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**At_Symbol_Here**ACSDCHAS and **At_Symbol_Here**LabSustain tweets and Chemical Safety Headlines
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
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acsdchas PBS: Tales from the Poisoner's Handbook Interactive Activities http://t.co/B3RufOd1jv http://t.co/et5DIFKbGF
labsustain DCHAS Lab Safety Seminar (One Day):Dallas 14 March 2014; San Francisco 8 August 2014 http://t.co/JdJhtBNqBX
acsdchas DCHAS Using Job Hazard Analysis in the Research Lab:Dallas 15 March 2014; San Francisco 9 August 2014 http://t.co/DmrpOqiimw
labsustain DCHAS 2014 Laboratory Waste Management Workshops http://t.co/wxSPW2Kz8H
acsdchas ICYMI - My story on our dismaying lack of knowledge: "Chemical Guesswork in West Virginia" - Wired Science http://t.co/Olu2z2iJst
acsdchas DCHAS Reactive Chemical Management for Laboratories & Pilot Plants:Dallas 15 March 2014; San Francisco 9 August 2014 http://t.co/sHz64JWjsG
acsdchas Grand Island, NY lab fire causes $20,000 damage http://t.co/mahIrkOrCk
acsdchas DCHAS Workshop: How to be a More Effective Chemical Hygiene Officer:Dallas 15 March 2014; San Francisco 9 August 2014 http://t.co/0sNrpI7BZa
acsdchas So using a chemical in major industrial process doesn't require safety review because not 'consumer'? Nuts. http://t.co/vkAb2m3Syw
acsdchas RT **At_Symbol_Here**fema: Updates on #WVwater chemical spill response, follow **At_Symbol_Here**femaregion3 http://t.co/WGkAG0IjKW #WVwatercrisis
acsdchas DCHAS Lab Safety Seminar (One Day):Dallas 14 March 2014; San Francisco 8 August 2014 http://t.co/NjmPefEsvL
acsdchas DCHAS 2014 Laboratory Waste Management Workshops http://t.co/pcq10kzj7y
CHMMNews Chemical Leak Causes Water Emergency In West Virginia ? NPR (blog) http://t.co/12qkOUBwrO #HazMat
Table of Contents (11 articles)
STATE IGNORED PLAN FOR TOUGHER CHEMICAL OVERSIGHT
Tags: us_WV, public, discovery, environmental
CONTRACT WORKER INJURED IN CAMPUS LAB EXPLOSION
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, explosion, injury, gas_cylinders
CHEMICAL LEAK CAUSES FIRE AT AVANTOR PLANT IN PARIS
Tags: us_KY, industrial, fire, response, nitric_acid
MILK RELEASE FROM TRUCK ACCIDENT CLEANED TO PROTECT STREM
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, environmental, milk
CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS 4 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, water_treatment
CHEMICAL SPILL TAINTS DRINKING WATER
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
UPDATED: AMMONIA LEAK SHUTS DOWN CARGILL & PART OF IOWA AVE.
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
GRAND ISLAND CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE CAUSES $20,000 DAMAGE
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, other_chemical, fire_extinguisher
CHEMICAL SPILL INVESTIGATION BY U.S. ATTORNEY AND ATTORNEY GENER
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
PEOPLE V PATRICK HARRAN CONTINUES
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
MADISON FIRE SAY CLEANING MAY HAVE LEAD TO A CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, chlorine_dioxide
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STATE IGNORED PLAN FOR TOUGHER CHEMICAL OVERSIGHT
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401120021
Tags: us_WV, public, discovery, environmental
Three years ago this month, a team of federal experts urged the state of West Virginia to help the Kanawha Valley create a new program to prevent hazardous chemical accidents.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board recommended the step after its extensive investigation of the August 2008 explosion and fire that killed two workers at the Bayer CropScience plant in Institute.
Since then, the proposal has gone nowhere. The state Department of Health and Human Resources hasn't stepped in to provide the legal authority the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department needs to start such a program. And Kanawha County officials never funded the plan, and seldom mention that the CSB recommendation was even made.
Now, with more than 300,000 residents across the Kanawha Valley without usable water following a chemical accident at Freedom Industries on the Elk River, some local officials say it's time for action.
"We'd had their recommendation on the books for several years now," said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the local health department. "This gives us another opportunity to look at what they recommended."
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CONTRACT WORKER INJURED IN CAMPUS LAB EXPLOSION
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/contract-worker-injured-in-campus-lab-explosion-1.460829
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, explosion, injury, gas_cylinders
ARAU: A contract worker suffered serious burns on his face, left hand and the front part of his body in an explosion outside a laboratory at a higher learning institution campus here on Saturday.
It is learnt that during the 4.45pm incident, Mohd Zulfadly Hasan, 27, and another worker were installing gas pipeline outside the laboratory.
The explosion was believed to be caused by a leak from the gas cylinder in the science lab.
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CHEMICAL LEAK CAUSES FIRE AT AVANTOR PLANT IN PARIS
http://www.wtvq.com/content/localnews/story/Chemical-Leak-Causes-Fire-at-Avantor-Plant-in-Pari/O5naS4UVfEGAZfnBVm1h2Q.cspx
Tags: us_KY, industrial, fire, response, nitric_acid
A chemical leak caused a fire at Avantor Performance Materials, Inc. in Paris.
Plant workers believe the fire started when a leaking container of nitric acid ignited the corrugated case in which it was stored Sunday morning.
Workers say the fire was extinguished by the on-site sprinkler system and contained to the warehouse area. They say there is no risk to the community.
Paris and Bourbon County fire crews worked for about eight hours cleaning up.
Workers are investigating the issues and plan to put safeguards to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future.
The Avantor Plant in Pair produces, package and distributes high-purity solvents, acids, salts and bonded phase products. The 310,000 square foot manufacturing plant was established in 1978. It has 245 employees; none were hurt in the fire.
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MILK RELEASE FROM TRUCK ACCIDENT CLEANED TO PROTECT STREM
http://www.wearecentralpa.com/story/milk-causes-mess-on-roadway/d/story/m2izU_1BNUyJ2QvFTofKEw
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, environmental, milk
EAST ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP, BEDFORD COUNTY - Emergency crews were called out early Saturday morning to deal with more than six thousand gallons of spilled milk.
Authorities say the driver of a the truck carrying the milk lost control of the tanker along Covered Bridge Road in East Saint Clair Township. The truck went off the edge of the road, knocked down a utility pole and over turned spilling it's load.
Hazmat teams were called in because milk can be a significant environmental hazard if it is allowed to enter a stream of creek.
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CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS 4 TO HOSPITAL
http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/1118712/Chemical-spill-sends-4-to-hospital
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, water_treatment
CHARLESTON, W.Va. ? A handful of people have been hospitalized and several hundred thousand remain without water after a chemical leaked from a storage tank in Charleston into the public water treatment system, state authorities said Saturday.
About 300,000 people in nine counties entered their third day Saturday without being able to drink tap water or use it to bathe or wash dishes or clothes after a foaming agent escaped the Freedom Industries plant and seeped into the Elk River. The only allowed use of the water was for flushing toilets.
Allison Adler of the Department of Health and Human Resources says 32 people sought treatment at area hospitals for symptoms like nausea and vomiting. Of those, four people were admitted to the Charleston Area Medical Center. Their conditions were not immediately known.
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CHEMICAL SPILL TAINTS DRINKING WATER
http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/web/2014/01/Chemical-Spill-Taints-Drinking-Water.html
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
About 300,000 people are without drinking water in West Virginia?s Kanawha Valley today after a chemical used to clean coal spilled into the Elk River in Charleston, W. Va.
On Jan. 9, the contents of a 48,000-gal tank at specialty chemical maker Freedom Industries? plant leaked and breached a containment system spilling into the Elk River. The river is the water source for central and southwestern West Virginia. The discharge occurred about a mile upriver from a drinking water treatment plant.
According to a statement from Freedom Industries, a 28-year-old business with less than 200 employees, the firm hasn?t yet determined the size of the spill. Freedom Industries identified the chemical that fouled the Elk River as 4-methyl-1-cyclohexanemethanol, or crude MCHM, a compound used to wash coal and remove impurities.
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UPDATED: AMMONIA LEAK SHUTS DOWN CARGILL & PART OF IOWA AVE.
http://www.ottumwaeveningpost.com/9470/61267/a/ammonia-leak-shuts-down-cargill-part-of-iowa-ave
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
An early morning ammonia leak has indefinitely shut the Ottumwa Cargill Pork plant down. According to Cargill?s Director of Communication Mike Martin, the leak was detected at approximately 2 a.m. Friday. The crews on duty at the plant were immediately evacuated and asked to wait in their cars until the severity of the situation was assessed. Although most of the employees appeared to be unharmed, two workers were sent to the hospital.
?There were two people who were transported to the hospital. One is a Cargill employee, he is a boiler/refrigeration supervisor, he is in stable condition? and there was a contract security guard who asked to go to the hospital, so he was taken to the hospital. Beyond that, I don?t have any updated conditions on them,? said Martin.
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GRAND ISLAND CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE CAUSES $20,000 DAMAGE
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/grand-island/grand-island-chemical-plant-fire-causes-20000-damage-20140110
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, other_chemical, fire_extinguisher
Grand Island Fire Company crews used a dry chemical extinguisher to suppress a chemical fire in a lab at the Isle Chem Research and Development complex at 2801 Long Road Friday afternoon.
The fast action by firemen saved the building from structural damage. There was $20,000 damage to material and equipment in the second floor lab.
Five fire engines and a ladder truck were sent to the scene about 2:24 p.m.
Incident commander Dan Mathes and Investigator Chuck Berlinger, who led firefighters into the building, said the fire apparently was caused by the accidental ignition of pyrophoric metallic compound left under an exhaust hood. No one was injured.
A Brighton Haz Mat team and a Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Department crew were called to the scene and a City of Tonawanda fire crew was on standby at Grand Island fire headquarters.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL INVESTIGATION BY U.S. ATTORNEY AND ATTORNEY GENER
http://www.wvva.com/story/24421869/2014/01/10/chemical-spill-investigations-by-us-attorney-and-attorney-general
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
Charleston -
The extent of the chemical spill stretches far beyond Charleston, and U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says his office has launched an investigation to find out why the spill happened.
"What we do want to do is make sure that evidence doesn't start to disappear, and that we are able to get to the bottom of whatever happened, understand how this occurred and who if any is responsible," says Goodwin.
He says it's too early to consider charges
"Whenever you have a discharge of a pollutant or a hazardous substance you have potential violation of the environmental laws," says Goodwin.
That may not be the only criminal aspect in all this. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey says his office has received numerous complaints of price gouging.
"We've been getting a lot of these reports, phone calls coming in and some postings on facebook ranging from 18 dollars for a case, 26, 30, 35, 75 dollars for a case of water," says Morrisey.
---------------------------------------------
PEOPLE V PATRICK HARRAN CONTINUES
http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2014/01/people-v-patrick-harran-continues/
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
University of California, Los Angeles, chemistry professor Patrick Harran had another court status check today. The result is another status check scheduled for March 19. The continued delay in scheduling a trial is due at least in part to the fact that Harran?s attorneys are trying to get the case dismissed through the California Court of Appeal. Harran faces trial on four counts of felony violations of the state labor code relating to the 2009 death of Sheharbano (Sheri) Sangji from injuries sustained in a fire in Harran?s lab.
---------------------------------------------
MADISON FIRE SAY CLEANING MAY HAVE LEAD TO A CHEMICAL LEAK
http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Madison-Police-block-off-road-after-chemical-spill-on-Science-Dr-239512771.html
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, chlorine_dioxide
Madison fire said cleaning cabinets led to a hazmat situation at drug manufacturing company, Mentor Biologics, in Research Park.
"Three people were in the room where the leak got into," said Madison fire chief, Art Price.
Chief Price said they inhaled fumes from chlorine dioxide, a highly toxic chemical.
"It's in a gassiest form. It leaked into another room. They noticed it because they could smell it. They immediately left the room, dialed 911," said Price.
Madison Police had Science Drive closed off for a couple of hours as hazmat and fire crews went inside.
"Our teams are going in to monitor the air to make sure everything's alright," said Price.
The three people exposed to the chemical were taken away in ambulances to UW Hospital.
"They were all alert and oriented," said Price.
Chief Price said the chemical was contained to the building and will clear up on its own.
"It's going to dissipate. The air handler scrubs it, and it releases into the atmosphere," said Price.
Science Drive was reopened around 8:00 p.m. No word on the conditions of the three people in the hospital.
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