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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, May 27, 2013 9:12:48 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 (17 articles)
KOREA: DEATHS FROM CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS JUMP IN 2012
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, death, chlorine
SMALL CHLORINE EXPLOSION IN RYE TOWNSHIP SENDS 1 PERSON TO HOSPITAL, CAUSES MINIMAL DAMAGE
Tags: us_PA, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
HIGHWAY 77 CHEMICAL LEAK SENDS FIREFIGHTERS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_TX, transportation, fire, injury, chlorine
SUMMER MEANS A SPIKE IN CHEMICAL INJURIES TO KIDS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
PESTICIDE CONTAINERS WASH ASHORE IN AUSTRALIA
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, pesticides
WHAT IS CHEMICAL INTUITION?
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
CHEMICAL SPILLAGE SIMULATOR LOOKS KIND OF HILARIOUS, IS DUE IN JUNE
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, discovery, response
GIRLS FIND MERCURY SPILLED IN PLAINFIELD
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, mercury
ACID SPILL AT AAMI PARK TRIGGERS CHEMICAL EMERGENCY
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
PREPARATION HELPED PROTECT ENVIRONMENT FROM CHEMICALS IN MCFARLANES' FIRE
Tags: us_WI, public, follow-up, environmental, runoff
ACID LEAK CLOSES SECTION OF NORTH PEORIA AVENUE OVERNIGHT
Tags: us_OK, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
XCEL SETTLES WITH OSHA ON CABIN CREEK POWER PLANT CITATIONS
Tags: us_CO, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD SAYS ÔWE ARE NOT BACKING AWAY' FROM WEST INVESTIGATION, PLANS TO SURVEY EXPLOSION SCENE NEXT WEEK
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
CHEMICAL LEAK SHUTS DOWN SOUTHBOUND HIGHWAY 77 JUST 30 MILES NORTH OF RAYMONDVILLE
Tags: us_TX, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical
TEXAS PROHIBITS NEARLY 70 PERCENT OF ITS COUNTIES FROM HAVING A FIRE CODE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental
RADIATION LEAK AT JAPAN LAB
Tags: Japan, laboratory, release, response, radiation, gold
DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE DETONATED AT MIRAMAR LANDFILL
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, tetrahydrofuran, time-sensitive
---------------------------------------------
KOREA: DEATHS FROM CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS JUMP IN 2012
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/05/27/49/0302000000AEN20130527007300315F.HTML
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, death, chlorine
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- The number of deaths from chemical accidents soared nearly 40 percent in 2012 from a year earlier amid a spate of fires, explosions and gas leaks at industrial plants across the country, government data showed Monday.
A total of 98 people were killed in chemical accidents last year, up 38 percent from 71 a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The number marked the highest level since 2008 when 112 such deaths were reported. The annual death toll from chemical accidents steadily declined from 2009-2011, ranging from 70 to 80 per year.
The number of people injured in chemical accidents also gained 13.1 percent on-year to 1,113 last year.
The rise in the death and injury counts was attributed to a string of deadly accidents at chemical factories last year. Among the deadliest was an eight-ton toxic acid leak at a plant in the southeastern city of Gumi in September, which killed five workers and injured 16 others.
This year's casualties are feared to rise even further as the country has already suffered several chemical accidents so far this year.
In January and May, three separate fatal gas leaks killed six workers and injured seven others in total. In March, nearly 200 people received medical treatment after a chlorine gas leaked at another chemical factory in Gumi.
---------------------------------------------
SMALL CHLORINE EXPLOSION IN RYE TOWNSHIP SENDS 1 PERSON TO HOSPITAL, CAUSES MINIMAL DAMAGE
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/small_chlorine_explosion_in_ry.html
Tags: us_PA, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
A small chlorine explosion in Rye Township sent one man to the hospital Sunday afternoon and caused minimal damage inside a home, according to Marysville Second Assistant Fire Chief Rob Richmond.
At about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, a chemical reaction caused the small explosion at the home on Ridge Road, but Richmond said there isn't an indication yet as to what exactly caused the explosion.
One man who was near the explosion when it occurred was transported to an area hospital for precautionary measures. His wife, who was in the home at the time, did not seek medical treatment.
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HIGHWAY 77 CHEMICAL LEAK SENDS FIREFIGHTERS TO HOSPITAL
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=902287#.UaNbMdIce5I
Tags: us_TX, transportation, fire, injury, chlorine
A Saturday evening chemical spill thirty miles north of Raymondville sent three firefighters to the hospital.
The Kenedy County firefighters were taken to a hospital in Corpus Christi because of the chemical exposure.
According to Kennedy County officials, all three men are in stable condition.
The southbound lanes of Highway 77 were shut down overnight due to the spill.
Authorities said a truck, carrying the load of multiple chemicals, caught fire as it was heading to Brownsville.
Officials were able to extinguish the flames, but chlorine tablets and calcium hypochlorite leaked out.
These chemicals are not considered dangerous when separated, but when mixed they are considered extremely hazardous, according to officials.
---------------------------------------------
SUMMER MEANS A SPIKE IN CHEMICAL INJURIES TO KIDS
http://www.hazmatmag.com/news/summer-means-a-spike-in-chemical-injuries-to-kids/1002343958/?ref=rss&ctid=1002343958
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Hydrocarbons found in household items such as cleaning products or gasoline are among the top 10 causes of pediatric poisoning deaths in the U.S., a new study has found.
The Central Ohio Poison Center and the Center for Injury Research and Policy, both at Nationwide Children's Hospital, found poisoning deaths are most likely to occur during months when the weather is warm and are associated with activities such as mowing lawns, use of Tiki torches and use of lighter fluid for outdoor cooking.
According to the study, published online May 6, 2013, and in the June 2013 print issue of Pediatrics, 31 per cent of hydrocarbon exposure incidents were reported during the summer with 17 to 19 per cent being reported during winter months.
"Inquisitive children mistakenly identify hydrocarbons as a food or beverage and attempt to ingest the poison, which is the most common way children are exposed to the chemical," explained study co-author Lara McKenzie, PhD, MA, principal investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's. "The changing seasons should remind parents to ensure proper storage of hydrocarbons in their original containers."
---------------------------------------------
PESTICIDE CONTAINERS WASH ASHORE IN AUSTRALIA
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/toxic-chemical-container-threat-mystery/story-fnii5s3y-1226651473193
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, pesticides
TWO more toxic chemical-containing canisters have washed up on NSW beaches, the latest in a number that have mysteriously turned up along the eastern coastline over a period of months.
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) said the canisters were discovered on Newcastle's Stockton Beach and south of Birubi Surf Club at Port Stephens on Friday and Saturday.
The silver containers are suspected of holding potentially fatal aluminium phosphide, which is used as rat poison.
Similar canisters have also been discovered further north at Kingscliff and Failford, further south at Warriewood and Batemans Bay, as well as along the Queensland, Tasmanian and South Australian coastlines.
---------------------------------------------
WHAT IS CHEMICAL INTUITION?
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2013/05/24/what-is-chemical-intuition/
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
Recently I read a comment by a leading chemist in which he said that in chemistry, intuition is much more important than in physics. This is a curious comment since intuition is one of those things which is hard to define but which most people who play the game appreciate when they see it. It is undoubtedly important in any scientific discipline and certainly so in physics; Einstein for instance was regarded as the outstanding intuitionist of his age, a man whose grasp of physical reality unaided by mathematical analysis was unmatched. Yet it seems to me that "chemical intuition" is a phrase which you hear much more than "physical intuition". When it comes to intuition, chemists seem to be more in the league of financial traders, geopolitical experts and psychologists than physicists.
Why is this the case? The simple reason is that in chemistry, unlike physics, armchair mathematical manipulation and theorizing can take you only so far. While armchair speculation and order-of-magnitude calculations can certainly be very valuable, no chemist can design a zeolite, predict the ultimate product of a complex polymer synthesis or list the biological properties that a potential drug can have by simply working through the math. As the great organic chemist R B Woodward once said of his decision to pursue chemistry rather than math, in chemistry, ideas have to answer to reality. Chemistry much more than physics is an experimental science built on a foundation of rigorous and empirical models, and as the statistican George Box once memorably quipped, all models are wrong, but some are useful. It is chemical intuition that can separate the good models from the bad ones.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILLAGE SIMULATOR LOOKS KIND OF HILARIOUS, IS DUE IN JUNE
http://games.on.net/2013/05/chemical-spillage-simulator-looks-kind-of-hilarious-is-due-in-june/
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, discovery, response
From the creators of such glorious bestsellers (?) as City Bus Simulator: New York, Train Simulator 2013 and Euro Truck Simulator comes this weekend's most talked about new PC announce: Chemical Spillage Simulator. According to early assets, this nail-biting sim includes trucks, scanning devices, extinguishers, weird tools and hazmat suits.
Players take on the role of a member of the Special Chemical Disaster Prevention unit, and will deal with "some of the most dangerous materials in the world that are both toxic and very deadly". Toxic and very deadly. This is serious shizzle. You'll encounter objects contaminated with radiation, highly toxic substances, and fires, and counter these situations with specialised tools and an analyser robot.
---------------------------------------------
GIRLS FIND MERCURY SPILLED IN PLAINFIELD
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/plainfield/chi-girls-find-mercury-spilled-in-plainfield-20130524,0,123239.story
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, mercury
Two girls discovered a spill of mercury on a street near downtown Plainfield, and firefighters successfully cleaned up the toxic metal late this afternoon.
Plainfield Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Jon Stratton said crews recovered about 22 cubic centimeters of mercury -- enough to fill a large syringe -- at the southeast corner of Eastern Avenue and Spring Hill Lane, which is a few blocks east of the village's downtown district and Indian Trail Middle School.
Stratton said it appeared the element -- which is a toxic metal that is liquid at normal temperatures -- had been in a glass vial because firefighters discovered bits of broken glass and a cork stopper near the spill.
He added the mercury was pooled together, and although it was found about 20 feet away from a drain he was confident none of it made it into the village's sewer or water system.
Stratton was uncertain where the mercury came from or how it got on the street.
He said the two local girls were walking through the neighborhood -- he wasn't sure exactly when but he believed it might have been Thursday -- when they discovered the spill. They scooped some of it up in a cap from a soda bottle and brought it home to show their parents, who called the fire department about 4 p.m. Friday.
---------------------------------------------
ACID SPILL AT AAMI PARK TRIGGERS CHEMICAL EMERGENCY
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/acid-spill-at-aami-stadium-triggers-chemical-emergency/story-fni0fit3-1226650401441
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
FIRE fighters have been called to a chemical leak at AAMI Park after acid poured from water treatment equipment this morning.
Melbourne Fire Brigade (MFB) firefighters, using breathing apparatus and protective gear, were working to neutralise 100 litres of hydrochloric acid.
MFB commander Peter Egan said the focus of the crews was to neutralise the acid after mitigating the leak earlier.
"It is expected it will take in excess of one hour to isolate the leak make the scene safe," Mr Egan said.
---------------------------------------------
PREPARATION HELPED PROTECT ENVIRONMENT FROM CHEMICALS IN MCFARLANES' FIRE
http://www.wiscnews.com/baraboonewsrepublic/news/local/article_496aa0e6-c4df-11e2-b0b6-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_WI, public, follow-up, environmental, runoff
Local fire officials and the owner of a hardware store whose building was lost to a fire here Monday are receiving praise from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for their efforts to protect the environment, even as they faced other pressing concerns.
Sauk County DNR Warden John Buss said Friday that Sauk City Fire Chief Doug Breunig had his crews cover storm sewer drains with tarps and bags to prevent runoff from the hundreds of thousands of gallons firefighters used to control the blaze from running off into the Wisconsin River.
"I give him all the credit in the world," Buss said. "To think of the environment in a time like that is extraordinary."
Buss said there did not appear to be any contamination of the waterway.
"There is no fish kill or aquatic damage at all," Buss said. "Thirty years ago, you would have seen that water flushed into the river."
Breunig said the village's public works department reported that about 475,000 gallons of water were used to fight the three-alarm blaze. He said training in recent years made him think of environmental concerns right away.
---------------------------------------------
ACID LEAK CLOSES SECTION OF NORTH PEORIA AVENUE OVERNIGHT
http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Acid_leak_closes_section_of_North_Peoria_Avenue_overnight/20130524_11_0_Severa755502?subj=298
Tags: us_OK, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
Several blocks of North Peoria Avenue were closed overnight as responders investigated a "white cloud" emanating from a chemical distribution center, fire department officials said.
A hazardous materials crew with the Tulsa Fire Department was dispatched to Brainerd Chemical Company, 1200 N. Peoria Ave., around 11:30 p.m. Thursday for a possible fire, Fire Capt. Stan May said.
Responders saw an "unknown white cloud" coming from the facility and determined it to be a leak related to the transfer of hydrochloric acid from a rail car to a storage apparatus, May said.
---------------------------------------------
XCEL SETTLES WITH OSHA ON CABIN CREEK POWER PLANT CITATIONS
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2013/05/xcel-settles-with-osha-on-cabin-creek.html
Tags: us_CO, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
Xcel Energy Inc. will pay $150,000 in penalties for workplace safety violations at the utility's power plant near Georgetown found by the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) after five men died in a chemical fire at the site six years ago.
Five California men died Oct. 2, 2007, at the utility's Cabin Creek hydroelectric plant after a fire broke out inside a drained water tunnel, known as a penstock, connected to the plant. The men were resealing the penstock when a flammable solvent they were using to clean an epoxy paint sprayer ignited. Four other men escaped.
In June 2011, a Denver jury found Xcel (NYSE: XEL) not guilty of five counts of violating federal safety regulations; one of those counts had accused the company of lacking a rescue plan.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD SAYS ÔWE ARE NOT BACKING AWAY' FROM WEST INVESTIGATION, PLANS TO SURVEY EXPLOSION SCENE NEXT WEEK
http://watchdogblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/chemical-safety-board-says-we-are-not-backing-away-from-west-investigation-plans-to-survey-explosion-scene-next-week.html/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
A federal safety agency will access the West Fertilizer Co. plant property next week, as it continues investigating what breakdowns may have contributed to the explosion that killed 15 people and flattened hundreds of structures in the tiny farm town.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's managing director, Daniel Horowitz, said it is pulling away some staff from the blast scene, because that's typical at this stage of any investigation and the remains have "limited or no evidentiary value" after four weeks of excavation by other agencies. Law enforcement officials said last week they were making similar on-site adjustments.
"But we are not backing away from the case as a whole," Horowitz told The Dallas Morning News.
A report Saturday in the Austin American-Statesman said the CSB had "curtailed its investigation" into regulatory gaps and safety practices that may have contributed to the April 17 blast. The newspaper cited the board's decrease of on-scene staff, from a high of 18 down to five, and its waning interest in the plant remains.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK SHUTS DOWN SOUTHBOUND HIGHWAY 77 JUST 30 MILES NORTH OF RAYMONDVILLE
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=902232#.UaJ1DNIce5I
Tags: us_TX, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Willacy County officials are finishing cleanin up a chemical spill.
A truck carrying dangerous chemicals caught fire around 7:00 pm Saturday evening, just 30 miles North of Raymondville.
No one was injured but Highway 77's southbound lane was shut down.
Officials told Action 4 News they were able to extinguish the flames, but some of the chemicals leaked out and have to be properly removed.
A remediation team had to come out and assist with the clean up.
The southbound lane remained shut down throughout the night. The highway is expected to be open again by midmorning.
---------------------------------------------
TEXAS PROHIBITS NEARLY 70 PERCENT OF ITS COUNTIES FROM HAVING A FIRE CODE
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/west-explosion/investigation/20130525-texas-prohibits-nearly-70-percent-of-its-counties-from-having-a-fire-code.ece
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental
Victoria County, a little slice of the Texas chemical coast, has nearly 39 million pounds of concoctions that can poison and nearly 11 million pounds that can catch fire.
"A potential for a catastrophic event" is how one federal agency described the risk if they leak. A temptation for terrorists, added another.
But Victoria County cannot use a firefighter's basic tool for preventing industrial disaster: a fire code.
Texas won't let the county adopt one.
In piney-woods southeast Texas, nearly 250,000 people within 25 miles of a paper mill could breathe chlorine or chlorine-dioxide gas after a worst-case fire or accident. Some could die.
But Texas won't let Jasper County adopt a fire code.
And on the Panhandle plains of Parmer County, 10 companies keep 2.3 million pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand to fertilize crops or refrigerate meat. If ammonia leaks, it forms a killing cloud.
But Texas won't let Parmer County adopt a fire code.
Those counties are the Texas norm.
Despite the lessons from the West Fertilizer Co. fire and explosions about the value of fire prevention, site security and safe storage of dangerous goods, Texas prohibits nearly 70 percent of its counties from having a fire code.
Fire codes aren't just for fires. They also contain rules for managing explosive or toxic chemicals, including specific guidelines for ammonium-nitrate fertilizer, the substance that exploded and killed 15 people and injured 200 in West on April 17.
Fire code rules emerge from tragic history.
"We have these rules and regulations because of past experience," said Dallas County Fire Marshal Robert De Los Santos, who enforces the fire code in the county's unincorporated areas.
"It's just like a stoplight. Most places don't have them until we have so many fatalities and so many wrecks.
"It's a shame that it has to be that way."
Not allowed
Yet for 173 of Texas' 254 counties, adopting rules based on that experience is illegal. They are either below 250,000 in population or don't touch a county of that size.
Having fewer people doesn't mean less risk. Those counties contain some of the most dangerous chemicals and industrial processes in Texas, The Dallas Morning News found.
---------------------------------------------
RADIATION LEAK AT JAPAN LAB
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1-179946-Radiation-leak-at-Japan-lab
Tags: Japan, laboratory, release, response, radiation, gold
TOKYO: An atomic research lab in northern Japan has reported a radiation leak that may have affected about 55 people, though none were hospitalised and no impact was expected outside the facility, the lab's operator said on Saturday.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said the accident occurred on Thursday in its Hadron Experimental Facility at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex in the town of Tokaimura, where at least two previous radiation accidents have occurred.
Researchers were trying to generate particles by directing a proton beam at some gold when their equipment overheated, causing the evaporation and release of radioactive gold, the government-run JAEA said in a statement. The leak originally was thought to have been contained inside the lab, and when a ventilation fan was switched on the radiation spread, it said.
The JAEA said it was studying the potential environmental impact from the radiation leak, but did not expect any effect on surrounding areas. On Saturday, officials from the JAEA and the research complex apologised for the accident. Education minister Hakubun Shimomura described it as ñregrettable.î
---------------------------------------------
DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE DETONATED AT MIRAMAR LANDFILL
http://www.cbs8.com/story/22424322/dangerous-substance-detonated-at-miramar-landfill
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, tetrahydrofuran, time-sensitive
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - For the second time this month, a man dropped off dangerous chemicals to be disposed of at the Miramar Landfill.
And once again, Hazmat teams and the bomb squad showed up to destroy the substance.
Investigators say the man called ahead to let them know that he was bringing in the hazardous liquid used in laboratories, which had been sitting around his house for about 15 years.
It's called tetrahydrofuran and officials quickly closed the landfill and highway 52 once they realized what was dropped off.
"It was the same individual bringing a chemical, the same exact chemical, with more quantity back again today," said San Diego Fire-Resucue Battalion James Gaboury.
The unidentified man followed all the rules for the household hazardous waste program except one.
"He made a regular appointment, he just did not make it clear of what he was actually bringing in."
Workers then immediately called San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel.
More than a liter of tetrahydrofuran was brought to the landfill, and when it sits and for ages too long it can become explosive.
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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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