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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, April 11, 2016 at 6:55:49 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=CwIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=9af8_KRdcr5Foi6bpXk27JZqfFtVSLhGETsvlRNhak0&s=dSZyQSzQikAB7-APyKVpGR5A3jhIIAXJ-H9K3uQx5Cw&e=
Table of Contents (19 articles)
A DRONE WITH A NOSE FOR METHANE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, methane, natural_gas
MINOR LEAK REPORTED AT CEDAR RAPIDS SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, chlorine
HAZMAT TEAM REMOVES POWDERED BRIEFS FROM GROVER BEACH
Tags: us_CA, public, release, environmental, dust
LESSONS LEARNED DATABASE
Tags: us_ID, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
FIREWORKS DISASTER AT KERALA TEMPLE KILLS MORE THAN 100 IN SOUTH INDIA
Tags: India, public, explosion, death, fireworks
UNH AMONG WATER SYSTEMS WITH ELEVATED LEAD LEVELS
Tags: us_NH, education, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
JUDGE SEEKS MORE INFORMATION IN CHEMICAL SPILL-RELATED CASE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
ARE CHEMICAL PEELS CHEMICALS?
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, acids
FIRE IN CHEMICAL GODOWN
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, solvent
EVIL SCIENTIST ACADEMY: BRING ON THE CHEMICAL CHAOS
Tags: us_UT, laboratory, discovery, response, bomb, carbon_dioxide, metals
FRACKING WELLS CAN CUT THEIR TOXIC CHEMICAL USE
Tags: Canada, industrial, discovery, response, hydrogen_sulfide
BROOKSHIRE RAMP TO I-85 CLOSED AFTER PAINT SPILL FOR ABOUT 10 HOURS
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
120 PEOPLE EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT SITUATION NEAR FLL
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO TRAIN DERAILMENT IN TEWKSBURY
Tags: us_MA, transportation, discovery, response, carbon_dioxide
CHEMICAL TRUCK ERUPTS IN FIRE IN WOODBRIDGE
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT BAYTOWN EXXONMOBIL PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum
RIVERSIDE: UCR CHEMISTRY LAB MISHAP IRRITATES EYES OF 9 STUDENTS
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, irritant, tear_gas
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT IN WESTLAKE VILLAGE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
CSX HONORS 78 CUSTOMERS WITH CHEMICAL SAFETY EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental
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A DRONE WITH A NOSE FOR METHANE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, methane, natural_gas
Unpiloted aircraft, or drones, can sniff methane from hundreds of meters away from the source, making them promising sentries for early detection of natural gas leaks, say researchers from NASA; the University of California, Merced; and the Pipeline Research Council International, an organization of energy pipeline companies. The team announced last week that a 1.7-kg drone known as a quadcopter detected parts-per-billion levels of methane thanks to a miniaturized open path laser spectrometer. Such sensitivity is key to identifying"from the sky"small leaks from natural gas pipelines or storage facilities, says team member Lance Christensen, a chemist at NASA"s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The sensor"s laser excites methane molecules as they trickle into the instrument, creating measurable disturbances in the optical signal. Ultimately, a network of drones could monitor natural gas infrastructure around the clock, but researchers will need to optimize the detection syst!
em first, Christensen says. For example, the team is working to install sensors on small fixed-wing drones, which can fly longer and farther than quadcopters. The drones will also need sensors that can differentiate among methane sources, such as livestock and gas lines, Christensen adds.
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MINOR LEAK REPORTED AT CEDAR RAPIDS SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, chlorine
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) -- A minor leak of a chlorine tank prompted the Cedar Rapids fire department's hazmat unit to respond to the sewage treatment facility Sunday morning.
It happened has plant employees were changing chlorine tanks in one of the buildings, when the tank started to leak at the top.
The hazmat crew shut off the leak and vented the building naturally.
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HAZMAT TEAM REMOVES POWDERED BRIEFS FROM GROVER BEACH
Tags: us_CA, public, release, environmental, dust
What happens when someone receives the wrong package from Amazon, one with several odd items including men"s undergarments sprinkled with a cosmetic powder? Roads are closed and the San Luis Obispo County Hazardous Materials team is called in.
On Sunday afternoon, a resident on the 300 block of North 11th Street in Grover Beach opened a package that arrived in the mail and called 911. While the recipient was expecting plumbing parts, the package contained men"s briefs, hot sauce, ladies stockings and a loose dusting of a white powder.
Grover Beach officers arrived, closed North 11th Street from Brighton Avenue to Newport Avenue and called the Five Cities Fire Department, SLO County Hazardous Materials Response Team, SLO County Environmental Health Services and the FBI to the scene. The FBI quickly determined the cosmetic powder poised no threat to public heath, according to a press release.
Nevertheless, the investigation is ongoing.
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LESSONS LEARNED DATABASE
Tags: us_ID, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
Statement: Glovebox support systems that are part of the confinement barrier should be evaluated for the potential of equipment wear and confinement failure (as demonstrated by metal fatigue with the bellows pumps in this case).
Discussion: In late August and early September 2014, releases of airborne radioactivity occurred with the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) glovebox in the Fuel Manufacturing Facility.
The releases occurred when arc melting in the glovebox with transuranics containing americium (Am)-241. A lab-scale arc melter was used to make new metal alloys for research.
Airborne radioactivity in the form of Am-241 was detected on filters from radiological air monitoring equipment but no surface contamination in the room or on equipment was found. Various manipulations and activities were later performed with the AFCI glovebox to successfully identify and repair the confinement breaches.
Analysis: Analysis/Testing Results:
A modified Helium leak test was used to successfully pinpoint the breaches. Helium leak testing is normally accomplished by positively pressurizing a new (radiologically clean) glovebox and introducing the helium but the potential for contamination release from the AFCI glovebox precluded this as an option. Instead the testing was accomplished by shutting down the primary and secondary pressure controls that maintain negative pressure within the glovebox and manually maintaining only a slight negative pressure during leak testing. A helium source was then attached to a glovebox injection port and helium introduced into the glovebox.
Helium was detected at several places, with the primary leak on a pump for the oxygen analyzer system that draws a gas sample from the glovebox. The pump has metal bellows and metal fatigue created small openings. Additional leaks were found on various support system fittings and on two glovebox feedthroughs
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FIREWORKS DISASTER AT KERALA TEMPLE KILLS MORE THAN 100 IN SOUTH INDIA
Tags: India, public, explosion, death, fireworks
MUMBAI, India " A series of explosions early Sunday caused by a fireworks display during a religious festival at a temple left 106 people dead and hundreds more injured in the southern Indian state of Kerala, the local authorities said.
P. T. Chacko, a spokesman for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of Kerala, said that the fireworks display had been specifically forbidden by officials in the district of Kollam but that the Puttingal temple had gone ahead anyway.
One of the devices landed in the building where the fireworks were being stored, setting off multiple explosions that leveled several buildings, killing and injuring people, K. Hari Kumar, a fire officer at the scene, said in a telephone interview.
"Fragments of the building with huge pieces of burnt crackers were flying all over," said Rajendran, 36, a mason who goes by one name and had traveled with friends from his village 20 miles away to attend the festivities, which marked the start of the new year on the Hindu calendar.
"We all started scrambling for a safe place," Mr. Rajendran said by telephone from his bed in an intensive care unit at the nearby Holy Cross Super Specialty Hospital, where he was taken with broken bones in his face and in one arm. His friends were so badly burned, he said, that he did not know if they would survive.
---------------------------------------------
UNH AMONG WATER SYSTEMS WITH ELEVATED LEAD LEVELS
Tags: us_NH, education, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
An Associated Press review of federal data has identified more than two dozen drinking water systems in New Hampshire where samples have exceeded the federal government"s limit for lead in the last three years.
While no amount of lead exposure is considered safe, an Environmental Protection Agency rule that took effect in 1991 calls for drinking water systems to keep levels below 15 parts per billion. The AP"s analysis of EPA data found that nearly 1,400 of the 75,000 systems that are subject to that rule have exceeded the standard at least once since Jan. 1, 2013.
The list includes 28 water systems in New Hampshire. The largest by far is the University of New Hampshire system, which serves some 16,000 people depending on the time of year.
---------------------------------------------
JUDGE SEEKS MORE INFORMATION IN CHEMICAL SPILL-RELATED CASE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A judge says he wants more information before he'll approve a class-action settlement stemming from a 2014 chemical spill in West Virginia that contaminated drinking water supplies.
The case involves Kanawha Valley residents and businesses and two former top officials from Freedom Industries.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver told lawyers in the case Friday that he wants more details about the finances of one of the former Freedom officials - longtime company co-owner Dennis Farrell.
The judge also wants more details about whether Farrell and former Freedom President Gary Southern remain targeted in any other lawsuits that also could be settled.
The judge told the attorneys to get back to him about those matters by May 13.
---------------------------------------------
ARE CHEMICAL PEELS CHEMICALS?
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, acids
To the contrary, chemical peels are not made of harmful chemicals like the name would suggest, but more commonly made from fruit and milk acids
For centuries, both men and women have been looking for ways to keep their skin clear and youthful. For example, Cleopatra bathed in sour milk to soften her skin and the ladies of the French Court applied a potion made of fermented wine to keep the skin smooth and free from blemishes unknown to them. The positive effect which they obtained from these remedies were due to the alpha hydroxy acid better known as "chemical peels".
Types of Alpha Hydroxy Acids
Alpha hydroxy acids are derived from fruit and milk sugars. The most commonly used alpha hydroxy acids are glycolic acid and lactic acid because they have a special ability to penetrate the skin. The following are the five major types of alpha hydroxy acids found in skincare products and their sources:
glycolic acid " sugar cane
lactic acid " milk
malic acid " apples and pears
citric acid " oranges and lemons
---------------------------------------------
FIRE IN CHEMICAL GODOWN
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, solvent
Fire broke out in a private chemical godown, located at Kondapalli Industrial Development Area (IDA), on the city outskirts on Saturday. Material worth about Rs. 25 lakh was gutted in the mishap. However, nobody was injured.
According to sources, fire broke out in the warehouse in unit which manufactures thinners and wood polish. On being alerted, four fire tenders from Ibrahimpatnam Fire Station and Lanco Company rushed to the spot and put off flames after a few hours.
The cause for the fire is under investigation.
---------------------------------------------
EVIL SCIENTIST ACADEMY: BRING ON THE CHEMICAL CHAOS
Tags: us_UT, laboratory, discovery, response, bomb, carbon_dioxide, metals
The look on the students" faces tells all " these kids love their class even during spring break from public school.
Called the Chemical Chaos Lab, the science curriculum has children arriving early to the classroom grinning in anticipation.
"We get to do fun things," 7-year-old Maleah Pressley said.
Included in the class is extreme kid appeal. The theme at the Lehi Legacy Center was "Crazy Minion Antics and Disastrous Science Experiments Abound when the Minion Take Over the Lab."
"It"s a fabulous program," Abby Havea said. The program coordinator for the center, Havea said this is the second session for Chemical Chaos Lab at the center.
Science "experiments" include dry ice freeze rays, annoying sound effects, melting metal in hot water, funny voice changers, stinky fart blasters, super loud air horns and exploding "bomb" bags.
Certain to appeal to elementary-age children, the curriculum was designed by a Forbes Elementary fifth grade teacher in American Fork, Matt Shurtleff, who is director of Evil Science Academy LLC founded in 2012.
It took him approximately three years to develop the curriculum, he said.
"I love science, and I wanted to see more kids participate," Shurtleff said. "I think kids aren"t getting more hands on in the schools and so I wanted to give more kids the chance to do more exciting experiments."
He had a West Jordan High School chemistry teacher, Mr. Dunneback, who inspired him.
"He was always doing fun stuff," Shurtleff said, such as inflating marshmallows in a vacuum pump and extracting the air from the container making the marshmallow expand to three times its size.
One time, Dunneback wanted to show his students a highly sensitive mixture that would explode if there was a slight breeze. He created a small mixture the night before and left it on the counter for class the next day.
---------------------------------------------
FRACKING WELLS CAN CUT THEIR TOXIC CHEMICAL USE
Tags: Canada, industrial, discovery, response, hydrogen_sulfide
When oil and gas companies extract fuel from the earth via fracking, they routinely add biocides such as glutaraldehyde to the high-pressure water they use to fracture rock formations deep underground. These compounds are a preemptive strike against microbes that produce hydrogen sulfide, which can corrode pipelines.
New research, however, calls into question the across-the-board addition of toxic biocides to water used in fracking. Jason Gaspar and Pedro Alvarez at Rice University and colleagues, including scientists at energy firm Statoil, performed numerous tests at fracking sites in the Bakken Shale Formation in the north-central U.S. and in Canada. There, they found that H2S might be formed in fracking wells by geochemical reactions, rather than microbes (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.2016, DOI:10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00075).
At the Bakken sites, the team found, temperatures at the depths that the biocide-laden water is injected run about 120 å¡C, too hot for sulfogenic microbes to survive. In addition, DNA tests of injected water samples showed no evidence of microbes, and sulfur isotope analysis indicated that H2S recovered from the samples was produced abiotically.
---------------------------------------------
BROOKSHIRE RAMP TO I-85 CLOSED AFTER PAINT SPILL FOR ABOUT 10 HOURS
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
CHARLOTTE, N.C. "
Charlotte firefighters had to block a busy Charlotte highway Friday morning after hundreds of gallons of paint were spilled across the road.
North Carolina Department of Transportation said Brookshire Boulevard won't reopen until 8 a.m. Saturday morning.
Crews responded to the Brookshire Boulevard southbound ramp to Interstate 85 around 8 a.m. after they said nearly 300 gallons of paint spilled across the roadway.
---------------------------------------------
120 PEOPLE EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT SITUATION NEAR FLL
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
A building near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was evacuated after a hazmat team responded Friday.
Crews were called to the reported hazmat situation at 1050 Lee Wagner Boulevard. Broward Sheriff's Deputy crews report that seven patients were evaluated and two were transported. They also report that approximately 120 people had to be evacuated from the building as crews responded to the scene.
The area is near the rear entrance to the airport where several private hangars are located.
The all-clear was later given.
No further information was immediately available.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO TRAIN DERAILMENT IN TEWKSBURY
Tags: us_MA, transportation, discovery, response, carbon_dioxide
TEWKSBURY (CBS) " Early Friday afternoon a Pan-Am Railways train derailed near the area of Shawsheen Street in Tewksbury.
Train workers spent the afternoon trying to return the three carbon dioxide railcars back on the tracks.
Fire and hazmat crews were on scene trying to fix the problem. There is CO2 in the tankers which are why they are took all necessary precautions.
There have been no reports of leaks or damage or any injuries. Shawsheen Street remained open to all traffic and businesses in the area are open as well.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL TRUCK ERUPTS IN FIRE IN WOODBRIDGE
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
Woodbridge, NJ - We have photos and more info. on that vehicle fire we told you about Thursday morning on Rt. 9 South in Woodbridge Township:
At around 9:40 am. Thursday a tractor trailer loaded with chemicals was reported on fire on Rt. 9 South, just north of Woodbridge Center in front of the Woodbridge EMS building.
The entire tractor trailer was quickly completely engulfed in the flames, police and eyewitnesses said. It was transporting unknown chemicals, said Captain Roy Hoppock of the Woodbridge police. People who work and live in the area reported hearing several loud explosions as the truck burned, and police reportedly cleared the scene, concerned about a possible explosion.
"We did hear three or four booms " they sounded like really loud popping noises," Emily Meyers, who works nearby at the National MS Society-NJ Metro Chapter, told Patch. "We saw the truck engulfed in flames from our outside window, which is where the pictures were taken from."
There no injuries and the truck's driver was able to jump out of the cab. What caused the fire remains unknown at this time. Thick black smoke could be seen throughout the area from the blaze.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT BAYTOWN EXXONMOBIL PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum
here will be an investigation into a fire at the ExxonMobil complex in Baytown, company officials said.
Flames broke out at about 4:40 p.m. Thursday, sending heavy clouds of smoke along Bayway Drive near West.
No injuries were reported and workers at the facility have been accounted for.
"We are cooperating with necessary regulatory agencies, and a thorough investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of this incident," according to a company statement. "We deeply regret any disruption or inconvenience that this incident may have caused the community."
The company will conduct air monitoring operations around the plant and in the nearby community as a precaution, officials said.
Exxon's 3,400-acre Baytown complex includes the nation's second-largest refinery and a sprawling petrochemical plant.
---------------------------------------------
RIVERSIDE: UCR CHEMISTRY LAB MISHAP IRRITATES EYES OF 9 STUDENTS
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, irritant, tear_gas
A chemistry lab mishap irritated the eyes of nine UC Riverside students, city fire officials say.
The accident happened about 7:20 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and caused mild irritation that firefighters treated by flushing the students' eyes with water, said Battalion Chief Jeff DeLaurie.
"They were beginning to do their class experiments," DeLaurie said. "What they think happened: One of the hot plates was (mistakenly) turned on. And the chemical they were using reacted to the heat...releasing some fumes.
"That wasn't part of the plan."
None of the students required a trip to the hospital.
Firefighters learned that the chemical involved in the incident was ethyl bromoacetate.
The result of the inadvertent heating was similar to releasing tear gas.
"The first chemical weapon to be used to control civil unrest was ethyl bromoacetate," according to a World Health Organization document entitled Effects on Health of Chemical Weapons. "The highly irritant vapour was intended to temporarily disable mobs."
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT IN WESTLAKE VILLAGE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Los Angeles County firefighters responded to a hazmat incident in Westlake Village Thursday morning, officials said.
The incident was reported about 11 a.m. in the 5700 block of Lindero Canyon Road.
A large commercial building in the area is being remodeled.
Originally 12 people complained about difficulty breathing and itchy eyes, but later only four people had been affected by an unknown substance, said Los Angeles County Firefighter Humberto Agucia. They were all assessed at the scene and were not transported to a hospital.
Firefighters eventually cleared the scene but health officials were trying to determine what the substance was.
---------------------------------------------
CSX HONORS 78 CUSTOMERS WITH CHEMICAL SAFETY EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CSX Corporation (Nasdaq:CSX) yesterday announced the recipients of its 22nd annual Chemical Safety Excellence Award, recognizing 78 customers for their commitment to the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail.
"CSX's commitment to safety - for our customers, our employees and the communities we serve - is the foundation of the decisions we make every day," said Skip Elliott
, vice president - Public Safety, Health and Environment. "We're honored to work with customers who share this value as we deliver safe, reliable rail service to move their important products around the country."
The Chemical Safety Excellence Awards recognize customers who ship more than 600 carloads of hazardous materials during the year without a release due to controllable factors such as not securing valves or closures properly. CSX and its customers work together to ensure that hazardous materials are transported safely and employees are properly trained on safe loading and handling procedures.
Many of the recipients are repeat winners, representing a wide variety of industries such as energy, technology and agriculture. This year, CSX recognized a continued commitment to excellence by companies that have been listed for five years (Arizona Chemical Company; Ascend Performance Materials; Aux Sable Liquid Products; Cargill; CHS; Dow Corning; MarkWest Hydrocarbon, Inc.; Plains Marketing, LP; SABIC Americas, Inc.; U.S. Government; and World Fuel Services) and ten years (Akzo Nobel Chemicals Incorporated and Kemira).
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