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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 (12 articles)
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:07:27 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 5FFF761A-49E7-4810-B0C7-07120BCA838E**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, January 19, 2015 at 10:07:15 AM
A membership benefit 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 (12 articles)
AGL UNABLE TO MONITOR CSG FRACKING CHEMICAL IN GLOUCESTER PROJECT
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
GUELPH CHEMICAL PLANT EVACUATED
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, corrosives, paints
TWO DIE IN CHEMICAL FACTORY BLAST IN SATARA
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, ethanol
SCHUMER: OUTLAW HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVES
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, bomb, explosives, illegal
THE RECORD: WORKER SAFETY
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, environmental, dust
GEORGE'S AUTO BODY IN BLAUVELT DESTOYED BY GAS-FUELED FIRE
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, response, gasoline
HAZ-MAT CREWS AT WORK ON FUEL SPILL IN GORGE WATERWAY
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, other_chemical
CARBON MONOXIDE SENDS SUTTON MAN TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
EXPLOSIVES CHARGES FILED AGAINST SOUTH CALUMET RESIDENT OF HOME THAT HAD FIRE
Tags: us_IN, public, follow-up, response, ammonium_nitrate, fireworks, illegal
POLICE HUNT DRUG THIEF IN 'HAZMAT SUIT' AFTER BOMB SCARE AT QUEENSLAND PHARMACY
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical, bomb, drugs
REPORT DOCUMENTS BLACK, LATINO, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AT HIGHER RISK FOR CHEMICAL CATASTROPHE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
COMPANY WITH CHEMICAL SPILL TIES CITED 8 TIMES
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
AGL UNABLE TO MONITOR CSG FRACKING CHEMICAL IN GLOUCESTER PROJECT
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
The Baird government has been accused by Labor of trashing environmental safeguards by granting AGL permission to frack coal seam gas wells even before the company's monitoring for pollutants had been approved.
AGL began hydraulic fracturing of four CSG wells at its pilot Waukivory project near Gloucester in late October. According its licence, the company must sample and analyse the concentration of certain pollutants.
One of those pollutants is a biocide used to kill bacteria in the well, hydroxymethylnasulfate, also known as THPS or by its brand name Tolcide.
In its December report, AGL said samples had been collected "in anticipation of the approved method" to analyse for Tolcide and concentration levels were not available.
"This exposes as a lie claims by AGL and the NSW Government that the coal seam gas industry is highly and competently regulated," said John Watts from Groundswell Gloucester. "It seems that no testing for Tolcide was done during and after the fracking to measure whether this toxic chemical might have been escaping into the groundwater, creeks and rivers."
---------------------------------------------
GUELPH CHEMICAL PLANT EVACUATED
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, corrosives, paints
A chemical plant in Guelph had to be evacuated Sunday morning.
The Guelph fire department was called to AOC Resins & Coatings on Royal Road just after 8 a.m.
The fire department says when they arrived they found steam coming from an 80,000 kilo vat containing phthalic anhydride, a chemical used to make resins.
The fire department said they contacted chemical experts who said the chemical wasn‰??t explosive, but shouldn‰??t be inhaled and it can be corrosive.
The heating system on the vat was shut down, and the tank was cooled from the outside with water.
No one was hurt.
---------------------------------------------
TWO DIE IN CHEMICAL FACTORY BLAST IN SATARA
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, ethanol
SATARA: Two persons died in Talbid village in Karad after an ethanol container blew up in a chemical factory around 6.30pm when an electricity wire came in contact with the container.
The wire was damaged due to short circuit just before the blast, Karad police station officials said.
....
The victims were at the factory for cleanliness and maintenance works.
A member of the Kumbhar family runs the factory. According to the police, they will visit the spot again for a detailed investigation.
---------------------------------------------
SCHUMER: OUTLAW HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVES
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, bomb, explosives, illegal
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says he is introducing legislation to make it illegal to build homemade bombs.
The New York Democrat said Sunday that current federal rules could potentially allow someone to make homemade explosives without breaking the law. He says that the Boston Marathon bombing and the publication by terrorist groups of recipes for homemade bombs show the need to criminalize the activity.
The senator says the legal loophole hinders law-enforcement efforts to stop acts of terror and violence. His legislation would outlaw bomb making, though exceptions would be made for businesses with a license to create explosives for legitimate uses.
---------------------------------------------
THE RECORD: WORKER SAFETY
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, environmental, dust
A FEDERAL investigation found that a series of mistakes led to a dangerous fire at an East Rutherford ink factory involving combustible dust in 2012. New Jersey needs stronger regulations to avoid potential disasters in the future.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent federal agency that looks at industrial chemical accidents and makes recommendations to governing bodies, released a report Thursday detailing the problems at the US Ink facility. According to the report, the design and installation of the new dust collection system was done so poorly that it overheated within a few days of being activated, ignited spontaneously and caused an explosion that then released a fireball on seven workers.
Thankfully, no one died; the investigation showed that steps should have been taken to significantly increase the safety of the operation.
---------------------------------------------
GEORGE'S AUTO BODY IN BLAUVELT DESTOYED BY GAS-FUELED FIRE
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, response, gasoline
BLAUVELT ‰?? More than 60 volunteer firefighters battled a stubborn, gas-fueled fire on Route 303 Saturday that destroyed an auto body shop and severely damaged several cars inside.
Blauvelt Fire Chief Dave Schnitzer said no one was injured after the blaze broke out at George's Auto Body about 8 a.m.
"I wasn't even on the scene and I was able to see the flames so I knew the fire was moving quickly," Schnitzer said.
Fire officials said the auto body shop was home to gasoline cans, tires and other materials that added danger to the situation.
Blauvelt, Central Nyack and Orangeburg firefighters immediately went into action, working against the bitter cold and occasional, small explosion to attack the flames. They soon were aided by volunteers from the Pearl River, Tappan, West Nyack and Valley Cottage fire departments.
---------------------------------------------
HAZ-MAT CREWS AT WORK ON FUEL SPILL IN GORGE WATERWAY
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, other_chemical
Animals chewing on copper line coming from a home fuel-oil tank could be the culprits in a 1,000-litre spill into the Gorge Waterway.
The spill ‰?? at least the third to enter the Gorge in the past year ‰?? was discovered about 10 a.m. Friday. It was traced to a broken fuel line at a modular home just off Admirals Road, about 500 metres from where the oil entered the water, said David Rogers of B.C. Hazmat.
He said the homeowners suspected a problem when their furnace wouldn‰??t start. They also noticed a fuel smell and called their fuel company, which went to the home and discovered the leak.
Rogers said the exact cause of the spill should be known this week, but noted that the oil tank, which had been filled just a few days earlier, was in good shape.
---------------------------------------------
CARBON MONOXIDE SENDS SUTTON MAN TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
SUTTON ‰?? A McGuire Road man was transported to the hospital after emergency workers found him in his home, which had high levels of carbon monoxide.
Police Lt. Josh Nunnemacher declined to release the name of the man. But Khairi Dwayne Rahman was listed as the most recent owner of the home at 5 McGuire Road, where police and fire personnel, as well as a state hazmat team, converged Friday.
Lt. Nunnemacher said his department received a 911 call at 6:30 a.m. to do a well-being check on the person who lives at the house.
When the first officer, Patrolman Bryan Lefebvre, went inside, he encountered a toxic vapor. He quickly left the house, and the Fire Department was called. That department notified the Department of Fire Services. The officer was transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center ‰?? University Campus in Worcester. A spokesman for the hospital said Officer Lefebvre was treated and released.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSIVES CHARGES FILED AGAINST SOUTH CALUMET RESIDENT OF HOME THAT HAD FIRE
Tags: us_IN, public, follow-up, response, ammonium_nitrate, fireworks, illegal
One of the occupants of the South Calumet Road home which burned on New Year‰??s Day has been charged with possession of a destructive device, a Level 5 felony, after Chesterton Police said that bags of ammonium nitrate -- a compound used as an explosive and a main component of ANFO, industrial explosive -- were found in the residence.
Police this morning have filed other charges and issued an arrest warrant against Gary M. Pilipovich, 31, whose listed address is 214 S. Calumet Road, including dealing in a schedule I, II, or III controlled substance, a Level 5 felony, and possession of a legend drug, a Level 6 felony.
According to a probable cause affidavit by Chesterton Police Chief David Cincoski, police at approximately 11:49 p.m. on Jan. 1 found ‰??several indications of illicit activity‰?? at Pilipovich‰??s residence while conducting an investigation into what caused fire to the building.
Pilipovich allegedly told Chesterton Firefighters that he ‰??made fireworks‰?? inside his home.
The affidavit said that after the fire was extinguished, CFD saw indications of potentially unsafe chemicals and possible drug paraphernalia and narcotics throughout the residence.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE HUNT DRUG THIEF IN 'HAZMAT SUIT' AFTER BOMB SCARE AT QUEENSLAND PHARMACY
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical, bomb, drugs
A suspected explosive device left in a Queensland pharmacy by a man in a hazmat suit who sprayed an unknown liquid over three employees before fleeing with stolen drugs, has been declared safe by police.
The man entered a pharmacy on Ocean Drive at Twin Waters shortly after midday and made threats towards staff before spraying them with a liquid and then fleeing the scene with drugs.
The three female staff members, one 20 weeks pregnant, were transported to hospital as a precaution but it is understood they were not physically injured.
---------------------------------------------
REPORT DOCUMENTS BLACK, LATINO, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AT HIGHER RISK FOR CHEMICAL CATASTROPHE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
Environmental Justice and Health Alliance (EJHA), a national coalition of grassroots groups working on toxic chemical exposures that impact communities of color, released a new report in collaboration with the Center for Effective Government (CEG) and Coming Clean. The report - ‰??Who's in Danger? A Demographic Analysis of Chemical Disaster Vulnerability Zones‰?? - uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Census to demonstrate an association between lower average housing values, incomes, and education levels, and greater Black, Latino, and low-income populations living within chemical disaster ‰??vulnerability zones‰?? of 3,433 industrial facilities across the U.S. The danger is much greater for Black & Latino communities than for the U.S. as a whole - the very definition of an unequal or disproportionate danger.
---------------------------------------------
COMPANY WITH CHEMICAL SPILL TIES CITED 8 TIMES
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
NITRO ‰?? A few towns over from the tank farm where Freedom Industries leaked a coal-cleaning chemical into the drinking water of 300,000 West Virginians last year, a new company run by former Freedom employees is being cited for similar environmental violations.
State regulators have cited the new firm, Lexycon, eight times since September for pouring chemicals without a permit, lacking proper ‰??last-resort‰?? walls to contain spills and hosting tanker-trailers full of unknown chemicals, among other infractions, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press.
Inspectors even found the same little-known chemical that had leaked from Freedom‰??s site into the water supply for Charleston, West Virginia, despite the Lexycon owner‰??s promise to a federal judge that his company wouldn‰??t touch it.
Some of these infractions still haven‰??t been addressed, despite three site-wide inspections and dozens of smaller visits by regulators from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection since May, state reports show.
---------------------------------------------
Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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