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0Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 11:22:01 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)
HAZMAT INVESTIGATION CLOSES ROAD IN GLEN BURNIE; NEIGHORS SAY MAN MADE FIREWORKS
Tags: us_MD, public, explosion, response, fireworks
CHEMICAL LEAK EVACUATES PACIFIC COAST FRUIT
Tags: us_OR, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
CHEMICAL FIRE FORCES EVACUATIONS, LEAVES MAN IN CRITICAL CONDITION
Tags: us_PA, transportation, fire, injury, butane
PUKEHINA FIRE CAUSED BY SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
Tags: New_Zealand, public, fire, response, adhesives
CHEMICAL FLASH-FIRE SINGES CURWOOD-BEMIS WORKER
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, injury, flammables
SAFETY CULTURE IN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, response
COMPUTATIONAL TOXICOLOGY RESEARCH PROGRAM (COMPTOX)
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
THREE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER MANX HOTEL CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, chlorine
07/01/2013: EPA WARNS AGAINST USE OF REFRIGERANT SUBSTITUTES THAT POSE FIRE AND EXPLOSION RISK
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hvac_chemicals
HUMAN ERROR BLAMED FOR EXPLOSION IN C. JAVA
Tags: Indonesia, public, explosion, response, phosphine
CREWS PREPARE FOR 3RD CONTROLLED BURN OF CHEMICALS AT SLC BUSINESS
Tags: us_UT, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
CURTIN BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL FIND
Tags: Australia, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTERPRISES CITED FOR 22 VIOLATIONS AFTER WORKER DIES FROM BURNS SUFFERED AT CINCINNATI HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT FACILITY
Tags: us_OH, public, follow-up, death, waste
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HAZMAT INVESTIGATION CLOSES ROAD IN GLEN BURNIE; NEIGHORS SAY MAN MADE FIREWORKS
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/07/01/hazmat-investigation-closes-road-in-glen-burnie/
Tags: us_MD, public, explosion, response, fireworks
GLEN BURNIE, Md. (WJZ) Ñ The bomb squad and ATF descended on an Anne Arundel County neighborhood after a report that someone was manufacturing incendiary devices inside a Glen Burnie home.
Meghan McCorkell spoke with neighbors in that area.
Neighbors say the man who lives in the home told people he makes homemade fireworks but an alarming incident Sunday night brought out authorities.
WJZ was there as the fire marshal and federal agents loaded evidence found inside a Glen Burnie home into a van.
Neighbors say two blasts rocked the community Sunday night.
"It was like two big, large explosions, and the first one didn't rock the house too bad but the second one did," said Bobbie Walker.
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CHEMICAL LEAK EVACUATES PACIFIC COAST FRUIT
http://www.koin.com/2013/07/02/hazmat-called-to-pacific-coast-fruit/
Tags: us_OR, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Ñ A chemical aerosol leak forced the evacuation of the building housing Pacific Coast Fruit in Northeast Portland Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities believe a sanitizer and disinfectant called peracetic acid hydroper oxide that has a pungent vinegar-like odor and is harmful if inhaled is the chemical involved.
The chemical came from a 25-50 gallon tank and a few gallons spilled.
Pacific Coast Fruit in the 200 block of NE 2nd was evacuated and other nearby buildings were told to "shelter in place" to avoid exposure. The wind direction is shifting, and authorities are keeping an eye on the buildings in the area.
The first responders went into the building but left because they were concerned they did not have enough protection and the situation was too dangerous.
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CHEMICAL FIRE FORCES EVACUATIONS, LEAVES MAN IN CRITICAL CONDITION
http://www.wgal.com/news/susquehanna-valley/lancaster/lancaster-county-train-car-fire-forces-evacuations/-/9704306/20801988/-/k7ka4vz/-/index.html
Tags: us_PA, transportation, fire, injury, butane
RAPHO TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A chemical fire in Rapho Township, Lancaster County, that forced evacuations in the area and severely injured one person was under control Tuesday evening after burning for nearly six hours.
Fire officials say a few flare-ups have occurred since the fire was brought under control.
The fire started around 10:30 a.m. when a train car carrying 30,000 gallons of butane was transferring the highly flammable fuel to a transfer station near Maibach Lane and East Main Street in Rapho Township.
Fire crews doused the area to keep other tankers cool to prevent them from exploding. Emergency officials at the scene, compared the situation to a lighter that would continue to burn fuel until it was depleted.
Nine rail cars were exposed to the flames. Some of those cars contained butane. Others contained propane. Officials said the fire started when a compressor failed.
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PUKEHINA FIRE CAUSED BY SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/news/pukehina-fire-caused-spontaneous-combustion/1930699/
Tags: New_Zealand, public, fire, response, adhesives
A fire in a Pukehina shed in the early hours of the morning was caused by spontaneous combustion of chemicals.
Pukehina Fire Brigade were called to a Pukehina Pde address about 1.10am to put out a fire in a workshop at the back of a property.
Senior firefighter Ivan Burgener said the shed had been filled with chemicals and adhesives as the man in the house made and repaired surfboards.
Mr Burgener said there had been a chemical reaction on the rags the man used or something similar, causing spontaneous combustion.
The fire took about 45 minutes to put out and no one was hurt.
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CHEMICAL FLASH-FIRE SINGES CURWOOD-BEMIS WORKER
http://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/news_home/Business/2013/07/Chemical_flash-fire_singes_Cur.aspx?ID=%7B06C82310-DB33-4945-A517-EA18649BE017%7D&cck=1
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, injury, flammables
BATAVIA, Ill. - A Curwood/Bemis employee at a facility in Batavia, Ill., was slightly injured on the morning of July 1 due to a chemical flash fire. After the fire slightly singed his forearms, he received medical treatment, reports the Kane Country Chronicle.
Although local firefighters arrived at the scene at 11:12 a.m. and had the blaze under control within eight minutes, it caused an estimated $5,000 in damage to the building and its contents. The Batavia Fire Department reports the flash-fire began when an employee mixed flammable chemicals without proper grounding; a static-electricity charge may have sparked the blaze.
As a result, the ceiling of the flammable liquids storage room was singed, which caused a foam system to activate and flood the room with a fire suppressant foam preventing the fire from doing further damage.
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SAFETY CULTURE IN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/op400156s
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, response
The recent announcement that Professor Patrick Harran of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), will go on trial in connection with the death in 2009 of a research assistant who was working with pyrophoric tert-butyllithium should focus everyone's attention on laboratory safety and the safety culture in all organisations, not just universities. While most chemists will feel that, if Prof. Harran is convicted, sending him to jail for violating occupational health and safety laws will not, of itself, achieve a better safety culture in universities, the threat of a jail sentence certainly raises the profile of the discussions.
Many universities and smaller companies may not know where to start to help engender the safety culture which has been common in industry for the past 40 years. To a small extent, I was involved in developing this culture in the 1970s as a part-time safety advisor for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), United Kingdom. Once the culture is in place, then it is easy to maintain high standards, but only if there is commitment from the top management or, in universities, from top academic professors as well as administrators. When I was teaching safety courses to new recruits, however, the lack of teaching materials, especially good films (in the days before video), was a major disadvantage; only the major oil companies and large chemical multinationals such as DuPont and ICI itself used to make an occasional film that was relevant.
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COMPUTATIONAL TOXICOLOGY RESEARCH PROGRAM (COMPTOX)
http://epa.gov/ncct/Tox21/
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Tox 21 is pooling federal resources and expertise from EPA, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences/National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Health Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and the Food and Drug Administration to use robotics technology to screen thousands of chemicals for potential toxicity, using screening data to predict the potential toxicity of chemicals and developing a cost-effective approach for prioritizing the thousands of chemicals that need toxicity testing.
---------------------------------------------
THREE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER MANX HOTEL CHEMICAL LEAK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-23148213
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, chlorine
Three people have been taken to hospital after a "chemical spillage" in a swimming pool at an island hotel.
The Manx Fire and Rescue Service said crews attended an incident at the Mount Murray at about 08:00 BST on Tuesday.
It happened in the leisure area of the hotel and, according to a spokesman, involved a mix-up in a routine chemical preparation for the swimming pool.
He added that three people were taken to Noble's hospital "suffering from the effects of chlorine gas inhalation".
None of the injuries were serious.
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07/01/2013: EPA WARNS AGAINST USE OF REFRIGERANT SUBSTITUTES THAT POSE FIRE AND EXPLOSION RISK
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/61416ea839b0618e85257b9b0065aec0?OpenDocument
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hvac_chemicals
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is warning homeowners, propane manufacturers and sellers, home improvement contractors and air conditioning technicians of potential safety hazards related to the use of propane or other unapproved refrigerants in home air conditioning systems.
EPA is currently investigating instances where propane has been marketed and used as a substitute for HCFC-22 (R-22), a refrigerant that is widely used in home air conditioning systems.
Home air conditioning systems are not designed to handle propane or other similar flammable refrigerants. The use of these substances poses a potential fire or explosion hazard for homeowners and service technicians.
EPA is aware of incidents that have occurred both overseas and in the U.S. where individuals have been injured as a result of the use of propane and other unapproved refrigerants in air conditioning systems. We are investigating and will take enforcement actions where appropriate. Other names for these unapproved refrigerants include R-290, 22a, 22-A, R-22a, HC-22a, and CARE 40.
---------------------------------------------
HUMAN ERROR BLAMED FOR EXPLOSION IN C. JAVA
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/07/01/human-error-blamed-explosion-c-java.html
Tags: Indonesia, public, explosion, response, phosphine
Collecting evidence. Officers from the Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (INAFIS) investigate the site of explosion at the west part of the Central Java Legislative Council (DPRD) building in Semarang, Central Java, on Monday. According to preliminary signs, the explosion, which took place on Sunday, was caused by Phosphine (PH3), an extremely toxic gas generally used in pesticide products, poured into a gutter in the west side of the building. On Sunday afternoon, officials at the DPRD and Central Java gubernatorial offices were shocked by a string of explosions in the west part of the compound. (JP/Ainur Rohmah)
Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Dwi Priyatno said that explosions at the Central Java Legislative Council (DPRD) building, on Sunday afternoon, were due to the negligence of workers assigned to fumigate the building.
He said the incident occurred due a failure to comply with the proper disposal of chemicals used in the fumigation process.
"The explosions were the result of negligence on behalf of the workers. There was no deliberate error in the incident," said Priyatno on Monday.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS PREPARE FOR 3RD CONTROLLED BURN OF CHEMICALS AT SLC BUSINESS
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=25826529&nid=148
Tags: us_UT, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
SALT LAKE CITY Ñ Fire crews ignited more drums of a dangerous chemical Monday night outside a warehouse that has kept them busy for more than 24 hours.
A second controlled fire was planned for 9 p.m. Monday. Before the burn began, some of the containers "became compromised" around 7:30 p.m. as firefighters moved them from the warehouse to a refrigerated trailer, Salt Lake City Fire spokesman Jasen Asay said.
Firefighters noticed that the trailer was blowing out warm air instead of cold air. They checked the containers and found that they had reached high enough temperatures that they knew there would be an incident if they removed the affected pallets or containers.
Seven additional pallets with 48 containers each are being stored in a refrigerated container at 20 degrees.
The third controlled burn involving 144 containers was planned for 11 p.m. Monday. Asay said he expected the fire to last for about 20 or 30 minutes and should have little impact to the environment.
---------------------------------------------
CURTIN BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL FIND
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/17839675/curtin-building-evacuated-after-chemical-find/
Tags: Australia, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives
UPDATE 2pm: Parts of Curtin University were evacuated for about two hours earlier today after staff found two bottles containing a potentially explosive chemical with labels dating back to 1973.
The police bomb squad was called to remove the volatile gel, a derivative of TNT, which was found in a storeroom in the biomedical sciences building during a clean-up.
About 500 staff and students from several buildings were evacuated and a 300m exclusion zone was set up.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Brad Miles said police bomb squad officers removed the two bottles, each containing about 100g of trinitrobenzelsulfonic acid - a derivative of TNT - in a blast bag and destroyed it.
"There was a medium risk of explosion," he said.
"Potentially I don't think it would have been a big explosion, but still harmful to anyone in the immediate area."
Curtin University spokesman Ian Callahan said the chemical was no longer used in its laboratories and because of the potential risk, emergency services were asked to dispose of it.
---------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTERPRISES CITED FOR 22 VIOLATIONS AFTER WORKER DIES FROM BURNS SUFFERED AT CINCINNATI HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT FACILITY
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=24249
Tags: us_OH, public, follow-up, death, waste
CINCINNATI - Environmental Enterprises Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration with 22 safety and health violations after a fire and explosion occurred at the Cincinnati waste treatment facility on Dec. 28. Two employees were severely burned by the fire, one fatally.
"Environmental Enterprises demonstrated a complete disregard for employee's safety and health by failing to recognize and train employees on potentially dangerous interactions between materials being handled and tools in use," said Bill Wilkerson, OSHA's area director for its Cincinnati office. "Even after this tragic explosion, the company failed to immediately address procedures and ensure employees knew how to use appropriate personal protective equipment and properly handle hazardous waste such as sodium chlorate. OSHA is committed to protecting workers on the job, and educating employers about safety and health regulations."
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