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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (8 articles)
Date: February 15, 2013 8:14:05 AM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <BD4DE493-FDDF-4798-9A4B-596C4E2D5B96**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, February 15, 2013 8:01:09 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 (8 articles)
ÔCHEMICAL REACTION BOMB' EXPLODED OUTSIDE FORT HILL HIGH
Tags: us_MD, education, explosion, response, bomb, illegal
COUGHING EPISODE IN LAMBERTVILLE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS FIX CHLORINE LEAK AT MIDLAND WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, chlorine, gas_cylinders, water_treatment
IN COOPERATION WITH CAL OSHA, CSB RELEASES TECHNICAL REPORT ON CHEVRON 2012 2012 PIPE RUPTURE AND FIRE; EXTENSIVE SULFIDATION CORROSION NOTED
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, petroleum
CLOVIS MOTHER BLAMES SCHOOL FOR SON'S CHEMICAL BURN
Tags: us_TX, education, release, injury, acids
UPDATE: FIRE CREWS RESPONDING TO HAZMAT SITUATION IN PACIFICA
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, cleaners
VILLANOVA LAB INCIDENT THAT SICKENED STUDENTS STILL A MYSTERY
Tags: us_pa, release, laboratory, response, other_chemical
MOBILE METH LAB CATCHES FIRE IN GENEVA
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, injury, meth_lab
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ÔCHEMICAL REACTION BOMB' EXPLODED OUTSIDE FORT HILL HIGH
http://times-news.com/local/x766088401/-Chemical-reaction-bomb-exploded-outside-Fort-Hill-High
Tags: us_MD, education, explosion, response, bomb, illegal
CUMBERLAND Ñ An Oldtown youth was arrested outside Fort Hill High School on Thursday morning when he detonated a homemade explosive device with about 10 people nearby.
No one was injured in the 7:35 a.m. incident that was witnessed by two Allegany County deputies who had just arrived at the school concerning an unrelated matter.
The 17-year-old junior at the school, who also attends the Career Center, was taken into custody at the scene on a felony charge of manufacturing, transporting, processing, controlling and storing an explosive device and reckless endangerment.
The student remained in custody awaiting an emergency hearing in juvenile court, according to the Allegany County Sheriff's Office.
Police said the device was a "chemical reaction bomb" that the youth reportedly assembled at home and then transported aboard a public school bus. The explosion created a loud noise similar to a gunshot, gave off a cloud of white smoke and blew pieces of the device into the air. Some of those materials were collected as evidence by the deputies who conducted the initial investigation with the assistance of the Cumberland Police Department school resource officer.
The matter was referred to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office for further investigation.
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COUGHING EPISODE IN LAMBERTVILLE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2013/02/coughing_episode_in_lambertville_prompts_hazmat_response.html
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
LAMBERTVILLE Ñ A restaurant and bar was evacuated and a county Hazmat team called in yesterday evening, police reported, because people started coughing.
Twenty-eight people were evacuated from Bell's Tavern shortly after 6:30 p.m. Police said that patrons believed an odorless substance caused people to start coughing.
They were taken to the nearby Columbia firehouse, where they were checked by the Lambertville-New Hope rescue squad. Police said that each refused further treatment.
Police said that no problems were found and firemen used fans to air out the restaurant and bar.
The incident is not as unusual as it may seem.
"Humans aren't the rational creatures that we fancy ourselves to be. We're often beasts of the herd," Robert Provine, a professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, told NBC News. "We yawn when other people yawn. We laugh when other people laugh. And we cough when other people cough."
Tadhgh Rainey heads the county Division of Public Health Services, which was involved in the Hazmat response. He confirmed that the air was tested for toxins and that nothing was found.
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HAZMAT CREWS FIX CHLORINE LEAK AT MIDLAND WATER TREATMENT PLANT
http://permianbasin360.com/fulltext?nxd_id=250742
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, chlorine, gas_cylinders, water_treatment
Midland officials tell Big 2 that a chlorine cylinder at the water treatment facility near the intersection of north Midland Drive and Bluebird Lane sprung a leak around 9:30 AM Thursday.
The leak was reportedly caused by a manufacture defect on the cylinder.
HAZMAT crews were able to seal the leak by 11:45 AM Thursday
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IN COOPERATION WITH CAL OSHA, CSB RELEASES TECHNICAL REPORT ON CHEVRON 2012 2012 PIPE RUPTURE AND FIRE; EXTENSIVE SULFIDATION CORROSION NOTED
http://www.csb.gov/newsroom/detail.aspx?nid=457
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, petroleum
Washington, DC, February 13, 2013 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) today released a technical evaluation report on piping samples taken from the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, California, where a hydrocarbon release and massive fire occurred on August 6, 2012. Cal/OSHA participated in this technical evaluation as part of its enforcement investigation.
The report, prepared by Anamet, Inc., a metallurgical laboratory in Hayward, California, concludes that the 8-inch steel pipe, from a section designated as 4-sidecut which was installed in 1976, ruptured due to severe sulfidation corrosion, and that tested pipe samples showed a very low concentration of corrosion-inhibiting silicon.
CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso said, "The report, resulting from a cooperative effort between the CSB, Cal/OSHA, the United Steelworkers (USW), and Chevron provides a solid, technical basis for the firm conclusion that the pipe corroded over time from sulfidation corrosion. We hope this report receives widespread attention throughout the petrochemical industry as a precaution to all refiners to carefully examine potential corrosion mechanisms and use the safest possible materials of construction to avoid failures. Refineries and other plants must incorporate strong mechanical integrity and inherently safer strategies in their process safety management programs."
Cal/OSHA Chief Ellen Widess added "This reports confirms what Chevron already knew- that the pipe was severely corroded and should have been replaced - but failed to act on before the August fire. This failure to act was included among the multiple Serious and Willful Serious citations issued to Chevron. Chevron's own metallurgists and pipe inspectors reached the same conclusion and recommended as far back as 2002 that Chevron take action to protect its workers, the community and the environment by replacing the pipe that finally ruptured in 2012."
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CLOVIS MOTHER BLAMES SCHOOL FOR SON'S CHEMICAL BURN
http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=860357#.URzeVh0cd48
Tags: us_TX, education, release, injury, acids
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Nellie Aragon's son came home on January 25th from Lincoln Jackson Pre-School with a second-degree burn to his inner thigh. He claims the burn came from an acid-based chemical used to clean the toilet seats of the boys restroom.
"I did have a hospital staff social worker that came and looked at my son's burn, she said that she had seen other children come in the hospital before with chemical burns from school toilet seats," says Aragon.
After a medical absence, Aragon decided to switch her son to a different school. He now attends Los Ninos Pre-School. It wasn't until after the switch that she was informed that all Clovis Municipal School District schools use the same cleaning products.
Clovis Municipal School District Superintendent, Terry Myles, says the district has conducted a thorough investigation regarding the incident. "We don't know how this happened, all we know is it's reported and alleged that it happened at school, says Myles.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: FIRE CREWS RESPONDING TO HAZMAT SITUATION IN PACIFICA
http://pacifica.patch.com/articles/fire-crews-responding-to-hazmat-situation-in-pacifica
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, cleaners
Hazmat crews are arriving at a Pacifica bakery to assess and determine the best method of clean up after an employee using a chlorinated degreaser to clean equipment splashed some of the chemical onto his body, a fire spokesman said today.
Fire crews were called to French Patisserie Inc. at 1080 Palmetto Ave. just before 4 p.m., according to North County Fire Authority spokesman Matt Lucett.
The victim was assessed and taken by non-emergency ambulance to a local hospital. There were no other victims.
Crews were able safely evacuate the bakery and are denying entry while they determine how best to clean up the spill.
The bakery is in an industrial sector of the city right off the ocean. Lucett said it is more likely an industrial bakery, not the type a person would stop into for a cup of coffee and cookie.
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VILLANOVA LAB INCIDENT THAT SICKENED STUDENTS STILL A MYSTERY
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130213_Villanova_lab_incident_that_sickened_students_still_a_mystery.html
Tags: us_pa, release, laboratory, response, other_chemical
The day after an incident at a Villanova University chemistry lab sent 29 people to the hospital and led to the evacuation of a building, investigators were still unsure Wednesday why the students fell ill.
About 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, students in a freshman chemistry class at the Mendel Science Center were conducting a routine experiment when a student fell ill, university officials said in a statement.
Initially, classmates thought she was having an asthma attack. The student left the lab, and a faculty member went to help her but began feeling faint herself, officials said.
Paramedics who had been called to the scene then recommended that the building be evacuated. Several other students began reporting similar symptoms as they were evacuating - light-headedness, nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing, university officials said.
By the end of the day, 45 people had been treated on-scene by paramedics. Of those, 29 were taken to hospitals for evaluation, but were released.
Meanwhile, hazmat crews inspected the building and the classroom where, university officials said, students had been conducting "a commonly performed organic synthesis using propionic acid and alcohol to create a compound." But the crews found no evidence of a chemical spill or leak, officials said.
The experiment "has been run the same way numerous times before without incident," said Jon Gust, the university's director of media relations.
Radnor Fire Chief Dan Kincade said the student who initially fell ill has asthma and could have had a reaction to a vapor released during the experiment.
"It is conclusive that it had to be something to do with vapors from the experiment," he said.
Other students may have seen her symptoms - which included a nosebleed - and become distressed, although that is just "one angle that could be looked at," Kincade said.
"I have a feeling that somebody saw somebody getting sick and got a little wheezy themselves," Kincade said.
Kincade said hazmat crews found no vapors in the lab, but said Mendel Hall has a "fantastic" ventilating system that would have cleared the air by the time crews reached the classroom.
Mendel was open for normal operation by Wednesday morning, officials said. In the meantime, the chemistry department is conducting a review of safety procedures, the university said.
---------------------------------------------
MOBILE METH LAB CATCHES FIRE IN GENEVA
http://starbeacon.com/local/x1303549258/Mobile-meth-lab-catches-fire-in-Geneva
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, injury, meth_lab
GENEVA Ñ Two Geneva men face drug charges after a mobile methamphetamine laboratory caught fire as officers worked to "neutralize" the chemicals.
....
The search of the vehicle revealed three bags of white powder Ñ a combined weight of 6 grams Ñ which tested positive for methamphetamine; and a brown substance that tested positive for heroin, Wilt said.
The officers also found a plastic bottle Ñ known as a "mobile meth lab." The bottle contained some liquid with several black strips floating on top and small balls at the bottom.
Wilt said he became apprehensive about the meth lab, because he didn't know what stage the chemical reaction had reached.
"Switalski indicated that the meth was finished and shouldn't hurt anyone," Wilt said.
....
The officers then began to deconstruct or "neutralize" the meth lab, Wilt said, but the unstable chemical mixture caught fire during the process.
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