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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety Headlines From Google (11 articles) Date: March 26, 2012 9:46:34 AM EDT Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 09:00:00 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 (19 articles)
EXPLOSION INJURES 7 WORKERS, CAUSES EVACUATION AT MICRON
Tags: us_ID, laboratory, explosion, injury
BEAUMONT: MERCURY FOUND IN BARN TRIGGERS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, mercury
CREWS ON SCENE OF A TRAIN DERAILMENT IN LIGONIER
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
NEW HANDS-ON SAFETY TRAINING LAB DEBUTS IN MID-MICHIGAN
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, discovery, response
CRIME, PUNISHMENT, AND THE WAY FORWARD: IN THE WAKE OF SHERI SANGJI'S DEATH, WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO PATRICK HARRAN?
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, death
BP REFINERY LEAKS ACID IN TEXAS CITY; NO INJURIES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid
REGION: ESCONDIDO "BOMB HOUSE" CONTROLLED BURN A MODEL FOR NATION, EXPERT SAYS
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, bomb
HISTORIC HIGH SCHOOL LAB EXPLOSION
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical
LEAKING TANKER TRUCK SPARKS HAZMAT CLEANUP
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide
WINK MOBILE
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, chlorine, gas_cylinders
FINAL ALL-CLEAR FOR HUNDREDS MENACED BY CHEMICAL BLAZE
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL DUMP CATCHES FIRE
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
2 INJURED AT AIR PRODUCTS PLANT FIRE IN LULING AFTER HYDROGEN RELEASE
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, injury, hydrogen
DEQ INVESTIGATING FIRE AT CLOSED INK PROCESSING PLANT
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, environmental, petroleum
CHEMICAL PLANT CLEANUP COMPLETE; SUIT FILED
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY INTO CHEMICAL SPILL NEAR LAKE DIXON
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, environmental, sodium_hydroxide
ENTERGY FINED $1.2 MILLION FOR PETROLEUM SPILL IN HUDSON RIVER
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, radiation
RESIDENTS ESCAPE BUILDING FIRE
Tags: India, public, explosion, response, solvent
2 MISSING AFTER CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION|SOCIETY|CHINADAILY.COM.CN
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, ammonia
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EXPLOSION INJURES 7 WORKERS, CAUSES EVACUATION AT MICRON
http://www.ktvb.com/home/Possible-explosion-and-chemical-spill-at-Micron-144391635.html
Tags: us_ID, laboratory, explosion, injury
BOISE -- Authorities say an explosion at Micron Technologies in Boise resulted in minors injuries to seven people and led to the brief evacuation of 200 workers Tuesday morning.
Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan says the explosion was powerful enough to move a concrete wall.
Fire officials say the explosion involved a piece of research and development equipment located two floors below ground.
Emergency responders report that no hazardous chemicals were released as a result.
Seven people were examined at the scene for minor injuries that included a cut arm, ringing in the ears of two people and several complaints of dust inhalation.
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BEAUMONT: MERCURY FOUND IN BARN TRIGGERS HAZMAT RESPONSE
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/the-pass/the-pass-headlinesindex/20120327-beaumont-mercury-found-in-barn-triggers-hazmat-response.ece
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, mercury
A six-ounce bottle of mercury discovered in the Beaumont area triggered a hazardous materials response Monday, Riverside County Fire Department officials say.
A Beaumont resident found the mercury while cleaning out a friend's barn in unincorporated Cherry Valley, Beaumont city spokeswoman Darci Mulvihill said. The resident took the bottle home and contacted authorities about how to properly dispose of it.
A Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department hazmat team responded about 3:40 p.m. Monday to the 1100 block of Wellwood Avenue. The toxic material didn't spill, and no injuries were reported.
Mercury is a highly toxic element that, depending on what form it is in and how long a person is exposed, can damage the immune system and nervous system or cause tremors or other problems.
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CREWS ON SCENE OF A TRAIN DERAILMENT IN LIGONIER
http://www.wane.com/dpp/traffic/incidents/crews-on-scene-of-a-train-derailment-in-ligonier
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
NOBLE COUNTY, Ind. (WANE/AP) - UPDATE: Norfolk Southern has brought in specialists to evaluate the train derailment near Ligonier. Crews will now smother the burning train cars with clean soil. Once it's completely out, they'll dispose of the dirt and remove the cars. They say this will help control the chemical so it doesn't leak into the air or nearby river.
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NEW HANDS-ON SAFETY TRAINING LAB DEBUTS IN MID-MICHIGAN
http://www.wnem.com/story/17264474/new-hands-on-safety-training-lab-debuts-in-mid-michigan
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, discovery, response
Senior Safety Specialist, Marc White, shows off the new hands-on safety training lab at the Great Lakes Safety Training Center.
The lab features different simulations people in all different types of industries can use.
"They can put the harnesses on or do the confined space and actually use the equipment and it will emphasize what they learned in the classroom," says White.
"We typically work with clients in the chemical industry, heavy manufacturing, general construction, as well as commercial type industries," says Executive Director, Jim Cook.
The Safety Training Center in Midland has always offered classroom courses, as well as a computer lab for workers in different trades.
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CRIME, PUNISHMENT, AND THE WAY FORWARD: IN THE WAKE OF SHERI SANGJI'S DEATH, WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO PATRICK HARRAN?
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/2012/03/27/crime-punishment-and-the-way-forward-in-the-wake-of-sheri-sangjis-death-what-should-happen-to-patrick-harran/
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, death
When bad things happen in an academic laboratory, what should happen to people who bear responsibility for those bad things Ñ even if they didn't mean for them to happen?
This is the broad question I've been thinking about in connection with the prosecution of chemistry professor Patrick Harran and UCLA in connection with the laboratory accident that killed Sheri Sangji. Potentially, Harran could face jail time, and there has been a good bit of discussion (as in these posts at Chemjobber) about whether that's what he deserves.
I'll be honest: I find myself uncomfortable weighing Harran's actions (and inaction) as worthy of jail time or not, let alone assigning the appropriate number of months or years behind bars to punish him for Sheri Sangji's death. And, other than satisfying our appetite for retribution, I am utterly unsure whether such a penalty in this case would help. I don't know that it would do much to change the conditions and institutions that ought to be changed in the wake of this accident. (On the matter of changing institutions, read the excellent posts at ChemBark and Chemjobber.)
---------------------------------------------
BP REFINERY LEAKS ACID IN TEXAS CITY; NO INJURIES
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/27/us-refinery-operations-bp-texascity-idUSBRE82Q0R820120327
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid
(Reuters) - Hydrofluoric acid (HF) leaked from an alkylation unit at BP Plc's 406,570-barrels-per-day refinery in Texas City, Texas on Tuesday morning, triggering alarms in the plant and warnings to area residents, company and city officials said.
No injuries were reported at the refinery, the fifth-largest in the United States, or in the surrounding community, the officials said.
"We have a small leak of hydrofluoric acid at the refinery," BP spokesman Tom Mueller said shortly after 10 a.m. local time. "Water is being sprayed on it. We expect to secure the leak shortly."
---------------------------------------------
REGION: ESCONDIDO "BOMB HOUSE" CONTROLLED BURN A MODEL FOR NATION, EXPERT SAYS
http://www.nctimes.com/business/region-escondido-bomb-house-controlled-burn-a-model-for-nation/article_21568275-4bd2-506c-8161-8b69c429cfc5.html
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, bomb
SAN DIEGO ---- It sounded like the craziest idea. But the plan to burn down an Escondido house full of explosives and hazardous materials went off so well it has become a model studied by safety professionals nationwide.
That was the judgment of industrial safety expert Neal Langerman, who spoke about the daring plan's long-term impact Monday. The house at 1954 Via Scott in northwestern Escondido, known as the "Escondido bomb house," no longer exists. Its destruction on Dec. 9, 2010, was carried out with no loss of life or injury, and without contaminating the neighborhood.
Public safety agencies worked together superbly, even though there was no precedent for dealing with such a powder keg in a residential neighborhood, Langerman said at the American Chemical Society convention.
Held at the San Diego Convention Center, it continues through Thursday.
---------------------------------------------
HISTORIC HIGH SCHOOL LAB EXPLOSION
http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/601246/In-Years-Past.html?nav=5004
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical
In 1912, Masten Park High School in Buffalo was totally destroyed by fire in the afternoon. All the pupils responded to the fire drill signal sounded by Principal Frank S. Fosdick immediately after the discovery of the fire and escaped. The boys and girls marched out of the building without a trace of confusion. As the last line of children was leaving, falling bricks which came down from the roof hit several of the pupils and the mother of Janitor Funk. They were taken to the General Hospital. The fire was caused by an explosion of chemicals in a laboratory on the fourth floor. Prin. Fosdick displayed great heroism as he made three trips into the burning building to rescue pupils he thought still inside. On his third trip out of the burning building he was stuck by a falling timber and hurt although it was said his condition was not serious.
---------------------------------------------
LEAKING TANKER TRUCK SPARKS HAZMAT CLEANUP
http://www.wyff4.com/r/30762257/detail.html
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A tanker truck accident caused a hazardous material emergency in Spartanburg County early Monday, but EMS officials said they considered it a low-level hazmat situation.
The incident was first reported about 8 a.m. on Dogwood Club Road at South Port Road, according to the Highway Patrol website. This is near the fuel terminals in the Camp Croft area.
Spartanburg County Emergency Management representative said a tanker truck hauling hydrogen peroxide had a valve that was leaking.
---------------------------------------------
WINK MOBILE
http://www.winknews.com/mobile/index.php/mobile/article/Hazmat-contains-chlorine-leak-in-Naples
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, chlorine, gas_cylinders
COLLIER COUNTY, Fla.- North Naples Fire Department and a Hazmat team, were called to clean up a chlorine leak, in an industrial park this morning.
The leak happened at 6001 Shirley Street in Naples, just south of J & C Boulevard, around 6:30 this morning.
An employee at Mitchell & Stark Construction noticed one of the company's outdoor chlorine cylinders was leaking and quickly called for help.
First responders were able to cap the corroded cylinder's leak.
---------------------------------------------
FINAL ALL-CLEAR FOR HUNDREDS MENACED BY CHEMICAL BLAZE
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Final-clear-hundreds-menaced-chemical-blaze/story-15625503-detail/story.html
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
LIFE returned to normal for hundreds of Derbyshire residents on Saturday after smoke from a chemical fire had prompted expert advice to stay indoors.
The fire broke out in a container of calcium oxide Ð more commonly known as quick lime Ð at a factory in Kirkby-in-Ashfield at 5.20pm on Friday and smoke spread across the border during the evening.
Derbyshire police warned people in Amber Valley, including Ripley, Alfreton, South Normanton, Codnor, Heanor and Pinxton to keep doors and windows closed as a precaution.
At the height of the blaze, the M1 in both directions between junction 26 and 28, was closed due to visibility problems and health risks.
A Derbyshire police spokesman said: "Nottinghamshire police and the fire service said we could stand down from the incident by 4.20am on Saturday. We were advised the smoke could cause skin irritation, although the risk was 'very low'."
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL DUMP CATCHES FIRE
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/chemical-dump-catches-fire-948
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A major fire broke out in a chemical storage unit, that was illegally set up in a residential complex, at Subashnagar in Jeedimetla. The incident spread panic for around four hours on Monday morning. Six families residing in two apartments nearby were evacuated. No casualties were reported.
The fire spread to the nearby paper packaging godown which was located on the ground floor of the adjacent residential apartment. It took almost five hours for fire personnel to bring the blaze under control. Four fire tenders were used for the operation. Officials said the fire control room received a call at 7.45 am and immediately a fire tender from Jeedimetla fire station rushed to the spot and started operations. Later, two more fire tenders from the Sanathnagar fire station and Patanhceru fire station joined the operations.
As the barrels kept with chemicals exploded, several vehicles, including a vehicle that was parked outside the apartment, got damaged. There were about 20 to 30 explosions, according to eye witnesses. The entire building developed cracks. The chemical storage unit was set up by one Devram Choudary on the ground floor of the building. He and his family stayed on the first floor and the second floor was vacant.
Immediately after the blast, he and his family fled, eyewitnesses said. The blaze spread to the nearby building and paper kept in the Laqshya Packaging Solutions godown on the ground floor was completely gutted. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Mr Ram, who stays nearby, said he woke up hearing a blast at about 7.30 am. About 20 to 30 blasts were heard. Immediately somebody alerted the fire control room about the accident. Ms Raja Kumari, who stays above the packaging unit, was seen crying at the
---------------------------------------------
2 INJURED AT AIR PRODUCTS PLANT FIRE IN LULING AFTER HYDROGEN RELEASE
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2012/03/2_injured_at_air_products_plan.html
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, injury, hydrogen
Two workers were injured at the Air Products plant in Luling Monday morning after company officials say a hydrogen gas release sparked a fire at the St. Charles Parish facility shortly before noon.
St. Charles Parish Emergency Operation officials say the fire and chemical release were contained on-site and did not pose a threat to the public.
The hydrogen gas was released around 11:40 a.m. and residents reported hearing a loud noise, parish officials said.
The hydrogen production facility, which is located near Monsanto, produces industrial gas and chemicals. A spokesman for Air Products said the release occurred during the start up of a hydrogen off-gas plant, which purifies industrial gases containing hydrogen.
That plant was shutdown, company spokesman Art George said.
---------------------------------------------
DEQ INVESTIGATING FIRE AT CLOSED INK PROCESSING PLANT
http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20120326/NEWS01/120326036/DEQ-investigating-fire-closed-ink-processing-plant?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, environmental, petroleum
A weekend fire at 901 Richwood Road No. 2 in Monroe has prompted a Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality investigation.
The fire was Saturday at the old Chauvin chemical plant. A burning tanker contained a dark fluid. After Monroe firefighters controlled the fire, representatives from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality responded to the scene.
DEQ spokesman Rodney Mallett said Monday the incident remains under investigation.
Mallett said the site was once an ink processing plant. All containers had been removed from the building, which was later used as a storage area for paper. The containers that were removed were being cut into scrap metal on Saturday, but inside some of those containers, there was sludged ink, Mallett explained.
This past weekend, workers were cutting the tanks, scraping the sludge out and then cutting the rest of the tank for scrap, but the sludge material in some of the containers at the plant may have caught on fire, Mallett said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL PLANT CLEANUP COMPLETE; SUIT FILED
http://theadvocate.com/home/2421293-125/chemical-plant-cleanup-complete-suit
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
GONZALES Ñ Workers removed the last remaining chemicals Sunday from a damaged production unit that exploded and caught fire last week at Westlake Chemical Corp. in Ascension Parish, state environmental regulators said Monday.
Meanwhile, the first lawsuit has been filed alleging residents who live in communities near the plant were harmed by chemicals released during the fire.
The emergency at the 184-acre Geismar Vinyls Complex ended Sunday after a leaning production tower was stabilized by a crane that arrived Saturday and chemicals were removed the next day, a Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality official said.
---------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY INTO CHEMICAL SPILL NEAR LAKE DIXON
http://www.10news.com/news/30765867/detail.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, environmental, sodium_hydroxide
SAN DIEGO -- An investigation was under way in Escondido Tuesday to determine what caused about 15,000 gallons of lye to spill at a water-filtration complex near Lake Dixon and into a nearby canyon.
The hazardous material release at the plant north of El Norte Parkway was reported about 4 p.m. Monday, Escondido city spokeswoman Joyce Masterson said. The accident did not force any public evacuations but did necessitate a large-scale cleanup of the caustic chemical, she said.
Crews discovered sodium hydroxide, commonly known as lye, leaking out of two malfunctioning 15,000-gallon storage tanks, according to Masterson. About half the spill pooled in a safe containment area, but the rest coursed down a driveway and flowed into a nearby gorge.
Firefighters created a makeshift dike around the dirt area into which the chemical drained, and county hazardous materials personnel were working to determine how best to clean up the substance.
Sodium hydroxide is stored at the plant as a safety precaution, Masterson said. In case of a spill of chlorine, another caustic chemical used at the facility, lye can be combined with it, creating harmless table salt, she said.
---------------------------------------------
ENTERGY FINED $1.2 MILLION FOR PETROLEUM SPILL IN HUDSON RIVER
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2012/March/26/IP_fine-26Mar12.htm
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, radiation
BUCHANAN Ð Entergy, the company that owns the Indian Point nuclear power plants at Buchanan, will pay a $1.2 million civil penalty to the state based on a consent order with the Department of Environmental Conservation.
The fine stems from violations of the Clean Water Act, Chemical Bulk Storage Regulations and Navigation Laws, when a 2010 explosion and fire at the plant resulted in petroleum released into the Hudson River.
Entergy also agreed to upgrade its containment systems which protect the river from accidental spills and unpermitted releases.
In November 2010, the #21 main transformer failed and resulted in an explosion that breached the walls of the transformer causing a fire and release of petroleum used to cool the transformers into the Hudson River.
The DEC said its investigation revealed long-standing structural conditions prevented the containment moat from retaining the petroleum as designed. More than 10,000 gallons of oil were recovered from the transformer, the containment moat and areas outside the containment moat including the discharge canal, the Hudson River shoreline and the river.
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RESIDENTS ESCAPE BUILDING FIRE
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Residents-escape-building-fire/articleshow/12421735.cms
Tags: India, public, explosion, response, solvent
HYDERABAD: A two-storied residential complex was gutted on Monday in a major fire accident at a chemical storage unit in Jeedimetla's Subhash Nagar. Fifty cans of chemical solvents stored in the ground floor of the building caused an explosion.
The cause of fire is being investigated, but fire officers at the site said that the friction caused between the solvent and the containers could have set off the spark.
The incident occurred at around 7.30 am when most of the inhabitants on the first and second floors were asleep. The first few containers exploded to alert the inhabitants who made their escape by jumping onto the roof of an adjacent building. No injuries were reported although the building was found to have developed cracks. Fire officials said that the building might collapse any time due to this.
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2 MISSING AFTER CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION|SOCIETY|CHINADAILY.COM.CN
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-03/27/content_14924157.htm
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, ammonia
NANJING - An explosion early Tuesday at a chemical plant in a city on China's east coast has injured two people and left another two missing, according to local authorities.
The blast occurred in Lianyungang Taiyi Fine Chemical Factory in Donghai county in Lianyungang city, Jiangsu Province, a spokesperson for the county government said.
Firefighters are still searching for the missing in the plant, the spokesperson added.
The windows and doors of a school situated 700 meters away from the chemical facility were severely damaged, but no students were hurt as the explosion happened early morning, outside of school hours.
The school's classes have been suspended and will resume Tuesday afternoon.
The explosion caused the leakage of 250 kg of ammonia, which has been diluted with water and will not affect the environment, according to the spokesperson.
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