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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 7:45:20 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 (27 articles)
OFFICIALS: NO CONTAMINATION FROM CLINTON COUNTY METH LAB BLAST
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, meth_lab
CUPOLA ON NEW WEST POINT CHEMISTRY BUILDING CATCHES FIRE
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, other_chemical
WORK CONTINUES TO CONTAIN SYDNEY OIL SPILL
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, environmental, oils
CAUSTIC SPILL CLOSES ROUTE 513 FOR HOURS, FRANKLIN COPS SAY
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
STUDENTS, LAB TECH 'GOOD' AFTER EXPLOSION
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical
CREWS CLEAN UP SPILL IN RED LION
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, paints
CUSHION COMBUSTS, CAUSES MEDARY HOUSE FIRE
Tags: us_WI, public, fire, response, other_chemical
UNIVERSITY EVACUATED AFTER BLAZE BREAKS OUT
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
OFFICIALS: CHEMICAL SPILL LED TO EXPLOSION AT SC STATE
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
INDIANA METH LAB SEIZURES HIT RECORD
Tags: us_IN, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab
RPI REPORTS SPILL IN LAB
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
METH TEAM CALLED TO SCENE OF CLINTON COUNTY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, drugs
WOMAN TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT WATTLE GROVE SCHOOL
Tags: Australia, education, release, injury, acids
CARGO SHIP HAZMAT: FIRE RESCUE HAZMAT TEAM GREETS SHIP WITH LEAKING CONTAINER
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, corrosives
TANKER CRASH CLOSES ROUTE 93
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, propane
SEMI FIRE CLOSES I-30
Tags: us_AR, transportation, fire, response, hexane
SEFTON CHEMICAL SPILL VICTIMS RELEASED
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
4 YEARS AFTER IMPERIAL SUGAR EXPLOSION NO NEW STANDARDS
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, dust
SCIENCE BLOG: AFTER EXPLOSION, TEXAS TECH COMMITTEE AIMS TO MAKE SAFETY "AUTOMATIC"
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, follow-up, response
WORKERS EVACUATED AT TYSON, CARGILL PLANTS AFTER AMMONIA LEAKS; OFFICIALS SAY LEAKS CONTAINED
Tags: us_AR, industrial, release, response, ammonia
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS: NO CONTAMINATION FROM CLINTON COUNTY METH LAB BLAST
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120208/NEWS01/302080046/Officials-No-contamination-from-Clinton-County-meth-lab-blast?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7C%7Cp
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, meth_lab
WATERTOWN TWP. Ñ No contamination was detected in the area surrounding a meth lab that exploded Monday night in a densely populated mobile home park in southern Clinton County, authorities said.
Officials with the Mid-Michigan District Health Department inspected the mobile home park Tuesday in the 7700 block of West Grand River Avenue and saw no need for concern.
The explosion, which happened inside a mobile home, blew out two of the home's windows. The fire extinguished itself, officials said.
---------------------------------------------
CUPOLA ON NEW WEST POINT CHEMISTRY BUILDING CATCHES FIRE
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2012/February/08/USMA_fire-08Feb12.html
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, other_chemical
WEST POINT - Fire fighters from West Point made quick work of a fire that broke out on a rooftop cupola on the new USMA chemistry lab building on Cullum Road.
Around noontime, an electric belt and motor located in a cupola caught the roof on fire.
The flames were extinguished with a dry chemical fire extinguisher and there was no evidence of structural damage to the building, a West Point spokeswoman said.
---------------------------------------------
WORK CONTINUES TO CONTAIN SYDNEY OIL SPILL
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8416193/oil-spill-at-shells-clyde-refinery
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, environmental, oils
Work will continue overnight to contain an oil spill at Shell's Clyde refinery in western Sydney.
An unknown amount of a petroleum-based product spilled into Duck Creek at Clyde around 4pm (AEDT) on Wednesday after an overflow at the oil refinery.
Recent heavy rainfall meant the storm water overflow system was unable to contain all of the rain water, causing an overflow, a Shell spokesman said.
"Unfortunately, the overflow material contained oil," the spokesman said in a statement.
---------------------------------------------
CAUSTIC SPILL CLOSES ROUTE 513 FOR HOURS, FRANKLIN COPS SAY
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2012/02/caustic_spill_closes_route_513.html
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
FRANKLIN TWP. Ñ A spill of caustic liquid took place on Pittstown Road (Route 513) near White Bridge Road on Jan. 31 at 3:50 p.m.
Carlton McCall Jr., 43, of Concord, N.C. was driving a tractor-trailer on Pittstown Road when he came upon a stopped school bus with lights flashing.
He took evasive action which caused several plastic containers to slam against the inside of the trailer and break open, spilling caustic liquid, which leaked out of the trailer.
The road was closed and a 100-foot-radius buffer zone was established by the county hazmat team. A private company came and cleaned up the spill and none of the liquid got into retention basins or streams, police said.
---------------------------------------------
STUDENTS, LAB TECH 'GOOD' AFTER EXPLOSION
http://thetandd.com/news/students-lab-tech-good-after-explosion/article_66150eea-521a-11e1-8903-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical
Five students and a chemistry laboratory technician are in good condition after Monday afternoon's chemical explosion on the South Carolina State University campus, officials said Tuesday.
The laboratory technician was transported to the Regional Medical Center for injuries to her forearm, according to a university release. The students were transported to the hospital for observation after being exposed to fumes during the evacuation process.
The six were released from the hospital Monday evening.
Emergency officials were dispatched to the Leroy Davis Sr. Science and Research Complex after a caller reported the explosion in the chemistry laboratory preparation room around 4:20 p.m. The room is adjacent to the general chemistry lab.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS CLEAN UP SPILL IN RED LION
http://www.ydr.com/crime/ci_19910169?source=most_viewed
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, paints
Employees at HAAS Agricultural on Grand Avenue in Red Lion are working to clean up a minor chemical spill from Tuesday morning, according to a Red Lion fire official.
The company had just received a delivery of a 300 gallon tank of a chemical called Polymeric MDI, said Tim Mooney, assistant chief of the Red Lion Fire Department. The chemical is often used in coatings and adhesives. A forklift punctured the tank at the bottom.
Mooney estimated roughly 80 percent of the tank's contents ran onto the ground before it could be plugged. The company acted quickly and began cleaning it, Mooney said.
"It's not going to hurt the environment," he said. "It didn't get into any drains" or groundwater. The liquid ran around the corner of Grand Avenue, a dead-end road, onto Wise Avenue, before it could be cleaned, Mooney said.
---------------------------------------------
CUSHION COMBUSTS, CAUSES MEDARY HOUSE FIRE
http://www.news8000.com/news/Cushion-combusts-causes-Medary-house-fire/-/326/8608380/-/9wwxa6/-/index.html
Tags: us_WI, public, fire, response, other_chemical
TOWN OF MEDARY, Wis. -- A couch cushion cleaned with linseed oil appears to have caused a house fire in the Town of Medary.
The Vance family made it out of their home on Smith Valley Road safely early Sunday morning, thanks to the help of cab driver Colin Winchell, who saw the fire as he was driving by and woke the family up.
Onalaska Fire Chief Don Dominick tells News 8 the family had cleaned the couch cushion used by the family pets with linseed oil, which has a tendency to combust due to its chemical makeup.
The cushion was placed outside the home to air out, and later ignited, causing the fire that damaged the home.
---------------------------------------------
UNIVERSITY EVACUATED AFTER BLAZE BREAKS OUT
http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/8587-university-evacuated-after-blaze-breaks-out
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
More than twenty fire vehicles were called to the University of Strathclyde last night after a blaze broke out at the Glasgow-based campus.
Students were evacuated from four buildings after fire and rescue crews were called to the James Weir Building on Montrose Street shortly after 7pm.
The fire is believed to have started on the third floor of James Weir where the Department of Chemical Engineering labs are based, though the university was quick to rule out a chemical explosion.
There have been no reported casualties with university security and fire and rescue crews praised for the rapid response to the blaze.
Classes inside James Weir have been cancelled for the rest of this week while plans are being made to arrange alternative accommodation following a meeeting of the University's Emergency Management Team this morning.
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS: CHEMICAL SPILL LED TO EXPLOSION AT SC STATE
http://www.live5news.com/story/16688463/officials-chemical-spill-led-to-explosion-at-sc-state
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
ORANGEBURG, SC (WIS) - Officials at South Carolina State University say a chemical spill led to an explosion that shut down several buildings on campus Monday afternoon.
Fire officials from the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety were called to the university around 4:00 p.m. after the explosion which happened during a chemistry class.
According to school spokesperson Erica Taylor, the Leroy Davis Science Complex was shut down while fire officials and investigators checked out the scene.
Hodge Hall and Davis Hall were both evacuated and have been closed until further notice for decontamination purposes.
Five people were taken to the Orangeburg Regional Medical Center as a result of the explosion. None of them were seriously injured.
---------------------------------------------
INDIANA METH LAB SEIZURES HIT RECORD
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/30389075/detail.html
Tags: us_IN, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab
INDIANAPOLIS -- The number of methamphetamine labs found by Indiana State Police climbed again in 2011, hitting a record high, officials said.
Indiana State Police dismantled 1,437 meth labs in the state in 2011, up from 1,395 in 2010. ISP began tracking the number of dismantled meth labs in 2006, when it found 803 of them.
The discoveries led to the arrests of 1,420 people in 2011, up from 1,252 in 2010.
ISP said the most popular way to make meth now is by using what they call the "one-pot method" in which all ingredients are mixed in a drinking bottle or a jar.
"The cook process combines incompatible chemicals that easily cause flash fires or explosions," said ISP Sgt. John Bowling. "It also produces a smaller, yet just as potent amount of methamphetamine."
---------------------------------------------
RPI REPORTS SPILL IN LAB
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/RPI-reports-spill-in-lab-3088359.php
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
TROY Ñ A nine-story building at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that houses classrooms, 90 laboratories and numerous offices has been shut down because of a chemical spill on Monday night.
The Troy Fire Department was called to the George M. Low Center for Industrial Innovation around 5:30 p.m., said Troy Fire Chief Tom Garrett.
Four students had been in the lab, but were not injured. The students declined medical treatment, Garrett said.
The building was evacuated and firefighters dressed in full haz-mat suits entered the lab and cleaned up the spill, partially filling a 5-gallon drum with the liquid material. Garrett said the fire department was still trying to identify the liquid and referred questions about the chemical to RPI officials.
RPI spokesman Mark Marchand said it was acetylene tetrabromide, a solvent, that was inside a machine. Marchand said a small amount of the chemical leaked out of the machine because of a faulty valve.
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the chemical that can cause eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation and nausea, severe headaches and abdominal pain.
The Fire Department left the scene around 9:30 p.m., but Marchand said the building will remain closed until the air quality is checked. A private company is expected to perform a full clean-up of the spill on Tuesday.
"The building will remain closed until we determine that the odor is gone and the chemical is cleaned up," Marchand said.
---------------------------------------------
METH TEAM CALLED TO SCENE OF CLINTON COUNTY EXPLOSION
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120206/NEWS01/302060032/Fire-hazmat-officials-scene-explosion-sheriff-sending-meth-team?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, drugs
WATERTOWN TWP. - An explosion damaged a mobile home in the Country Village Mobile Home Park shortly before 8 p.m. this evening.
"We heard a big boom, and went outside, and we could see smoke, and then three or four guys ran out of the trailer," said Jessica Redman, who lives across the street.
She said the smoke smelled like "chemicals, a lot of chemicals."
Clinton County Sheriff Wayne Kangas did not give exact details of what had caused the explosion, but he did say: "We're sending our meth team down there."
---------------------------------------------
WOMAN TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT WATTLE GROVE SCHOOL
http://liverpool-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/woman-taken-to-hospital-after-chemical-spill-at-wattle-grove-school/
Tags: Australia, education, release, injury, acids
A WOMAN has been taken to hospital with minor acid burns after a chemical spill at a Wattle Grove school.
Shortly after noon today firefighters from Liverpool and the Hazardous Material Unit from Chester Hill were called to a chemical spill at the St Marks Coptic College on Australis Ave.
An Ambulance NSW spokeswoman confirmed a woman, aged in her 50s, suffered acid burns to an arm and leg.
---------------------------------------------
CARGO SHIP HAZMAT: FIRE RESCUE HAZMAT TEAM GREETS SHIP WITH LEAKING CONTAINER
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-cargo-ship-hazmat-20120206,0,5538354.story
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, corrosives
A Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue hazardous materials team was waiting for a cargo ship to dock at Port Everglades late Monday night, authorities said.
The cargo ship was carrying a container that was leaking a corrosive substance, according to Sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella.
The leaking container was aboard the ship in a contained area and was only affecting the container below it, she said.
It was unclear what the corrosive substance was but it may be paint-related and does not seem to be life-threatening, Moschella said.
---------------------------------------------
TANKER CRASH CLOSES ROUTE 93
http://www.wnep.com/wnep-luz-tanker-crash-closes-route-93-20120206,0,2139716.story
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, propane
A tanker truck crash has closed a road in Luzerne County and hazardous materials crews are on the scene.
The crash happened around 9 a.m. on Route 93 near Sugarloaf.
Authorities said the driver dropped a bottle on the floor of the truck and reached for it. The tanker went off the road and hit a tree.
The tanker, which was carrying propane, overturned and is leaking.
---------------------------------------------
SEMI FIRE CLOSES I-30
http://www.hopestar.com/newsnow/x962215702/Semi-fire-closes-I-30
Tags: us_AR, transportation, fire, response, hexane
EMMET - Traffic came to a standstill on Interstate 30 near here at mid-morning Friday as local emergency management and first responder officials dealt with a truck fire and potentially explosive materials.
Hempstead County Emergency Management Coordinator Jessica Hardin said the 18-wheeler owned by Arkansas Best Freight Co. was carrying hexane, a chemical additive for gasoline production.
Hardin said the driver of the truck was warned by other truckers.
"He said other truckers were waving him down, and he pulled over, thinking he had a flat," she said. "That's when he realized smoke was coming from the first trailer."
Hardin said the driver, whom she did not identify and was not injured in the incident, immediately called 911, and Hazmat first responders were dispatched to the scene near the I-30 Emmet exit.
"When they read the list on the truck, they realized they had hexane on the truck," she said. "Once air hits it, it can explode."
---------------------------------------------
SEFTON CHEMICAL SPILL VICTIMS RELEASED
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16922464
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
The victims of a chemical spill on Merseyside have been discharged from hospital.
The spill occured at the Royal Seaforth Container Base near Crosby Road South in Sefton on Monday afternoon.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service's Hazardous Material Units were used to contain the spillage.
Twenty-one people were taken to Liverpool's Aintree University Hospital after inhaling fumes. They were treated for nausea and headaches.
Merseyside Fire Service used dry sand to contain and absorb the chemicals.
---------------------------------------------
4 YEARS AFTER IMPERIAL SUGAR EXPLOSION NO NEW STANDARDS
http://www2.wsav.com/news/2012/feb/06/4-years-after-imperial-sugar-explosion-no-new-stan-ar-3183050/
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, dust
"All fatalities most likely resulted from secondary explosions and fires," pointed out a representative from the Chemical Safety Board regarding the Imperial Sugar Explosion.
An investigation by the CSB blamed housekeeping specifically piles of highly combustible sugar dust at unsafe levels that needed just one spark.
But to date, nothing has been done by the government to prevent a repeat. Congressman John Barrow has co-sponsored legislation three times, each time getting held up in a committee or voted down by the senate. Last year, Congressman Jack Kingston told News Three he was still dedicated to the cause.
"We're still voting yes because we think that pushing the dust regulations through, it keeps the pressure on OSHA and the other federal authorities on jurisdiction to make sure that this thing is done," says Kingston.
But that didn't seem to happen. Instead, according to OSHA's regulatory agenda, combustible dust standards are on the backburner.
---------------------------------------------
SCIENCE BLOG: AFTER EXPLOSION, TEXAS TECH COMMITTEE AIMS TO MAKE SAFETY "AUTOMATIC"
http://blogs.sciencemag.org/sciencecareers/2012/02/texas-tech-comm.html
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, follow-up, response
In its October 2011 report on the 2010 lab explosion at Texas Tech University (TTU) that maimed a graduate student, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board leveled blistering criticisms against the the university's lab-safety culture. According to pair of front-page articles on 5 January in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, the experience has led TTU and some other Texas universities to make changes in how they think about and deal with safety.
Before the explosion, the four or five faculty members on the TTU chemistry department's safety committee met "infrequently," the Avalance-Journal reports. Now, a departmental safety committee consisting of 5 faculty members, 4 graduate students, 3 members of the university's environmental health and safety department, and 2 each of postdocs and undergraduate students meets every other week. The group also sends out regular safety notices and fields 3-person teams composed of a faculty member, a grad student and a staff member to carry out unannounced safety inspections.
In 2010, TTU initiated a 16-member, university-wide safety committee chaired by Professor Dmitri Pappas of the chemistry and biochemistry department. "Safe research is as important as ethical research. These go hand in hand," Pappas says, according to the Avalanche-Journal. "You can't be productive if you're not doing [research] properly. Properly means safe and ethically. Our job is to assist faculty in keeping students safe, keeping themselves safe and the university safe." The committee's tasks reportedly include assessing safety protocols and assisting outside investigators in case of safety incidents.
---------------------------------------------
WORKERS EVACUATED AT TYSON, CARGILL PLANTS AFTER AMMONIA LEAKS; OFFICIALS SAY LEAKS CONTAINED
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/9837d6d6eb3441b4b77f94bc57b97d14/AR--Meat-Plants-Ammonia-Leaks/
Tags: us_AR, industrial, release, response, ammonia
SPRINGDALE, Ark. Ñ Officials say workers were evacuated at two northwest Arkansas meat processing plants due to ammonia leaks.
Springdale plants owned by Cargill Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc. each evacuated workers Monday morning after apparently unrelated ammonia leaks.
Cargill plant manager Heath Ward told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://is.gd/aXqV1P ) that a pipe broke in an area of the plant where work was being done on the cooling system. About 500 workers were evacuated. Ward says no one was hurt.
A Tyson Foods spokesman said 10 workers were taken to a hospital as a precaution after a freezer line leak at the plant. The leak occurred at about 9:30 a.m. Fire officials cleared the plant for re-entry at 10:20 a.m. but the company was further evaluating conditions before bringing the 500 workers back in.
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