http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/11/15/la_man_sentenced_to_5_year_term_in_hazmat_case/Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, explosives, waste, follow-up
LOS ANGELES=97A Los Angeles man has been sentenced to five years in prison for illegally storing a huge amount of toxic chemicals and explosive hazardous waste, including unstable gunpowder, in his home.
Federal prosecutors say Monday's sentence of 64-year-old Edward Wyman was the stiffest penalty issued by a federal judge in California relating to a hazardous waste case. U.S. District Court Judge George King also ordered Wyman to pay $800,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency for costs associated with a 47-day clean-up.
Wyman was convicted in April of violating the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Authorities found a cache of decades-old gunpowder and other hazardous waste in June 2009 when a fire broke out at Wyman's house. Exploding ammunition forced firefighters to wear bulletproof vests while battling the fire.
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POSSIBLE BIOLOGICAL AGENT PROMPTS EVACUATION OF KINGSPORT JUSTICE CENTER- KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
Tags: us_TN, public, discovery, response, flammables
Federal authorities are on their way to Kingsport after preliminary tests on a suspicious package =97 confiscated during the Nov. 20 KPD arrest of a Liberian man wanted by the Department of Homeland Security =97 have identified it as a possible biological agent.
The Kingsport Police Department, courts and support facilities were evacuated Tuesday as authorities tested air qualities within the Justice Center. Kingsport police and fire officials have described the suspicious materials as a clay-type ball wrapped in plant matter, comparable to a corn husk. It has allegedly tested positive for proteins and as a flammable solid =97 a combination HAZMAT units report as present in biological weaponry.
"That gives us a red flag," said KPD Chief Gale Osborne, adding the FBI will conduct further testing on the object's components.
"It could be nothing, or it could be. If it's biological, that's the concern."
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CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SCENE IN BOSTON OUTSIDE HAYMARKET STATION
Tags: us_MA, transportation, discovery, response, radiation
NECN) - The MBTA's Haymarket station was shut down on Tuesday, due to a possible hazmat situation.
Crews responded to the scene around 10:45 a.m. to the area adjacent to the bus station. While making a routing stop, the Boston Police Truck Team got readings of a possible radiation leak from the back of a 20' box truck.
Boston Fire Department Hazmat crews responded, and their meters got low levels of radiation from the truck.
There was no leak, official said. Radiation levels were within accepted levels.
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SUNCOR HAZMAT TEAMS TRYING TO CONTAIN OIL SEEP
Tags: us_CO, other, release, environmental, unknown_chemical
OMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- Hazardous materials teams are working to stop an oily messy muck from spreading on Sand Creek and reaching the South Platte River.
The oil seep is located near Interstate 270 and Vasquez Boulevard, about one mile west of the Suncor Energy Refinery in Commerce City.
Video from Airtracker 7 over the scene showed three absorbent booms in the creek, placed there to contain and catch the mess.
Suncor Energy emergency response crews found the seep Monday afternoon after responding to a complaint from a citizen, who called around 11:30 a.m. to report a visible sheen on Sand Creek.
The slick stretched about 200 yards on Monday, said John Gallagher, vice president of refining for Suncor.
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SMALL FIRE BREAKS OUT AT RAY NIXON POWER PLANT
Tags: us_CO, industrial, fire, response, dust
A small fire broke out Monday afternoon in a dust collector at the Ray Nixon Power Plant.
The fire was reported around 1:15 p.m. and was quickly doused by extinguishers inside the power plant, said Dave Grossman, a Colorado Springs Utilities spokesman.
The fire started in a machine that collects dust from machines that transport coal within the facility, which is south of Colorado Springs.
No one was near the blaze when it ignited, and there were no reports of injuries.
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UPDATE: SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION CAUSE OF UMES FIRE
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, fire, response, plastics
PRINCESS ANNE -- The Maryland State Fire Marshal has concluded the fire that destroyed several orchid greenhouses on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus was accidental and began with spontaneous combustion.
Deputy K.H. Travers says the fire originated within a pile of sphagnum moss, which was not near heaters or electrical outlets or any other devices that could have sparked a fire.
Once the fire began it quickly spread to nearby combustible plastics.
According to UMES officials, the fire destroyed much of the greenhouse facility they lease to Jet Green Group, of Beijing, China, and its Maryland incorporated subsidiary, U.S. Orchid Laboratory & Nursery Inc., as part of an orchid growing economic development project. UMES Director of Public Relations Bill Robinson said an initial investment of $3.4 million was put into the greenhouse in 2000, but with the addition of U.S. Orchid equipment and other improvements, it could cost some $6 million to replace today.
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TWO PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED AFTER PLEASANT PRAIRIE CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, cleaners
PLEASANT PRAIRIE - Two people have been hospitalized after a chemical leak in Pleasant Prairie.
A hazmat team responded to the leak, which brought about an evacuation at Fair Oaks Farm early Tuesday morning.
Pleasant Prairie Police tell TODAY'S TMJ4 they got a call about the situation at the food processing plant at about 12:55 a.m. Tuesday morning.
According to police, some cleaning chemicals got mixed, creating fumes.
At least one farm worker was among the hospitalized people. They have both been released.
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I-20 IN PEARL CLOSED AFTER HYDROCHLORIC SPILL
Tags: us_MS, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
PEARL, Miss. -- Interstate 20 was shut down between Pearson Road and U.S. Highway 49 in Pearl on Monday night after hydrochloric acid spilled onto the road.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation said hazmat crews were called to the scene of the 250-gallon spill at the Vitran Express on Becknell Road at about 7 p.m.
Pearl police said warehouse workers were loading the 500-gallon container of acid when it fell off a forklift. About half of the contents spilled onto the roadway.
People were advised to stay in their home and motorists were asked to avoid the area. Several nearby businesses were also evacuated.
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ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOP PROMPS BOMB SQUAD CALLOUT ON THE WESTSIDE
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
Jacksonville, FL =97 A routine traffic stop turns into a bomb squad call out Monday night. JSO says they pulled over a vehicle and found hazardous materials inside the Dodge Neon, prompting the call.
"As a result of that, Jax fire and rescue, hazmat team, as well as the JSO bomb squad has responded," Sergeant Amos Gainey with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The case is being investigated as a possible meth lab.
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UPDATE: GAS LEAK IN DOWNTOWN REDDING
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, natural_gas
REDDING, Calif. -- PG&E crews tracked the source of a downtown gas leak to a vacated automotive building.
An officer with Redding Police Department noticed a large amount of water coming from a former auto shop, Ace Automotive, across the street from Buz's Crab Stand around 4:30 p.m. Monday near East and Pine Streets.
After getting out of his car, he noticed a strong natural gas odor in the air.
When they entered the building it was determined that suspect(s) had tried to steal copper pipe and wiring, and a water line had been cut. The building had also been vandalized.
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SAM'S CLUB WORKERS EVACUATED
Construction workers pouring concrete at the soon-to-open Sam=92sClub in Hendersonville were evacuated Monday due to high carbon monoxide levels in the building.
Hendersonville Assistant Deputy Chief Bob Galoppi said carbon monoxide levels were high when tested at the scene.
Galoppi said the Hendersonville Fire Department received an anonymous tip from a man working in the building who said he was feeling sick, and that it was possibly due to carbon monoxide. Galoppi said they could not find the caller when they arrived on the scene, though all workers were evacuated and no one was transported to the hospital.
=93We interviewed 30 people that were exposed, and nobody said that they were feeling sick,=94 Galoppi said. =93We did find high levels of carbon monoxide in the building=85 it was determined to be caused by the running of combustion equipment inside the building.=94
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FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION
Tags: us_TX, transportation, explosion, response, asphalt
AUSTIN -- The Austin Fire Department responded to a hazmat situation Monday in East Austin.
Crews were sent to 8902 FM 969 just after 1 p.m. They say an asphalt truck fell over and caused an explosion.
Fire officials say they assessed the situation and left the scene. There was no significant damage and no one was injured.
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HOWZAT CLOSED INDEFINITELY AFTER ASBESTOS FIND
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, response, asbestos
Sport and Fitness Centre has been closed indefinitely and will need a completely new roof after results of an air quality examination revealed levels of asbestos.
Howzat, which has been closed since the building was evacuated last Thursday, said yesterday it would remain shut until at least January 2012.
The gym=92sthousands of patrons have been told their memberships will be =91=91put on hold=92=92 and Howzat plans to postpone all amateur sporting competitions and refund money paid by teams to use the building=92s indoor facilities.
As a precaution, an assessment of several other businesses in the Cooks Hill Commercial Centre will begin today.
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RESPONSE TO FIRE RESULTS IN METH BUST
Tags: us_MI, public, fire, response, meth_lab
ADRIAN, Mich. =97
Apartments in a building at the Carriage House Apartments on Sand Creek Highway in Adrian were evacuated late Saturday after firefighters responding to a fire there found a man had been trying to make methamphetamine in his residence, police said.
Officers arrested the man after he tried to drive away with the still-hot meth ingredients stashed in a cooler in his SUV, and a hazardous-materials cleanup crew was called to check the building.
The man was trying to make meth using the =93one-pot=94 method, which involves mixing the drug=92s flammable and toxic ingredients in a single container, such as a 2-liter pop bottle, said Detective Lt. Robert Sinclair, commander of the OMNI Team 3 drug enforcement unit. OMNI, which is a multijurisdictional task force made up of officers from the Michigan State Police, the Lenawee County Sheriff=92s Department, and the Adrian and Raisin Township police departments, was called after firefighters and Adrian police recognized the situation.
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UPDATE: 1 DEAD, 1 HURT AT VIVID IMAGE NEAR THERESA
Tags: us_WI, public, release, death, unknown_chemical
TOWN OF THERESA =97 A 55-year-old Horicon man died Monday afternoon and a 65-year-old Horicon man was injured after inhaling chemical fumes at Vivid Image Inc. in the town of Theresa, said the Dodge County sheriff.
At about 3:45 p.m., a woman stopped by Vivid Image, N9476 Highway 175, and found the two men unconscious and unresponsive inside of the building, Sheriff Todd Nehls said.
=93Local law enforcement and sheriff=92s deputies responded. Upon entry, they noted a strong chemical smell. They backed off for their safety,=94 Nehls said.
Deputies then contacted the Theresa Fire Department and Emergency Medical Service, Dodge County Level B Hazmat team, and Dodge County Decontamination team.
The 65-year-old man was decontaminated at the scene and was transported to Hartford Memorial Hospital, where his condition was reportedly improving, according to a Sheriff=92s Office news release about 9 p.m.
Only two men were in the building at the time of the incident, Nehls said. Names were not released.
"Initial indications show the two men were working with 2-3 different compounds or chemicals and the mixture created an inhalation hazard and both were overcome," the press release reads. "Assisting on scene include Dodge County Hazmat and Decon Team, Flight for Life, Fond du Lac Paramedics, Allenton Fire and EMS, Mayville Fire and EMS, Lomira Fire, and Dodge County Chaplain."
About 100 rescue personnel and hazardous material personnel were at Vivid Image Monday evening.
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TWO DEAD IN NINGXIA ROAD CRASH CAUSING CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: China, transportation, explosion, death, benzene
YINCHUAN, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed in a road accident Tuesday morning that caused a chemical leak in northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, local police confirmed Tuesday.
The accident occurred at 8:30 a.m. in Yuanzhou district in the city of Guyuan. A van rear-ended a fuel tank truck loaded with 20 tonnes of crude benzene after failing to brake on an icy road, which caused an explosion, local police said.
Villagers nearby have been evacuated due to a poisonous chemical leak following the explosion, according to local authorities.
The gas from the incomplete combustion of the crude benzene was poisonous to humans, local police said.
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