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A couple of lab incidents and members of the public driving chemical things they found into the police station today, as well as the usual random events...
- 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 (20 articles)
STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY LAB EXPERIMENT EXPLOSION PROMPTS EVACUATION
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
UPDATED: WORKER HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING HAZMAT SPILL AT REPUBLIC STEEL
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, injury, phosphoric_acid, sodium_hydroxide, sodium_nitrate
WOMAN DRIVES METH LAB TO POLICE STATION, CAUSES HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
BREAKING NEWS: MASSIVE CHEMICAL BLAST AT DONCASTER FACTORY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
GARDENER TREATED AFTER AMMONIA SCARE IN LEEDERVILLE
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, ammonia, drugs
CHEMICAL LEAK RESOLVED, ENDING 55-HOUR PUZZLE
Tags: us_SC, transportation, follow-up, response, HCl
POOL CHEMICALS INJURE NEARLY 5,000 YEARLY
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental, pool_chemicals
CHEMICAL SPILL PROMPTS EVACUATION OF RPI?S BIOTECHNOLOGY AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES BUILDING
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
PITTSBURGH SPORTSCASTER SUING CHEMICAL COMPANIES OVER DAD'S DEATH
Tags: us_PA, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
TWO COAL COMPANIES STOP USING CHEMICAL FOUND IN WEST VIRGINIA SPILL
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
WHEN NANOTECH TURNS NANOTOXIC
Tags: us, laboratory, discovery, response, nanotech, paints, plastics
BURLINGTON COPS: DON'T BRING US YOUR BOMBS
Tags: us_VT, public, discovery, response, bomb, illegal
CHEMICAL SPILL IN CORTLANDVILLE SENDS SIX TO THE HOSPITAL
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
OKLAHOMA CITY-BASED LSB CHEMICAL PLANT SUES SUPPLIER OVER EXPLOSION
Tags: us_AR, industrial, follow-up, response, nitric_acid, oxygen
SAMSUNG APOLOGISES FOR CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
FIRE DAMAGE DELAYS COMPLETION OF ARMY'S NEW FLAGSHIP BIO LAB AT FORT DETRICK, MD., TO 2017
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL EMERGENCY AT AUCKLAND APPAREL FACTORY
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide
CHEMICAL TANKER CAUGHT FIRE AT ELITE HIGHWAY
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SMALL FIRE AT CHEMICAL PLANT TEMPORARILY RESULTS IN ROAD CLOSURE (FROM THE NORTHERN ECHO)
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
NO REPORTED INJURIES AFTER ELLIS COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, water_treatment
---------------------------------------------
STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY LAB EXPERIMENT EXPLOSION PROMPTS EVACUATION
http://www.longislandpress.com/2014/05/15/stony-brook-university-lab-experiment-explosion-prompts-evacuation/
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
A science experiment sparked an explosion in a Stony Brook University science laboratory that resulted in two people being hospitalized for minor injuries on Thursday evening, officials said.
The victims were conducting what university representatives described as a ?routine? experiment in a lab in the Earth and Space Sciences Building when the explosion occurred at about 5 p.m.
?There is some structural damage to the laboratory? said Lauren Sheprow, a spokeswoman for the university.
The two victims were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment and evaluation. It was unclear if they were professors or students, but Sheprow confirmed that they were not undergraduates.
The building was evacuated while authorities continue the investigation into the cause of the explosion. Sheprow said that the incident did not appear to disrupt the rest of the campus, since it the incident occurred during the evening amid finals.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATED: WORKER HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING HAZMAT SPILL AT REPUBLIC STEEL
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2014/05/15/worker-hospitalized-following-hazmat-spill-republic-steel/
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, injury, phosphoric_acid, sodium_hydroxide, sodium_nitrate
Firefighters responded at 12:33 p.m. to the mill, according to fire Capt. Matt Homolya. The unidentified man was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center around 3:15 p.m., according to Herb de la Porte, LifeCare Ambulance vice president. De la Porte said the man had to be tested for contamination by the Lorain County Hazardous Materials Response Team before being transported.
The team is comprised of members of Lorain County fire departments. Firefighters and team members departed the plant about 6:50 p.m. Homolya said Occupational Health and Safety Administration officials responded to the mill and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard Lorain station were notified.
Homolya said an accident occurred while chemicals were being removed from five old storage tanks Republic plans to reuse. Chemicals were being pumped into an approximately 8,000-gallon truck by workers from Youngstown-based Odyssey Environmental Services LLC.
A report on the accident was unavailable Thursday, but Homolya said the chemicals included aluminum hydroxychloride, phosphoric acid, phosphoric acid ester, sodium hydroxide and sodium nitrate. One of the chemicals ruptured a hose to the truck, causing a brownish, yellowish plume about 3 feet wide and 15 to 20 feet high to rise.
---------------------------------------------
WOMAN DRIVES METH LAB TO POLICE STATION, CAUSES HAZMAT RESPONSE
http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1044639#.U3X1eoFdWE0
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
DUNKIRK -- Authorities say a woman and her sport utility vehicle had to be decontaminated after she delivered a methamphetamine laboratory to a western New York police station.
The Observer of Dunkirk reports that the woman showed up at the Dunkirk Police Department on Tuesday and told officers she had found the meth materials at a home in nearby Sheridan.
Because materials used in making meth can be unstable, the parking area outside the police station was cordoned off as a hazardous material team responded to the scene. Officials say they recovered several items consistent with meth production.
The woman and the SUV were decontaminated by the hazmat team and firefighters.
---------------------------------------------
BREAKING NEWS: MASSIVE CHEMICAL BLAST AT DONCASTER FACTORY
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/breaking-news-massive-chemical-blast-at-doncaster-factory-1-6620626
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
Workers at a Doncaster factory had to be evacuated last night after a tank of chemicals exploded.
Fortunately no-one has been injured in the incident at Bridon Wire on Carr Hill, Balby.
The explosion was reported to South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service at 10.35pm and four appliances raced to the scene.
When they arrived the 60 workers on site had been moved to a place of safety and they reported no casualties, with everyone accounted for.
The fire was in a static tank containing about 20 tonnes of an undisclosed chemical and the blast severely damaged the roof of the building where it was contained.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Firefighters from Doncaster, Edlington and Adwick stations spent about three hours dealing with the incident. No other damage was reported.
---------------------------------------------
GARDENER TREATED AFTER AMMONIA SCARE IN LEEDERVILLE
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/gardener-treated-after-ammonia-scare-in-leederville/story-fnii5tho-1226919978363
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, ammonia, drugs
THE Organised Crime Squad was called in after a gardener was affected by ammonia fumes during a chemical scare in inner city Leederville.
It is believed that two gardeners found a suspicious package containing concentrated ammonia and alerted authorities.
?Police and emergency services were called to the rear car park of a business complex located on Newcastle Street, Leederville, just after 8am, after reports of an unknown chemical being located,?? a police spokesman said.
?Police located a container of concentrated ammonia that was rendered safe by Chem Centre and Organised Crime staff.
?No other items were located to indicate any drug manufacturing concerns.??
One of the gardeners for the complex received medical attention after inhaling chemical fumes.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK RESOLVED, ENDING 55-HOUR PUZZLE
http://www.thestate.com/2014/05/14/3447331/chemical-leak-resolved-ending.html
Tags: us_SC, transportation, follow-up, response, HCl
TOWNVILLE --- A tired, sunburned Capt. Matthew Littleton walked away from a once-threatening truck at 3 p.m. Wednesday, looking relaxed for the first time in three hot days.
"The threat is over," Anderson County's deputy emergency manager proclaimed.
It's a claim Littleton had been anxious to make since he learned Monday morning that a truck carrying a leaking tank of hydrogen chloride was discovered on northbound Interstate 85, just a few miles inside South Carolina.
The truck spent the next 55 hours at a weigh station on Mile Marker 9, while Littleton and representatives of more than 20 other agencies plotted a safe solution.
Cleaning and inspection work, led by the Environmental Protection Agency, will continue much of the day Thursday. But for Littleton and most of the crews involved in public safety, the job essentially ended when the contents of the leaking tank were successfully transferred to a safe one late Wednesday morning.
"There is still plenty of work to do --- they'll have to eliminate any vapor in the tank, and they'll have to decontaminate every piece of equipment out here," Littleton said.
---------------------------------------------
POOL CHEMICALS INJURE NEARLY 5,000 YEARLY
http://www.livescience.com/45633-pool-chemical-injuries.html
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental, pool_chemicals
Pool chemicals help protect swimmers from germs in the water, but the disinfectants themselves can be hazardous if used improperly, warns a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2012, nearly 5,000 people in the United States visited an emergency department for injuries from pool chemicals, the report says.
The researchers found that 46 percent of those injuries occurred among children and teens, and more than a third happened at home. Nearly three-quarters of injuries took place between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and about 40 percent happened on weekends. [7 Common Summer Health Concerns]
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL PROMPTS EVACUATION OF RPI?S BIOTECHNOLOGY AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES BUILDING
http://www.troyrecord.com/general-news/20140515/chemical-spill-prompts-evacuation-of-rpis-biotechnology-and-interdisciplinary-studies-building
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
TROY >> Nearly 40 people were evacuated from the Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies building on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute?s campus Thursday following a chemical spill.
No one was injured in the incident which occurred around 1 p.m., officials said.
Troy Assistant Fire Chief James Hughes said that a graduate student was working in a 4th floor lab when the spill happened. The student, a male in his early 20s, reported the issue and was not hurt. He was taken to an area to shower and his clothes were contained.
?He had no ill effects,? said Hughes.
The chemical was not identified by the fire department or the college but Hughes said it would have negative affects on skin and when breathed in.
The building was searched and the ventilation system was reversed to prevent the spread of the chemical in the 218,000 square foot building located on 15th Street in Troy.
The block near the Biotech structure was temporarily closed until about 2:45 p.m. as emergency crews worked at the scene. The fire alarm was sounded in the building throughout that time as well.
A statement from the college said: ?Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute evacuated the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies this afternoon following a small chemical spill. No one was injured. Rensselaer worked in full cooperation with the Troy Fire Department, and we thank them for their timely and professional response. The spill was professionally remediated. As a precautionary measure, Rensselaer has closed the building for the rest of the day. It will reopen tomorrow morning.?
---------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH SPORTSCASTER SUING CHEMICAL COMPANIES OVER DAD'S DEATH
http://www.wtae.com/news/pittsburgh-sportscaster-suing-chemical-companies-over-dads-death/25999560
Tags: us_PA, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
MURRYSVILLE, Pa. ?A Pittsburgh sportscaster is taking on some of the nation's biggest chemical companies, accusing them of making pesticides that killed his father. Tom Walsh died of leukemia at just 56 years old, after he spent 38 years working on Pittsburgh-area golf courses.
---------------------------------------------
TWO COAL COMPANIES STOP USING CHEMICAL FOUND IN WEST VIRGINIA SPILL
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304908304579564181476847364?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304908304579564181476847364.html
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
Two coal companies with operations in West Virginia have stopped using the chemical that contaminated the state capital's water supply earlier this year after the state found they were discharging trace amounts into waterways, officials said Thursday.
---------------------------------------------
WHEN NANOTECH TURNS NANOTOXIC
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nanotech-turns-nanotoxic/
Tags: us, laboratory, discovery, response, nanotech, paints, plastics
A 26-year-old chemist creating polymers and coatings with ingredients that included nanoparticles of nickel developed nasal congestion and facial flushing as well as temporary allergies to her earrings and belt buckle, a new report has found. She had to leave her job and could not even return to the building because her symptoms would start again, according to a May 12 article in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
This is the first reported case of illness from exposure to nanoparticles -- and it may not be the last. According to a co-author of the paper, the widely popular technology could prove to be a new health hazard, with unknown risks and uncertainty about how to protect workers -- and possibly consumers.
"This is case one in our modern economy," said Dr. W. Shane Journeay, a nanotoxicology expert and co-author of the study, in an interview with CBS MoneyWatch.
Nanotechnology -- the creation and use of substances whose ultra-small size makes the word microscopic seem huge by comparison -- has transformed a wide variety of industries. Nanoparticles are tiny pieces of often common materials whose chemical natures and reactions change because of the small size. The altered properties can lead to new applications in such industries as solar energy, paint, and cosmetics.
---------------------------------------------
BURLINGTON COPS: DON'T BRING US YOUR BOMBS
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2014/05/15/burlington-cops-dont-bring-us-your-bombs
Tags: us_VT, public, discovery, response, bomb, illegal
Burlington cops received a bit of a scare last night when a New North End man brought a "flash-bang" device he found outside his home to the police station.
The citizen, whom Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling said was simply trying to be helpful, left the device in his car in the police department's parking lot and walked inside the station, announcing his intention to hand it over.
Officers on duty had a different idea: They called the Vermont State Police Bomb Squad, which removed the device, and later found it did not contain any explosive material.
Schirling said his officers were trying to figure out where the flash-bang device came from, and whether it is illegal to have one in Vermont. It's a small explosive used by police and the military that does, well, exactly what it sounds like it does, in an attempt to distract a target.
(For a more detailed explanation, go to Netflix, click on any action movie, and fast forward to the scene where the good guys blow away the bad guys inside a confined space.)
Burlington police have at least determined that the device isn't one of their own.
While bomb squad members did their thing around 9 p.m. last night, they briefly closed down the Police Department's parking lot adjacent to North Avenue, and set up a 50-foot perimeter around the vehicle.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL IN CORTLANDVILLE SENDS SIX TO THE HOSPITAL
http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1044104#.U3Sqi4FdWE0
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
CORTLANDVILLE -- A chemical spill in Cortlandville forced six people to be decontaminated and sent to the hospital for evaluation.
The Cortlandville Fire Department was called to Buck Environmental Labs for an unknown chemical spill on Tuesday afternoon. A HAZMAT team was called to evaluate, and the decision was made to set up a decontamination site for the six people who were in the building at the time of the spill. The six people were able to get out of the building and were the decontaminated and sent to the hospital.
---------------------------------------------
OKLAHOMA CITY-BASED LSB CHEMICAL PLANT SUES SUPPLIER OVER EXPLOSION
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-based-lsb-chemical-plant-sues-supplier-over-explosion/article/4818412
Tags: us_AR, industrial, follow-up, response, nitric_acid, oxygen
The Arkansas chemical operation of Oklahoma City-based LSB Industries Inc. claims in a federal lawsuit that the French gas supplier Air Liquide is responsible for more than $100 million in damage and losses after a 2012 explosion at the plant.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, accuses Air Liquide of negligence for failing to properly maintain oxygen pipes at a nitric acid plant LSB owns in El Dorado, Ark. A large explosion destroyed the chemical plant in May 2012. No one was injured in the blast. LSB has since said it plans to rebuild the nitric acid plant.
The French multinational company Air Liquide is the world?s largest supplier of industrial gasses.
In its lawsuit, LSB?s El Dorado plant claims the explosion was caused by contaminants in piping installed and maintained by Air Liquide at the Arkansas plant. Air Liquide supplied the plant with gaseous oxygen used to make nitric acid.
Contaminants in the pipes maintained by Air Liquide ignited a ?violent oxygen fire,? at the El Dorado plant, ?resulting in a catastrophic explosion,? the lawsuit claims.
---------------------------------------------
SAMSUNG APOLOGISES FOR CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/samsung-apologises-for-chemical-exposure/story-fn3dxity-1226918151837
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
SOUTH Korean technology giant Samsung has apologised to employees who say they suffered cancer as a result of chemical exposure in its chip factories.
The world's largest producer of memory chips and mobile phones promised to pay compensation to survivors and relatives, marking an abrupt shift in Samsung's stance on the years-long movement to hold the company to account.
However, a Samsung spokesman said the apology was not an admission of a link between the chemicals used in its chip factories and cancer and other diseases that in many cases led to employee deaths.
"We could have been more diligent in addressing the hardship and sorrow of former employees and the families of the deceased," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the workers support group, Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry (SHARPS), there have been 193 cases of illness among Samsung employees and those of its subsidiaries, of which 73 died.
Of this number, 146 worked at Samsung Electronics, 57 of whom died as a result.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE DAMAGE DELAYS COMPLETION OF ARMY'S NEW FLAGSHIP BIO LAB AT FORT DETRICK, MD., TO 2017
http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/193c735eb39149f08cb0c08845b6690b/MD--Fort-Detrick-Biolab-Delay
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical
FREDERICK, Maryland ? The Army Corps of Engineers says completion of the Army's new flagship biodefense laboratory building at Fort Detrick in Frederick has been pushed back two years to 2017.
The Frederick News-Post (http://bit.ly/1mYeGtt">http://bit.ly/1mYeGtt ) reported Wednesday on the delay.
Spokesman Clem Gaines says the delay is due to damage from a fire last summer at the construction site for the new headquarters of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Before the blaze, the building was expected to open this year. The completion date was pushed back to 2015 after the fire, which caused $10 million worth of damage.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL EMERGENCY AT AUCKLAND APPAREL FACTORY
http://www.3news.co.nz/Chemical-emergency-at-Auckland-apparel-factory/tabid/423/articleID/344262/Default.aspx
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide
An Auckland commercial laundry company has returned to work after being evacuated this morning after a drum of hydrogen peroxide started bubbling and emitting fumes.
Fire Service staff were called after staff noticed the bubbling drum at Pryors Apparelmaster in the south Auckland suburb of Takanini about 7:15am on Thursday.
Six fire appliances were sent to the scene, including the hazardous chemicals team, Fire Service communications shift manager Michael Upton says.
He said about 30 staff left the factory after they saw the bubbling drum and smelt the fumes.
People at neighbouring businesses were also warned to be wary, Mr Upton said.
The hazardous chemical team neutralised the drum shortly before 9am and were being decontaminated at the scene.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL TANKER CAUGHT FIRE AT ELITE HIGHWAY
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/chemical-tanker-caught-fire-at-elite-highway-1.597134
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SUBANG JAYA: A tanker carrying argon chemicals suddenly caught fire at Elite Highway, yesterday.
It was learnt that the tanker was engulfed in fire at KM12.6 of the Elite highway, nearby Putra Heights junction.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department operations director Mohammad Sani Harul said they received a distress call at 9.17pm, yesterday.
"The first team with seven firemen arrived 13 minutes later.
"Hazardous Material (Hazmat) Unit was deployed to the scene to deal with the materials in ensuring the scene was cleared," he said.
It was learnt that the argon liquids were used particularly in the welding industries.
The fire was under control at about 9.40pm and the scene was cleared by Hazmat team around 11pm.
---------------------------------------------
SMALL FIRE AT CHEMICAL PLANT TEMPORARILY RESULTS IN ROAD CLOSURE (FROM THE NORTHERN ECHO)
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/11213027.Small_fire_at_chemical_plant_temporarily_results_in_road_closure/?ref=nt
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A ROAD was closed as a precaution after a fire broke out at a chemical plant in the early hours of the morning (Wednesday, May 14).
A small fire involving a number of drums on the Vertellus Specialities plant started at about 3.15am and the road was closed for nearly two hours while emergency services were on site.
Cleveland Police closed the Seal Sands road around the Ineos Nitriles plant as a precaution.
A spokesman for Vertellus Specialties UK Ltd site, said: ?There was a fire this morning at approximately 3.15am in a plant area involving a small number of drums, with the production of smoke. There have been no casualties and no injuries.
?The incident was brought under control by the emergency services with the support of our own emergency team. The incident is now over. Our managers are investigating the cause.?
---------------------------------------------
NO REPORTED INJURIES AFTER ELLIS COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/25516040/fire-burning-at-ellis-county-chemical-plant
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, water_treatment
ELLIS COUNTY, Texas - There were no reported injuries after a chemical plant fire in Ellis County on Wednesday afternoon.
It happened around noon at the Pennco facility off Highway 34 near Bardwell.
Officials said workers were mixing chemicals for water treatment when the fire began inside a container. It was contained to the container.
By the time Sky 4 arrived on scene, firefighters were dousing the remaining flames.
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