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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, June 21, 2013 8:36:06 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 (12 articles)
UPDATE: CONDOS EVACUATED WHEN RESIDENT SPILLS ANT KILLER
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pesticides
SHOCK-SENSITIVE CHEMICAL DETONATED IN CONTROLLED EXPLOSION AT UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES AIRLINE HIGHWAY
Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, acids
MONTREAL FIREWORKS EXPLOSION KILLS TWO PEOPLE
Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, death, fireworks
HAZMAT SITUATION BRIEFLY DISRUPTS BAYLOR ER
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, injury, toxics
CHURCH EVACUATED AND ROADS CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, acids
CHEMICAL LEAK FORCES EVACUATIONS
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, epoxy
SENATE COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING ON WEST EXPLOSION
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, death, ag_chems
QUANTIFICATION OF NANOSCALE SILVER PARTICLES REMOVAL AND RELEASE FROM MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS IN GERMANY
Tags: Germany, public, release, environmental, nanotech
FATAL INCIDENTS AT LOUISIANA'S CF INDUSTRIES AND WILLIAMS COS. PLANTS
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, death
ROCHESTER FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO MULTIPLE REPORTS OF GAS LEAKS
Tags: us_MN, public, release, response, ammonia
LIQUID NITROGEN AT J€GERMEISTER MEXICAN POOL PARTY SICKENS GUESTS: ONE MAN IN A COMA, EIGHT OTHERS ILL
Tags: Mexico, public, release, injury, liquid_nitrogen
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UPDATE: CONDOS EVACUATED WHEN RESIDENT SPILLS ANT KILLER
http://murrieta.patch.com/groups/breaking-news/p/authorities-respond-to-pesticide-spill-at-local-condo-complex
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pesticides
Police and fire officials responded Thursday afternoon to an eight-unit condominium complex in unincorporated Murrieta to investigate a pesticide spill.
Firefighters were called to the scene just before 5:30 p.m. at Montego Bay, off Townview near Murrieta Hot Springs Road.
Less than a quart of pesticide spilled in one of the unit's garages, but residents reported heavy fumes and called for help, according to Jody Hagemann with Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
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SHOCK-SENSITIVE CHEMICAL DETONATED IN CONTROLLED EXPLOSION AT UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_23505036/shock-sensitive-chemical-detonated-controlled-explosion-at-university
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
The booming soundwaves radiating from the University of Redlands campus Thursday morning resulted from a controlled detonation of a dangerous chemical.
Tert-butoxycarbonyl azide was once used by the science department for research. The material, manufactured in 1973, was in the university's inventory for about six years, according to Teresa Fricke, environmental health and safety manager at the U of R.
"We do a periodic inventory review of our chemical storage room," Fricke said. "We found that the staff wouldn't be using this chemical anymore."
The explosive material used for protein synthesis can't be legally transported anymore because it is shock sensitive, according to Tracey Martinez, San Bernardino County Fire spokeswoman.
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CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES AIRLINE HIGHWAY
http://www.noladefender.com/content/chemical-spill-clo61es89-airline-highway
Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, acids
A chemical spill shut down a section of Airline Highway at the border between St. Charles Parish and St. John the Baptist on Thursday morning, according to officials. A truck carrying hydrochloric acid spilled on the St. John side of Highway 61, according to St. Charles Parish officials. Officials began evacuating the area due to wind and rain soon after the incident.
The spill is said to be taking place between Bayou Steel Rd. and CC Rd. According to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's office, a 250 gallon container broke loose from an 18-wheeler, and fell on the road. Louisiana State Police hazmat crews will put soda ash on the road to neutralize the chemical, the Sheriff's office said.
As crews work to clean the road, the evacuation is being ordered for homes about a quarter-mile from the spill site. Officials say hydrochloric acid irritates the lungs.
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MONTREAL FIREWORKS EXPLOSION KILLS TWO PEOPLE
http://news.sky.com/story/1106399/montreal-fireworks-explosion-kills-two-people
Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, death, fireworks
Two people have been killed in a massive explosion at a fireworks factory near Montreal in Canada.
The blast at the BEM Fireworks facility was felt in the suburb of Coteau-du-Lac, some 37 miles southwest of the city, on Thursday afternoon.
Police evacuated the area around the factory and a nearby highway was temporarily shut down. However officers later re-opened roads and let residents back into their homes.
The cause of the blast and the subsequent fire is not yet known.
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HAZMAT SITUATION BRIEFLY DISRUPTS BAYLOR ER
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/22646138/hazmat-situation-prompts-baylor-er-evacuation
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, injury, toxics
DALLAS -
Dallas Fire Rescue's hazardous materials team was called to Baylor Medical Center's emergency room Thursday afternoon to help with a patient exposed to chemicals.
Officials said the patient was taken to the hospital at about 1 p.m. after an accident on Interstate 45 in Navarro County.
The accident involved an 18-wheeler carrying a non-toxic chemical used in water purification, Aluminum Chlorohydrate. That chemical spilled onto the roadway and on the patient.
Because first responders didn't immediately know what chemical they were dealing with, the patient was kept in the back of the ambulance until the substance was determined.
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CHURCH EVACUATED AND ROADS CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.itv.com/news/central/update/2013-06-20/church-evacuated-and-roads-closed-after-chemical-spill/
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, acids
A church has been evacuated and roads have been closed after a chemical spill in Nottinghamshire.
A Nottinghamshire Fire Service spokesperson said that a chemical containing 36% hydrochloride has spilt at a business premises in Pasture Road and a nearby community church had been evacuated as a precaution.
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CHEMICAL LEAK FORCES EVACUATIONS
http://commercial-news.com/local/x493356253/Chemical-problem-forces-evacuation
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, epoxy
DANVILLE Ń Homes and a church have been evacuated as a result of a chemical leak found this morning.
Danville Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Unit was called in to ChemCast, 1009 Lynch Road, around mid-morning today regarding an epoxy material. Smoke was reported as a result, but no flames, according to radio traffic.
Danville Director of Public Safety Larry Thomason said because of the situation homes to the north of the business were being evacuated as a precaution. The Vermilion County Sheriff's Department was handling the evacuations.
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SENATE COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING ON WEST EXPLOSION
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Senate-Committee-to-Hold-Hearing-on-West-Explosion-212328831.html
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, death, ag_chems
A Senate committee is set to hold a hearing on the events that led up to the fertilizer plant explosion in West, TX in April.
Senators will review reports from the Enviromental Protection Agency and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in connection with the blast that killed 15 people.
"This is going to be very interesting. We'll find out why they think this happened," California Senator Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Enviromental and Public Works Committee, told a newspaper.
Federal and state investigators have ruled the cause of the deadly blast as "undetermined."
Texas State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said a ruling of undetermined is made when the cause "cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty."
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QUANTIFICATION OF NANOSCALE SILVER PARTICLES REMOVAL AND RELEASE FROM MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS IN GERMANY
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es3041658
Tags: Germany, public, release, environmental, nanotech
The majority of pure silver nanoparticles in consumer products are likely released into sewer systems and usually end up in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Research investigating the reduction in nanoscale silver particles (n-Ag-Ps) has focused on the biological treatment process, generally in controlled laboratory experiments. This study, analyzing the field-collected samples from nine municipal WWTPs in Germany, is the first to evaluate the reduction in n-Ag-Ps by mechanical and biological treatments in sequence in WWTPs. Additionally, the concentration of n-Ag-Ps in effluent was determined through two different methods that are presented here: novel ionic exchange resin (IER) and cloud point extraction (CPE) methods. The n-Ag-Ps concentrations in influent were all low (<1.5 ?g/L) and decreased (average removal efficiency of 35%) significantly after mechanical treatment, indicating that the mechanical treatment contributes to the n-Ag-Ps removal. Afterward, more t!
han 72% of the remaining n-Ag-Ps in the semi-treated wastewater (i.e., wastewater after mechanical treatment) were reduced by biological treatment. Together, these processes reduced 95% of the n-Ag-Ps that entered WWTPs, which resulted in low concentration of n-Ag-Ps in the effluents (<12 ng/L). For a WWTP with 520000 t/d treatment capacity, we estimated that the daily n-Ag-Ps load in effluent discharge equated to about 4.4 g/d. Obviously, WWTPs are not potential point sources for n-Ag-Ps in the aquatic environment.
---------------------------------------------
FATAL INCIDENTS AT LOUISIANA'S CF INDUSTRIES AND WILLIAMS COS. PLANTS
http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2013/06/fatal-incidents-at-louisianas-cf-industries-and-williams-cos-plants/
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, death
I'll save a full round-up for tomorrow, but I wanted to point to two fatal accidents last week in Louisiana that C&EN is following:
Williams Cos.
Explosion at 8:30 AM on Thursday, June 13, in Geismar, La., at an olefins plant that produces ethylene and propylene
Two people died: Zachary Green, 29, and Scott Thrower, 47; more than 75 others were injured
The root cause is still being investigated, but the fire was reportedly fed by propylene and propane; pipe corrosion resulted in a propylene leak in December, 2012
"The investigation will also have to take into account that the facility had racked up 12 straight quarters (three years) of noncompliance with federal Clean Air Act regulations and hadn't been inspected by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in a decade."
Despite the environmental compliance failings, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality had approved a $400 million plant expansion project that would increase ethylene capacity by 50%
The Chemical Safety Board is investigating
CF Industries
Incident occurred at 6:00 PM on Friday, June 14, in Donaldsonville, La., at an ammonia plant
One person died: Ronald "Rocky" Morris Jr., 34; seven others were injured
"The incident involved the rupture of a nitrogen distribution header during the off-loading of nitrogen. There was no fire or chemical release"; the section of the plant involved was shut down for maintenance
"A worker who didn't want to give his name said other workers were trying to replace a valve, and the pressure blew. Whoever was standing within a 15 to 20 foot radius, the concussion of that will hurt you really bad.'"
The complex is the largest nitrogen fertilizer production facility in North America
OSHA fined the company $150,000 in 2000 for a blast that killed three and injured eight additional workers
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ROCHESTER FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO MULTIPLE REPORTS OF GAS LEAKS
http://www.myfox47.com/story/22638969/2013/06/19/gas-leaks-reported-in-rochester
Tags: us_MN, public, release, response, ammonia
ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 47) -- Extra off-duty reinforcement was called in Wednesday by the Rochester Fire Department to respond to multiple reports of gas leaks.
Their first was reported just after 9 a.m. at the Associated Milk Producers Inc. plant. Workers were evacuated for an apparent ammonia leak.
According to Larry Mueller, assistant fire marshal for Rochester, there was no threat to the public after the chemical assessment team measured the air quality.
"The wind socks on most plants that have ammonia for refrigeration or large chemical quantities, usually wind socks indicate wind speed or wind direction, should there be a leak, they're familiar, they quickly can define which way it should travel"," Mueller said.
No one was hurt. The cause of the leak is being investigated.
Just two hours later in the 300 block of 16th Ave. S.W., fire crews set up a perimeter around the scene of a reported gas leak in a home.
"We sent a crew into the house and had to back them out because the concentration was too high," said Greg Martin, Rochester Fire Chief.
From there, Minnesota Energy crews shut off the gas meter, however, it didn't stop the leak.
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LIQUID NITROGEN AT J€GERMEISTER MEXICAN POOL PARTY SICKENS GUESTS: ONE MAN IN A COMA, EIGHT OTHERS ILL
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/liquid-nitrogen-jagermeister-mexican-pool-party-sickens-guests-article-1.1376739
Tags: Mexico, public, release, injury, liquid_nitrogen
A pool party turned into a chemistry experiment gone wrong in Mexico when organizers poured liquid nitrogen into the pool, creating a noxious fog that put one man in a coma and sickened eight others.
The nitrogen formed a thick cloud over the pool and hampered revelers' breathing, proving almost deadly.
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