From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (10 articles)
Date: May 11, 2012 9:19:59 AM EDT
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <B01E8343-4CEE-4872-82D8-4464C2601957**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, May 11, 2012 8:03:23 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 (10 articles)

STUDENTS' FACES BURNED
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

PHENOL SPILL AT CANADIAN HOSPITAL
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, phenol

CREWS DOUSE CHEMICAL-CAUSED SEMI FIRE IN SLC
Tags: us_UT, transportation, fire, response, acids

ROADS REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN DOWNERS GROVE
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, bleach

AMMONIA LEAK AT LEBANON FOOD DISTRIBUTOR PROMPTS EVACUATION
Tags: us_TN, public, release, response, ammonia

ACID SPILL FORCES EVACUATION IN ST. JEAN SUR RICHELIEU
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, cyanide

HAZMAT CREW CALLED TO WESTLAKE CHEMICAL AFTER POWER OUTAGE
Tags: us_LA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

MAKESHIFT GOLD PROCESSING TRIGGERS MENLO PARK HAZMAT SCARE
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, chromic_acid, sulfuric_acid

DEADLY INFECTION CLAIMS SAN FRANCISCO VA LAB WORKER
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, death, other_chemical

HERALD PALLADIUM > LOCAL NEWS > POLICE: METH BLAST TO BLAME FOR MAN'S SEVERE INJURIES
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab


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STUDENTS' FACES BURNED
http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/local/news/general/students-faces-burned/2552458.aspx
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

INVESTIGATIONS have begun into what went wrong during a science experiment that left two Tumbarumba High School students with facial burns yesterday.
A boy and girl, both 15, suffered superficial burns after an explosion involving a Bunsen burner about 9.30am.

The pair were in a stable condition at Wagga Base Hospital last night.

NSW Education Department spokesman Grant Hatch said the explosion happened during a year 9, period one class.

The students were undertaking a practical science lesson supervised by an experienced teacher, he said.

A crucible being heated on a Bunsen burner by a group of three students exploded, injuring two students.

The teacher and other staff immediately applied first aid until paramedics arrived.

The Southcare helicopter was called but was not needed.

Mr Hatch said instructions for the experiment were provided on the board and in a textbook.

Measured chemicals were provided to each group by the teacher.

Mr Hatch did not know what chemicals were involved.

The school was continuing investigations into the cause. Police were also on the scene.

"Inquiries are continuing but unless there's some kind of criminal activity the investigation will be handed to WorkCover," Albury Insp John Wadsworth said.

A fire investigator and WorkCover inspector were at the school yesterday afternoon conducting a preliminary investigation into the explosion.

Mr Hatch said students and teachers would be provided counselling.

He said the school was not severely damaged by the explosion but that the lab had been shut to allow for a clean-up.

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PHENOL SPILL AT CANADIAN HOSPITAL
http://www.am1150.ca/News/Local/Story.aspx?ID=1702069
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, phenol

A chemical spill at KGH Thursday afternoon.

Hazmat crews were called to the scene shortly after 1pm after a small bottle of Phenol was spilled in a room in the ambulatory care treatment centre.

Health Service Director, Andrew Hughes says patient care continued, the waiting room remained opened and only one room was isolated.

"Part of the protocol is, when it first spilled, it wasn't know what the substance was. So, we just decided to take the necessary precautions and hence, you get the response."

The chemical is used for inner ear treatment.

Kelowna News Send to a friend

Sha

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CREWS DOUSE CHEMICAL-CAUSED SEMI FIRE IN SLC
http://slcwest.fox13now.com/news/news/72991-crews-douse-chemical-caused-semi-fire-slc
Tags: us_UT, transportation, fire, response, acids

A semi trailer burst into flames on the lot of a shipping service center in Salt Lake City on Thursday morning.

Firefighters say that when they arrived on scene of the fire, located near 1900 South Industrial Road (1900 West), at around 10 a.m., the semi was fully engulfed in flames.

Investigators say there was an acid spill during the truck's previous run and the chemicals used to clean the spill combined, causing heat that ignited the fire. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze and no one was injured.

"The chemicals combined, produced a lot of heat and when the new load was put on, there's a spontaneous combustion that produced a fire," said Jason Asay, Salt Lake City Fire Dept.

A hazmat team was called in to clean up possible hazardous substances, but the cargo only contained packages of batteries and baby food.

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ROADS REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN DOWNERS GROVE
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/roselle/newsnow/x1809315911/Roads-reopened-after-chemical-spill-in-Downers-Grove
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, bleach

Downers Grove, IL Ñ

Downers Grove fire officials said roads have been reopened following a chemical spill at the Flavorchem Corp., 1525 Brook Drive, Downers Grove, located just north of the Finley Square Mall shopping center.

HAZMAT units were called out after a 55-gallon drum of bleach ruptured, fire officials said.

Flavorchem creates and manufactures solutions for food and beverage applications, including flavor and color development, formulations for nutritional and functional purposes, and works with masking and sweetener technologies.

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AMMONIA LEAK AT LEBANON FOOD DISTRIBUTOR PROMPTS EVACUATION
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120510/NEWS01/305100031/Ammonia-leak-Lebanon-food-distributor-prompts-evacuation
Tags: us_TN, public, release, response, ammonia

An ammonia leak at a food distributor in Lebanon early Thursday morning required about 30 night shift employees to be evacuated for several hours.

Crews responded to the leak at Performance Food Group distribution center on Maddox Simpson Parkway around 2:45 a.m., Wilson County Emergency Management Agency director John Jewell said.

The leak didn't elevate to dangerous levels, Jewell said. Crews turned off a series of valves to isolate the leak's location and employees were allowed to return around 6 a.m.

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ACID SPILL FORCES EVACUATION IN ST. JEAN SUR RICHELIEU
http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120509/mtl_hazmat_120509/20120509/?hub=MontrealHome
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, cyanide

A toxic leak forced the evacuation of a factory in St. Jean sur Richelieu Tuesday night.

The workplace accident happened at the Thomas & Betts company at 100 Longtin St. around 11:30 p.m.

Alarms went off as soon as the hydrogen cyanide was released, and 100 people inside the building went outside without any injuries.

A Hazardous Materials crew was quick to ventilate the building, and make sure no pockets of the gas remained.

Hydrogen cyanide is normally a liquid, but boils at slightly above room temperature. It is commonly used in electroplating.

By 5 a.m. the hazmat team had given the all clear and people were allowed to return inside.

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HAZMAT CREW CALLED TO WESTLAKE CHEMICAL AFTER POWER OUTAGE
http://www.wafb.com/story/18246388/hazmat-crew-called-to-westlake-chemical-after-power-outage
Tags: us_LA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

GEISMAR, LA (WAFB) -
A hazardous materials team has been called out to Westlake Vinyl in Ascension Parish after a power outage and chemical release Wednesday.

According to officials at Westlake, the power failure around 4 p.m. resulted in a release of a substance. The substance and the amount that was released is not known at this time. That is why the hazardous materials team was called.

There were no serious injuries reported, however, three contractors were taken to the hospital as a precaution and released.

This is the second time since March the hazardous materials team has been called to Westlake Vinyl. In March, an explosion and fire lead to a chemical release. The plant had just reopened Wednesday following repairs. The Department of Environmental Quality said there was no threat to people in the area following that incident.

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MAKESHIFT GOLD PROCESSING TRIGGERS MENLO PARK HAZMAT SCARE
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/makeshift-chemical-procedure-triggers-menlo-park-h/nNzcS/
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, chromic_acid, sulfuric_acid

MENLO PARK, Calif. Ñ Firefighters investigating the source of a strong odor in downtown Menlo Park early Wednesday discovered a man was using a dangerous chemical to refine gold in the back of a pickup truck. San Mateo Fire Department spokesman Brian Molver said the incident began when a patrolling deputy saw a trunk ajar on a car parked on Edison Way.
"When he investigated that he got a whiff of a chemical smell that was coming from across the street from the back of a pickup truck," Molver said. "The deputy was exposed to this fume and called in fire to investigate."
Arriving firefighters noticed that something was going on in the back of the truck and called in a hazmat team.
"The person was refining gold in the back of the truck using electric heating units and the gold was in the beakers," Molver said. "He was using chromatic acid and the county environmental health officer is following up with sheriff's deputies and the fire department." Chromatic acid is a mixture made by adding concentrated sulfuric acid to a dichromate, which may contain a variety of compounds, including solid chromium trioxide. It is used to brighten the metal but is considered carcinogenic.
It is rarely used industrially because of health and environmental concerns.

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DEADLY INFECTION CLAIMS SAN FRANCISCO VA LAB WORKER
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20535129/deadly-infection-claims-san-francisco-va-lab-worker
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, death, other_chemical

State and federal health officials are investigating how a rare and virulent bacteria strain appears to have killed a young researcher at a VA hospital's infectious diseases lab in San Francisco, setting off alarms that the man's friends and fellow researchers may have also been exposed.
The 25-year-old laboratory researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center died Saturday morning shortly after asking friends to take him to the hospital. For the week and months before his death, he had been handling a bacteria linked to deadly bloodstream infections at the VA hospital's Northern California Institute for Research and Education, said Peter Melton, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The man, whose name has not been released, was working with fellow researchers to develop a vaccine for a bacterial strain that causes septicemia and meningitis. Hours after he left work, however, the germ that he was studying took his own life.
"He left the lab around 5 p.m." Friday, said Harry Lampiris, chief of the VA hospital's infectious diseases division. "He had no symptoms at all."
Two hours later, however, the Treasure Island resident reported to his girlfriend he was feeling sick with a headache, fever and chills, Lampiris said. Not until Saturday morning did the symptoms grow worse with a body rash. He asked friends to take him to the hospital but fell unconscious in the car and had no
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HERALD PALLADIUM > LOCAL NEWS > POLICE: METH BLAST TO BLAME FOR MAN'S SEVERE INJURIES
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2012/05/08/local_news/9867357.txt
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab

GOBLES - A rural Gobles man is lucky to be alive after his suspected meth lab exploded Sunday, burning him severely, Van Buren County Sheriff's officers said.

The man, 52, is in stable condition in a medically induced coma at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo following the 5:23 a.m. meth fire, Sgt. Dan Abbott said.

Police did not identify the man because no arrest warrant has yet been issued.

But a neighbor identified him as John "Johnny" Uminn.

His mother drove him to Bronson after the fire and explosion in the garage at 27242 12th Ave. in Pine Grove Township, and Uminn told hospital staff what had happened.

Police said they then obtained a search warrant and found the suspected meth lab and lab components in the garage. Uminn's mother told police her son was so badly burned that skin was falling off his hands, and police found some of his fingernails in the garage.

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Ralph Stuart, CIH
rstuartcih**At_Symbol_Here**me.com


Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society

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