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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, July 13, 2012 6:36:33 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 (18 articles)
CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD ISSUES TECH WITH OPEN ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
HAZMAT INCIDENT SICKENS TWO AT CARGILL CHOCOLATE FACTORY IN MOUNT JOY
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, bleach, sulfuric_acid
2 REMAIN HOSPITAL AFTER POOL CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN ST. CATHARINES
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
AT LEAST 95 KILLED IN NIGERIA TANKER TRUCK FIRE
Tags: Niger, transportation, explosion, death, petroleum
SMALL EXPLOSION CAUSES EVACUATION OF MEDICAL CLINIC
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, liquid_nitrogen
HAZMAT SITUATION REPORTED AT VALLEJO POST OFFICE Ç CBS SAN FRANCISCO
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
2 OFFICERS INJURED AFTER WOMAN SETS OFF CHEMICAL REACTION
Tags: us_GA, public, release, injury, cleaners
CHEMICAL SPILL REPORTED AT LOCAL INDUSTRY
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, injury, hydrogen_peroxide
MYFOX8.COM - GREENSBORO, HIGH-POINT, WINSTON-SALEM NEWS & WEATHER FROM WGHP TELEVISION FOX8
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
ANNACIS GAS THIEVES CREATE HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, gasoline
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO TRAILER FIRE ON 27
Tags: us_LA, transportation, fire, response, batteries, hvac_chemicals
SECTION OF NELLIS BLVD. REOPENS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_NV, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS REVEAL AFFECTS OF DUMPED METH LABS
Tags: us_AL, public, release, environmental, meth_lab
HUTCHINSON RESIDENTS RETURN HOME AFTER BOMB SCARE
Tags: us_KS, public, release, injury, bleach, hydrochloric_acid
UPDATE: SITUATION AT MONSANTO PLANT SETTLES DOWN; WORKER RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
Tags: us_IA, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
TRAIN DERAILMENT IN COLUMBUS CAUSES EXPLOSION, TRIGGERS EVACUATIONS
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, response, flammables
ARMY TEAM MAKES SAFE UNSTABLE CHEMICALS AT DUNDALK IT • THEJOURNAL.IE
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical, time-sensitive
FOUR INJURED IN EXPLOSION AFTER THEY
Tags: India, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
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CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD ISSUES TECH WITH OPEN ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE
http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/article_3e43588e-cc6f-11e1-badd-0019bb30f31a.html
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board recently granted Texas Tech with an "Open-Acceptable Response" regarding the investigation into a 2010 incident at the Chemistry building, which seriously injured a graduate student.
The favorable report, received by letter on June 25, is due to Tech's efforts to implement the CSB's safety recommendations.
"We are taking compliance around these recommendations and are becoming an exemplary institution," said Taylor Eighmy, senior vice president for research. "This was one of our highest orders of business here at the university."
Alice Young, associate vice president for research, said that in January 2010, a graduate student in the department of chemistry and biochemistry had an accident while conducting work on an energetics project, which is a project to research materials that could become energetic and explode in certain ways.
In the course of the experiment, the student made much more of the material than was called for in the laboratory protocol. When he attempted to break the large quantity of material into smaller pieces, the pressure of the grinding caused the material to explode.
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HAZMAT INCIDENT SICKENS TWO AT CARGILL CHOCOLATE FACTORY IN MOUNT JOY
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/HazMat-incident-sickens-two-at-Cargill-chocolate/l0hSp85ppkK5HU_VueJJLw.cspx
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, bleach, sulfuric_acid
A HazMat incident occurred at the Cargill chocolate plant in Mount Joy on Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 220 p.m. when sulfuric acid and Clorox bleach were mixed together, causing a reaction. Two people were taken to a doctor's office (I'm assuming urgent care) for treatment.
Several fire crews, along with the HazMat team were called to the scene, located on Chocolate Avenue. The incident was minor and the chemicals dissipated by the time HazMat crews entered the facility.
The incident did not take place in the production part of the plant.
The incident was cleared about four hours from when it was first dispatched, and HazMat was only on the scene for an hour.
---------------------------------------------
2 REMAIN HOSPITAL AFTER POOL CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN ST. CATHARINES
http://www.680news.com/news/local/article/382138--2-remain-hospital-after-pool-chemical-incident-in-st-catharines
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
A chlorine leak at a public pool in St. Catharines sent a dozen people, including four children, to hospital, Thursday.
Many at the pool complained of trouble breathing. Officials say the people had to be decontaminated before they could be taken to hospital.
Victims range in age between seven and 50 years old and included five City lifeguards.
Two people are in serious condition.
City officials say a contractor delivering pool chemicals mistakenly added between 20 to 30 gallons of chlorine into a tank holding muriatic acid. The mixture caused a chemical reaction that created noxious fumes at Lion Dunc Schooley pool.
St. Catharines Fire Chief Mark Mehlenbacher told CityNews these chemicals can be very harmful.
"It is a very serious, dangerous gas, taken in the concentration. We're fortunate that this incident wasn't worse, but chlorine gas is very dangerous and certainly attacks the lungs very seriously," he explained.
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AT LEAST 95 KILLED IN NIGERIA TANKER TRUCK FIRE
http://www.wrex.com/story/19008518/official-95-killed-in-nigeria-fuel-tanker-fire
Tags: Niger, transportation, explosion, death, petroleum
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - A truck carrying fuel veered off the road into a ditch, caught fire and exploded in Nigeria's oil-rich delta on Thursday, killing at least 95 people who had rushed to the scene to scoop fuel that had spilled, an official said, in a tragic reminder of how little of the country's oil wealth has trickled down to the poor.
At least 50 others were injured in the incident in the southern Niger Delta region, said Rivers State spokeswoman Ibim Semenitari.
Witnesses said some charred corpses were still lying in the area hours after the explosion, including bodies the size of children. "What did these small ones know about coming to scoop fuel?" wondered Alagoa Morris, coordinator at advocacy group Oil Watch Nigeria.
---------------------------------------------
SMALL EXPLOSION CAUSES EVACUATION OF MEDICAL CLINIC
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/19012902/explosion
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, liquid_nitrogen
TROIT -
A small explosion forces the evacuation of workers and patients from inside the Henry Ford medical clinic in the New Center One building in Downtown Detroit.
Fox 2 has learned a tank of liquid Nitrogen used in medical procedures exploded. No one was hurt, but several floors of the building were evacuated as a precaution.
Hazmat crews determined there was no danger and everyone was able to return a short time later. The cause of the explosion has not been released.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT SITUATION REPORTED AT VALLEJO POST OFFICE Ç CBS SAN FRANCISCO
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/12/hazmat-situation-reported-at-vallejo-post-office/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
VALLEJO (CBS SF) - Firefighters were at the scene of a hazardous materials incident at a post office in Vallejo Thursday afternoon.
Vallejo fire Capt. John Barry said the fire department was notified at 11:10 a.m. of "a strange odor" at 1015 Amador St., and said the 1000 block of the street has been closed.
Barry said people reported choking because of the odor, the source of which has not been identified.
A fire department spokeswoman said there were reports of people having difficulty breathing.
---------------------------------------------
2 OFFICERS INJURED AFTER WOMAN SETS OFF CHEMICAL REACTION
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/19012545/hazmat-crews-respond-to-situation-in-roswell
Tags: us_GA, public, release, injury, cleaners
Two police officers were hospitalized after a woman allegedly tried to kill herself with a chemical mixture at a Roswell apartment on Thursday, officials said.
The woman made a chemical cocktail out of household cleaners at the Ashley Forest Apartments on Nesbitt Ferry and Ashley Forest Drive, according to the Roswell Police Department.
Two officers were able to get the woman out, but inhaled some chemicals in doing so. Those officers and the woman were all transported to the hospital.
The woman's 12-year-old daughter, who was in the home at the time, also suffered injuries from the chemicals.
The officers were released from the hospital and are expected to be OK.
There was no word on the woman's condition.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL REPORTED AT LOCAL INDUSTRY
http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2012/jul/12/chemical-spill-reported-at-local-industry/
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, injury, hydrogen_peroxide
COVINGTON -- The Covington Fire Department and Newton EMS were called to Nisshinbo Automotive Manufacturing at about 4 p.m. Thursday after 250 to 300 gallons of hydrogen peroxide spilled from a container on a loading dock.
#Covington Fire Department Capt. Tony Smith said the spill was contained to the Nisshinbo property on Ga. Highway 142 and did not pose a threat to the general public.
#One Nisshinbo employee was injured in the incident.
#"He had burns to the lower extremities, the feet and ankles," said Smith. "He was taken by ambulance to Grady Hospital. He was in stable condition when he left here."
#At about 4:40 p.m. Smith said the Fire Department was in "containment mode," making sure that the chemical was confined to the area and officials were taking the proper steps to clean up the spill.
#Smith said preliminary evidence indicated that the chemical was in the process of being loaded on a trailer when the spill occurred.
---------------------------------------------
MYFOX8.COM - GREENSBORO, HIGH-POINT, WINSTON-SALEM NEWS & WEATHER FROM WGHP TELEVISION FOX8
http://myfox8.com/2012/07/12/unknown-substance-causes-minor-injuries-at-wake-forest-biotech/
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Ñ Officials said two members of the cleaning staff at Wake Forest Biotech received minor injuries after contacting a substance Thursday morning in Winston-Salem.
Authorities said the workers came in contact with Trizol, which caused skin burns and irritations. They have since been treated and released, officials said.
The Hazmat team and fire and police departments were called to the scene at 575 N. Patterson Avenue. Hazmat teams are personnel specially trained to handle dangerous goods.
The area was blocked off early Thursday and started to clear around 6 a.m.
Authorities said that Trizol can cause seizures, but that was not the case in this situation.
---------------------------------------------
ANNACIS GAS THIEVES CREATE HAZMAT INCIDENT
http://www.delta-optimist.com/Annacis+thieves+create+hazmat+incident/6918746/story.html
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, gasoline
Delta emergency responders were called out to a business on Annacis Island Tuesday morning after an attempt to steal fuel turned into a hazmat incident.
Delta fire department called in the police after discovering the gas tanks in three vehicles at a business in the 500-block of Ebury Place were punctured in an attempt to steal fuel.
The Delta fire department's hazmat team was brought in to clean up the spilled fuel while police investigators canvassed other businesses in the area in an attempt to locate any possible video surveillance to help identify possible suspects.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO TRAILER FIRE ON 27
http://www.beauregarddailynews.net/news/x1109736880/Hazmat-team-called-to-trailer-fire-on-27
Tags: us_LA, transportation, fire, response, batteries, hvac_chemicals
Ridder, La. Ñ
The State Hazmat Team was called to the scene of a trailer fire early Tuesday morning when Beauregard Parish fire fighters learned the trailer contained vehicle batteries, aerosol paint cans and cans of refrigerant gas.
According to authorities at the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office, Juan Vega, Jr., of Pasadena, Texas, called 911 just after 2 a.m. Tuesday, saying his truck tires were on fire, and gave the location of the eighteen wheeler he was operating.
Soon after the call, deputies from the BPSO and local fire departments were on the scene.
Vega, who was operating a the tractor / trailer for Ozark Automotive Distributors in Springfield, Missouri, told deputies when he saw his tires were on fire, he stopped, unhooked his truck from the trailer and drove it to a safe location.
Soon afterward the cargo in the trailer began to ignite and explode.
Fire fighters were able to contain the fire, however, when they learned from the driver's paperwork that the trailer contained 35 batteries, several cans of aerosol paint and several containers of refrigerant gas, the Hazmat Team was notified.
After the Ha
---------------------------------------------
SECTION OF NELLIS BLVD. REOPENS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/19004711/section-of-nellis-blvd-closed-after-chemical-spill
Tags: us_NV, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
LAS VEGAS -- Nellis Boulevard was shut down between Bonanza Road and Harris Avenue following a chemical spill on the roadway Wednesday, according to the state's transportation department.
The section reopened Wednesday evening.
A water reclamation vehicle was driving on Nellis about 9 a.m. when its back door opened, spilling the chemical, a grease separator.
According to the transportation department, the chemical is not hazardous, but workers have to scrape the substance from the street and then repave the area.
---------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS REVEAL AFFECTS OF DUMPED METH LABS
http://www.waff.com/story/18995124/environmental-experts-reveal-affects-of-dumped-meth-labs
Tags: us_AL, public, release, environmental, meth_lab
MORGAN COUNTY, AL (WAFF) -
Morgan County Investigators found several one-pot meth labs near the Valhermosa Springs bridge, which is a popular fishing spot.
Environmental experts said, for the most part, these meth labs pose no more danger to the environment than typical trash.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management helps guide law enforcement on safe disposal of meth labs.
Decatur branch director Ed Poolos said that the one-pot, so called "shake-and-bake" meth labs that are being used now require far less chemicals that the older meth-making method - the more volatile red-phosphorus labs.
Most of the one-pot labs are discovered after they've already been used, so they don't have the amount of chemicals left in them that could contaminate waterways or have an effect on fish.
"It's basically the waste from the process. With this waste, the chemical reaction has already occurred, so the hazardous substances and the hazardous properties are basically gone from that," said Poolos.
These labs can still be harmful to people who touch them, and more and more hunters and hikers are spotting these meth lab dumpsites in the woods.
If you think you see one, get away from it, and call local law enforcement.
---------------------------------------------
HUTCHINSON RESIDENTS RETURN HOME AFTER BOMB SCARE
http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/Hutchinson_Homes_Evacuated_After_Hazmat_Concerns_161950625.html
Tags: us_KS, public, release, injury, bleach, hydrochloric_acid
Nine homes in east Hutchinson were evacuated as authorities investigated a chemical threat inside another home.
Crews were called to the scene in the 1400 block of E. 3rd Ave. around 8 a.m. Tuesday. The Hutch Post reports a man with a mental problem may have mixed several chemicals together inside the home.
Police decided to search his home after the man was arrested for stolen property out of Wichita. The man told authorities about the chemical mixture, as well as a possible explosive device, inside his home.
A bomb squad that included robots went inside the residence to search for a possible bomb. After four hours of searching the home and an outside shed, they determined there were no explosive devices.
Investigators said the man mixed muriatic acid and bleach together creating a cloud of chlorine gas. The Hutchinson Fire department's hazardous materials unit neutralized the chemicals inside the house.
The man was taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for observation.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: SITUATION AT MONSANTO PLANT SETTLES DOWN; WORKER RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120710/NEWS/120710018/1029/BUSINESS/?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1
Tags: us_IA, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A bottle under pressure exploded at the Monsanto plant in Ankeny on Tuesday around 12:30 p.m., according to Ankeny Fire Chief Rex Mundt.
The bottle was under high pressure during a chemical process under a hood when the incident occurred.
"The bottle did rupture from being over pressurized," Mundt said.
One employee thought she was exposed to the vapors and was taken to the hospital for treatment. All other employees were safely evacuated without exposure, Mundt said.
Employees in the building followed proper safety protocol for the situation, which included immediately shutting down the ventilation system so the vapors would not escape the building, the chief said.
Mundt said he believed the bottle was less than one gallon in size; he could not immediately say what chemicals it contained.
The worker who was taken to an area hospital for observation has been released and sustained no injuries, said Kelly Clauss, the company's director of public affairs.
A crew cleaning up the lab where the explosion took place is expected to finish cleaning up today, she said. The plant will reopen for operations tomorrow.
Clauss said the procedure that was being performed when the bottle ruptured was a normal one for employees at the plant. The chemicals that were being used are also regularly used, she said.
Such an event is "rare" for Monsanto's plants, she said.
---------------------------------------------
TRAIN DERAILMENT IN COLUMBUS CAUSES EXPLOSION, TRIGGERS EVACUATIONS
http://www.onntv.com/content/stories/2012/07/11/story-columbus-train-derailment-causes-explosion-evacuations.html
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, response, flammables
People miles away could see and feel an explosion caused by a derailed train in Columbus early Wednesday morning.
Fields Avenue, near 5th and 11th avenues, was shut down because of the derailment of four to five cars that were carrying chemicals such as denatured alcohol and Styrene, a chemical used to make plastic.
The derailment happened at about 2 a.m.
Nearly 100 cars were part of the train that derailed.
Fire officials called for air support to figure out what was burning before fire crews attacked from the ground. HAZMAT officials also were called to the scene but said that there was no risk for air contamination.
Law enforcement officials evacuated those within a 1-mile radius. Residents in the Weinland Park area were asked to evacuate. Law enforcement officials set up a safe area on the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
---------------------------------------------
ARMY TEAM MAKES SAFE UNSTABLE CHEMICALS AT DUNDALK IT • THEJOURNAL.IE
http://www.thejournal.ie/bomb-squad-dundalk-it-dkit-chemicals-516211-Jul2012/
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical, time-sensitive
AN ARMY BOMB disposal team has this afternoon made safe a number of unstable chemicals at the Dundalk Institute of Technology.
The Defence Forces carried out a controlled explosion on the chemical, called celloidin wool, which was found to be unstable during a routine audit of chemicals at DKIT.
The bomb disposal team was called to the campus at around 4.10pm this afternoon after being alerted by Garda’. The area around the scene was evacuated as the team dealt with the unstable chemical.
The chemical was rendered safe at the scene and a controlled explosion was carried out to dispose of it. The scene was declared safe at 4.45pm.
Celloidin wool is a chemical used in laboratories which can become unstable as it dries out.
This is the 114th call out so far this year for a bomb disposal team.
---------------------------------------------
FOUR INJURED IN EXPLOSION AFTER THEY
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/four-injured-in-explosion-after-they/972763/
Tags: India, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
Four persons, including three women, were injured when bottles with an unknown chemical exploded in Vasai on Tuesday morning. The police have sent samples of the odourless chemical for analysis at the forensic laboratory in Kalina.
According to the police, tribals use such bottles with glass splinters to fish in ponds. When the bottle explodes, the glass splinters kill fish which are then netted. But since the bottles were hidden beneath clothes, they also suspect that this could be a type of crude bomb used by dacoits to loot jewellery stores.
Police said the incident took place around 7.30am when a few tribal labourers, Dinesh Kopatkar (25), his wife, Sugandha (20), Shewanti Wagh (36) and Jaywanti Chowdhary (50), were walking to work. When the four reached a multiplex, Shewanti noticed a sky blue plastic bag lying near the bushes.
"Out of curiousity, I opened the bag to see what was inside it. The bag contained a shirt, vest and a handkerchief and at the bottom four small bottles," said Shewanti.
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Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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