From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (9 articles)
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 11:23:01 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 7915AEA6-D935-4F19-88EF-3F0D2D322AD4**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


**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
Tweets available on our ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety (DCHAS) Facebook Page
Tagged Article summaries are available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

acsdchas JChemEd: Adsorption Kinetics and Isotherms: A Safe, Simple, and Inexpensive Experiment http://t.co/MzsbKf3sQm http://t.co/AjEtltvZiN

cornelllabsafe Bloomburg Opinion: Study Shows Fracking Is Bad for Babies http://t.co/RT68TiGKIJ http://t.co/tLCk36Ytfw

acsdchas Germany: Acid wastes explosion injures chemistry students http://t.co/2SU3scajmy

Table of Contents (9 articles)

FEDERAL CHEMICAL BOARD REJECTS SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER FIRE AT CHEVRON REFINERY IN CALIF.
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response

LAB WITH CHEMICAL EXPLODED, HAZMAT CALLED IN
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, explosion, response, corrosives, nitric_acid

LOUD NOISE, NOBODY HURT IN DUPONT CHEMICAL PLANT INCIDENT IN TEXAS, 1 POLYETHYLENE UNIT CLOSED (1/15/14 9:10 AM)
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

CLASSES SET TO RESUME IN CORTLAND AFTER GAS LEAK
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, carbon_monoxide

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY'S BUILDING IN LIVONIA
Tags: us_MI, industrial, fire, response, oils, solvent

HAZMAT SITUATION HOSPITALIZES 3 IN DC
Tags: us_DC, public, release, injury, pesticides

UPDATE: CHEMICAL SPILL COMPANY CITED FOR ISSUES AT SECOND SITE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental

ACID EXPLOSION INJURES CHEMISTRY STUDENTS
Tags: Germany, laboratory, explosion, injury, nitric_acid, solvent, sulfuric_acid

FEDS, CITY PROBING FUMES AT ROXBOROUGH FIRE STATION
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical


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FEDERAL CHEMICAL BOARD REJECTS SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER FIRE AT CHEVRON REFINERY IN CALIF.
http://www.startribune.com/business/240562141.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response

RICHMOND, Calif. ? The federal officials probing a 2012 fire at a Northern California Chevron refinery have voted against recommending a tougher, European-style refinery safety system.

The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bit.ly/1b6cQzH">http://bit.ly/1b6cQzH ) that a divided U.S. Chemical Safety Board voted Wednesday against recommending implementation of the so-called "safety case structure," which forces a company to document how it's reducing risks.

Those who voted against the safety case recommendation say it's too complex and would take too long to implement.

The board has 120 days to modify the report.

The investigation stemmed from an Aug. 6, 2012, fire at the Richmond refinery caused by an old, corroded pipe that Chevron failed to properly monitor and replace. More than 15,000 people sought treatment for respiratory and other discomforts after the blaze.

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LAB WITH CHEMICAL EXPLODED, HAZMAT CALLED IN
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/lab-with-chemical-exploded-hazmat-called-in-1.463782
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, explosion, response, corrosives, nitric_acid

KULAIJAYA: A loud explosion, followed by fire that was almost 10 metres high, revealed the actual nature of business conducted at a premises along Jalan Besi 1, Desa Perindustrian Kulai Park here.
The industrial chemical company which went into operation in 1994, had on its' premises licence listed it as "storage".
But it was used as a laboratory, and had combustible chemicals to produce organic and inorganic chemicals.
When the fire broke out at 8am, the Kulaijaya Fire and Rescue Department firefighters and engines were rushed to the scene, but they had to call in the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) team, when they realised that there were combustible materials in the premises.
Kulaijaya Hazmat commander in chief Ithnin Osman, said it took 10 personnel over an hour to neutralise the chemicals and to contain the premises.
Initial investigations revealed that there were 33 bottles of Nitrite Acid which were kept on a wooden pallet and one of the 2.5 litter bottle exploded suddenly, which followed by the fire.
There were 72 litters of fuming Nitric Acid that it was very corrosive, thus extra care was to be taken.

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LOUD NOISE, NOBODY HURT IN DUPONT CHEMICAL PLANT INCIDENT IN TEXAS, 1 POLYETHYLENE UNIT CLOSED (1/15/14 9:10 AM)
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/45702b0a7fa143dc88534ba6a1fd435e/TX--DuPont-Plant-Incident
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

ORANGE, Texas ? A loud noise and flaring at a Southeast Texas chemical plant drew emergency responders but a company official says there was no explosion or fire in the unit.

DuPont Co. spokesman Aaron Woods on Wednesday said no workers were hurt at the DuPont Sabine (suh-BEEN') River Works in Orange. Woods says the emergency shutdown Tuesday night has closed one polyethylene unit amid the company investigation into the incident.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department received 911 calls about a possible explosion.

Woods says the sound was decompression and the unit shutting down as the safety system worked. He had no information on possible damage to the plant in Orange, 100 miles northeast of Houston.

Orange firefighters responded but had no damage reports and never entered the plant operated by Delaware-based DuPont.

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CLASSES SET TO RESUME IN CORTLAND AFTER GAS LEAK
http://www.wrex.com/story/24455108/2014/01/15/classes-set-to-resume-in-cortland-after-gas-leak
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, carbon_monoxide

CORTLAND (WREX) -
Students and staff at Cortland Elementary are headed back to school Wednesday after a nearby landfill leaked gas Tuesday, sending 63 to the hospital.

Officials believe the smell was likely a result of a contractor tapping a pocket of decomposing trash at the landfill. While the type of gas released hasn't been determined, doctors at Kishwaukee Hospital treated those affected for low levels of carbon monoxide exposure.

Environmental regulators are expected to check out the landfill this week and DeKalb Superintendent James Briscoe said the school's doors were opened to air out the building.

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FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY'S BUILDING IN LIVONIA
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/fire-breaks-out-at-construction-companys-building-in-livonia/-/1719418/23937894/-/10d0faq/-/index.html
Tags: us_MI, industrial, fire, response, oils, solvent

LIVONIA, Mich. -
The black smoke so thick, the flames so massive, the fire in Livonia Wednesday morning filled the sky.

The Livonia Fire Department got to the ERG Environmental Services warehouse on Merriman Road just before 7:30 a.m.

The flames quickly spread through the roof before mini-explosions started from inside the building.

?The popping noises you heard were from the containers holding some of these hazardous materials. They were heating up from the fire and coming apart,? said Livonia Fire Chief Shadd Whitehead.

Now, the concern is ground contamination from the hazardous materials -- such as oils, petroleum-based paints, antifreeze, aerosol cans, solvents and household cleaners.

?We have hazmat teams that will be sampling the drains and there?s a cleanup company that will be working with ERG to help boom the waterways and testing the air quality,? Whitehead said.

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HAZMAT SITUATION HOSPITALIZES 3 IN DC
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/dc/2014/01/15/hazmat-in-southeast-washington/4500273/
Tags: us_DC, public, release, injury, pesticides

Three people were hospitalized following a hazmat incident in Southeast Washington.

Police say an ambulance was dispatched on a medical call to 2500 Good Hope Road at 7:30 p.m. Upon arrival, an occupant was found who had been overcome by some sort of fumes, believed to be an insecticide used for fumigation.

Officials believe all three people were exposed to some form of pesticide.

While getting the occupant out of the apartment, two EMTs were exposed to the fumes. All three were taken to a local hospital, where the occupant is in serious condition. The EMTs were taken as a precaution.

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UPDATE: CHEMICAL SPILL COMPANY CITED FOR ISSUES AT SECOND SITE
http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x1724059545/UPDATE-Chemical-spill-company-cited-for-issues-at-second-site
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental

CHARLESTON ? State inspectors have cited the company whose spill contaminated the water supply for 300,000 West Virginians for five violations at a second facility where it is storing chemicals, and they say Freedom Industries might have to relocate its materials again because of a lack of a secondary containment plan.

State inspectors found the violations Monday at a Nitro site where Freedom Industries moved its coal-cleaning chemicals after Thursday?s spill, according to a state Department of Environmental Protection report. Inspectors found that, like the Charleston facility where the leak originated, the Nitro site lacked appropriate last-resort containment to stop chemical leaks.

A department report described the site?s secondary containment as ?deteriorated or nonexistent.? It described a building with holes in its walls at floor level and a trench surrounding the structure that lets stormwater mix with spilled chemicals.

Department spokesman Tom Aluise said the ditch eventually drains into the river.

The facility had no documentation of inspections of the Nitro site. Nor did it have proof of employee training in the past 10 years, the report said.

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ACID EXPLOSION INJURES CHEMISTRY STUDENTS
http://www.thelocal.de/20140116/acid-explosion-injures-17-in-lab-kit-karlsruhe
Tags: Germany, laboratory, explosion, injury, nitric_acid, solvent, sulfuric_acid

A student was seriously injured and 15 others also hurt when the left-overs of a chemical experiment exploded after they were mistakenly mixed together at a German university.
)
The 24-year-old student was hit by flying glass and breathed in poisonous chemicals which are thought to have caused a lung embolism, police in Karlsruhe said on Thursday.

The organic chemistry students were clearing up after an afternoon's lab work in the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) on Wednesday when a mix of nitric acid and sulphuric acid came into contact with an organic chemical.

The glass beaker containing the left-over acids exploded, scattering acid, poisonous fumes and pieces of glass across the laboratory. Police estimated that around ?10,000-worth of damage was caused.

All those in the lab inhaled the gases, which led to some breathing difficulties, police said in a statement. The 24-year-old student was seriously hurt and was taken to accident and emergency at the local hospital.

The others were taken to various hospitals nearby for examination, as was a firefighter who suffered a chemical eye injury.

The building was evacuated while firefighters carried out tests for chemicals, but found no danger. Karlsruhe police were on Thursday collecting evidence to establish what had happened, but there was no immediate suspicion of foul play, a spokeswoman told The Local.

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FEDS, CITY PROBING FUMES AT ROXBOROUGH FIRE STATION
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140116_Feds__city_probing_fumes_at_Roxborough_fire_station.html
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

FEDERAL AND CITY agencies are investigating the source of noxious fumes that have kept a Roxborough fire station closed since Dec. 17, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said yesterday.

The Daily News reported yesterday that the station, Engine Company 66 on Ridge Avenue near Shawmont, has been shuttered since a firefighter became ill there.

Ayers said the situation is under investigation by a joint task force of "federal, state and city government officials," including the Environmental Protection Agency, the city's Water Department and the Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Unit.

"We'll be out here for a while; all of this is a process," Ayers said.

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