Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google Friday, September 23, 2011 8:37:32 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) WHAT A DRAIN...HAZMAT PUMPS PAINT OUT FROM STREET SEWER Tags: us_NJ, public, release, environmental, toxics HAZMAT CALLED AFTER EIGHT INHALED TAR FUMES AT JULIAN H.S. Tags: us_IL, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical NBC29 WVIR CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical HAZMAT SITUATION CAUSES EVACUATIONS IN DIXMOOR Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, sulfur_dioxide 4 KILLED, 12 INJURED IN FIRE AT MIDC DYEING UNITS Tags: India, industrial, fire, death, flammables FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO REPORT OF CHEMICAL LEAK, FIND NOTHING Tags: us_IA, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical ONE DEAD, TEN INJURED AS SUSPECTED CYLINDER BLAST RIPS THROUGH A BUILDING Tags: India, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical HAZMAT CREWS CONTAIN TRAIN CAR LEAK IN ARABI Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, flammables SYDNEY EVACUATIONS FOLLOWING FIRES, CHEMICAL LEAK Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, chlorine CLEVELAND HIGH ON 'VOLUNTARY' LOCKDOWN AFTER POTENTIAL HAZMAT INCIDENT Tags: us_CA, education, explosion, response, carbon_dioxide PORTABLE METH LAB EXPLODES, MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab STUDENT LOSES EYE AFTER CHEMISTRY EXPLOSION Tags: us_IL, education, explosion, injury, carbon_dioxide --------------------------------------------- WHAT A DRAIN...HAZMAT PUMPS PAINT OUT FROM STREET SEWER http://www.northjersey.com/news/130357183_What_a_drain___.html Tags: us_NJ, public, release, environmental, toxics The Ridgefield Park Fire Department, members of the Department of Public Works and Bergen County Hazmat drained stain-resistant paint from an open lot drain on Brinkerhoff Street, Sept. 12, to prevent the toxic chemicals from spilling into Overpeck Creek and the Hackensack River. A Ridgefield Park resident poured five gallons of paint into this drain and said he did not have knowledge that this wasn't allowed, Ridgefield Park Fire Chief Richard LaTour said. LaTour and several other firemen as well as the Village Police and members of Bergen County Hazmat arrived on Brinkerhoff Street to remove the paint with a vacuum sewer cleaner. "We evaluated the scene and realized it was latex paint, which is why we called in Hazmat. They're the experts with that sort of thing," he said. LaTour encourages all residents to call the DPW when they have to dispose of any fluids. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT CALLED AFTER EIGHT INHALED TAR FUMES AT JULIAN H.S. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-hazmat-called-after- three-student-inhaled-tar-fumes-at-julian-hs-20110922,0,7500169.story Tags: us_IL, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical Eight people were taken to the hospital this afternoon after they inhaled tar fumes at Percy Julian High School in the Washington Heights neighborhood, officials said. Firefighters and paramedics were alerted to the high school located at 10330 S. Elizabeth St. where a Level 1 Hazmat and an EMS Plan 1 were called shortly after 1:30 p.m., officials said. Earlier reports said three youths inhaled hot tar fumes outside of the school, according to Fire Media information. About six ambulances were sent to the scene. --------------------------------------------- NBC29 WVIR CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER http://www.nbc29.com/story/15525118/palmyra-hazmat Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical A package of floor sealer caused a big problem Thursday morning at the Palmyra post office. Police and hazmat teams were called after a mail carrier heard popping sounds from a parcel and liquid started leaking out. Traffic was rerouted around the post office and four workers were quarantined as the investigation started. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT SITUATION CAUSES EVACUATIONS IN DIXMOOR http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-hazmat-situation-cau ses-evacuations-in-dixmoor-20110922,0,531719.story Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, sulfur_dioxide A chemical fire caused residential evacuations in south suburban Dixmoor tonight, officials said. A hazardous materials response was called to Rhodia's Dixmoor plant after sulfur in an outdoor storage tank caught fire, according to a release from the Dixmoor Fire Department. The plant, in the 14000 block of Seeley Avenue, produces soap. The fire occurred at 4:30 p.m. and nearby homes and people from nearby homes and a business were evacuated 90 minutes later, according to the fire department. The fire produced sulfur dioxide vapor, a respiratory irritant, according to the department. The cause of the fire isn't clear but the plant was shut down for scheduled maintenance when the fire broke out. --------------------------------------------- 4 KILLED, 12 INJURED IN FIRE AT MIDC DYEING UNITS http://www.hindustantimes.com/4-killed-12-injured-in-fire-at-MIDC-dyeing-u nits/Article1-749116.aspx Tags: India, industrial, fire, death, flammables A massive fire broke out in two dyeing units in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) phase II here on Wednesday killing four people and injuring 12. The fire was sparked due to some mechanical fault in Pooja Dyeing, and spread to SV Fabrics, which is adjacent to it. Four industrial workers, Kuldeep Mohilee, 35, Nandkumar Jha, 40, Mohiddin Garib Miya ,52, and Ramprakash Tiwari, 40, were killed in the fire. Dilip Gund, the deputy chief fire officer of MIDC, Dombivli said: =93We got a phone call at 3.40am, informing us of the fire. When we reached the spot, the fire had begun to spread, so we had to control it and not let it spread to other units.=94 When the fire broke out, around 100 employees were in the factory. While some managed to rush out, a few were trapped in the building. =93It took four hours and 12 fire tenders to extinguish it. We rescued 18 employees from the first and second floors.=94 Prima facie, it was found that a pipeline carrying some inflammable chemical burst and the chemical caught fire. =93It then assumed gigantic proportions as the store room contained clothes, paper and other material that fed the fire,=94 said Gund. --------------------------------------------- FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO REPORT OF CHEMICAL LEAK, FIND NOTHING http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20110922/NEWS01/110922006/Fire-crews- respond-report-chemical-leak-find-nothing Tags: us_IA, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical One Iowa City railroad worker has been hospitalized after several Iowa emergency service entities responded to a possible chemical leak. Railroad employees detected a chemical smell and contacted the Iowa City Fire Department, which responded at 8:21 a.m. Railroad employees suspected a leaking rail car, said Iowa City Fire Battalion Chief Dan Smith. =93He was exhibiting symptoms of possibly being exposed,=94 Smith said. But we can=92t really confirm that is true.=94 Smith said officials searched for a possible leak of an industrial chemical called chlorosulfonic acid, but no leak was found. =93There=92s actually two cars of it sitting there and they checked both cars and found nothing wrong with the valves or the seals,=94 Smith added. =93We can=92t really confirm that there was a leak.=94 --------------------------------------------- ONE DEAD, TEN INJURED AS SUSPECTED CYLINDER BLAST RIPS THROUGH A BUILDING http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article2473138.ece Tags: India, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical A twin blast, believed to have been triggered by cylinder burst, ripped through a three-storeyed building in Sumanahalli near Magadi Road here on Wednesday afternoon, killing a 17-year-old girl and injuring ten others, including five fire force personnel who went for a rescue operation. The blast also triggered a fire that spread to a few residential buildings in the vicinity. The cause of the blasts, which had been initially thought to have been a cylinder burst, is yet to be ascertained as fingers are now being pointed out to a chemical unit operating in the first floor of the partially collapsed structure. The victim has been identified as Kavitha (17), a resident of an adjacent house on whom a portion of the wall collapsed. The badly mangled body was found after more than four hours of rescue operation. According to eye-witnesses, the ear shattering blast was reported around 1.30 p.m. in the three storeyed structure attached to Lakashmi Venkateshwara Kalayana Mantapa at Narasimainapalya. While the ground floor of the building houses a kitchen, the chemical unit was operating in the second floor. The third and fourth floors had family as well as bachelor accommodations. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT CREWS CONTAIN TRAIN CAR LEAK IN ARABI http://www.bayoubuzz.com/louisiana-news/343432-hazmat-crews-contain-train- car-leak-in-arabi Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, flammables ARABI, ST. BERNARD PARISH=97 State Police Hazmat crews worked to contain formic acid that was leaking from a rail car early Wednesday morning. The east and westbound lanes of St. Claude Avenue near Center Street in Arabi were shut down for a few hours. An observant railroad worker spotted the leak and called authorities around 7 a.m. Fire Chief Thomas Stone says the situation could have been a lot worse. =93It could have been a danger to people=92s heath. It=92s flammable and is also a health hazard. It=92s 95% formic acid in that rail car but would have had to have had a larger leak and a vapor cloud to cause harm. And none of that occurred, thank goodness,=94 said St. Bernard Fire Chief, Thomas Stone. --------------------------------------------- SYDNEY EVACUATIONS FOLLOWING FIRES, CHEMICAL LEAK http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/fires-chemical-leak-force-evacuations-20110922-1 km08.html Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, chlorine More than 100 Sydneysiders were evacuated from their homes for hours last night, with fire crews kept busy battling two separate apartment block blazes and a chemical leak. Fire crews were called to a freight company on Byrnes Street, Botany, about 10pm yesterday and found 40 boxes of chlorine-based laundry powder giving off strong vapours. A 200-metre exclusion zone was put in place and 60 residents were evacuated for three hours. Advertisement: Story continues below "It appears the cartons had become contaminated by water and a reaction was occurring, giving off chlorine vapours," Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Ian Krimmer said. --------------------------------------------- CLEVELAND HIGH ON 'VOLUNTARY' LOCKDOWN AFTER POTENTIAL HAZMAT INCIDENT http://www.dailynews.com/ci_18945287?source=most_emailed Tags: us_CA, education, explosion, response, carbon_dioxide Cleveland High School in Reseda was placed on voluntary lockdown about noon Wednesday and the LAPD bomb squad was enroute to campus after a water bottle thrown by a student exploded, school officials said. Students were ordered stay in classrooms following the incident near the campus media center, officials said. A district spokeswoman said the bomb squad was called because of concern that a bottle tossed by a student contained dry ice, which may have caused the container to explode. The extremely cold temperature of dry ice makes it hazardous to the touch. Although Los Angeles Fire and Police departments initially said they had not been asked to respond, the district spokeswoman said the bomb squad had been summoned. --------------------------------------------- PORTABLE METH LAB EXPLODES, MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED http://www.linncountyleader.com/news/x1746174973/Portable-Meth-Lab-Explode s-Man-Seriously-Injured Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab Brookfield, Mo. =97 A new method of manufacturing methamphetamine apparently backfired on a Brookfield man Monday afternoon, seriously burning one side of his face and saturating his clothing. At 3:31 p.m. Monday, Brookfield Police were dispatched to 206 West Dake Street in Brookfield to investigate a complaint of a firearm being discharged there. They would discover that there had been an explosion, but it wasn=92t caused by a firearm. Upon their arrival at 206 West Dake, the officers were unable to get anyone to respond to their knocks at the door; they finally forced a door open and located a white male inside with severe lacerations, abrasions, and burns to the left side of his face. Linn County Ambulance was summoned, and the man was taken initially to Pershing Memorial Hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, Brookfield Firefighters responded as there was smoke and possible chemical hazards throughout the residence. --------------------------------------------- STUDENT LOSES EYE AFTER CHEMISTRY EXPLOSION http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44583200/ns/local_news-chicago_il/t/student-lo ses-eye-after-chemistry-explosion/#.Tnn7P6N5mK0 Tags: us_IL, education, explosion, injury, carbon_dioxide A 16-year-old-boy lost his left eye Tuesday after a plastic bottle containing dry ice and water exploded during a chemistry class at a southwest suburban high school, a suit filed Friday claims. Dillon Mantia was taking part in a chemistry experiment at Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn when the teacher combined dry ice and water in a plastic water bottle and sealed it tightly with a cap, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The teacher then passed the bottle around the class so students could feel and observe pressure building, the suit said. When Mantia took the bottle, it exploded, causing severe and permanent injuries to the boy's face and hands. The explosion caused "irreparable loss" of sight in his left eye and loss of hearing. The suit, filed by the boy's mother Kimberly Mantia, said the students were not given safety goggles even though the demonstration was "inherently dangerous" and "involved a highly volatile compound which threatened the safety and well-being of ... all the students present in chemistry class." In a statement released Monday, the high school said it is reviewing the accident and the teacher has been put on administrative leave, but could not comment further because of the lawsuit. ---------------------------------------------
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