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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 5:59:45 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 (13 articles)
UPPER HUTT: CHEMICAL EMISSIONS CONTINUE 16 YEARS...
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, environmental, formaldehyde, hydrogen_peroxide
GAS LINE EXPLODES IN WASHINGTON PARISH
Tags: us_LA, transportation, explosion, response, natural_gas
AFTER BLAST, TEXAS TO UNVEIL DATABASE OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, death, ag_chems
STATE BUDGET TRIPLES REFINERY INSPECTORS
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
WALMART EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, response, bleach
CORROSIVE CHEMICAL OVERHEATS, SPILLS FROM DALLAS TRUCK
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, cleaners, nitric_acid
WINONA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MN, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
A POSTVILLE EXPLOSION SHOCKS IOWA; WHAT CAUSED FIRE AT NORPLEX PLANT, AND HOW MUCH DAMAGE WAS CAUSED? [REPORT]
Tags: us_IA, industrial, explosion, injury, flammables
TWO DAY CAMPERS, INSTRUCTOR INJURED IN CHEMISTRY LAB ACCIDENT AT ST. SCHOLASTICA
Tags: us_LA, laboratory, fire, injury, flammables
HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVES FOUND AFTER NY APARTMENT BLAST
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, response, bomb
EMPLOYEE KILLED AT CF INDUSTRIES PLANT
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, death
LOUISIANA CHEMICAL BLAST GETS OSHA PROBE
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL FIRE ERUPTS AT RALEIGH FACTORY
Tags: us_NC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
UPPER HUTT: CHEMICAL EMISSIONS CONTINUE 16 YEARS...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/upper-hutt-leader/8813250/Chemical-discharge-continues-16-years-on
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, environmental, formaldehyde, hydrogen_peroxide
A local animal vaccine producer is continuing to discharge formaldehyde into the air 16 years after it agreed to switch to a less harmful alternative as a condition of the company's resource consent.
MSD Animal Health on Whakatiki St agreed to switch from using formaldehyde to fumigate its premises "when possible" as a condition of its 1997 resource consent.
The resource consent gave the company permission to discharge contaminants from the manufacture of animal vaccines into the air as long as they were not noxious, dangerous, offensive or objectionable beyond the boundary of the site.
Scientific testing at the time of the resource consent found that levels of formaldehyde in the air around the fumigation site at MSD Animal Health were too low to cause short term-health effects.
However, the report urged MSD Animal Health to switch to another chemical.
"As formaldehyde is classed as a probable carcinogen, the company should adopt the use of an alternative product as soon as one becomes available."
Operations general manager Ian Pawson said the number of individual activities using formaldehyde had reduced by 80 per cent since 1997.
Mr Pawson said MSD Animal Health continued to operate within the terms of its resource consent.
He said the company was actively pursuing the use of hydrogen peroxide as an alternative to formaldehyde and said that formaldehyde would no longer be used in operations by 2017.
When asked why the change- over had not been made sooner, Mr Pawson said MSD Animal Health needed to make sure that any alternative chemical was suitable for sterilising the vaccine production area, because it was important that animals were injected with vaccines that had been produced in a sterile environment. MSD Animal Health did not yet have the right facilities and equipment to use hydrogen peroxide rather than formaldehyde.
---------------------------------------------
GAS LINE EXPLODES IN WASHINGTON PARISH
http://www.ksla.com/story/22618248/possible-explosion-reported-in-washington-parish
Tags: us_LA, transportation, explosion, response, natural_gas
SABEL, LA (WAFB, WWL-TV) -
There was a gas line explosion early Tuesday morning, according to Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal.
It happened at the Florida Gas Transmission on Lee Road near Franklinton a little before 5:30 a.m.
According to the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the LSP/DEQ Hazmat report indicated the suspected cause of the explosion was a rupture in a 30-inch natural gas line.
GOHSEP reported the pipeline was shut in as of 7:30 a.m. The gas fire was put out a short time later, but trees in the area are still burning.
---------------------------------------------
AFTER BLAST, TEXAS TO UNVEIL DATABASE OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/18/us/texas-chemical-database/
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, death, ag_chems
(CNN) -- With the deadly fertilizer plant explosions in the city of West on its mind, Texas will develop an online database that will allow residents to view local facilities that hold hazardous materials.
The creation of the database, which does not require a legislative vote, was announced by state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso.
Residents will be able to input their ZIP code into the database, which will then show the nearest hazardous sites, Pickett told CNN Tuesday.
Pickett is the chairman of the state legislature's Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.
In April, a fire at the facility operated by West Fertilizer Company set off two explosions that registered on seismographs as a magnitude-2.1 earthquake and were felt 50 miles away.
---------------------------------------------
STATE BUDGET TRIPLES REFINERY INSPECTORS
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-budget-triples-refinery-inspectors-4606087.php
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
The state would nearly triple the number of oil refinery safety inspectors under a proposal on the governor's desk that backers say would help close regulatory gaps that federal investigators found played a role in the fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery last year.
One of more than two dozen budget-related bills - all expected to be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown by the end of the month - would require Cal/OSHA, the state's main agency overseeing refinery safety, to make refineries in California pay for at least 15 new plant safety inspectors. Four more would be hired with existing funds.
Currently, the state has just seven inspectors. The added help would bring the total to 26 under the new budget. Still, even a beefed-up staff would likely struggle, critics say, given the huge task of assuring safety at the state's 15 oil refineries and 1,600 other chemical processing plants.
---------------------------------------------
WALMART EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
http://www.abccolumbia.com/news/local/Chemical-Leak-at-Lexington-Wal-Mart-212021071.html
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, response, bleach
LEXINGTON, S.C. (WOLO) - Authorities in Lexington County say they know what caused an evacuation at a Walmart on Sunset Boulevard Tuesday afternoon.
A trailer parked in the back of the building was reportedly leaking a commercial strength sodium hypochlorite.
Clean-up contractors worked most of the night to clear the scene.
Walmart management says the store will not re-open until Wednesday morning at 7.
---------------------------------------------
CORROSIVE CHEMICAL OVERHEATS, SPILLS FROM DALLAS TRUCK
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Hazmat-situation-in-Northwest-Dallas-212066891.html
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, cleaners, nitric_acid
DALLAS Ñ Dallas Fire-Rescue dispatched a hazardous materials team to check on a truck that was leaking a fluid and emitting a brownish-orange smoke early Tuesday evening.
The situation was reported shortly after 5:30 at the Penske Truck Rental facility in the 10800 block of Goodnight Lane, just west of Interstate 35E in Northwest Dallas.
The ChemStation truck also bore markings indicating it has a carload of corrosive liquid. According to its website, ChemStation specializes in "environmentally-friendly industrial cleaning chemicals."
Two Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel dressed in protective suits opened the rear door of the truck as the smoke could be seen drifting from the vehicle.
The leaking fluid was identified as a type of cleaning mixture containing nitric acid, investigators said. The chemical overheated, expanded, and began leaking from its container.
---------------------------------------------
WINONA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.wxow.com/story/22626348/2013/06/18/winona-senior-high-school-evacuated-after-chemical-spill
Tags: us_MN, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
WINONA, Minn. (KTTC) -- Winona Senior High School was evacuated Tuesday morning after an ammonium sulfide spill.
According to the Winona Fire Department, one of the classrooms was being renovated and construction crews were unaware the chemical was being stored in the room. During construction, the glass container containing the ammonium sulfide was knocked over, spilling the contents inside.
The building was evacuated at about 9 a.m. The Winona Fire Department responded to the call and immediately cleaned up the spill. School was not in session at the time, but the school's band, teachers and construction workers were in the building. No injuries were reported.
---------------------------------------------
A POSTVILLE EXPLOSION SHOCKS IOWA; WHAT CAUSED FIRE AT NORPLEX PLANT, AND HOW MUCH DAMAGE WAS CAUSED? [REPORT]
http://www.idesigntimes.com/articles/6175/20130617/postville-explosion-shocks-iowa-what-caused-fire-cause-why-how-when-where-plant-chemical-norplex-rea.htm
Tags: us_IA, industrial, explosion, injury, flammables
A Postville explosion at a manufacturing plant injured three people last night in Iowa, leaving one critical injury, according to officials. The Norplex-Micarta laminate manufacturing facility exploded last night. Rescue crews responded around 1:20am. Blue smoke was rushing out of one side of the building, with lighter black smoke coming from the roof.
One person in the Postville explosion had a critical injury and was airlifted via helicopter to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics' Burn Unit in Iowa city. Another person who was hurt sustained minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital by ambulance to be treated and released. The third person injured refused treatment at the scene.
The Postville explosion activated the sprinkler system at the plant. This helped suppress the fire and keep it from spreading. Nonetheless, firefighters entered the building to put out the smaller fires. They also shut gas valves, boilers, and valves that transfer flammable materials in order to not cause a second explosion.
---------------------------------------------
TWO DAY CAMPERS, INSTRUCTOR INJURED IN CHEMISTRY LAB ACCIDENT AT ST. SCHOLASTICA
http://www.wwltv.com/news/northshore/Two-day-campers-instructor-injured-in-chemical-accident-at-St-Scholastica-211864481.html
Tags: us_LA, laboratory, fire, injury, flammables
COVINGTON, La. - Two children and an instructor were injured after an accident at a chemistry lab at a summer camp at St. Scholastica High School in Covington Monday morning.
Some members of the summer camp were in the chemistry lab around 10:30 a.m. when a chemical accident occurred. The children who were injured were said to be in the 10- to 12-years-old age range.
According to the Covington Fire Department, the incident occurred as the students were conducting an experiment where sugar is converted to carbon using a heat source, in this case alcohol.
The two students were taken to St. Tammany Hospital and later one was brought to the burn unit at a Baton Rouge hospital and the other to a burn unit at a hospital in Shreveport. An instructor who received burns was treated at St. Tammany Hospital and released.
---------------------------------------------
HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVES FOUND AFTER NY APARTMENT BLAST
http://www.firerescue1.com/disaster-management/articles/1459601-Homemade-explosives-found-after-NY-apartment-blast/?source=newsletter&nlid=1459052
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, response, bomb
SPRINGWATER, N.Y. Ñ A New York man with a stockpile of homemade bombs was apparently drying explosive material in his oven when it exploded, leading to the evacuation of several nearby homes and his arrest, sheriff's investigators said Friday.
No injuries were reported in the Thursday night explosion, which heavily damaged the oven.
Crews responding to the blast found 30 to 40 pipe bombs and other explosive devices and firearms inside the apartment in the rural hamlet of Springwater, south of Rochester, authorities said. Crews continued to remove items into Friday.
The 34-year-old tenant, Joseph Martino, was being held without bail at Livingston County jail on weapons and reckless endangerment charges. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer.
The investigation was ongoing, but Undersheriff James Szczesniak said there was no evidence yet that Martino "had any ill intent." Martino, who lives alone and is believed to be unemployed, was being evicted, "but we have no indication he was trying to destroy the building," the undersheriff said.
---------------------------------------------
EMPLOYEE KILLED AT CF INDUSTRIES PLANT
http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/06/Employee-Killed-CF-Industries-Plant.html
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, death
For the second time in a matter of days, a fatal accident has occurred at a Louisiana chemical plant, this time at a CF Industries nitrogen fertilizer complex in Donaldsonville.
The incident occurred at 6:00 PM on Friday, June 14, in a part of the plant that had been shut down for maintenance. A distribution header ruptured during the off-loading of nitrogen, the company says.
One worker, Ronald (Rocky) Morris Jr., a 34-year veteran with the company, was killed. Four CF employees and three contractors were rushed to local hospitals. All but one, a CF employee in stable condition, were released.
The Donaldsonville plant has nearly 3 million metric tons per year of ammonia production capacity, as well as downstream urea and urea ammonium nitrate facilities. The company earlier announced that it will spend $2.1 billion to expand capacity for all three products by 2016.
The CF rupture happened only a day after an explosion at a Williams Cos. ethylene cracker in Geismar, La., killed two workers. Zachary Green, 29, an operator at the plant hired last October, died the day of the explosion. Another employee, 47-year-old Scott Thrower, a supervisor of operations for Williams, died the next day from his injuries.
---------------------------------------------
LOUISIANA CHEMICAL BLAST GETS OSHA PROBE
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Louisiana-chemical-blast-gets-OSHA-probe-4603195.php
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
Federal investigators are expected in south Louisiana over the weekend at the site of an explosion that killed a worker at a chemical plant - the second such blast in the area in as many days.
State Police Trooper Jared Sandifer said Saturday that officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are coming to the CF Industries facility as soon as the site is deemed safe. Sandifer said the state police's hazardous materials unit was at the plant overnight.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRE ERUPTS AT RALEIGH FACTORY
http://www.wncn.com/story/22604610/hazmat-teams-respond-to-raleigh-company
Tags: us_NC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
RALEIGH, N.C. -
A chemical fire started Sunday at a Raleigh business, sending potentially dangerous smoke into the air.
Hazmat teams were part of the response at the Surtronics facility at 4001 Beryl Road.
The area was blocked off for hours, as police and fire officials tried to determine the safety of the air, as well as put out the fire.
Its believed stored chemicals were ignited, but its unclear exactly how it started or why. It also wasn't known Sunday night, how many, if any, employees were inside the building at the time of the fire.
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