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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 (12 articles)
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2016 07:42:52 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: A8988673-E015-4183-A13D-030460DA0CD4**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 7:42:36 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=ebs6QvGz1I3W4YpjN_oAxYREMlRk6K7cgagVBGdSsGs&s=Gk7cs9427NciEYMsmaBOweSUIHZqzXhEYnlFc_CZrkY&e=
Table of Contents (12 articles)
EVACUATION AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT CHRISTCHURCH'S ST BEDE'S COLLEGE
Tags: New_Zealand, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
MARRYATVILLE HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED WHILE FIRE BRIGADE CHECKS FOR FUMES
Tags: Australia, education, release, injury, hydrogen_sulfide
TACLOBAN CITY FIRE RAZES 4TH FLOOR OF ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE
Tags: Philippines, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
NEW SMYRNA WORKER BURNED AFTER CHEMICAL 'SPONTANEOUSLY ERUPTED'
Tags: us_FL, industrial, fire, injury, ethanol
"GOO" ON ROADWAY CLOSES WOOD RIVER STREETS
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, waste
CHEMICAL SPILL REPORTED AT HALOCARBON BUILDING ON DITTMAN COURT
Tags: us_SC, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
CHEMICAL TANKER TRUCK WRECKS NEAR WALNUT HILL; ONE FAMILY EVACUATED
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
UPDATE: FIRIES DON CHEMICAL SUITS TO FIND EXPLOSION TRIGGER
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, acids
SCIENTISTS, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS QUESTION EPA"S BROAD CONCLUSION ON FRACKING
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, waste
CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental, waste
MAKE IN INDIA BLAZE: POLICE OFFICIALS SUSPECT FAULTY PYROTECHNIC EQUIPMENT CAUSED FIRE
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, response, fireworks
FIREFIGHTERS CALLED TO CHILDWALL SPORTS AND SCIENCE ACADEMY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
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EVACUATION AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT CHRISTCHURCH'S ST BEDE'S COLLEGE
Tags: New_Zealand, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
Part of Christchurch's St Bede's College has been evacuated after a chemical spill.
Two fire engines, a command unit, and the Hazardous Substance Unit were called to the school at 10.35am on Wednesday, Fire Service communications centre shift manager Lyn Crosson said.
"They have some sort of chemical spill in a prep room near one of their science labs . . . a cabinet has fallen over."
Crosson said a variety of chemicals were inside the cabinet.
"With it falling over they [the chemicals] have mixed and we are there because any sort of mix of chemicals is quite often not good."
Part of the school was evacuated as a precaution and the Hazardous Substance Unit was there in case it needed to assist with clean up.
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MARRYATVILLE HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED WHILE FIRE BRIGADE CHECKS FOR FUMES
Tags: Australia, education, release, injury, hydrogen_sulfide
A suburban Adelaide high school has been evacuated and three people treated after they complained of being overcome by fumes.
Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) crews were called to Marryatville High School in Kensington Road to investigate after several teachers and students said they were feeling unwell.
Police said school kitchen and laboratory sump pits were being emptied when hydrogen sulfide leaked from a transfer hose.
Students and staff were evacuated from the premises as a precaution while fire officers assessed the area for any presence of fumes.
The MFS said nothing toxic or harmful was detected and students were then allowed back into their classes.
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TACLOBAN CITY FIRE RAZES 4TH FLOOR OF ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE
Tags: Philippines, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A Tuesday night fire in Tacloban City, Leyte razed the fourth floor of the St. Scholastica's College's Nursing Department, GMA News stringer Peewee Bacu̱o reported.
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection, the fire broke out at the college's chemistry laboratory at around 9 p.m., and was put out past 12 a.m. Wednesday.
---------------------------------------------
NEW SMYRNA WORKER BURNED AFTER CHEMICAL 'SPONTANEOUSLY ERUPTED'
Tags: us_FL, industrial, fire, injury, ethanol
An employee of a glass company in New Smyrna Beach was burned Tuesday morning when he used denatured alcohol before cutting glass, New Smyrna Beach fire officials said.
Denatured alcohol is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous.
Fire Lt. Mike Greene said the alcohol "spontaneously erupted" as the employee was getting ready to cut glass at the New Smyrna Beach Glass and Design Center at 823 S. Dixie Freeway at 8:41 a.m.
The man, who Greene did not identify, sustained second-degree burns to a quarter of his body and was taken to Bert Fish Medical Center by another worker, Greene said. The state's Fire Marshal's Office is investigation the incident.
There was no damage to the area where the man was working, Greene said.
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"GOO" ON ROADWAY CLOSES WOOD RIVER STREETS
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, waste
WOOD RIVER " Several blocks of Wood River were closed for hours Tuesday afternoon after some "goo" spilled on the roadway while being transported to a nearby landfill.
A Midwest Sanitary Service truck transporting PolyFloc, a flocculant used in treatment of wastewater, from Olin to the landfill accidentally spilled some of the liquid onto Edwardsville Road near the intersection of Wood River Avenue. Wood River Fire Chief Steve Alexander said the chemical, which posed no environmental hazard, was being transported in a "dumpster" type container when some of it landed on the roadway.
"I don"t know if he took off too quick or stopped too quick or something, but apparently it sloshed out into the intersection," Alexander said.
Alexander said that when on the road the chemical creates a very slick surface, necessitating the road closures. Edwardsville Road was closed from the intersection for a couple blocks in each direction while crews worked to clean up the mess.
That cleanup consisted of plenty of salt, which helps solidify the PolyFloc. City workers were using shovels to scrape up the chemical Tuesday afternoon.
Public Services Director Steve Palen estimated the road would remain closed into early evening as they continued to work on the road. A crew with a pressure sprayer and vacuum truck was expected later to suck up the remaining chemical, Palen said.
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CHEMICAL SPILL REPORTED AT HALOCARBON BUILDING ON DITTMAN COURT
Tags: us_SC, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- A chemical spill has been reported in a building on Dittman Court, according to North Augusta Public Safety.
Dispatch said the Halocarbon Products Corporation building was evacuated and the Fire Department was called to the scene.
North Augusta Public Safety said no one was hurt and workers were able to contain the small leak from a valve of sulfur trioxide within minutes.
Dittman Court is off Revco Road and Aiken-Augusta Highway.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL TANKER TRUCK WRECKS NEAR WALNUT HILL; ONE FAMILY EVACUATED
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
One nearby family was evacuated Monday night after a chemical tanker truck accident near Walnut Hill.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, 60-year old Lowell Lienemann of Houston, was detoured from Highway 29 due to the tornado damage in Century. He was southbound on North Highway 99 approaching Highway 164 near Walnut Hill. He attempted to turn west onto Highway 164 due to a "No Truck" sign on Highway 99. The right side wheels of the tanker trailer left the roadway and fell into a culvert, causing the entire truck to overturn onto its side, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The truck was loaded with Hexamethylenediamine, a moderately toxic corrosive material that can cause serious burns and severe irritation. Very little, if any, of the chemical solution was leaking from the overturned tanker into a ditch.
After the initial response from local Escambia Fire Rescue crews, a hazardous materials team from Pensacola arrived to oversee the offloading of the chemical and the righting of the tanker car. Work continued into the early morning hours as firefighters kept a 150-foot distance from the truck, leaving the intersection closed overnight.
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UPDATE: FIRIES DON CHEMICAL SUITS TO FIND EXPLOSION TRIGGER
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, acids
ACID set off the explosion inside a laboratory cupboard at Clinton, which is used by the fuel testing arm of Intertek.
When the "owner" of the building wasn't able to decipher what chemical was behind the explosion, Gladstone fire station officer Graham Smith said fire fighters worked to "isolate which one had failed".
"To do that, we had two fire fighters in chemical suits take a photograph of the cabinet and after a process of elimination it was determined it was an acid spill," he said.
"It's still unknown what caused the initial explosion."
Mr Smith said fire fighters evacuated workers from the "the immediate area" to the office section of the building "until we investigated".
The Queensland fire and emergency scientific officer then helped fire crews "neutralise the acid", allowing them to clean up the lab.
As a safety precaution, the power was turned off until fire fighters could worked out what had caused the explosion, "in case it was ?| a flammable mixture in the air".
The cabinet contained the "initial explosion" and nobody was injured.
Mr Smith said the company had told Workplace Health and Safety about the incident.
"Everyone's bemused or confused about why it's occurred," he said.
"[The company] will be conduction a full investigation, the company themselves, to find out what the cause was."
The Observer is still waiting for a response from Intertek.
---------------------------------------------
SCIENTISTS, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS QUESTION EPA"S BROAD CONCLUSION ON FRACKING
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, waste
The public is looking to the Environmental Protection Agency to provide accurate and clear information about the safety of hydraulic fracturing as a method to drill for oil and gas. EPA is compiling the most comprehensive report to date on the impacts of fracking on drinking water. Federal lawmakers and state regulators are expected to use the document as they set policies for the extraction practice.
In October 2009, Congress required EPA to study the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water. The agency released a draft of its study for public review in June 2015 to mixed reviews from groups representing the oil and gas industry and environmental activists.
Public concern about fracking has grown in the past six years as oil and gas development has become more visible throughout parts of the U.S. Northeast. Fracking is a drilling method that uses millions of liters of water mixed with sand and a blend of proprietary chemicals to release oil or gas trapped in rock. The technique has been linked to methane contamination of drinking water wells, air pollution, and induced earthquakes associated with underground disposal of fracking wastewater.
Now, official review of EPA"s study is under way by the agency"s independent Science Advisory Board (SAB), and a significant part of the discourse has focused on a three-word phrase: "widespread, systemic impacts."
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental, waste
In December 2008, a dike collapsed at a waste storage pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority"s Kingston power plant in northeastern Tennessee. The incident released more than 3.8 billion L of water containing 4.1 million m3 of coal ash, which is the cremated remains of burning coal. The spill inundated several homes and contaminated the Emory River. The cleanup, which took until 2015 to complete, cost $1.1 billion.
The Kingston incident points to modern society"s biggest dilemma: In pursuit of our greatest need"generating electricity"we generate an unsustainable amount of pollution. In the case of burning coal, we regularly lament the amount of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere. But we tend to forget that other substances emitted by burning coal"including sulfur, mercury, and coal ash"are piling up on the ground.
Coal ash is the second-largest waste material in the U.S. behind household trash. Utility companies and the ash management firms working for them struggle to find economic ways to get rid of it. In the U.S., about half of the material is recycled in useful applications such as making concrete and gypsum wallboard. But the volume of coal ash produced and the economics of handling it is such that the other half must be disposed of as waste.
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MAKE IN INDIA BLAZE: POLICE OFFICIALS SUSPECT FAULTY PYROTECHNIC EQUIPMENT CAUSED FIRE
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, response, fireworks
The DB Marg police have collected a few fireworks launchers, electrical wires and other materials used in the pyrotechnics display during the performance at Girgaum Chowpatty. Cops will be checking with the help of experts from the forensic lab, if there was a malfunction in the equipment that caused the fire. Police said that there were no traditional fireworks used in the event near the stage, only ornamental fireworks were used.
A person who is into event management explained that generally there are two types of pyrotechnics used during such shows. In indoor events cold flame pyrotechnics are used, whereas in outdoor events pyrotechnics with inflammable chemicals are used. In Sunday̢??s incident, the possibility that there was a short circuit that led to a chemical in the pyrotechnics catching fire, cannot be ruled out.
Mumbai police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner of Police Dhananjay Kulkarni said, ̢??As per procedure we have conducted a panchnama and collected articles from the site to send them to the Forensic Laboratory.̢?? As of now a diary has been made at the DB Marg police station and they are waiting for reports from the Fire Brigade department. Cops to the rescueThe Maharashtra Rajani fire incident could have taken an ugly turn, had the police not acted promptly and immediately moved the 7-8 generator vans which were stationed adjacent to the stage for supplying power.
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FIREFIGHTERS CALLED TO CHILDWALL SPORTS AND SCIENCE ACADEMY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Firefighters were called to a Liverpool school after a fire in a science block.
The fire broke out at Childwall Sports and Science Academy on Queens Drive just before 11am today.
A 53 year-old woman was left needing oxygen at the scene.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue said the fire broke out in a prep room - a laboratory for preparing science experiments - at 10.50am.
A spokeswoman said the fire was out on arrival.
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