Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google Monday, September 26, 2011 8:15:00 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 (9 articles) AGENCIES TRY TO CURB METH LAB CLEANUP COSTS Tags: us_TN, public, release, environmental, meth_lab, follow-up SINOPEC GAOQIAO OIL REFINERY CATCHES FIRE, NO CASUALTIES -XINHUA Tags: China, industrial, fire, response, petroleum FIRE IN DRUG RESEARCH LABS IN SHOLINGANALLUR Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response HAZMAT UNIT RESPONDS TO NOXIOUS GAS EMITTED FROM TOILET Tags: us_GA, public, fire, injury, bleach HAZMAT RESPONDS TO LEAK AT JACKSON SENIOR COMMUNITY CLUBHOUSE Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid HAZMAT TEAM SKUNKED Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical NEWS, SPORTS, JOBS, COMMUNITY INFO. Tags: us_IA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical BOMB SQUAD CARRY OUT CONTROLLED EXPLOSIONS IN DUBLIN AND CORK SCHOOLS =C2=B7 THEJOURNAL Tags: Ireland, education, discovery, response, dinitrophenylhydrazine, time-sensitive LPG BLAST: CONVENTION HALL OWNER ARRESTED Tags: India, public, explosion, death, butane, gas_cylinders, propane, follow-up --------------------------------------------- AGENCIES TRY TO CURB METH LAB CLEANUP COSTS http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/sep/25/agencies-try-curb-meth-lab-clea nup-costs-ar-1334790/ Tags: us_TN, public, release, environmental, meth_lab, follow-up By conservative estimates, a meth lab can cost around $400 to clean up; a bill that local agencies have worked to reduce since federal funding dried up earlier this year. Costs have been cut by using in-house officers to deal with the chemical mess, by using local disposal agencies and by enlisting aid from the state. In Tennessee, the state=E2=80=99s Meth Task Force can take charge of the cleanup, said Charlie Thomas, a captain with the Bristol Tennessee Police Department. The state bought trailers, buckets and chemicals to use in cleanup efforts, he said, so officers who have been trained can now put on hazardous materials suits and package up the leftover chemicals, labs and materials. "The meth truck driver pulls up with the trailer that has all of the [cleanup] stuff,=" he said. "We photograph it, stick it in buckets and they pour [a chemical] on it to stabilize it and it=E2=80=99s hauled off to a storage pod. The only cost to the agency now is overtime for the personnel on scene.=" The storage containers are eventually hauled off to a special dump site for hazardous chemical materials, he said. That site is in Michigan. --------------------------------------------- SINOPEC GAOQIAO OIL REFINERY CATCHES FIRE, NO CASUALTIES -XINHUA http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/09/25/sinopec-gaoqiao-oil-refin ery-catches-fire-no-casualties-xinhua/ Tags: China, industrial, fire, response, petroleum EIJING -(Dow Jones)- A fire broke out late Friday at a China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP) refinery in Shanghai, but no casualties were reported, the official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday, citing municipal police. The fire occurred around 10:30 p.m. local time in the coking unit of Sinopec's Gaoqiao refinery, which has the capacity to process about 250,000 barrels a day of crude oil. Xinhua didn't mention whether there was any impact on production. The fire was under control by 11:50 p.m., and the cause is being investigated, it said. --------------------------------------------- FIRE IN DRUG RESEARCH LABS IN SHOLINGANALLUR http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Fire-in-drug-research-labs -in-Sholinganallur/articleshow/10120712.cms Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response CHENNAI: A major fire broke out in the drug research labs of Orchid Chemical and Paramedical private limited in Sholinganallur on Old Mahapalipuram Road around 8am on Sunday. About 60 firefighters put off the fire after a three-hour struggle. Security personnel of the firm noticed smoke from the top floor of a two-storey building that houses the lab units. Five fire tenders from Siruseri, Maraimalai Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur, Guindy and Tambaram rushed to the spot with 60 firefighters. "The smoke was fifty feet high and could be seen from two kilometres away," said M Ramamurthy, a resident of Sholinganallur. The firefighters broke open some of the windows and a part of the wall on the second floor of the building. As air rushed in, flames started appearing. "The air conditioned building was sealed off and therefore only smoke was being produced when we reached the spot," deputy director, North Western region, fire and rescue services, T Vincent Devadass told TOI. No one was in the building as it was a Sunday and, hence, none was hurt in the fire. The number of major fires in Chennai that was hovering in the less-than-20 range ramped up to over 40 in 2007. In 2008, there were 76 cases of major fires and in 2009, 61, though last year there were 28. "Not much attention is paid to basic fire safety precautions by people who are otherwise well qualified and educated," said P Manoharan, a fire auditor with National Insurance Company. The police said the fire could have started from the electric heaters. "Each unit has several heaters. We suspect electrical short circuit," a police officer said. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT UNIT RESPONDS TO NOXIOUS GAS EMITTED FROM TOILET http://waltontribune.com/news/article_f2c94b9c-e64c-11e0-bb4f-001cc4c002e0 .html Tags: us_GA, public, fire, injury, bleach The Walton County HAZMAT team was called into action Monday for the first time this year after chemicals mixed to clear a clogged toilet created a toxic gas. At about 1:50 p.m. the county=E2=80=99s 911 center received a medical emergency call triggered by an elderly woman=E2=80=99s medic alert monitor at 711 Kendall Court in Monroe. According to reports, a repairman poured "liquid fire=" into the commode and later in the day the resident poured bleach into the toilet. The mixing of the two created a potentially fatal gas which caused the resident to have trouble breathing and activate her medic alert monitor. Emergency medical personnel were the first to respond. When fire officials arrived soon after, they in turn called out for the HAZMAT=E2=80=88team. Once on the scene, HAZMAT team members suited up, entered the home and were able to clear enough of the clog for the chemicals to enter the sewage system and aired out the house. The resident was taken to Walton Regional Medical Center and treated for inhaling toxic fumes. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT RESPONDS TO LEAK AT JACKSON SENIOR COMMUNITY CLUBHOUSE http://www.app.com/article/20110924/NJNEWS/309240018/HazMat-responds-leak- Jackson-senior-community-clubhouse?odyssey=nav%7Chead Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid JACKSON =E2=80=94 Card players at the Westlake Clubhouse, in a senior community, were reluctant to leave their card games behind when police ordered them to evacuate Thursday night after a leak of muriatic acid and sodium chloride was discovered in the maintenance room of the clubhouse, police said. A 911 call was placed by a maintenance worker about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when the spill was discovered during a routine check, Sgt. John Decker. The employees evacuated the building and informed the residents to do the same. However, the card players would not leave their games and belongings, Decker said. Card enthusiasts had to be told several times by police to evacuate the building because of the potentially dangerous mix of hazardous materials, Decker said. The residents complied eventually at the insistence of police, Decker said. --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT TEAM SKUNKED http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/64963/HAZMAT-team-skunked Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical The streets were blocked with emergency vehicles as the HAZMAT team rolled to an address on Cupar Rd. Wednesday afternoon (Septemper 21). An ambulance was parked down the street as the team in gas masks and sealed suits entered the property. The HAZMAT unit was called out after reports of a suspicious smell. A table was set up to test results of any chemicals found on the property. It was soon discovered the odour came from a skunk. The teams packed up shortly afterwards and left the smell behind. --------------------------------------------- NEWS, SPORTS, JOBS, COMMUNITY INFO. http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/542562/FD-Hazmat-calle d-to-WC.html?nav=5010 Tags: us_IA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical WEBSTER CITY - Oil from electrical transformers was discovered at a Webster City apartment building Friday afternoon, prompting a call for a hazardous materials team. The roughly 60 gallons of oil was found several days after five transformers were pulled from the Boone River north of Webster City. It was found by law enforcement officers conducting a search at the former Shady Oaks Motel, 1203 E. Second St., according to Fort Dodge Firefighter Bruce Ahrens, who is the coordinator of the regional hazardous materials team. A report on the search wasn't available from the Webster City Police Department Friday night. The hazardous materials team from Fort Dodge was called at 4:15 p.m. Ahrens said the oil was in two containers. He said a barrel in the apartment building's parking lot held about 40 gallons. He said a picnic cooler in a car contained about 20 gallons. --------------------------------------------- BOMB SQUAD CARRY OUT CONTROLLED EXPLOSIONS IN DUBLIN AND CORK SCHOOLS =C2=B7 THEJOURNAL http://www.thejournal.ie/bomb-squad-carry-out-controlled-explosions-in-dub lin-and-cork-schools-234978-Sep2011/ Tags: Ireland, education, discovery, response, dinitrophenylhydrazine, time-sensitive THE IRISH DEFENCE Forces have carried out controlled explosions on dangerous chemicals discovered in two schools in Dublin and Cork today. The Forces=E2=80=99 Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to Grange Community College in Donaghmede, Dublin just after 2pm this afternoon after a quantity of 2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine was discovered. 2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine is a chemical reagent which is found in laboratories. It is relatively sensitive to shock and friction and can become unstable over time if it crystallises. The quantity of the chemical was removed from the school to a safe location, where it was destroyed by means of a controlled explosion and the scene was declared safe at 3.30pm. In a second incident, the Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to St Mary=E2=80=99s Secondary School in Macroom, Co Cork at around 3pm after another quantity of 2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine was discovered. Again, the chemical was removed to a safe located and destroyed by a controlled explosion. Today=E2=80=99s call outs were the 185th and 186th this year, and the 20th and 21st involving what the Defence Forces call "substances of concern=". --------------------------------------------- LPG BLAST: CONVENTION HALL OWNER ARRESTED http://www.deccanherald.com/content/193235/lpg-blast-convention-hall-owner .html Tags: India, public, explosion, death, butane, gas_cylinders, propane, follow-up The Kamakshipalya police on Friday arrested Srinivas Naidu, the owner of Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Convention Hall, where LPG cylinder blasts killed two and injured 15 people on Wednesday. "After the incident, Naidu had fled Bangalore and had gone into hiding. A police team arrested him in Tamil Nadu on Friday,=" said DCP (West) S=E2=80=88N=E2=80=88Sidramappa. Naidu told the police that he had rented out the three-storey building to Dinesh Kumar nine months ago. He had also rented out a few houses attached to the hall and Kumar had stored some chemical in barrels, Naidu told the police. ---------------------------------------------
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