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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: Fri, 18 Dec 2015 07:23:32 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 0E79E5BA-0D14-4540-90F7-54B61B22DBDA**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, December 18, 2015 at 7:23:11 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=Ou5Fqx7-XyO1_eLSnfC7YRa1DQ3XoRGVt8hH3StCQb8&s=0ewV4dPRId5KOPzvLXkhEU-UIf46m40s8IKEmVIFJU0&e=
Table of Contents (17 articles)
ONE PERSON KILLED AFTER EXPLOSION AT TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY LABORATORY IN BEIJING
Tags: China, laboratory, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
SCIENCE HALLS AT MCDANIEL CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
PEPPER SPRAY MAY HAVE CAUSED ODOR AT LINDEN H.S.
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, pepper_spray
CIGARETTE SPARKS CHEMICAL EXPLOSION, INJURES 2 AT N.J. COUNTY COLLEGE
Tags: us_NJ, public, explosion, injury, other_chemical
AFTER ROCKY ROAD, U.S. SENATE PASSES LANDMARK CHEMICAL LAW OVERHAUL
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICAL LEAK CONTAINED BY RACINE FIRE
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, corrosives, sodium_hydroxide
ZERO HARM IS DEAD, LONG LIVE ‰?|‰?|WHATEVER COMES NEXT
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
ACID SPILL AT INDIAN HILLS HIGH SCHOOL IN OAKLAND FORCES EVACUATION
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
24-HOUR TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE ON 5 FREEWAY NEAR CASTAIC; LANES STILL CLOSED AFTER HAZ-MAT TRUCK CRASH
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical
4 OFFICERS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT SITUATION IN BOSTON
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, drugs
MULTIPLE FIRE DEPARTMENTS HELP FIGHT BLAZE AT SAFETY-KLEEN IN AVON
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, used_oil
FATAL UCLA LAB FIRE CITED AS SCIENCE GROUP IS URGED TO RECONSIDER CHEMIST'S FELLOWSHIP
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death, other_chemical, illegal
VIDEO SHOWS CRASH INVOLVING 100-POUND PROPANE TANK AT 5TH, NORTH
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, bomb, propane
HOVERBOARD EXPLODES, BURSTS INTO FLAMES AT EAST BAY HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, batteries
UPDATE: INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION INJURES FOUR MEN AT HUMBLE BUSINESS
Tags: us_IN, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
11 INJURED AT MARSHALL COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, injury, dust
SPILLS OF DILUTED BITUMEN FROM PIPELINES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL FATE, EFFECTS, AND RESPONSE
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental, asphalt, oils, petroleum
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ONE PERSON KILLED AFTER EXPLOSION AT TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY LABORATORY IN BEIJING
Tags: China, laboratory, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
One person was killed in an explosion at a laboratory at the prestigious Tsinghua University in northwest Beijing on Friday morning, state media reported.
The fire has been put out and the cause of the explosion is under investigation, according to a short dispatch on China Central Television‰??s microblog, quoting Beijing‰??s fire department.
A fire broke out in a chemistry laboratory on first floor of the He Tian building at the university, China Radio International reported on its website.
It said the person killed was working inside the laboratory and that the building had been evacuated.
---------------------------------------------
SCIENCE HALLS AT MCDANIEL CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
Two science halls at McDaniel College in Westminster will remained closed as a precaution until Monday, following a minor chemical spill Thursday morning.
No one was injured and the spill posed no danger to the public, according to college and Westminster fire company officials.
The chemical, No. 3 Heptanone, was being transported to a lab in Eaton Hall when it spilled, according to Westminster Volunteer Fire Company spokesman Kevin Dayhoff. Some of the chemical spilled down an elevator shaft. The chemical can cause eye, nose, throat and skin irritation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The person involved in the incident was evaluated by paramedics at the scene, but was not transported for treatment, according to Dayhoff.
Upon arriving at the scene around 9:10 a.m. Thursday, emergency personnel evacuated the building, Dayhoff said. The county's Hazardous Materials team cleared the building by 11:15 a.m.
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PEPPER SPRAY MAY HAVE CAUSED ODOR AT LINDEN H.S.
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, pepper_spray
LINDEN - The Union County hazmat team and the Linden Fire Department are investigating an odor that caused the evacuation of the high school on Thursday morning.
The Linden Board of Education released the following statement by Superintendent of Schools, Danny A. Robertozzi:
"This morning several cafeteria staff workers reported feeling ill while in their work area at Linden High School. The Linden Fire Department responded and recommended an evacuation pending clearance from the Union County Hazmat team.
"As a result, we instituted our evacuation/relocation plan and moved students from the main high school building to the athletic field. At 10:58 a.m. it was determined that all Linden High School students would be dismissed for the day.
"At this time, the investigation is unfounded. The Linden Fire Department has reported that it is possible the affected workers were exposed to pepper spray; however, this substance has since dissipated and is not detectable.
---------------------------------------------
CIGARETTE SPARKS CHEMICAL EXPLOSION, INJURES 2 AT N.J. COUNTY COLLEGE
Tags: us_NJ, public, explosion, injury, other_chemical
MOUNT LAUREL TOWNSHIP ‰?? A lit cigarette sparked a chemical explosion that injured two men at Rowan College at Burlington County's Mount Laurel campus Wednesday night.
Mount Laurel Police Lt. Stephen Riedener said the accident occurred when an employee of a temporary staffing service contracted to handle custodial services lit a cigarette in his car, which contained cleaning supplies.
The 34-year-old Mount Laurel man, who was about to report for work, was unaware an aerosol product had leaked in his vehicle, however, and the flame ignited an explosion that caused significant damage to the car and burns to the employee. All of the windows were blown out of the vehicle.
"The doors were buckled out, as well as the roof," said Riedener.
---------------------------------------------
AFTER ROCKY ROAD, U.S. SENATE PASSES LANDMARK CHEMICAL LAW OVERHAUL
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
These days in Congress, not even strong bipartisan support seems to guarantee a bill‰??s success. But the Republicans and Democrats who backed a U.S. Senate bill to overhaul the nation‰??s environmental safety law for industrial chemicals refused to give up. Overcoming a thicket of procedural barriers, they won a signature victory tonight as the Senate unanimously approved, on a voice vote, an overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The vote puts Congress close to reforming one of the nation‰??s most maligned environmental laws for the first time in nearly 40 years. Both environmentalists and industry have assailed TSCA, first passed in 1976, for being unwieldy and ineffective.
The Senate bill now stands alongside a far narrower, but still strongly bipartisan, bill already approved by the House of Representatives. Lawmakers must still resolve differences between the two measures, and send a final version to the president‰??s desk.
Despite the potentially challenging road ahead, backers of the Senate bill celebrated after the vote. ‰??I think it will be looked back on as a major environmental accomplishment,‰?? said Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), who cosponsored the bill, S. 697, along with Sen. David Vitter (R-LA).
Under the current TSCA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can‰??t restrict a chemical‰??s use, or even request new toxicity data on it, without first proving that the chemical poses a certain level of risk. EPA also must factor in the potential costs of regulating a chemical in determining whether it is safe for use, and pick the ‰??least burdensome‰?? method of regulation.
Under the new Senate bill, EPA would no longer have to satisfy these cost-related requirements, and would have more freedom to take chemicals off the market or order companies to generate new toxicity data. With tens of thousands of chemicals in commerce whose safety has never been reviewed, the bill would task EPA with first reviewing the safety of chemicals that the agency deems as a high priority, in the tens of chemicals at a time. EPA would have to give even more priority to chemicals that don‰??t break down easily in the environment, accumulate in the body, or are already known to be highly toxic.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK CONTAINED BY RACINE FIRE
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, corrosives, sodium_hydroxide
RACINE ‰?? The Racine Fire Department successfully contained a chemical leak near City Hall Thursday afternoon.
A semitruck at Wisconsin Plating Works‰?? receiving docks, 620 Stannard St., was discovered leaking sodium hydroxide Thursday. In all, approximately 30 gallons of the corrosive chemical leaked from the truck‰??s 250 gallon transport container, according to a Fire Department news release.
The release indicated that the Racine Fire Department‰??s Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team quickly controlled the leak. No one was reported injured.
---------------------------------------------
ZERO HARM IS DEAD, LONG LIVE ‰?|‰?|WHATEVER COMES NEXT
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
Zero Harm was an enormously popular motivational aim for OHS. It originated as a response in some large organisations where safety performance was plateauing and who felt that they had achieved as much as they could in redesigning work and improving physical safety. The plateauing led to frustration and a reassessment of safety practices. The remaining variable was seen to be the worker and so slogans were instigated to increase the care (or mindfulness) of workers.
However, this assessment seems to have taken the traditional, and shallow, approach. One variable is, of course the worker but the assessors failed to see that the organisational structure and operations were, or should be, variable too. In the words of the current Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, this variability, this adaptability, could lead to innovation, economic growth and increased sustainability.
The promotion of the zero harm approach to safety could be seen as a safety dead-end and an indication that organisations were fixed on only seeing the dead-end. Safety thinkers, and there are a few, offered ways out of the dead-end by thinking differently about what we know.
---------------------------------------------
ACID SPILL AT INDIAN HILLS HIGH SCHOOL IN OAKLAND FORCES EVACUATION
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
OAKLAND ‰??An accidental spill of hydrochloric acid in one of Indian Hills High School‰??s chemistry labs just prior to the start of classes on Thursday, Dec. 10, forced the evacuation of a wing but resulted in no injuries, officials reported.
Superintendent Beverly MacKay said a teacher dropped a one-liter container of the acid on the floor in the 200 wing of the school, which was immediately neutralized with baking soda.
The Oakland Volunteer Fire Department and the Bergen County HazMat Unit responded.
"We immediately evacuated all students and faculty from the wing of the building in which the spill occurred and all ventilators were shut down in the building and there were no injuries" MacKay said.
---------------------------------------------
24-HOUR TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE ON 5 FREEWAY NEAR CASTAIC; LANES STILL CLOSED AFTER HAZ-MAT TRUCK CRASH
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Traffic woes were continuing Wednesday night on the Golden State (5) Freeway near Castaic, where a big rig slid down an embankment while hauling a load of hazardous chemicals, shutting down three freeway lanes.
No other vehicles were involved in the non-injury crash, which happened just south of Vista Del Lago Road and north of Pyramid Lake about 11 p.m. Tuesday and was continuing to snarl traffic nearly 24 hours later.
California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos said the truck veered off the freeway about 60 to 70 feet and then slid about 40 feet down an embankment. A hazardous materials team was summoned to the scene to offload the chemicals from the truck so it could be towed back up to the road, Villalobos said.
---------------------------------------------
4 OFFICERS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT SITUATION IN BOSTON
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, drugs
BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Crews responded to a Hazmat situation at a police substation on Thursday morning.
Around 4:50 a.m., officers say they stopped a person trying to break into a car on Harrison Avenue in the South End. Police say the man was arrested and found to be in possession of a product used to cook meth.
The substances were packaged and shipped to the State Lab. As a precaution, four officers were taken to Boston Medical Center.
---------------------------------------------
MULTIPLE FIRE DEPARTMENTS HELP FIGHT BLAZE AT SAFETY-KLEEN IN AVON
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, used_oil
AVON, N.Y. -- An early morning fire damaged some equipment at a business in Avon. Authorities say the fire happened around 3:30 at Safety-Kleen on West Henrietta Road.
A Livingston County sheriff's deputy said an automatic alarm sounded in a storage building located behind the main facility. He said there was some sort of chemical reaction there but firefighters were able to put out the fire. There were no reported injuries.
Safety-Kleen is a re-refiner of used oil and a provider of parts cleaning services. Fire investigators are trying to determine what started the fire.
---------------------------------------------
FATAL UCLA LAB FIRE CITED AS SCIENCE GROUP IS URGED TO RECONSIDER CHEMIST'S FELLOWSHIP
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death, other_chemical, illegal
The selection of UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran for a fellowship has sparked an uproar in scientific circles, prompting key members of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science to seek reconsideration of their decision to honor him.
The association, the world‰??s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, has come in for harsh criticism -- from workplace safety experts, other chemists and the family of a woman who was fatally injured in a lab Harran supervised -- since including him among 347 fellows announced last month.
Association officials said this week that the chemistry section steering committee‰??s request to reconsider Harran‰??s fellowship was made ‰??after it became apparent that an initial review of Dr. Harran‰??s nomination materials had not included all relevant information‰?? -- a reference to the lab death and subsequent criminal charges.
---------------------------------------------
VIDEO SHOWS CRASH INVOLVING 100-POUND PROPANE TANK AT 5TH, NORTH
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, bomb, propane
MILWAUKEE ‰??A hazardous materials response was called to Milwaukee's near north side Tuesday morning.
Crews responded to the area of 5th Street and North Avenue just after 8 a.m.
Milwaukee police said a truck carrying two 100-pound propane tanks was involved in a crash.
One of the tanks fell from the truck and was leaking propane.
A surveillance video showed a car driving through a stop sign, hitting the truck and causing the tank to fall off.
‰??When you're dealing with a tank, that's called a bleve, where if it were to start on fire, and the tank expands, and it heats, and you have essentially a mini bomb,‰?? Milwaukee Fire Department Battalion Chief Joel Rechlitz said.
---------------------------------------------
HOVERBOARD EXPLODES, BURSTS INTO FLAMES AT EAST BAY HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, batteries
The nation's hoverboard frenzy -- foretold nearly three decades ago by a board-riding McFly in the movie "Back to the Future II" -- continued to go up in flames Tuesday, as retailers ditched the devices amid reports of dangerous malfunctions, the latest in East Contra Costa County.
On Monday, a self-balancing scooter, or hoverboard, bought as an early Christmas gift burst into flames at a Brentwood home with a 15-year-old girl aboard. It later exploded, charring the board, the batteries and part of a wall in the kitchen.
"We're still pretty shook up," Cameron Washington, 34, said Tuesday morning. Washington's niece was on the board when it caught fire. "I mean, the whole house could've burned down."
A hoverboard caught fire at a Brentwood home late Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. (Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group)
The girl escaped without any physical injuries, Washington said. But it was not the first such accident.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating at least 11 reports of hoverboard fires -- apparently caused by the devices' large lithium-ion batteries -- in 10 states, including California. The agency is testing hoverboards in its laboratory in the Washington, D.C., area, said Patty Davis, spokeswoman for the CPSC. It has also received reports of 29 hoverboard injuries -- all related to falls -- that needed emergency room treatment, she said.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION INJURES FOUR MEN AT HUMBLE BUSINESS
Tags: us_IN, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
The Humble Fire Department and EMS were dispatched to a warehouse business in the 1200 block of Indiana in regards to what was first reported as an industrial explosion at approximately 1 p.m. today.
According to reports from the scene, four people were injured when there was an explosion. One was transported downtown, another transported to Memorial Hermann Northeast, one treated at the scene and a fourth victim was set to be transported via Life Flight but could not be due to the chemical the victims were burned with.
Two of the men are listed in critical condition.
Humble Police Department Lieutenant Melinda Bradshaw confirmed HazMat was called to the scene but were not needed because there was not any residual chemicals.
The incident happened at Moore Rod and Pipe which specializes in making industrial plastic pipe for the oil and gas industry.
According to Moore Rod and Pipe executives who spoke with the Observer‰??s news partner ABC-13 KTRK earlier today, a machine that melts plastic pellets clogged, and the workmen tried to unclog it.
‰??The pressurized molten plastic is said to have sprayed the men on their upper bodies and faces,‰?? ABC-13 reported earlier.
---------------------------------------------
11 INJURED AT MARSHALL COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, injury, dust
Eleven workers were injured Tuesday morning when a tank on an industrial boiler at a Marshall County chemical plant released steam and ash into the air.
Plant owner Axiall Corp. of Atlanta released few details on the incident, except to say that it occurred in the facility‰??s power plant and involved steam from its coal-fired boiler.
‰??There was no hazardous chemical release from this accident,‰?? company spokesman Chip Swearngan said in an email response to questions. ‰??There was not a significant release of steam from the boiler either.‰??
A report filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection by a Marshall County emergency dispatcher said that a boiler tank at the plant had released steam and ash and that some workers had second-degree burns and dust inhalation injuries.
The 11 contract workers were being treated at four local hospitals, but Axiall refused to provide any information about the type or extent of their injuries. Axiall would not provide the name of the contracting company that employed the workers.
A spokesman for the Marshall County Office of Emergency Management said initial reports were that the injuries were not life-threatening, but that his agency did not have complete and updated information on the workers‰?? conditions.
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SPILLS OF DILUTED BITUMEN FROM PIPELINES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL FATE, EFFECTS, AND RESPONSE
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental, asphalt, oils, petroleum
Diluted bitumen has been transported by pipeline in the United States for more than 40 years, with the amount increasing recently as a result of improved extraction technologies and resulting increases in production and exportation of Canadian diluted bitumen. The increased importation of Canadian diluted bitumen to the United States has strained the existing pipeline capacity and contributed to the expansion of pipeline mileage over the past 5 years. Although rising North American crude oil production has resulted in greater transport of crude oil by rail or tanker, oil pipelines continue to deliver the vast majority of crude oil supplies to U.S. refineries.
Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines examines the current state of knowledge and identifies the relevant properties and characteristics of the transport, fate, and effects of diluted bitumen and commonly transported crude oils when spilled in the environment. This report assesses whether the differences between properties of diluted bitumen and those of other commonly transported crude oils warrant modifications to the regulations governing spill response plans and cleanup. Given the nature of pipeline operations, response planning, and the oil industry, the recommendations outlined in this study are broadly applicable to other modes of transportation as well.
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