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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (16 articles)
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 07:14:38 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: C7243B6D-F942-46B7-93BB-539B712B149F**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, August 22, 2014 at 7:14:29 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (16 articles)
LAWYER: UTAH RESTAURANT HAD OTHER CHEMICAL BURN
Tags: us_UT, public, release, injury, cleaners
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE MIXTURE LEADS TO HAZMAT SITUATION IN ATASCADERO
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide
CREWS WORK TO CLEAN UP AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, diesel
TWO INJURED IN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT AT EDISON LABORATORY
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL REACTION CAUSES FIRE AT PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
NEW FORMALDEHYDE REPORT SUPPORTS EPA'S ASSESSMENT THAT CHEMICAL IS 'HUMAN CARCINOGEN'
Tags: us_LA, public, discovery, environmental, formaldehyde
GREEN FOOD DYE SHUTS DOWN TACHEVAH IN HAZMAT SCARE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, dye
HAZMAT TEAM RETURNED TO BETHLEHEM HOME
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
ACID IN TRASH TRUCK PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, discovery, response, acids, waste
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN WEST PIKELAND
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems, pesticides
TRUCK DRIVER HOSPITALISED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: New_Zealand, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL FIRM PLEADS GUILTY TO CLEAN AIR VIOLATION
Tags: us_RI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, diethyl_ether
U.S. AGENCY: DHHR CAN?T HANDLE CHEMICAL INCIDENTS
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental
COUNTDOWN: DEADLIEST CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS SINCE 2009
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
MEXICO SAYS MINE FIRM LIED ABOUT CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Mexico, public, release, environmental, acids, metals, waste
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LAWYER: UTAH RESTAURANT HAD OTHER CHEMICAL BURN
Tags: us_UT, public, release, injury, cleaners
SALT LAKE CITY -- The attorney for a woman who nearly died after unknowingly drinking tea laced with a chemical cleaning compound at a Utah restaurant said Thursday an employee at the eatery burned herself a month earlier on the same substance.
Family lawyer Paxton Guymon's comments came at a news conference that also was attended by the burned woman's husband, who said she is recovering but suffering from nightmares as she relives the incident.
Guymon said he learned about the previous burn during his investigation into what led to the tea incident at Dickey's Barbecue in South Jordan, a Salt Lake City suburb.
He said the Dickey's employee burned her tongue July 5 after she stuck her finger in a sugar container to test if it had any of the chemical cleaner. She then licked her finger.
The worker's tongue started bleeding and blisters formed, Guymon said. She still is not back to normal.
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HYDROGEN PEROXIDE MIXTURE LEADS TO HAZMAT SITUATION IN ATASCADERO
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide
A substance that spilled in an Atascadero parking lot Wednesday, causing the area to be blocked off and the Haz Mat Team called in, turned out to be a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, according to the Atascadero Fire Department.
It happened just before 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Vons shopping center on the 7100 block of El Camino Real.
Fire officials say firefighters arrived to find an unknown substance leaking from the back of a 2005 Dodge truck. They say the substance was running into a storm drain and producing a white gas.
Firefighters and police secured the area and called in the San Luis Obispo County Hazardous Materials Team. People at a nearby fitness center were told to shelter in place and the entire parking lot was closed.
Emergency crews were on scene for about two hours. Fire officials say the substance turned out to be 25% hydrogen peroxide. They say about four gallons were leaked onto the parking lot. No one was hurt.
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CREWS WORK TO CLEAN UP AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, diesel
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio-- Multiple crews were on the scene well into the night working to contain a fuel spill after a train derailment Wednesday night.
Crews say this incident could have been much worse than what it turned out to be after a train derailed, caught fire and caused all four lanes of state route 7 to be closed down for several hours.
Officials say around 8 p.m. Wednesday evening, a train traveling north derailed near the entrance to the Steubenville marina, sparking a fire and fuel spill.
Fire, EMS and hazmat crews were all on scene to contain flames and fuel, to prevent further disaster.
"Within about 15 minutes we had the fire extinguished. Then it became a matter of looking to see how much diesel fuel was spilling out of the engine. "according to Chief Carlo Capaldi from the Steubenville Fire Department.
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TWO INJURED IN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT AT EDISON LABORATORY
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Edison?A 23-year-old man was seriously injured Wednesday afternoon following a steam blowout at an Edison laboratory, authorities say.
A spokesperson for the Edison Fire Department says that the victim was in the process of cleaning a 250 gallon container used to process facial cream when steam escaped from the tank. The victim was struck in the chest, sustaining third-degree burns.
The victim?whose name has not yet been released?was transported by helicopter from Bentley Laboratories on Fieldcrest Avenue in Edison to St. Barnabas Medical Center with second and third degree burns on his chest, legs and arms.
A second victim was injured attempting to help the first following the accident, says a fire department official. A resident of Perth Amboy, he was transported to Raritan Bay Medical Center and treated for a shoulder injury.
A HAZMAT team was dispatched to investigate following the incident, but has found no evidence of chemicals were involved in the accident, say authorities.
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CHEMICAL REACTION CAUSES FIRE AT PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A chemical reaction was the suspected cause of a structure fire at the Molded Fiber Glass (MFG) plant just after 8:08 p.m. Monday resulting in $250,000 in damages.
The fire appeared to have started in a detached 20 by 20 foot storage building holding chemicals and fiberglass parts just outside the main plant,
According to Gainesville Fire and Rescue chief Wally Cox, the chemical reaction generated a lot of heat spreading to the fiberglass parts stored in the general area.?
The structure, consisting of a metal roof with open sides, was fully engulfed in flames as the first of three engines and a ladder and rescue truck arrived at 8:13 p.m.
?It was a little tricky to put out the fire because of the commodity involved,? Cox said. ?There was very limited fire extension in the plant, mostly heavy smoke and some cosmetic damage. No hazardous materials were released.?
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NEW FORMALDEHYDE REPORT SUPPORTS EPA'S ASSESSMENT THAT CHEMICAL IS 'HUMAN CARCINOGEN'
Tags: us_LA, public, discovery, environmental, formaldehyde
WASHINGTON -- The ongoing debate about the risks of formaldehyde is intensifying in light of a new report by the National Academy of Sciences that said the Environmental Protection Agency's labeling of the chemical as a "human carcinogen" is supported by research.
The report, issued earlier this month, was a reversal from the academy's 2011 study, requested by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., which found EPA's findings went beyond available evidence and "needs substantial revision."
The issue generated national attention after elevated levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers were linked to a variety of respiratory ailments suffered by people who lived in them after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The 2011 National Academy report concluded that EPA's analysis supports its conclusion that formaldehyde can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and create lesions in the respiratory tract and that high concentrations can lead to genetic mutations. But it said the EPA failed to support its conclusions that formaldehyde causes other cancers of the respiratory tract or leukemia.
The new report found sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in human and animal studies and "convincing relevant information" that formaldehyde induces mechanistic events associated with the development of cancer in humans." Based on these findings, the committee concluded that EPA can list formaldehyde as a "human carcinogen."
---------------------------------------------
GREEN FOOD DYE SHUTS DOWN TACHEVAH IN HAZMAT SCARE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, dye
Palm Springs police shut down a road out of concern about a hazardous materials spill Wednesday, but it turned out to be green food dye.
Tachevah Drive was briefly closed about 12:40 p.m. between Indian Canyon Drive and Via Miraleste, near Desert Regional Medical Center.
Bruce Sepielli, director of engineering for the hospital, said they had a leak and put dye in the water to figure out where it was.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM RETURNED TO BETHLEHEM HOME
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
Bethlehem
The State Police returned to 18 Paxwood Drive for the second time this month to retrieve more material left behind by a deceased doctor who collected a variety of medical substances during his decades-long career as an infectious disease specialist.
Police and hazardous-material teams were initially called to the home on Aug. 8 when family members came across substances they could not identify as they were cleaning out the home. Specialists in hazmat suits and air tanks removed the material.
The home's deceased owner, Dr. John Hotchin, was a medical doctor and researcher who had led the state virus lab from 1957 to 1966. He died Aug. 1. Hotchin had a collection of medical-related chemicals in his home that appeared to have been purchased during overseas trips, according to police.
A relative called police again last Friday when the family found a suspicious substance wrapped in a mound of paper towels and stuffed into a manila envelope, said Trooper Mark Cepiel, a State Police spokesman. Members of the State Police's Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team removed the envelope and searched the home for any additional material.
"We went through, and anything that wasn't labeled and seemed somewhat questionable, we removed that as well," Cepiel said.
The recently removed material has not been identified, but the previous batch included what was believed to be yellow fever vaccine. State health officials said none of the material was hazardous.
---------------------------------------------
ACID IN TRASH TRUCK PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, discovery, response, acids, waste
SPOKANE, Wash. -
A gallon of acid dumped in the trash prompted a hazardous materials response by the Spokane Fire Department and closed down a section of Wellesley Avenue for two hours Wednesday morning.
Wellesley Avenue was blocked off from Crestline St. to North Stone St. from 9 to 11 a.m. as firefighters were determining if the material was a threat. The incident commander said a clear liquid, later identified as acid, began bubbling in the back of a Waste Management garbage truck and producing a vapor.
The truck was stopped and fire crews responded to the scene, establishing a cordon around the vehicle and telling residents in six nearby homes to stay inside and keep their windows closed until the substance was identified.
Since the truck was parked across from a Walgreen's pharmacy, the store was closed and employees evacuated as a precaution.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN WEST PIKELAND
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
WEST PIKELAND ? A farm tractor pulling a tank of pesticide turned on its side Tuesday afternoon on Route 113, creating a hazmat situation around 2:43 p.m.
The Chester County Hazmat team responded to the scene at the intersection of Route 401 and Route 113.
First responders said the spilled material was determined to be a pesticide that has nitrogen in it, and was not a fluid nitrogen as first reported.
Lionville Fire Company firefighters said the farm tractor pulling the 800-gallon tank full of pesticide turned on to its side and roughly 500 gallons of the pesticide spilled.
First responders worked to prevent the runoff from entering nearby storm drains. Lewis Environmental Group, which helps with emergency responses, arrived around 4:30 p.m. to help clean up the spilled pesticide.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems, pesticides
West Pikeland >> First responders and the Chester County Hazmat team responded to a chemical spill on Route 113 on Tuesday afternoon.
First responders said the spilled material was determined to be a pesticide that has nitrogen in it, and was not a fluid nitrogen as first reported when the responders were called around 2:43 p.m.
Lionville Fire Company firefighters said a farm tractor that pulled an 800-gallon tank full of pesticide turned on to its side on Route 113 near the intersection of Route 401. According to first responders, roughly 500 gallons of the pesticide spilled.
---------------------------------------------
TRUCK DRIVER HOSPITALISED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: New_Zealand, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical
A truck driver was hospitalised after chemicals leaked from his truck near Taupo overnight, the fire service says.
The chemical leak also closed a road and forced residents in the area to evacuate their homes.
The incident happened on State Highway 1 south of Taupo airport, just after midnight, northern fire communications shift manager Michael Upton said.
The driver was taken to hospital with burning to his lungs after chemicals began to leak from five litre containers.
A Hazmat unit was called in to contain the leak, he said.
The leak had been cleaned up, the road had reopened and residents were able to return their homes by this morning, Mr Upton said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRM PLEADS GUILTY TO CLEAN AIR VIOLATION
Tags: us_RI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, diethyl_ether
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ? A Massachusetts-based chemical company has pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act at a facility it owned in Rhode Island.
Roberts Chemical Co., now based in Attleboro, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Providence as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
The Environmental Protection Agency found in 2008 that Roberts was storing 27,467 pounds of ethyl ether at its former facility it in Pawtucket. Ethyl ether is volatile and highly flammable.
The EPA requires companies storing more than 10,000 pounds of ethyl ether to develop a risk management plan to protect workers, the community and first responders. Roberts Chemical did not do so.
The plea deal says the government and company will recommend the company be fined $200,000 and issue a public apology.
---------------------------------------------
U.S. AGENCY: DHHR CAN?T HANDLE CHEMICAL INCIDENTS
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental
CHARLESTON, W.Va. ? The state Department of Health and Human Resources lacks a program and properly trained staff to assess community-wide chemical exposures like those that followed the Elk River chemical leak in January, federal public health officials said in a new review made public Tuesday.
U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry officials reported that the DHHR and its Bureau for Public Health do not have a program aimed at assessing patterns, causes and effects of chemical or radiological incidents, or other environmental emergencies. The ATSDR recommended that the state start such a program, hire new staff for it, and ensure those staff are properly trained.
?There is potential for many different types of disasters to occur in West Virginia, such as an infectious-disease pandemic, winter storms with widespread power outages, wind disasters such as tornadoes or derechos, flooding, wildfires and extreme heat,? the ATSDR said. ?Man-made disasters such as chemical or nuclear incidents or mass-casualty incidents like bridge collapses could occur as a result of an accident or be deliberate terrorist attacks.?
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COUNTDOWN: DEADLIEST CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS SINCE 2009
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
It's been a year since President Obama signed an executive order (#13650) directing federal agencies to modernize chemical plant safety and security policies. Since then federal agencies tasked with developing new requirements for all chemical facilities in the United States have moved painfully slow.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the agency with the most enforceable authority to act and is one of the three agencies established by the executive order to coordinate a process and present recommendations under the executive order to the White House.
On July 31st the EPA opened a 90 day comment period asking for public input on ways to improve the EPA's Risk Management Program (RMP) that currently oversees 12,700 facilities.
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MEXICO SAYS MINE FIRM LIED ABOUT CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Mexico, public, release, environmental, acids, metals, waste
Mexico's top environmental official said Tuesday that a mining company lied about a spill of millions of gallons of acids and heavy metals that contaminated two rivers and a dam downstream.
Environment Secretary Juan Jose Guerra Abud said the mine falsely claimed the spill earlier this month was caused by unusually heavy rain. Officials say a construction defect at a holding pond allowed mining waste to flow out.
"At the start, they told us it was excessive rain" that caused the containment pond to overflow, Guerra Abud said. "That was totally false," he said, saying there were no rains on that scale.
"They said there would be a series of aid programs for the populations, which also did not happen when they said they would," he added at a news conference.
Guerra Abud said the Buenavista del Cobre copper mine could face fines of up to $3 million for violations of safety and environmental standards. The mine is owned by the Grupo Mexico consortium, which earlier said in a statement that "torrential and unusual rains" were to blame and that it responded immediately by trying to contain the Aug. 7 spill.
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