Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google Wednesday, August 24, 2011 8:27:33 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 (27 articles) HAZMAT TEAM CALLED FOR CLEANUP AFTER HOMEWOOD HOTEL INSPECTION Tags: us_IL, public, discovery, response, pool_chemicals FIRE DEPARTMENT CONTAINS GREASE SPILL AT BALDUCCI'S Tags: us_VA, public, release, environmental, grease BULL SEMEN SPILL CLOSES DOWN NASHVILLE HIGHWAY Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, liquid_nitrogen HAZMAT FINDS NO LEAKS AT UW MEDICAL CENTER Tags: us_WA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical SANTA CRUZ GARBAGE COLLECTORS REFUSE TREATMENT AFTER HAZMAT SITU Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, acids, wastes METH LAB DISCOVERED AFTER SMALL EXPLOSION IN SURREY Tags: Canada, public, explosion, response, meth_lab DIVERSIFIED CHEMICAL NEGLIGENCE SUIT CLAIMS CHEMICAL REACTED WITH CONTAINER, CAUSING $14 MILLION FIRE Tags: us_MI, industrial, fire, injury, follow-up GYNAECOLOGY WARD AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LEWISHAM EVACUATED DUE TO REFRIGERANT GAS LEAK (FROM THIS IS LOCAL LONDON) Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, hvac_chemicals FREIGHTLINER WORKER SUFFERS CHEMICAL BURN Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical CHEMICAL SPILL AT WHEAT RIDGE MARKET SICKENS SEVERAL Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, pesticides PROPANE TANKER CATCHES FIRE, PROMPTS EVACUATIONS Tags: us_CA, transportation, fire, injury, propane NUMC OXYGEN TANK LEAK CAUSES STIR Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, oxygen CHLORINE GAS LEAK AT WOODLAND CANNERY SENDS 43 TO HOSPITALS Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine ACID LEAK IN FED EX TRUCK CLOSES N. HWY 99 ONRAMP IN ELK GROVE Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, chlorine HIGHWAY 99 REOPENS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, bleach NEW ZEALAND LIGHT LEATHERS SPILL SICKENS WORKERS Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AT TENN. JAIL HOSPITALIZE 6 Tags: us_TN, public, release, injury, meth_lab WBTV 3 NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS, AND TRAFFIC FOR CHARLOTTE, NC- Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, ammonia INVESTIGATORS PROBE TWO WORK-RELATED INJURIES Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, injury, dust MAN BURNED IN METH LAB EXPLOSION Tags: us_GA, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO HYDROGEN PEROXIDE LEAK OUTSIDE COCOA FACTORY Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide SUSPECTED METH LAB DISCOVERED AT KINGSPORT MOTEL- KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS Tags: us_TN, public, release, response, meth_lab CONTAMINATED STAFF RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical CHEMICAL LEAK SENDS WOODLAND CANNERY EMPLOYEES TO AREA HOSPITALS Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine HOSPITAL WORKERS TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN ESSEX Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, solvent GRASSFIRE BURNS CHEMICALS, SLOWS TRAFFIC Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, waste MAN'S LEGS BLOWN OFF IN BACKYARD EXPLOSION Tags: Australia, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT TEAM CALLED FOR CLEANUP AFTER HOMEWOOD HOTEL INSPECTION http://homewood-flossmoor.patch.com/articles/hazmat-team-responds-after-ho mewood-hotel-inspection Tags: us_IL, public, discovery, response, pool_chemicals A hazardous materials team responded Tuesday morning to Homewood Hotel, after improperly stored pool chemicals were discovered during a scheduled building and fire inspection. The hazmat team helped the Homewood Fire Department with cleanup, according to a village press release. Homewood Fire Chief Robert Grabowski said guests in the 36 occupied hotel rooms were evacuated. =93Once the hazmat condition is mitigated, occupants will be permitted to return to their rooms, typically within four to eight hours,=94 Grabowski said. --------------------------------------------- FIRE DEPARTMENT CONTAINS GREASE SPILL AT BALDUCCI'S http://mclean.patch.com/articles/fire-department-contains-grease-spill-at- balduccis Tags: us_VA, public, release, environmental, grease Fire Department HazMat units spent several hours at the Balducci's supermarket on Old Dominion Drive Monday afternoon trying to contain a grease spill. Capt. Keith Cross of the fire department explained that the underground grease holding tank at the supermarket clogged up causing it to overflow into the parking lot and more importantly into the storm drain. That called for an environmental cleanup because the storm drain carried the grease out to McLean Drive and a small pond and creek there, Capt. Cross said. --------------------------------------------- BULL SEMEN SPILL CLOSES DOWN NASHVILLE HIGHWAY http://www.opposingviews.com/i/entertainment/bull-semen-spill-closes-down- nashville-highway Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, liquid_nitrogen Fire and emergency crews shut down an on-ramp to Interstate 65 South in Nashville on Tuesday morning after they found several steaming canisters with a foul odor. HAZMAT officials were able to determine that the canisters contained bull semen, which had fallen off a Greyhound bus, according to WKRN. Officials traced the containers to Greyhound after finding bus tickets on the ground. The bus did not know it lost its load and had continued on. Authorities called Greyhound, who, after speaking with the driver the bus, determined the canisters were filled with straws of frozen sperm packed in liquid nitrogen. The load originated in Columbus, Ohio and was en route to a breeding facility in Laredo, Texas. Canisters, such as the ones spilled across the interstate typically carry between 300 and 400 straws, each containing one-milliliter of sperm. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT FINDS NO LEAKS AT UW MEDICAL CENTER http://www.kndo.com/story/15317781/hazmat-finds-no-leaks-at-uw-medical-cen ter Tags: us_WA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical SEATTLE (AP) - The Seattle Fire Department hazardous material team responded Tuesday morning when a maintenance worker reported trouble breathing in the basement of a wing at the University of Washington Medical Center. Department spokesman Kyle Moore says about a dozen people were evacuated from the basement. Medics drove the worker to the hospital's emergency room for treatment of a minor respiratory problem. Moore says the worker may have smelled refrigerant. Tests found no leaks or spills, and people were allowed back in the basement. --------------------------------------------- SANTA CRUZ GARBAGE COLLECTORS REFUSE TREATMENT AFTER HAZMAT SITU http://www.kionrightnow.com/story/15318792/santa-cruz-garbage-collectors-r efuse-treatment-after-hazmat-situation Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, acids, wastes SANTA CRUZ, Calif- Two city of Santa Cruz workers were in their garbage truck when they say that a white cloud enveloped their truck and they could not breathe. Santa Cruz Fire was dispatched to the scene around 6:30 AM. Firefighters isolated the area around the truck. Santa Cruz Police closed streets to traffic and pedestrians in the area of Sumner and Darwin. Firefighters used PH paper to determine that the white substance was an acid. The acid was neutralized with Sodium Bicarbonate and the truck was driven to the city's landfill to dispose of the contents. --------------------------------------------- METH LAB DISCOVERED AFTER SMALL EXPLOSION IN SURREY http://www.vancouversun.com/Meth+discovered+after+small+explosion+Surrey/5 296295/story.html Tags: Canada, public, explosion, response, meth_lab An explosion in a Surrey basement suite Monday led police to discover a suspected drug lab. Emergency crews were called to a home in the 7200-block of 140-A Street around 8:30 p.m. after neighbours reported a loud bang followed by smoke and noxious odours, a spokesman for Surrey RCMP confirmed. He said neighbours saw a Caucasian man of about 35 years of age leaving the house on a bicycle shortly after the explosion erupted from the basement. Two tenants who live upstairs in the house told investigators the downstairs tenant may have been operating a do-it-yourself drug lab. With the help of Surrey Fire Service, police determined that the basement suite contained what appeared to be a methamphetamine lab --------------------------------------------- DIVERSIFIED CHEMICAL NEGLIGENCE SUIT CLAIMS CHEMICAL REACTED WITH CONTAINER, CAUSING $14 MILLION FIRE http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110823/FREE/110829968# Tags: us_MI, industrial, fire, injury, follow-up Diversified Chemical Technologies Inc. blames a chemical drum from an Ohio additive supplier for igniting one of its industrial heating ovens, causing the fire that destroyed one of the company's buildings. The Detroit-based supplier of packaging adhesives, coatings and recycled polymeric materials seeks unspecified damages over $75,000 against Chardon, Ohio-based Rhein Chemie Corp. and Sea Land Chemical Co. in Westlake, Ohio, for the fire that destroyed a 20,000-square-foot building on Woodrow Wilson street and forced Diversified to relocate some production temporarily to Ferndale. At issue in the lawsuit is a 55-gallon drum ostensibly containing an anti-wear industrial compound called Additin, which Diversified was heating in an industrial oven in Building 4 on the day of the fire. Rhein Chemie makes Additin for Diversified, and Sea Land Chemical distributes the drum in which it was stored. Diversified uses Additin as part of the mixture in a lubricant it manufactures for the automotive industry. The fire, which broke out in Building 4 two years ago Wednesday, sent clouds across the city and drew out Detroit firefighters and a response team from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which later determined the smoke was nontoxic. More than 260 employees were evacuated, but none were injured. --------------------------------------------- GYNAECOLOGY WARD AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LEWISHAM EVACUATED DUE TO REFRIGERANT GAS LEAK (FROM THIS IS LOCAL LONDON) http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/9212236.Lewisham_Hospital_ward_eva cuated_due_to_chemical_incident/ Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, hvac_chemicals A GYNAECOLOGY ward at Lewisham Hospital had to be evacuated because of a chemical incident yesterday (August 23). Patients and staff were transferred to another part of the fifth floor of A-block at University Hospital Lewisham at around 9.40am yesterday morning after refrigerant gas began leaking from a fridge. Specialist firefighter crews were called in and removed the fridge from a utility room, just off the ward. Wearing breathing apparatus they double bagged the fridge so no more gas could escape before using the fire lift to get it out of the building. --------------------------------------------- FREIGHTLINER WORKER SUFFERS CHEMICAL BURN http://www.gastongazette.com/news/chemical-60216-crews-medical.html Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical A man was taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte on Tuesday after being splashed with chemicals at Freightliner in Mount Holly. The call came in to medical crews at 1 p.m. Mount Holly Fire Department and Gaston Emergency Medical Services responded to the call at the plant on North Main Street. The man, in his 30s, has small burns to his extremities, according to GEMS. When emergency crews arrived, he was in a shower being washed down, according to Mount Holly Fire Chief Dale Oplinger. Fire crews responded because they were told there was a chemical spill. When they learned it was a contained situation, they stood by to assist. GEMS did not have a description of what kinds of burns the Freightliner worker had other than a chemical burn. Oplinger said the chemical that splashed the man was some type of degreasing agent. --------------------------------------------- CHEMICAL SPILL AT WHEAT RIDGE MARKET SICKENS SEVERAL http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28955179/detail.html Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, pesticides WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- One man was taken to a hospital during a Hazmat situation at a Wheat Ridge market on Tuesday afternoon According to the Arvada Fire Department, which responded to the call, one employee at Heinie's Market suffered injuries after being exposed to an insecticide. Arvada Fire Spokesman Scott Pribble said a quart of Malathion, an insecticide used especially for mosquito control, spilled off a shelf. The worker was cleaning up the mess when he suffered injuries to his arm, Pribble said. --------------------------------------------- PROPANE TANKER CATCHES FIRE, PROMPTS EVACUATIONS http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_18741707 Tags: us_CA, transportation, fire, injury, propane LINCOLN, Calif.=97Authorities on Tuesday ordered residents of a Sacramento suburb to leave an area within one mile of a burning rail car loaded with a potentially explosive chemical. The 29,000-gallon tanker holding liquid propane caught fire in Lincoln, injuring one worker, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant. No details on the worker's injuries were available. Flames shot into the air from a vent as fire crews soaked the tanker to keep down its temperature. Firefighters were allowing the propane to burn off because extinguishing the flames could allow a propane gas cloud to escape and ignite in a fireball, Berlant said. The tanker located in an industrial area off the tracks could burn into Wednesday, he said. No other structures or train cars were reported on fire. --------------------------------------------- NUMC OXYGEN TANK LEAK CAUSES STIR http://libn.com/2011/08/23/numc-oxygen-tank-leak-causes-stir/ Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, oxygen Fire fighters evacuated neighboring homes as a precaution after a valve broke during the replacement of a tank filled with liquid oxygen outside Nassau University Medical Center, sending clouds of vapor streaming into the sky. The East Meadow hospital, part of the NuHealth System, said the problem occurred while workers were decommissioning an oxygen tank on the southeastern side of the hospital, before replacing it with a new one. The tank is used to supply patients with oxygen. =93Once the valve broke, we called the fire department and the police department as a precaution,=94 said NuHealth spokeswoman Shelley Lotenberg. =93No one was hurt. There was no need to evacuate patients, or visitors or employees.=94 Fire department officials evacuated some nearby homeowners as a precaution, although things were back to normal in less than an hour, according to Lotenberg. --------------------------------------------- CHLORINE GAS LEAK AT WOODLAND CANNERY SENDS 43 TO HOSPITALS http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/22/3852331/chlorine-gas-leak-at-woodland.htm l Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine More than 40 employees at a Woodland cannery were taken to Sacramento area hospitals and more than 800 people were evacuated shortly after noon Sunday when a chemical used in tomato processing leaked into a work area, authorities said. Two employees of Pacific Coast Producers, an agricultural cooperative, were seriously affected from exposure to the gas, chlorine dioxide, according to Greg Robinson, battalion chief for the Woodland Fire Department. He put the number of affected employees at 43. A dozen ambulances transported 22 workers to area hospitals. The other 21 were taken to hospitals by bus. Company spokeswoman Mona Shulman said the two most seriously affected workers suffered "inhalation distress" from exposure to the gas at the plant in the 1300 block of Lemen Avenue. The chlorine dioxide leaked into the work area in the form of "off-gassing," apparently when an injection system carrying the gas became overloaded. Chlorine dioxide is routinely injected during processing "to keep the water and tomatoes sanitary as they go into canning," Shulman said. --------------------------------------------- ACID LEAK IN FED EX TRUCK CLOSES N. HWY 99 ONRAMP IN ELK GROVE http://www.news10.net/news/article/151340/29/Acid-spill-closes-N-Hwy-99-on ramp-in-Elk-Grove Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, chlorine ELK GROVE, CA - The Calvine Road onramp and one lane of Northbound Highwaw 99 in Elk Grove was reopened around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday after California Highway Patrol had closed it due to a hydrochlorine leak in a Fed Ex truck. The truck was removed from the highway near the unfinished Elk Grove mall for further investigation. According to California Highway Patrol spokesman, Rich Wetzel, the driver noticed something leaking from the back of his truck. When he got out to investigate, he noticed a strong chemical odor, reminiscent of pool chlorine coming from the truck's cargo hold and contacted authorities. Upon arrival, Consumnes Fire issued a level-two hazmat warning and called for a forklift to remove the leaking container from the back of the truck. --------------------------------------------- HIGHWAY 99 REOPENS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL http://www.kcra.com/r/28948171/detail.html Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, bleach ELK GROVE, Calif. -- The far right northbound lane of Highway 99 near Grant Line Road has reopened after an early-morning chemical spill. A Sacramento fire captain told KCRA 3 that a FedEx truck spilled sodium hypochlorite, or household bleach, in the area early Tuesday morning. =46rom The Field: Hazmat Situation Cleared The driver reportedly noticed the spill just before 1 a.m. and pulled over on the shoulder of the highway, until a hazardous materials crew from the Sacramento Fire Department arrived. By about 5:30 a.m., the leak from a container in the truck appeared to be secured, and fire crews escorted the truck off the highway. --------------------------------------------- NEW ZEALAND LIGHT LEATHERS SPILL SICKENS WORKERS http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/5489423/Chemical-spill-sickens-w orkers Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical Four people were hospitalised following a chemical spill at the New Zealand Light Leathers factory at Washdyke. Emergency services were called to the Meadows Rd business in Washdyke around 12.30pm yesterday. About 300 litres of tanning chemicals were spilled, resulting in five people being treated. Three men and a woman were taken to hospital. Timaru senior fire station officer Phil De Joux said staff were outside identifying a mixture of chemicals when they became sick. Mr De Joux said employees who had inhaled fumes were put through a decontamination shower before being taken away by ambulance. --------------------------------------------- HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AT TENN. JAIL HOSPITALIZE 6 http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-ems/articles/1108887-Hazardous-materials-a t-Tenn-jail-hospitalize-6/ Tags: us_TN, public, release, injury, meth_lab ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. =97 At least six people were taken to Sycamore Shoals Hospital late Friday night after they came into contact with hazardous materials believed to have been associated with a methamphetamine lab, according to Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes. A large section of downtown Elizabethton near the Carter County Jail was shut down shortly around 10:30 p.m. while emergency personnel and hazardous materials teams worked to clear the scene after a deputy collapsed in the jail's processing area while bringing in a man arrested on drug charges during a routine stop in the Stoney Creek community. "What we believe has happened to this point is this individual, who was arrested on drug charges, has been in a meth lab," Mathes said. The harsh fumes from the unknown chemical substance permeated the man's clothing and skin to the point where the fumes overpowered the officer, leading to an immediate quarantine of the area, Mathes said. --------------------------------------------- WBTV 3 NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS, AND TRAFFIC FOR CHARLOTTE, NC- http://www.wbtv.com/story/15306289/ammonia-leak-monday-morning-in-southwes t-charlotte Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, ammonia CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Dozens of firefighters responded to a business in southwest Charlotte after ammonia was released inside the facility early Monday morning forcing employees to evacuate. The incidence occurred at a warehouse located at 11922 General Drive in the Steele Creek area. We're told the chemical leak happened in a suite which houses a distribution center for ProFlowers. --------------------------------------------- INVESTIGATORS PROBE TWO WORK-RELATED INJURIES http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/08/22/ottawa-explosion-mas terloy.html Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, injury, dust The first happened a little after noon when a reported dust explosion injured a 46-year-old man. Ottawa fire officials reported a fire in a factory warehouse at 5663 Doncaster Rd. and said it was evacuated after a possible explosion. About 25 firefighters extinguished the blaze and about a dozen emergency workers with the Hazmat team were called in as a precaution. The man was treated by paramedics for second-degree burns to his torso and third-degree burns to back and legs. He was then transported to hospital in critical condition and has since been upgraded to serious condition. The factory is run by Masterloy Products Company, which makes iron alloys. --------------------------------------------- MAN BURNED IN METH LAB EXPLOSION http://moultrieobserver.com/local/x1699203018/Man-burned-in-meth-lab-explo sion Tags: us_GA, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab MOULTRIE =97 Drug agents expect to make arrests related to two methamphetamine labs that were discovered Sunday morning after one of them exploded, severely burning a Colquitt County man. The Moultrie-Colquitt County Drug Enforcement Team was called to a mobile home at 845 Tillman Road after 3 a.m. Sunday after emergency medical personnel found the man there with severe chemical burns, agency Cmdr. Steve Exum said. =93DET agents found evidence to indicate a meth lab exploded,=94 he said. .... No finished product was found at the operation, but the agents found chemicals used in making the drug. Exum refused to identify the man, who has been taken to a hospital in Augusta for treatment of burns, because he has not been charged with a crime in the case. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO HYDROGEN PEROXIDE LEAK OUTSIDE COCOA FACTORY http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2011/08/hazmat_team_responds _to_hydrog.html Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide GLASSBORO =97 A tanker was apparently leaking hydrogen peroxide outside a cocoa factory here Monday night, prompting a response from the county=92s hazmat team. The tanker was leaking at ADM Cocoa on Ellis Street, reports indicated. Hydrogen peroxide, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, is corrosive in a concentrated form and can be explosive in not stored under proper conditions. The clear, colorless liquid is infinitely soluble in water. Agricultural pesticide products usually contain no more than 35 percent hydrogen peroxide, which is usually diluted to 1 percent or less when applied, according to the EPA. --------------------------------------------- SUSPECTED METH LAB DISCOVERED AT KINGSPORT MOTEL- KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS http://www.timesnews.net/article/9035002/suspected-meth-lab-discovered-at- kingsport-motel Tags: us_TN, public, release, response, meth_lab KINGSPORT -- Four suspects are in custody following the discovery of a meth lab Saturday afternoon at the West Side Inn on Stone Drive. Personnel with the Kingsport Police Department, Sullivan County EMS and the Kingsport Fire Department=92s HazMat unit responded to a suspicious odor complaint at the inn around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. A nearby resident made the call, saying the foul odor was coming from Room 309. --------------------------------------------- CONTAMINATED STAFF RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/five-contaminated-chemical-spill-in-timaru -4360266 Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical Staff contaminated by a chemical spill at a Timaru factory have been released from hospital. An alkaline substance leaked from the New Zealand Light Leathers facility on Meadows Road at about 12.25pm today. The chemical was meant to go into a treatment plant but a system failure resulted in the substance overflowing and running onto a driveway and down an effluent drain. Four staff started feeling unwell and an ambulance and fire crews were called to the scene. The affected people were decontaminated at the site and were treated at hospital for breathing problems. --------------------------------------------- CHEMICAL LEAK SENDS WOODLAND CANNERY EMPLOYEES TO AREA HOSPITALS http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/21/3851995/chemical-leak-sends-woodland-cann ery.html Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine More than 40 employees at a Woodland cannery were taken to Sacramento area hospitals and close to 800 to 1,000 people were evacuated shortly after noon today when a chemical used in tomato processing leaked into a work area, authorities said. Two employees of Pacific Coast Producers were seriously affected from exposure to the gas, chlorine dioxide, according to Greg Robinson, battalion chief for the Woodland Fire Department. He put the number of patients at 43. A dozen ambulances transported 22 employees to area hospitals. The other 21 were taken to hospitals by bus. Company spokeswoman Mona Shulman said chlorine dioxide leaked into the work area in the form of "off-gassing," apparently when an injection system carrying the gas became overloaded. Chlorine dioxide is routinely injected during processing "to keep the water and tomatoes sanitary as they go into canning," Shulman said. She said work is under way to detect the reason for the overload. --------------------------------------------- HOSPITAL WORKERS TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN ESSEX http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-14607532 Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, solvent Two workers from a hospital in Essex are being treated for the effects of a chemical spillage. The incident happened at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford where they were exposed to acidic chemical fumes following a spillage in a storage area. Fire crews were called to the incident on Saturday afternoon involving a canister of the citrus fragranced solvent d-Limonene. Firefighters said the spillage was small and straightforward to deal with. --------------------------------------------- GRASSFIRE BURNS CHEMICALS, SLOWS TRAFFIC http://www.turnto23.com/news/28928342/detail.html Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, waste BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A grassfire in central Bakersfield got into a building storing chemicals Saturday afternoon, and the smoke slowed traffic way down on Highway 99. As traffic crawled through the smoke southbound on Highway 99, fire crews had to shut down the on-ramp to Golden State Highway as they worked. Fire crews said there were actually two fires. The first was burning near Landco Road, along some train tracks in that area. That fire burned about seven acres. The second fire was on Standard Drive, and got into the railroad ties and other items being behind some businesses, including an outbuilding at B.C. Labs, a chemical company. Environmental health investigators say flames got close to some "chlorinated hazardous waste," but it was contained and nothing was released. --------------------------------------------- MAN'S LEGS BLOWN OFF IN BACKYARD EXPLOSION http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-22/backyard-chemical-explosion-melbourn e/2849354/?site=melbourne Tags: Australia, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical The Victoria Police arson squad says two men who were critically injured in a backyard explosion south-east of Melbourne last night were experimenting with chemicals. A 24-year-old Pakenham man and a 23-year-old man from Cannons Creek are undergoing emergency surgery after the chemicals they were mixing exploded. The arson squad says the men planned to bury an improvised explosive device they had made, but it blew up earlier than they had expected. ---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post