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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, August 21, 2015 at 5:17:12 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__pinboard.in_u-3Adchas&d=BQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=gRm6oXSIXzHSGH_TDNeGqlsiNVZ_ViaJl8-7AvEE8Jw&s=ICE11L88H8hV0Dkga_y5ba4gOQarYAp0dJLbXojka7U&e=
Table of Contents (26 articles)
GAS LINE EXPLODES DURING CONSTRUCTION AT A MANHATTAN HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical
THREE INJURED AT LOCAL PLANT
Tags: us_OK, industrial, explosion, injury, other_chemical
HAZMAT SITUATION SENDS 13 PEOPLE TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_GA, industrial, release, injury, waste
HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS UP MERCURY SPILL AT BOURNE SCHOOL
Tags: us_MA, education, release, response, mercury
CHEMICAL EXPLOSION HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS OF FARMING
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, sodium, hydrosulfide
FOUR NEW FIRES AT CHINA BLAST SITE, WIDESPREAD SAFETY HAZARDS FOUND
Tags: China, industrial, fire, response, cyanide
THE FIRST RAINFALL SINCE TIANJIN'S WAREHOUSE EXPLOSIONS LEFT BEHIND THIS MYSTERIOUS WHITE FOAM
Tags: China, public, explosion, environmental, cyanide
TIANJIN BLASTS KILL 114 PEOPLE
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonium_nitrate, cyanide
DEADLY CHEMICAL CONCOCTION KILLS MAN IN ATKINSON COUNTY
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, death, carbon_monoxide, suicide, sulfuric_acid
SPILL AT COLGATE-PALMOLIVE PROMPTS EVACUATION, OFFICIALS SAY
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
CHINA CLEARING BLAST SITE, MILITARY CHECKING STORAGE
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO LONGVIEW FIRE AT CHEMICAL TANK
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
AMAZON WAREHOUSE EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK; FACULTY NOW RUNNING AS NORMAL
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, release, response, butane
WBNG-TV: NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, acids, waste
TIE FUNDING TO LAB SAFETY, URGES SHERI SANGJI'S SISTER
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death, butyllithium
DUPONT SAFETY QUESTIONED AFTER OSHA FINES, DEATHS
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, environmental
INVESTIGATORS: MASSIVE EXPLOSION AT DRILLCHEM PLANT IN CONROE RULED ACCIDENTAL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
WORKER ATTACKED WITH ‰??CAUSTIC CHEMICAL‰?? AT SANTA FE SPRINGS SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
MAN KILLED IN GEORGIA CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: us_GA, industrial, explosion, death, ag_chems, sodium
COP TRIED TO COOK METH AT GOVERNMENT SCIENCE LAB ‰?? HERE‰??S HIS LAWYER‰??S EXPLANATION
Tags: us_MD, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab
WEST VIRGINIA: GUILTY PLEA IN RIVER POLLUTION
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, response, cleaners
TIANJIN BLASTS: WERE 'HERO' FIREFIGHTERS UNPREPARED?
Tags: China, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
FIRST RAINFALL SINCE TIANJIN EXPLOSION LEAVES CITY COVERED IN MYSTERIOUS WHITE FOAM: SHANGHAIIST
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, response, ammonium_nitrate, cyanide, potassium_nitrate, sodium_cyanide, toxics
CHEMICAL LEAK TURNS WOLF CREEK BLUE; BARBERTON REMOVING CONTAMINANT
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
STATE MEDIA: CHINA FIRM USED CONNECTIONS FOR HAZMAT PERMIT
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
CHRISTOPHER BARTLEY, FORMER POLICE OFFICER, CHARGED AFTER EXPLOSION AT FEDERAL LAB
Tags: us_MD, public, follow-up, injury, meth_lab
---------------------------------------------
GAS LINE EXPLODES DURING CONSTRUCTION AT A MANHATTAN HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical
A gas line exploded during construction at John F. Kennedy High School in the Marble Hill section of Manhattan on Thursday night, injuring three workers, one critically, and heavily damaging three floors, the authorities said.
Seven people were working on a construction project in a science laboratory on the sixth floor shortly after 8 p.m. when the explosion occurred, the police said. The workers were draining gas from a main in the lab before starting their work but failed to drain it completely, setting off the blast, the police said.
The force of the explosion blew out windows on the sixth floor and shook a nearby apartment building, according to officials and witnesses. The police said that the blast ‰??heavily damaged‰?? the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the building, but that no serious fire lingered after the initial explosion.
---------------------------------------------
THREE INJURED AT LOCAL PLANT
Tags: us_OK, industrial, explosion, injury, other_chemical
Three employees of Deepwater Chemicals were injured in an explosion around 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday night inside of a processing vessel on the plant located west of Woodward.
Deepwater Chemicals is a manufacturing company specializing in fine iodine derivatives, according to the company's website.
The injured employees were immediately given first aid by other employees, the plant's established safety procedures were then implemented and the Woodward Fire Department and the Woodward EMS were notified, according to a press release from the company.
The injured were given medical care at a nearby hospital (AllianceHealth Woodward) and held overnight as a precaution, the release added, though all have now been discharged.
....According to the fire report, a reaction occurred when employees poured red phosphorous - a reactive chemical commonly used on the strike plates of matchbooks - into a reactor at the plant.
"Red phosphorous continues to burn as long as there is oxygen," Finley said. "If you put it in your hand and covered it with the other, it would still burn."
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT SITUATION SENDS 13 PEOPLE TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_GA, industrial, release, injury, waste
COBB COUNTY, Ga. ‰?? Firefighters are trying to figure out what sickened 13 workers at a Cobb County recycling center called Rock 10.
Officials told Channel 2's Ross Cavitt a truck driver who dropped off a load of materials complained he had trouble breathing.
As the materials he delivered spread throughout the facility, more employees began complained they had trouble breathing.
Thirteen of 16 employees who complained of breathing problems were transported to local hospitals.
Firefighters are at the facility trying to identify what affected the employees and where it is in the building.
"We always think the worst so you have to remove your clothes and have to wash them off," Lt. Dan Dupree, Cobb County Fire Department, said. "You don't want to spread contaminate to the emergency room."
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS UP MERCURY SPILL AT BOURNE SCHOOL
Tags: us_MA, education, release, response, mercury
BOURNE ‰?? Firefighters and a state hazardous materials response team were called to Bourne High School Wednesday afternoon when a large mercury thermometer broke in a storage closet, according to Bourne Fire Deputy Chief David Pelonzi.
Just before 3 p.m., a staff member preparing for the upcoming school year heard a crash coming from a closet and discovered that a 4-foot mercury thermometer had broken and the chemical had spilled, Pelonzi said.
Bourne firefighters responded to the scene and secured the area before calling the hazmat team, which cleaned up about three quarters of a cup of mercury from the closet, he said.
Members of the state Department of Environmental Protection team may return tomorrow with a cleanup team to remove any remaining mercury, Pelonzi said.
Nobody was exposed to the mercury and no students were at the school Wednesday, according to Pelonzi.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL EXPLOSION HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS OF FARMING
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, sodium, hydrosulfide
BAINBRIDGE, GA (WALB) -
Experts say the chemical involved in a deadly explosion is one that's primarily used to make cloth and paper.
The hazardous chemical known as sodium hydrosulfide is not considered an agricultural chemical, yet it was stored at Liquid Transfer Terminals in Bainbridge along with other chemicals that are used on farms and in farm products.
Farmers must go through training, take a test, and have a license to purchase restricted-use chemicals, like sodium hydrosulfide. Experts say farming can be a dangerous job.
"A lot of the chemicals that farmers use do have dangers involved with them," said Lee County Extension Coordinator Doug Collins. "They're also urged to take care and to follow all of the label instructions."
Collins said farmers should wear protective clothing and follow the safety precautions specified on labels when handling chemicals and dealing with a spill.
---------------------------------------------
FOUR NEW FIRES AT CHINA BLAST SITE, WIDESPREAD SAFETY HAZARDS FOUND
Tags: China, industrial, fire, response, cyanide
Four new fires have broken out at the site where two huge blasts last week killed 114 people, state media reported on Friday soon after officials said safety hazards were found at almost 70 percent of firms handling dangerous chemicals in Beijing.
The explosions in a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals devastated an industrial park in the northeastern port city of Tianjin late on Aug. 12. More than 700 people were injured and thousands were evacuated because of the risk posed by chemicals stored at the site.
The official Xinhua news agency said on Friday rescue crews were rushing to the site after four new fires broke out. It said one of the "combustion points" was in a logistics site for automobiles near last week's blast.
The other three were within the central blast area, it said without giving any explanation of the cause of the fires.
State authorities have confirmed that more than 700 tonnes of the deadly chemical sodium cyanide were stored at the Tianjin warehouse that blew up.
---------------------------------------------
THE FIRST RAINFALL SINCE TIANJIN'S WAREHOUSE EXPLOSIONS LEFT BEHIND THIS MYSTERIOUS WHITE FOAM
Tags: China, public, explosion, environmental, cyanide
Last Wednesday, a chemical storage facility in Tianjin, a city in northeastern China, exploded. Several blasts occurred over about a minute, and the resulting fires burned throughout the weekend, leading to eight further explosions on Saturday. Over a hundred people were killed, and hundreds more are injured or missing.
This, you'd think, would be bad enough ‰?? but as it turns out, chemical explosions have repercussions which reverberate beyond the initial massive explosions and raging fires.
On Monday night, it rained in Tianjin for the first time since the explosion. The rain which left behind a mysterious white foam and reports of stinging skin and lips from those who came into contact with it. These pictures show the foam the rain left behind, on a public square and on what appears to be a car window:
It's unclear what exactly the foam contains, but authorities have announced that the rainfall is safe. The local Bureau of Environmental Protection measured levels of cyanide in the foam and found it normal, while several officials stood in the rain for ten minutes and reported no stinging or itching. Bao Jingling, chief engineer at the bureau, told China Daily that local hospitals had reported no cases of poisoning thus far.
---------------------------------------------
TIANJIN BLASTS KILL 114 PEOPLE
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonium_nitrate, cyanide
Chinese authorities have confirmed that at least 114 people have perished in the explosions involving hazardous chemicals that occurred in the port of Tianjin on Aug. 12.
Although authorities have also insisted that chemical releases into the environment were limited, local residents claimed falling rain caused skin burns and white foam formed on roads a few days later near the blast site. Some residents have also held demonstrations demanding compensation for property damage and more information on relatives unaccounted for in the disaster.
Despite the confusion and displacement of people living and working near the site of the disaster, authorities say the sprawling port resumed operations on Aug. 18. Chemical producers in the area say they are working normally.
Officials still haven‰??t indicated what they suspect as the cause of the explosions. However, they revealed that among the hundreds of tons of about 40 different chemicals stored at the Ruihai International Logistics hazardous chemicals warehouse at the center of the explosions were large quantities of ammonium nitrate. Commonly used as a fertilizer, ammonium nitrate is also explosive and the cause of numerous industrial accidents such as the 2013 explosion at West Fertilizer Co. in Texas that killed 15 people.
Officials‰?? main concern, however, has been disposing of hundreds of tons of sodium cyanide, which releases flammable and toxic hydrogen cyanide gas on contact with water or acids, that they said was stored at the warehouse. The chemical is used in the mining industry to extract gold and other precious metals.
---------------------------------------------
DEADLY CHEMICAL CONCOCTION KILLS MAN IN ATKINSON COUNTY
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, death, carbon_monoxide, suicide, sulfuric_acid
The Region 8 Hazmat team was forced into action on Monday morning, August 17, after Atkinson County law enforcement officials discovered a deceased man in a pickup truck containing a deadly cocktail of chemicals.
Hazmat team members from the Douglas Fire Department responded to a two-lane dirt path off of Stokesville Church Road in Atkinson County where they discovered the body of a 26-year old deceased white male in a pickup truck.
When Hazmat and law enforcement officials approached the vehicle, they noticed two notes, one on the driver‰??s side window and the other on the passenger window, that stated, ‰??Warning: Carbon Monoxide.‰??
After safely securing the scene, Hazmat officials worked to remove the man‰??s body from the vehicle and later determined he had combined two chemicals, Sulfuric acid and Formic acid, a deadly combination that reacted and turned into carbon monoxide and resulted in his death.
Officials believe the man had been inside the vehicle since Friday, August 14.
Suicide by way of deadly chemical cocktails is on the rise across the United States, especially over the last four to five years.
---------------------------------------------
SPILL AT COLGATE-PALMOLIVE PROMPTS EVACUATION, OFFICIALS SAY
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
MORRIS TOWNSHIP ‰?? An evacuation was ordered after a substance used to make soap spilled while being transferred at the Colgate-Palmolive manufacturing plant Tuesday night.
The liquid, known as Stepan-ammonynx cetac-30, was being siphoned through a tanker truck hose into the East Hanover Avenue facility when the spill occurred in the loading dock area, Morris County Office of Emergency Management director Jeff Paul said.
No injuries were reported, Paul said.
"The clean up is being handled by the Colgate-Palmolive company in accordance with safety precautions and properly disposed of by an approved environmental contractor," the OEM director said.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA CLEARING BLAST SITE, MILITARY CHECKING STORAGE
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death
TIANJIN, China ‰?? Chinese workers in protective suits began clearing wreckage on Thursday, including charred car bodies and crumpled shipping containers, from the site of a chemical warehouse that exploded last week, killing at least 114.
Officials have ordered nationwide checks on dangerous materials, and the Chinese military said it was inspecting storage measures for weapons, ammunition, and fuel as well as chemical, explosive and toxic materials, the official newspaper People's Liberation Army Daily reported.
Training in the handling of such materials and in executing emergency response plans will also be stepped up, the newspaper said.
Driving home the importance of such efforts, President Xi Jinping and other top leaders gathered in Beijing to hear a report on progress in investigating the disaster.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO LONGVIEW FIRE AT CHEMICAL TANK
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
LONGVIEW (KYTX) - Fire and Longview Hazmat crews were called out to a Poly-tank fire shortly before 1:00 am Wednesday August 19th, 2015.
The tank was approximately 10‰?? by 12‰?? and contained a mixture of caustic chemicals at the time of the fire.
The fire was extinguished without any injuries, and the cause is under investigation.
Due to the containment system around the tank there was no runoff as a result of the fire. It was determined that the surrounding area was not at risk during the emergency.
The open sided metal building where the tank is located sustained some heat damage to the roof and roof supports.
---------------------------------------------
AMAZON WAREHOUSE EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK; FACULTY NOW RUNNING AS NORMAL
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, release, response, butane
PHOENIX - Some tense moments at an Amazon facility Wednesday morning after a 55 gallon drum filled with butane started leaking.
Firefighters said an Amazon employee was filling the drum with butane containers when it began to leak.
Employees called 911 and when firefighters arrived they noticed the drum had started to expand.
"Our biggest concern was that the drum could explode," said Cpt. Mark Vanacore with Phoenix Fire Department.
Officials evacuated the building and firefighters called in the Phoenix Police Bomb Squad.
Using a bomb robot, responders drilled a hole in the top of the drum and released all the pressure that had been built up inside.
---------------------------------------------
WBNG-TV: NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, acids, waste
Norwich, NY (WBNG Binghamton) A portion of Route 12 in Norwich was closed for several hours on Tuesday due to a chemical spill.
A chemical waste truck stopped quickly and spilled acid waste onto a vehicle and the ground, Jones told Action News. ‰??The information we have is that truck's hatch was not closed all the way,‰?? he said in a statement.
State Highway 12 reopened around 5:15 pm. No injuries were reported.
The Norwich Fire Department, Norwich Police Department, Chenango County Bureau of Fire and Chenango County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene.
Jones said the spill was cleaned up with the assistance of the Chenango County HazMat team.
---------------------------------------------
TIE FUNDING TO LAB SAFETY, URGES SHERI SANGJI'S SISTER
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death, butyllithium
The American Chemical Society (ACS) and its members are being pressed to speak out against poor safety conditions in US academic labs, and to lobby the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to consider researchers' safety records when allocating funding. The call comes from the sister of the late Sheri Sangji, a 23-year-old research assistant at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) who died in January 2009 from injuries sustained during a dangerous lab experiment.
Sangji was a new hire who suffered third-degree burns to almost half of her body when working unsupervised with t-butyl lithium in the organic chemistry lab of Patrick Harran. She had been using a 60ml plastic syringe with a 1.5 inch needle on the end that was too short to reach to the bottom of the bottle containing the pyrophoric solution, and there was an open flask of hexanes nearby. The material caught fire when the plunger somehow came out of the barrel, and Sangji was not wearing a lab coat. Her family argued that she had received improper training, equipment, and supervision, and that she was carrying out Harran‰??s irresponsible orders.
‰??Notably absent from this diverse group asking for justice and change are the academic scientists,‰?? the victim‰??s sister, medical doctor Naveen Sangji, told a session at the 250th ACS National Meeting & Exposition at Boston, US on 17 August.
---------------------------------------------
DUPONT SAFETY QUESTIONED AFTER OSHA FINES, DEATHS
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, environmental
DuPont has long been recognized as a safety leader within the chemical industry. Its people train other companies and industries in best practices for environmental and workplace safety.
Now, the company is facing heavy criticism from employee unions and government agencies after a series of high-profile accidents and deaths at plants across the country.
Eight workplace fatalities since 2007, numerous lawsuits, multiple federal regulatory agency investigations and millions of dollars in Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines have some wondering if DuPont's historically good safety record still exists.
In July, OSHA placed DuPont in a program for "severe" violators of workplace safety standards. Severe is the worst category, and companies are placed in it after repeatedly failing to address OSHA violations.
DuPont is the largest of the roughly 450 companies in the severe category. Smaller construction companies comprise the bulk of those businesses.
"That is really huge that DuPont got put into the severe violator program," said Celeste Monforton, a former OSHA analyst and now a professor of occupational health at George Washington University. "The companies on that list are the worst of the worst."
DuPont says the workplace deaths have overshadowed a still-strong safety record. Company representatives are quick to point out that DuPont's workplace injury rate is below average for the chemical industry.
---------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATORS: MASSIVE EXPLOSION AT DRILLCHEM PLANT IN CONROE RULED ACCIDENTAL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
CONROE, Texas -
Investigators have confirmed that a massive explosion at a chemical plant warehouse in Conroe on Friday was accidental.
The Conroe Fire Department said 12 employees worked at the DrillChem plant in the 4300 block of North Loop 336.
According to investigators, the fire started in the southern end of the northernmost building. Possible causes of the explosion include electrical, gas-powered equipment, and spontaneous combustion caused by disposal of oily rags.
Fire officials are working to determine a main cause and said there is no concern that the public's safety has or will be compromised.
DrillChem officials are not ready to release the names of specific chemicals stored and used in the facility.
---------------------------------------------
WORKER ATTACKED WITH ‰??CAUSTIC CHEMICAL‰?? AT SANTA FE SPRINGS SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
SANTA FE SPRINGS >> A caseworker at Santa Fe Springs social office suffered burns to her arm after an unidentified man and woman threw an unknown caustic chemical on her Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The attack was reported about 4:25 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services office, 10355 Slusher Drive, Whittier police Lt. Bryan Ellis said.
The suspects approached the victim in the parking lot, Whittier police Officer John Scoggins said.
‰??They threw an unknown chemical on her,‰?? Scoggins said.
Paramedics took the woman to a hospital for treatment of injuries to her arms that were described as moderate, he said.
The woman washed off the substance and discovered it had left burns, Ellis said. It was yet to be been determined what the liquid thrown on the victim was.
The female suspect threw the substance, while the man drove their car, described as a blue or gray sedan, Scoggins said.
---------------------------------------------
MAN KILLED IN GEORGIA CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: us_GA, industrial, explosion, death, ag_chems, sodium
A man died Wednesday in southwest Georgia after a chemical tank explosion.
The incident occurred Wednesday morning at around 11:30 in Bainbridge at the Liquid Transfer Terminal fertilizer plant.
Investigators said a 1 million gallon chemical tank filled with a sodium chlorite liquid solution exploded.
People had to evacuate within a half mile of the plant.
---------------------------------------------
COP TRIED TO COOK METH AT GOVERNMENT SCIENCE LAB ‰?? HERE‰??S HIS LAWYER‰??S EXPLANATION
Tags: us_MD, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab
A former police supervisor at a federal laboratory complex in Maryland has been charged with trying to make meth at the complex, where an explosion erupted last month during what his attorney described as an attempt by the officer to learn more about the drug.
‰??He was conducting an unauthorized training experiment, which failed,‰?? said Steven VanGrack, an attorney for the officer, Christopher Bartley.
The latest twists in the case ‰?? the charge by federal authorities, the response by the officer ‰?? were revealed Tuesday. VanGrack said he expects his client to plead guilty by the end of the week.
‰??He feels very bad about what happened,‰?? VanGrack said, ‰??and he wants to move on from it.‰??
The incident occurred at the sprawling campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in Gaithersburg, better known for its Nobel Prize-winning research on atomic physics than methamphetamine manufacturing.
Bartley, 41, was charged with one count of ‰??knowingly and intentionally attempt[ing] to manufacture a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine,‰?? according to an information filing in U.S. District Court in Maryland.
---------------------------------------------
WEST VIRGINIA: GUILTY PLEA IN RIVER POLLUTION
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, response, cleaners
One of the last executives charged in a chemical spill that left 300,000 people without clean tap water for days pleaded guilty to federal pollution violations Tuesday. Dennis Farrell, a former Freedom Industries owner, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston, joining the bankrupt company itself and four other former Freedom officials who had already pleaded guilty. The deal calls for a sentence of 30 days to two years in prison, as well as a maximum $200,000 fine. The former company president, Gary Southern, the final and highest-profile executive targeted for the spill, is expected to plead guilty Wednesday. In January 2014, a run-down Freedom tank in Charleston leaked coal-cleaning chemicals into the water supply for nine counties.
---------------------------------------------
TIANJIN BLASTS: WERE 'HERO' FIREFIGHTERS UNPREPARED?
Tags: China, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
Beijing (CNN)Yuan Yuan's grief for her only brother is tinged with anger.
Seventeen-year-old Yuan Hai was the youngest of 50 firefighters killed in the deadly blasts that hit China's port city of Tianjin on August 12. Of the 57 people still missing, 52 are firefighters.
Her posts on Chinese social media after she learned of his death have wrenched millions of hearts.
"Why were you so heartless to leave our dad and mom for me to take care of?" she wrote on a widely shared post on Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter.
"We didn't expect you to accomplish great things; we only wanted you safe; we wanted you back, we wanted you back. It's too cruel for dad and mom to see you die before them."
Tuesday is the seventh day since the massive explosions, according to tradition a key time to mourn the dead, and thousands in the city took part in memorials.
The nation has revered the firefighters dispatched to the apocalyptic scene as heroes.
---------------------------------------------
FIRST RAINFALL SINCE TIANJIN EXPLOSION LEAVES CITY COVERED IN MYSTERIOUS WHITE FOAM: SHANGHAIIST
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, response, ammonium_nitrate, cyanide, potassium_nitrate, sodium_cyanide, toxics
The first rainfall to wash over Tianjin since a series of blasts struck a warehouse in the Binhai district last week has sparked a new wave of concern as an unidentified white foam has appeared on the streets.
Some who made contact with it are reporting a burning sensation on their face and lips, while others are reporting a stinging sensation on their arms. Some have said they experienced an itchy sensation, according to a NetEase News report.
Meteorological experts said Monday that rainfall would no longer pose direct danger to people's health, according to a CCTV News report.
However, authorities had expressed concern that the downpour, aside from hampering rescue efforts, would spread harmful substances across the city, after around 700 tons of sodium cyanide‰??a toxic chemical that creates a combustable substance when it meets with water‰??was found at the blast site.
Officials today said that at least 40 types of dangerous chemicals were detected at the blast zone, including 800 tons of ammonium nitrate and 500 tons of potassium nitrate, the Guardian reports.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK TURNS WOLF CREEK BLUE; BARBERTON REMOVING CONTAMINANT
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
NORTON: A chemical leak at Barberton‰??s water treatment plant off Summit Road turned Wolf Creek a turquoise color Tuesday.
The leaking chemical was aluminum sulfate, Ohio EPA spokesperson Linda Oros said. A coagulant, it is traditionally used to remove organic material from drinking water by binding it together and sinking it to the bottom for collection.
Norton officials temporarily closed Summit Road at the Barber Road intersection Tuesday morning after a citizen noticed the creek was ‰??baby blue.‰??
Barberton Director of Utilities Jim Stender said the leak ‰??is not an alarm situation‰?? and the material is inorganic and ‰??less harmful than shampoo.‰??
Oros said there were no signs of dead fish, but that the pH of the creek had fallen to an acidic 4.2 (neutral is pH 7) so there was some concern that level might stress fish. Dissolved oxygen levels were good, she added.
It is not known how much coagulant got into the creek, she said.
---------------------------------------------
STATE MEDIA: CHINA FIRM USED CONNECTIONS FOR HAZMAT PERMIT
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
The son of a former police chief is one of two silent owners of the warehouse for hazardous materials in Tianjin where explosions killed at least 114 people, and used his connections to help obtain licenses despite safety violations, Chinese state media reported Wednesday.
The other owner is a former executive at a state-owned chemical company who also used his connections to smooth the way for approval for the facility, the official Xinhua News Agency said in a lengthy report on the warehouse company Ruihai International Logistics.
The report supports the common perception that well-connected private Chinese companies use personal relationships with people in the government to override rules, a practice that can lead to disastrous consequences.
It also shed light on the murky ownership structure at Ruihai, which had been the focus of rampant rumors of potential high-level connections and cover-up since the Aug. 12 blasts, which also left 64 people missing and 674 hospitalized.
---------------------------------------------
CHRISTOPHER BARTLEY, FORMER POLICE OFFICER, CHARGED AFTER EXPLOSION AT FEDERAL LAB
Tags: us_MD, public, follow-up, injury, meth_lab
WASHINGTON ‰?? A former federal police officer was charged with trying to make methamphetamine in a federal laboratory that exploded last month, injuring the ex-officer.
Christopher Bartley was charged Monday in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, with a single count of attempting to manufacture methamphetamine.
The explosion occurred July 18 on the campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, about 15 miles north of the nation's capital.
Bartley was a lieutenant and supervisor with the institute's police force, said institute spokeswoman Gail Porter. He resigned his position a day after the explosion, Porter said. He was treated at a hospital for injuries he suffered in the blast. No one else was hurt.
Authorities who responded to the explosion found pseudoephedrine, Epsom salt and other materials associated with the manufacture of meth. Police have said the chemical reaction that led to the explosion may have been caused by the manufacture of drugs.
No attorney is listed for Bartley in online court records, and a working telephone number for him could not immediately be located.
The building where the explosion occurred remains closed, but it will be available for experiments as needed, Burton said.
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