| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2014 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Cal/OSHA Safety Sign-in Sheet Requirement Date: Friday, July 11, 2014 1:54:01 PM Author: Monona Rossol <actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com> |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Cal/OSHA Safety Sign-in Sheet Requirement Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:20:36 -0700 Author: Leslie Coop |
**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
Table of Contents (13 articles)
FIRE WARNING FOR RESIDENTS AFTER CHEMICALS CAUSE SHED BLAZE (FROM DORSET ECHO)
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, fire, response, solvent
MYSTERIOUS CHEMICAL ODOR FORCES 150 FROM HOMES NEAR ALLENTOWN, PA.
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, cyanide
17 PEOPLE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical, hvac_chemicals
FOUR FIREFIGHTERS TREATED AFTER EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL IN LAWRENCE
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, metals, nitric_acid
HAZMAT TEAM STOPS CORROSIVE LEAK IN BUILDING AT CU
Tags: us_CO, education, release, injury, ag_chems, corrosives, explosives, sulfuric_acid
CHLORINE RELEASE AT MICH. ADVENTURE SENDS DOZENS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MI, public, release, injury, chlorine
HAZMAT HELPS FIGHT TWO-ALARM CHEMICAL FIRE IN TONAWANDA
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
REPUBLICANS SEEK OUSTER OF CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CHAIRMAN
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
CDC CLOSES INFLUENZA LAB, STOPS BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS SHIPMENTS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
HAZMAT SITUATION REPORTED AT GREENVILLE NURSING HOME AND REHAB CENTER
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, liquid_oxygen
CHEMICAL LEAK STARTS FIRE ON NORTH SHORE, INJURES ONE
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, injury, metals, sodium_hydroxide
YET ANOTHER CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE IN TEXAS UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCLOSURE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
WEST DEPTFORD CHEMICAL COMPANY EXPLOSION INJURES ONE
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, explosion, injury, hydrochloric_acid, metals
---------------------------------------------
FIRE WARNING FOR RESIDENTS AFTER CHEMICALS CAUSE SHED BLAZE (FROM DORSET ECHO)
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, fire, response, solvent
RESIDENTS are being warned of the risk of leaving chemicals stowed away together in hot weather after a blaze which could have turned serious.
A shed, pictured, owned by an elderly man caught fire on Wednesday evening after a chemical reaction between domestic solvents.
Luckily, a neighbour was alerted to the blaze, in High Trees, Broadmayne, and managed to extinguish it before firefighters arrived.
Steve Cheeseman, station commander at Dorchester Fire Station, above, explained that if lots of different chemicals are kept in sheds in high temperatures it can cause plastic chemical bottles to expand, leaking liquid. He said: ?At this time of the year it?s getting quite hot and heat can build up inside sheds, so it is good practice to ventilate them every so often to let the air in.
?Check to see what you are storing and whether it?s still safe to use.?
The shed and its contents were severely burnt, and a section of guttering and an electrical outlet were also damaged.
---------------------------------------------
MYSTERIOUS CHEMICAL ODOR FORCES 150 FROM HOMES NEAR ALLENTOWN, PA.
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, cyanide
The calm of a Sunday evening was shattered in Montgomery County, Pa., as some 150 residents in Skippack Twp. were forced from their homes by a mysterious odor, according to local station WFMZ. The exact cause of the odor remains unclear.
Officials had found readings of hydrogen cyanide in about 100 homes in the neighborhood. But officials say they believe the odor is actually coming from another chemical.
Nearly 12 hours later, the Montgomery County Hazardous Materials Response Team are still working to determine what that odor is, NBC10 reported this morning.
About 150 people were initially evacuated to Skippack Elementary School, the station reported. The Red Cross said it helped shelter four families, for a total of 10 people who had no place to go for the night.
---------------------------------------------
17 PEOPLE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical, hvac_chemicals
KUSA - A total of 17 people were treated for respiratory issues, eye irritation and vomiting after exposure to an unknown chemical at Oskar Blues restaurant in Longmont.
The Longmont Police Department, fire department and a fire HAZMAT team responded to the restaurant at 1555 South Hover Road around 12:40 p.m. Sunday.
Investigators say 24 employees and customers were exposed to the chemical. Seventeen people were transported by ambulance to area hospitals. Eight were taken to Longmont United Hospital in Longmont. Nine others were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette.
They were treated for various issues that included respiratory complaints, eye irritation and vomiting. Other employees and patrons were decontaminated and evaluated at the scene.
Early readings from HAZMAT equipment indicated a possible refrigerant leak, but investigators now say that's not the cause. They believe a defective 200 gallon water heater caused the problem. The hot water has been malfunctioning causing it to attempt to light over and over again. Firefighters suspect the exhaust which contains products of incomplete combustion were being recirculated through a nearby evaporative cooler right above the fryer area where the employees had been working.
---------------------------------------------
FOUR FIREFIGHTERS TREATED AFTER EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL IN LAWRENCE
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, metals, nitric_acid
Four firefighters were hospitalized early this morning after inhaling nitric acid, a toxic and potentially explosive chemical, at a metal plating company in Lawrence, said acting Lawrence Deputy Fire Chief Jack Meaney.
The firefighters were treated at Lawrence General Hospital and released this afternoon, he said.
They responded to a report of a chemical release at 22 Ballard Road around 1:30 a.m., said firefighter Mike Forensi. The building is owned by N-Tek Inc., which was closed when the incident occurred.
A man who answered the phone at a number listed for N-Tek Inc declined to comment this afternoon.
The chemical release prompted firefighters and a state hazmat team to close down a section of Ballard Road near the building and evacuate two homes in Lawrence and one in Andover, Meaney said. The residents have since been allowed to return to their homes.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM STOPS CORROSIVE LEAK IN BUILDING AT CU
Tags: us_CO, education, release, injury, ag_chems, corrosives, explosives, sulfuric_acid
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ? A building at the University of Colorado in Boulder reopened Saturday after a hazmat team stopped a corrosive leak.
The Daily Camera reported sulfuric acid was leaking from the building?s ventilation system. It?s an ingredient used in fertilizer, chemicals and explosives which was apparently discovered by an air conditioning worker.
One man tried to stop the leak and came in contact with the acid but did not need medical care.
---------------------------------------------
CHLORINE RELEASE AT MICH. ADVENTURE SENDS DOZENS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MI, public, release, injury, chlorine
FRUITLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) ? Twenty-seven people were taken to the hospital and 62 are being evaluated after there was some sort of chlorine release at a pool at Michigan?s Adventure Friday afternoon, authorities said.
No severe injuries were reported. Those taken to the hospital suffered respiratory issues, including mild irritation to the nose ears and lungs, according to Dr. F. Remington Sprague, the chief medical officer at Mercy Health Muskegon.
Sprague said the exposure appeared to be minimal and all victims have been treated and released.
Authorities said the chlorine release was under control late Friday afternoon. A hazmat official said it was too early to speculate on what caused it, and park employees are investigating.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT HELPS FIGHT TWO-ALARM CHEMICAL FIRE IN TONAWANDA
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - Nine fire companies from Tonawanda and Kenmore, including a HAZMAT team, were called out to help fight a smoky two-alarm fire at an industrial business on Sawyer Avenue Saturday evening.
Ellwood Volunteer Fire Department Chief Gary Stuff said the fire, which started inside FMC Corporation, appears to be accidental.
?Basically, they had a couple chemical oxidizers that somehow reacted or started on fire,? Chief Stuff said.
An unknown number of employees were working in the building at the time. Stuff said FMC?s sprinklers turned on, the fire doors activated, and employees called the fire department. All of them made it outside safely.
---------------------------------------------
REPUBLICANS SEEK OUSTER OF CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CHAIRMAN
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
Several Republicans in the House of Representatives are continuing their push to dump the head of the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board. They are asking President Barack Obama to fire CSB Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso.
In a July 7 letter, six congressmen repeat allegations made at a turbulent hearing in June before the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee. At the hearing, committee chairman Darrell E. Issa (R-Calif.) blasted Moure-Eraso?s leadership. Issa also released a Republican committee staff report that criticizes CSB for ?serious management deficiencies? and lays primary blame on Moure-Eraso. During the hearing, Issa and other Republicans urged Moure-Eraso to step down (C&EN, June 30, page 5).
The criticisms pertain to delayed reports on industrial accidents and internal disputes among CSB members and staffers. Moure-Eraso and top managers were also castigated for inefficiency and creating a ?toxic? work environment. In the report, unnamed staff members allege that Moure-Eraso is ?bullying? and ?abusive.?
In the weeks following the hearing, Moure-Eraso said he would not resign. He announced reforms he said would improve CSB management.
Moure-Eraso tells C&EN that the complaints against him are in large part political, noting that no Democrats had signed the letter to Obama. CSB is moving forward, he says. It will hold a hearing July 16 in Charleston, W.Va., to release its final report on the AL Solutions industrial dust accident in West Virginia that killed three workers in 2010. CSB will also provide an update on its investigation of the Freedom Industries tank farm leak that contaminated West Virginia drinking water earlier this year.
---------------------------------------------
CDC CLOSES INFLUENZA LAB, STOPS BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS SHIPMENTS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has closed its influenza research center and halted all biological materials shipments from its highest level containment labs following lab safety breaches that endangered dozens of employees.
CDC?s announcement came Friday after a report showed that a safety breach in June put employees at risk of contracting anthrax, although none have shown signs of illness. The agency also identified a separate incident where a strain of the highly contagious avian flu virus H5N1 was shipped without proper precautions.
CDC Director Tom Frieden says the breaches raise ?serious and troubling questions? about the nation?s culture of laboratory safety. ?Fundamentally, what they revealed was totally unacceptable behavior. These events should never have happened.?
The internal anthrax report says CDC scientists failed to follow written laboratory safety plans. The labs also did not have adequate oversight of scientists or clear guidelines for determining when a biological agent was inactivated and safe for transport.
In June, live anthrax bacteria were being inactivated in a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory for use in labs designed with fewer safety precautions. But the scientists involved used a chemical procedure that may not have fully inactivated the samples. Those samples were later used by scientists in other labs without the proper precautions for working with the live anthrax virus.
As a result of the incident, the Bioterrorism Rapid Response & Advanced Technology laboratory that failed to fully inactivate the anthrax was closed in June and will remain closed until it is deemed safe.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT SITUATION REPORTED AT GREENVILLE NURSING HOME AND REHAB CENTER
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, liquid_oxygen
GREENVILLE, MI -- The Belding Fire Department has been called to assist at the scene of a liquid oxygen spill at a Greenville nursing home and rehabilitative center.
Dispatchers said the bottom of a 1,500-gallon tank of liquid oxygen was leaking at Metron of Greenville about 5:50 p.m. Friday, July 11. The facility is located at 828 E. Washington St.
Montcalm County dispatchers requested Belding's hazmat team to help at the scene.
A 911 caller reported hearing a boom and then seeing the leak. The tank services the entire facility, dispatchers were told.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK STARTS FIRE ON NORTH SHORE, INJURES ONE
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, injury, metals, sodium_hydroxide
CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - A chemical fire injured one man and created quite a scare for hundreds of people on Chattanooga's North Shore Friday.
It happened just before 9 a.m. at JIT Chemicals on Manufacturers Road. Thousands of gallons of a caustic soda spilled out causing a reaction to a metal on the property, which sparked a fire. An environmental cleanup crew stayed on the scene for much of the day.
"I was awakened by the sirens," neighbor Ted Long said.
It was a scary scene for hundreds of residents living in the One North Shore condos as a fire broke out at the chemical plant next door.
"I came out and there's a tank with a spiral staircase on it. They were watering it down and it had water vapor coming off of it which means it was hot," Long said.
Chattanooga Fire officials say workers at JIT Chemicals were off-loading a material commonly known as lye from a barge when something went wrong.
"It's a 50-percent solution of sodium hydroxide that they were pumping into the storage tank. Evidently part of that escaped," Chattanooga Fire Department spokesperson Bruce Garner said.
An estimated two to three thousand gallons leaked onto the walls of a storage tank.
---------------------------------------------
YET ANOTHER CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE IN TEXAS UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCLOSURE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
On July 7, a fire broke out at a Chevron Phillips Chemical plant in Port Arthur, Texas, injuring two workers and frightening neighbors in the largely residential neighborhood. While the cause of the fire is still being determined, the incident highlights the danger posed by facilities that store large amounts of chemicals and the importance of providing the public with information on chemical threats in their communities.
Sections 311 and 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) require facilities that handle large amounts of chemicals to report annually to state and local emergency planning committees. This information helps communities prepare for and prevent potential chemical disasters and is also made available to the public so that they can assess the potential risk of chemical exposures. Congress passed EPRCA after the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India, where a gas leak at a pesticide plant killed more than 2,000 residents.
However, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a ruling in May that undermines the public?s ability to access this important information. Abbot?s ruling makes some of the information gathered under the right-to-know law, known as "Tier II reports," confidential, citing a state statute passed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks that restricts information on the location, identity, and quantity of chemicals that are ?more than likely? to be employed in building a weapon of mass destruction.
---------------------------------------------
WEST DEPTFORD CHEMICAL COMPANY EXPLOSION INJURES ONE
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, explosion, injury, hydrochloric_acid, metals
WEST DEPTFORD TWP. - Firefighters responded to the Johnson Matthey company on Nolte Drive Friday morning after an explosion in a building.
The explosion happened shortly before 7 a.m.
Early reports indicated the explosion triggered a fire and injured one man who reportedly was exposed to hydrochloric acid. He needed to be decontaminated before he could be transported to a hospital.
Johnson Matthey is a speciality chemicals company focussed on precious metals, catalysts and fine chemicals.
Employees in the catalysts, chemicals and refining building stood outside on the warm, sunny morning after officials evacuated the building. A number of local emergency companies had responded.
News helicopters hovered above the industrial campus off of Mantua Grove Road. Employees in neighboring businesses were coming and going freely, but a security person on the Johnson Matthey property told news people to get off the site. No buildings at nearby businesses were evacuated.
---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post