Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (13 articles)
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2016 08:09:27 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: CBD39A79-2571-4487-B3BB-4431F3A4E386**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, March 21, 2016 at 8:09:14 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=ezPII1XB5kc-ynwmvmWr_zrJLZXC9PqM7dIfNBVhQB4&s=fDx5LhbifhOgMChoXsa46B9ElyyhIgWeLEwUJ9-5csg&e=
Table of Contents (13 articles)
OFFICIALS WORK TO CLEAN UP CHEMICALS AFTER FIRE AT PORT OF CATOOSA COMPANY
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, hydrochloric_acid, zinc
TOXIC CHEMICAL FOUND IN DOZENS OF N.J. WATER SYSTEMS
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
EMERGENCY MEETINGS OVER CHEMICAL IN WATER SUPPLY
Tags: Jersey, public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
CHEMICAL SPILL AFTER QLD TRUCK CRASH
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
STORAGE TANK CATCHES FIRE POSSIBLY FROM LIGHTNING STRIKE
Tags: us_LA, public, fire, response, petroleum
CHEMICAL LEAK AT LAFAYETTE REC CENTER SENDS 22 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, chlorine
LAREDO FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, corrosives
FIRE AT SOUTH MEMPHIS BIODIESEL PLANT PROMPTS EVACUATIONS
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, response, biodiesel, methanol
WINNEBAGO COUNTY TO RECEIVE $5K IN SEWARD NOVA-KEM EXPLOSION SETTLEMENT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, environmental, chlorine
A-C CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_IL, education, release, response, unknown_chemical
NATIONAL ACADEMIES REPORT CALLS FOR IMPROVED CHEMISTRY COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC " C&EN **At_Symbol_Here** ACS SAN DIEGO 2016
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
CITIES ACROSS THE WEST COAST ARE UNITING AGAINST MONSANTO
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
LAB CHEMICALS "KILL TEACHER"
Tags: Zimbabwe, laboratory, death, release, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS WORK TO CLEAN UP CHEMICALS AFTER FIRE AT PORT OF CATOOSA COMPANY
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, hydrochloric_acid, zinc
Catoosa, Okla. " The Tulsa fire department responded to a fire at the AZZ Galvanizing company located in the Port of Catoosa Sunday morning.
Officials said hazmat teams and firefighters arrived to find the fire contained to a tank in the building.
Teams had the fire under control fairly quickly.
No one was hurt.
Galvanizing is the process of applying a protective zinc coat to steel or iron to prevent rusting.
Hydrochloric acid is one of several chemicals used.
Now a main concern is stopping the spread of chemicals used in the galvanizing plant from going into the nearby river.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC CHEMICAL FOUND IN DOZENS OF N.J. WATER SYSTEMS
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Small amounts of a probable carcinogen were found in more than 80 water systems in every part of the state, according to an analysis of federal data by The Record.
The chemical, 1,4-dioxane, raised concerns after it was found at a Superfund site in Ringwood. 1,4-dioxane can damage the liver, kidney and respiratory systems.
Ken Garrison, the borough engineer for Fair Lawn, which supplies water to its 32,000 residents, called on regulators to provide guidance to water suppliers.
Garrett asks for test results from Ringwood Superfund site
A probable carcinogen was found at the site.
The Environmental Protection Agency classifies 1,4-dioxane as an "unregulated contaminant" because it lacks enough data to determine its impact on health and prevalence in water supplies. The state Department of Environmental Protection plans to eventually develop a drinking water standard for 1,4-dioxane, but is currently focused on developing standards for other dangerous chemicals found in state water supplies.
---------------------------------------------
EMERGENCY MEETINGS OVER CHEMICAL IN WATER SUPPLY
Tags: Jersey, public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
FARMERS have been holding emergency meetings with the Environment Minister after the discovery of agricultural chemicals in the Island"s water supply forced Jersey Water to take Val de la Mare out of service.
The Environment Department is considering the introduction of new measures to tighten chemical applications on farmland after high levels of oxadixyl, which has not been used in Jersey for 13 years, was discovered in samples taken from around the Island.
Oxadixyl does not pose a risk to health nor is it a banned product.
Residues of the herbicides linuron and metribuzin, which are used to control weeds in potato production, were also detected in Val de la Mare, but Jersey Water says they too do not pose a health risk.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL AFTER QLD TRUCK CRASH
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
Sulfuric acid has been spilt in a road train rollover on a highway in northwest Queensland.
The Flinders Highway at Maxwelton, near Richmond, will be closed for at least a day as authorities clean up the hazardous material.
There is a 10km exclusion zone around the spill site.
The leak is just 100km from where an estimated 80,000 litres of sulfuric acid was spilt in a train derailment amid a drought-breaking deluge in late December.
The truck was carrying three tanks of sulfuric acid when it rolled on the highway on Monday afternoon.
One of those tanks had leaked, a police spokesman said.
The truck driver was taken to hospital for observation.
---------------------------------------------
STORAGE TANK CATCHES FIRE POSSIBLY FROM LIGHTNING STRIKE
Tags: us_LA, public, fire, response, petroleum
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
St. George Fire crews were working to put out massive flames as a storage tank caught fire possibly from a lightning strike Friday evening.
Firefighters were called out to an oilfield storage tank area in the 200 block of Longwood Plantation Road off Nicholson Drive around 8 p.m. Friday during a heavy thunderstorm. They said that one only of five tanks in the area was engulfed in flames.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Officials said it may have been caused by a lightning strike, as first reported, but they are not sure if that was the actual cause.
The tank, which contained between 40 and 43 barrels of crude oil, caught fire and burned to the ground. The contents inside the tank were still burning, but the fire was contained.
Firefighters said the safest thing was to allow the fire to burn out to the point to allow crews to extinguish it with foam. Once the foam was applied, the fire was out around 11:30 p.m.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK AT LAFAYETTE REC CENTER SENDS 22 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, chlorine
A chemical leak at a Lafayette recreation center on Saturday sent 22 people to a hospital.
Those taken to the hospital were suffering from coughing, nausea and vomiting, according to a news release from the city.
Fire and hazardous material squads who responded to the scene did not detect lingering gas or chemicals in the air on Saturday night.
Still, the recreation center will be closed to the public on Sunday. However, staff will open the building from noon to 5 p.m. so people can pick up things they had to leave during the evacuation.
It has not been determined if the center will re-open for public use on Monday when the Boulder County Health Department will test the water.
The city described the situation as a "potential chemical incident in the pool area" at the Bob L. Burger Recreation Center. The Lafayette Fire Department was called at 4:10 p.m.
Everyone at the center evacuated to a nearby elementary school, the news release said.
The Boulder County Hazardous Materials Team also responded and was investigating the cause.
The Daily Camera newspaper reported the chemical was chlorine. The center and the street approaching it, North Public Road, were closed.
---------------------------------------------
LAREDO FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, corrosives
LAREDO, TEXAS (KGNS) - The Laredo Fire Department responded to a chemical spill near the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge Friday afternoon.
One gallon of miuriatic acid, a corrosive chemical used to clean swimming pools, was dropped by a vehicle - causing fire department officials to bring in their Hazardous Material Response Unit to report to the scene.
Kgns spoke to Laredo Fire Department's Victor Lopez for details.
"They put some absorbent to try to get off as much as they could, and then also they used approximately about 3,000 gallons to wash it. It's diluted. So there's no danger", says Lopez.
Lopez added although a gallon of the acid was dropped on the highway, only about a quart of the chemical was actually spilled.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT SOUTH MEMPHIS BIODIESEL PLANT PROMPTS EVACUATIONS
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, response, biodiesel, methanol
A chemical flowing from a storage tank caught fire at a biofuels plant in a Memphis neighborhood Friday, creating a big blaze that caused employees to flee, prompted a nearby school to keep children indoors and forced some firefighters to go through decontamination procedures.
No injuries were reported in the fire at the Agrileum plant on Deadrick Avenue, near the intersection of Lamar and Airways in South Memphis.
The company's website says it produces biodiesel from vegetable oil, animal fats and processed used cooking oil. The person listed on Agrileum's website as company president, Brandon Sheley, said he'd retired at the end of 2015 and didn't have information on the fire. He declined to provide contact information for current company leaders.
The fire was reported shortly before 2 p.m., fire department spokesman Lt. Wayne Cooke said. Employees evacuated and the fire department checked nearby houses to make sure residents left, too. Students at nearby Magnolia Elementary School were ordered to remain indoors temporarily and parents were briefly told not to pick up their children.
The chemical that caught fire was methanol, which is used in the process of making biodiesel, Cooke said. The flammable liquid somehow escaped a 2,500-gallon tank and began burning on the floor.
Cooke said the material is "toxic if inhaled or if it gets on the skin it can potentially cause burns." Firefighters who were exposed to the methanol had to go through decontamination procedures, he said.
---------------------------------------------
WINNEBAGO COUNTY TO RECEIVE $5K IN SEWARD NOVA-KEM EXPLOSION SETTLEMENT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, environmental, chlorine
ROCKFORD " The Winnebago County State's Attorney's office announced today that Nova-Kem, LLC will pay the county to settle a lawsuit filed in the aftermath of a 2013 explosion at a Seward plant.
State's Attorney Joe Bruscato said Winnebago County will receive $5,000 in civil penalties in an environmental enforcement suit filed by the States' Attorney and the Illinois Attorney General. Nova-Kem also will pay $45,500 in civil penalties to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and another $44,500 in response costs to the IEPA Hazardous Waste Fund.
A June 2013 explosion at a Nova-Kem chemical processing plant, which manufactured chemicals used in the production of memory chips for electronics, forced the evacuation of some Seward residents.
The IEPA allowed work to resume at the plant in August 2013 after supervising the post-explosion cleanup.
The lawsuit, which was filed shortly after the incident, stated "Nova-Kem put the community and the environment in substantial danger because of how it operated the facility at the time of the explosion."
Firefighters couldn't use water to put out the fire because chemicals were involved in the explosion, so the flames also damaged a nearby warehouse on the property, Bruscato said. He said chlorine gas tanks near the explosion may have contaminated the air and soil around the plant.
---------------------------------------------
A-C CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_IL, education, release, response, unknown_chemical
Children and staff at A-C Central Junior High and High School were evacuated Friday morning due to a possible chemical spill.
The evacuation was precautionary.
Fire officials were called to the building in Ashland just after 10 am Friday for a report of an unidentified smell.
Officials identified the smell as a chemical spill in the shop area.
The building was evacuated for a short period of time and students returned to class.
---------------------------------------------
NATIONAL ACADEMIES REPORT CALLS FOR IMPROVED CHEMISTRY COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC " C&EN **At_Symbol_Here** ACS SAN DIEGO 2016
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
When members of the public think of chemistry, they often conjure images of explosions and pollution rather than new materials, drugs, or energy solutions.
That"s the view being taken by a National Research Council report released earlier this month that aims to give chemists better tools for explaining chemistry to nonscientists. "We need to break down that barrier," said Northwestern University chemistry professor Mark A. Ratner when announcing the report at a press conference this week at the American Chemical Society national meeting in San Diego. Ratner is cochair of the committee that created the report.
The report, "Effective Chemistry Communication in Informal Environments," argues that chemists face special challenges when communicating with the public. Most people take just one high school chemistry class. And outside of school, chemistry is underrepresented in the public discourse about science. For example, chemistry is the field least likely to be shared online, the report shows, and it is underrepresented in science museums compared with other science disciplines.
---------------------------------------------
CITIES ACROSS THE WEST COAST ARE UNITING AGAINST MONSANTO
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
Monsanto may have stopped developing Polychlorinated Biphenyls " typically known as PCBs " nearly four decades ago, but on the West Coast, lawsuits associated with this toxic group of chemicals keep mounting against the agrochemical giant.
On Wednesday, the Portland City Council voted to sue the Monsanto Company in federal court. Once Portland files the suit, it will become the seventh city to go after Monsanto over the toxic chemicals it produced, Portland City Attorney Tracy Reeve told ThinkProgress.
"Portland"s elected officials are committed to holding Monsanto accountable for its apparent decision to favor profits over ecological and human health," Reeve said in a statement. "Monsanto profited from selling PCBs for decades and needs to take responsibility for cleaning up after the mess it created."
In the resolution unanimously approved by the City Council, Portland claims Monsanto is liable for PCB pollution found in the Willamette River " which crosses the city " the Columbia Slough, and other waterways. PCBs have been widely studied since the class of chemical was first mass manufactured in the late 1920s. Used mainly as insulating fluids in heavy-duty electrical equipment, PCBs were eventually found toxic for humans and wildlife and banned in the United States in 1979.
---------------------------------------------
LAB CHEMICALS "KILL TEACHER"
Tags: Zimbabwe, laboratory, death, release, unknown_chemical
A TEACHER died at Mandwandwe High School in Bulawayo"s Nkulumane suburb after allegedly inhaling poisonous fumes at the science laboratory. The school has been forced to close its science laboratories following the tragedy on Monday.
The Chronicle has established that the Fire Brigade on February 22 recommended the closure of the laboratory, citing harmful gases whose source could not be established.
The school yesterday faced accusations of not following recommended procedures and standards for chemical storage.
Science teacher Trust Ncube died on Monday after complaining of chest pains and reporting breathing difficulties. The following day, the school announced that the science labs were out of bounds, said a source at the school.
Ncube, The Chronicle gathered yesterday, fell sick and asked for some days off, complaining of chest pains but the headmaster, Litmus Moyo, refused to grant him sick leave.
"All the science teachers are sick and several pupils have also shown the same symptoms," a teacher said yesterday.
Following the Fire Brigade"s recommendations in February, the science teachers were given "sub-standard" safety clothes, the teacher claimed.
The headmaster declined an interview, referring questions to the provincial education director Dan Moyo, who said an investigation has been launched.
---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post