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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 7:22:29 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=_2jO7bGPI__Ce5Uesk7O7NItGtCIa-tsZxI2ZLmHot8&s=dKdGiQgkIpuov1UahXo167j6opMoeyfSmLOUYMy5mjY&e=
Table of Contents (16 articles)
THREE WORKERS INJURED IN MARATHON REFINERY FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, petroleum
FIREFIGHTERS, HAZMAT CREWS BATTLE FIRE AT SURRY CO. TIRE RECYCLING BUSINESS
Tags: us_NC, public, fire, response, other_chemical
HIGHWAY REMAINS CLOSED AS HAZMAT TEAMS FINISH URANIUM POWDER CLEANUP
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, dust, uranium
MARATHON GALVESTON BAY WORKER BURNED AS OVERHAUL STARTS: SOURCE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid
EXPLOSION INJURES MAN IN GORST
Tags: us_WA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
SEVEN FAMILY MEMBERS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT POOL IN GREAT PLUMSTEAD
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION SPURS MASSIVE BLAZE IN SOUTH-EASTERN CHINA
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, followup, unknown_chemical
MOTORIST, POLICE INJURED AFTER CARS COLLIDE WITH CHEMICAL-LADEN TRUCK
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, bleach, hydrochloric_acid
TOXIC "REFORM" LAW WILL GUT STATE RULES ON DANGEROUS CHEMICALS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
NORTHFIELD BLAST SUSPECT INDICTED
Tags: us_VT, public, follow-up, injury, fireworks, illegal
CHEMICAL EMPLOYERS TO FACE TOUGHER WORKER SAFETY PENALTIES
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, illegal
FINDING NEW HOMES FOR OLD CHEMICALS
Tags: us_CO, public, discovery, environmental, waste
TETRAHYDROFURAN (THF) PEROXIDE TESTING SCHEDULE
Tags: laboratory, discovery, response, peroxide, tetrahydrofuran
CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION: REPORTS OF FIRE, BLAST SEEN IN LENGSHUIJIANG
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL PLANT SECURED FOR STATE INVESTIGATORS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
'SMALL' CHEMICAL SPILL AT YORK COLLEGE POOL
Tags: us_PA, education, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
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THREE WORKERS INJURED IN MARATHON REFINERY FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, petroleum
A fire left three workers injured early Monday morning at the Marathon Petroleum Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City.
According to company spokesman Hamal T. Kheiry, the fire was reported about 2:45 a.m. in a unit down for scheduled maintenance.
One worker was transferred to a burn center in Galveston via helicopter. Two others were treated on site for minor injuries before being released. All three injured workers were contract employees.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Marathon.
The Texas City refinery is located on Galveston Bay, off the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel and was built in 1931.
According to the company profile book, the Texas City facility is a 2012 OSHA Voluntary Protection Program Star Site. A Star Site is recognition for employers and employees who demonstrate exemplary achievement in the prevention and control of occupational safety and health hazards.
The facility has a crude refining capacity of 84,000 barrels per calendar day and employs approximately 275 workers.
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FIREFIGHTERS, HAZMAT CREWS BATTLE FIRE AT SURRY CO. TIRE RECYCLING BUSINESS
Tags: us_NC, public, fire, response, other_chemical
PILOT MOUNTAIN - Plumes of black smoke billowed up over Pilot Mountain Tuesday, as some of nearly 38,000 square feet of tires, standing about eight-feet-tall, smoldered from flames.
"I happened to catch it on Pilot Mountain on the way to Pilot Mountain Outreach. We saw all the smoke," said Gerald Jones, Pinnacle resident. "Certainly it's an unpleasant sight trying to look at Pilot Mountain through the smoke."
Gerald Jones says he's never seen a fire of this magnitude before. It all started around 1 on Tuesday morning when a police officer noticed the flames and called it in.
Fire crews arrived and set to work while worrying about contaminants.
Before 5 a.m., Surry County had four departments and 40 personnel on scene at New River Tire.
"Early on we put just enough water we needed to control the structure and not do as much property damage and the least amount of contaminant running from the fire scene," said John Shelton, Surry County emergency management director.
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HIGHWAY REMAINS CLOSED AS HAZMAT TEAMS FINISH URANIUM POWDER CLEANUP
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, dust, uranium
Highway 4 still remains closed while Hazmat teams continue cleanup of a semi rollover north of Swift Current.
The semi rolled on Monday, spilling out what is believed to be powder uranium.
Swift Current RCMP have left the scene, but motorists are still being told to expect delays.
The Ministry of Environment has now taken control of the scene.
Cameco sent specialists to the accident to assess the situation and the CNSC sent inspectors.
The yellowcake was on its way to the Blind River refinery in Ontario.
---------------------------------------------
MARATHON GALVESTON BAY WORKER BURNED AS OVERHAUL STARTS: SOURCE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid
A worker at Marathon Petroleum Corp's Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, was burned by hydrofluoric acid on Saturday while working on an alkylation unit, which was shut as part of a planned three-month, multi-unit overhaul, a source familiar with plant operations said on Sunday.
The worker was taken to an area hospital "as a precautionary measure," Marathon spokesman Brandon Daniels said. He provided no details about the incident.
The 31,500 barrel per day (bpd) HF Alkylation Unit 3 is one of several units shut for the overhaul at the 451,000 bpd refinery that includes the 120,000 bpd gasoline-producing Fluidic Catalytic Cracking Unit 3, the largest of two FCCUs at the plant. FCCU 3 was shut on Tuesday.
HF alkylation units produce high-octane gasoline components from refining by-products in a catalyst made from the acid. In addition to being corrosive to skin and eyes, hydrofluoric acid can cause fatal damage to the respiratory system.
The refinery, while under the ownership of BP Plc, was the site of the deadliest refinery accident in the past decade when 15 workers were killed in a March 23, 2005 explosion that injured 180 people.
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EXPLOSION INJURES MAN IN GORST
Tags: us_WA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
GORST " An explosion knocked a man unconscious as he was cleaning up his welding work area at Viking Fence around 4:45 p.m. on Jan. 11.
Coworkers and firefighters with South Kitsap Fire and Rescue tended to the man, who was later transported to St. Joseph"s Hospital in Tacoma.
According to SKFR, employees at the company stated the man had been welding earlier but was in the process of cleaning up the work area. The welder was a metal inert gas type system, with no explosive chemicals being used. The employees said that they heard a loud explosion and felt a type of shock wave and then found the man on the ground.
There was a small rag about the size of a dishrag that was on fire approximately 20 feet from the man. Employees used a dry chemical extinguisher that was on site to extinguish the fire.
---------------------------------------------
SEVEN FAMILY MEMBERS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT POOL IN GREAT PLUMSTEAD
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
The incident happened at about 3pm today at Plumstead Pool, on Low Road, in Great Plumstead, near Norwich.
Dariush Fassihi, who owns the pool, which members of the public can hire out, said he was mixing chemicals for the pool, but because the filter was on bypass, they were being mixed in a small amount of water, rather than in the whole pool.
The ambulance service sent its hazardous area response team, while the fire service dispatched its environmental protection unit, as well as firefighters from Carrow, Earlham and Wroxham.
Mr Fassihi said he and the three other adults, and three children, were coughing, and were taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where they were kept for four hours as a precaution, but added that everyone was "fine".
He said the fire crews found there was an "undetectable" level of the chemical, but he would take a cautious approach, and get a second opinion on Monday before re-opening the pool.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION SPURS MASSIVE BLAZE IN SOUTH-EASTERN CHINA
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, followup, unknown_chemical
Frightened residents in south-eastern China thought they were simply filming a blazing inferno when they managed to capture a massive explosion at a chemicals plant.
The fire in the city of Lengshuijiang broke out about 11.20pm (AEDT) on Saturday and firefighters were able to bring it under control - with no casualties reported.
The chemical plant's warehouse contained chemicals and plastic bottles, but had reportedly suspended its production beforehand due to an investigation into PVC additives.
Local residents were evacuated and local environmental authorities are monitoring the air quality for any potential harmful pollution.
Industrial facilities across China have been rocked by explosions in recent months.
---------------------------------------------
MOTORIST, POLICE INJURED AFTER CARS COLLIDE WITH CHEMICAL-LADEN TRUCK
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, bleach, hydrochloric_acid
A motorist is in a stable condition and several police officers have been treated for chemical inhalation after a crash involving two cars and a chemical-laden truck in Perth's north-east.
The crash happened at 2:18pm on the corner of Mirrabooka Avenue and Balga Avenue, in Balga.
Police said a person from one of the cars was taken to hospital by ambulance and was in a stable condition in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
Chemicals, believed to be hydrochloric acid and household bleach, were spilled from the truck in the crash.
Several police officers who attended the scene suffered breathing difficulties and were treated at the scene.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC "REFORM" LAW WILL GUT STATE RULES ON DANGEROUS CHEMICALS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
A NEW SET OF BILLS that aims to update the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act may nullify the efforts of states such as Maine and California to regulate dangerous chemicals. The Senate"s bill, passed last month, just before the holidays, is particularly restrictive. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act " named, ironically, for the New Jersey senator who supported strong environmental protections " would make it much harder for states to regulate chemicals after the EPA has evaluated them, and would even prohibit states from acting while the federal agency is in the process of investigating certain chemicals.
The Senate"s version has some significant differences from the House bill " the TSCA Modernization Act, which passed in June " and the reconciliation process is now underway. If the worst provisions from both bills wind up in the final law, which could reach the president"s desk as soon as February, the new legislation will gut laws that have put Oregon, California, Maine, Vermont, Minnesota, and Washington state at the forefront of chemical regulation.
---------------------------------------------
NORTHFIELD BLAST SUSPECT INDICTED
Tags: us_VT, public, follow-up, injury, fireworks, illegal
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a man who law enforcement say lit a homemade pipe bomb in Northfield last month and lost a hand, court papers show.
The one-count indictment, returned late last week, charges Mark McCloud, 45, with knowingly possessing a "destructive device" not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. A federal complaint had accused the Northfield man of both possessing and transferring the explosives, but the indictment did not include the second accusation.
McCloud has a hearing scheduled for Monday at U.S. District Court in Burlington, during which he will be asked to enter a plea to the charge. If no indictment had been returned, the hearing would have been focused on determining whether probable cause existed.
Attempts to reach McCloud's attorney David McColgin on Sunday were unsuccessful.
The Dec. 9 explosion on North Street injured McCloud and several others, including his pregnant wife. McCloud was holding what he believed to be a firecracker when he lit it outside his home that evening, according to court papers. State and federal law enforcement have classified the device as a "homemade pipe bomb," described in court papers as being a 6 1/2-inch-long and 1-inch-wide metal copper pipe with plugged ends, taped closed with a green colored fuse.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL EMPLOYERS TO FACE TOUGHER WORKER SAFETY PENALTIES
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, illegal
Chemical or pharma companies and other employers that violate worker safety standards could face stiffer penalties in the future because the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) started 2016 with stronger tools to deter workplace safety violations.
Employers "are far more concerned about OSHA than they were six months ago," says Valerie Butera, an attorney who specializes in workplace safety and health at law firm Epstein Becker Green.
That"s because Congress passed legislation in October 2015 that allows OSHA to increase its civil fines for the first time since 1990. In addition, an expanded joint initiative between the Department of Labor (DOL), of which OSHA is a part, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will augment penalties by combining worker endangerment cases with charges of environmental and other offenses.
These moves to strengthen worker safety are "useful and long overdue," says Mike Wright, director of health, safety, and environment for the United Steelworkers union. "We think they"ll have a positive impact on worker safety and health."
For several years, OSHA and DOL have been calling for a hike in civil fines. "We"re pleased that Congress has now provided it," says David Michaels, the assistant secretary of labor who heads OSHA.
When OSHA civil fines last increased a quarter-century ago, Congress prohibited the agency from indexing them to inflation, as happens for civil penalties under most federal statutes. In the 2015 law, Congress eliminated that restriction and is allowing OSHA to do a onetime upgrade to account for inflation from 1990 to the present. That will jack fines up an estimated 80%.
---------------------------------------------
FINDING NEW HOMES FOR OLD CHEMICALS
Tags: us_CO, public, discovery, environmental, waste
If you have a stomachache, you can take magnesium oxide to feel better. But if you have a headache because your barge full of MgO got wet at a terminal in Arkansas, better to call Damon Carson, owner of Repurposed Materials, and see if he"ll take it off your hands.
Carson collects bulk materials that are obsolete, off-spec, out of date, surplus, or once-used. He also collects information about how those products can be used in a different industry.
Each potential purchase puts in motion a bit of detective work. For example, Repurposed Materials recently bought 60 giant sacks of a polymer absorbent that someone abandoned at a freight terminal. Carson resold it to a man who works in hockey facilities. The customer reported that he used the polymer to make a slush that seals the ice surface to the rink"s sideboards.
Carson"s business experience began with regular trash; years ago he and a partner started a company to haul garbage from Colorado ski resorts. They sold the firm to Waste Management. This time, he says, his business aims to keep stuff out of the landfill.
"My very first project was reusing old advertising billboards," Carson explains. "They have print and designs on one side, but are made of high-quality, waterproof vinyl. When the ad campaign is over, the vinyl can be used as tarps for hay bales." Now five years old, Repurposed Materials has 12 employees and storage locations in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago.
Other durable goods that have a second life thanks to Carson include old fire hoses"used for padding around boat docks"and worn-out rubber conveyor belts, which can line horse corrals or protect the floor under a tractor.
Repurposed Materials began adding products of a more chemical nature to its inventory about six months ago. It"s a potential new market for Carson but one that will take him into the complicated world of hazardous materials regulation.
Carson says he"s proceeding cautiously. "The chemical branch is very new," he says. "Our hypothesis is, we"re already in warehouses at companies, and we see those obsolete liquids and powders."
---------------------------------------------
TETRAHYDROFURAN (THF) PEROXIDE TESTING SCHEDULE
Tags: laboratory, discovery, response, peroxide, tetrahydrofuran
Discussion: In 2013, six bottles of Tetrahydrofuran (THF), 100 mL per bottle, were purchased and placed in a flammable storage cabinet in accordance with Y73-939 Hazardous Chemical Storage. THF is both a "time sensitive chemical" and a "peroxide former" and is required to be tested annually for the presence of peroxides. The formation of peroxides can cause the chemical/material to become shock sensitive. Initial peroxide testing was performed in August of 2013 on three opened bottles (only opened bottles are required to be tested). In September 2015, the bottles were being considered for excess and the excess material personnel and materials manager noted that the bottles were not in-date for annual testing. A cursory visual inspection indicated there was no evidence of peroxide formation on the external surface of the bottles. Facility Management was informed of the missed annual testing and access to the lab where the storage cabinet was located was administratively contr!
olled with a "Do Not Enter" sign. Facility Management conducted a Hazard Analysis for the testing of THF bottles and an Operational Safety Board (OSB) review was conducted to evaluate the work scope and hazard controls. With approval from the OSB, the THF bottles were removed from the flammable storage cabinet, carefully inspected, placed in an adjacent hood and tested. Testing demonstrated the absence of peroxides. New labels with current inspection dates were applied to the bottles and the lab/area was returned to normal operations.
Analysis: Required continual annual testing was not performed to verity the condition of the bottles and observe for signs of peroxide formation. Although the THF bottles were listed in the facilitys inventory of hazardous materials (Comprehensive Tracking System or CTS), and were barcode scanned during periodic inventories, personnel performing the inventory did not recognize the items were on the "time sensitive" list. The lack of annual inspection was recognized when the bottles were being evaluated for excess material disposition.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION: REPORTS OF FIRE, BLAST SEEN IN LENGSHUIJIANG
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A major explosion was reported at a chemical plant in the south-central Chinese city of Lengshuijiang Saturday, according to tweets reportedly sent from the scene. It was unclear if anyone was injured or killed, but rescue efforts appeared to be ongoing by noon EST.
The cause of the blast is still unknown, Huang Zhaouyun tweeted. A video said to be of the explosion was uploaded to Youtube and circulated on social media.
The video shows a fire in the background with smoke piling into the sky. About 12 seconds into the 30-second video what appears to be an explosion could be seen and heard.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL PLANT SECURED FOR STATE INVESTIGATORS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
NORTH ANDOVER " The scene at the Dow Chemical Plant on Willow Street remained active Friday, a day after a chemical explosion at the plant left four people critically injured and dozens of emergency response personnel working through the late evening hours.
State Police bomb squad members and a regional hazardous materials (HAZMAT) team worked throughout the morning and into the afternoon Friday to make the plant safe for state police fire investigators to enter the plant to try to determine what exactly caused the blast, the second at the Dow plant in two years.
According to North Andover Fire Chief Andrew Melnikas, bomb squad and HAZMAT members were attempting to isolate the container which held the chemical officials say triggered the explosion inside a laboratory away from other hazardous materials inside the plant.
Melnikas confirmed the chemical involved was trimethylaluminium, a chemical used to make LED lights and other electronics. The chemical, according to State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, can create a violent reaction when mixed with water or air.
In a joint press conference with Melnikas just before noon Friday, Coan acknowledged the incident "could have been much worse," but said it was still a "very violent explosion."
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'SMALL' CHEMICAL SPILL AT YORK COLLEGE POOL
Tags: us_PA, education, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
A security guard went to the hospital as a precaution after a chemical spill Saturday at York College, according to Dan Hoff, a battalion chief for York Area United Fire & Rescue.
Hoff said it appears that a supply line off a chemical tank came loose and caused "a small spill" of hydrochloric acid that is used for treating the pool at the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center. He said the tank itself wasn't breached or damaged.
Emergency responders checked out the security guard and thought he was OK.
"One of his fellow officers decided to take him to the hospital just to be on the safe side," Hoff said, adding that there was concern about the guard possibly having inhaled some of the chemical vapors.
A county hazmat team responded to the scene for cleanup.
The spill was contained to a storage room area, Hoff said. The pool itself was closed Saturday because of the college's holiday break, according to a sign outside the pool. Hoff said if the pool had been in use, emergency responders would have temporarily closed it as a precaution.
Crews responded to the scene shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday, and Hoff said they determined the inside of the building was safe.
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