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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, September 14, 2015 at 10:41:03 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=YFDk1BXQb9ip97tJZ6o4exR7VEK8LtOmCbGT93d7qI4&s=REL73hSGSMRde9ChLTW0MDQQR0vz2fq-X-yBgDH5G6g&e=
Table of Contents (10 articles)
BALL MILL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_IA, laboratory, explosion, response, diethyl_ether, flammables, metals
INDIA POLICE HUNT FOR EXPLOSIVES' OWNER AFTER DEADLY BLAST
Tags: india, explosion, public, death, explosives, illegal
ACID LEAK CAUSES MASSIVE JAM ON GUTHRIE HIGHWAY
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid, sulfuric_acid
AUTHORITIES SAY WHITE POWDERY SUBSTANCE ON INDIANAPOLIS SOUTHWEST SIDE CAME FROM CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, dust
FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM AT WORCESTER GAS STATION SENDS 14 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, injury, other_chemical
OFFICIALS ASK MILLER CHEMICAL FOR $163,000 IN REIMBURSEMENTS
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, response, ag_chems, runoff
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN UJJAIN CHEMICAL FACTORY; NO CASUALTY
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
EXXONMOBIL FAILS TO RESPOND TO FEDERAL SUBPOENAS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT TORRANCE REFINERY BLAST
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, flammables
BUILDING FIRE ON FAR WEST SIDE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, xylene
SEARCH ENDS FOR MISSING IN CHINA CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE EXPLOSIONS, FINAL DEATH TOLL SET AT 173
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, sodium_cyanide
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BALL MILL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_IA, laboratory, explosion, response, diethyl_ether, flammables, metals
Discussion: On June 18, 2015, a catastrophic vessel failure occurred in a chemical fume hood in Spedding Hall, laboratory room 246, resulting in significant damage to the fume hood and associated equipment. At approximately 12:05 p.m., a laboratory assistant began a ball milling process involving two in-house constructed pressure vessels containing steel milling balls, 3 grams of aluminum-manganese (Al4Mn) powder and approximately 300 bar of hydrogen gas. One of the vials contained 5 ml of Vertrelë XF (decafluoropentane, C5F10H2), and the other vial contained 5 ml of diethyl ether (C2H5)2O. After the ball mill was loaded and started, it was programmed to operate for a run of 20 total hours, with 5-minute rest periods every 60 minutes. At approximately 12:45 p.m., a loud noise was heard from the hallway. Upon investigation broken glass was discovered in the hallway and debris was observed throughout the laboratory. A damaged chemical fume hood was discovered in the southeast !
corner of the laboratory. An emergency call was made to Ames Laboratory Security, who contacted Environment, Safety, Health, and Assurance (ESHA) and Facilities and Engineering Services (FES) for assistance. ESHA and FES responded, the area was secured with caution barrier tape, and cautious investigation and response activities were initiated.
The research group had been conducting pressurized hydrogen/metal powder ball milling for several years with no previous incidents. Ball milling utilizes motion and impact to finely divide materials, sometimes at ambient pressure, sometimes at elevated pressure. A powder sample is sealed in a metal vessel containing metallic or ceramic balls and the vessel is rotated at variable speeds and directions, causing the balls to mechanically pulverize the material. Organic liquids are routinely used to facilitate the milling process and prevent powders from clumping and cold welding. A fluorinated compound, Vertrelë?F, had only recently been added to the process. Vertrelë XF is in the same chemical family as Teflon, and is virtually nonflammable and largely inert. It was discovered during post event investigation that halogenated liquids, and especially fluorinated compounds, can be highly reactive with metal powders, specifically aluminum. During the ball milling the Vertrelë?F re!
acted exothermically with the aluminum to create aluminum trifluoride (AlF3), generating a rapid increase in pressure and heat, causing the ball mill vial to rupture and igniting the hydrogen in a secondary explosion.
This was a significant near-miss event. If the laboratory had been occupied at the time of the explosion, a serious injury or fatality could have occurred.
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INDIA POLICE HUNT FOR EXPLOSIVES' OWNER AFTER DEADLY BLAST
Tags: india, explosion, public, death, explosives, illegal
Police were hunting Sunday for the owner of an illegal cache of explosives blamed for a massive blast in a crowded restaurant in central India that left more than 80 people dead.
The explosion, one of the worst such accidents in recent years, on Saturday morning tore through the restaurant building complex in central Madhya Pradesh state, packed with office workers and school children having breakfast.
Scores of labourers waiting at a bus stand outside the complex were also hit with shooting debris from the blast that destroyed neighbouring buildings in the town of Petlawad.
"The official death toll is 88, but the actual number may be higher, nearly 100. That will be confirmed soon," senior Jhabua district police official Seema Alava told AFP by phone.
Some 100 people were also injured, the official said, as rescue workers wrapped up their search for more victims buried in the steel and concrete wreckage.
...
Alava said police initially blamed a gas cylinder in the restaurant for the main explosion. But it now appeared gelatine sticks and other explosives illegally stored elsewhere in the complex accidently detonated, triggering a chain reaction, she said.
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ACID LEAK CAUSES MASSIVE JAM ON GUTHRIE HIGHWAY
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid, sulfuric_acid
SHAH ALAM: Morning traffic came to a standstill when a gas cylinder leaked nitric acid from a truck, resulting in a massive jam along the Guthrie Highway near Section U8.
The HazMat unit of the Fire and Rescue Department was deployed to the location, 1.1km of the Guthrie Highway.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director Mohd Sani Harul said a distress call was received at 7.25am.
He said 11 members of the HazMat unit and eight firefighters from the Kota Anggerik Fire and Rescue Department were deployed to the scene.
Mohd Sani said a lorry was carrying 6,000kg of sulfuric acid and 3,000kg of nitric acid from a factory in Rawang when a gas cylinder containing 1,000kg nitric acid started leaking.
Traffic along the highway, heading to Shah Alam, came to a standstill for about 5km as firemen and HazMat personnel closed one section of the highway to divert traffic toward Bukit Jelutong to enable cleaning work to be carried out.
"We are using soda ash to absorb acid water to prevent the fumes from spreading. There are no casualties or injuries," he said. - Bernama.
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AUTHORITIES SAY WHITE POWDERY SUBSTANCE ON INDIANAPOLIS SOUTHWEST SIDE CAME FROM CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, dust
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (September 13, 2015) ‰?? Authorities have determined that the white powdery substance that blanketed cars and homes on the southwest side of Indianapolis came from a nearby chemical plant and is not hazardous.
IMPD was called to the 1700 block of South Moreland Avenue around 10:45 a.m. Residents in the area were concerned about a white powdery substance covering a few blocks in the area east of South Tibbs Avenue and West Minnesota Street.
The Wayne Township Fire Department Hazmat Team responded to the scene, and upon further investigation they determined that the mysterious substance was a catalyst substance released from Vertellus Specialties.
Fire officials say the substance is not haxardous in small amounts, and there is no danger to the public.
Vertellus Specialties is cooperating with authorities and leading the cleanup efforts in the area.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM AT WORCESTER GAS STATION SENDS 14 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, injury, other_chemical
WORCESTER - Fourteen people were taken to the hospital with minor respiratory problems Saturday after they were blanketed with a dry fire suppression chemical following a Dumpster fire at a Summer Street gas station.
The Fire Department was called to Al Prime at 81 Summer St. shortly after 2 p.m. for a report of a building fire.
District Fire Chief Samuel W. Richesson said firefighters found a fire in a Dumpster next to the gas station. An employee had activated a dry-chemical fire suppression system. The yellow chemical "had blanketed about 20 people getting gas, walking and at the convenience store," said District Fire Chief Richesson.
The fire, of unknown origin, was extinguished in less than five minutes and most of the two dozen firefighters decontaminated and treated people on site. Fourteen people were taken to a local hospital with minor respiratory distress, Mr. Richesson said.
A thin layer of the yellowish chemical covered the pavement at the station, the roadway and a couple of vehicles that were still parked there.
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS ASK MILLER CHEMICAL FOR $163,000 IN REIMBURSEMENTS
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, response, ag_chems, runoff
Adams County officials are asking Miller Chemical and Fertilizer for more than $163,000 in reimbursements for funds spent during the fire that leveled the company's warehouse in June, a county official said Thursday.
Though there is usually no charge for battling a fire, it is standard for emergency services to request reimbursements for materials used in the case of a spill, said John Eline, director of Adams County emergency services department.
The fire, which took more than 12 hours to extinguish, resulted in contaminated runoff leaking into the nearby Conewago Creek and led to the deaths of more than 10,000 fish, officials said at the time.
Barb Klunk, a representative of Miller Chemical, confirmed in an email Friday that the company had received a bill from Adams County but did not comment further on the subject.
"There was a lot of equipment and time and materials used," Eline said. "I think it's only fair that someone be held accountable."
The amount is being billed to Miller on behalf of several local fire departments and hazmat units that used resources such as absorbents to contain the contamination, Eline said. Of the total amount billed, about $24,500 is being requested on behalf of the county, he said.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN UJJAIN CHEMICAL FACTORY; NO CASUALTY
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
UJJAIN: A major fire broke out at a chemical factory here on Thursday evening causing loss of assets worth lakhs of rupees. Fire fighters of CISF from Indore and Dewas have to pressed with foam extinguishers to control the flames. According to sources, the incident occurred at saurabh Industries and Chemicals situated at Maxi Road Industrial area. The unit is engaged in chemicals manufacturing and the fire occurred in Isoamil Alcohol. ADM Avdesh Sharma who rushed to the spot said fire has been controlled from spreading to nearby units and there was no loss of life or injury to anyone. Over 30 water lorries were pressed but the operation was on till midnight.
---------------------------------------------
EXXONMOBIL FAILS TO RESPOND TO FEDERAL SUBPOENAS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT TORRANCE REFINERY BLAST
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, flammables
ExxonMobil has failed to respond to subpoenas from federal investigators probing the February blast at its Torrance refinery, prompting a call to the Justice Department in an effort to compel the oil company‰??s cooperation, South Bay Rep. Ted Lieu said Friday.
Lieu, D-Torrance, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, co-signed a letter Friday to ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson criticizing the company for its ‰??pushback‰?? against state and federal investigations underway by Cal/OSHA and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.
ExxonMobil has appealed 19 citations issued by Cal/OSHA, including a half-dozen classified as willful because the company failed to fix a flammable vapor leak it knew could lead to a life-threatening explosion ‰?? and did.
‰??We are naturally left wondering what your company believes failed and caused the explosion,‰?? the letter reads.
‰??We have also learned that ExxonMobil has declined to fulfill CSB‰??s voluntary document requests and subsequent subpoenas as part of their investigation,‰?? the letter added. ‰??Given the cause of the explosion, the failure of the Torrance refinery‰??s process safety management, and CSB‰??s belief that the subpoenaed information is highly relevant to its root-cause investigation, we find ExxonMobil‰??s position highly untenable.
---------------------------------------------
BUILDING FIRE ON FAR WEST SIDE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, xylene
SAN ANTONIO ‰?? Firefighters and HazMat crews had to battle what they believe was a chemical fire at a Far West Side business.
Fire crews were called to the Maxim Integrated Building at 9651 Westover Hills Boulevard just before noon Friday, and the building was evacuated.
Officials said they believe the fire stared in a piece of machinery and spread through the ventilation system. Firefighters believe the fire may have been caused by Xylene gas, which is very explosive. Chemical residue was found in the vents.
Crews tested the residue and confirmed there was no possibility of an explosion, but did not give an all-clear for workers to return to the building.
---------------------------------------------
SEARCH ENDS FOR MISSING IN CHINA CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE EXPLOSIONS, FINAL DEATH TOLL SET AT 173
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, sodium_cyanide
BEIJING ‰?? Chinese authorities say they've ended the search for the remaining missing in a massive chemical warehouse explosion last month. The move sets the final death toll at 173 in China's worst industrial disaster in years.
The announcement on the Tianjin city government's microblog says there is no hope of finding eight persons still unaccounted for. It says the court is now starting the process of issuing death certificates.
The eight include five firefighters, underscoring the explosion's status as the worst ever disaster for Chinese first responders, more than 100 of whom were killed.
Investigations into the Aug. 12 blasts at the Ruihai International Logistics warehouses showed they located closer to homes than permitted, and stored much more hazardous material than authorized, including 700 tons of highly toxic sodium cyanide.
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