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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, June 8, 2012 7:50:05 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 (22 articles)
WALMART EVACUATED AFTER METH LAB FOUND ON SHOPLIFTER
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
HAZMAT CREWS CLEAN UP TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILL IN SHUTTLE HANGAR
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, hydrazine
EMPLOYEE OK AFTER HAZMAT CREWS FORCED TO AIR PRODUCTS
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILLS AT WASTE COLLECTION
Tags: us_MN, public, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid, waste
CONTROLLED EXPLOSION CARRIED OUT ON UNSTABLE CHEMICAL AT CORK SCHOOL • THEJOURNAL.IE
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, dinitrophenylhydrazine, time-sensitive
UNSTABLE CHEMICALS MADE SAFE IN TIPPERARY
Tags: Ireland, public, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive
WHS PROMISES TO ISSUE REPORT ON CHEMICAL INCIDENT
Tags: us_RI, education, follow-up, injury, formaldehyde
FUMIGATION GOES AWRY, CITY OFFICES EVACUATED
Tags: us_AR, public, release, response, ag_chems
FIRE HITS HAYDEN INDUSTRY
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, oxygen, waste
MAN FOUND DEAD IN CAR FILLED WITH HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS
Tags: us_TX, public, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide, suicide
HASH HOUSE HARRIERS, LOCAL RUNNING CLUB, CREATES HAZMAT SCARE IN THE RICHMOND DISTRICT
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, dust
COSTCO SETTLES HAZMAT LAWSUIT FOR $3.6 MILLION
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, waste
CHEMICAL SPILL IN LYNDHURST EFFECTS SEVERAL NEARBY RESIDENCES
Tags: us_NJ, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical, dust
MASSACHUSETTS MAN CATCHES FIRE AFTER APPLYING SUNSCREEN
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, injury, flammables
CHEMICAL OUTBREAK AT LAFAYETTE APARTMENTS SENDS MAINTENANCE WORKER TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_IN, public, release, injury, chlorine
TOXIC WASTE: VOLUNTARY REPORTING NOT WORKING
Tags: Thailand, industrial, follow-up, environmental
IDALMIS DE ARMAS SET HUSBAND ON FIRE WITH NAIL POLISH REMOVER IN TAMPA, COPS SAY
Tags: us_FL, public, fire, injury, acetone
US JURY AWARDS CONAGRA GRAIN ELEVATOR EXPLOSION VICTIMS $181MILLION
Tags: us_NE, industrial, follow-up, injury, dust
SOUTHFIELD L.A. FITNESS TO REOPEN AFTER CHLORINE SPILL
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, chlorine
73 TREATED FOR CARBON MONOXIDE IN SCOTTSDALE
Tags: us_AZ, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
UW BUILDING EMPTIED AFTER AMMONIA LEAK
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, release, response, ammonia
BROMINE LEAK AT LISLE CORPORATE OFFICES DEEMED NONTOXIC
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, bromine
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WALMART EVACUATED AFTER METH LAB FOUND ON SHOPLIFTER
http://kplr11.com/2012/06/07/walmart-evacuated-after-meth-lab-found-on-shoplifter/
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
ST. LOUIS, MO (KPLR)- Hundreds of people were evacuated after a mobile meth lab was found at the Walmart on Telegraph in South County.
Police confirm that sometime around 6:30 p.m. Thursday a shoplifter was picked up inside the store. That shoplifter was carrying something unusual, something that can best be described as a portable meth lab.
Of course the chemicals involved in making meth are highly toxic and explosive. Reason enough to clear hundreds from the store.
Customers were told there's a threat and that the store needed to be evacuated. Employees are turning cars around in the parking lot.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS CLEAN UP TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILL IN SHUTTLE HANGAR
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/hazmat-crews-clean-toxic-chemical-spill-shuttle-ha/nPN36/
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, hydrazine
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. Ñ Hazmat crews cleaned up a dangerous chemical that leaked out of a pipe inside a shuttle hangar on Wednesday.
NASA officials said the rocket fuel known as hydrazine is one of the most toxic that crews have had to contend with.
Experts said short-term exposure can lead to seizures, and even put people in comas.
NASA said it is a chemical that it does not want to leave behind as it prepares the shuttles for display in the museums.
---------------------------------------------
EMPLOYEE OK AFTER HAZMAT CREWS FORCED TO AIR PRODUCTS
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/Employee-OK-after-hazmat-crews-forced-to-Air-Products/-/132502/14733380/-/7arievz/-/index.html
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -
Officials now say an incident that forced fire and hazmat crews to Air Products in Allentown wasn't as serious as first though.
Fire crews were originally dispatched to the company, located on Hamilton Blvd., for an unknown incident. Hazmat crews followed after one employee had to be transported to the hospital after becoming sick. The building was also evacuated.
The employee, who was in a research and design business, was exposed to a small amount of a spilled chemical, officials say.
The employee was evaluated and released and the building has reopened.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILLS AT WASTE COLLECTION
http://unioneagle.com/2012/06/chemical-spills-at-waste-collection/
Tags: us_MN, public, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid, waste
Local firefighters, police officers, deputies and hazardous waste decontamination crews were put to work last Thursday, May 30 cleaning up a hydrochloric acid spill at the county's hazardous waste collection event at the Milaca City Garage.
Milaca Fire Chief Greg Weller said at 6:15 p.m. the chemicals were brought to the site in five 30-gallon drums in the back of a pick-up truck, and some of it was stored in 2-liter plastic soda bottles. Rural Milaca resident Larry Zalesky was driving the truck.
"What I was told when I arrived on the scene was the stuff was being unloaded and he got some of it on his clothes, which started to disintegrate immediately," Weller said.
The fire chief said the man's skin was also exposed to the chemicals, but he refused medical treatment.
More than 2,000 gallons of water were used to decontaminate the truck until Ph results were cleared by the hazardous materials clean up crew from WCEC of Minneapolis.
---------------------------------------------
CONTROLLED EXPLOSION CARRIED OUT ON UNSTABLE CHEMICAL AT CORK SCHOOL • THEJOURNAL.IE
http://www.thejournal.ie/controlled-explosion-carried-out-on-unstable-chemical-at-cork-school-478585-Jun2012/
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, dinitrophenylhydrazine, time-sensitive
AN UNSTABLE CHEMICAL was made safe at a secondary school in Cork City this evening by members of the Defence Forces.
An Army Bomb Disposal Team made safe a quantity of an unstable chemical known as Dinitrophenylhydrazine at a secondary school in Farranree in Cork City just before 8pm this evening.
The unstable chemical had been found during a routine audit of chemicals in the school laboratory with the Defence Forces called to the scene.
---------------------------------------------
UNSTABLE CHEMICALS MADE SAFE IN TIPPERARY
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/unstable-chemicals-made-safe-in-tipperary-554505.html
Tags: Ireland, public, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive
The army made safe a quantity of unstable picric acid at a chemist in Tipperary today.
Shortly before midday, an Army Bomb Disposal Team was deployed to the scene at Main Square, Thurles, where the unstable chemical had been found during a routine audit of chemicals.
It was removed to waste ground by the team and a controlled explosion was carried out in order to make the chemical safe.
---------------------------------------------
WHS PROMISES TO ISSUE REPORT ON CHEMICAL INCIDENT
http://www.thewesterlysun.com/news/whs-promises-to-issue-report-on-chemical-incident/article_fc27800a-b0a4-11e1-8e1c-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_RI, education, follow-up, injury, formaldehyde
WESTERLY Ñ Westerly High School principal Steven Ruscito expects to have a report prepared by the end of next week about the handling of Friday's evacuation, which was prompted by chemical fumes that sickened 18 students and one adult.
The incident was discussed briefly during the School Committee meeting on Wednesday. Committee Chairman David Patten asked for an update on the incident, and Superintendent Roy Seitsinger Jr. said that a previously announced "after action review" coordinated by Ruscito had begun. Once all the information has been compiled, a report will be sent to the committee, he said.
Seitsinger praised everyone involved for their conduct during the incident.
"Students, the emergency personnel, the staff and administration did an excellent job. There were no issues in any of the filings in or out Ñ no incidences at all," he said.
---------------------------------------------
FUMIGATION GOES AWRY, CITY OFFICES EVACUATED
http://www.wmctv.com/story/18721172/fumigation-goes-awry-city-offices-evacuated
Tags: us_AR, public, release, response, ag_chems
TYRONZA, AR -
(WMC-TV) - The fumigation of a grain bin went awry Wednesday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of two buildings in Tyronza, Arkansas.
According to our sister station, KAIT, the company fumigating the grain bin did not seal off the area.
The strong scent made its way throughout downtown Tyronza. As a precaution, emergency personnel evacuated city hall and the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum.
The West Memphis Hazmat team is in on the scene taking air quality samples to figure out whether the smell drifting through town is dangerous.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE HITS HAYDEN INDUSTRY
http://plaindealer-sun.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=40&ArticleID 956&TM=76906.63
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, oxygen, waste
Fire destroyed the main building Tuesday evening at Franklin Surplus, a recycling firm located at 305 S. CR 750W at U.S. 50 in Hayden.
"We got to the scene two minutes after being dispatched," said Steve Wheeler, chief of the Spencer Township Fire Department. "But it was still too late to save the building."
The fire started in a wood pile next to the building.
"The people there told me a worker was using a cutting torch to cut heads off bolts from 20-foot-long aluminum channels that had 2-by-2(-inch) boards inside," Wheeler said. "Apparently, they were piling that wood next to the building and didn't keep it sprayed down (with water) enough. Some of the wood ignited, then it spread to the wooden frame of the building's main door."
From there the blaze spread throughout the pole barn-like structure, igniting several oxygen tanks inside that further fueled the fire, according to Wheeler.
"It got pretty hot, especially when those oxygen tanks exploded," he said. "The building went real quick after that. There was residual oil that added to the fire's intensity."
---------------------------------------------
MAN FOUND DEAD IN CAR FILLED WITH HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS
http://www.kvue.com/news/Central-Texas-man-found-dead-in-car-filled-with-Hydrogen-Sulfide-gas-157654155.html
Tags: us_TX, public, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide, suicide
ound Rock, TX--Round Rock police are investigating one death from an extremely poisonous gas, and they say there could have been more. All remnants of Hydrogen Sulfide -- a dangerous and potentially lethal gas -- were washed off the protective gear of HAZMAT crews. They were called out just after 10 a.m. Wednesday to Old Settlers Boulevard near Mays in Round Rock because of a man sitting inside his vehicle with a note on the window warning about a deadly gas. Investigators say the car had been parked there all night. The victim was a young, white male.
"I can't say that it was suicide," said Officer Dee Carver, with the Round Rock Police Department. "That hasn't been confirmed. It's still under investigation."
Death from Hydrogen Sulfide is not uncommon. The gas occurs naturally in confined spaces such as sewer lines. But Palmer Buck -- the Special Operations Chief responsible for Hazardous Materials for the Austin Fire Department -- says in the last few years the gas has become another option for those wishing to commit suicide.
---------------------------------------------
HASH HOUSE HARRIERS, LOCAL RUNNING CLUB, CREATES HAZMAT SCARE IN THE RICHMOND DISTRICT
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/06/hash_house_harriers_local_runn.php
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, dust
There's plenty of people out there who say runners are crazy people -- and yeah, they will run barefoot in the snow with no shirt on just to get that runner's high, but it's not like they are Osama bin Laden-crazy.
However, yesterday a Richmond neighbor became suspicious of a running man after seeing him run up Balboa Street from Ocean Beach, dropping small piles of white powder at telephone poles, traffic signs, and intersections. That was enough reason for this neighbor to call police.
According to richmondsfblog.com, firefighters came out to the scene after they, too, spotted similar piles of white dust along utility poles alone Geary Boulevard. A Hazmat team was called out to test the powder, which turned out to be nothing more than some flour.
So why did this running man leave traces of the cooking ingredient all over the neighborhood, you ask?
Turns out, the Hash House Harriers, a local running club, was using the flour to mark their course for a running event on June 4 in the Outer Richmond.
---------------------------------------------
COSTCO SETTLES HAZMAT LAWSUIT FOR $3.6 MILLION
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/04/BAME1OSHED.DTL
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, waste
Costco has agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 29 district attorneys accusing the big-box retailer of failing to properly store and dispose of hazardous materials at dozens of its outlets in California.
Over a five-year period, Costco employees didn't label or sort hazardous materials that had sat unsold on shelves or that customers had returned, such as oven cleaner, bleach, pool chlorine, nicotine patches and batteries, according to the lawsuit.
Some materials were thrown out in the trash while others were left in stores indefinitely. State law requires that all hazardous materials be properly disposed of within 90 days.
Several of the stores where disposal was a problem were in the Bay Area, prosecutors said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL IN LYNDHURST EFFECTS SEVERAL NEARBY RESIDENCES
http://www.northjersey.com/news/157691185_No_adverse_effects_from_white_powder-like_spill.html
Tags: us_NJ, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical, dust
The Lyndhurst police and fire departments were working closely with a Schuyler Avenue company after about 150 to 200 gallons of a white, crystalline powder called adipic acid, described as a mild skin irritant, was accidentally released near a residential area two weeks ago.
Some Lyndhurst residents woke up to fine powder covering their lawn and streets after a pipe at Polyurethane Specialties failed, releasing a total of about three to four 50-gallon drums of adipic acid.
On Sunday, May 20, a gasket coupling on a pipe leading from a silo to some processing equipment at Polyurethane Specialties failed, releasing a total of about three to four 50-gallon drums of adipic acid, according to Lyndhurst Police Chief James O'Connor.
"The vast majority was contained on the rooftop of Polyurethane Specialties," said O'Connor. "There was some that affected the neighboring dwellings and residences."
---------------------------------------------
MASSACHUSETTS MAN CATCHES FIRE AFTER APPLYING SUNSCREEN
http://gma.yahoo.com/massachusetts-man-catches-fire-applying-sunscreen-045433703--abc-news-topstories.html
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, injury, flammables
A Massachusetts man said he suffered second-degree burns from a grill after applying sunscreen aerosol spray on parts of his body.
Brett Sigworth said he applied Banana Boat sunscreen to his body before walking over to his grill, not knowing it would still be flammable after it was on his skin.
"I went into complete panic mode and screamed," Sigworth said. "I've never experienced pain like that in my life."
The result was second-degree burns to his chest, ear and back, the only areas where he applied the sunscreen. Ten days after the incident, Sigworth is still showing the effects of the incident.
The warnings on the bottle of Banana Boat sunscreen read, "Flammable, don't use near heat, flame or while burning." But nothing about once it's applied.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL OUTBREAK AT LAFAYETTE APARTMENTS SENDS MAINTENANCE WORKER TO HOSPITAL
http://www.jconline.com/article/20120606/NEWS/306060005/Worker-taken-hospital-after-chemical-outbreak-Village-Square-Apartments?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE&nclick_check=1
Tags: us_IN, public, release, injury, chlorine
A chemical outbreak sent a maintenance worker to a local hospital after the Lafayette Fire Department arrived at Village Square Apartments in Lafayette around 7:45 a.m. this morning.
As two maintenance workers were preparing to add chlorine to the apartment pool, the chlorinator cap came off due to a valve being open, according to a Battalion Chief Richard DeHahn of the Lafayette Fire Department.
The open valve resulted in the chlorinator getting over pressurized, which caused toxic chlorine gas to be released, DeHahn said.
DeHahn said one of the maintenance workers was transported to a local hospital after "probably breathing in" the gas.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC WASTE: VOLUNTARY REPORTING NOT WORKING
http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/296862/toxic-waste-voluntary-reporting-not-working
Tags: Thailand, industrial, follow-up, environmental
Manufacturers should have to report to authorities whenever they use hazardous chemicals during their production or cleaning processes, says the Pollution Control Department.
Manufacturers in Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong province have been asked to submit a Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) report for almost a year.
However, complying is still on a voluntary basis, Sunee Piyapanpong, Pollution Control Department deputy director general, said.
She said that not only should this become a mandatory requirement at Map Ta Phut, but it should be extended to all plants countrywide.
"We are going to push for a ministerial regulation requiring all plants to report [their use of hazardous chemicals]," Ms Sunee said.
---------------------------------------------
IDALMIS DE ARMAS SET HUSBAND ON FIRE WITH NAIL POLISH REMOVER IN TAMPA, COPS SAY
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/idalmis-de-armas-sets-husband-fire-tampa_n_1573937.html
Tags: us_FL, public, fire, injury, acetone
The chemical acetone has many time-tested handy properties. It's commonly used as nail polish remover. It forms the backbone of many household cleaning agents. It's even a paint thinner.
One woman in Tampa, however, reportedly used the organic compound in a more destructive manner -- to set fire her husband on fire.
Around 11 p.m. Saturday night, Idalmis De Armas, 40, allegedly poured the liquid chemical on her husband's upper arm and shorts. She then set the substance -- and her hapless spouse -- aflame with a cigarette lighter.
---------------------------------------------
US JURY AWARDS CONAGRA GRAIN ELEVATOR EXPLOSION VICTIMS $181MILLION
http://www.hazardexonthenet.net/article/50889/US-jury-awards-Conagra-grain-elevator-explosion-victims--181million.aspx?AreaID=2
Tags: us_NE, industrial, follow-up, injury, dust
Three men who were badly burned inside a ConAgra Foods grain elevator have been awarded $181 million by a federal jury in Illinois. John Jentz, Robert Schmidt and Justin Becker were, according to the lawsuit, removing equipment from a concrete grain bin at ConAgra's flour-milling site in the Mississippi River city of Chester on April 27, 2010, when the bin exploded into flames.
After 10 hours of deliberations, the jury decided the three should split evenly $100 million in punitive damages. The jury also decided Jentz should receive another $41.5 million in compensatory damages, with $34 million going to Becker and $2.9 to Schmidt. Jentz was awarded another $1 million from Westside Salvage Inc., ConAgra's co-defendant.
During the trial, their attorneys argued that not only had the bin not been properly cleaned in nearly two decades, but that for weeks the company had been warned that the bin could explode at any moment -- warnings it did not act upon or even share with the three victims and other workers.
Nebraska-based ConAgra, one of the largest food companies in the US, has vowed to appeal the outcome.
---------------------------------------------
SOUTHFIELD L.A. FITNESS TO REOPEN AFTER CHLORINE SPILL
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/06/05/news/local_news/doc4fce5c80babcf007103838.txt
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, chlorine
The L.A. Fitness gym in Southfield was closed Tuesday afternoon while the Southfield Fire Department cleaned a chlorine spill.
Gym members had been complaining about eye irritation before the building was evacuated. Fire officials said there were no injuries reported.
The gym was closed from around 12:30 p.m. until about 5 p.m., while about a dozen fire department personnel neutralized the pool and ventilated the building.
Gym personnel notified the fire department at 12:48 p.m. and the department completed the cleaning at 2:22 p.m.
The gym is located at 16000 Northland Drive and has a pool, sauna and spa, according to its website, in addition to fitness equipment.
---------------------------------------------
73 TREATED FOR CARBON MONOXIDE IN SCOTTSDALE
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/valleyandstate/article_1661354e-af7c-11e1-8c4e-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_AZ, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) Ñ Authorities say 73 people have been treated for carbon monoxide exposure at a rehabilitation center in Scottsdale.
Scottsdale Fire Department officials say 18 people were transported to a hospital as a precaution.
The center that serves teenagers and adults living with cognitive and intellectual disabilities was evacuated about noon Tuesday after some people complained of headaches and dizziness.
Fire crews have identified an open pipe in an underground vault as the carbon monoxide source and the pipe now has been temporarily plugged.
They say the non-profit Scottsdale Training and Rehabilitation Services center will have to repair the pipe before the building can re-open t clie
---------------------------------------------
UW BUILDING EMPTIED AFTER AMMONIA LEAK
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120606/GPG0101/206060479/UW-building-emptied-after-ammonia-leak
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, release, response, ammonia
People were evacuated from a research building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after an ammonia leak.
The leak was reported Tuesday morning in a room at the Engineering Research Building.
A Madison Fire Department spokeswoman said firefighters used breathing masks as they checked other rooms in the building.
The leak was reported in a laboratory on the ninth floor. Firefighters entered the building and shut off a 20-pound ammonia tank that was the source of the leak.
The building was returned to the university around 12:20 p.m. No one was hurt.
---------------------------------------------
BROMINE LEAK AT LISLE CORPORATE OFFICES DEEMED NONTOXIC
http://glenellyn.patch.com/articles/bromine-leak-at-lisle-corporate-offices-deemed-nontoxic
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, bromine
Wednesday's chemical leak at a corporate office in Lisle on Warrenville road is not deemed hazardous, according to Lisle-Woodridge Fire officials. Fire Department Bureau Chief Jim French likened the bromine in the leak to a pool chemical.
A pump failure occurred around 8 a.m. in the building's mechanical room. The failing equipment pumps water with bromine tablets throughout the entire corporate office. The pump failure led to a leakage, which created a light smoke that triggered the buildings fire alarms shortly after 8 a.m.
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