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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, February 1, 2016 at 7:13:56 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=VKYsbmOWUoHciXyKp0KXKVkqgPWSnnOIXA9OJPztXY8&s=g2EcqfP0WLILfcvlc5zGwxLJGJJ8Jjll--MowLm4cgc&e=
Table of Contents (17 articles)
CAR DRIVES OVER TANKER HOSE, SPILLS FUEL IN CENTERVILLE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
OVERHEATED CHEMICAL GAS TANK AT A FACTORY
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
MAN WHO DROPPED OFF DANGEROUS CHEMICAL AT NIXA PD FOUND SAFE
Tags: us_MO, public, follow-up, environmental, sodium_cyanide
HUGE FIRE STARTS AT TRUCK SALVAGE YARD IN SOUTHEAST HOUSTON
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, response, metals
CHEMICAL FUMES DISRUPT CAPITAL AREA CAREER CENTER
Tags: us_MI, education, release, injury, acetone
NIXA POLICE SEEK MAN WHO DROPPED OFF DANGEROUS CHEMICAL; HE, OTHERS MAY BE IN DANGER
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, injury, sodium_cyanide, waste
FIRE CAUSES CHEMICAL LEAK, ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, ag_chems, dye
MAKING SENSE OF CHEMICAL SAFETY REFORM
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
FIRE: STUDENTS SAFE AFTER REPORTS OF LIGHT SMOKE AT UT LAB
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, hydraulic_fluid
HAZMAT TEAMS CALLED TO LAKEWOOD SYNAGOGUE
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, chlorine
THEME PARK EMPLOYEES EXPOSED TO CHEMICAL AND FIRE HAZARDS: OSHA -- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Tags: us_CT, industrial, discovery, response, paints
DOW EXPLOSION FIRST RESPONDERS HONORED
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD APPROVES FINAL REPORT OF WEST FERTILI
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate
NINE PEOPLE INJURED FOLLOWING AUCKLAND CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, response, phenol
EPA: NEW YORK VILLAGE SHOULD TEST WATER FOR TEFLON CHEMICAL
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
ERIN BROCKOVICH'S FACEBOOK PAGE CITES CHEMICAL IN FAYETTEVILLE WATER; STATE NARROWS SOURCE OF CHEMICAL
Tags: us_NC, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
DUPONT FACES 40 TRIALS A YEAR OVER CANCER TIED TO TEFLON CHEMICAL
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
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CAR DRIVES OVER TANKER HOSE, SPILLS FUEL IN CENTERVILLE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
An estimated 100 gallons of fuel spilled out of a tanker truck"s hose after a vehicle drove over it at the Kroger gas station on South Main Street in Centerville, according to Washington Twp. Capt. Ron Kern.
Firefighters used absorbant material and were able to stop the flow of gasoline before it reached the catch basin, Kern said.
The tanker truck had just hooked up hoses to fill the station"s underground tanks when the car drove through and hit it, dislodging the valve connection, Kern said.
No one was hurt and the driver was not cited because it happened on private property.
---------------------------------------------
OVERHEATED CHEMICAL GAS TANK AT A FACTORY
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
PRAI: An overheated chemical gas tank at a factory here, yesterday, sent its workers helter-skelter.
They were sure that a leak was inevitable.
A fireman spokesman said the Prai station received a distress call from the plastic factory in Jalan Perusahaan 4 about 4.50pm.
He said the caller had alerted the station that the content of an industrial gas in the tank had dropped to below 20 per cent, far exceeding the average quantity.
"A thermometer showed that the temperature inside the tank had soared to 44 degree celcius and that this could lead to a potential leakage.
"Our team arrived at the scene to cool the overheated gas tank down. Nineteen firemen used seven sets of rubber hose to spray water onto the tank," he said adding that no one was injured in the incident.
The firemen wrapped up their operations in half an hour.
The cause of the overheating has yet to be determined.
---------------------------------------------
MAN WHO DROPPED OFF DANGEROUS CHEMICAL AT NIXA PD FOUND SAFE
Tags: us_MO, public, follow-up, environmental, sodium_cyanide
Nixa fire officials say the man who tried to drop off chemicals at the Nixa Police Department Friday afternoon has been found. The man was not exposed and the chemicals have been disposed of safely.
Officials say the man had recently moved to the area and found the chemicals in a shed. It was recommended by a friend to dispose of them in the medication drop box due to some of the chemicals appearing to be pills.
He brought in the container for the used-medication drop box. It turns out it was sodium cyanide, a very dangerous chemical used in agriculture and mining.
Two employees had to be hospitalized for treatment. They have both been released, and are doing fine.
The building was evacuated and cleaned. Crews will be cleaning the building throughout the weekend. For now, police are working out of Nixa City Hall.
Officials believe the man did not know how dangerous the chemical he found was.
---------------------------------------------
HUGE FIRE STARTS AT TRUCK SALVAGE YARD IN SOUTHEAST HOUSTON
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, response, metals
HOUSTON - A large fire broke out Friday morning at a truck salvage yard in southeast Houston.
The fire was reported at GM Trucking salvage yard near Canniff Street and Easthaven Boulevard. Small explosions could be heard coming from the yard.
Houston Fire Capt.Gabriel Luke said the loud explosions were the sound of cleaning products and metal aerosol cans bursting and crews had to put out the fire with foam.
Luke said a slight wind pushed flames from a controlled fire into a pile of pallets. He said the pallets contained cleaning material. Firefighters applied foam until the flames were extinguished.
"Cleaning material, being a chemical substance, started to burn and spread underneath the trailer," he said.
Firefighters said the fire was subdued and no one was injured.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FUMES DISRUPT CAPITAL AREA CAREER CENTER
Tags: us_MI, education, release, injury, acetone
An opened bottle of a chemical forced students and faculty to rush away from a pair of classrooms at the Capital Area Career Center Friday.
At 12:45 p.m. Mason's fire department was called to the school on a report of a gas leak.
Students and staff members in two classrooms of the health careers area were experiencing coughing and irritation.
The fire department located a one-gallon container of acetone that was left open. Acetone is a colorless liquid commonly used as a cleaning solvent. The evaporation process created the fumes which were then noticed by staff and students.
Everyone was removed from the health careers area and sent to other non-affected areas of the building.
Five faculty members were evaluated for acetone fume inhalation. No students needed medical care. The chemical was removed and the fire department ventilated the area.
---------------------------------------------
NIXA POLICE SEEK MAN WHO DROPPED OFF DANGEROUS CHEMICAL; HE, OTHERS MAY BE IN DANGER
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, injury, sodium_cyanide, waste
NIXA, Mo. -
A man left a bottle of sodium cyanide at the Nixa Police Department on Friday afternoon and it endangered two clerks who work there. Now police want that man to return so medical workers can see if he's in danger and whether he's endangered anyone else.
The Nixa Police Department is locked down and quarantined, and emergency officials don't know how long that status will remain. The Nixa Fire Department and personnel from nearby fire departments are providing hazardous material assistance. A tent was set up behind the police station so the two women could be decontaminated. A hospital poison center also sent an antidote for them to take. The employees then were sent to a hospital in Springfield. A police department spokeswoman said both likely will recover.
The man who dropped off the bottle arrived about 1:30 p.m. with several old medicines. He tried to put the sodium cyanide bottle in a used medicine disposal unit at the Nixa Police Department. When it wouldn't fit, the two clerks tried to help him and the man left. Shortly afterwards, the women began having trouble breathing, and fire and hazardous material crews were summoned.
"Hazardous chemical is something you can't jump into too fast. We want to take care of the patient. And when her symptoms increased is when we decided to pull her out and do the decontamination. Get her to the hospital as quickly as we could," said Nixa Assistant Fire Chief Whitney Weaver.
Police want to know more about where the sodium cyanide came from, and who has been exposed to it. They say the man could call 911 if he can't return to the police station. They believe the contamination was accidental, not malicious, and that the man didn't know what the chemical is.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE CAUSES CHEMICAL LEAK, ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, ag_chems, dye
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
Flames and black smoke lit up the night sky Thursday from the Flowood warehouse fire. A day later, blue dye containing herbicides and pesticides could be seen in ditches and waterways around the charred Flowood structure.
Officials with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality say several barrels of chemicals owned by herbicide company Red River Specialties Incorporated melted in the fire, causing the leak.
"This dye is going to look bad, it's going to be a color change. We could have a fish kill, said Ernie Shirley with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. "There's a possibility from that so we're monitoring the area but it could get a little worse before it gets better."
MDEQ officials estimate 2 thousand gallons of the chemicals leaked out. Contractors were called in to remove the chemicals and dye from a ditch that leads to a slough, that dumps in to the Pearl river. People in the area are being urged not to touch the water.
Fire officials have determined the blaze began in the adjacent Mud Predators ATV building, but they haven't narrowed down how.
---------------------------------------------
MAKING SENSE OF CHEMICAL SAFETY REFORM
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Last year, both the House and Senate approved bills to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Both bills make some improvements over the current law. But neither bill provides the protections the public deserves. Now comes the hard part: Taking the best, and most protective, provisions from the House and Senate bills and coming up with the strongest possible final legislation.
But another, scarier, outcome also is possible. Senate and House negotiators may agree on a bill that combines the two bills" least protective provisions, something some in the chemical industry would prefer.
The point of reform is to give the Environmental Protection Agency the authority it has lacked ever since the original TSCA was passed in 1976. As a consequence, only about 200 of the tens of thousands of chemicals in commerce have been tested for safety.
What would a strong final TSCA reform look like? Here are some of Union of Concerned Scientists' priorities:
---------------------------------------------
FIRE: STUDENTS SAFE AFTER REPORTS OF LIGHT SMOKE AT UT LAB
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, hydraulic_fluid
5:44 p.m. update: Students were allowed back inside a UT building after a hazmat team responded to reports of smoke, fire officials said.
A bottle of hydraulic oil left unattended in an oven produced light smoke that set the lab"s alarm off, fire officials said.
A hazmat team determined it was not hazardous, a fire spokesman said.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN file photo
No injuries or damage to the building were reported, officials said.
Earlier: A hazmat team is responding to a report of smoke coming from a lab located on the third floor of a building at the University of Texas, Austin fire officials said Thursday afternoon.
The incident was reported at the 200 block of East Dean Keeton Drive around 4:40 p.m., officials said
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAMS CALLED TO LAKEWOOD SYNAGOGUE
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, chlorine
LAKEWOOD - Hazmat crews were sent into a synagogue Thursday afternoon on Remon Lane after a chlorine leak.
The Point Pleasant and Berkeley hazmat teams responded to the reported leak Thursday at 11 Remon Lane, where a small synagogue is located. Police blocked off a section of the road as hazmat crews wearing large orange protective suits entered the building around 1:15 p.m.
Lt. James Finnegan confirmed the incident was a chlorine leak, he said authorities cleared the scene and there were no injuries.
---------------------------------------------
THEME PARK EMPLOYEES EXPOSED TO CHEMICAL AND FIRE HAZARDS: OSHA -- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Tags: us_CT, industrial, discovery, response, paints
OSHA has cited Lake Compounce Family Theme Park in Bristol, Conn., for 18 serious violations of workplace safety standards. According to OSHA's news release, the company exposed employees spraying coatings on park equipment and working with caustic chemicals in the park's paint room to chemical, burn, and respiratory hazards.
Some of the hazards included failing to: train employees about hazardous chemicals, complete a hazard assessment for protective equipment needed by workers, and provide required eye- and hand-washing facilities for employees working with chemicals.
"These conditions exposed Lake Compounce Family Theme Park employees to serious burn, fire, chemical burn, electric shock, and eye, face, and hand injuries. The employer must act promptly to effectively eliminate these hazards before they injure its employees," said Warren Simpson, OSHA's area director in Hartford.
---------------------------------------------
DOW EXPLOSION FIRST RESPONDERS HONORED
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
Three weeks after a chemical explosion that injured several people at DOW Chemical, the first responders to that incident were honored by the Board of Selectmen and their chief.
At just before 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, emergency crews were called to DOW after a reported explosion in a lab.
"We had several alarms come into the radio box," fire Chief Andrew Melnikas said. "If that happens, you know you probably have something."
Fire departments from nearby communities helped on the scene, including Middleton, Ipswich, Methuen and Haverhill. The state's Fire Services Department and HazMat crews were there, as well as state and local emergency management agencies.
From North Andover, Deputy Fire Chief William McCarthy was one of the first on scene and found five injured people " one refused treatment and the other four were seriously hurt and taken to Lawrence and Boston hospitals.
The explosion was caused by Trimethylaluminum, which, when in contact with moisture can ignite into an inferno. A day after the explosion, investigators located a container of Trimethylaluminum, brought it to an undisclosed location and detonated it.
"This facility deals with a very hazardous process‰?| it"s extremely dangerous," Melnikas said. "I think the plus factor in all this is that not only were the Fire Department and police able to work together in a tremendous show of teamwork, but the fire marshal"s group " between the hazardous materials unit, the bomb squad from the fire marshal"s office, their investigators " everybody as a group did a tremendous job in a tremendous show of teamwork to make this incident far less serious than it really could have been."
---------------------------------------------
U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD APPROVES FINAL REPORT OF WEST FERTILI
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate
WACO, TX (KXXV) -
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board approved the final report on the West Fertilizer Explosion that occurred in 2013 after presenting it to the public in Waco.
One of the goals of the report is to prevent another tragedy like the one that occurred in West.
Nearly 50 people attended the meeting and one of them got especially emotional when commenting about the findings.
Phil Calvin lost his son, Perry, in the West Fertilizer Explosion. Perry was a volunteer firefighter at two departments and that night he was responding to a medical call.
In one of the CSB findings, the lack of incident command system and lack of hazardous materials training were some of the factors that contributed to the fatalities of emergency responders.
Calvin, the Navarro Mills Fire Chief said it would have been hard for West to set up a command post with only five firefighters on the scene.
He said usually firefighters usually set up instant command once other agencies come in to assist.
"Being a firefighter, myself, you don't run away from the fire. Your first instinct is to go to the fire. If you ran from the fire, imagine how many lives would've been saved on September 11th. If the firefighters wouldn't have gone up in to the towers‰?|hundreds. And that"s what these guys were doing," said Calvin.
Other findings listed as contributing factors of the deaths of emergency responders, include lack of knowledge and understanding of the detonation hazards of fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate.
---------------------------------------------
NINE PEOPLE INJURED FOLLOWING AUCKLAND CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, response, phenol
One patient is being treated for chemical burns on one leg, and eight others were being treated for symptoms including tightness of the chest.
Waitemata fire service incident controller Gavin Travers said one of the people being treated for breathing difficulties was pregnant.
"Extra precautions are being taken as a result," he said.
St Johns ambulance were called to the scene around 1pm on Friday.
Firefighters from Takapuna, Devonport, Birkenhead and Ponsonby were in attendance.
Birkenhead fire station officer John Barlow said the substance - a 90 per cent phenol solution concentrate - was commonly used as a steriliser or antiseptic.
It could be lethal if inhaled.
Three hundred mls of the substance - which has now been absorbed by sand - was spilt.
Fire Service communications said the premises had been evacuated and firefighters were suited in fully encapsulated chemical splash suits.
---------------------------------------------
EPA: NEW YORK VILLAGE SHOULD TEST WATER FOR TEFLON CHEMICAL
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is telling people in an upstate New York village to have their well water tested for a chemical used in making Teflon.
The agency on Thursday advised residents of Hoosick to have their wells tested for PFOA, which has been linked to cancer and other illnesses. It has been detected in municipal wells in Hoosick Falls, a village within the Rensselaer (rehn-suh-LEER') County town.
The agency says water with a level of PFOA higher than 100 parts per trillion shouldn't be used for drinking or cooking. That's a quarter of the EPA's current advised limit of 400 ppt.
An EPA administrator says the lower number reflects a new limit being developed by the agency.
Officials are investigating the extent of PFOA pollution in Hoosick Falls
---------------------------------------------
ERIN BROCKOVICH'S FACEBOOK PAGE CITES CHEMICAL IN FAYETTEVILLE WATER; STATE NARROWS SOURCE OF CHEMICAL
Tags: us_NC, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
Environmental consumer advocate Erin Brockovich says her litigation team has been researching the same toxic chemical that has been detected in Fayetteville's treated drinking water.
The industrial chemical, called 1,4-dioxane, is widely used in paint strippers, varnishes, dyes and even some cosmetics. It has been classified as likely to cause cancer in humans but is not yet regulated by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Brockovich, who was thrust into stardom after actress Julia Roberts played her in a 2000 movie of her namesake, posted Wednesday on her Facebook page that "1,4 dioxane is a dangerous toxic chemical" that is an "emerging contaminant not yet regulated" in water supplies around the U.S.
Brockovich's posting includes a link to The Fayetteville Observer story first reporting the issue last year. Traces of the chemical have been detected leaving the Fayetteville Public Works Commission Hoffer water treatment plant, which draws from the Cape Fear River.
At the time, officials with the city-owned PWC and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality were taking samples up and down the Cape Fear River in an attempt to identify the source. Conventional treatment methods are ineffective at removing the chemical from tap water, and PWC officials have said the cancer risks are most likely at high doses over a long time. Scientists have not warned Fayetteville residents to stop drinking from their tap water.
---------------------------------------------
DUPONT FACES 40 TRIALS A YEAR OVER CANCER TIED TO TEFLON CHEMICAL
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
Chemical maker DuPont (DD.N) will face 40 trials a year starting April 2017 involving plaintiffs who say they developed cancer from a toxic chemical used to make Teflon that leaked from one of the company"s plants in West Virginia.
The schedule laid out by U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus in the Southern District of Ohio during a hearing Wednesday is aimed at pushing the parties closer to resolving more than 3,550 lawsuits.
The outcome could have a material impact on Chemours Co (CC.N), since liability for litigation connected with the chemical C-8 was passed on to the firm spun-off by DuPont in 2015.
The cases have been filed by individuals who say they developed one of six diseases linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA or C-8, which was found in their drinking water. Their cases are consolidated before Sargus.
The initial 40 trials will be selected from between 250 and 300 lawsuits brought by individuals who say they contracted kidney or testicular cancer from C-8.
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