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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:20:30 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 (15 articles)
CHEMICAL SPILL AT MONCTON UNIVERSITY CLEANED UP
Tags: canada, laboratory, release, response, flammables
HAZMAT BUILDING OWNER DENIED CHANCE TO TELL HIS SIDE
Tags: us_oh, laboratory, discovery, follow-up, response
CLEANING CHEMICAL REACTION IN CANADA
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, cleaners
AMMONIA LEAK CONTAINED AT VELCRO USA ; NO INJURIES REPORTED
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, response, ammonia
REFRIGERATOR LEAK AT WALTHAM STORE CAUSED HAZ MAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, hvac_chemicals
BP EXPLOSION KILLS 1, HURTS 2 IN WESTERN COLORADO
Tags: us_CO, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
TWIN FALLS, ID NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS
Tags: us_ID, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
ACID SPILL CONTAINED AT LOCAL CHEMICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, sulfuric_acid
EXPLOSION ROCKS CONNELLSVILLE; 2 INJURED
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, explosion, injury, dust, phosphorus
BUS ACCIDENT THAT CLAIMED 41 BLAMED ON HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
Tags: China, transportation, follow-up, death, flammables
KOKEE ROAD CLOSED AFTER FUEL TANKER FLIPS OVER
Tags: us_HI, transportation, release, response, jet_fuel
TRAILER DRIVER FERRYING ACID PREVENTS DISASTER
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
METH LAB CHEMICALS SPARK EXPLOSION IN COLUMBUS
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, ammonia, meth_lab
EXPLOSION INJURES MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY STUDENT
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, explosion, injury, acids
LATEST NEWS HEADLINES FROM CAMBRIDGE CITY & CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, solvent
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CHEMICAL SPILL AT MONCTON UNIVERSITY CLEANED UP
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/06/28/nb-spill-moncton-university.html
Tags: canada, laboratory, release, response, flammables
A chemical spill at the University of Moncton Thursday sent one person to hospital, forced the evacuation of two buildings and tied up traffic for several hours.
A graduate-level chemistry student was treated in hospital for exposure to fumes after one of the storage containers leaked shortly before noon, university officials said. The student was later released.
The chemical involved was dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), which is relatively stable and low risk, according to a chemist.
"It's a chemical that is used to enhance reactions in a chemical process," Fire Chief Eric Arsenault told CBC News.
'The chemistry professors that were with us and giving us advice seemed very pleased that this was the product involved.'
ÑFire Chief Eric Arsenault
"The chemistry professors that were with us and giving us advice seemed very pleased that this was the product involved."
DCPD is, however, highly flammable, said Arsenault. "So that's always a source of concern."
Two people were inside the science bunker, a small separate building on campus where large containers of volatile chemicals are stored for lab experiments, when an alarm was triggered, said Arsenault.
He was worried about a possible chain reaction and explosion among the "mishmash" of thousands of chemicals stored in the bunker, which is near the campus' heating plant.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT BUILDING OWNER DENIED CHANCE TO TELL HIS SIDE
http://www.13abc.com/story/18908999/2012/06/28/hazmat-building-owner-denied-chance-to-tell-his-side-of-the-story
Tags: us_oh, laboratory, discovery, follow-up, response
TOLEDO, Ohio -
The 13abc I-team was there as a local doctor tried to clear his name Thursday after a hazmat situation inside his lab in May. When we tried to make his case, tell his side of the story, he was told he could not.
Dr. Prakash Thombre owns the building in the 1000 block of Broadway that was raided by Lucas County Health Department, firefighters and even members of the Army 52nd Civil Service Brigade in May. He wanted to speak at the Toledo-Lucas County Board of Health meeting but he was told he could not make his case. He was told he'd have to go through the board's committees.
"Would the board like to know my side of the story," asked Dr. Thombre. "What you're getting is not truthful at all."
He says while this place is rundown, it is safe.
"No public comes into the building, never did because it's a production facility. I am the only person. It's like my own private garage. Are we going to go into people's bedrooms and start picking up their bed sheet and say ok, here's a swab forÉ. MRSA," said Dr. Thombre.
"The building I will tell you, I have seen the pictures and I will assure you is in such disarray and problems that it is of concern, the concerns were legit. We were very fortunate that concerns about more important bio terrorism things did not occur," said Dr. David Grossman of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.
---------------------------------------------
CLEANING CHEMICAL REACTION IN CANADA
http://www.am1150.ca/News/Local/Story.aspx?ID=1730254
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, cleaners
Roads were shut down, businesses evacuated, and people transported to hospital after a chemical spill in Kelowna.
Hazmat crews were called to Sun Valley Foods on the 2100 block of Leckie Place around 2:30PM Thursday afternoon.
Deputy Fire Chief Lou Wilde says chlorine bleach and a cleaning chemical containing citrus acid combined to create a vapour.
"The two of them mixed giving off a vapour that was a respiratory irritant. Anyone who was in contact with it on their skin will create a rash or burning sensation."
Three people were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and BC Ambulance Service District Supervisor Glenn Braithwaite says they are taking every precaution.
"We don't believe that anyone was directly exposed to this although we are aware the substances we are dealing with that the substances we are dealing with do have an after effect that can mitigate itself after the fact. We're doing all precautionary treatments right now on the patients."
About 75 - 80 workers were evacuated from Sun Valley Foods. Fire Crews were working and take reading of the building to allow the employees back in to collect their belongings.
---------------------------------------------
AMMONIA LEAK CONTAINED AT VELCRO USA ; NO INJURIES REPORTED
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120628/NEWS07/120629658/0/SPORTS05
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, response, ammonia
MANCHESTER - It took firefighters about three hours to stop a leak in an 8,000 gallon tank of ammonia Thursday morning at Velcro USA but no one was injured and no one was endangered, according to a fire official.
District Fire Chief Al Poulin said an alarm went off in the 20-by-40-foot out-building just before 8 a.m., bringing about a half-dozen firetrucks, several ambulances and the hazmat team to the 406 Brown Ave. complex off Sundial Avenue. No one was inside the building which sole purpose is to protect the tank from the weather, Poulin explained.
Hazmat team and firefighters donned "Level A" or encapsulated suits to enter the building to shut off what was thought to be a leaking valve on the tank. The protective suits are resistant to the gas, Poulin explained.
The emergency workers quickly discovered, however, that the valve was not the problem but rather a braided stainless steal fitting had become loose, causing the anhydrous ammonia to leak at a rate of about 30 gallons per hour, according to fire officials.
---------------------------------------------
REFRIGERATOR LEAK AT WALTHAM STORE CAUSED HAZ MAT RESPONSE
http://waltham.patch.com/articles/refrigerator-leak-at-waltham-store-caused-haz-mat-response
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, hvac_chemicals
A leak from a refrigerator unit and seperate cooling unit caused the haz-mat response to Gordon's Fine Wine & Liquors on Moody Street on Sunday, June 24, according to the Waltham Fire Department.
R-22, a substance used as a refrigerant among other things, leaked from a rooftop cooling unit and also from a refriegerator in the store, according to Waltham Fire Deartment Lt. Michael Murphy. Two customers and five workers in the store were evaluated for injuries but declined treatment, Murphy said.
The response started at around 6 p.m. with a report of a gas odor, according to Murphy. Waltham firefighters entered the store to check for gas levels but were turned back when they felt burning sensations in their eyes, Murphy said.
---------------------------------------------
BP EXPLOSION KILLS 1, HURTS 2 IN WESTERN COLORADO
http://www.koaa.com/news/bp-explosion-kills-1-hurts-2-in-western-colorado/
Tags: us_CO, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - Authorities say one person is dead and two others have been seriously injured in an explosion at a gas compression station in western Colorado.
The Durango Herald reports the explosion occurred Monday morning at a facility owned by BP.
A BP spokeswoman says the company's immediate concern is for the people involved.
U.S. 160 was closed because of the explosion but reopened about an hour later.
---------------------------------------------
TWIN FALLS, ID NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS
http://www.kmvt.com/news/local/160540905.html
Tags: us_ID, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
Filer, Idaho (KMVT-TV) Authorities from the Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office, Filer Fire and Quick Response responded to a gas tank explosion at 8:11am this morning. That explosion severely burned a Twin Falls County resident. Twin Falls Sheriff Spokeswoman Lori Stewart said Fred Cronmiller, 36, was scrapping a vehicle at 1900 East and 3900 North when he accidentally hit the vehicles gas line causing the tank to explode which in turn, set his clothes on fire. Nearby farm workers responded quickly and pushed Cronmiller into a nearby canal, to douse the flames. By the time the fire department arrived, the workers had extinguished the flames that had burned near the vehicle. Cronmiller was taken to St. Luke's in Twin Falls and then airlifted to the burn center in Salt Lake City in serious condition with severe burns to his body.
---------------------------------------------
ACID SPILL CONTAINED AT LOCAL CHEMICAL COMPANY
http://www.ibj.com/acid-spill-contained-at-local-chemical-company/PARAMS/article/35216
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, sulfuric_acid
Fire Department officials say up to 1,000 gallons of sulfuric acid leaked from a storage tank at a chemical business near downtown Indianapolis.
City fire Lt. Bonnie Hensley said no one was injured from the leak that was reported about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, about an hour after a worker at General Chemical LLC, 1598 S. Senate Ave., first noticed it.
Hensley said the acid was contained within a couple hours. Much of the sulfuric acid remaining in the 18,000-gallon tank was transferred into a tanker truck and other storage tanks in the industrial area just south of the city's downtown.
Officials say the leak was in a pipe leading from the tank. No injuries were reported.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION ROCKS CONNELLSVILLE; 2 INJURED
http://triblive.com/news/2107884-74/explosion-connellsville-building-police-lugo-capitos-company-mixing-chemical-chief
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, explosion, injury, dust, phosphorus
Connellsville resident Joe Taylor said it's common to hear noises from the manufacturing businesses across from his North Fourth Street home, where he's lived for the past 12 years.
But when he heard a man screaming on Wednesday morning, he knew something had gone horribly wrong at the building used by New York-based O.C. Lugo Co. Inc.
City police Chief Jim Capitos said two company employees were mixing red phosphorus and Fiberglas powder in a quart-sized container in their lab when the mixture exploded at 7:08 a.m.
Philip E. D'Auria, 41, of Connellsville, who was holding the container, lost three fingers, Capitos said. He was taken to UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh by medical helicopter.
D'Auria, who was undergoing surgery yesterday afternoon, was in "stable but critical" condition, Fayette County EMS Chief Rick Adobato said.
Employee Todd Allen Brooks, 41, of Everson was taken to UPMC Mercy by medical helicopter because he was suffering from smoke inhalation and a ringing in his ears. He will be kept there for 24 hours of observation, Adobato said.
According to Capitos, mixing red phosphorus and Fiberglas powder is a routine step in mixing four chemicals together to make chemical igniters for oxygen generators, used in Navy submarines.
O.C. Lugo was awarded a one-year, $15 million contract with the Navy to make chlorate candles and oxygen candle igniters used in oxygen generators, according to a March 13 news release from the Department of Defense.
Carnegie Mellon University chemical engineering professor Paul Sides said that mixing red phosphorus with Fiberglas powder likely didn't cause the explosion.
"Something doesn't quite make sense," Sides said. "Something else must have gone wrong."
---------------------------------------------
BUS ACCIDENT THAT CLAIMED 41 BLAMED ON HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-06/27/content_15527263.htm
Tags: China, transportation, follow-up, death, flammables
Authorities investigating a bus fire that killed 41 people have blamed the accident on hazardous chemicals that a passenger brought on the vehicle.
The accident occurred as the bus traveled on the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway on July 22.
A report released by the State Council said the fire started when 300 kilograms of azobisisoheptonitrile stored in 15 boxes overheated.
The chemical, which is highly flammable and should be carried in a refrigerated unit, burst into flames at about 4 am as the bus reached Xinyang in Central China's Henan province, either from friction or heat from the engine, the report said.
The 35-seat bus was carrying 47 passengers. Only six survived the accident, which caused a direct economic loss of 23.42 million yuan ($3.68 million).
The report added that 32 people are facing Party or administrative disciplinary action, while 10 others have been detained on charges relating to the accident.
---------------------------------------------
KOKEE ROAD CLOSED AFTER FUEL TANKER FLIPS OVER
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Kokee-Road-closed-after-fuel-tanker-flips-over/OMXgs_nFG0WCBzTA5xIt9g.cspx
Tags: us_HI, transportation, release, response, jet_fuel
A fuel tanker carrying jet fuel flipped on its side and spilled fuel on Kokee Road near Kekaha Road junction on Kauai.
Police have closed Kokee Road through at least Wednesday morning.
Traffic is being diverted to Waimea Canyon Drive.
The Kauai HAZMAT team responded to the scene and placed absorbent materials to assist in the clean-up and help to suppress fumes. Bradley Pacific, the company that owns the tanker, is working with the Department of Health to manage the clean-up.
---------------------------------------------
TRAILER DRIVER FERRYING ACID PREVENTS DISASTER
http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/trailer-driver-ferrying-acid-prevents-disaster-1.98567
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
SEREMBAN: A trailer driver helped prevent a disaster when he noticed that the sulphuric acid he was transporting had leaked onto the middle tyres of the vehicle.
Hazmat personnel removing canisters of sulphuric acid from the trailer at Km259 of the North-South Expressway near the Port Dickson toll plaza.
S. Saravana Kumar, 32, said he had earlier felt a dryness in his throat.
Based on the training he had undergone to transport hazardous material, he suspected there was a leak.
He, along with his assistant, S. Thiagaraja, 32, were transporting the sulphuric acid from Singapore to the Kulim Technology Park in Kedah when the incident occurred at 7.30pm on Monday.
"I had just left the Pedas rest area when I felt my throat getting unusually dry.
"I decided to stop at Km259 of the North-South Expressway near the Port Dickson toll plaza.
"Upon checking the trailer, I noticed there was a leak in the middle and the acid had spilt onto the tyres. During my training, I was told to contact the authorities if there was any untoward incident.
"I immediately called the Fire and Rescue Department," he said at the scene.
Senior head of operations for the Seremban 2 Fire and Rescue Department, Sabarudin Ahmad, said two engines from the Seremban 2 and Senawang stations rushed to the scene, along with a hazardous materials unit (Hazmat) involving 21 personnel.
---------------------------------------------
METH LAB CHEMICALS SPARK EXPLOSION IN COLUMBUS
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime/meth-lab-chemicals-spark-explosion-in-columbus
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, ammonia, meth_lab
COLUMBUS, Ind. (WISH) - Columbus police are blaming an illegal meth making operation ffor an explosion inside a pickup truck that closed a neighborhood street for hours Monday night.
24-Hour News 8 news partner The Republic of Columbus reports the explosion was reported shortly before 6 p.m. Monday in the 100 block of South Brooks Street.
Patrolwoman Sarah Goins found a truick parked at the home with its windows broken and smoke coming from the interior. She could also smell a strong chemical odor and noted items inside that are used to manufacture methamphetamine, the newspaper reported.
A fire extinguisher altered to carry anhydrous ammonia - a chemical fertilizer used in farming but also to make meth - caused the explosion, police said.
Officers closed the street to traffic for about three hours during the investigation. Investigators think they have identified the truck's owner and are looking for that person.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION INJURES MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY STUDENT
http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/677042_Explosion-injures-Millersville-University-student.html
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, explosion, injury, acids
A female student's face was cut Tuesday when a bottle containing chemicals exploded in a laboratory at Millersville University, officials said.
The 10:53 a.m. accident happened during a chemistry class in Caputo Hall, according to university spokeswoman Janet Kacskos.
"A male who had been doing an experiment poured leftover chemicals in a discard jar, which is customary," she said. "Then he put the lid on and walked away, which is not typical."
The three chemicals were acids, Kacskos said.
"Pressure built up and caused the jar to explode while another student was walking by it," she said. "The pressure caused heat and that's what blew it up."
The female student did not suffer chemical burns, as was first thought, Kacskos said. She did suffer a cut to her face from a glass shard.
"She was immediately washed down in the lab," Kacskos said of the student. "She then was washed down in a shower out in the street by Haz-mat."
---------------------------------------------
LATEST NEWS HEADLINES FROM CAMBRIDGE CITY & CAMBRIDGESHIRE
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Fire-breaks-out-in-Cambridge-University-chemical-lab-27062012.htm
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, solvent
A chemical fire broke out in a Cambridge University laboratory forcing staff and students to evacuate.
A reaction between two chemicals when a solvent cupboard was opened, is believed to have started the small fire at the Department of Chemistry in Lensfield Road, Cambridge, shortly after 3pm yesterday.
Witnesses reported the fireproof cupboard door was quickly closed, but the smoke alarm sounded and people made their way out of the building, leaving possessions behind.
Fire crews from Cambridge, St Neots, Cottenham and Sawston attended the site along with a specialist chemical incident unit.
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