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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:07:11 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 (29 articles) SHERIFF EXPLAINS WHY DECEASED SANDIA LABS SCIENTIST HAD CHEMICALS Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up A LOOK INSIDE OF EXPLOSIVES LAB Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up UPDATE: POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE HAZMAT SHUTS DOWN OSER AVE Tags: us_NY, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical TCC CAMPUS EVACUATED DUE TO GAS LEAK Tags: us_VA, education, release, response, natural_gas CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS NINE WORKERS TO HOSPITAL Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical EMERGENCY CREWS RESPOND TO GAS LEAK AT HONEYWELL IN SOUTH BEND Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, gas_cylinders, propane UCLA PROFESSOR IN COURT ON CHARGES STEMMING FROM FATAL LAB FIRE Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, death, follow-up 4 HOSPITALIZED AFTER ALLERGIC REACTION AT PARK Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS GARBAGE COLLECTORS TO HOSPITAL Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia, waste FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT PDSA PET HOSPITAL IN WOODFORD BRIDGE (FROM EAST LONDON AND WEST ESSEX GUARDIAN SERIES) Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical SUNCOR REFINERY LEAK POLLUTING SAND CREEK Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, environmental, benzene FOUR PEOPLE CHARGED IN MCALESTER METH LAB EXPLOSION Tags: us_OK, public, explosion, response, meth_lab TWO INJURED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL LEAK IN NE BOTTOMS Tags: us_MO, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical ZAMBIAN UNIVERSAL MINING'S KAFUE STEEL PLANT DAMAGED BY EXPLOSION Tags: Zambia, industrial, explosion, injury, oxygen RAGING INFERNO STRIKES PLANT Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical INSIDE HIGHER ED: UCLA FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR LAB ACCIDENT Tags: laboratory, fire, response, butyllithium, follow-up EUROPEAN PLASTICS NEWS Tags: Russia, industrial, fire, injury, petroleum ABANDONED VEHICLE HIT BY A TRAIN IN MISHAWAKA Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, response, magnesium CREWS INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF FACTORY FIRE Tags: us_KY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical MAN TREATED FOR TOXIC CHEMICAL Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, ag_chems EXPLOSIVES LAB DISCOVERED IN RURAL HOME Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives BOMB FOUND IN KOKOMO MAILBOX Tags: us_IN, public, release, injury, bomb AGILENT AGREES TO FINE IN APRIL BLAST Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, follow-up CHEMICAL SPILL REPORTED AT GE IN FAIRFIELD Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, environmental, unknown_chemical CHEMICAL SPILL LEADS TO CLOSURE OF SOME DOWNTOWN STREETS Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, environmental, unknown_chemical THREE OF FIVE HOMES RAIDED DURING AN INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION WERE DECLARED UNSAFE Tags: us_VA, public, discovery, response, meth_lab CESSPOOL WORKERS RECEIVE FACIAL BURNS FROM ST. JAMES EXPLOSION Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical SEAWORLD CHEMICAL SPILL Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, pool_chemicals EASTBOUND RT. 50 REOPENS AFTER SPILL Tags: us_MD, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical --------------------------------------------- SHERIFF EXPLAINS WHY DECEASED SANDIA LABS SCIENTIST HAD CHEMICALS http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2437671.shtml?cat=516 Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up KOB Eyewitness News 4 has learned why a retired Sandia Labs scientist may have been building bombs in the East Mountains before he died. KOB first reported this weekend about the makeshift lab discovered near Estancia. Now the Sheriff of Torrance County said it could be a long time before these chemicals are cleaned up. Sheriff Heath White said it appears former Sandia Labs scientist, 81-year-old David O'Keefe spent his retirement on the outskirts of Estancia on state road 41, continuing his work up until he died a few months ago. "He was trying to make a new type of explosive so he was experimenting with different chemicals and different compounds to make that explosive," White said. White said O'Keefe's laboratory was elaborate and potentially deadly. "Everybody within about a half a mile radius of this house was at high risk everyday∑every night," White explained. Deputies discovered the explosives Saturday when the landlord of the property went to check on the home and found the chemicals. Now it looks like the owner is going to have to pay for the cleanup, which is an estimated $50,000. "There's not really any way for her to get back that money so it's placing her in a really bad situation," White said. --------------------------------------------- A LOOK INSIDE OF EXPLOSIVES LAB http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/local/central/a-look-inside-of-explosives-lab Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - New Mexico State Police have blown up the final batch of explosives found inside of a personal laboratory. The man who built the explosives, had them stored in a shed on his property, much to the surprise of police and his neighbors. His collection of explosives was so large that it filled two large storage sheds as well as a lab. Everywhere you look: dangerous chemicals and hybrid, experimental explosives. --------------------------------------------- UPDATE: POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE HAZMAT SHUTS DOWN OSER AVE http://hauppauge.patch.com/articles/potential-explosive-hazmat-shut-down-oser-ave Tags: us_NY, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical Suffolk County Police have shut down part of Oser Avenue Tuesday after a 55-gallon drum of chemicals delivered to Pall Corporation in the Hauppauge Industrial Park was found to be potentially explosive. Pall Corp is a filtration, separation and purification leader providing solutions to meet the critical fluid management needs of customers across the broad spectrum of life sciences and industry, according to its website. Police said the material underwent a chemical change that tranformed it into a potentially volatile substance due to fluctuations in temperature during its delivery, according to police. Suffolk County police are attempting to get in contact with the out-of-state vendor who delivered the chemical to locate a chemical additive that will stabilize the materials when both substances are mixed together. Meanwhile, Oser Avenue has been shut down from Marcus Boulevard east to Plant Avenue. Police and Hauppauge firefighters are on the scene. --------------------------------------------- TCC CAMPUS EVACUATED DUE TO GAS LEAK http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/chesapeake/chesapeake-cedar-road-gas-leak Tags: us_VA, education, release, response, natural_gas CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - The Tidewater Community College Chesapeake campus has reopened after a gas leak caused the campus to evacuate Tuesday morning. According to Capt. Mike Theibault with the Chesapeake Fire Department, a four inch gas line was severed on Cedar Road around 8:20 a.m. by an excavator in front of the TCC campus. HAZMAT crews responded with monitoring equipment and determined the area had not reached a hazardous amount of gas away from the excavator. --------------------------------------------- CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS NINE WORKERS TO HOSPITAL http://www.canada.com/Chemical+spill+sends+nine+workers+hospital/5941632/story.html Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical REGINA - Nine workers were sent to hospital Tuesday morning after a chemical spill created a vaporous cloud at the SeedMaster plant near White City, Sask. White City Fire Chief Darrell Liebrecht said the workers were sent to the hospital for precautionary reasons and were not believed to be seriously injured. Eight members of the fire department responded to the scene shortly after 9 a.m. The plant doors were opened, and once the cloud evaporated, the fire department cleaned about four litres of the chemical - used for cleaning stainless steel - off the plant's floor. The cloud was produced when the chemical mixed with water, he said. --------------------------------------------- EMERGENCY CREWS RESPOND TO GAS LEAK AT HONEYWELL IN SOUTH BEND http://www.abc57.com/home/top-stories/Emergency-crews-respond-to-gas-leak-at-Honeywell-in-South-Bend-136624813.html Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, gas_cylinders, propane SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On Tuesday, the South Bend Fire Department and Hazmat team worked for hours to control a gas leak! Emergency crews responded to the Honeywell plant on Bendix Drive around 8:45 a.m. Firefighters told us that a propane cylinder on a forklift started leaking under pressure. The building was evacuated as a precaution. --------------------------------------------- UCLA PROFESSOR IN COURT ON CHARGES STEMMING FROM FATAL LAB FIRE http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/fatal-ucla-chemical-fire.html Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, death, follow-up UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran was released on his own recognizance Tuesday after surrendering on felony charges stemming from a fatal laboratory fire three years ago. Harran, 42, was out of town last week when the Los Angeles County district attorney‚s office charged him and the University of California regents with three counts each of willfully violating occupational health and safety standards, resulting in the death of staff research assistant Sheharbano „Sheri‰ Sangji. Sangji, 23, was severely burned on Dec. 29, 2008, when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames during an experiment and ignited her clothing. Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later. The regents and Harran, a prominent researcher who joined the UCLA faculty in July 2008, are accused of failing to correct unsafe work conditions in a timely manner, to require clothing appropriate for the work being done and to provide proper chemical safety training. An arrest warrant issued last week for Harran was withdrawn after a brief appearance in L.A. County Superior Court on Tuesday, said his attorney, Thomas O‚Brien. Harran will be arraigned Feb. 2 and faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison if convicted. --------------------------------------------- 4 HOSPITALIZED AFTER ALLERGIC REACTION AT PARK http://www.ocregister.com/news/reaction-333975-park-schultz.html Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical FULLERTON ˆ Three children and one adult were taken to the hospital after they developed an allergic reaction while playing at Olive Park in Fullerton, authorities said. The incident was reported at 10:09 a.m. Tuesday at the park at 901 S. Gilbert St. near Olive Avenue, Fullerton Fire The department's hazmat team responded to the park and were trying to determine the cause of the reaction, Schultz said. The team also inspected a home on the 1110 block of South Pine Dr. to try to figure out where the incident originated, he said. "We are not sure of the cause of the reaction," Schultz said. "It's undetermined what caused it at this time." --------------------------------------------- HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS GARBAGE COLLECTORS TO HOSPITAL http://redwoodcity.patch.com/articles/hazmat-incident-sends-garbage-collectors-to-hospital Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia, waste A hazardous materials incident in Redwood City Tuesday morning sent three Recology employees to the hospital and prompted the evacuation of several businesses, a city spokesman said. Around 10 a.m., the Redwood City Fire Department received a 911 call reporting a hazardous materials spill in the 1500 block of Main Street, Redwood City spokesman Malcolm Smith said. Firefighters from Redwood City, Belmont and Woodside responded, as did Redwood City police and the county hazardous materials team, Smith said. Two Recology waste management garbage collectors had emptied a Dumpster into the garbage truck, Smith said. When they attempted to compress the materials with the truck, a white container burst, emitting a white fume, he said. The two employees began feeling ill and vomiting. The Recology employees notified their supervisor, who called 911, Smith said. Upon arriving at the scene, supervisor also began feeling ill, and all three were taken to a hospital, he said. Four businesses on Main Street were evacuated and remained closed this afternoon while the hazardous materials team investigated the incident. One of the chemicals has been identified as ammonia, and the hazardous materials team is continuing testing on the material in the back of the garbage truck, Smith said. Once the chemicals are determined, they will aim to neutralize them, he said. A section of Main Street in downtown Redwood City remained closed to traffic between Chestnut Street and Pine Street Tuesday afternoon, and part of Pine Street was also closed. --------------------------------------------- FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT PDSA PET HOSPITAL IN WOODFORD BRIDGE (FROM EAST LONDON AND WEST ESSEX GUARDIAN SERIES) http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/rbnews/9450947.WOODFORD_BRIDGE__Firefighters_investigating_chemical_incident_at_pet_hospital/ Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical FIREFIGHTERS were called to an animal hospital this morning after reports of a chemical smell in the building. Four fire engines and a number of specialist fire vehicles were called to the PDSA Pet Hospital in Woodford Bridge Road shortly after 8.15am. A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: „We were called at 8.16am to reports of a smell of chemicals at an animal treatment centre on Woodford Bridge Road. „The incident was over just after 10am. "The smell was caused by a leaking domestic fridge which was removed to the open air. "The building was ventilated. No elevated chemical readings were recorded inside." A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We treated three people at the scene, but none of them required hospital treatment." --------------------------------------------- SUNCOR REFINERY LEAK POLLUTING SAND CREEK http://www.dailycamera.com/state-west-news/ci_19650853 Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, environmental, benzene Toxic petroleum dissolved in groundwater beneath Suncor Energy north of downtown Denver is seeping directly into the bottom of Sand Creek near the creek's confluence with the South Platte River? and piped drinking water at the refinery may be contaminated with benzene. State health officials today ordered additional measures to minimize environmental harm and prevent people from ingesting contaminated water. Those measures include posting of "Drinking Water Warning" signs at the refinery. Benzene levels in Sand Creek are fluctuating but reached 670 parts per billion on Dec. 22 -- 134 times higher than the 5 ppb national drinking water standard. An anonymous tip from a Suncor employee Thursday alerted state health officials to contamination in tap water on the refinery property. --------------------------------------------- FOUR PEOPLE CHARGED IN MCALESTER METH LAB EXPLOSION http://mcalesternews.com/policecourts/x1666057837/Four-people-charged-in-McAlester-meth-lab-explosion Tags: us_OK, public, explosion, response, meth_lab McALESTER ˜ Four McAlester residents have been charged in Pittsburg County District Court in relation to an alleged meth lab explosion that occurred in McAlester last week. ... „Around 10:35 Wednesday night we got a call about an explosion in the area of Fifth (Street) and Harrison (Avenue),‰ said MPD Assistant Chief Darrell Miller. When officers arrived on the scene, they smelled a strong chemical smell and tracked it down to a specific home on Harrison Avenue. „The Narcotics Task Force was called out, a search warrant was issued and signed,‰ Miller said. --------------------------------------------- TWO INJURED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL LEAK IN NE BOTTOMS http://fox4kc.com/2012/01/02/railroad-car-leak-leads-to-evacuation/ Tags: us_MO, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical KANSAS CITY, Mo. ˜ Firefighters and a hazardous materials team are trying to solve the mystery of what caused two railroad workers to get sick on Monday morning. Initially, they suspected hydrogen chloride was leaking from a rail car in the city‚s East Bottoms in the area of Nicholson Avenue and North Walrond. Crews alerted near-by homes and businesses and asked them to stay inside and keep their windows and doors shut. „I can‚t get to the house, there‚s firetrucks,‰ said neighbor Sharon Bowers. „I‚m standing out here in the cold.‰ People like Sharon Bowers who live in the area were frustrated and worried because they were unable to go home. „Right now it‚s a mystery to us,‰ said Fire Chief Smokey Dyer. Police also closed down Chouteau Trafficway between St. John and Front Street due to the threat of fumes being carried by the wind. A HazMat team then approached the rail car with oxygen masks and thermal imaging cameras, but didn‚t detect any gas or substance. Smoky Dyer, Kansas City Fire Chief, said it‚s possible the car filled with the gas but then released pressure, causing the gas to dissipate and become undetectable. --------------------------------------------- ZAMBIAN UNIVERSAL MINING'S KAFUE STEEL PLANT DAMAGED BY EXPLOSION http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Metals/7953075 Tags: Zambia, industrial, explosion, injury, oxygen Zambian Universal Mining and Chemical Industries' steel plant in Kafue was damaged by an explosion at its oxygen tank on December 31, the plant's technical director Julius Kaoma said Sunday. The plant produces 9,000 mt/month of steel and the company was planning to raise production to 10,000 mt/month, he added. Investigations are being carried out at the plant, following which a decision will be made on reopening the plant, Kaoma said, adding that damages to the plant were estimated at $845,000. Metals Week features 450 prices, complete news coverage, and in-depth analysis of global market developments around the world. Each weekly issue includes a wrap-up of the previous week's price movements, plus in-depth interviews with key market participants and outlooks for global supply and demand. Ten workers were also injured during the explosion which occurred at 0029 local time on December 31 (2229 GMT, December 30). At full production capacity, Universal is able to produce 200,000 mt/year of steel. The company started operations in 2009 with production at 3,000-4,000 mt/month. --------------------------------------------- RAGING INFERNO STRIKES PLANT http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/raging-inferno-strikes-plant-136576373.html Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical The owner of Omniglass vowed Monday to reopen the production plant as soon as possible after a chemical-fuelled fire destroyed parts of the building, putting the future of 65 employees at risk. ... Damage is estimated at $15 million, Davies said. The cause remains under investigation. Eight firefighters were forced to flee when a huge blast rocked the facility, which is near the Richardson International Airport, just after midnight Monday. "They were very close to being killed," said Bill Clark, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service assistant chief of operations. "That rattled everyone on the scene." Clark described the explosion as a "huge concussion" that tore off parts of the roof and split the walls of the 60,000-square-foot plant. "It blew the front off the building. It blew the overhead doors out where (firefighters) were standing, blew them out of the building, and they got banged up a bit," he said. One firefighter had to be taken to hospital. He was released later Monday. --------------------------------------------- INSIDE HIGHER ED: UCLA FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR LAB ACCIDENT http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/01/03/ucla-faces-criminal-charges-lab-accident Tags: laboratory, fire, response, butyllithium, follow-up Now, a new development in the case is likely to reinvigorate the training and safety discussion not just at UCLA, but at any college or university where chemical work is performed: prosecutors last week filed felony charges against the UC regents and the chemistry professor who oversaw the lab, Patrick Harran, marking what researchers believe is the first criminal indictment stemming from an accident in the history of American academe. The charges, filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney‚s Office days before the statute of limitations was set to expire, allege that the regents and Harran violated state codes mandating employee training on handling hazardous chemicals and minimizing risk of exposure, as well as requirements for proper staff safeguards and clothing. Sangji was wearing a synthetic sweater, not a protective lab coat, which caught fire and melted when the syringe she was using to transfer t-butyl lithium -- a chemical that ignites when exposed to air -- fell apart. Harran faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison, and UCLA could be fined up to $1.5 million for each of the three counts, all of which target both the professor and the regents. --------------------------------------------- EUROPEAN PLASTICS NEWS http://www.europeanplasticsnews.com/subscriber/headlines2.html?cat=1&id=1325585941 Tags: Russia, industrial, fire, injury, petroleum A fire at the Stavrolen petrochemicals complex of the Lukoil group, Russia‚s biggest independent oil producer, in mid-December is set to affect Russian market supplies of polyethylene and polypropylene. The blaze, the site‚s second major accident in just over three years, left eight workers injured, one of them in a grave condition. In 2008, an explosion and fire in the PP plant at the same Lukoil site killed three employees and left three more with severe burns. This incident comes weeks after Stavrolen site, along with other group Lukoil subsidiaries, was the subject of an industrial safety inspection by the Russian state environmental, technical and nuclear regulatory agency Rostekhnadzor. --------------------------------------------- ABANDONED VEHICLE HIT BY A TRAIN IN MISHAWAKA http://www.wsbt.com/news/wsbt-abandoned-vehicle-hit-by-a-train-in-mishawaka-20120101,0,1632525.story Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, response, magnesium MISHAWAKA ˆ According to police, a vehicle was hit by a train and then caught on fire in Mishawaka late Saturday night. Officers say they were dispatched to the Norfolk Southern Railroad Crossing off of Main Street at 11:53 p.m. An east bound train pushed the vehicle from Main Street to Union Street under pass, police say, where the vehicle then caught on fire. It was unoccupied when it was hit by the train. The Hazmat team was called to the scene for a --------------------------------------------- CREWS INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF FACTORY FIRE http://www.local12.com/mostpopular/story/Crews-Investigate-Cause-of-Factory-Fire/QGW-oFI-ckq6s6-iXHAyNg.cspx Tags: us_KY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical Firefighter are still investigating the cause of a fire at a Fort Wright chemical plant. Flames broke out behind a building at the Silmar Resins Division-Interplastic plant on Latonia Avenue at about 9:45 Sunday morning. Firefighters say everyone made out of the building before crews arrived. Fire damage was contained to the outside. No one was hurt. About 16 firefighters stayed on scene for about an hour and a half checking for hot spots. Haz-mat crews also responded to monitor ph levels in the water, but left after about 15 minutes. --------------------------------------------- MAN TREATED FOR TOXIC CHEMICAL http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/man-treated-for-toxic-chemical/2407930.aspx Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, ag_chems A CROOKWELL man was flown to a Sydney hospital on Saturday after he ingested an agricultural chemical. Ambulance and police were called to the Crookwell home at 8am. Police said the 58-year-old had swallowed a highly toxic organophosphate He was initially taken to Crookwell Hospital. That town‚s fire brigade were called to the hospital to decontaminate the emergency clinic. Goulburn Fire Brigade station officer Daron Lesslie said it was treated as a hazardous materials incident as the man was sweating the substance from skin pores. He was conveyed to Goulburn Base Hospital for treatment at the emergency department. Goulburn Brigade was also called in to decontaminate the room and equipment. The department was closed for a short time while they did so, SO Lesslie said. Police said yesterday the man was in a stable condition in Prince of Wales Hospital. --------------------------------------------- EXPLOSIVES LAB DISCOVERED IN RURAL HOME http://www.kasa.com/dpps/news/crime/explosives-lab-discovered-in-rural-home_4026232 Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives ESTANCIA, N.M. (KRQE) - The discovery of what is being called an explosives laboratory operated by a now-deceased scientist has shut down a state highway and drawn local and federal authorities to a home in rural Torrance County. Sheriff Heath White said a section of State Road 41 likely will be closed for at least the rest of Saturday and likely into Sunday while explosives experts dismantle the lab. About four miles of the highway are closed from two miles south of Estancia south to State Road 542, and residents of nearby homes have been evacuated. The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a New Mexico National Guard team are on the scene, White added. Authorities confirmed a landlord discovered the lab at about 10 a.m. Friday when she went to check on the house, which had been rented by a man who recently died. --------------------------------------------- BOMB FOUND IN KOKOMO MAILBOX http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/north_central/bomb-found-in-kokomo-mailbox Tags: us_IN, public, release, injury, bomb KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) - Kokomo police are investigating the origins of two explosive devices found Friday morning in two mailboxes located about 2 miles apart, according to our partners at the Kokomo Tribune . Maj. Tony Arnett said Friday afternoon police found two small chemical-based, homemade bombs that „fizzled,‰ but did not explode inside two mailboxes. KPD officers, members of the department‚s bomb squad and the HazMat team from the Kokomo Fire Department first were called just before 10 a.m. to a residence at the corner of Philadelphia Drive and Webster Street on a report of an explosive device that was denoted inside a mailbox. The mail carrier who was delivering the mail to the resident was overcome by fumes from the device when he opened the mailbox. He was treated at the scene and released, Detective Sgt. Doug Stout reported. --------------------------------------------- AGILENT AGREES TO FINE IN APRIL BLAST http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111231/ARTICLES/111239918/1010/sports?Title=Agilent-agrees-to-fine-in-April-blast Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, follow-up Agilent Technologies has agreed to pay $40,000 in fines to settle what state regulators say were safety lapses that contributed to the chemical explosion that seriously injured a worker at the company's Fountaingrove campus in April. Agilent knew there were problems with the piece of high-tech machinery that exploded because similar incidents occurred two times in 2010 and the company failed to fix the problem, according to the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Patrick Colbus, 46, suffered major burns when the machine he was working on exploded, shooting glass and several hazardous substances into his face and upper torso. --------------------------------------------- CHEMICAL SPILL REPORTED AT GE IN FAIRFIELD http://www.thedailyfairfield.com/news/chemical-spill-reported-ge-fairfield Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, environmental, unknown_chemical AIRFIELD, Conn. ˆ A chemical spill at General Electric‚s Fairfield headquarters leaked 500 gallons of nonhazardous materials Thursday evening, according to the Fairfield Fire Department. The fluids drained from a broken pipe in the corporation‚s utilities area into the storm drain system before fire crews could get the leak under control. The chemical involved was Dowfrost, a heat transfer fluid. It is classified as „practically nontoxic to aquatic organisms,‰ according to the safety sheet published by its manufacturer, the Dow Chemical Co. Fairfield fire crews built a dam to prevent the spill from spreading before cleanup crews arrived. State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection workers were also on the scene to oversee the cleanup process. No one was harmed during the incident or the cleanup process. --------------------------------------------- CHEMICAL SPILL LEADS TO CLOSURE OF SOME DOWNTOWN STREETS http://www.kusi.com/story/16420285/chemical-spill-leads-to-closure-of-some-downtown-streets Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, environmental, unknown_chemical SAN DIEGO (CNS) - About 500 gallons of a liquid concrete hardener spilled from a big rig Friday and the cleanup efforts caused officials to close some area streets. The truck driver hit the brakes to avoid another vehicle while exiting Interstate 5 at 17th Street about 9:30 a.m., which caused the vehicle's two tanks to shift and crack, San Diego Fire- Rescue Department spokesman Lee Swanson said. The truck continued down B Street toward 10th Avenue where the driver was flagged down and told the tanks were leaking, Swanson said. The tanks leaked about 500 gallons of the chemical used to set concrete. It flowed to Ninth Avenue and C Street, where crews were working to contain the spill, Swanson said. City crews were called to bring in sand to soak up the chemical, Swanson said. --------------------------------------------- THREE OF FIVE HOMES RAIDED DURING AN INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION WERE DECLARED UNSAFE http://articles.dailypress.com/2011-12-30/news/dp-nws-york-jamescity-meth-bust-update-1231-20111230_1_felony-child-neglect-three-homes-methamphetamine Tags: us_VA, public, discovery, response, meth_lab Three of five homes where 10 people allegedly produced methamphetamine have been deemed unsafe for habitation because of chemicals found inside the homes that were presumably used to make the drug. Homes on Rondane Place and Penniman Road in James City as well as a garage apartment behind a home on Wilkins Drive in York County have all been determined to be unsafe because of chemical contamination. --------------------------------------------- CESSPOOL WORKERS RECEIVE FACIAL BURNS FROM ST. JAMES EXPLOSION http://smithtown.patch.com/articles/cesspool-workers-receive-facial-burns-from-st-james-explosion Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical Two cesspool workers were hospitalized with facial burns from an explosion at a St. James home Friday night. Liam Carroll, third assistant chief of the St. James Fire District, said firefighters responded to a call at 6:24 p.m. of two workers being injured from an explosion from digging outside the 309 Cambon Avenue home to access the cesspool. Carroll said an unknown chemical was poured into a drain inside the home and when the workers' were digging towards a pipe it created a spark that led to the explosion. Carroll said he did not know the extent of the facial burns but said when he saw the workers the burns appeared to be "pretty severe." --------------------------------------------- SEAWORLD CHEMICAL SPILL http://www.760kfmb.com/story/16420894/chemical-spill-near-seaworld Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, pool_chemicals SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A chemical spill near the entrance to SeaWorld forced the closure of a roadway Friday afternoon. It happened on SeaWorld Drive. According to a Chopper 8 report, a truck reportedly spilled a small amount of a pool cleaning chemical on the roadway. Hazmat crews have been called to the scene. As a result of the spill, westbound SeaWorld Drive was closed between Friars and the entrance to SeaWorld. --------------------------------------------- EASTBOUND RT. 50 REOPENS AFTER SPILL http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/anne_arundel_county_/eastbound-rt-50-closed-for-hazmat-spill Tags: us_MD, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical ARNOLD, Md. - Eastbound Route 50 has just opened back up after being closed for a little over two hours due to a hazmat spill. According to a witness, a tractor trailer was leaking a black liquid substance from the back. ---------------------------------------------
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