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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, September 7, 2012 8:26:24 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 (19 articles)
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO MEDICAL FORUM BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN BIRMI
Tags: us_AL, public, release, injury, batteries, sulphur
HAZMAT REPORTS CLEANING PRODUCT IN STORM DRAIN
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, cleaners
HAZMAT TEAM CLEARING UP AMMONIA LEAK NEAR FISHERMAN'S TERMINAL
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia
AUSTRALIA: TANKER TRUCK LEAKS SODIUM HYDROXIDE
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, corrosives
LLANELLI CHEMICAL PLANT EVACUATED AS EXPERTS CALLED TO CLEAR BOMB
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, discovery, response, bomb
SIVAKASI FIREWORKS TRAGEDY: DID CHEMICAL MIX CAUSE THE EXPLOSION
Tags: India, public, follow-up, death, fireworks
UCLA PROFESSOR ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES IN FATAL 2008 LAB FIRE - LATIMES.COM
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death
LIQUID OXYGEN LEAK
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, liquid_oxygen
CARBON MONOXIDE LEAK LEADS TO GERMANTOWN SHOPPING CENTER EVACUATION È THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
Tags: us_TN, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
TWO CHARGED IN PARKVILLE HAZMAT CALL | BALTIMORE NEWS | WBAL RADIO 1090 AM
Tags: us_MD, public, discovery, response, drugs, illegal
FAIRVIEW POLICE WARN ABOUT POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE BOTTLES È NEWS È OPB
Tags: us_OR, public, explosion, response, bomb
RISING CHEMICALS OUTPUT A HAZARD, CLEAN-UP NEEDED BY 2020 - U.N. - WORLD UPDATES | THE STAR ONLINE
Tags: Norway, public, release, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICAL REACTION SPARKS ALERT AT FRENCH NUCLEAR PLANT - CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM
Tags: France, industrial, release, injury, radiation
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT PPG WAREHOUSE - WETZELCHRONICLE.COM | NEWS, INFORMATION, NEW MARTINSVILLE AND WETZEL COUNTY WV - WETZEL CHRONICLE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, fire, response, calcium_hypochlorite
RICHMOND SEES OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN FROM CHEVRON REFINERY FIRE - INSIDE BAY AREA
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury
NO MAJOR HEALTH CONCERNS AFTER FIRE AT TSAS - FOX23 NEWS
Tags: us_OK, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
THE NATION - MILLIONS GONE AS FIRE RAZES IBADAN MARKET
Tags: Nigeria, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEVRON: SMALL FLASH FIRE PRECEDED MASSIVE AUG. 6 BLAZE AT RICHMOND REFINERY - SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, petroleum
SIVAKASI FIRE TRAGEDY: 38 DEAD, 12 ARRESTED, SEARCH ON FOR FACTORY OWNER | NDTV.COM
Tags: India, industrial, fire, death, unknown_chemical
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HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO MEDICAL FORUM BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN BIRMI
http://www.myfoxal.com/story/19476236/hazmat-team-responds-to-medical-forum-building
Tags: us_AL, public, release, injury, batteries, sulphur
A Hazmat team responded to the Medical Forum building in downtown Birmingham to clean up a battery leaking sulfur on the 8th floor. The building is located at 950 22nd Street North near the BJCC and Sheraton Hotel.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue crews and the Hazmat team arrived to the building around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6.
Two people were taken to a local hospital after being exposed to the sulfur, Battalion Chief C.W. Mardis with Birmingham Fire and Rescue said. There is no word on their conditions.
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HAZMAT REPORTS CLEANING PRODUCT IN STORM DRAIN
http://caldwells.patch.com/articles/hazmat-reports-cleaning-product-in-storm-drain
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, cleaners
Concerns over a chemical spill in Caldwell snarled traffic on Bloomfield Avenue Thursday while local and county officials conducted an investigation.
The Essex County Hazmat Unit, based out of Nutley, checked storm drains across half the town, as well as the nearby county park pond, but found that a cleaning product discovered in one storm drain had not spread.
Hazmat was called to the borough at approximately 12:45 p.m. when a strange odor was reported on Personette Street, near Bloomfield Avenue, according to Nutley Fire Department Lt. Don Santangelo.
"There was a company that was cleaning the paver blocks and the product rolled down the driveway onto the street and into the storm drain," Santangelo said. He said the spill has been deemed accidental.
Hazmat worked alongside local and county health officials, as well as the borough's Department of Public Works and the Caldwell Volunteer Fire Department, after a stripping product was discovered in the storm drain.
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HAZMAT TEAM CLEARING UP AMMONIA LEAK NEAR FISHERMAN'S TERMINAL
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2012/08/hazmat-team-cleaning-up-ammonia-spill-near-fishermans-terminal/
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia
An ammonia gas leak on a 178-foot vessel near Fisherman's Terminal led to an evacuation of everyone within 500 feet of it Thursday, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
A repair crew for a fish-processing boat punctured a 1-1/4-inch hole in gas line at around 4:30 p.m. at 1500 W. Thurman St., sending the ammonia spilling into a confined space on the ship called the blasting freezer, according to SFD spokesman Kyle Moore.
One crew member was physically affected by the spill but declined treatment, he said.
Because the puncture in the gas line was so hard to reach, the SFD hazardous materials team is waiting for the remaining ammonia gas to leak out of its tank instead of immediately sealing it, Moore said. SFD's Technical Rescue Team will try to cut off the leak when ammonia air levels decrease, he said.
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AUSTRALIA: TANKER TRUCK LEAKS SODIUM HYDROXIDE
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-07/chemical-spill-causes-traffic-gridlock/4248318?section=vic
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, corrosives
A tanker carrying thousands of litres of a chemical has crashed in Southbank in Melbourne, causing traffic gridlock.
The truck collided with a car on the Kings Way off-ramp at about 8:20am (AEST), bringing traffic to a standstill on the West Gate Freeway.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade commander Barry Gray says the truck was carrying potassium hydroxide that has leaked onto the road.
"We're estimating what's escaped from the tank at the moment is probably 100 to 150 litres, we estimate the tank's capacity is 8,000 litres," he said.
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LLANELLI CHEMICAL PLANT EVACUATED AS EXPERTS CALLED TO CLEAR BOMB
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Llanelli-chemical-plant-evacuated-experts-called/story-16847113-detail/story.html
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, discovery, response, bomb
ARMY bomb disposal experts have detonated a Second World War bomb uncovered at a Llanelli chemical plant.
The explosive, which was found at the site of Huntsman Chemical Company in Bynea during a routine excavation, prompted an immediate evacuation and closure of the site.
The scene at Huntsman Chemical Plant in Bynea where an unexploded Second World War bomb has been found
The bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion yesterday afternoon.
Grant Wood, environmental health and safety manager at the plant said: "During a routine maintenance excavation a war-time bomb was discovered.
"The plant was shut down immediately and the bomb was moved to a safe location on site.
"It was a surprise to discover the bomb and we informed the police immediately after. There has been no risk to the public at any time."
---------------------------------------------
SIVAKASI FIREWORKS TRAGEDY: DID CHEMICAL MIX CAUSE THE EXPLOSION
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Sivakasi-fireworks-tragedy-Did-chemical-mix-cause-the-explosion/articleshow/16291596.cms
Tags: India, public, follow-up, death, fireworks
SIVAKASI: A mixture of chemicals used in fancy fireworks that paint the sky in varying hues is blamed for many of the accidents in Sivakasi. Locally called "mani marundhu" , this mix of magnesium, magnalium , sulphur, ammonium nitrate, barium nitrate, charcoal and turpentine is so volatile that it goes off with minor friction.
"One should be extremely careful while dealing with the mixture because it can go off even with slight friction," said N Arjunan , who works in a fireworks unit close to Om Shakthi Fireworks, where a series of explosions killed 38 people on Wednesday. The mixture is used in all fireworks that are intended to produce multi-coloured illumination .
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UCLA PROFESSOR ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES IN FATAL 2008 LAB FIRE - LATIMES.COM
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/ucla-professor-arraigned-on-charges-in-fatal-2008-lab-fire.html
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge entered a not guilty plea Wednesday on behalf of a UCLA chemistry professor arraigned on felony charges in a 2008 laboratory fire that killed a staff research assistant.
Judge Shelly Torrealba also set a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9 for professor Patrick Harran, who is charged with three counts of willfully violating state occupational health and safety standards.
Research assistant Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji, 23, was transferring about 1.8 ounces of t-butyl lithium from one sealed container to another in December 2008 when a plastic syringe came apart, spewing a chemical compound that ignites when exposed to air. Her synthetic-fabric sweater caught fire and melted onto her skin. She died 18 days later.
UCLA and Harran have cast her death as a tragic accident, and said she was a seasoned chemist who chose not to wear a protective lab coat. In December, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged Harran and the University of California regents with identical counts.
Harran's arraignment had been postponed several times as plea negotiations continued. Charges against the university were dropped in July, when the regents agreed to accept responsibility for the lab's operating conditions at the time of the fire, to follow comprehensive safety measures and to endow a $500,000 scholarship in Sangji's name.
---------------------------------------------
LIQUID OXYGEN LEAK
http://www.ktul.com/story/19465120/okla-city-hazmat-crew-contains-liquid-oxygen-leak
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, liquid_oxygen
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Fire officials say a liquid oxygen leak at a business has been contained in Oklahoma City.
Fire Maj. Tammy McKinney says the department received a call about 1:25 p.m. Wednesday of a hazardous material leak in a tank at Baker Hughes.
McKinney says the building was evacuated, but no injuries were reported.
McKinney says a hazardous material crew contained the leak.
---------------------------------------------
CARBON MONOXIDE LEAK LEADS TO GERMANTOWN SHOPPING CENTER EVACUATION È THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/sep/05/carbon-monoxide-leak-leads-to-germantown-02/
Tags: us_TN, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
Firefighters in Hazmat trucks evacuated a Germantown shopping center on Poplar Avenue near Exeter Wednesday afternoon after a carbon monoxide leak elevated gas levels 10 times above the normal range.
Three people were transported to area hospitals for evaluation after the leak was detected in the Germantown Collection shopping center, and several affected businesses were evacuated after customers at a Fantastic Sam's complained of a strange smell Wednesday morning, according to the Germantown Fire Department.
The fire department was called about 10:30 a.m. when a few customers began to show the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to firefighters on the scene. Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Beaman said the colorless, odorless gas usually gives people headaches, nausea and fatigue. Carbon monoxide is known as a "silent killer" and is one of the leading causes of accidental deaths in the U.S.
---------------------------------------------
TWO CHARGED IN PARKVILLE HAZMAT CALL | BALTIMORE NEWS | WBAL RADIO 1090 AM
http://www.wbal.com/article/93697/2/template-story/Two-Charged-In-Parkville-HAZMAT-Call-
Tags: us_MD, public, discovery, response, drugs, illegal
Two Parkville teens are under arrest after neighbors contacted 911 and the Hazmat team, police, and even the bomb squad had to go in and cordon off a street on Monday night.
Officials said the two were concocting a chemical mix to be used for huffing.
It appeared to be mostly engine starter fluid.
Charged with drug possession and distribution counts are 19 year old Justin Trionfo and 18 year old Kahrl Retti.
---------------------------------------------
FAIRVIEW POLICE WARN ABOUT POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE BOTTLES È NEWS È OPB
http://www.opb.org/news/article/fairview-police-warn-about-potentially-explosive-bottles/
Tags: us_OR, public, explosion, response, bomb
The Fairview Police Department is warning people not to pick up suspicious plastic bottles.
The agency says it has received information that homemade bottle bombs may be placed in or around parks in East Multnomah County. Police say they are usually made in plastic drinking bottles.
Police chief Ken Johnson says when moved, a chemical reaction takes place that can cause severe heat or even an explosion.
"We've been told that depending on the amount I'm assuming, they can take off limbs, they can take out eyes. the intelligence information we've received is there may be an attempt to plant them near playgrounds at parks. And if a little kid picks it up, it could be devastating."
Fairview residents are urged to call the Fairview Police Department if you find a suspicious looking plastic bottle with unknown liquid contents -- especially if there is aluminum foil inside and the bottle has been capped
---------------------------------------------
RISING CHEMICALS OUTPUT A HAZARD, CLEAN-UP NEEDED BY 2020 - U.N. - WORLD UPDATES | THE STAR ONLINE
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/5/worldupdates/2012-09-05T121554Z_1_DEE88408T_RTROPTT_0_CHEMICALS-ENVIRONMENT&sec=Worldupdates
Tags: Norway, public, release, environmental, other_chemical
OSLO (Reuters) - Increasing misuse of chemicals is causing health and environmental damage especially in emerging economies and governments must do more to carry out a promised clean-up by 2020, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.
Dump trucks, used for transporting apatite-nepheline ore, are parked near an open pit owned by North-Western Phosphorous Company, part of chemicals company Acron, with a controlled explosion aimed at the quarrying ore seen in the background, outside the town of Kirovsk in Russia's northern Murmansk region, July 24, 2012. REUTERS/Andrey Kuzmin/Files
Production and use of chemicals - from plastics to pesticides - is shifting to developing nations where safeguards are often weaker, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) said. Unsafe disposal and recycling adds to risks, it said.
Poisonings from industrial and agricultural chemicals are among the top five leading causes of death worldwide, contributing to more than a million deaths every year, UNEP said in a statement of its Global Chemicals Outlook.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL REACTION SPARKS ALERT AT FRENCH NUCLEAR PLANT - CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-france-nuclear-accidentbre88410b-20120905,0,4295327.story
Tags: France, industrial, release, injury, radiation
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - A chemical reaction at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in eastern France injured several people and triggered a brief fire alert on Wednesday, local government and fire service officials said.
The incident, sparked by a chemical reaction, was quickly brought under control, the officials at the local government prefect's office and the fire services said.
French power utility EDF, which operates the plant, said there had been a steam leak there but denied initial reports from the local fire brigade that a fire had broken out.
"No fire broke out," an EDF spokeswoman said. "Steam escaped during a maintenance operation which set off the fire alarm," she said, adding that the incident hurt two EDF staff.
Fessenheim, France's oldest nuclear power plant, has two reactors that went into service in the 1970s.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT PPG WAREHOUSE - WETZELCHRONICLE.COM | NEWS, INFORMATION, NEW MARTINSVILLE AND WETZEL COUNTY WV - WETZEL CHRONICLE
http://www.wetzelchronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/511563/Fire-Breaks-Out-At-PPG-Warehouse.html?nav=5001
Tags: us_WV, industrial, fire, response, calcium_hypochlorite
New Martinsville, Moundsville, and Washington Lands firefighters responded to the PPG Industries Natrium facility at 6:45 p.m. Saturday for a chemical fire. Marshall County Emergency Management Agency Director Tom Hart reported that Wetzel and Marshall county sheriff's deputies and New Martinsville police officers were called to shut down a section of state Route 2 for about 10 minutes as a precaution.
Jeremy Neuhart, manager of PPG's Corporate Public Relations, states that the fire, which was reported in the plant's calcium hypochlorite (cal-hypo) warehouse, was extinguished at 7:45 p.m. Hart stated firefighters from outside agencies monitored the scene for hot spots for approximately two hours after the fire was extinguished. According to New Martinsville Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Larry Couch, NMVFD personnel were released from the PPG scene at approximately 10 p.m. The PPG fire brigade was still watching the scene Sunday.
Hart stated that the cause of the fire is still under investigation. PPG will conduct an internal investigation and, when that is complete, will meet with all the fire departments that responded Saturday.
---------------------------------------------
RICHMOND SEES OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN FROM CHEVRON REFINERY FIRE - INSIDE BAY AREA
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_21475204/richmond-sees-opportunity-gain-from-chevron-refinery-fire
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury
RICHMOND -- The Aug. 6 fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery sent more than 15,200 people to hospitals, triggered multiple investigations and cast a sooty shadow over the aging facility and its corporate operator.
But after the accident, common ground has emerged among long-polarized factions in this city that has had a love-hate relationship with the refinery.
Everyone sees opportunity to benefit as Chevron, already weakened politically in Richmond, is widely expected to ramp up its community-investment efforts as it tries to improve its standing here and make amends.
The fire came at a time when Chevron's tumultuous relationship with the city seemed to be entering a period of detente after years of political clashes and recent setbacks, including a long-running battle over the size of its property tax bill. The company's aggressive fence-mending efforts, already reflected in a sharp rise in community giving, are expected to only accelerate in the wake of the black eye dealt by the fire that federal investigators have called a "near disaster."
---------------------------------------------
NO MAJOR HEALTH CONCERNS AFTER FIRE AT TSAS - FOX23 NEWS
http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/No-major-health-concerns-after-fire-at-TSAS/4hozyGRbPUSmUI8joLHZsQ.cspx
Tags: us_OK, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A fire Wednesday morning at the Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences appears to have started in or near a chemistry lab, prompting health concerns for people in the neighborhood, especially after there were two explosions in the area of the lab.
Investigators still have not determined where or how the fire started, or what kinds of chemicals, if any, were in the lab.
Several Tulsa Fire Department hazmat crews spent the morning and afternoon on the scene, but eventually left after determining there was no hazardous materials threat.
But the possibility of chemical fumes was troubling for some who live near the school.
---------------------------------------------
THE NATION - MILLIONS GONE AS FIRE RAZES IBADAN MARKET
http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/news/60467-millions-gone-as-fire-razes-ibadan-market.html
Tags: Nigeria, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical
TRADERS at the popular Labawo Market, Ogunpa, Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State were in tears yesterday. Their warepoints, including four buildings and 50 stalls were ravaged by fire.
Gone in the dawn inferno were properties estimated at several millions of naira.
However, there was no life lost in the fire that erased the means of livelihood of many
The market, reputed for all sorts of chemicals, leather and building materials, is situated in Ibadan Northwest Local Government Area of the state.
The fire, which began at about 9am, gutted four houses, including three bungalows and a storey building.
---------------------------------------------
CHEVRON: SMALL FLASH FIRE PRECEDED MASSIVE AUG. 6 BLAZE AT RICHMOND REFINERY - SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_21476434/chevron-small-flash-fire-preceded-massive-aug-6
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, petroleum
RICHMOND -- A "flash fire" was extinguished about 10 minutes before a massive blaze erupted Aug. 6 at Chevron's refinery here, the company revealed in a 30-day report on the accident that it submitted to Contra Costa County officials Wednesday.
The revelation of the flash fire, which was not publicly known previously, is crucial to the investigation into the blaze caused by a leaking 8-inch pipe, said Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Chief Randy Sawyer.
"There was a small fire that their fire department put out very quickly," Sawyer said. "That was a flash and warning in itself. What's key is to understand the thinking and decisions made in the three minutes between the little fire and the pipe failure."
Chevron's report also raised questions about the composition of a white cloud that formed minutes before the large fire. "A significant amount of water was being applied on scene and considerable steam was created," the report states. "Because the white cloud did not ignite, we have questions about its composition."
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SIVAKASI FIRE TRAGEDY: 38 DEAD, 12 ARRESTED, SEARCH ON FOR FACTORY OWNER | NDTV.COM
http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/sivakasi-fire-38-dead-firecracker-factory-violated-at-least-40-safety-norms-263642
Tags: India, industrial, fire, death, unknown_chemical
Sivakasi: Twelve people have been arrested in connection with the massive fire that broke out at a fire-cracker factory near Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu yesterday. 38 people have been killed and at least 60 others have been injured in the fire.
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