Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (14 articles)
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 07:07:46 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: AF9C18C5-AF96-4B6D-A590-7AFFC3AEB233**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
**At_Symbol_Here**ACSDCHAS and **At_Symbol_Here**LabSustain tweets and Chemical Safety Headlines
Links to the headlines below can be found at the http://www.dchas.org/newsflash
acsdchas US GAO NANOMANUFACTURING:Emergence and Implications for U.S. Competitiveness, the Environment, and Human Health
acsdchas Research: Don't Offshore Your R&D - **At_Symbol_Here**HarvardBiz
cornelllabsafe JChemEd: Reorganized Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum Based on the Foundational Chemistry
acsdchas Environmentally friendly, energy-dense sugar battery developed to power the world's gadgets
acsdchas **At_Symbol_Here**jchemhealthsafe The cardinal rule of explosives safety
acsdchas **At_Symbol_Here**jchemhealthsafe Adding amines to steam used for humidification
acsdchas JChemEd: Mentoring Graduate Students in Research and Teaching by Utilizing Research as a Template
Table of Contents (14 articles)
CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL PCE CONTAMINATES COLORADO SOIL, WATER AND HOMES
Tags: us_CO, public, release, environmental, pce
ODOURS FROM SARNIA CHEMICAL PLANT LEAK SCARE NEIGHBOURS
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
NO ONE INJURED IN SMALL CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT MESQUITE RESEARCH LAB
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL LEAK ODOR FROM OKTOBERFEST GROUNDS
Tags: us_WI, public, release, environmental, thiols
REPORT: SMELL, NOT CARBON MONOXIDE SICKENED DOZENS
Tags: us_IL, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
THIRTY MINNESOTA SCHOOL CHILDREN TREATED FOR CARBON MONOXIDE
Tags: us_MN, education, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
AUTHORITIES SAY ABOUT 30 WORKERS SICKENED BY APPARENT CARBON MONOXIDE AT C. IND. WAREHOUSE (2/7/14 11:11 AM)
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
NC SAYS TESTING AFTER DUKE ENERGY ASH SPILL GENERALLY GOOD NEWS
Tags: us_NC, public, follow-up, environmental, metals, toxics
FIRE AT NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY
Tags: us_NM, transportation, fire, injury, radiation, waste
FAA PROPOSES HAZMAT FINE AGAINST AMAZON
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, flammables, paints
CRASH BETWEEN CAB AND POOL TRUCK CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_NV, transportation, release, response, chlorine
WITH SCHOOL WATER ISSUES ONGOING, HEALTH LINK DENIED
Tags: us_WV, education, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILL CONCERNS PROMPT CLOSURE OF SEVERAL WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOLS
Tags: us_WV, education, release, injury, other_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILL INJURES FORKLIFT DRIVER IN VISALIA
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, bleach
---------------------------------------------
CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL PCE CONTAMINATES COLORADO SOIL, WATER AND HOMES
http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_25095832/cancer-causing-pce-contaminating-colorado-soil-water-homes
Tags: us_CO, public, release, environmental, pce
Spills releasing PCE, the cancer-causing chemical used in dry cleaning and metal degreasing, have produced at least 86 underground plumes across Colorado that are poisoning soil and water and fouling air inside buildings.
Cleaning up this chemical is a nightmare ? a lesson in the limits of repairing environmental harm. The best that Colorado health enforcers and responsible parties have been able to do is keep the PCE they know about from reaching people.
But based on a review of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment case files, people likely have been exposed.
For years, PCE (perchloroethylene or perc) penetrated homes and a church in Denver's Cole neighborhood, forcing installation of ventilators. It contaminated municipal drinking water wells near Colorado Springs. It reached rooms where toddlers play at an Aurora day care. And PCE is spreading under a central Denver Safeway at levels far exceeding health standards.
---------------------------------------------
ODOURS FROM SARNIA CHEMICAL PLANT LEAK SCARE NEIGHBOURS
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/08/odours_from_sarnia_chemical_plant_leak_scare_neighbours.html
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
SARNIA, ONT.?Residents living near the Imperial Oil refinery and chemical plant are wondering why a hydrocarbon gas leak sent workers to safe havens within the plant while citizens were left to go about their routines despite a strong odour wafting through much of this southwestern Ontario city.
Warning sirens went off at the Imperial site after a vapour release began at 3 p.m. Friday, caused by a release of ?light hydrocarbons,? according to a company news release. The leak came from a small pipe in the site?s chemical plant.
Imperial?s air monitoring showed no measurable levels of hydrocarbon or hydrogen sulphide, the release said.
---------------------------------------------
NO ONE INJURED IN SMALL CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT MESQUITE RESEARCH LAB
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2014/02/no-one-injured-in-small-chemical-explosion-at-mesquite-research-lab.html/
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
No one was injured early Saturday in a small explosion that caused a fire at a Mesquite chemical facility, firefighters said.
The blast happened at around 7 a.m. at Fritz Industries, 2900 Executive Boulevard. Two janitorial workers were in the building at the time, but both were far enough away that they weren't injured, authorities said.
"It was in the research lab, which was a good thing because the quantity of the chemicals was small," said Mesquite fire spokesman Jeff Miller.
The company also has a manufacturing facility and storage building, which contain more chemicals, he said. It?s located in an industrial area that backs up to a residential neighborhood off Military Parkway.
Miller said the fire was so small and extinguished so quickly that no evacuation was necessary. From the outside, the building doesn?t even look damaged, he said.
"It was one alarm," he said. ?They knocked it down pretty fast.?
Firefighters responded to the site and fought the fire from the outside. After it was put out, they searched the building to make sure there were no other people inside. Finding nothing, they evacuated until they could confirm what kind of chemicals caused the explosion.
That process is still happening, Miller said.
Miller said the Mesquite Fire Department routinely investigates the facilities. The department knows what kind of chemicals are stored inside, but he said that information wasn?t immediately available Saturday morning.
"They do a lot of different things," Miller said of Fritz Industries.
The company's website said it specializes in "applied chemistry and innovative manufacturing." It serves oilfield and gas companies and also offers specialty products, including some used in agriculture, the website says.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK ODOR FROM OKTOBERFEST GROUNDS
http://www.news8000.com/news/chemical-leak-odor-from-oktoberfest-grounds/-/326/24353136/-/106h4np/-/index.html
Tags: us_WI, public, release, environmental, thiols
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) -
A natural gas leak scare in La Crosse Friday turned out to be a harmless gas.
A contractor working with Xcel Energy to clean up contaminated soil at the Oktoberfest Grounds hit an old Mercaptan Tank at about 10 a.m.
Mercapatan is a harmless gas that smells like sulfur or rotten eggs and is usually is added to odorless natural gas so people can smell it.
Reports of the odor went as far north as Menard's in La Crosse.
---------------------------------------------
REPORT: SMELL, NOT CARBON MONOXIDE SICKENED DOZENS
http://www.wifr.com/news/headlines/Report-Smell-Not-Carbon-Monoxide-Sickened-Dozens-244277431.html
Tags: us_IL, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) -- A consultant says dozens of people at a northern Illinois school became sick from a trash odor, not carbon monoxide.
The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle reports that assessment comes from Geoff Bacci, an industrial hygienist hired to review the Jan. 14 incident at Cortland Elementary School. More than 70 people to need medical treatment after they complained of dizziness and other symptoms.
The students, teachers and staff were all treated for low levels of carbon monoxide exposure, but Bacci says they became ill from the odor released by a nearby landfill.
The fumes got into the school's ventilation system after being released when a contractor dug into a section of decomposing garbage.
---------------------------------------------
THIRTY MINNESOTA SCHOOL CHILDREN TREATED FOR CARBON MONOXIDE
http://www.lifescript.com/health/news/reuters/2014/02/07/thirty_minnesota_school_children_treated_for_carbon_monoxide.aspx
Tags: us_MN, education, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - A southern Minnesota school building was evacuated on Thursday and 30 elementary students were treated at a local hospital for possible carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said.
The cause of the incident Thursday morning at the Springfield Public Schools building has not been determined and investigators have not picked up carbon monoxide readings in their search of the facility, Superintendent Keith Kottke said.
"We haven't ruled anything out at this point," Kottke said. "We want to make sure it isn't an indoor air quality issue."
---------------------------------------------
AUTHORITIES SAY ABOUT 30 WORKERS SICKENED BY APPARENT CARBON MONOXIDE AT C. IND. WAREHOUSE (2/7/14 11:11 AM)
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/0a83d288f42d492c95a25cafe8bc5828/IN--Warehouse-Fumes
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
PLAINFIELD, Indiana ? Authorities say about 30 workers were sickened by apparent carbon monoxide poisoning at a suburban Indianapolis warehouse.
Plainfield assistant fire chief Brent Anderson says two or three workers were taken from the Brightpoint warehouse to a hospital to be checked out Friday morning. He tells WISH-TV that their problems weren't serious.
Anderson tells The Indianapolis Star that the warehouse was shut down but the carbon monoxide levels weren't dangerous.
Plainfield-based Brightpoint is a cellphone distributor. WRTV reports a maintenance crew was working Friday morning to fix the issue at the warehouse near the Indianapolis International Airport.
---------------------------------------------
NC SAYS TESTING AFTER DUKE ENERGY ASH SPILL GENERALLY GOOD NEWS
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2014/02/07/nc-says-testing-after-duke-energy-ash.html
Tags: us_NC, public, follow-up, environmental, metals, toxics
Water testing downstream from a major coal ash spill show levels of toxins generally remain within N.C. safety standards designed to protect people and aquatic life, Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) and state environmental officials say.
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources says its testing of samples taken Tuesday showed only one heavy metal reading, for copper, exceeded state standards. Other heavy metals include arsenic, chromium and lead. None of the test results completed so far show levels above state standards.
The Waterkeeper Alliance, a national environmental group, reported Thursday that some of its test results showed toxin levels exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for the protection of fish and wildlife.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORYhttp://cen.acs.org/articles/92/web/2014/02/Fire-Nuclear-Waste-Repository.html
Tags: us_NM, transportation, fire, injury, radiation, waste
Firefighters doused a Feb. 5 fire at the Department of Energy?s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) that caused no release of radioactivity or damage to the facility, WIPP officials say.
The plant in Carlsbad, N.M., which began operations in 1999, is a permanent repository for transuranic waste left over from nuclear weapons research and production.
WIPP released no details about the cause of the fire, which started in a salt-hauling truck. Officials said the truck was underground in the north section of the plant, while nuclear waste is located in the south section. An investigation into the fire?s cause is under way.
An undisclosed number of employees were treated at a local hospital for possible injury from smoke inhalation and then released.
According to WIPP, emergency response teams extinguished the fire and applied a fire-suppressing foam to prevent reignition. WIPP says it determined the air inside the plant is safe to breathe.
---------------------------------------------
FAA PROPOSES HAZMAT FINE AGAINST AMAZON
http://www.aircargoworld.com/Air-Cargo-World-News/2014/02/faa-proposes-hazmat-fine-against-amazon/6262
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, flammables, paints
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a US$78,000 (57,298 euro) civil penalty against Amazon Fulfillment Services of North Las Vegas, Nev., for allegedly violating U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.
The FAA alleges that on Aug. 29, 2013, Amazon Fulfillment Services shipped a quart of high-gloss enamel paint on a FedEx Corp. aircraft from Lexington, Ky., to Corpus Christi, Texas, where workers discovered that leaking paint had soaked through the shipping box.
Paint is considered to be a Hazard Class 3 Flammable Liquid.
Investigators determined the shipment was not accompanied by shipping papers to indicate the hazardous nature of its contents and it was not marked, labeled or packed in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations. The box also contained no hazardous material inner packing, such as inserts or absorbent materials. Finally, the package failed to protect against a release of hazardous material into the environment.
---------------------------------------------
CRASH BETWEEN CAB AND POOL TRUCK CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL
http://southwest.8newsnow.com/news/news/411272-crash-between-cab-and-pool-truck-causes-chemical-spill
Tags: us_NV, transportation, release, response, chlorine
LAS VEGAS -- Tropicana Avenue was closed to traffic Friday morning so the Clark County Fire Department could clean up a chlorine spill following a crash between a taxicab and pool company truck.
A few containers of pool chemicals spilled onto the roadway. The fire department's hazardous materials team neutralized the spilled materials, when they arrived on scene. They assisted the truck driver with cleaning up the residue.
---------------------------------------------
WITH SCHOOL WATER ISSUES ONGOING, HEALTH LINK DENIED
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201402070043
Tags: us_WV, education, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In the midst of several days of water issues in Kanawha County schools, including students and staff reporting sickness related to chemical-contaminated water, government and water company officials continue to say there is no clear link between the chemical detected at the schools and the reported maladies.
Friday was the third straight day that the coal-cleaning chemical Crude MCHM, which leaked into the Elk River in early January, was either reported or found at local schools.
At about 8 a.m. Friday, lab results showed that the chemical was detected at 18.33 parts per billion at George Washington High School in Charleston, according to the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. That's well below the 1-part-per-million standard that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said is OK for everyone except pregnant women.
GW did not close Friday. Another sample taken Friday morning showed "non-detect" levels at the school.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL CONCERNS PROMPT CLOSURE OF SEVERAL WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOLS
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/chemical-spill-concerns-west-virginia_n_4738032.html?ir=Green
Tags: us_WV, education, release, injury, other_chemical
Several schools in the Charleston, W.Va. area have dismissed students amid ongoing concerns over water quality, nearly a month after a massive chemical spill in the Elk River.
Students at Riverside High School in Belle were sent home early on Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Several students reported burning sensations in their noses and eyes and two people were sent to a local hospital, including one teacher who fainted. A nearby elementary school was also closed early on Wednesday.
Students' reported symptoms are consistent with exposure to 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol, or MCHM, which was released in the Jan. 9 spill and contaminated the drinking water for about 300,000 residents for over a week. The chemical, which is used to process coal, has a strong licorice-like smell.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL INJURES FORKLIFT DRIVER IN VISALIA
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/02/07/3756768/chemical-spill-injures-forklift.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, bleach
A forklift driver in Visalia was overcome by fumes from a chemical spill Friday in Visalia, the Visalia Fire Department said.
Firefighters were called to the 8000 block of West Doe Avenue where they learned that a 330-gallon container of 12% sodium hypochlorite, which is similar to household bleach, had tipped as it was being off-loaded from a semi, Battalion Chief Charlie Norman said. About 120 gallons had spilled onto a loading dock.
The forklift driver was treated at Kaweah Delta Medical Center and released.
The Visalia Hazardous Materials Response Unit worked with Tulare County Environmental Health representatives to mitigate the chemical release, which had entered a storm drain and was contained in a ponding basin on the property.
---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post