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Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google (22 articles)
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:38:08 -0500
Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety"


Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:08:44 -0500
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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety"

Subject: Chemical Safety Headlines From Google (19 articles)
X-To: dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu
Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google
Friday, January 13, 2012 1:03:43 PM

  A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
  Connecting Chemistry and Safetyat http://www.dchas.org
  All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (19 articles)

SMELL LEADS POLICE TO METH LAB BUST
Tags: us_NM, public, discovery, environmental, meth_lab

AIRPORT HAZ MAT: BOTTLE OF PESTICIDE ON PLANE CAUSES HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_FL, transportation, discovery, response, ag_chems

CHEMICAL LEAK SHUTS DOWN DR. PEPPER PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, ammonia

TWO PEOPLE IN HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK IN DAVENTRY
Tags:United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, STUDENT EXTINGUISHLAB FIRE IN OAKLAND
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT UFINVOLVES SAME LABORATORY AS OCTOBER INCIDENT IN SISLER HALL


UPDATE: FIRE CREWS LEAVE SCENE OF STOWMARKET CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, environmental, resin, solvent

FOUR INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN EDMOND
Tags: us_OK, industrial, explosion, injury, solvent

MAN KILLED IN FREAK ACCIDENT IN FACTORY
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, flammables, waste

BREAKING NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER FOR THE HARRISBURG -YORK -LANCASTER -LEBANON PENNSYLVANIA AREA
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, dust

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA SCIENCE BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER DISCOVERY OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
Tags: us_OK, laboratory, discovery, response, picric_acid

WORKERS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT SITUATION
Tags: us_PA, public, release, injury, pesticides

LARGE FIRE ERUPTS IN BULGARIAN CHEMICAL PLANT: LARGE FIRE ERUPTS IN BULGARIAN CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: Bulgaria, industrial, explosion, injury, paints

TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILT AT BOWRAVILLE NORCO
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, ag_chems, pesticides, toxics

WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS MAY INCREASE CHANCES FOR COMBUSTIBLE DUST EXPLOSIONS
Tags: industrial, follow-up, response, dust

FERNDALE FIREFIGHTERS RESPONDTO POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE CHEMICAL LEAK AT FERMICAL
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ethyl_acetate, mek

STUDENT SERIOUSLY INJURED AFTER EXPLOSION IN CHEMISTRY LABTags: us_FL, laboratory, explosion, injury, sodium_azide

FIREFIGHTERS, HAZ MAT RESPOND TO A FIRE AT MICRON
Tags: us_ID, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

ALASKA OFFICIALS SAY 6,300 GALLONS OF CRUDE OIL, WATER SPILL AT XTO FACILITY AT NIKISKI
Tags: us_AK, public, release, environmental, petroleum

---------------------------------------------

SMELL LEADS POLICE TO METH LAB BUST
http://www.kasa.com/dpps/news/crime/smell-leads-police-to-meth-lab-bust_4038112
Tags: us_NM, public, discovery, environmental, meth_lab

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Police have arrestedthree people they say were in the Arayan brotherhood, accusing them of running a meth lab in Albuquerque

Wednesday night officers responded to an apartment near San Pedro Drive and Kathryn Avenue, after neighbors complained that something smelled so bad it made some of them sick.

Police say they found a man and a woman cleaning up what looked likea meth lab.

They also caught another man they say was involved and called in a hazmat team to clean up the chemicals.

---------------------------------------------

AIRPORT HAZ MAT: BOTTLE OF PESTICIDE ON PLANE CAUSES HAZMAT RESPONSE
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-01-11/news/fl-ftl-airport-hazmat-20120111_1_hazmat-terminal-four-fort-lauderdale-hollywood-international-airport
Tags: us_FL, transportation, discovery, response, ag_chems

Operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport returned to normal following aWednesday night hazmat incident that delayed passengers aboard some international flights.

About 8 p.m. a Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue hazardous materials team responded a flight that arrived at the airport from Haiti, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

A passenger on that flight was carrying a container of liquid that prompted the response, sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella said.

"Hazmat came as a precaution," she said. "A passenger had some sort of insecticide in his luggage."

Several fire engines arrived at Terminal Four near the U.S. Customs area and passengers were not allowed off the commercial aircraft for about two hours. Greeters waited inside the airport for the travelers to deplane.

No terminals were evacuated and nobody was injured, Moschella said.
"It was, again, a very small amount of this substance," she added.

The passenger with the suspicious luggagereportedly told officials that the substance was fertilizer.

---------------------------------------------

CHEMICAL LEAK SHUTS DOWN DR. PEPPER PLANT
http://www.click2houston.com/news/Chemical-leak-shuts-down-Dr-Pepper-plant/-/1735978/7870410/-/vi33dd/-/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, ammonia

HOUSTON -
Workers at a Dr. Pepper Bottling Plant in southwest Houston had to be evacuated after a chemical leak, according to Houston firefighters.

The hazmat team responded to a call for help at the plant on Holly Hall Street and Almeda Road just after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Crews found a piece of machinery that was leaking ammonia.
air in the bottling area.

After three hours, workers were able to return to their stations.

No one was hurt.

---------------------------------------------

TWO PEOPLE IN HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK IN DAVENTRY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-16532510
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

The company at the centre of a chemicalleak in Northamptonshire has said it is a "mystery" why two workers collapsed while working with "non-hazardous chemicals".

AmegA Sciences based on the Royal Oak Estate in Daventry said the staff were taken to Northampton General Hospital.

John Walton, a director at AmegA, said "The two employees were diagnosed with low haemoglobin levels."

The two men are under observation but are expected to make a full recovery.

Both Northamptonshire Fire Service and the company's laboratory are investigating what happened.

---------------------------------------------

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, STUDENT EXTINGUISH LAB FIRE IN OAKLAND
http://www.fireengineering.com/news/2012/01/1581745225/carnegie-mellon-university-professor-student-extinguish-lab-fire-in-oakland.html
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
There were no injuries and minimal damage in a smallfire on Wednesday evening inan eighth-floor chemistry lab in the Mellon Institute on Fifth Avenue in Oakland, Pittsburgh firefighters said.
Acting deputy fire chief Larry Yakich said a Carnegie Mellon University professor and student had completed some tests, cleaned up, put a chemical inside a container and placed the container in a plastic-lined cardboard box. There apparently was some chemical residual on the container and it reacted with the liner or the cardboard to start the box on fire shortly after 7 p.m., Yakich said.
The professor and student usedan extinguisher to put out the fire that burned the top of the cardboard box, Yakich said.

---------------------------------------------

CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT UFINVOLVES SAME LABORATORY AS OCTOBER INCIDENT IN SISLER HALL

Tags: us_FL, laboratory, follow-up, injury, sodium_azide

An explosion at the University of Florida thatinjured a graduate student and firefighter Wednesday involved the same laboratory and chemical as a similar incident in October.
The student, 27-year-old Khanh Ha, was working with sodium azide in a Sisler Hall lab when the explosion happened. He suffered serious injuries to his face, hand and body. He remained hospitalized in stable condition Thursday, according to UF.

A firefighter whoresponded to the scene, Andrew Marsh, received minor chemical burns to his face and eyes but was reported by Gainesville Fire Rescue to be in good condition.

Sisler Hall was closed Thursday as UF's Environmental Health and Safety department investigated the incident. The hall houses labs and offices, so no classes were affected.

---------------------------------------------

UPDATE: FIRE CREWS LEAVE SCENE OF STOWMARKET CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/update_fire_crews_leave_scene_of_stowmarket_chemical_spill_1_1176012Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, environmental, resin, solvent

FIREFIGHTERS have left the scene of a chemical spill at a paint company's premises.

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Suffolk Fire andRescue Service sent nine appliances and 45 firefighters to PPG Industries UK Ltd based in Needham Road, Stowmarket, just after 2pm to deal with the solvent leak which was caused bya mechanical failure on the water cooling system in the resin plant.

The service's group commander Ian Bowell said: "This incident has been contained on site thanks to the work ofthe on site staff at PPG and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

"During the incident we worked closely with the Environment Agency and are pleased to say that all internal drainage systems have done their job containing any contaminated water on site for removal at alater date.

---------------------------------------------

FOUR INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN EDMOND
http://www.newson6.com/story/16505465/chemical-explosion-in-edmond
Tags: us_OK, industrial, explosion,injury, solvent

Investigators are trying to determine what caused an explosion that injured four people Thursday morning at a company near W. 33rd Street and N. Kelly in Edmond.
Firefighters said just before 9 a.m., something started a fire at Tuboscope, a pipeline company based out of Houston. The fire then sparked achemical explosion that injured four men.

One man received third-degree burns. He's listed in serious condition. The other three men are listed in good condition with first-degree burns.

Firefighters said by the time they arrived, the fire was out. They have reopened traffic in the area while they investigate what started the fire.

The fire may have had contact with a chemical called MEK, or Methyl Ethyl Ketone, and that may havecaused the explosion. MEK is a liquid solvent used in several products.

---------------------------------------------

MAN KILLED IN FREAK ACCIDENT IN FACTORY
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/bengaluru/man-killed-freak-accident-factory-931
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, flammables, waste

A 30-year-old man was killed in a freak accident on Wednesday morning while he was working in a plastic recycle factory =E2=80=94 Surya Traders in Kaikondanahalli on Sarjapur Main road in R.R. Layout. The deceased identified as Niranjan Ramdev Prasad was a native of Bihar. According to preliminary investigation, the incident took place around 12:30 pm when Niranjan was trying to cut open a 20 litre plastic drum, filled with industrial waste with an electrical cutter.

Accidentally, the chemical drum exploded and he fell on the electrical cutter which cut into his chest and he died on the spot. The blast led toa fire in the factory. The factory workers who were in the premises tried to douse the fire with water. Three fire tenders finally extinguished the fire. Property worth `2 lakh has been destroyed in the fire.

The police suspect that the plastic drum which was filled with highly inflammable substances was tried to cut open without removing its lid and that could have led to the explosion. Police have sent the pieces of drum and other materials to the Forensic Science Laboratory. The HSR Layout police have registered a case against the company owner and will take furtheraction based on the FSL report.

---------------------------------------------

BREAKING NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER FOR THE HARRISBURG -YORK -LANCASTER -LEBANON PENNSYLVANIA AREA
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Hazmat-shuts-down-local-business-for-four-hours/y34R4uYfjk6ljFj93pd5Jg.cspx
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, dust

Two workers in York County are rushed to the hospital after inhaling a powder.

Both workers were treated and released, but the ordeal caused a four hour hazmat incident.

An employee at Engle Machinery in Manchester Township found the powder-like substanceon an unopened box around 730 Wednesday morning.

A company official says thatworker, and another employee, became ill when they took the box outside andthe substance became airborne.

Hazmat teams were called in, ran tests and found the powder was only dangerous because it became airborne and was not handled properly.

The substance was determined to be similar to what is used in swimming pool filters or pesticides. Hazmat crews cleared the scene before noon and the company is operating as normal this evening.

---------------------------------------------
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA SCIENCE BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER DISCOVERY OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
http://newsok.com/university-of-central-oklahoma-science-building-is-evacuated/article/3639456
Tags: us_OK, laboratory, discovery, response,picric_acid

EDMOND =E2=80=94 The discoveryof a potentially hazardous substance in a chemistry lab at the University of Central Oklahoma prompted the evacuation of a science building Wednesday.
Adrienne Nobles, spokeswoman for the university, said a professor was doing inventory in a lab inside Howell Hall when he discovered picric acid, a crystalline solid that can be detonated by extreme heat or electric charge.

---------------------------------------------

WORKERS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT SITUATION
http://www.wgal.com/r/30188620/detail.html
Tags:us_PA, public, release, injury, pesticides



Two workers inYork County were taken to the hospital after a hazmat situation at a business on Wednesday morning.Emergency crews were called to Engel Machinery in Manchester Townshipafter workers noticed a substance in crates shipped from overseas.
Company officials said the substance is a component used in pesticides. They are not sure how it got in the crates.

---------------------------------------------

LARGE FIRE ERUPTS IN BULGARIAN CHEMICAL PLANT: LARGE FIRE ERUPTS IN BULGARIAN CHEMICAL PLANT
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=135638
Tags: Bulgaria, industrial, explosion, injury, paints
A large fire has erupted overnight at the plant for alkaline paints and resins "Orgahim" in Bulgaria's Danube city of Ruse.
The Ruse Mayor, Plamen Stoilov, reported early Thursday morning that the fire has been tamed. Three workers have inhaled harmful gases - they were sent to the local hospital and later released.

The crisis headquarters of the City Hall further inform that there is no danger for residents and visitors of the city. The Regional Governor of Ruse,Stefko Burdzhiev, told the TV channel bTV that precisely because of the fact that there was no immediate threat for the population, the blaze had not been officially reported via the alarm system.

In addition to thick smoke and the blaze, several secondary explosions have occurred along with a partial gassing of Ruse.
---------------------------------------------

TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILT AT BOWRAVILLE NORCO
http://www.nambuccaguardian.com.au/news/local/news/general/toxic-chemical-spilt-at-bowraville-norco/2418058.aspx
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, ag_chems, pesticides, toxics

Five houses in Bowraville were evacuated after a toxic chemical was spilt at Norco Rural Store on Carbin Street, on the afternoon of January 11.
The spill was contained inside the building, but created a "vapour cloud", said acting captain of the Bowraville Fire Brigade Max Duncan.

The chemical was a highly toxic pesticide.

"Members of Fire and Rescue NSW attended with breathing apparatus and chemical spill suits on. They entered the building to clean up the spill, and it was placed in a HAZMAT recovery bin," Mr Duncan said.

---------------------------------------------

WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS MAY INCREASE CHANCES FOR COMBUSTIBLE DUST EXPLOSIONS
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9059007.htm
Tags: industrial, follow-up, response, dust

Nilfisk Industrial Vacuums is reminding manufacturers that snow and ice are not the only elements that will be of worry this winter as the season of combustible dust incidents also approaches. The risk of a dust explosion increases when low humidity levels, like those seen in winter months, make dust easy to disperse and ignite. In fact, industrial accident investigations by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that seven out of eight fatal combustible dust explosions from 1995 to 2009 occurred during cold winter months when these weather conditions were most prominent.

---------------------------------------------

FERNDALE FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TOPOTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE CHEMICAL LEAK AT FERMICAL
http://ferndale.patch.com/articles/ferndale-firefighters-respond-to-potentially-explosive-chemical-leak-at-fermical
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ethyl_acetate,mek

Ferndale Fire Chief Kevin Sullivan is warning residents and businesses about the potential dangers of improperly stored chemicals after an incident Monday that Sullivan says could have easilyturned disastrous.

Ferndale firefighters responded to an odor complaint around 10 a.m. Monday at 1360 Hilton. It was discovered that a business there - Fermical, which specializes in the pharmaceutical industry and had been temporarily closed for about a year - had a leak in one of the chemical tubs it was storing there.

The chemicals - including ethyl acetate and methyl ethyl ketone -were being stored in 55-gallon drums that had suffered water damage and hadbegun to rust, causing a leak in one of the tubs, Sullivan said.

"When we got in the odor was at what we call lower explosive limit," Sullivan said. "With the right ignition source it could haveblown into kingdom come."

---------------------------------------------

STUDENT SERIOUSLY INJURED AFTER EXPLOSION IN CHEMISTRY LAB

Tags: us_FL, laboratory, explosion, injury, sodium_azide

A chemical reactant explosion at Sisler Hall seriously injured a student and shut down traffic around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, and authorities said the building will be closed all day today.
Gainesville Fire Rescue Department Chief Gene Prince said a student, whose name was not released, was working alone in a lab on the second floor "under a protective hood" when the explosion occurred.
Paramedics transported thestudent to Shands at UF in serious condition to be treated for burns.Firefighter Andrew Marsh, 25, was one of the first to enter the building. He suffered minor burns to his eyes and face and was later releasedin good condition.
After the explosion, a GFR hazardous materials unit set up a makeshift bathing station in front of Sisler Hall wherethe team hosed people down outside the building. Police blocked off the surrounding traffic area, which created a backlog of about seven city buses waiting to pass the corner of Union Road and Buckman Drive.
According to GFR, one of the known agents involved in the research is sodium azide, a chemical found in some rocket propellants and car airbags.

---------------------------------------------

FIREFIGHTERS, HAZ MAT RESPOND TO A FIRE AT MICRON
http://www.kivitv.com/news/local/137092483.html
Tags: us_ID, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Boise firefighters responded to a call to Micron Technology this morning for what turned out to be a small chemical fire.

at 4:54 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they found a small chemical fire contained toa cabinet in an R&amp;D building. A Micron emergency response team was also on scene, and a handful of workers in that building were evacuated. No one was injured. The situation did not affect employees arriving to Micron for work this morning.

The Boise Fire Hazardous Materials team typically responds to calls at Micron because of the chemicals and other substances used and stored at the facility. Haz Mat would decontaminate firefighters and Micron employees if needed. The chemicals involved appear benign so there has been no need for any decon at this time.
---------------------------------------------

ALASKA OFFICIALS SAY 6,300 GALLONS OF CRUDE OIL, WATER SPILL AT XTO FACILITY AT NIKISKI
http://www.startribune.com/business/137095763.html
Tags: us_AK, public, release, environmental, petroleum

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska environmental officials say a faulty gasket on a tank led to a spill of 6,300 gallons of crude oil and process water at the XTO Energy onshore facility at Nikiski, southwest of Anchorage.

In a situation report Tuesday, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said no resources have been affected. It says all of the spill discovered late Monday afternoon was captured within a secondary containment area.

The state says XTO Energy responded with contractors Monday night to recover free liquid from the secondary containment area =E2=80=94 a bermed area with a 60-mil liner. On Tuesday, the company began removing contaminated snow and ice.

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