| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2015 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] NAS Risk Workshop Report is Out Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2015 10:22:57 AM Author: Frankie Wood-Black <fwblack**At_Symbol_Here**CABLEONE.NET> |
Next by Date: Subject: Fwd: [DCHAS-L] Doodle: Link for poll "ACS Expo Denver" Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2015 08:40:27 -0600 Author: Frankie Wood-Black |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 7:16:57 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 (11 articles)
SUNOCO INCIDENT HOSPITALIZES SEVEN CONTRACT WORKERS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, dust
OSHA CITES MFG CHEMICAL INC. FOR REPEATED SAFETY HAZARDS AFTER 2 WORKERS INJURED, 1 KILLED
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
WOMAN BLAMES AXIALL FOR BENZENE EXPOSURE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, injury, benzene
ADVANCING SAFER ALTERNATIVES THROUGH FUNCTIONAL SUBSTITUTION
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
REPORT: ONE PERSON TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER EXPLOSION AT DAVIDSON COUNTY BUSINESS
Tags: us_NC, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
DETRICK LABS' SAFETY RULES EVOLVE AFTER POTENTIAL EXPOSURES
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
UPDATE: HAZMAT SITUATION IN OKLAHOMA CITY, ONE MINOR INJURY REPORTED
Tags: us_OK, transportation, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
GWINNETT CO. 911 CENTER EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT SITUATION
Tags: us_GA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
WEST VIRGINIA JUDGE DENIES CHEMICAL COMPANY'S SECOND CHALLENGE TO FRACKING OPERATIONS
Tags: us_WV, industrial, discovery, response, natural_gas
DEP INVESTIGATING TAMINCO CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
EBOLA LAPSES SHOW LAB SAFETY PROTOCOLS SHOULD FACTOR IN HUMAN ERROR
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
---------------------------------------------
SUNOCO INCIDENT HOSPITALIZES SEVEN CONTRACT WORKERS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, dust
Sunoco Logistics is investigating the cause of an inadvertent activation of a chemical fire-suppression system in the vicinity of working contractors at the company's Nederland Terminal on Monday, a company spokesman said.
Seven contractors were taken to The Medical Center of Southeast Texas in Port Arthur as a precautionary measure after being exposed to the dry-powder fire-suppression material, which can be an irritant if inhaled, Jeff Shields, Sunoco's communications manager, wrote in an emailed statement.
Separately, one contractor fractured his leg and was hospitalized in a fall from scaffolding at the time of the incident, Shields wrote in his statement.
The event happened about 3:30 p.m., Sheilds wrote. The dry-chemical fire-suppression system uses a product known as Purple K, a non-toxic, potassium-bicarbonate-based chemical powder that is commonly used for industrial fire-suppression, Shields wrote.
Seven workers exposed to the dry powder were transported to the hospital as a precaution, in addition to the worker with the fractured leg, and their families were notified, Sheilds wrote.
---------------------------------------------
OSHA CITES MFG CHEMICAL INC. FOR REPEATED SAFETY HAZARDS AFTER 2 WORKERS INJURED, 1 KILLED
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
DALTON, Ga. ‰?? An MFG Chemical Inc. worker died after hazardous chemical vapors released from an overpressurized reactor burned his respiratory system. A second employee was treated at a hospital and released. A July 2014 inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor‰??s Occupational Safety and Health Administration resulted in citations for MFG for 17 safety and health violations. OSHA initiated the inspection after a media referral alleged that a chemical release at the manufacturing facility had occurred.
‰??MFG continues to violate OSHA standards, exposing workers to serious hazards associated with process safety management,‰?? said Christi Griffin, director of OSHA‰??s Atlanta-West Area Office. ‰??Allowing repeated violations demonstrates the company‰??s lack of commitment to worker safety and health.‰??
MFG was inspected by OSHA previously in 2012 and received 19 serious citations related to process safety management standards.
---------------------------------------------
WOMAN BLAMES AXIALL FOR BENZENE EXPOSURE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, injury, benzene
MOUNDSVILLE ‰?? A woman is suing Axiall Corporation after she claims she was exposed to a harmful chemical during her employment.
Vicki L. Bowen was a member of the International Chemical Workers Council of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 45C for a number of years, according to a complaint filed Oct. 23 in Marshall Circuit Court.
Bowen claims she was employed by Axiall Corporation and its predecessor PPG from 1977 until June 2013 and was exposed to benzene during her employment.
‰??Bowen‰??s exposure to benzene at the Marshall County facility was a proximate cause of her development of myelodysplastic syndrome ‰?| diagnosed in January 2014,‰?? the complaint states.
As a direct and proximate result of Bowen‰??s development of MDS, she has been severely injured, disabled and damaged, according to the suit.
---------------------------------------------
ADVANCING SAFER ALTERNATIVES THROUGH FUNCTIONAL SUBSTITUTION
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
To achieve the ultimate goal of sustainable chemicals management policy‰??the transition to safer chemicals, materials, products, and processes‰??current chemicals management approaches could benefit from a broader perspective. Starting with considerations of function, rather than characterizing and managing risks associated with a particular chemical, may provide a different, solutions-oriented lens to reduce risk associated with the uses of chemicals. It may also offer an efficient means, complementing existing tools, to reorient chemicals management approaches from time-intensive risk assessment and risk management based on single chemicals to comparative evaluation of the best options to fulfill a specific function. This article describes a functional approach to chemicals management we call ‰??functional substitution‰?? that encourages decision-makers to look beyond chemical by chemical substitution to find a range of alternatives to meet product performance. We define !
functional substitution, outline a rationale for greater use of this concept when considering risks posed by uses of chemicals, and provide examples of how functional approaches have been applied toward the identification of alternatives. We also discuss next steps for implementing functional substitution in chemical assessment and policy development.
---------------------------------------------
REPORT: ONE PERSON TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER EXPLOSION AT DAVIDSON COUNTY BUSINESS
Tags: us_NC, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
Fox 8 WGHP reports that a person is at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center after an explosion off of N.C. 150 North in Davidson County.
Crews responded to a call at an industrial business around 1:40 a.m., according to the report. The Arcadia fire chief said the fire started in the chemical mixing room of Kurtz Transfer, which makes wrapping paper.
There is a system in place that put out the chemical fire, according to the report, but the employee suffered some burns.
---------------------------------------------
DETRICK LABS' SAFETY RULES EVOLVE AFTER POTENTIAL EXPOSURES
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
Despite the growing list of safety precautions at Fort Detrick labs, researchers are still in danger of exposing themselves to biological agents and toxins.
Mishaps the labs report are most often torn gloves and holes in containment lab suits, but sometimes those can lead to larger problems.
At the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in July 2012, an employee noticed a small hole in the headpiece of his or her suit while in the chemical shower. The actual tasks the employee was performing in the lab are redacted from the NBACC report, but a suggested corrective action mentions that veterinary employees wear cotton gloves while performing necropsies.
The employee unknowingly touched the hole in the suit with his or her hand, creating a ‰??negligible risk of potential exposure‰?? that nevertheless put the employee on an eight-day fever watch.
The National Institutes of Health ‰??stresses the importance‰?? of reporting fevers above 100.4 degrees, according to spokesman Brad Moss. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick follows NIH's lead.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: HAZMAT SITUATION IN OKLAHOMA CITY, ONE MINOR INJURY REPORTED
Tags: us_OK, transportation, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
10:30 a.m. Hazmat crews are responding to an Oklahoma City rail yard Monday morning after reports of a leaking tanker car and one injury, the Oklahoma City Fire Department reported.
Authorities said hydrochloric acid was leaking from a tanker car at Stillwater Central Railroad, 900 S Byers Ave. One rail yard worker received minor burns from the acid when a container‰??s lid came off, officials said.
Another rail yard worker transported the man with burns to a hospital, fire Maj. Tammy McKinney said.
---------------------------------------------
GWINNETT CO. 911 CENTER EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT SITUATION
Tags: us_GA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. ‰?? The Gwinnett County 911 Center was evacuated after a hazmat situation Monday morning.
Emergency crews rushed to the building at about 10 a.m. It's unclear what caused the fire suppression system to activate.
Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach was at the scene while Hazmat and fire crews were investigating.
Police say a member of the 911 Center notified all officers that they had an emergency in the 911 Center. Police say the building was immediately evacuated.
Authorities say the 911 services resumed at 11 a.m. Five employees were taken to Gwinnett Medical Center for evaluation, according to police. A ceiling tile fell, hitting one person, police on the scene said. All employees are in good condition and being monitored.
---------------------------------------------
WEST VIRGINIA JUDGE DENIES CHEMICAL COMPANY'S SECOND CHALLENGE TO FRACKING OPERATIONS
Tags: us_WV, industrial, discovery, response, natural_gas
A West Virginia judge has rejected a second legal challenge from a chemical manufacturer saying that hydraulic fracturing operations near its facility in Marshall County would negatively affect its operations.
In a Christmas Eve order, Marshall County Circuit Judge David Hummel denied the challenge from Eagle Natrium LLC, a New Martinsville-based subsidiary of Axiall Corp., a manufacturer of chlorovinyl and aromatic chemicals and formerly owned by PPG Industries.
The lawsuit was the company‰??s second attempt ‰?? and second denial ‰?? to stop the fracking operations of Gastar Exploration, Inc., a Houston-based oil and gas company with operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays.
Natrium has argued that natural gas and the fluids associated with hydraulic fracturing have the potential to permeate its saltwater wells, which the company uses for its salt mine operations. In a 2013 incident, Natrium‰??s lawyers blamed the high-pressure fracking fluids being used by another company, Triad Hunter, across the Ohio River for traveling under the river and damaging a brine well.
---------------------------------------------
DEP INVESTIGATING TAMINCO CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
Area residents living in a wide geographical area ‰?? East Hill to South Santa Rosa County and Pace ‰?? were assaulted with another round of a noxious chemical odor Sunday and Monday.
By all accounts, it was the same pungent, fishy, ammonia-like odor that gagged residents all the way to Pensacola Beach for several days in mid-December.
While Florida Department of Environmental Protection has not been able to confirm the source of December's odor after researching 101 complaints filed on its website, it has confirmed this week's round likely came from the Pace Taminco chemical plant.
Brandy Smith with DEP's Pensacola office said it is investigating the release into the atmosphere of 65 pounds of trimethylamine mixed with water when a line at the plant cracked about 10 a.m. on Sunday.
"It does produce a strong fishy odor," Smith said about the chemical.
She said FDEP is thoroughly investigating Sunday's incident and is committed to protecting both Florida's environment and residents.
---------------------------------------------
EBOLA LAPSES SHOW LAB SAFETY PROTOCOLS SHOULD FACTOR IN HUMAN ERROR
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
Everyone debated: Can scientists safely genetically modify and propagate some of the most dangerous viruses on the planet? My role as a scientist involved in human behavior and safety-related decision-making was not to take sides on the issue but to talk about the human factor in safety precautions and lapses. In other words, to help figure out how to complete a risk assessment that is robust enough to protect the health and safety of the general public given the truism that "to err is human."
When determining whether a particular protocol should be allowed, we must implement lab-safety programs that include risk analyses built on the assumption of human fallibility.
-
Nearly every major biosafety lapse in 2014 had some form of human error at its core ‰?? a sobering fact. By studying these failures, and the major and minor slip-ups that could cause breakdowns in labs, we can better understand and prepare for what can go wrong, whether it is caused by human error or intentional malfeasance.
---------------------------------------------
Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post