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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, April 23, 2012 7:31:37 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 (21 articles)
THEFT OF ANHYDROUS AMMONIA WANES WITH METH MAKERS' SHIFT TO ONE-POT METHOD
Tags: us_IN, public, follow-up, response, ammonia, meth_lab
HAZMAT CREWS EVACUATE U.VA. CHEMISTRY BUILDING TO INVESTIGATE NITROGEN TANKS
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, release, response, nitrogen
BOMB SQUAD CALLED OVER CHEMICAL CONCERN
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, explosives
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES HIGHWAY 41 NEAR FISH CAMP
Tags: us_CA, transportation, fire, response, sulphur
AUTHORITIES: NO TOXIC LEAKS, SPILLS FROM DRUMS AT NORTHVALE INDUSTRIAL BUILDING
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, discovery, response, toxics
FIRE DEPARTMENT HAZ-MAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHATTEM AFTER TRUCK CARRYING ACID OVERTURNS
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
1 KILLED, 11 INJURED IN CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION IN JAPAN
Tags: Japan, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
BED BUG SPRAYING SICKENS RESIDENTS AT APARTMENT BUILDING IN DETROIT
Tags: us_MI, public, release, injury, pesticides
TEENAGER BURNT IN BACKYARD SCIENCE TEST IN PASCOE VALE SOUTH
Tags: Australia, public, fire, injury, magnesium
SEVERAL TREATED IN HAZMAT SITUATION AT MEDICAL COLLEGE
Tags: us_GA, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical, waste
2 SENT TO HOSPITALS AFTER REPORT OF CHEMICAL ODOR AT NORTHWEST SIDE SCHOOL
Tags: us_IL, education, release, injury, pepper_spray
CREWS BATTLE GAS LEAK IN QUEENSBURY
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, injury, methane
MASSIVE TOXIC FIRE THREATENS WATER SUPPLY IN OHIO CITY
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, injury, oils, petroleum
INJURED MAN CITED AFTER BUTCHERTOWN EXPLOSION
Tags: us_KY, public, explosion, injury, drugs
ENQUIRER/USA TODAY INVESTIGATION: MANY LIVE WITH LEAD'S REMNANTS
Tags: us_OH, industrial, discovery, environmental, lead_dust
POLICE FIND METHAMPHETAMINE LAB IN EWU STUDENT'S CHENEY APARTMENT
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
SOME NEIGHBORHOODS DANGEROUSLY CONTAMINATED BY LEAD FALLOUT - USATODAY.COM
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, environmental, lead_dust
CLARK COUNTY FUEL STORAGE FACILITY BURNS
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
IDAHO FALLS PARKING LOT EVACUATED
Tags: us_ID, public, release, injury, gas_cylinders
NORTON GAS LINE LEAK CLOSES PART OF NORTH WORCESTER STREET
Tags: us_MA, public, release, environmental, other_chemical
CSB REPORT ON 2010 EXPLOSION
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
---------------------------------------------
THEFT OF ANHYDROUS AMMONIA WANES WITH METH MAKERS' SHIFT TO ONE-POT METHOD
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/apr/22/farming-with-anhydrous/
Tags: us_IN, public, follow-up, response, ammonia, meth_lab
Northern Vanderburgh County farmer Randy Kron nervously grinned while explaining his plan this year to grow crops on about 2,000 acres across Southwestern Indiana.
Kron said he took a gamble by starting the growing season early. This year's warmer temps and sunnier skies put him roughly a month ahead of schedule to plant corn. By Easter weekend, the majority of his crop was planted and the anhydrous ammonia applied.
Kron said hopefully his luck with temperatures will be the same as keeping the ammonia out of the hands of eager old-fashioned methamphetamine cooks.
Four years ago, the white cylindrical wagons he uses to apply the ammonia were a target for meth cooks. But this year, Kron said ,he's had more time to worry about the weather. Law enforcement and anhydrous co-op managers around the region said the same.
Today, more meth cooks continue to opt for the more portable one-pot method than risk stealing the ammonia from area farms. And with a new additive to help early planting tainting supplies, anhydrous thefts have been nonexistent. But like the weather, members of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force said it may be too early to determine the impact.
Over the past two years, the one-pot meth lab surpassed the larger and more confusing anhydrous version. Meth cooks now use a first-aid cold pack to create the ammonia they once stole. The new method brought the drug manufacture into urban areas such as Evansville, where there are more places to hide and supplies are available at most local drugstores.
"The one-pot method is more user-friendly, so more people tend to use it," said Brock Hensley, an Evansville Police Department detective assigned to the Drug Task Force. "But it may be too early to tell."
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS EVACUATE U.VA. CHEMISTRY BUILDING TO INVESTIGATE NITROGEN TANKS
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Hazmat_Crews_Evacuate_Chemistry_Building_to_Investigate_Nitrogen_Tanks_148455395.html
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, release, response, nitrogen
Charlottesville Fire and Hazmat crews responded to the Chemistry Building at the University of Virginia early Sunday evening to investigate Nitrogen tanks.
Fire officials say the Nitrogen tanks started to vent, which caused the valves to freeze. But they say there was never a leak and the tanks were just releasing air as they normally do.
U.Va police evacuated the build as a precaution. Students were allowed back in the building after the all-clear was given shortly after 6pm. There were no reported injuries.
---------------------------------------------
BOMB SQUAD CALLED OVER CHEMICAL CONCERN
http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hampden/bomb-squad-called-over-chemical-concern
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, explosives
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) - The State Police bomb squad and hazmat team were called to 125 Jarvis Avenue in Holyoke Sunday morning.
Lt. Thomas Paquin of the Holyoke Fire Department told 22News, Elizabeth Mish, the woman who lives in the home, found chemicals in her garage that belonged to her deceased husband.
She was concerned because the chemicals had been in there for many years.
When the bomb squad arrived they found a couple cases of blasting caps. They took those away to detonate them in a safe area.
The hazmat team found several different chemicals in the house as well.
One neighbor told 22News he was shocked to see so many police and fire trucks outside of his home.
"I just wanted to know if it was stable or not in case it was going to blow up or something. We don't really know about chemicals, it was a little scary, it was a little nerve-racking at first," said Bryan Borges-Vega who lives across the street.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES HIGHWAY 41 NEAR FISH CAMP
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/04/22/2810120/chemical-spill-fire-closes-hwy.html
Tags: us_CA, transportation, fire, response, sulphur
A chemical spill closed Highway 41 near Fish Camp on Sunday evening, and hazardous materials crews were headed to Yosemite National Park to clean it up, the California Highway Patrol said.
The spill occurred just before 5 p.m. when a tractor trailer started spilling 25-pound bags of powdered sulfur while driving toward Yosemite, CHP officer Doug Corbett said. In total, 600 bags of sulfur were spilled on the road.
The sulfur sparked a number of small fires on and next to the road, Corbett said.
All of the fires were extinguished, he said, but the highway remained closed Sunday night. Yosemite National Park also closed its Highway 41 gate, the CHP dispatch log said.
Corbett said that agencies involved in the cleanup hoped to have the roadway cleared of all of the sulfur before noon today.
---------------------------------------------
AUTHORITIES: NO TOXIC LEAKS, SPILLS FROM DRUMS AT NORTHVALE INDUSTRIAL BUILDING
http://www.northjersey.com/northvale/NORTHVALE0421.html
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, discovery, response, toxics
NORTHVALE - Authorities on Saturday found no leaks or spills from multiple drums at a Livingston Street industrial building that's been the site of a cleanup of toxic chemicals buried there a generation ago.
Police and firefighters responded to the TECT/Danzig property at 254 Livingston St. at about 10:45 a.m. on a call that doors had been left open in the building, said Northvale Fire Chief Ed Rejmaniak.
When firefighters checked the building, they discovered 55-gallon drums inside and contacted the hazardous-materials teams from Bergen County and New Milford as a precaution because they didn't know the contents of the drums, he said. The teams found no leaks, Rejmaniak said.
"They were worried about the safety of our residents," Northvale Mayor Paul Bazela said of the firefighters. "They took every precaution."
---------------------------------------------
FIRE DEPARTMENT HAZ-MAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHATTEM AFTER TRUCK CARRYING ACID OVERTURNS
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2012/4/21/224432/Fire-Department-Haz-Mat-Team-Responds.aspx
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
The Chattanooga Fire Department was called to 38th Street and St. Elmo Avenue at Chattem Chemical to an overturned truck at 12:40 p.m. Saturday. Upon arrival the Chattem Safety team members advised that the truck contained 5,000 gallons of Monochloroacetic acid, which is used to produce Glycine, a common food additive to human and pet foods.
The truck was apparently making a delivery and, while backing into the loading area, the truck jack-knifed and the Intermodal container slowly rolled over.
These-type containers are protected by an outer steel framework to safe-guard the contents.
The Chattanooga Fire Department Hazardous Materials team made entry to check for leaks. There was a small amount of the product that was leaking about a drop every 15-20 seconds from the upper manhole access. The storm drains were sealed to prevent possible contamination, and, as a result, none of the product made it to the drains.
---------------------------------------------
1 KILLED, 11 INJURED IN CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION IN JAPAN
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-04/22/c_131543253.htm
Tags: Japan, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
OSAKA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- One people was killed and 11 others were injured when an explosion rocked a chemical plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture in southwestern Japan early Sunday, local press reported.
The explosion occurred at around 2:00 a.m. local time at a plant belonging to leading Japanese company Mitsui Chemicals , killing a 22-year-old worker and injuring 11 other workers at the site.
Glasses of windows of some 100 houses near the plant were broken due to the explosion, the report said, adding that firefighters are still trying to extinguish the fire caused by the blast
---------------------------------------------
BED BUG SPRAYING SICKENS RESIDENTS AT APARTMENT BUILDING IN DETROIT
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/hazmat-situation-at-apartment-building-in-detroit
Tags: us_MI, public, release, injury, pesticides
DETROIT (WXYZ) - Emergency crews responded to the scene of a HAZMAT situation at an apartment building on Greenfield in Detroit.
EMS, Detroit Police, the fire department and HAZMAT crews were on the scene.
The building was being sprayed for bed bugs, but some of the residents did not leave the building.
Emergency crews could be seen hosing down individuals and taking residents away by ambulance.
Officials tell Action News eight to ten people were taken to area hospitals to be treated.
---------------------------------------------
TEENAGER BURNT IN BACKYARD SCIENCE TEST IN PASCOE VALE SOUTH
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/teenager-burnt-in-backyard-science-test-in-pascoe-vale-south/story-fn7x8me2-1226335062199
Tags: Australia, public, fire, injury, magnesium
A BACKYARD father and son chemical experiment has backfired, with the teenage boy left with serious burns to his hands.
The 14-year-old and his father were trying to recreate tests the boy had learnt in the school science laboratory in the garden of their Springhall Pde home in Pascoe Vale South.
But the chemicals exploded just before noon and the boy suffered full thickness burns to both hands.
The police, MFB and paramedics were called to the home, with the MFB's scientific officer called to advise on the handling and disposal of the volatile chemicals.
Magnesium, one of the main chemicals they had been playing with, reacts explosively with other agents and the intense fire it creates cannot be extinguished with water.
The boy was taken to the Royal Children's Hospital burns unit in a serious condition.
A police spokeswoman said it was not a criminal matter and police would not be investigating.
---------------------------------------------
SEVERAL TREATED IN HAZMAT SITUATION AT MEDICAL COLLEGE
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/several-treated-hazmat-situation-medical-college/nMdnq/
Tags: us_GA, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical, waste
MARIETTA, Ga. Ñ Several people were treated outside a Marietta medical school on Friday morning.
Hazat crews swarmed the Everest Institute after reports of people being exposed to Methacrylate Momoner, a surgical super glue. A building at the school was evacuated around lunchtime.
"This type of vial was broken in the classroom, and they disposed of it outside in the Dumpster. This is a surgical type of bonding that they use when they do surgery," Cobb County Fire Department spokeswoman Denell Boyd said.
Channel 2's Ross Cavitt was at the scene as patients were being decontaminated. Those who came into "sniffing range" of the chemical suffered symptoms including, nausea, vomiting and eye and ear irritation, officials said. Boyd said four of 13 patients had been decontaminated. At least 7 people were transported to Kennestone Hospital for non-life-threatening conditions.
---------------------------------------------
2 SENT TO HOSPITALS AFTER REPORT OF CHEMICAL ODOR AT NORTHWEST SIDE SCHOOL
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-firefighters-investigating-chemical-odor-at-northwest-side-school-20120420,0,5543273.story
Tags: us_IL, education, release, injury, pepper_spray
Two people were taken to hospitals after firefighters responded to reports of a chemical odor at the Luther Burbank Elementary School on the Northwest Side, officials said.
An EMS Plan 1 and a Level 1 Hazmat were called at the school in the 2000 block of North Mobile Avenue in the Galewood neighborhood, according to fire media information.
At least five ambulances were sent to the school as a precaution.
Initial reports said the odor may have been pepper spray from the exterior of the school that came in through ventilation, officials said.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, there was no apparent evidence of pepper spray in the interior of the school, but it was detected in a meter reading, officials said.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS BATTLE GAS LEAK IN QUEENSBURY
http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/top_stories/581164/crews-battle-gas-leak-in-queensbury/
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, injury, methane
QUEENSBURY, N.Y. -- Roads in Queensbury are back open after a natural gas leak Thursday afternoon. It started near one of the area's largest manufacturing plants.
About a half mile of Bay Road was closed for a little bit, but is now reopened.
Around noon, the Queensbury Central Fire Department responded to a leaking tank on an abandoned Bay Road property that sits next to CR Bard's medical device manufacturing plant.
The fire chief says the leak was caused by someone who didn't realize the tank was full and cut into it while trying to salvage scrap metal.
Because the break was in a line and not the valve, crews were unable to stop the leak.
While there were no forced evacuations, CR Bard, which employs a few hundred people and uses numerous chemicals, stopped production for the day.
It is unclear how much gas was in the tank.
---------------------------------------------
MASSIVE TOXIC FIRE THREATENS WATER SUPPLY IN OHIO CITY
http://www.firerescue1.com/disaster-management/articles/1274528-Massive-toxic-fire-threatens-water-supply-in-Ohio-city/
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, injury, oils, petroleum
PIKE TWP., Ohio Ñ A massive blaze at an oil company took firefighters six hours to get under control Thursday and will require an extensive environmental cleanup.
....
The fire started about 11 a.m. as R.D. Holder crews loaded a semi-tanker, said company owner Bob Holder.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but King believed it ignited while workers transferred a fluid from one tank to another. It was not immediately known what type of fluid was being transferred.
After about 45 minutes, firefighters ordered first responders and company employees back as the blaze spread. Transformers exploded and electric lines fell on the scene about 12:45 p.m., forcing firefighters back even more. And as the fire spread, the building began to collapse.
---------------------------------------------
INJURED MAN CITED AFTER BUTCHERTOWN EXPLOSION
http://www.wlky.com/news/local-news/louisville-news/Injured-man-cited-after-Butchertown-explosion/-/9718340/11176384/-/vlg6b2/-/
Tags: us_KY, public, explosion, injury, drugs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A 25-year-old man suffered burns after a house explosion in Louisville's Butchertown neighborhood.
According to the Louisville Fire Department, the injured man was responsible for the explosion.
Louisville firefighters found fire and haze on the upper floor and outside they discovered structural damage to the back of the building. Because of the volatile chemicals involved in meth production, firefighters initially backed out of the building, which houses four apartment units.
"We started treating it as a meth lab situation," said Louisville Fire Department Capt. Salvador Melendez.
After further investigating, they discovered it wasn't a meth lab, but was instead a marijuana-drying operation. Officials said more than a pound of marijuana was discovered.
---------------------------------------------
ENQUIRER/USA TODAY INVESTIGATION: MANY LIVE WITH LEAD'S REMNANTS
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120419/NEWS/304190176
Tags: us_OH, industrial, discovery, environmental, lead_dust
NEWPORT Ñ A blockish two-story brick building next to a row of homes along West 12th Street does little to call attention to itself. Nearly all of the windows are covered with plywood, painted gray to match the brick.
A sign is tacked above a boarded-up doorway: L&H Tool & Die Co.
In 1910, however, it was the Newport Foundry Co., historical fire insurance maps show. From at least 1949 to 1954, industry directories show the site was home to Certified Metals Manufacturing Co., which made babbitt (or bearings) and solder, mixed metals that often contained lead.
Soil tests in nearby residential yards showed lead levels that could be hazardous to children, with some reading over six times the action level for residential areas.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE FIND METHAMPHETAMINE LAB IN EWU STUDENT'S CHENEY APARTMENT
http://cheneyfreepress.com/police-find-methamphetamine-lab-in-ewu-students-cheney-apartment-p10531-1.htm
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
A meth lab found in a Cheney apartment last week has led to an Eastern Washington University student's arrest and a multi-agency investigation.
Patrick M. Janicke, 22, was arrested April 11 for malicious mischief, manufacturing meth and using a building for drug purposes. Janicke was reported to police by his roommate for slashing tires in their apartment complex's parking lot; the roommate claimed he was not aware that Janicke, an EWU science major, was cooking meth, instead assuming he was doing chemistry homework.
Police discovered the meth lab in Janicke's apartment on the 2700 block of Al Ogdon Way after arresting him for slashing tires.
Cheney Police Cmdr. Rick Campbell said the incident began late on the evening of April 10, when Janicke left something in the apartment's kitchen that caught fire. Janicke's roommate put out the fire and threw out the substance, which angered Janicke and spurred an argument. He then went outside and began slashing tires.
---------------------------------------------
SOME NEIGHBORHOODS DANGEROUSLY CONTAMINATED BY LEAD FALLOUT - USATODAY.COM
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-20/smelting-lead-contamination-soil-testing/54420418/1
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, environmental, lead_dust
Kathleen Marshall used to think the fenced backyard of her Philadelphia home was a safe place for her five children to play. Not anymore.
Marshall was horrified to learn that a long-forgotten factory once melted lead just across the street and that soil tests by USA TODAY indicate her yard is contaminated with hazardous levels of the toxic metal.
"You're living here and you have no idea of what's really in your ground, what's in your backyard," Marshall says now. "It's just kind of scary to think that you're sending your kids out to play in an area that's hazardous."
Hundreds of soil tests by USA TODAY in neighborhoods near former lead factories show numerous areas where the dirt is so contaminated that children should not be playing in it.
---------------------------------------------
CLARK COUNTY FUEL STORAGE FACILITY BURNS
http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wsyx_vid_17068.shtml
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
CLARK COUNTY -- HAZMAT crews are cleaning up after a major fire at a fuel storage facility in Pike Township.
Investigators say the fire started with an explosion during a fuel transfer from a truck. The cause of that explosion is not yet known.
Some nearby houses were evacuated while fire fighters battled the flames, and other residents were advised to remain in their homes because of heavy smoke. All restrictions were lifted by Thursday evening.
---------------------------------------------
IDAHO FALLS PARKING LOT EVACUATED
http://www.localnews8.com/news/30924875/detail.html
Tags: us_ID, public, release, injury, gas_cylinders
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- Hazmat, police and fire crews have evacuated the parking lot of the old Fred Meyer where INL buses park on North Yellowstone in Idaho Falls.
Idaho Falls Fire/EMS Division Chief Dave Coffey said that a cylinder full of boron trifluoride broke, causing the gas to leak.
The gas is hazardous, but does not pose a danger to the public.
Crews took advantage of the windy weather, which allowed them to let the gas leak out and dissipate in a controlled manner.
"There's no danger to the public," Coffey said. "We want to make sure that everyone's aware of that. And this was non-radiological, just a hazardous material -- a hazardous gas, actually -- that has been mitigated at this time."
Two West One Logistics employees, who contract with the INL and manage the evacuated property, were exposed to the boron trifluoride. They were both evaluated at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and have since been released.
---------------------------------------------
NORTON GAS LINE LEAK CLOSES PART OF NORTH WORCESTER STREET
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2012/04/19/news_update/11364680.txt
Tags: us_MA, public, release, environmental, other_chemical
NORTON - A portion of North Worcester Street was closed for about 3 1/2 hours today after water department employees discovered an old abandoned gas line leaking fluid containing a low-level of PCBs, officials said.
Water department workers tried to contained the fluid in a pail and contacted fire officials immediately after the incident around 11:30 a.m.
Less than five gallons of fluid leaked from the line, Joe Ferson, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection said.
"We're talking about low levels and subsurface, at this point," Ferson said when asked about the potential dangers.
---------------------------------------------
CSB REPORT ON 2010 EXPLOSION
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/Dupont-Pkg-Jaclyn-Noon-148103695.html
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
Buffalo, N.Y. (WKBW) - It was an explosion that could be heard for miles. An empty tank was being repaired at the DuPont facility in November of 2010 when it blew up, killing Rich Folaron, 57, of South Whales.
Now, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has answers as to why this tragedy happened.
"The accident occurred while a contract worker was welding a tank that unknown to him contained flammable gas," Chemical Safety Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso said.
The explosion occurred because there was a hole in the pipes leading from one tank to another. CSB explained how this happened in a computerized video they prepared. WKBW did not use some of the video because of its graphic nature.
"A whole around the agitators shaft was a path for ignition. Sparks could have fallen into the tank even as flammable gas drifted toward the sparks," explains the CSB video.
---------------------------------------------
Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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