The Bakersfield mercury response suggests we still have some learning to do about how to sanely respond to chemical incidents...

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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, August 5, 2015 at 7:27:47 AM

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Table of Contents (10 articles)

HOLIDAY INN CHLORINE RELEASE
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, chlorine

CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS ROCK AQUATIC CENTER
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, response, chlorine, pool_chemicals

HAZMAT TEAM, FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL FIRE IN SALEM
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, sulphur

TOKYO SUBURB GIVES BIO LAB APPROVAL TO HANDLE MOST DANGEROUS DISEASES
Tags: Japan, laboratory, discovery, environmental

LINGERING QUESTIONS AFTER MERCURY CONTAMINATION
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, response, mercury

HAZMAT TEAMS TAKE ON DELICATE TASK OF CAPPING GAS LEAK
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, methane, natural_gas

EXPLOSION KILLS TWO IN MAKASSAR
Tags: Indonesia, public, explosion, death, bomb

22-YEAR-OLD MAN INJURED IN =E2=80=98CHEMICAL' BLAST
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, waste

MILITARY ORDINANCE DUMPED IN GULF OF MEXICO
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, environmental, bomb

FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO HOTEL AFTER POOL CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, pool_chemicals


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HOLIDAY INN CHLORINE RELEASE
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, chlorine

HARDEEVILLE, SC (WTOC) -

According to the Bluffton Township Fire District, a hazmat situation at the Holiday Inn in Hardeeville is now over.

We're told an employee at the hotel was working to refill a five gallon bucket and mixed the wrong gases, including chlorine.

A few people complaining of respiratory issues were checked out on the scene. They are okay and no injuries were reported.

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CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS ROCK AQUATIC CENTER
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, response, chlorine, pool_chemicals

WOOD RIVER - Multiple, ongoing chemical explosions rocked the Wood River Aquatic Center Tuesday afternoon.

Wood River firefighters moved in to knock over and drown buckets outside the pump house of the Wood River Aquatic Center after two different types of chlorine were accidentally mixed together. The chain reaction caused explosions from the bucket and sent chlorine fumes through the neighborhood.

Wood River Avenue and several side streets were closed for more than an hour during the incident. The Madison County Haz Mat truck was also called to the scene.

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HAZMAT TEAM, FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL FIRE IN SALEM
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, sulphur

SALEM, OR (KPTV) -
People in Salem were told to close their windows and shut off their air conditioners Tuesday afternoon after a chemical caught fire.

Marion County Fire District #1 firefighters and a HazMat team were called to Carlson Testing, located at 4060 Hudson Ave NE, after a 10-gallon container of capping compound (Sulfur Mortars) caught fire.

Employees of the business tried to extinguish the flames and moved the container outside, that's when it starting emitting vapors that could be hazardous.

Firefighters immediately evacuated Carlson Testing and requested the 9-1-1 center begin reverse calling businesses in the area asking them to seek shelter inside their business, close doors, windows and HVAC systems.

After an hour of assessment and inspection, crews said the fire was extinguished and the container had cooled down enough to stop the release of chemical vapors. The emitted Sulfur gas had dissipated and there is no longer a threat to the area.

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TOKYO SUBURB GIVES BIO LAB APPROVAL TO HANDLE MOST DANGEROUS DISEASES
Tags: Japan, laboratory, discovery, environmental

The mayor of Musashimurayama gave approval Monday for the National Institute of Infectious Diseases facility in the western Tokyo suburb to handle the world's most highly infectious and life-threatening diseases, such as Ebola.

The facility was built in 1981 but has never been used for the most dangerous diseases, designated by the World Health Organization as biosafety level (BSL) 4, due to safety concerns among local residents.

Mayor Masaru Fujino met Monday with Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki to notify him of the city's intention to approve the upgrade.

The facility will be Japan's first active BSL-4 laboratory.

The decision came as Shiozaki promised to meet four conditions for operating the facility.

These include ensuring smooth communications in the event of an accident, high transparency regarding operations and restricting research to diagnoses and treatment.

The health ministry will begin procedures this month to upgrade the facility to BSL-4 under the infectious disease law.

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LINGERING QUESTIONS AFTER MERCURY CONTAMINATION
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, response, mercury

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) -- A Bakersfield woman has spoken out for the first time after her house was contaminated with a small amount of liquid mercury.

Darlene, who did not want to give her last name, says her house remains in shambles a week after her house was torn apart by emergency crews.

They were called to the scene on Monday, July 27 after Darlene's 14 year-old son spilled mercury on their carpet. According to her estimate, only a spoonful of the liquid element was released.

She said her son found the mercury in a bottle the day before on one of their neighbor's porches. She was in the hospital getting surgery at the time and did not know her son had the mercury until she saw him playing with it that morning. Knowing it was dangerous, she called poison control.

"I just wanted to see if I should take him to the pediatrician and get a blood test," she recalled, never imagining what was about to happen.

Bakersfield City Firefighters responded first, followed by Hazmat crews, workers from the county Environmental Health Division and members of the EPA.

Darlene says, here son was scrubbed down for two and a half hours while she was forced to wait across the street. She was initially deemed uncomtaminated, but was later told her feet showed signs of mercury. She says, crews then poured washing detergent on her feet, letting the soap flow down her neighbor's driveway.

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HAZMAT TEAMS TAKE ON DELICATE TASK OF CAPPING GAS LEAK
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, methane, natural_gas

stretch of Federal Highway was closed for hours Monday as hazardous materials teams from three agencies worked to cap a gas leak in Fort Lauderdale.

Crews hit a natural gas line while digging shortly after 1 p.m., allowing the gas to escape into the air, said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Division Chief Bob Bacic.

Hazardous materials teams from Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Broward County spent nearly three hours maneuvering their way to the leaking line at 2520 S. Miami Road.

Federal Highway from Southeast 28th Street to State Road 84 was closed in both directions while crews worked carefully not to spark a fire in what Bacic called a "delicate excavation."

Crews reached the 4-inch gas line and capped the leak about 4 p.m. Authorities began opening lanes along Federal Highway about 30 minutes later.

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EXPLOSION KILLS TWO IN MAKASSAR
Tags: Indonesia, public, explosion, death, bomb

Two people have died after an explosion on Monday afternoon at the Puri Pa'tene residence complex in Biringkanaya, Makassar.

The Makassar Police said the explosion which occurred around 3:30 p.m. local time in a house at the residential complex killed two women; Romlah, 58, and Sina, 36. The victims' house was destroyed by the explosion which also damaged 10 other houses, the police said.

Two people were injured in the incident and were rushed to a nearby hospital.

Makassar Police chief Sr. Comr. Fery Abraham said it was suspected that a homemade device used to catch fish had caused the explosion as local residents had reported a strong homemade-explosive smell following the incident.

He said that to confirm the cause of the explosion, the South Sulawesi Police's Gegana bomb squad investigated the incident site and sent evidence materials to the National Police's forensics laboratory in Makassar.

"From our preliminary investigations, the explosion was caused by a fish bomb, but we will wait for results of both forensic laboratory examination and autopsy of the two victims to confirm the cause of the explosion," said Fery, adding the bodies of the two victims would be sent to Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Makassar for autopsy.

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22-YEAR-OLD MAN INJURED IN =E2=80=98CHEMICAL' BLAST
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, waste

Summary: According to preliminary reports, the industrial waste might have caused the explosion. It appears that some industrial waste or chemical might have caused the explosion and injured the employee. Thorat said no casualties were reported in the incident, but the employee has sustained injuries.

AURANGABAD: A 22-year-old employee of a private firm sustained serious injuries in an explosion in the Waluj MIDC area on Monday, when he was putting the garbage to flames. According to preliminary reports, the industrial waste might have caused the explosion. Rameshwar Thorat, chief of the MIDC Waluj police station, said it looks like a chemical blast and the possibility of sabotage does not appear at least at this point. "So far, we have not come across any suspicious material. It appears that some industrial waste or chemical might have caused the explosion and injured the employee. However, we are leaving no stone unturned and searching the entire area," he told TOI.

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MILITARY ORDINANCE DUMPED IN GULF OF MEXICO
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, environmental, bomb

Texas A& M oceanographic researcher have reported that unexploded bombs and other military ordnance washing up on the Florida coast has brought more awareness U.S. government materials dumping decades ago in the Gulf of Mexico could pose serious threats.

Niall Slowey, along with professor emeritus William Bryant, who have more than 90 years of combined research experience, say millions of pounds of bombs and other types of ordnance are scattered over the Gulf of Mexico and also off the coasts of at least 16 states, from New Jersey to Hawaii. The bombs can get caught in fishermen's nets as they trawl along the ocean seafloor, or wash up on shore such as last week near the Tampa area.

The military began a massive dumping of unused bombs into the Gulf and other sites that started in 1946 and continued until 1970, when it was finally banned.

"Up until the 1960s, people thought the seafloor was beyond the reach of human activity," explains Slowey.

"They could not imagine the types of activities that are commonplace today. As more and more of these bombs and other ordnance are discovered, it has to be assumed that they are still dangerous until proven otherwise."

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FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO HOTEL AFTER POOL CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, pool_chemicals

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue crews responded to the Patricia Grand hotel Monday afternoon for reports of a possible pool chemical exposure, according to Fire Marshal Bruce Arnel.

Fire Marshall Bruce Arnel says they discovered that the chemical feeder that supports the hot tub malfunctioned, causing an excessive release of pool chemical (sodium hypochlorite or bleach) into the hot tub.

The patients are being treated and evaluated at this time, Arnel said. A WMBF News photographer at the scene saw at least three people being transported.

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secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society