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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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Table of Contents (8 articles)
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED IN FOR SULFURIC ACID FIND
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, sulfuric_acid, waste
HAZMAT TEAMS CLEAN 4,000 POUNDS OF AMMONIA LEAK AFTER ROOF COLLAPSE
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, ammonia
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO OTTAWA HOTEL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, chlorine, pool_chemicals
UPDATE: CHLORINE LEAK DISCOVERED AT ELKHART WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment
RISK-ASSESSMENT STUDY FUELS DEBATE OVER TOXICITY OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS
Tags: industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
POOL ATTENDANT INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: Philippines, public, explosion, injury, chlorine, water_treatment
BUSINESSES SEEK CHEMICAL LEAK RELIEF FROM SBA
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
LEAK PROMPTS CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CALL FOR NEW RULES
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, water_treatment
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HAZMAT TEAM CALLED IN FOR SULFURIC ACID FIND
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140310/NEWS/403100307
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, sulfuric_acid, waste
WELLFLEET ? A hazardous materials team was called to the Wellfleet transfer station Sunday afternoon after a man brought a container to the facility containing a clear liquid believed to be high-concentrate sulfuric acid.
Fire officials were called to the transfer station at 1:52 p.m. by employees after the man brought them the container, which he had found on a local beach, said Wellfleet Fire Chief Richard Pauley.
When the man found the bottle, containing about two pints of the liquid, he smelled it, which he said burned his nasal passages, Pauley said.
He then sealed it back up and brought it to the transfer station, Pauley said.
"One of the employees could still detect something that wasn't right with it," Pauley said.
The employee contacted the fire department which responded and in turn contacted the state Department of Fire Services regional hazardous response team, he said.
Field testing showed the material to be some form of high-concentrate sulfuric acid and it was secured until it could be picked up by a private contractor, Pauley said.
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HAZMAT TEAMS CLEAN 4,000 POUNDS OF AMMONIA LEAK AFTER ROOF COLLAPSE
http://fox17online.com/2014/03/08/hazmat-teams-clean-ammonia-leak-after-roof-collapse/#axzz2vTTutK7m
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, ammonia
HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (March 8, 2014) ? Hazmat teams worked to clean-up a 4000-pound ammonia leak after a roof collapse at Interstate Warehousing on the 2900 block of Highland Drive.
According to Ottawa County officials, the roof collapse happened at 2:59 A.M. Saturday and caused the ammonia to leak. Hudsonville City Manager Patrick Waterman said two tanks of ammonia outside of Interstate Warehousing feed into an internal piping system. Waterman said when the roof collapsed it broke the system?s valves, causing the ammonia to leak, but it was contained inside.
?There were relatively high levels but because of the conditions and because of the fact that the source was shut off, it was really just a matter of opening it up and letting it dissipate naturally,? said Waterman.
As a precaution, officials said local businesses along Corporate Grove were evacuated and some local residents were advised to stay inside their homes.
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HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO OTTAWA HOTEL
http://www.ourwindsor.ca/news-story/4404055-hazmat-team-called-to-ottawa-hotel/
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, chlorine, pool_chemicals
OTTAWA - Firefighters say dozens of people were exposed to an abrasive contaminant in a west-end Ottawa hotel but no one is seriously hurt.
Emergency crews, including a hazardous materials team, were called to the Travelodge on Carling Avenue (near Kirkwood Avenue) around 7:30 p.m.
Ottawa Fire spokesman Marc Messier says 40 hotel guests ? most of them children ? showed symptoms consistent with chlorine exposure.
But he says so far, no one has needed hospitalization.
Messier says staff were treating the hotel's pool and set off a chemical reaction.
He says the area is ventilated and chlorine levels appear normal.
"We're basically sending all the guests back up to their rooms to shower, then they'll come back down and they'll get reassessed by paramedics, just to make sure that everything's normal," he said.
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UPDATE: CHLORINE LEAK DISCOVERED AT ELKHART WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/hazmat-team-responds-to-chlorine-leak-at-elkhart-wastewater-treatment-plant/24882192
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment
ORIGINAL STORY: There is a chlorine leak at the Elkhart wastewater treatment plant, according to dispatchers.
Nappanee Street from Franklin St. to Lexington St. is closed.
Police and fire are on scene. Dispatchers tell us they got the call at 7:37p.m. ? a worker at the plant called 911.
The city's hazmat team is making entry to determine the extent of the problem.
It is still safe to use the water system in Elkhart right now, according to dispatch. They say it is a minor leak and no evacuations are expected at this time.
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RISK-ASSESSMENT STUDY FUELS DEBATE OVER TOXICITY OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS
http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i11/Risk-Assessment-Study-Fuels-Debate.html
Tags: industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
A review of studies carried out to assess the safety of industrial chemical substances has concluded that 11 substances?including certain metals, organic solvents, pesticides, and flame retardants?can now reliably be classified as developmental neuro-toxicants. Such substances have the potential to cause permanent brain damage in developing fetuses and young children.
In the review, environmental health scientists Philippe Grandjean and Philip J. Landrigan of Harvard School of Public Health say that exposure to the identified substances is contributing to ?a global pandemic of developmental neurotoxicity? that mirrors smoking cigarettes, alcohol abuse, and processed foods as a public health problem. As a result of their findings, the Harvard scientists call for mandated worldwide assessment of the neurotoxicity of chemicals used in commerce.
The Harvard study comes at a time when Congress is looking to update laws that regulate chemical testing and risk assessment. Current regulations require that once a chemical is on the market, there must be proof it is toxic before its use is restricted or it is removed from commerce. The toxicities of many chemicals used in industry and in consumer products have not been adequately tested often because they were on the market prior to current regulations. So scientists and regulatory agencies have little understanding of how the compounds might work alone or in combination to cause harm?or if they are harmless.
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POOL ATTENDANT INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/03/07/1298249/pool-attendant-injured-chemical-explosion
Tags: Philippines, public, explosion, injury, chlorine, water_treatment
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A pool attendant was seriously injured when the chemical he was concocting for pool water treatment exploded in Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte Thursday night, according to police.
Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, spokesman of Police Regional Office 9 (PRO), identified the victim as Mark Anthony Mojica, 24, pool attendant of Valdia Gardens Function Hall and Restaurant located at Barangay Sicayab.
Huesca said investigating police officials of Dipolog City disclosed that the victim mixed a chlorine and alumprecipitate in a pail, added water and stirred the chemical concoction as pool water treatment when it exploded about 8:45 p.m. Thursday.
The police said the Mojica sustained chemical burns and hematoma on the different parts of his body.
The victim was immediately rushed by his co-worker to the nearby residence of a Dr. Valentino Tiu for treatment.
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BUSINESSES SEEK CHEMICAL LEAK RELIEF FROM SBA
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201403070162
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
The Freedom Industries chemical leak keeps Toshiaki Yoshioka up at night.
"Sometimes I can't sleep or I wake up shaking and sleeping (thinking the chemical leak's toll on business," said Yoshioka, owner of Kaifu Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar in downtown Charleston. "It's been tough, very tough on my life."
To try to recover, Kaifu is among 14 businesses that have reached out the U.S. Small Business Administration for economic relief in wake of the Jan 9 chemical leak that contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people and hampered business operations throughout the region.
"We want to make sure to encourage businesses to apply," said Michael Lampton of the SBA. "If you feel like you've been affected down the line, you still need to go ahead and apply. Let SBA determine what is eligible and what's not."
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LEAK PROMPTS CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CALL FOR NEW RULES
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/leak-prompts-chemical-safety-board-call-new-rules
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, water_treatment
Citing ?gap in the regulatory framework that fails to cover aboveground storage tanks,? the chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has urged lawmakers at a congressional field hearing in Charleston, West Virginia, to approve legislation to prevent major chemical spills.
CSB Chairperson Rafael Maure-Eraso?s remarks came on February 10, a month after some 10,000 gallons of 4-Methylcyclohexane methanol leaked into the Elk River from a storage tank situated upstream from the capital city?s water treatment plant. The river is a tributary of the Kanawha River, which supplies water for 300,000 people. Residents were told not to drink the water or use it for cooking or bathing. The directive was lifted after about two weeks.
?While there are laws prohibiting polluting to waterways with a spill, there are not really any clear, mandatory standards for how you site, design, maintain and inspect non-petroleum tanks at a storage facility,? Maure-Eraso said. Tanks at the leak site were not covered by either state or federal regulations. He called for ?urgent steps? to address the regulatory gap.
Noting that CSB has investigated previous hazardous releases in the Kanawha Valley over the past five years, Maure-Eraso revisited the agency?s previous recommendations that county officials, working with the state, establish a hazardous chemical release prevention program to enhance safety and optimize emergency response. The program would operate under a new industrial authority funded from fees assessed on the companies processing or handling potentially dangerous chemicals. While officials considered the recommendation, it was not adopted for several reasons, including funding, he stated.
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