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Editor's note: This is one of several articles this weekend debating the educational value of explosions. Of particular note in the article in the UK is the picture, in which both people demonstrating the explosion did not have the safety goggles on their heads covering their eyes...
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, July 23, 2012 7:23:31 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)
COLO. UNIV. INVESTIGATING IF SUSPECT USED POSITION AS GRAD STUDENT TO GET DANGEROUS MATERIALS.
Tags: us_CO, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
UK DAYS OUT: A GREAT DAY AT ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS, ESSEX
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, explosion, response, explosives, gasoline
METH LAB ARREST
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
GIVE KIDS MORE FLASH AND BANG, CHEMISTRY PROF SAYS
Tags: Canada, education, follow-up, response
DRUG COOKS GO UPWARDLY MOBILE IN BID TO STAY LOW
Tags: Australia, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab
CHEMICAL FIRE CLEAN UP STALLED IN AUSTRALIA
Tags: Australia, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
SCIENCE CAN BE EXPLOSIVE: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME
Tags: us_IN, education, follow-up, response, dust, liquid_oxygen, metals
BUG BOMBS CAUSE EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, injury, other_chemical
U S BIOFUELS REPORTS FIRE CAUSED BY CHEMICAL REACTION
Tags: us_GA, industrial, fire, injury, biodiesel
HAZMAT CREWS DETERMINE HOMES SAFE AFTER INVESTIGATING YELLOW SUBSTANCE THAT CREATED HAZE
Tags: us_KY, public, discovery, response, other_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PLANE AFTER FLIGHT ATTENDANTS FALL ILL
Tags: us_VA, public, release, injury, cleaners
CORTLAND POLICE DISCOVER TWO SUSPECTED METH LABS
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, ammonia, meth_lab
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE EXPLOSION INJURES ONE AT WOBURN COMPANY
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, explosion, injury, hydrogen_peroxide
BOOM GOES THE SYNTHETIC POT: PALM BEACH MAN SUES AFTER DRUG LAB EXPLOSION BURNS HIS BUSINESS
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, follow-up, response, drugs, flammables
TUG BOAT AND BARGE SINK IN LAKE HURON SPILLING FUEL, CAUSE HAZMAT
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, response, diesel
LEAKING INSECTICIDE TRIGGERED BARRINGTON-AREA HAZMAT CALL
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, ag_chems
HAZMAT TEAM INSPECTS BEACHED CONTAINERS
Tags: South_Africa, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
3 EMPLOYEES SUED OVER CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION -- SHANGHAI DAILY
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
COLO. UNIV. INVESTIGATING IF SUSPECT USED POSITION AS GRAD STUDENT TO GET DANGEROUS MATERIALS.
http://www.newser.com/article/da062gho1/colo-univ-investigating-if-suspect-used-position-as-grad-student-to-get-dangerous-materials.html
Tags: us_CO, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
The University of Colorado says it's investigating whether shooting suspect James Holmes used his position as a graduate student to order materials in the potentially deadly booby traps that police say they found in his apartment.
Police say Holmes received deliveries over four months to his home and school. They haven't identified the contents.
University spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery says Sunday the school is looking into those packages received at the school.
---------------------------------------------
UK DAYS OUT: A GREAT DAY AT ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS, ESSEX
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2177272/UK-days-A-great-day-Royal-Gunpowder-Mills-Essex.html
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, explosion, response, explosives, gasoline
After a brief lunch (bread pudding included) it was time to visit Professor Nitrate's Mad Lab, where Sophie and a gang of hugely excited children were shown how to build rockets, make enormous toilet-roll streamers using a petrol leafblower, and create worryingly large explosions using unidentified chemicals.
There was also the chance to fire guns and try archery (the children voted this 'freaky fun', which means it's good, apparently!), but the undoubted highlight of the day was a battle re-enactment.
About 60 military enthusiasts charged around the buildings, blasting away with machine guns and throwing remarkably realistic explosives at each other. Amid the yelling, smoke, fake deaths and gunfire, we whooped and cheered as those dressed as Germans were vanquished and those chosen to play Allied troops rightly triumphed over evil.
It was all topped off by a brilliant flying display by that iconic image of British bravery, the Spitfire.
---------------------------------------------
METH LAB ARREST
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/UPDATE-Suspect-identity-released-in-meth-lab-bust/o0RbOyrLkEynmy9Xe_ABRw.cspx
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
Police have charged 43-year-old Richard Boone of Glen Rock with operating a methamphetamine laboratory, causing or risking a catastrophe, manufacture of a controlled substance, recklessly endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Boone was arraigned and placed into York County Prison in lieu of $85,000 bail.
---------------------------------------------
GIVE KIDS MORE FLASH AND BANG, CHEMISTRY PROF SAYS
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Give+kids+more+flash+bang+chemistry+prof+says/6966408/story.html
Tags: Canada, education, follow-up, response
We took a $50 chemistry set (the C500 from Thames & Kosmos) to Carleton University's new $5-million chemistry lab, where Bob Burk put it through its paces. He chairs the department.
The set has five small vials of powdered chemicals, some test tubes, a metal spoon and a battery lead, but no battery. His verdict on experiments about softening water, producing foam and dissolving iron?
"For what's here there's a remarkably good number of experiments, and there are a fair number of things to learn. It's just not a whole lot of fun.
"When I was a kid I don't know if I had an instruction book. If I did, I certainly didn't read it. The fun was just trying things. When I was a kid they (sets) had a lot more chemicals in them."
In other words, he says, the experiments had some flash and bang.
"There was usually fire involved of some description Ñ on a small scale. I don't think it was a dangerous fire."
---------------------------------------------
DRUG COOKS GO UPWARDLY MOBILE IN BID TO STAY LOW
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/drug-cooks-go-upwardly-mobile-in-bid-to-stay-low-20120720-22fq6.html
Tags: Australia, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab
Police have noticed an increase in clandestine labs being found in cars and believe the trend is due to amphetamine makers becoming more mobile to avoid detection.
The drug cooks, who are typically addicts, are renting serviced apartments or hotel rooms with fake identification before making drugs for several days and returning home.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRE CLEAN UP STALLED IN AUSTRALIA
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-20/mitchell-fire-clean-up-stalled/4143054?section=act
Tags: Australia, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
The ACT Government says it is working with the Canberra company at the centre of a large chemical fire last year to ensure it meets a clean-up deadline.
Last September, a massive chemical blaze destroyed Energy Services Invironmental's treatment plant in Mitchell, sending black smoke across nearby homes.
Investigations are continuing, but work began in April to tear down the chemical storage facility on Dacre Street.
The company has until August 27 to demolish the site, and an exclusion zone remains in place.
But the remaining toxic chemicals have complicated the demolition.
The Construction union, the CFMEU, says the clean-up has stalled due to a "contractual dispute".
A spokeswoman for the Environment Directorate says the Government is working with ESI and closely monitoring the situation to ensure the deadline is met.
---------------------------------------------
SCIENCE CAN BE EXPLOSIVE: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Science+explosive+this+home/6964861/story.html
Tags: us_IN, education, follow-up, response, dust, liquid_oxygen, metals
You know the old expression "a picture is worth a thousand words?" Well, when it comes to chemical demonstrations, a video is worth a thousand pictures, and a live performance is worth a thousand videos. OK, maybe not a thousand, but several. At one time, demonstrations were an integral part of chemistry lectures, but these days they tend to be rare. Good demos take time to prepare, take time to set up and often require a cleanup. Videos on the other hand are easy to show and many excellent ones are available. But the same way that a movie can never quite capture the thrill of a live stage performance, a video of a combustion reaction just doesn't have the same impact as a professor performing it live in front of a class.
One of the features of a "live" demo that students find especially appealing is the chance that something might go awry. And with combustion-type reactions that can certainly happen. I know. I once came pretty close to a nasty accident with the classic "burning money" demonstration in which a bill is immersed in a mixture of water and alcohol and is set ablaze. The flames can be clearly seen even in a large lecture hall, and to the students' amazement, when they are extinguished, the bill is seen to be totally undamaged, although a little wet. How does this happen? It's a case of the alcohol burning and the water preventing the bill from catching fire. Once when I was performing this, I accidentally tipped over the beaker holding the alcohol-water mixture, which then caught fire. Much merriment ensued when the students saw my flaming hands. Luckily nothing else on the desk caught fire and my hands were protected by the water the same way the bill was. But now when I perform !
this demo, I always make sure the beaker is securely clamped to a stand.
My little accident was nothing compared with what was probably the worst chemical demonstration accident ever. That occurred in 1957 at Indiana University in Bloomington when a professor was demonstrating the effect of liquid oxygen on the combustion of aluminum in front of a group of high school students to give them a memorable chemical experience. It turned out to be memorable all right, but not in the fashion he envisaged.
Oxygen itself does not burn, but it does support combustion. Aluminum on the other hand burns well, especially when powdered to provide a large surface area for potential contact with oxygen. Dowsing the powdered aluminum with liquid oxygen provides ideal combustion conditions. Most of the liquid oxygen quickly evaporates, but some gets trapped in the crevices of the tiny aluminum particles. The classic demonstration of the "liquid oxygen effect" involves using a candle to set fire to a sample of powdered aluminum in a metal crucible after dowsing it with liquid oxygen. The usual result is a bright flare that shoots straight up in a harmless but spectacular fashion.
---------------------------------------------
BUG BOMBS CAUSE EXPLOSION
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/bug-bombs-cause-explosion/story-e6frf7kx-1226431991287
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, injury, other_chemical
AN EXPLOSION that wounded a man's arm in a Melbourne eatery early this morning is believed to have been sparked by the use of chemical bug bombs.
Firefighters believe the 12.50am explosion at the Lonsdale St restaurant occurred when too many cockroach bombs were set off at one time.
The blast at Le Bangkok Thai restaurant tore the back door from its hinges, blew out a second story window and destroyed an internal wall.
Ten of the chemical canisters were set off by at least one employee in the store.
It is not clear how the chemicals in the cockroach bombs ignited.
A man injured in the blast suffered minor cuts to his arm.
---------------------------------------------
U S BIOFUELS REPORTS FIRE CAUSED BY CHEMICAL REACTION
http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/19499620/article-U-S--Biofuels-reports-fire-caused-by-chemical-reaction?instance=home_news
Tags: us_GA, industrial, fire, injury, biodiesel
A release from World Energy, the parent company for U.S. Biofuels in Rome, claims that a Friday fire at the West Hermitage Road plant was caused by a chemical reaction.
According to World Energy vice president for logistics and operations Brennan Marusa, what kind of chemical reaction sparked the fire is still unknown.
The release went on to state one employee was taken to Floyd Medical Center and was released after being treated for minor burns. His name was not released.
The statement also reported that employees were able to extinguish the fire and contacted the fire department after it was out.
World Energy also reported no structural or equipment damage was caused.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS DETERMINE HOMES SAFE AFTER INVESTIGATING YELLOW SUBSTANCE THAT CREATED HAZE
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/b80f22fff8fc4516a50c28cfcb34b6f8/KY--Hazmat-Scare
Tags: us_KY, public, discovery, response, other_chemical
PEWEE VALLEY, Ky. Ñ A yellow substance that created a haze near a central Kentucky home caused quite a scare among nearby residents, but hazmat crews have determined no one is at risk.
South Oldham Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Parker told WAVE-TV (http://bit.ly/MhrsBl) that police and several fire crews responded to the call Saturday from a homeowner in Pewee Valley. Parker says a handful of homes in the area were evacuated as hazmat crews set up a zone around the home so crews could investigate what they thought could be explosive material.
However, after analyzing the yellow substance, they found that it was a type of mold that can create a haze if water comes into contact with it.
Authorities aren't sure how the mold formed, but say it is not hazardous and allowed residents to return to their homes.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PLANE AFTER FLIGHT ATTENDANTS FALL ILL
http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/2295/20120715/hazmat-crews-investigate-southwest-airlines-plane-flight-baltimore-washington-international-thurgood.htm
Tags: us_VA, public, release, injury, cleaners
Flight attendants on board a Southwest Airlines flight fell ill on Thursday, causing HAZMAT crews to get involved.
Southwest Flight 709 was flying from Norfolk, Virginia to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport when two flight attendant fell sick on Thursday afternoon. The plane landed at the airport as planned. It then headed to Chicago as planned, according to the Washington Post.
However, the illness scare caused Anne Arundel County and BWI hazmat and fire crews to board the plane when it landed to sample the air to determine if there was a contaminant or anything unusual in the air.
The flight attendants had both used a cleaning solution which triggered the hazmat teams to investigate and check the plane. The blamed the solution for the incident.
Officials said that the sick flight attendants were taken to Baltimore Washington Medical Center to be treated. They were both treated and released.
---------------------------------------------
CORTLAND POLICE DISCOVER TWO SUSPECTED METH LABS
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/cortland_police_discover_two_s.html
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, ammonia, meth_lab
Cortland, NY -- More charges are pending against two people who Cortland police said ran a drug lab in their apartment on Lincoln Avenue.
Police charged the two suspects from Lincoln Avenue Friday. Later that day they were called to another home on Maple Avenue where they also found the ingredients used to make methamphetamine drugs.
The investigation began at 2 p.m. July 13, when police said they received a complaint about a strong chemical odor in the vicinity of 76 1Ú2 Lincoln Ave.
When officers arrived they could smell a strong odor of ammonia and found the ingredients used to make methamphetamine in a common porch area of the building, police said.
The Cortland Fire Department and the New York State Police Hazmat team responded to the home. After receiving a search warrant, officers searched Apartment 3 and confiscated evidence, police said.
---------------------------------------------
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE EXPLOSION INJURES ONE AT WOBURN COMPANY
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/07/19/hydrogen-peroxide-explosion-injures-one-woburn-company/Ht48s9bhT9dG661soEk33H/story.html
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, explosion, injury, hydrogen_peroxide
A hydrogen peroxide explosion at Organix Inc. at 240 Salem St. in Woburn has sent one person to the hospital, according to the Woburn Fire Department.
The injured person has been sent to a local hospital; the person's condition wasn't immediately available.
Organix is a Massachusetts-based research and development company that specializes in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry.
The explosion did not cause a fire, a Woburn dispatcher said.
---------------------------------------------
BOOM GOES THE SYNTHETIC POT: PALM BEACH MAN SUES AFTER DRUG LAB EXPLOSION BURNS HIS BUSINESS
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2012/07/boom_goes_the_synthetic_pot_pa.php
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, follow-up, response, drugs, flammables
When it comes to finding a home for your small business, there are a lot of factors to consider: the cost of rent, where your customers are located, how much space you need. But it's also worth trying to figure out if your neighbors run a drug lab full of unstable, highly flammable chemicals that could blow up and incinerate your workplace at any given moment.
Dale Puckett learned the hard way when, on the evening of May 21, he found his West Palm Beach business engulfed in flames.
The culprit? An accident at KRATOM Lab, located half a block from Puckett's shop. KRATOM, which purportedly made herbal incense, was secretly making synthetic marijuana until the blast that wiped out the fake-bud business. Now, Puckett is suing the three would-be chemical kingpins who ran the lab for a million dollars, as well as the landlord who rented them the property.
The three men named in the lawsuit as KRATOM employees are John Shealy, Matt Bryant, and Dylan Harris. A call to a number registered to a John Shealy in Palm Beach County was not returned. Attempts to contact Bryant and Harris were unsuccessful. The landlord, Jack Lowen of Lowen Properties, also could not be reached.
---------------------------------------------
TUG BOAT AND BARGE SINK IN LAKE HURON SPILLING FUEL, CAUSE HAZMAT
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/tug-boat-and-barge-sink-in-lake-huron-spilling-fuel-cause-hazmat
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, response, diesel
LAKE PORT, Mich., (WXYZ) - A major HAZMAT situation is under way after a tug boat and barge sank in Lake Huron, spilling fuel.
The 110 ft. long barge and a tugboat named the Madison started taking on water around 4:30 a.m. when the weather took a sudden turn for the worse. It happened about two miles from shore in the Lakeport area.
According to the Coast Guard, both the barge and Madison were being pulled by another tug boat named the Drummond Islander II. Six workers were aboard the Drummond Islander II but were never in danger.
The barge was carrying between 1500 and 2000 gallons of diesel fuel in a tank that is now leaking into Lake Huron. Officials say the tank has six valves on it. Four of the valves have been closed. Divers will need to close the final two in order to close the tank completely.
---------------------------------------------
LEAKING INSECTICIDE TRIGGERED BARRINGTON-AREA HAZMAT CALL
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120719/news/707199836/
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, ag_chems
Insecticide in a leaking, unmarked container was to blame for a hazardous materials response at a Barrington-area home that left one firefighter hospitalized Thursday morning.
The pesticide later was identified as Malathion, commonly used to control mosquitoes and other types of insects, Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie said.
"Fortunately, the firefighter took in just a minor dose and was released from the hospital," Arie said.
There's nothing unusual about finding the insecticide in a house, he added. The only difficulty came from identifying it in its unmarked container.
The firefighter treated at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital was part of the Barrington Fire Department's first response to the 7:02 a.m. call about a mysterious gas odor in a home on the 25300 block of West Cuba Road, in unincorporated Lake County.
Firefighters found a box emitting the gas-like odor and removed it from the home's garage. After one firefighter developed medical symptoms requiring transport, the Lake & McHenry County Hazardous Materials Response Team was called to the scene.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM INSPECTS BEACHED CONTAINERS
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Hazmat-team-inspects-beached-containers-20120719
Tags: South_Africa, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
Cape Town - The containers which washed ashore near St Francis Bay this week were inspected and checked on Thursday by a hazardous materials (hazmat) team.
People living along the coast had been warned of potential dangers and not to tamper with the containers, because the contents are unknown.
Kevin Kelly of Xtreme projects inspected the beached containers earlier on Thursday in the company of South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) officials during an on site meeting to decide on what action needs to be taken.
The seals on the containers are still intact and looked clean, said Kelly.
---------------------------------------------
3 EMPLOYEES SUED OVER CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION -- SHANGHAI DAILY
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/National/2012/07/19/3%2Bemployees%2Bsued%2Bover%2Bchemical%2Bplant%2Bexplosion/
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
THREE suspects who were responsible for a fatal chemical plant explosion that killed 15 in east China's Shandong Province will face charges in court[m1] , Shandong provincial government said.
Another 13 people responsible for the accident will be given administrative penalties, China National Radio reported today.
Fifteen workers were killed and four were injured after the explosion occurred at a melamine production facility of Shandong Liaherd Chemical Industry Co Ltd in the city of Xintai on November 19 last year.
The explosion caused an economic loss of 18.9 million yuan (US$2.97 million). The local government has confirmed the serious accident was caused by negligence, following a half-year investigation.
---------------------------------------------
Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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