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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at 7:52:47 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=9h75wovevzlxxwog4XSzDdpaVwHU3PWZxIrMqf6haIc&s=hlxOh0i7UAIz6I4BoEafl9qQSKOA13EWEwJ1lYc8wMA&e=
Table of Contents (15 articles)
THE STATESMAN: CU ASSURES AID TO COLLEGE
Tags: India, laboratory, follow-up, response
CHEMICAL COMPANIES DECIDE WHAT'S TOXIC, NOT THE EPA OR FDA
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
NE ATLANTA SENIOR CENTER EVACUATED BECAUSE OF CHLORINE LEAK
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, chlorine
ROUTE 31 REOPENS IN JOHNSBURG NEAR MCHENRY AFTER WAX SPILL FORCES AFTERNOON CLOSURE
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, paints
HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE LEAK ON COLLEGE CAMPUS IN WEST CHESTER
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
TANNERITE EXPLOSIONS IN WEST LUBBOCK ALARM RESIDENTS
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, environmental, aluminum_dust, ammonium_nitrate
KOLKATA: MAJOR FIRE BREAKS OUT AT LABORATORY OF BALLYGUNGE SCIENCE COLLEGE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, flammables
THE SMALL MATTER OF SAFETY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, environmental, nanoparticles
FIRE AT LUDHIANA HOSPITAL, 132 EVACUATED
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SMOKE POURS OUT OF HAMBURG CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE AS HUNDREDS OF LITERS OF SULFURIC & NITRIC ACID MIX " RT NEWS
Tags: Germany, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid, sulfuric_acid
CLEANUP UNDERWAY AFTER PORT OF CATOOSA FIRE
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, acids
CARBON MONOXIDE FROM GENERATORS LEFT RUNNING IN BALTIMORE GARAGE SENDS 6 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MD, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
PIPE RUPTURE CAUSES CHEMICAL LEAK IN FORT LAUDERDALE
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide, water_treatment
MEN'S BODY SPRAY SENDS PEOPLE FLEEING FROM SEATTLE CHURCH, DAYCARE
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, other_chemical
OFFICIALS WORK TO CLEAN UP CHEMICALS AFTER FIRE AT PORT OF CATOOSA COMPANY
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, hydrochloric_acid, zinc
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THE STATESMAN: CU ASSURES AID TO COLLEGE
Tags: India, laboratory, follow-up, response
A day after a fire broke out at Ballygunge Science College, the Calcutta University (CU) authorities on Tuesday assured that they would provide financial help to the college as equipment and materials worth Rs.3 crore were damaged. CU vice-chancellor Prof. Sugata Marjit went to the college and assured that they would provide financial help to the college so that they could purchase the materials that have been damaged.
On Monday, some rare scientific equipment of the laboratories were destroyed in a fire and 14 firetenders were pressed into service to control the blaze. According to Prof. Marjit, the science laboratories were destroyed in the fire and the zoological laboratory was badly damaged.
Eleven students who were inside a biochemistry laboratory on the seventh floor of the college were rescued by the fire brigade. Students said they raised an alarm after seeing an electrical wire catching fire on the ground floor of the building. Students also complained that there is only one stair case in the entire building and so when the fire broke out they had to rush to the ground floor in a hurry.
The students claimed that they saw an electrical wire catching fire but before they could do anything the fire had spread to the first floor of the building, where the science laboratory is situated.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL COMPANIES DECIDE WHAT'S TOXIC, NOT THE EPA OR FDA
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
A 2008 draft assessment by the EPA estimated that arsenic was seventeen times more potent than previously thought. In assessing the impact of arsenic on women in particular, the agency estimated that if a hundred thousand women were to consume the legal limit of arsenic currently permitted, 730 would get bladder or lung cancer.
After seeing the draft assessment, the producers of arsenic-based pesticides that hired Charlie Grizzle to lobby for them, Drexel Chemical Co. and Luxembourg-Pamol, began to take action, as did mining companies like Rio Tinto, which also would have been affected by the regulation. As the Center for Public Integrity"s David Heath reported, a group of lobbyists, including Grizzle, set up a meeting with Representative Mike Simpson, the Republican from Idaho, who by 2015 had received a total of $8,000 in campaign donations from Grizzle, according to data compiled and analyzed by the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics.
All it took to send the EPA"s draft assessment to the National Academy of Sciences for a review was for a congressman to slip one paragraph into in a 221-page spending bill. When Heath asked Simpson about the paragraph, he said he worried about small communities not being able to meet drinking water standards.
---------------------------------------------
NE ATLANTA SENIOR CENTER EVACUATED BECAUSE OF CHLORINE LEAK
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, chlorine
A northeast Atlanta senior center had be to evacuated Tuesday morning after a chlorine leak, a fire spokesman said.
Employees were just beginning to arrive at the Helene S. Mills Multipurpose Senior Center in the 500 block of John Wesley Dobbs Avenue when a worker discovered the leak in a pool chemical storage facility, Atlanta Fire Rescue Sgt. Cortez Stafford said.
That employee called 911 and Atlanta fire decontamination units checked the center "to make sure there were no dangers to them or anyone else," he said.
John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and Boulevard were temporarily closed while authorities processed the scene. Authorities ultimately found the leak was "not hazardous and non-threatening to anyone" because the worker quickly reported it, Stafford said.
---------------------------------------------
ROUTE 31 REOPENS IN JOHNSBURG NEAR MCHENRY AFTER WAX SPILL FORCES AFTERNOON CLOSURE
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, paints
JOHNSBURG " The southbound lanes of Route 31 in Johnsburg were closed for more than nine hours Tuesday after a Carnauba wax spill that occurred in the late morning.
McHenry Township Fire Protection District crews were dispatched at 11:15 a.m. for the chemical spill on Route 31 near Johnsburg Road. Officials requested a hazardous material crew from the Woodstock Fire Rescue Department just after 1 p.m.
The road was reduced to one northbound lane as officials worked throughout the afternoon and evening to clean the spill. The road eventually reopened about 8:45 p.m.
Johnsburg Police Chief Keith Von Allmen said a semitrailer was driving near Johnsburg Road with a barrel of the chemical when the barrel began leaking out of the trailer.
He said the Carnauba wax was in liquid form but solidified once it came in contact with the pavement and formed a wax coating over three of the road's four lanes for about 100 to 150 yards.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency arrived in the afternoon and released fire personnel from the scene. Police and a cleanup crew remained on the site to clear the road, and the Illinois State Police came and inspected the truck, Von Allmen said.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE LEAK ON COLLEGE CAMPUS IN WEST CHESTER
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- Hazmat crews arrived on West Chester University's campus to investigate a leak at the science center.
The incident happened around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday on the 700 block of South Church Street.
Crews cordoned an area and investigated a leak inside the science lab.
After a thorough check, they gave an all-clear sign.
There were no injuries or evacuations reported.
---------------------------------------------
TANNERITE EXPLOSIONS IN WEST LUBBOCK ALARM RESIDENTS
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, environmental, aluminum_dust, ammonium_nitrate
Last week, concerned viewers reached out to the station reporting of 'loud booms' and explosions out of the West Lubbock area.
The Lubbock County Sheriff"s Office bomb squad was also contacted. They were able to determine that the series of explosion sounds were a result of residents shooting Tannerite out at their property.
Tannerite is a binary explosive that many shooters use to amplify their recreational target practice. It is composed of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder. When a bullet hits Tannerite at a high velocity, it causes a chemical reaction that results in a large water vapor cloud along with a loud explosion.
For some the noise is unsettling, for others it"s the sound of a good time.
"Tannerite is just something else for people to enjoy shooting," said Jerry Sanders, a range safety officer and supervisor of the Lubbock Shooting Complex range. He wants to remind others that you cannot shoot Tannerite at a gun range, the best place to do so is on private property. "It makes a big boom. You do need to be a safe distance away from it though, just because of the shock wave of it. If you"re taking precaution, there shouldn"t be any danger or property damage."
This form of target practice is legal, and safe if done properly. You can purchase Tannerite and nearly any firearm store.
---------------------------------------------
KOLKATA: MAJOR FIRE BREAKS OUT AT LABORATORY OF BALLYGUNGE SCIENCE COLLEGE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, flammables
A major fire broke out inside the Zoological laboratory of Ballygunge Science College late afternoon on Monday.
Around 6 pm, when several students took the elevator, sparks were spotted, which later spread to the laboratory. Since the laboratory had several species of birds and animals preserved in inflammable solution, the fire rapidly spread across it.
The nervous students rushed to the roof and could not take the stairs as it was filled with smoke.
Immediately, several fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the fire. As many as 14 fire tenders brought the fire control. The students were brought down with the help of external ladders by the officials of Fire and Emergency Services Department and escaped unhurt.
Ambulance, trauma units were stationed outside the college to prevent any untoward incident.
While the cause of the fire is yet to be known, the entire laboratory was gutted in the incident. The extent of damage due to fire is also yet to be known. ANI reports that the fire spread to the eighth floor from the laboratory.
---------------------------------------------
THE SMALL MATTER OF SAFETY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, environmental, nanoparticles
Nanomaterials have the potential to ignite, explode and cause serious damage to human health. Therefore, safety experts are working tirelessly to manage the risks and reduce the likelihood of harmful exposure. Robert Smith reports.
The Health and Safety Executive"s (HSE) archives are chock-full of information dedicated to the safe handling of materials commonly used throughout the science and engineering community.
Yet although working with nanomaterials isn"t considered a "new science", the guidelines which seek to govern their use are.
"In 2009 university safety practitioners realised they needed agreed guidance for those working with nanomaterials," says David Kinnison, faculty & chemistry safety adviser at the University of Southampton.
Until 2012, researchers only had access to a range of safety guidelines from individual research establishments, he says.
Guiding the way
Therefore in 2012 the Working Safely with Nanomaterials in Research & Development guidance was published by the UK Nanosafety Partnership Group " now the UK NanoSafety Group (UKNSG). The guidelines are also endorsed by the HSE.
Kinnison, who is also co-author of the nanomaterials safety guidelines, says the UKNSG wanted to create practical guidance for laboratory researchers that was authoritative and could withstand academic scrutiny.
"We began by corralling information used in the US and Europe and we pulled together different pieces of research and information to create uniform guidance for the UK," Kinnison says.
Kinnison says the group is now ready to launch a second edition of the guidance, having reviewed the literature and shared its initial findings.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT LUDHIANA HOSPITAL, 132 EVACUATED
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A fire broke out at the Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Hospital in Sherpur last night. No casualties have been reported.
As many as 132 patients from the emergency and general wards, including eight newborns, who were in Intensive Care Unit, were evacuated.
Three patients on life support systems were later moved to the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).
The fire started at a laboratory at midnight. Efforts to control the initial blaze with fire extinguishers yielded no results.
As the laboratory is housed in the basement of the hospital building, the billowing smoke filled the Emergency ward at the ground floor.
The hospital authorities called to Fire Brigade. The blaze was brought under control at 8 am, fire officials said.
Dr VK Kaushal, Medical Director of the hospital, said, "We evacuated all the patients to safety. Everything is under control."
The authorities did not reveal the cause of fire while fire officials suspected some chemical reaction led to the fire.
---------------------------------------------
SMOKE POURS OUT OF HAMBURG CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE AS HUNDREDS OF LITERS OF SULFURIC & NITRIC ACID MIX " RT NEWS
Tags: Germany, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid, sulfuric_acid
Smoke is pouring out of a chemical warehouse in Hamburg, Germany, after a forklift truck slashed a barrel of sulfuric acid, which mixed with a container of nitric acid that had fallen off a shelf. Firefighters are at the scene.
A large-scale fire brigade operation is currently underway, according to local media. More than 40 firefighters are at the warehouse, which has been contaminated with toxic fumes.
---------------------------------------------
CLEANUP UNDERWAY AFTER PORT OF CATOOSA FIRE
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, acids
The fire broke out in a tank inside the AZZ Galvanizing in Catoosa around 9:30 a.m.
A security guard said he saw the smoke and called 911.
Tulsa firefighters, Rogers County Emergency Management and hazmat crews responded.
Over 40 firefighters came to the scene.The fire was put out around 10 a.m.
The state fire marshal's office will investigate the cause.
Some chemicals were washed into the building's storm drains. Crews are building dams to keep the water carrying chemicals from running off.
The Department of Environmental Quality is helping oversee the site clean-up.
Hazmat crews decontaminated some of their own equipment for possible chemical exposure. A full clean-up could take days.
The structure was not destroyed, and port officials said no one was in the building. No one was injured.
Port workers are checking ph levels to see how many chemicals went into the underground storm water system.
The facility contained HCL acids, zinc ammonium chloride solution (PREFLUX), molten zinc, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), aqua ammonia (ammonium hydroxide) and sodium hydroxide (CAUSTIC).
---------------------------------------------
CARBON MONOXIDE FROM GENERATORS LEFT RUNNING IN BALTIMORE GARAGE SENDS 6 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MD, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
Generators left running overnight in a West Baltimore garage resulted in six people being hospitalized Monday morning, the city's fire department said.
Baltimore Fire, EMS and hazmat teams responded before 8 a.m. to the 1800 block of Laurens Street in Sandtown-Winchester. The initial call was for a natural gas leak, according to fire department spokesman Samuel Johnson Jr.
"High levels of carbon monoxide" were found coming from a business, Johnson said.
"Individuals from the business and those from an adjacent home were affected by the fumes," Johnson said, and first responders requested three medic unites to respond to the scene.
Four adults and two children were taken to area hospitals in stable condition, Johnson said.
---------------------------------------------
PIPE RUPTURE CAUSES CHEMICAL LEAK IN FORT LAUDERDALE
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide, water_treatment
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews were called Monday after there was a large hydrogen peroxide leak near the city wastewater treatment plant.
The leak occurred around 5:20 p.m. when a pipe that "pushes hydrogen peroxide" into other sewage pipes broke, leaving the chemical sitting in a vault under a manhole around the 1100 block of Southeast 17th Street, said city spokesman Chaz Adams.
Crews will be working through the night to safely remove about 400 to 500 gallons of the highly-concentrated chemical.
"The biggest concern is that hydrogen peroxide actually reacts with anything organic," Adams said. Hazmat crews will be using plastic buckets to "very slowly and carefully bring it out of the holding tank and then neutralize it."
---------------------------------------------
MEN'S BODY SPRAY SENDS PEOPLE FLEEING FROM SEATTLE CHURCH, DAYCARE
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, other_chemical
While commercials for this body fragrance imply people will be drawn to the user, this encounter with the deodorant had people fleeing a building in Seattle on Friday.
A can of Axe body spray is being blamed for an incident that had the Seattle Fire Department evacuating a University District church and daycare center, and calling in a hazmat team.
A backpack left in a bathroom was giving off "cough inducing fumes" on March 18, according to the Seattle Police Department. That prompted a call to 911. After responding to the scene, fire crews called in a hazmat team to handle the noxious fumes.
After the church building was evacuated, and a neighboring daycare, and the surrounding streets were blocked off, the team ventured into the fume-filled bathroom.
It didn't take long, however, for the team to identify the source of the offending vapors. The can of Axe body spray was found to be malfunctioning and continuously giving off the fumes.
---------------------------------------------
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.
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