raised at around 5.30am and three fire engines and a fire service decontamination unit were sent to the grain distillery, near Windygates. --------------------------------------------- HOLLY HILL FIREFIGHTER BECOMES ILL AFTER CHEMICAL SPLASHES ON HIM http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2011/08/15/firef ighter-becomes-ill-after-chemical-splashes-on-him.html Tags: us_FL, public, fire, injury, ammonia ORMOND BEACH -- A Holly Hill firefighter assisting Ormond Beach firefighters at a fire at a self-storage business Sunday got sick after some kind of chemical splashed on him, a fire official said. The firefighter was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center by EVAC ambulance, said Battalion Chief David King of Ormond Beach. ... Firefighters were called to Simply Self Storage at 610 S. Yonge St. at 5:42 p.m. Sunday to reports of white smoke coming out of three or four storage units. Holly Hill firefighters also responded to assist, King said. Firefighters opened the unit and located a 35-gallon drum smoking. When water was put on it, the chemical, which King said was some kind of ammonia product used to bleach hair, splashed on Kimmy's arm. Twenty minutes later, he started having respiratory difficulty and started vomiting, King said. --------------------------------------------- SPILL TRIGGERS WINDY HILL EMERGENCY http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/spill-triggers-windy-hill-emergency-2011081 5-1iu6f.html Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, chlorine One person has been taken to hospital after being exposed to a chemical in the change rooms at the Essendon Football Club. Firefighters and paramedics were called to Windy Hill about 12.15pm where about 250 millilitres of chlorine had been spilt in the change rooms. Essendon Football Club spokeswoman Cara Pelchen said the spill occurred as an employee was filling up the hot and cold baths in the change rooms. Advertisement: Story continues below She said the property steward was taken to hospital as a precaution. A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said firefighters cleaned up the spill in about 30 minutes. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO COLONIAL HEIGHTS CALL http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/aug/14/hazmat-team-responds-to-col onial-heights-call-ar-1238379/ Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, pepper_spray COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. -- A can of pepper spray accidentally went off in a Colonial Heights home Sunday morning, forcing the residents out of the building temporarily and prompting the regional hazmat team to be called in. Residents in the first block of Brandywine Court reported burning sensations in their eyes and throats about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, said city Deputy Fire Marshal Joe Boisseau. Colonial Heights fire officials received reports of a strong, unknown odor in the area of townhomes on Brandywine Road. Crews isolated the substance to a single residence, and five people were evacuated from the scene. Members of the Crater Regional Hazmat Team suited up and entered the residence to attempt to identify the chemical. Shortly before 2 p.m., officials identified the source, found in a trash container, as pepper spray that had accidentally discharged. --------------------------------------------- ORICA DIDN'T TELL FIRE SERVICE OF LEAK http://www.smh.com.au/environment/orica-didnt-tell-fire-service-of-leak-20 110813-1irxu.html Tags: Australia, industrial, release, environmental, unknown_chemical HEMICAL giant Orica, responsible for the leak of cancer-causing fumes over Newcastle on Monday, failed to alert the Fire and Rescue Service, which should have been called immediately to assess the situation. Instead, the fire service, which has the hazardous materials response team - Hazmat - was told by a member of the public about the leak the day after the incident. ''We then rang the company [Orica] ourselves and were told they did not require our assistance,'' a fire service spokesman said. Advertisement: Story continues below Asked about this yesterday, Orica declined to comment. Environmental and emergency management experts said Hazmat should have been on site immediately, setting up a command post. The failure to alert the emergency response teams has raised questions about the corporate governance at Orica Australia, whether it has an on-site emergency response plan at its Kooragang Island plant and whether that plan was followed. Orica was told in June that a variation to its licence to run the chemical plant was contingent on its having an on-site emergency response plan. --------------------------------------------- DEP FILES COURT ACTION AGAINST FIRE-DAMAGED HARBORCREEK BIODIESEL FACILITY http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110813/NEWS02/3081298 92/-1/newssitemap Tags: us_PA, public, fire, environmental, biodiesel, follow-up The state Department of Environmental Protection wants an Erie County judge to put a stop to demolition at a fire-damaged Harborcreek Township biodiesel facility until the chemicals on-site are removed and properly secured or removed. American Biodiesel Energy Inc. owner Lee Akerly calls the action a "moot point" because, he said, he has already taken the required action to safeguard what's on-site. The DEP filed a petition to enforce an administrative order on Thursday, seeking a judge's order that would require Akerly to remove all drums of chemicals from the building at 4680 Iroquois Ave.; to place all damaged and leaking drums in secure containers; to remove and properly dispose of visibly contaminated soil and water; and to provide written documentation of the "hazardous waste determinations" on the contents of the drums and the recovered waste material. Portions of the building were heavily damaged in a fire May 14 that investigators believe started in a front office. The blaze wiped out a powder-coatings business that Akerly operated in the building and shut down his biodiesel operation. --------------------------------------------- TECHNICIAN DIES IN BLAST AT IDL http://ibnlive.in.com/news/technician-dies-in-blast-at-idl/175388-60-121.h tml Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical HYDERABAD: One person died of severe burns in a chemical blast that occurred in one of the units of IDL factory located in the Kukatpally industrial area. B Janardhan (57) was a technician in the IDL unit that manufactures detonators. "The blast took place at 1.30 p.m where no one except Janardhan is allowed to enter," Kukatpally SI S Pradeep told Express. Janardhan worked on a specialised machine used for making detonators, police said. During the explosion, a chemical got sprinkled on Janardhan, causing severe burns. However, there was no fire mishap, the police said. "We are yet to ascertain the reasons for the explosion," Pradeep said. Police have registered a case and are investigating. --------------------------------------------- ISU CHEMICAL SPILL QUICKLY CONTAINED http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_f398c01a-c50a-11e0-84f0-001cc 4c002e0.html Tags: us_IL, laboratory, release, response, waste NORMAL -- A small chemical spill Friday morning at an Illinois State University storage lab was quickly contained, but the Bloomington Hazardous Materials response team arrived to address it, as is protocol. Apparently, the situation stemmed from a broken bottle which contained chlorinated waste - collected from ISU science laboratories and kept in a storage locker off Gregory Street, said Eric Jome, an ISU spokesman. "It's contained in the building, there is no real danger at this point," Jome said about 11:30 a.m. The spill, reported about 10:30 a.m., didn't require any road closures or evacuations, said Matt Swaney, Normal Fire Department spokesman. --------------------------------------------- POLICE FIND P LAB IN FOUR STAR HOTEL ROOM http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1074 4841 Tags: New_Zealand, public, discovery, response, meth_lab One of Auckland's newest hotels faces a hefty bill to decontaminate a room which police say was secretly turned into a methamphetamine lab. With just weeks until the Rugby World Cup begins, the four-star Quadrant Hotel must now be cleared by Auckland Council inspectors of possible dangerous toxins before visitors can stay in the room. Near the High Court building and with views of the Waitemata Harbour and Albert Park, the Quadrant has 150 rooms at up to $430 a night. But a police raid on the hotel on July 28 found equipment and materials used to manufacture the Class A drug and a couple living --------------------------------------------- CHEMICALS CAUSE HAZARDOUS SITUATION, BLOCKED ROAD IN FORT LAUDERDALE http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-fort-lauderdale-hazmat-201108 12,0,5126828.story Tags: us_FL, laboratory, discovery, response, ammonium_nitrate FORT LAUDERDALE=97 Traffic flow on South Federal Highway was briefly blocked in both directions Friday morning between Davie Boulevard and Southeast Seventh Street while Fort Lauderdale's bomb squad, HazMat team, fire rescue and police worked to dispose of potentially volatile chemicals found at a private school. The roadblock was removed at 11:30 a.m. Administrators at Bethany Christian School, 615 SE Ninth St., were preparing for the coming school year when a teacher discovered a quantity of ammonium nitrate from a science lab and said it appeared to be crystallized. "It being crystallized would make it dangerous and means it was contaminated with another chemical that could make it explosive," Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue spokesman Matt Little said. "It could have a blast radius of 150 feet." School Principal Jean Boer said, "We were getting rid of something we didn't know we had, a science kit." --------------------------------------------- 10 TREATED AFTER EXPOSURE TO POWDER IN COVINGTON http://www.ajc.com/news/10-treated-after-exposure-1100149.html Tags: us_GA, industrial, explosion, injury, batteries, dust Police have determined that an incident that sent 10 people to the hospital Friday morning from a plant in Covington resulted from the accidental release of a battery chemical. "We're getting good news, that this is not a contaminant, a foreign agent placed inside the battery," Covington Police Capt. Ken Malcom told Channel 2 Action News. "It was just an accident, an explosion within the contents of the battery." The incident happened at Pure Talk, a phone manufacturing company on Lochridge Boulevard. Malcom said around 2:30 a.m. Friday, an employee opened a package containing batteries. Two of the batteries were fused together, and when an employee separated them, a white powder was released. "This employee immediately started feeling a burning sensation on the hands, a numbing sensation" on the eyes and skin, Malcom said. "Immediately the other employees in the business began feeling similar effects of exposure to this powder." ---------------------------------------------
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