| 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: Re: [DCHAS-L] CSB Public Meetings - input? Date: Friday, May 29, 2015 6:47:01 AM Author: Ralph Stuart <rstuartcih**At_Symbol_Here**me.com> |
Next by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Identifying and Evaluating Hazards in Research Laboratories Date: Fri, 29 May 2015 07:33:51 -0400 Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, May 29, 2015 at 6:57:57 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 (28 articles)
IOWA BIOSAFETY: DO LAB MISTAKES RISK PUBLIC HEALTH?
Tags: us_IA, laboratory, follow-up, response
WHISTLEBLOWER TRIGGERED U OF L GERM LAB CHANGES
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
6 WASHINGTON LABS WORK WITH DEADLY PATHOGENS
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
BSL 4 LAB GROUNDBREAKING
Tags: us_KS, laboratory, discovery, environmental
HAZMAT CREW CLEANS SPILL AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: us_MS, transportation, release, response, ag_chems, nitrogen
MONTANA TRUCKER PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL TRANSPORT OF HAZMAT LOAD: LAND LINE MAGAZINE
Tags: us_MT, transportation, follow-up, injury, flammables, waste
DRFD RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_TX, transportation, fire, response, chlorine
RAGS SPARK FIRE AT A SANTA ANA WAREHOUSE, AUTHORITIES SAY- CRIME BLOG: ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
10 INJURED IN AMMONIA GAS LEAK AT PANHANDLE CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
WATCHDOG SAYS 90 PERCENT OF GLOBAL CHEMICAL WEAPONS STOCKPILE DESTROYED
Tags: Netherlands, public, discovery, environmental
CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSES HIGHWAY TO SHUT DOWN VICTORIA ADVOCATE
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
HAZMAT CREWS REMOVE CHEMICAL MIXTURE AT LINCOLNSHIRE MARRIOTT
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, bleach, hydrochloric_acid
SCIENCE CLASS CHEMICAL SENDS TWO STUDENTS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
CHINA FINES CHEMICAL COMPANY $12M FOR POLLUTING, JAILS STAFF
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, pesticides, waste
FALL RIVER CHEMICAL COMPANY SETTLES EPA SUIT, WILL BUY EQUIPMENT FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT WESTBROOK LAUNDRY FACILITY
Tags: us_ME, industrial, release, response, bleach, cleaners
DECONTAMINATION SQUAD MOVES IN AFTER DOFASCO FIRE
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
US MILITARY SHIPPED LIVE ANTHRAX TO LAB BY ACCIDENT
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
ACME LAB FACTORY FIRE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT GOES AWRY, INJURES STUDENTS
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, fire, injury, methanol
WORKER HOSPITALIZED FOR MONITORING AFTER 3M CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_MN, industrial, release, injury, nitric_acid
FIRE AT MONOVIKAS KENDRA, NONE INJURED
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
MASSIVE FIRE GUTS AJMAN FOAM FACTORY
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
TEXAS LEGISLATURE PASSED AMMONIUM NITRATE REGULATIONS
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate
INDUSTRY BODY ACCUSED OVER LINKS TO DISCREDITED US FIRE SAFETY GROUP
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICAL FUMES FORCE EVACUATION OF GLENDALE APARTMENTS
Tags: us_AZ, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
FOUR FAMILIES EVACUATED AFTER AMMONIA GAS LEAK
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, response, ammonia
CHEMICAL SCARE AT STOUGHTON HOUSING AUTHORITY BUILDING
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, irritant
---------------------------------------------
IOWA BIOSAFETY: DO LAB MISTAKES RISK PUBLIC HEALTH?
Tags: us_IA, laboratory, follow-up, response
Accidents and employee negligence at Iowa research laboratories have caused unnecessary biological risks or potentially exposed workers to bovine tuberculosis, pathogens and other dangerous viruses, according to records obtained by The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY.
The occurrences ‰?? mostly documented over the past three years in federal incident reports ‰?? are among hundreds of laboratory mistakes that were uncovered across the nation during a six-month investigation by Gannett newspapers.
---------------------------------------------
WHISTLEBLOWER TRIGGERED U OF L GERM LAB CHANGES
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
The University of Louisville violated federal biological safety procedures, then laid off the whistleblower who had informed authorities, and her boss, according to federal and state documents.
The incidents last year prompted one longtime member of a key safety committee to quit in protest, triggered a federal investigation and a remaking of internal safety policies that continues today. Those policies and procedures govern how research involving risky and infectious agents is conducted in two Louisville labs.
U of L cut corners, said attorney and former environmental regulator Art Williams, who left the Institutional Biosafety Committee in December, after serving on it since 2001. The panel is charged with making sure lab workers and the public are protected from dangerous biological agents and pathogens that are sometimes used in university research.
---------------------------------------------
6 WASHINGTON LABS WORK WITH DEADLY PATHOGENS
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
A special report by USA Today and media partners across the country reveals the nationwide proliferation of high-containment laboratories working with dangerous pathogens. The report shines a light on safety and security issues at those labs that have put scientists, lab workers and the public at risk.
Because of fragmented oversight, even the federal government doesn't know where all of the "high containment" labs in the U.S. are located. These biosafety level 3 and 4 labs, the highest levels of containment, use special equipment and procedures to prevent the release of bacteria, viruses and toxins.
USA Today and KING 5 were able to document six biosafety level 3 labs (BSL-3) in Washington state. All but one is in the Seattle area. Below are brief descriptions of the work done at the labs, and a link to documents about safety incidents recorded in recent years. There are no known BSL-4 labs in the state.
---------------------------------------------
BSL 4 LAB GROUNDBREAKING
Tags: us_KS, laboratory, discovery, environmental
Officials on Wednesday broke ground for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), a $1.25 billion animal research facility near the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. NBAF will be the U.S. only Level 4 biosafety lab ‰?? a designation which means that the lab is secure enough to handle, and conduct research on, pathogens that do not currently have treatments or countermeasures. Critics argue that locating the lab on the campus of KSU ‰?? in the heart of cattle country and the middle of Tornado Alley ‰?? would not be a good idea. NBAF will replace the aging biolab in Plum Island, New York.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREW CLEANS SPILL AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: us_MS, transportation, release, response, ag_chems, nitrogen
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
We are working to gather more information on a train derailment that happened earlier today in Jackson.
We're told it happened at around 11 am and Haz-Mat was called to the scene.
We're told the Canadian National train was hauling nitrogen fertilizer and jumped tracks on Mill Street near Woodrow Wilson.
Canadian National's Bob Strong says Hinds County EMA and MDEQ worked the scene with vacuum trucks to clean up the nitrogen fertilizer liquid.
In an alert sent to MSEMA, it was determined that the spill was contained to the rail yard near the CN control tower.
There have been no reported injuries and cause of the crash is not yet known.
---------------------------------------------
MONTANA TRUCKER PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL TRANSPORT OF HAZMAT LOAD: LAND LINE MAGAZINE
Tags: us_MT, transportation, follow-up, injury, flammables, waste
A Montana truck driver has pleaded guilty to illegally transporting hazardous materials without a placard, according to a release for U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General. Kelly Steen, of Baker, Mont., pleaded guilty on May 13 in U.S. District Court. Steen was indicted in October 2014 in connection with a December 2012 incident that resulted in fire at an oil processing facility in Montana.
Steen worked as an owner-operator and was dispatched to the job by Woody‰??s Trucking LLC. The bill of lading that accompanied the shipment incorrectly identified the product as ‰??slop oil and water,‰?? which is a non-hazardous substance. Court documents do not indicate who filled out the bill of lading.
According to the release, on Dec. 29, 2012, Steen, driving for Woody‰??s Trucking, loaded natural gas condensate, or ‰??drip gas,‰?? from a pipeline station that transports products from the Bakken oil fields in Montana and North Dakota. The drip gas was hauled from Watford City, N.D., to Custom Carbon Processing, Inc., a slop-oil processing/recycling company based near Wibaux, Mont., the release stated.
While Steen was pumping from the truck‰??s front tank into the facility, a fire ignited, injuring three employees. The tanks on the truck burned for eight days until the local fire department could determine that they held drip gas and not slop oil and water, as indicated on the bill of lading. Drip gas is a hazardous material, and the truck was not placarded to indicate it held a flammable liquid.
---------------------------------------------
DRFD RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_TX, transportation, fire, response, chlorine
Del Rio firefighters on Tuesday assisted with the containment of a small chlorine fire that started when a bucket of the chemical came in contact with a hot exhaust pipe on a city wastewater truck.
Firefighters, police and a emergency medical services team from Val Verde Regional Medical Center were dispatched to Avenue T between West First Street and West Second Street about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday after an employee of the city‰??s wastewater department noticed the fire and called for help.
---------------------------------------------
RAGS SPARK FIRE AT A SANTA ANA WAREHOUSE, AUTHORITIES SAY- CRIME BLOG: ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
SANTA ANA - Rags soaked in a wood-staining chemical spontaneously combusted overnight, starting fire at a Santa Ana warehouse Thursday morning, the Orange County Fire Authority said.
Firefighters were dispatched at 7:11 a.m. to the headquarters of Red Hill Construction, located in the 1400 block of St. Andrews Place, where thick black smoke was seen, Capt. Steve Concialdi said.
No one was inside, and 30 firefighters attacked the blaze. The building suffered $150,000 in damage to the structure and $200,000 damage to its contents, Concialdi said.
The building's office area had minimal damage, but the warehouse, several vehicles and most of the equipment inside was destroyed, said Andy Youngquist, owner of the company.
---------------------------------------------
10 INJURED IN AMMONIA GAS LEAK AT PANHANDLE CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
Ten people were taken to hospitals after an ammonia gas leak at a chemical plant in the Texas Panhandle.
The incident happened about 4:15 p.m. Thursday at the Agrium Inc. plant in Borger, about 40 miles northeast of Amarillo.
Borger police Lt. Brandon Strope says the 10 people, all employees, were taken to Panhandle hospitals by ambulance and helicopter. He also says plant officials say the gas release is contained and poses no danger to the surrounding community.
Plant manager Gill Craig says of the 10 taken to nearby Golden Plains Community Hospital, two were transferred to Northwest Texas Healthcare System hospital in Amarillo in stable condition. It was unclear if the other eight workers were admitted to Golden Plains. A message left with its spokeswoman Thursday night wasn't returned.
---------------------------------------------
WATCHDOG SAYS 90 PERCENT OF GLOBAL CHEMICAL WEAPONS STOCKPILE DESTROYED
Tags: Netherlands, public, discovery, environmental
THE HAGUE, Netherlands ‰?? The Nobel Peace Prize-winning chemical weapons watchdog has hailed a milestone in its mission to rid the world of poison gas and nerve agents, saying 90 percent of stocks declared by its members worldwide has now been destroyed.
Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, announced the milestone Thursday, saying it "shows we are well on the way to ridding the world of chemical weapons."
The organization has been thrown into the spotlight over the last two years by its efforts to oversee the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, but the majority of stocks are Cold War-era weapons held by the United States and Russia.
Russia is scheduled to complete destruction of its stockpile by 2020 and the United States three years later.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSES HIGHWAY TO SHUT DOWNVICTORIA ADVOCATE
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
A hazardous chemical spill shut down a large stretch of U.S. Highway 77 between Victoria and Refugio counties Thursday.
A FedEx Freight truck hauling two trailers lost control Thursday morning when the back trailer jack-knifed, said Cpl. Charlie Ramirez, of the Department of Public Safety.
As of Thursday evening, U.S. 77 was expected to reopen at 2 a.m. Friday.
The trailer tipped, causing two chemicals inside, muriatic acid and chlorine tablets, to mix, creating smoke, according to an incident report filed with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality.
The environmental commission is investigating, but officials were not aware of any air impacts Thursday afternoon, said Terry Clawson, media relations officer.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS REMOVE CHEMICAL MIXTURE AT LINCOLNSHIRE MARRIOTT
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, bleach, hydrochloric_acid
A Lincolnshire Marriott employee accidentally mixed two chemicals at the resort's indoor pool early Thursday night, prompting hazardous materials crews to evacuate and ventilate the area, authorities said.
The employee was supposed to pour muriatic acid into a large drum of water but instead, poured it in another drum containing a chemical similar to bleach, Lincolnshire Riverwoods Fire Battalion Chief Duane Christensen said.
Realizing the mistake, the employee quickly shut and locked a door leading into the hotel's first floor and opened a second door to let the gas vent outside, Christensen said.
The employee got a whiff of the chemical reaction and was treated at the resort by paramedics as a precaution after he began coughing.
The mixture could have caused difficulty breathing for hotel guests if the employee hadn't secured the area, said Christensen, crediting his "prompt actions." No other symptoms or injuries were reported.
Hazmat crews were called to the resort, southeast of Route 45 and West Half Day Road, about 5:30 p.m. Firefighters also ventilated the pool's supply room and evacuated a few rooms nearby.
---------------------------------------------
SCIENCE CLASS CHEMICAL SENDS TWO STUDENTS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
BERNALILLO, N.M. (KRQE) ‰?? A middle school science teacher is on paid leave and two students have been suspended for something that sent two kids to the hospital according to Bernalillo Public Schools Superintendent Allan Tapia.
Bernalillo Middle School students were one day away from celebrating the end of the school year.
Sixth grader Ricquie Tarango, 11, said two boys offered her and another girl candy during class time on Tuesday.
‰??They put me three drops right here,‰?? Ricquie said pointing to her hand.
She said she and her friend licked it off their hands.
‰??It felt like my tongue was going to fall off, and it just felt horrible,‰?? Ricquie said. ‰??I didn‰??t know what to do. I was scared.‰??
The liquid came from an unlabeled bottle.
She said one of the boys told her it was acid, then said he was just joking.
‰??Where it was on my hand, it was really yellow,‰?? Ricquie said. ‰??That is when I started getting scared, and I got a major headache after that.‰??
The school called Poison Control and an ambulance took both girls to the hospital.
Ricquie said the chemical turned out to be copper chloride.
‰??A [science] teacher from Bernalillo Mid School had asked a couple of boys, ages 12 and 13, to discard some containers, some boxes,‰?? said Bernalillo Police Chief Tom Romero. ‰??Apparently in the process, our understanding is, the two boys took some chemicals from these containers and kept them.‰??
‰??I don‰??t understand how that teacher could give little students that poison or whatever for them to dispose of it,‰?? said Oralia Montoya, Ricquie‰??s grandma.
Montoya rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after hearing about the incident.
‰??Angry, that‰??s where I was. Angry, very angry about things happening here at the school,‰?? Montoya said.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA FINES CHEMICAL COMPANY $12M FOR POLLUTING, JAILS STAFF
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, pesticides, waste
A court in eastern China fined a manufacturer of weed killer 75 million yuan ($12 million) and imprisoned employees of the company and its contractors for discharging wastewater that severely polluted streams.
The fine levied by the Longyou county court on Jinfanda Biochemical Co., which makes glyphosate, was the largest ever for a polluter in Zhejiang province, state media reported Tuesday. Zhejiang is one of the most prosperous but also most polluted provinces in China.
Rapid economic growth and lax enforcement of regulations has caused severe environmental damage throughout China. Beijing has promised to strictly enforce environmental laws and severely punish polluters in response to rising demands from citizens that air, water and soil be cleaned up.
Last December, a court in neighboring Jiangsu province ordered six companies to pay 160 million yuan for discharging waste chemicals into rivers. It was then China's biggest environmental fine.
In April, Beijing environmental officials fined a french fry supplier to the McDonald's restaurant chain 3.8 million yuan for releasing dirty wastewater. It was the biggest pollution fine ever ordered by the city.
---------------------------------------------
FALL RIVER CHEMICAL COMPANY SETTLES EPA SUIT, WILL BUY EQUIPMENT FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
ALL RIVER ‰?? Under the terms of a settlement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Precise Packaging, a local aerosol company, will spend nearly $150,000 in emergency response equipment for the Fall River Fire Department.
According to the EPA, Precise Packaging was found to have violated the Clean Air Act when it failed to develop a risk management plan meant to prevent or mitigate any chemical spills in its Fall River Industrial Park facility. The company will also pay a civil penalty of $57,369 for the violation.
‰??EPA is pleased that this settlement means that the Fall River community is better protected, because the company chose to settle this case in a way that better equips Fall River‰??s emergency responders, whose safety is on the line whenever a chemical accident occurs in the city,‰?? said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA‰??s New England office in a release.
Among the items Precise Packaging agreed to purchase for the city fire department is a fully equipped SUV to be used as a command vehicle to respond to chemical spills, valued at $52,000, and to replace the fire department‰??s current 10-year-old vehicle. The funding will also allow the purchase of mobile computers, portable decontamination showers and hazardous chemical meters, as well as a firefighter accountability system and software.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT WESTBROOK LAUNDRY FACILITY
Tags: us_ME, industrial, release, response, bleach, cleaners
WESTBROOK, Maine ‰??Crews from several fire departments responded to a hazmat situation at a laundry facility in Westbrook Wednesday afternoon
The facility is located on Scott Drive, which is off County Road.
The facility is used to wash laundry from Maine Medical Center campuses.
Workers evacuated the premises and called 911 after a vapor cloud appeared in the building.
Officials said they believe that the vapor cloud was caused by bleach reacting with another chemical.
Firefighters from Westbrook, Gorham, Scarborough, Windham and Standish responded to the scene, along with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and chemical cleanup crews.
Employees were sent home.
---------------------------------------------
DECONTAMINATION SQUAD MOVES IN AFTER DOFASCO FIRE
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
Hazardous materials experts briefly responded to a fire scene at ArcelorMittal Dofasco after it was feared firefighters had been exposed to chemicals.
The fire in the electric arc furnace building of 1330 Burlington St. was on a conveyor belt, elevated about 45 metres in the air, said Hamilton Fire spokesperson Claudio Mostacci.
The conveyor belt was carrying lime, he added. The fire was quickly extinguished and did not spread.
Hamilton Fire called in the experts as a precaution to decontaminate the firefighters working the fire, Mostacci said. They washed the firefighters' equipment, including bunker and breathing gear, and determined there was no further threat.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco spokesperson Marie Verdun said no one was injured during the fire.
"The fire is out and everyone is safe," she added in an email. "We're grateful to the Hamilton and ArcelorMittal Dofasco fire departments for their quick work."
---------------------------------------------
US MILITARY SHIPPED LIVE ANTHRAX TO LAB BY ACCIDENT
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
Washington (AFP) - The US military accidentally shipped at least one live anthrax sample across the country to a commercial lab in Maryland and four workers were undergoing medical treatment as a precaution, officials said.
But on Friday, a private firm in Maryland notified authorities that its sample was still active, setting off an urgent review of all material sent out to other labs, defense officials said.
More than a dozen other government and commercial labs in nine states -- as well as a US military base in South Korea -- received samples over the past year from the original batch that was irradiated in 2014 at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, near Salt Lake City, officials said.
---------------------------------------------
FINANCIAL EXPRESS :: FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER OF BANGLADESH
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
The fire which erupted at Acme Laboratory in Dhamrai municipality in the outskirts of Dhaka city on Wednesday morning, has been doused. Five workers were injured as the fire that broke out at the printing section of the Acme Laboratory ‰?? a medicine factory ‰??around 7:00am. Being informed, four firefighting units from Dhamrai and EPZ Fire Stations rushed to the spot and doused the flame after nearly one hour‰??s frantic efforts. Five workers of the company were injured while they were dousing the fire and coming out of the factory hurriedly. The injured were admitted to different local clinics and hospitals. The cause of the fire, or the losses, could not be ascertained, according to UNB.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT GOES AWRY, INJURES STUDENTS
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, fire, injury, methanol
A chemistry experiment gone wrong injured three Lincoln High School students Friday morning.
Leon County Emergency Medical Services responded to the call, along with the Tallahassee Fire Department and the Sheriff's Office. Two students were admitted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital with burns suffered during the incident, and another student was released to parental care. Both hospitalized students are in stable condition, confirmed Chris Petley, spokesman for Leon County Schools.
A flame test being demonstrated by an experienced teacher during an AP chemistry class resulted in the accident.
"The teacher is devastated," Principal Allen Burch said. "But she handled everything correctly."
Burch said that students were wearing protective gear and that the teacher had successfully carried out flame tests in the past. His first concern is the students' recovery.
"As far as next steps ‰?? we'll sit down and look at how the flame test was conducted," he added. "We'll see how or if we missed anything."
A flame test is designed to analyze mineral salts. Flames produced from burning a substance in question emit certain colors, allowing observers to determine the presence of specific elements. Several elements in a type of a common flame test called the rainbow experiment release vivid colors and can be fascinating to watch, especially for students.
However, a string of disastrous accidents in high school chemistry labs in the U.S. indicates that the experiment ‰?? despite education or entertainment value ‰?? may not be worth conducting at all, according to national media reports.
The experiment is performed underneath a fume hood on a lab bench. A flammable solvent ‰?? in Friday's accident it was alcohol ‰?? is used to ignite the flame. But it also creates the conditions for a flash fire.
Flame tests are high-risk and are "totally uncalled for," said Dr. Kenneth Roy, chief science safety compliance officer at the National Science Teachers Association.
Roy, who has recently noticed a marked increase in reporting of flame test accidents in high schools, too often serves as an expert witness in cases involving victims of flame test accidents. He reported there were at least five flame test accidents this year that resulted in severe burns to students.
"Some kids for the rest of their lives will wear these scars," he said. "Parents think they're sending their kids to a safe place, and in these cases they weren't."
Roy's major point of contention is that flame test accidents are almost entirely preventable. Teachers must be aware of all safety aspects and have proper training.
"What were these school's standard operating procedures when handling hazardous materials? Were science teachers certified? Are they using safety equipment? Are they incorporating best practices?" he added.
In a follow-up interview, Petley said that the district has strong oversight on safety in science classrooms, and the accident at Lincoln was not a case of negligence.
---------------------------------------------
WORKER HOSPITALIZED FOR MONITORING AFTER 3M CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_MN, industrial, release, injury, nitric_acid
COTTAGE GROVE, Minn‰??A 3M employee was hospitalized for monitoring after a chemical leak Tuesday at the company‰??s Cottage Grove plant.
A 30-percent solution of nitric acid leaked from a container in a manufacturing building, 3M spokeswoman Donna Fleming Runyon said.
Employees noticed the leak around 6:50 a.m. and reported it. Cottage Grove and Woodbury emergency crews responded to provide assistance, but Fleming Runyon said the company‰??s on-site emergency team contained the leak.
The liquid was cleaned up and vapors from the nitric acid were captured by water before they were released from the facility, Fleming Runyon said. Based on the company‰??s conservative estimates, 3M believes there is no health risk to the community, she said.
Two male employees were exposed to the chemical and one was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to the report received by Cottage Grove police.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT MONOVIKAS KENDRA, NONE INJURED
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A major fire broke out at Monovikas Kendra, Rehabilitation and Research Institute for The Handicapped, located on EM Bypass on Tuesday.
Fire was reported at 3.30 pm from a bio-medical research lab on the second floor of the four-storeyed building.
Though the institute, which has around 500 students and 150 faculty members, was closed for summer vacation, sources said there were around 10 students, 10 researchers and two senior scientists at the time of the incident.
---------------------------------------------
MASSIVE FIRE GUTS AJMAN FOAM FACTORY
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Ajman: A fire broke out at a foam factory in Ajman‰??s Al Jurf area early on Tuesday.
No injuries were reported in the blaze that left the factory severely damaged.
Ajman Civil Defence managed to bring the fire under control within 20 minutes, Colonel Nasser Rashid Al Ziri, director of media and public relations at Ajman Civil Defence, said.
A rescue team evacuated the factory and nearby buildings to ensure workers‰?? safety.
Police patrols closed roads leading to the factory so firefighters and ambulances could reach the area quickly.
The factory manufactured and stored materials such as wood and foam.
Ajman Civil Defence is continuing to monitor the area that houses foam warehouses.
The site of the fire will be handed over to the forensic laboratory to determine the cause of the fire.
---------------------------------------------
TEXAS LEGISLATURE PASSED AMMONIUM NITRATE REGULATIONS
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate
The Texas legislature has finally passed legislation for new regulations pertaining to the storage and handling of ammonium nitrate, which was the source of the 2013 explosion at the West, Texas, fertilizer facility that killed 15 people.
The legislation went to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature to become law the end of last week.
‰??What we‰??ve done in the bill were the right steps to swing the pendulum to the middle,‰?? said State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) in describing the balance between protecting health and safety and keeping minimal regulation, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. Birdwell contends that the changes will not be burdensome to business.
The legislation attempts to clarify and redefine regulatory procedures and processes, according to additional reports from Texas. The inspection of facilities by the state and local fire marshals, who will have the power of citing facility owners for code violations, is included in the legislation. Reports on chemical storage will now go to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality instead of the Department of State Health Services, and copies must be shared with local fire departments.
---------------------------------------------
INDUSTRY BODY ACCUSED OVER LINKS TO DISCREDITED US FIRE SAFETY GROUP
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
Explosive allegations levelled at the American Chemistry Council (ACC) by a former industry insider are exposing frictions underlying the science and policy of flame retardants.
Before it was discredited and disbanded in the summer of 2013, the Citizens for Fire Safety Institute (CFFSI) purported to be a non-profit coalition of fire professionals, burn centres, doctors, fire departments and industry leaders advocating for the highest fire safety standards. But when the organisation was exposed as primarily a front group for the chemical industry, and flame retardant manufacturers in particular, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) immediately distanced itself and said neither its staff nor its resources were used to support the organisation‰??s activities.
But now the ACC‰??s story is being challenged by Grant Gillham, a consultant who was hired to develop a national public relations campaign promoting flame retardants through the CFFSI. Gillham says he had a six-year relationship with the ACC and three of its members who manufacture flame retardants ‰?? Albemarle, Chemtura and Israeli Chemical Corporation ‰?? that began in 2007. Together, he says, they set up the institute as a non-profit whose role was to advocate for the use of flame retardants in furniture, home goods and building materials. At all times, he says, the institute coordinated closely with the ACC‰??s senior staff and legal counsel.
Over its five years of operation, the CFFSI‰??s advocacy campaign defeated 58 of 60 separate piece of legislation that addressed flame retardants in 21 states, according to Gillham.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FUMES FORCE EVACUATION OF GLENDALE APARTMENTS
Tags: us_AZ, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Chemical fumes that resulted from a mixture of two cleaning products caused a Glendale apartment complex to be evacuated Tuesday night, according to officials.
Emergency crews received a call around 7:15 p.m. that a woman in the complex was having trouble breathing after inhaling fumes from two cleaning products that she mixed while cleaning her bathroom, said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Linda Rider.
When crews arrived on the scene, they evacuated all residents from the apartment complex near 67th Avenue and Bethany Home Road as a precaution, and a hazardous materials team checked the area to ensure the fumes were not endangering others, Rider said.
---------------------------------------------
FOUR FAMILIES EVACUATED AFTER AMMONIA GAS LEAK
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, response, ammonia
KUALA LUMPUR MAY 27, 2015:
four families, comprising 15 people, were evacuated from their homes due to an ammonia gas leak from an abandoned ice factory in Perak, yesterday, Berita Harian reported.
The incident which happened around 3pm yesterday, saw the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) team of the Perak Fire and Rescue Department patch up the leaking pipes till 1.25am, this morning, according to the Malay daily.
‰??We received few calls and reports regarding the incident around 3.08pm yesterday before rushing to the location,‰?? said Pasir Putih Hazmat operations commander Shazlein Mohd Hanafiah.
Shazlein said the leaks occurred after the industrial cleaning contractors disposed all the rusted pipes that were left unused.
‰??We managed to contain the leaking pipes and everything is stable now,‰?? Berita Harian quoted him as saying.
Shazlein also revealed the residents in Jalan Pelantar, Pantai Remis were given an evacuation notice prior to the incident.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SCARE AT STOUGHTON HOUSING AUTHORITY BUILDING
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, irritant
STOUGHTON ‰?? Local firefighters and a state hazardous materials response team are working to identify an irritant inside a public housing building.
Maintenance workers at the Stoughton Housing Authority‰??s Capen Street building discovered an irritant likely inside a wall on Tuesday morning.
The men opened the wall to do work inside a vacant apartment when they became irritated.
‰??It overcame a couple of the workers,‰?? said fire Capt. Jim Bertram. ‰??They started choking. They were running some wires through.‰??
The Department of Fire Services‰?? Hazardous Materials Response team also responded to the Tier 1 hazardous materials response.
Firefighters from Stoughton and Sharon entered the room in white HAZMAT suits to try to determine the substance.
‰??It‰??s odorless and sightless,‰?? said Deputy Fire Chief Gregory Goldberg.
The hazardous material was found in an apartment on the first floor. No one was living in that apartment or the ones surrounding or above it.
The building did not need to be evacuated, but plans were in place to take residents to the Council on Aging if needed.
---------------------------------------------
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