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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 (17 articles)
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2015 13:02:55 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: DF6C2FEC-7D94-4944-859F-B5AC3FB8DE2F**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, September 7, 2015 at 1:02:32 PM
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=qOXuy6ky_gLyWq5v_bBWV_0s5g6XBslbE_u7i4HA8dg&s=7getLtOAOk8nTjHuMD-LO2tqPmN5UykaiCltDiCVM0w&e=
Table of Contents (17 articles)
IRREPRODUCIBLE RESEARCH COSTS THE U.S. BILLIONS, NEW ANALYSIS SHOWS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
EPA PROPOSES TO HALT HEALTH CARE FACILITIES FROM FLUSHING SOME DRUGS DOWN THE DRAIN
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, drugs, pharmaceutical, waste
CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD GETS NEW CHIEF
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
CHINESE CHEMICAL FACTORY BLAST DEATH TOLL RISES TO 13
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, injury, adhesives
PROTESTING POLLUTION IN CHEMICAL VALLEY
Tags: Canada, transportation, discovery, response, other_chemical
TWO TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT BLUE RIVER DAIRY IN INVERCARGILL
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, chlorine
ONE CONTRACTOR REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIRE AT BASF
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, other_chemical
NATIONAL LAB REPORTS VIOLATIONS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE PERMIT
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, environmental, radiation, waste
CRITICISM DIRECTED AT HASTY PLAN TO BUILD PARK OVER SITE OF TIANJIN EXPLOSION
Tags: China, public, follow-up, response
POLICE: CHEMICAL SUICIDE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN ARLINGTON, MASS.
Tags: us_MA, public, release, death, cyanide, suicide
TOXIC GAS LEAKS FROM CHEMICAL FACTORY IN AHMEDABAD, GIRL DIES
Tags: India, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
BOROUGH RECEIVES OSHA CITATION FOR CHEMICAL LABELING
Tags: us_AK, public, follow-up, environmental
OFFICIALS: HYDROGEN EXPLOSION AT REG PLANT IN GEISMAR INJURES 4,
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, hydrogen
NEW CHAIR OF TROUBLED CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD BEGINS LISTENING TOUR
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
ARMY SUSPENDS OPERATIONS AT LABS DUE TO ANTHRAX PROBE
Tags: laboratory, discovery, response
MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_OK, transportation, release, injury, ammonia
TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS EVACUATES EMPLOYEES DUE TO CHEMICAL SPIL
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, injury, cleaners
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IRREPRODUCIBLE RESEARCH COSTS THE U.S. BILLIONS, NEW ANALYSIS SHOWS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
Twenty-eight billion dollars. It‰??s a shocking amount of money, almost as much as the annual budget of the National Institutes of Health. But it‰??s how much a recent estimate suggests the U.S. science enterprise is spending each year on preclinical medical research that cannot be reproduced.
Irreproducibility is not just a problem because money is misspent on research results that can‰??t be trusted, explains Leonard P. Freedman, president of the Global Biological Standards Institute, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the use of standards and best practices in research. It also delays the development of potential treatments and adds to already soaring drug development costs.
Despite its importance, ‰??nobody had really put a dollar figure on it,‰?? Freedman says. So he and his coauthors estimated those costs in a paper published in June. They also tried to pinpoint the causes of the reproducibility problem and propose solutions (PLOS Biol. 2015, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002165).
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PROPOSES TO HALT HEALTH CARE FACILITIES FROM FLUSHING SOME DRUGS DOWN THE DRAIN
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, drugs, pharmaceutical, waste
Health care facilities including hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, and veterinary clinics would be banned from flushing certain unused pharmaceuticals under a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The proposal is intended to protect waterways and reduce waste mismanagement in the health care industry, EPA says.
If finalized, the rule will affect certain unused drugs that, when they are discarded, are considered hazardous waste under federal law because they are particularly reactive or toxic. Examples include the chemotherapy drug mitomycin and pharmaceuticals with more than 0.3% warfarin as the sole active ingredient, such as the anticoagulant Coumadin. Because they are ignitable, pharmaceuticals prepared with alcohol may also be classified as hazardous waste under the nation‰??s waste disposal law, the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act. Other drugs are considered hazardous waste because they are corrosive.
Except for ignitable products, down-the-drain disposal of unused pharmaceuticals that are hazardous waste ‰??is presently an allowable and common disposal practice among health care facilities,‰?? according to EPA.
By the agency‰??s estimates, a ban on disposing of these drugs down sinks or toilets would prevent more than 6,400 tons of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals from entering waterways annually.
Mathy Stanislaus, EPA assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response, says the proposed rule ‰??will improve the safety and health of our communities.‰??
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CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD GETS NEW CHIEF
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
With two weeks on the job, Vanessa Allen Sutherland, the new chair of the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), on Sept. 2 announced an organizational review that she says will lead to an ‰??agency wide improvement plan‰?? in three months.
The board‰??s top slot had been vacant since March, when former chair Rafael Moure-Eraso resigned at the urging of President Barack Obama. His departure followed a lengthy Republican-led congressional investigation of mismanagement charges at the small agency that investigates chemical-related industrial accidents.
At her first public briefing last week, Sutherland underscored the need for organizational efficiency, a long-running problem for CSB.
‰??With a 40-person staff and a roughly $11 million budget coupled with the number of chemical accidents that I have seen come through my in-box, it really is important for me to understand operationally how we are best positioned to execute our mission to investigate accidents, share what we find, and really be a voice domestically and internationally on chemical safety.‰??
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CHINESE CHEMICAL FACTORY BLAST DEATH TOLL RISES TO 13
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, injury, adhesives
he death toll from an explosion at a chemical factory in eastern China last week has jumped to 13 after search and rescue efforts ended, a city government said.
A factory that produces adhesive materials exploded on Aug. 31 in Lijin county in Shandong province.
Two days after the blast, the official death toll stood at five. The Dongying city government, which administers the area, said the toll had risen to 13 following the completion of search and rescue efforts Saturday. It said all 13 bodies had been identified, but gave no further details. It said 25 other people had been injured, 11 of whom were still hospitalized.
A man on duty at the Dongying city government, who gave only his surname, Fan, said Sunday that the cause of the blast was still under investigation and had no further details.
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PROTESTING POLLUTION IN CHEMICAL VALLEY
Tags: Canada, transportation, discovery, response, other_chemical
A group of protesters plodded through Chemical Valley Saturday afternoon to shine a light on the pollution caused by local industries.
The Toxic Tour left the Aamjiwnaang First Nation community centre close to 12:30 p.m. under sweltering conditions and started marching down Vidal Street.
Some of the goals of the annual event, explained spokesperson Vanessa Gray, were to continue the fight against oil pipelines being on local Indigenous land, and to give out-of-town participants a perspective of the effects the industry has had on their residents.
‰??We are all fighting the same fight when it comes to Line 9,‰?? she added. ‰??The Enbridge pipeline that crosses through all of our communities that we have been working on for a long time together ‰?? this is where Line 9 starts.‰??
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TWO TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT BLUE RIVER DAIRY IN INVERCARGILL
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, chlorine
Two people were hospitalised after a chemical spill at an Invercargill business on Monday.
Southland Fire Service acting area commander Colin Russell said there had been an accidental mix of two chemicals in the building which produced a small amount of chlorine gas.
Two staff members were subsequently transported to Southland Hospital by ambulance, but their illnesses were not thought to be serious.
The building, which produces sheep milk products, was evacuated and subsequent testing revealed there was no residual gas remaining in the building. The remaining staff were allowed back in after 5pm.
Blue River Dairy health and safety environmental manager Jamie Priemus said the chemical spill was at 11am, in a part of the building where three of the company's 35 staff were at the time.
The staff were kept under observation and at about 1pm one began "struggling a bit" with his breathing and one had a "tickle in his throat".
---------------------------------------------
ONE CONTRACTOR REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIRE AT BASF
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, other_chemical
FREEPORT ‰?? A contractor is in the hospital following a fire and chemical release in the 700 block of the BASF Freeport facility on Copper Road Thursday night.
The fire started at about 9 p.m. Thursday when a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol escaped from a vent stack at the site‰??s Anone 1 plant due to a failed reactor tube, BASF spokeswoman Cindy Suggs said.
The facility‰??s fire brigade responded immediately, containing the fire to the unit and extinguishing the flames by 9:15 p.m., Suggs said.
‰??They were there within less than 60 seconds,‰?? Suggs said. ‰??We took immediate action.‰??
BASF also notified the Freeport Fire Department as a courtesy, Suggs said, although they don‰??t typically respond.
Of the 28 contractors working at that site, 20 were taken to U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group in Freeport for evaluation and released with no issues, Suggs said.
---------------------------------------------
NATIONAL LAB REPORTS VIOLATIONS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE PERMIT
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, environmental, radiation, waste
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ‰?? An extensive review at one of the nation's premier federal laboratories has turned up violations in how the lab handled hundreds of containers of radioactive waste over the past decade.
The latest revelations are on top of the permit violations Los Alamos National Laboratory first reported last year in the wake of a radiation release at the federal government's underground nuclear waste dump in southern New Mexico.
That release was caused by a container that had been inappropriately packed at Los Alamos. The incident forced the indefinite closure of the repository, leaving in limbo the cleanup of decades' worth of plutonium-contaminated waste at defense sites around the country. The price tag for resuming operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is expected to top a half-billion dollars.
The lab reviewed more than 200 variations of the procedures that have been used between October 2005 and May 2014 to decontaminate about 10,000 containers of waste. The review found that some of the same procedural missteps made with the drum that leaked radiation were also made when handling more than 1,000 other containers.
But Lab Director Charlie McMillan and U.S. Department of Energy Los Alamos Field Office Manager Kimberly Davis Lebak said in a letter sent this week to the New Mexico Environment Department that the containers highlighted in the latest review were different than the drum that leaked radiation.
---------------------------------------------
CRITICISM DIRECTED AT HASTY PLAN TO BUILD PARK OVER SITE OF TIANJIN EXPLOSION
Tags: China, public, follow-up, response
BEIJING--Critics are assailing the rush to construct a park on the site of a deadly chemical explosion in the port city of Tianjin, even before the cause has been determined.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency transmitted a report on Sept. 5 about the plan by the Tianjin municipal government.
While a memorial to the victims will be erected in the park, the criticism was mainly due to the announcement being made before the investigation into the cause of the explosion, which claimed more than 160 lives less than a month ago, was completed.
The criticism about the plan over the Internet likened the park to another tragedy in July 2011, when a collision involving a high-speed train resulted in 40 deaths, according to a Chinese government announcement.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE: CHEMICAL SUICIDE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN ARLINGTON, MASS.
Tags: us_MA, public, release, death, cyanide, suicide
Crews responded to a hazmat situation Friday afternoon when a person used cyanide to kill himself in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Police say they were called to 2 Rockmont Rd. shortly after 4 p.m., finding a 15-year-old boy who had apparently committed suicide with the deadly chemical. That prompted what authorities called a Tier 2 hazmat incident.
Kathleen Bodie, superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, said in a statement that the boy's mother is a former teacher and librarian at Bishop Elementary School. Bodie offered her sympathy to the boy's family and said that support would be available at the high school.
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TOXIC GAS LEAKS FROM CHEMICAL FACTORY IN AHMEDABAD, GIRL DIES
Tags: India, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
AHMEDABAD: A 19-year-old girl today died and four others were hospitalised following leakage of toxic gas from a chemical factory here, a senior fire brigade official said. "A girl died and four others were hospitalised due to gas leakage in Omkar chemical factory in Suez farm area of the city. The factory was functioning without a No-Objection Certificate," city's Chief Fire officer M F Dastur told reporters here.
"A chemical was released by a factory in drainage and when it mixed with water, it formed some poisonous gas and affected the people," he said. "The exact gas which was formed is yet to be ascertained. But the factory uses Caustic Lye and Hydrochloric acid. It will be probed what was there in drainage," he said.
A closure notice has been issued to the factory after the incident, Dastur said, adding the girl's body has been sent for postmortem.
Meanwhile, the Danilimda police have registered a case in this connection.
---------------------------------------------
BOROUGH RECEIVES OSHA CITATION FOR CHEMICAL LABELING
Tags: us_AK, public, follow-up, environmental
All government and school facilities in the Kenai Peninsula Borough will soon have access to an online system for chemical safety information.
After an August 2014 Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection showed deficiencies in the Bear Creek volunteer fire station, the borough faced a fine and a citation for insufficient Hazard Communication.
The Material Safety Data Sheets, or MSDS, that the borough is required to maintain, which describe the dangerous qualities of chemicals such as bleach, were incomplete, according to Safety Director Brian Smith. Smith said the issue occurred because the fire station was in transition between facilities and some of the records were not yet organized.
The borough was issued a citation and a $1,225 fine that was subsequently reduced to $525 and then written off because the borough could demonstrate that it was actively involved in training its employees and volunteers, Smith said.
‰??It was fairly minor,‰?? Smith said. ‰??Hazard Communication has for several years been the most cited issue in inspections.‰??
Hazard Communication is the most commonly cited problem for Alaska waste disposal issues, and the second most commonly cited in all inspections nationally after Fall Protection, according to OSHA. Violations can occur when information on a hazardous material is incomplete, missing or unclear. However, the citation inspired the borough to purchase an online system to increase the availability of the MSDS information, called MSDSonline. The borough authorized the purchase of the system in July for $9,624 in 2015 and $8,749 in both 2016 and 2017 to be implemented throughout the borough and the Kenai Peninsula School District. Borough employees and school district employees will be able to view the chemicals stored at each location and the related MSDS. The borough is currently working on constructing a compliance structure for the material recording before implementing the program, according to Smith. Once up and running, the program will eliminate paper and make communication !
easier from the central offices to the outer parts of the borough, he said.
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS: HYDROGEN EXPLOSION AT REG PLANT IN GEISMAR INJURES 4,
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, hydrogen
GEISMAR, LA (WAFB) -
Four people were injured, one of them severely, at Renewable Energy Group in Geismar when hydrogen released from a line and exploded late Thursday night, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office.
The Geismar and Gonzales fire departments responded to the incident off LA 30 around 11 p.m. APSO reported the investigation revealed hydrogen likely pressurized in a line being worked on and resulted in the gas being released. Investigators added an unidentified source ignited the released hydrogen, causing the explosion and fire.
Deputies said one REG employee was severely injured. They added three contract workers were also injured. The Baton Rouge General Regional Burn Center reported one of the victims is listed in critical condition and another is listed in serious condition. Hospital officials said the third patient is listed in good condition, while the fourth was released.
---------------------------------------------
NEW CHAIR OF TROUBLED CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD BEGINS LISTENING TOUR
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Two weeks into what some see as a rescue mission as chairman of the troubled Chemical Safety Board, Vanessa Sutherland had launched a listening tour with colleagues and outside stakeholders while bringing more key employees under her direct supervision.
‰??I‰??m a public citizen and taxpayer, too, so I‰??ve read all the articles,‰?? she told reporters Wednesday, alluding to the negative coverage about a toxic work culture, departure of staff and use of private email for official business. ‰??But for the first 90-100 days, I‰??ll be focusing on a listening tour‰?? with board colleagues, staff and outside stakeholders such as industry associations and safety advocates. Solidifying her role as chairman is ‰??an opportunity to rebuild and create a better culture and experience at the board,‰?? she said.
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ARMY SUSPENDS OPERATIONS AT LABS DUE TO ANTHRAX PROBE
Tags: laboratory, discovery, response
WASHINGTON (AP) ‰?? Army Secretary John McHugh has suspended operations at four Defense Department laboratories that handle biological toxins, as the military scrambles to explain and correct problems that led to the accidental shipment of live anthrax to dozens of other labs around the country and the world.
In a memo Thursday, McHugh also ordered a safety stand-down and directed a broad review at nine department labs involved in the production, shipment or handling of biological toxins. He also ordered a report on the reviews within the next 10 days.
The nine labs under review in the U.S. are in Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia and Utah. Others are in Egypt and Peru.
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MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_OK, transportation, release, injury, ammonia
SAPULPA, Okla. ‰?? Quick Facts:
A trucker reported smelling a chemical
He was hospitalized after being exposed to anhydrous ammonia
The tank was mostly empty, but had enough inside to affect the trucker
Quick Facts:
Sapullpa fire responded to anhydrous ammonia leak near 49th West Avenue and West 61st Street Friday morning
Truck driver getting ready to get on his route noticed vapor cloud from the tanker
Investigators think someone took the cap from the tanker while he was gone, possibly to use the chemical to make meth
Man taken to the hospital for inhaling the chemical
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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS EVACUATES EMPLOYEES DUE TO CHEMICAL SPIL
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, injury, cleaners
Employees were evacuated from a Traverse City business after a chemical spill.
Grand Traverse Rural Fire Department received the call early Friday morning from Materne North American. They manufacture GoGo Squeez apple sauce.
While running their cleaning system two chemicals mixed creating a chemical reaction.
About a gallon and a half of Oxonia Active and Quorum Yellow II mixed when a welding repair failed.
Grand Traverse Rural Fire, TC Fire Department and their hazardous material team all responded.
The chemical spill was cleaned up by 9am Friday morning.
Two employees were taken to the hospital with minor respiratory irritation.
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