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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 (8 articles)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2015 08:07:45 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 0D261F5E-8D00-48FD-90A7-A1B88866A247**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 8:07:30 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=6JAC9aGL74uKCYlP5wDFXo4r4sdk76huHBiueMBuVjk&s=5nHWgyc4n6WpE4b5OBfTxUCpaT9kudUc43ccnVipVpI&e=
Table of Contents (8 articles)
HOOSICK FALLS WORRIED CHEMICAL MAY BE IN DRINKING WATER
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICALS DID NOT HELP DISPERSE BP‰??S OIL SPILL, HURT OIL-DEGRADING MICRO-ORGANISMS ‰?? STUDY ‰?? RT USA
Tags: us_GA, public, discovery, environmental, cleaners, oils
THAT'S NOT SNOW: CREWS WORK TO CLEAN UP CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, dust, plastics
FIREFIGHTERS AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT BACTERIAL BIOLOGY BUILDING
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
FIRE IN WSU TRI-CITIES LAB BUILDING CAUSES EVACUATIONS
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, explosion, response, gas_cylinders
PERSISTENT FIRE INVESTIGATED AT BATTERY RECYCLING PLANT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, fire, injury, lithium
DOZENS OF STUDENTS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SCARE AT BOS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
CHEMICAL FIRE CAUSES MINOR DAMAGE AT VEECO PLANT IN FRANKLIN
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
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HOOSICK FALLS WORRIED CHEMICAL MAY BE IN DRINKING WATER
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) ‰?? People packed a village meeting in Hoosick Falls Tuesday night after receiving a notice their water might be contaminated.
Manufacturing plant Saint Gobain announced on Tuesday that water samples near its site tested positive for a chemical called PFOA. It is unknown how widespread the contamination is, but people living in the village are worried their well water is also contaminated.
‰??It‰??s very concerning,‰?? Kevin Allard said.
Allard doesn‰??t want tap water to become a luxury, but he isn‰??t sure if his well water is completely safe.
While PFOA isn‰??t regulated, some studies have linked it to serious health concerns.
‰??If that plume goes outside the village limits, I mean how far is that?‰?? Allard wondered.
The American Cancer Society reports that too much exposure to PFOA is linked to thyroid disease, testicular cancer and other serious health risks.
‰??There‰??s a fairly robust body of literature out here that addresses various health effects,‰?? attorney David Engel said.
But other agencies said more research and evidence is needed.
‰??We‰??re caught in a Catch 22, if you will, because this is a non-regulated contaminant,‰?? Hoosick Falls Mayor David Borge said. ‰??There are no rules.‰??
Due to the findings, Saint Gobain said they will pay an estimated $2 million for a water filtration system in the village and provide bottled water to people who are worried about contamination.
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CHEMICALS DID NOT HELP DISPERSE BP‰??S OIL SPILL, HURT OIL-DEGRADING MICRO-ORGANISMS ‰?? STUDY ‰?? RT USA
Tags: us_GA, public, discovery, environmental, cleaners, oils
Chemical dispersants applied from a plane onto the Gulf of Mexico spill removed oil from the water‰??s surface but did not help fully degrade it, a new study claims. Scientists also found the dispersants hurt useful bacteria that were helping the clean-up.
After the spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig in 2010, which led to 172 million gallons (650 million liters) of oil flowing into the Gulf, the chemical agent Corexit 9500 was sprayed from the air onto the slick. It was used in efforts to degrade the spill and assist maritime bacteria to remove the oil faster.
At a surface level, the maritime area affected by the spill seemed to become cleaner, but the bacteria and chemicals themselves were not properly monitored, according to University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye.
To analyze the efficiency of the chemicals, Joye‰??s team modelled the process in a lab, where samples of the dispersant, BP oil, and sea water from the Gulf of Mexico were used. The chemicals did not help the bacteria remove the oil, and even hurt one oil-eating bug critically important to dissolving the spill, according to the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
‰??The dispersants did a great job in that they got the oil off the surface,‰?? Joye commented in her article, as quoted by The Telegraph. ‰??What you see is the dispersants didn't ramp up biodegradation.‰??
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THAT'S NOT SNOW: CREWS WORK TO CLEAN UP CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, dust, plastics
NEW HOLLAND, Pa. ‰??Crews are working to clean up a chemical spill in Lancaster County.
Crews are working to clean up a chemical spill in Lancaster County. It happened along the 200 block of Jalyn Drive in New Holland on Tuesday morning. The PVC, a chemical powder which resembles snow, overflowed out of a silo and dusted the surrounding area - including a parking lot filled with cars.
It happened along the 200 block of Jalyn Drive in New Holland on Tuesday morning.
The chemical, polymer of vinyl chloride or PVC, is a type of shredded plastic used for fencing. The PVC, a powder which resembles snow, overflowed out of a silo and dusted the surrounding area - including a parking lot filled with cars.
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FIREFIGHTERS AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT BACTERIAL BIOLOGY BUILDING
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
A clean-up operation following a chemical spillage at a university building is now complete.
The alarm was raised at Newcastle University after an unknown substance was spilled at one of its medical science buildings.
Police were informed of the incident, at the Baddiley-Clark Building, at the Centre for Bacterial Biology, on Richardson Road, Newcastle, at around 5.45pm today.
The Baddiley-Clark building is next to the university‰??s medical school and the Richardson Road student accommodation which is home to 942 students.
There were five fire engines and two special appliances from Tyne and Wear Fire Service at the building as firefighters safely cleaned up the spill.
Police officers were also on the scene to assist and the spillage was cleared by around 8pm.
A Newcastle University spokesman said: ‰??There was a minor chemical spillage in a University research building. The fire services attended and the clean-up exercise has now been completed.‰??
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FIRE IN WSU TRI-CITIES LAB BUILDING CAUSES EVACUATIONS
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, explosion, response, gas_cylinders
RICHLAND, WA - Several students and staff had to be evacuated Monday at WSU Tri-Cities after a small explosion and fire.
It happened just before two in the afternoon inside the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory.
The school says there was a minor fire after a cylinder of compressed gas exploded unexpectedly.
The Director of Marketing and Communications at the school says the building's sprinkler system put the fire out and no one got hurt.
Students were evacuated from the east and west buildings but were allowed back in shortly after. Firefighters say they're now looking into what happened.
Richland Fire Department Chief Tom Huntington said, "the sprinkler system activated, alarm system activated everybody was able to get out safe. Our initial response and activity were here was to make sure the buildings were clear and everybody was out. Right now what they're working on then is to make sure there is no secondary spills chemical spills things like that associated with the explosion make sure the building is secure then we will start the investigation and figure out what happened."
Staff at the school says the BSEL labs are now canceled until further notice, and students should log on to Blackboard to check if lectures have been moved to a new location.
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PERSISTENT FIRE INVESTIGATED AT BATTERY RECYCLING PLANT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, fire, injury, lithium
The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a stubborn, smoky fire at Inmetco, a lithium battery recycling facility in Ellwood City, that began Sunday morning and was still burning in small, isolated spots Monday.
Melanie Williams, a DEP spokeswoman, said a member of the DEP emergency response team responded to the scene Sunday after reports of multiple lithium barrels on fire and explosions, and the department is continuing to assess the environmental impacts of the fire.
Ellwood City Fire Chief Rick Myers said the fire, which attracted 17 fire companies from three counties, destroyed the company‰??s warehouse where large lithium batteries and a variety of other materials and maintenance equipment were stored. The fire companies were hampered in putting out the blazing batteries because lithium reacts violently with water.
‰??We used water on the warehouse but had to let the lithium burn itself out,‰?? Chief Myers said Monday afternoon. There were still active fires Monday morning in the lithium because water can‰??t put it out, he said.
Four firefighters were treated for minor skin irritations, possibly related to the lithium coming into contact with the water from fire hoses, he said. Lithium is flammable, reacts with water, and can produce toxic smoke and corrosive fumes of lithium hydroxide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends a dry chemical fire suppressant for putting out lithium fires.
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DOZENS OF STUDENTS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SCARE AT BOS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
BOSTON (WHDH) -
At least 25 students were taken to the hospital following a hazardous materials incident at Boston Arts Academy on Monday.
Emergency crews responded to the scene around 10 a.m.
Acid fumes sickened students, who walked out of the school to ambulances, which took them to the hospital.
The students who were taken to the hospital were done so for further evaluation as a precaution. At least 25 students, mostly from the one classroom, went to the hospital.
Firefighters said students were exposed to hydrochloric acid in a second-floor classroom. Something went wrong with the equipment that was used to handle the acid.
According to Boston Fire, students returned to their classes after hazardous materials crews checked atmosphere levels in the classrooms and found all meters to be within normal limits.
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CHEMICAL FIRE CAUSES MINOR DAMAGE AT VEECO PLANT IN FRANKLIN
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
FRANKLIN ‰?? Township firefighters extinguished a chemical fire in a room at the technology company Veeco on Sunday afternoon.
At 2:31 p.m., police were notified by Somerset County Communications of a fire alarm at Veeco, located on Elizabeth Avenue in the Somerset Section of the township, police said.
Employees told authorities they were servicing a piece of equipment that fed Triethylgallium ‰?? a pressurized gas that is stored in small portable containers ‰?? into another instrument, police said.
When the employees pressurized the system, the chemical ignited, police said.
Firefighters entered the facility and extinguished the fire by turning off the gas, police said. There was minimal damage that was isolated to one room of the facility, police said.
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