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Busy week in industrial events in Asia and a busy day on the lab chemical incident front, particularly in Seattle...
- Ralph
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 (12 articles)
MINE COMPANY OWNED BY REP. KEITH HALL SPILLS CHEMICAL INTO STREAM; STATE SAYS IT ISN'T TOXIC
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, dust
LINCOLN PARK HIGH SCHOOL CHEM LAB FIRE LEADS TO LAWSUIT
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, follow-up, injury, methanol
THOMAS GUETZLOFF: CHEMICAL SPILL MAY INSPIRE NEW SCIENTISTS
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
HAZMAT TEAMS TAKE OUT 4,000 CONTAINERS OF CHEMICALS FROM SEATTLE HOME
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
ODOR LEADS TO FOEGE BUILDING HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, response, waste
1 DEAD AFTER BLAST, FIRE IN TENN. AMMO, EXPLOSIVES PLANT
Tags: us_TN, industrial, explosion, death, explosives
WORKER BURNED IN FLASH FIRE IN FRANKLIN
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, flammables
CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION IN CHINA KILLS AT LEAST FIVE: PHOTO 2
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO LOCAL RESIDENCE
Tags: us_NE, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical, diesel, pesticides
OFFICIALS: FAILED TRANSFORMER CAUSED CLEANING SOLUTION TO OVERHEAT IN CAIN BUILDING
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
POSSIBLE HAZMAT SITUATION AT OTERO JR. COLLEGE
Tags: us_CO, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
THREE INJURED IN FIRE AT LABORATORY
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
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MINE COMPANY OWNED BY REP. KEITH HALL SPILLS CHEMICAL INTO STREAM; STATE SAYS IT ISN'T TOXIC
http://www.kentucky.com/2014/04/17/3200084/mine-company-owned-by-rep-keith.html?sp=/99/164/329/
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, dust
A coal-mining company owned by state Rep. W. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, spilled an undetermined quantity of a chemical into his constituents' drinking water supply in Pike County earlier this month, state and local officials said Thursday.
On April 4, the Phelps Fire Department responded to a report of a chemical spill at Hall's BMM Inc., according to the Kentucky Division of Water, which is now in charge of the investigation. Photos show a white, foamy liquid pouring from the front of a blue building on the property, crossing a parking lot and running into a stream that leads to Peter Creek, which flows into the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River upriver from a local drinking-water intake.
"A gel-like substance" was still "seeping from the building" on April 9 when a state inspector toured the site, but it was not running into the stream five days later, said Dick Brown, a spokesman for the Division of Water. No sample was collected, Brown said.
"The DOW inspector was able to contact Mr. Hall and was told by Mr. Hall that the substance is a dust suppressant known as 'Dust Away,'" Brown said. "Mr. Hall said approximately 55 gallons of the product has spilled inside the building and resulted in the subsequent leakage outside the building."
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LINCOLN PARK HIGH SCHOOL CHEM LAB FIRE LEADS TO LAWSUIT
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140417/lincoln-park/lincoln-park-high-school-chem-lab-fire-leads-lawsuit
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, follow-up, injury, methanol
LINCOLN PARK ? The mother of a student who was burned in a chemistry lab fire at Lincoln Park High School is suing the school, Chicago Public Schools and the teacher involved.
Jennifer Dryden, the mother of student Tatiana Schwirblat, filed the lawsuit last week arguing the chemistry teacher, Joy Walter, and other defendants were negligent.
The chemistry lab fire broke out just before noon Nov. 25 and injured a total of five students, authorities said at the time.
Tatiana, 16, suffered second-degree burns, including burns on her face, authorities said.
The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court claims Walter was demonstrating an experiment involving the ignition of elements when the fire erupted.
Walter was igniting the element cobalt in a Petri dish with a match and poured an "unmeasured" amount of methanol over the cobalt and match, which sparked an explosion, according to the lawsuit.
Tatiana's clothes caught fire, causing burns on her body and face, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims Walter failed to take steps to protect students from injury, including putting up a shield around the Petri dish to prevent injury in case of an explosion.
---------------------------------------------
THOMAS GUETZLOFF: CHEMICAL SPILL MAY INSPIRE NEW SCIENTISTS
http://wvgazette.com/article/20140417/ARTICLE/140419458/1103
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
The aftermath of January?s chemical spill into the Elk River has been a trying time for many people in and around the Kanawha Valley. However, from an educational standpoint, it has had one positive outcome. It has brought a new level of discourse about science and technology into the public media.
Many scientists and others have been pulled into discussions about water safety and chemical testing. This appears to have attracted the attention of many young people.
My hope is that this will encourage more students to go into the STEM fields ? science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Perhaps they are learning about the need for our society to have more individuals trained in science to deal with occurrences like the chemical spill that affect people?s everyday lives. The workforce of the future will need people who know how to maintain proper scientific protocols in testing, research and the reporting of findings.
As a chemistry professor, many of my friends and students have sought me out for answers to their questions about MCHM. I have tried to allay many of their fears. People have been confused by the jargon, including the use of terms such as ?so many parts per million or billion.?
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HAZMAT TEAMS TAKE OUT 4,000 CONTAINERS OF CHEMICALS FROM SEATTLE HOME
http://www.gantdaily.com/2014/04/17/hazmat-teams-take-out-4000-containers-of-chemicals-from-seattle-home/
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
Seattle, WA, United States (4E) ? Hazardous material teams completed removing about 4,000 containers of hazardous chemicals from a Seattle home Wednesday, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Firefighters discovered the chemical stockpile in the Green Lake neighborhood home while helping a resident walk down the steps of the house on April 8. They alerted the EPA because some of the containers were leaking and many were stored improperly and unlabelled.
It took nine days to clean up the home of a brother and sister in their 90s as the containers had to be safely packed before removal. Absorbent pellets were used to capture and neutralize chemicals spilling from leaking and open containers placed in plastic buckets.
The 91-year-old co-owner of the house told EPA inspectors that he?s a scientist and he never felt endangering himself or his neighbors.
Investigators, however, said chemicals oozing, seeping and spilling out of containers pose danger to neighbors as they could produce violent chemical reaction or cause a fire, said Jeffrey Rodin, on-scene coordinator for the EPA.
Neighbors were unaware of the chemical stockpile in the home and they were relieved when the cleanup was over.
---------------------------------------------
ODOR LEADS TO FOEGE BUILDING HAZMAT RESPONSE
http://dailyuw.com/archive/2014/04/17/news/odor-leads-foege-building-hazmat-response#.U1EJelVdWE0
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, response, waste
Several Seattle Fire Department (SFD) units were called to the Foege Building on Thursday afternoon after receiving reports of a potential hazardous material incident.
According to Seattle Fire Real-Time 911, units were dispatched to the building, which is shared by the Department of Genome Sciences and the Department of Bioengineering, at 3:15 p.m., responding to calls of a strange odor in the building.
After making a preliminary assessment of the scene, University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) Cmdr. Steve Rittereiser said the SFD had concerns that led to a larger response from their hazardous materials team and a full evacuation of the building.
Rittereiser said the SFD found a broken gallon-sized bottle inside the building that said ?organic waste? on it. On Twitter, the SFD reported that this broken bottle is what caused the odor. It is unclear what the contents of the bottle were. The incident did not result in any injuries or exposures.
15th Avenue Northeast between Northeast Boat Street and Northeast Pacific Street was closed for several hours, and people were advised to avoid the area while fire department officials investigated the incident. According to UW Alert, normal building operations had resumed by 5:45 p.m., with one room on the fifth floor remaining closed for the remainder of the evening.
---------------------------------------------
1 DEAD AFTER BLAST, FIRE IN TENN. AMMO, EXPLOSIVES PLANT
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/1-dead-after-blast-fire-in-tenn-ammo-explosives-plant/
Tags: us_TN, industrial, explosion, death, explosives
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- An explosion and fire at a plant in Tennessee where several ammunition and explosives businesses are based has killed one person and left three injured.
Police and fire dispatchers said rescue workers were called Wednesday afternoon to a blast at a plant in McEwen, about 55 miles west of Nashville.
The property where the plant is based is home to several businesses that have federal licenses for ammunition or explosives, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Michael Knight. Knight said it was unclear which plant was involved, and he said agents were still trying to determine exactly what happened.
"It's been a tragic incident," CBS Nashville affiliate WTVF-TV quotes ATF Special Agent Jeff Fulton as saying. "We've had a loss of life, so we want to make sure an investigator doesn't get injured. It's gonna take us a little while to get this scene stabilized, get a engineer in here, get some heavy equipment in here and make sure we don't have some explosive powers that will hurt somebody."
---------------------------------------------
WORKER BURNED IN FLASH FIRE IN FRANKLIN
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140417/NEWS/140416791
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, flammables
FRANKLIN ? A Chelsea Drum Company employee suffered serious burns on Wednesday in a flash fire.
Emergency officials responded to the Beaver Street company, which refurbishes barrels and drums, at around 10:30 a.m.
The man had been using a flashlight to inspect what he believed to be an empty barrel when flames suddenly shot out, Fire Chief Gary McCarraher said.
McCarraher said the barrel previously contained hexane, a highly flammable liquid primarily used in extracting edible oils from seed and vegetable crops. The flashlight, he said, ignited a flash fire.
"If there?s a low concentration of the product in the area, once it reaches an ignition source, it burns off very quickly," he said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION IN CHINA KILLS AT LEAST FIVE: PHOTO 2
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/624341-chemical-plant-explosion-in-china-kills-at-least-five/?photo=2
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical
The explosion of a chemical plant and subsequent fire killed at least five people in the city of Rugao, in China?s eastern Jiangsu Province, on April 16, according to official reports.
Two loud explosions sounded at around 10 a.m., issuing from the machine shop of a chemical plant that produces stearic acid in Rugao City, according to the official local newspaper Jianghai Evening News.
The fire was controlled at around 11 a.m, though rescue activities continue into the evening. At least 5 were found dead and 12 hospitalized, reports said. Three people were missing. The final death toll has not been made public.
?Bang! It was so loud. I thought it was a military exercise! And then I saw fire in the sky!? said a local resident who lives near the plant, in an interview with the U.S.-based Sound of Hope radio. ?The doors and windows shook.?
Photos from China News, an official website, show heavy black smoke and large fires emanating from the plant, with part of the building collapsed. An irritating odor filled the air, the report said. Bodies were moved with a forklift.
Reports said that 20 ambulances were dispatched; police are still investigating the cause of the explosion.
The burnt plant belongs a large private manufacturer in Rugao City, called Shuangma Chemical, which launched in 1997. It mainly produces stearic acid, glycerin, palm wax.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO LOCAL RESIDENCE
http://columbustelegram.com/news/local/hazmat-team-called-to-local-residence/article_2355570b-f83b-5742-87fe-b3c5d6539607.html
Tags: us_NE, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical, diesel, pesticides
COLUMBUS ? The Columbus hazardous materials team was called to a local residence Tuesday afternoon after the property owner reported an unknown substance leaking from a container in the house?s basement.
According to Columbus Fire Chief Dean Hefti, the substance was reported around 2:30 p.m. and the hazmat team mobilized about an hour later after devising a plan to address the situation at 2421 10th St.
Hefti said four members of the hazmat team suited up and two entered the house to take a look at the container and determine how it could be removed.
The 5-gallon bucket was placed in a second container with absorbent and removed from the house. Testing showed the liquid was a mixture of pesticide and diesel fuel, Hefti said.
The fire chief said the bucket had been in the house?s basement for decades.
The hazmat team spent about six hours addressing the situation and members of the Columbus Fire and Police departments and a Nebraska State Patrol hazardous incident team also assisted at the scene.
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS: FAILED TRANSFORMER CAUSED CLEANING SOLUTION TO OVERHEAT IN CAIN BUILDING
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Fire-Crews-Working-Haz-Mat-Scene-at-Texas-AM-255467641.html
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
Fire crews say a malfunctioning circulation pump triggered an automatic fire alarm Wednesday morning on the Texas A&M campus.
Before 7 a.m., firefighters were called to the James A Cain building on Spence Street for a potential haz mat situation. When they went inside the building, crews discovered that a machine used to clean the parts of a 3D printer malfunctioned. The circulation pump moves a solution that contains sodium hydroxide.
Officials believe there was a problem with a transfromer that caused the solution to overheat. That sent fumes into a room on the third floor. The building was evacuated.
An emergency alert was broadcast over televisions alerting the community that the building would be closed until further notice.
At 7:55 a.m., Texas A&M sent out a Code Maroon message saying that there is a Chemical Spill at James Cain/Engineering Physics. The building is shut down. The message also asked that people avoid the area.
---------------------------------------------
POSSIBLE HAZMAT SITUATION AT OTERO JR. COLLEGE
http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/ojcoterojrcollegejuniorwheelerhallhazmatfiredepartmenttrucksclosed-255386791.html
Tags: us_CO, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
The odor from a beaker that boiled dry on a hot plate prompted evacuations at a southern Colorado College Tuesday.
It happened at Wheeler Hall at Otero Jr. College. The building was closed while HAZMAT investigated what was going on in the Chemistry lab.
The La Junta fire department says no injuries were reported.
---------------------------------------------
THREE INJURED IN FIRE AT LABORATORY
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bangalore/Three-Injured-in-Fire-at-Laboratory/2014/04/16/article2171344.ece#.U05pj1VdWE0
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
Three staffers of Anglo-French Drugs & Industries Ltd sustained severe burns when a fire broke out in the lab in Peenya Industrial Area on Tuesday.
Six fire tenders were pressed into service and after an operation that lasted for more than three hours, the fire was doused.
Two of the injured, Manjunath and Abishek, have been hospitalised. The third person is yet to be identified.
Fire department officials said the fire broke out around 2.50 pm on the first floor of the two-storey building on AVB Road. Security guard Timmarayappa noticed smoke billowing out from the lab and alerted the fire force but the fire spread to other parts of the building.
More than 80 people on the ground floor did not notice or hear the fire as some parts of the building was sound-proof. They were alerted by people outside the building. Manjunath and Abhishek were rescued before fire fighters reached the spot. Chemicals and other drugs used to manufacture medicines were destroyed in the fire.
A senior officer from the fire department said the building neither had fire-fighting equipment nor a No-Objection Certificate from the department. The cause of the fire and losses are yet to be ascertained, Peenya police said.
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