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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, May 9, 2016 at 6:48:06 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=DQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=704fZ2kTbXJBaZ23Lqb42_OvTp9Kz9HjHU8rmNZ_Ya4&s=4sbWKQcT8pY-CA73gZYHa2bwYO27BaHqhB3rINnJFUQ&e=
Table of Contents (24 articles)
WRONG-WAY I-5 DRIVER HITS TRUCK WITH HYDROCHLORIC ACID
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN FORENSIC LAB AT SAGAR, NO DAMAGE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FEDS TO STUDY POTENTIAL CHEMICAL ATTACK ON NYC SUBWAY SYSTEM
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE IN WINTERHAY LANE, ILMINSTER (FROM THIS IS THE WEST COUNTRY)
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL TANKER EXPLODES IN NANJING, TWO MISSING
Tags: China, transportation, explosion, injury, petroleum
IN ADDITION TO SAINT-GOBAIN, 43 COMPANIES IN N.H. HAVE USED PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NH, industrial, discovery, environmental, plastics
NTU LABORATORY BELCHES SMOKE AFTER SUSPECTED GAS LEAK
Tags: Taiwan, laboratory, fire, response, fluorine, helium, krypton
CHEMICAL LEAK LEADS TO EVACUATION AT PORT EVERGLADES
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, cyanide, sodium_cyanide
CONTAMINATION FEARS REMAIN AFTER HOUSTON CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, runoff
CHEMICAL BREAKDOWN PART 1
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, metals, peroxide, pesticides, petroleum, titanium
FIGHTING A FIRE CAN BE COSTLY
Tags: industrial, follow-up, response, asphalt, paints
MILITARY LABS ARE TOO CARELESS WITH DEADLY DISEASES: REPORT
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
DO CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS WORK? å• ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER å• ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT NEWS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
60+ EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN PORT EVERGLADES
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL-TAINTED CREEK CONCERNS RESIDENTS AFTER FIRE IN SPRING BRANCH
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, environmental, dye, petroleum
THINKING AHEAD IN GRADUATE SCHOOL
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
FIRM APOLOGIZES FOR POISONING HUNDREDS
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, public, discovery, environmental, cleaners
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT NATIONAL CHEMICAL LABORATORY IN PUNE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, various_chemicals
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT MORATUWA UNIVERSITY LABORATORY
Tags: Sri_Lanka, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
STUDENT BECOMES UNWELL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LABORATORY (FROM EVENING TIMES)
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
RESIDENTS IN BUCKS COUNTY TOLD TO SHELTER IN PLACE AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, ferric_chloride, water_treatment
BROOKLYN MANUFACTURER FACES $105K IN FINES AFTER OSHA FINDS DANGEROUS LEAD, NOISE AND CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Tags: us_NY, industrial, discovery, response, other_chemical
STUDENT ARRESTED AFTER EXPLOSION AT SAN PASQUAL ACADEMY
Tags: us_CA, education, explosion, response, bomb, cleaners
TORRANCE REFINERY EXPLOSION COST CALIFORNIA DRIVERS $2.4 BILLION IN HIGH PUMP PRICES, STUDY SAYS
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, gasoline
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WRONG-WAY I-5 DRIVER HITS TRUCK WITH HYDROCHLORIC ACID
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (KOIN) " A wrong-way driver slammed into a semi-truck carrying hydrochloric acid on I-5 north of Grants Pass in the very early hours of Sunday.
The crash happened around 2:45 a.m. Sunday, ODOT said. The crash caused the acid to leak onto the road and hazmat teams were called in from Medford.
Traffic was slowed in the area until 8:30 a.m.
The wrong-way driver, 27-year-old Ashley Whipple, was hospitalized with minor injuries. She was reportedly intoxicated at the time of the crash, according to OSP.
Whipple was cited for DUII and released.
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FIRE BREAKS OUT IN FORENSIC LAB AT SAGAR, NO DAMAGE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SS Parmar, director of the lab, told reporters that around midnight, guard informed him about the fire. The incident took place at the recovery room where bullets are recovered after test fire, he said. "Generally important documents are not kept in this room," he said. Luckily, it did not spread at parts of the lab where important things are exhibited, Parmar added.
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FEDS TO STUDY POTENTIAL CHEMICAL ATTACK ON NYC SUBWAY SYSTEM
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
NEW YORK - (AP) -- New York City commuters could face delays this week as federal authorities test the vulnerability of New York City's subway system to a possible chemical attack.
Beginning at 11 a.m. Monday the Department of Homeland Security will be releasing low concentrations of a harmless, non-toxic gas into several midtown Manhattan subway stations.
Officials say data from the five-day drill will help first responders better understand how airborne contaminants travel through the subway system.
There is no health risk to the public.
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FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE IN WINTERHAY LANE, ILMINSTER (FROM THIS IS THE WEST COUNTRY)
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FIREFIGHTERS took nearly three hours to extinguish a property fire in Ilminster that involved a chemical plant.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service was called to a property fire on Winterhay Lane in the south Somerset town, shortly after 7.30pm.
Two crews from Taunton and Crewkerne were initially mobilised to the incident, along with an incident command unit from Honiton.
Firefighters got to work using two breathing apparatus, a main jet and a thermal imaging camera as they tried to put out the fire, and confirmed the fire involved a chemical plant.
Another appliance from Axminster was requested just before 8pm as firefighters battled to control the fire as it continued to rage.
More than two hours later, at 10.16pm, firefighters confirmed that the fire had been fully extinguished.
The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.
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CHEMICAL TANKER EXPLODES IN NANJING, TWO MISSING
Tags: China, transportation, explosion, injury, petroleum
A chemical tanker exploded at the anchorage area near a petrochemical terminal operated by Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical in Nanjing yesterday.
According to local media reporting, the explosion happened during maintenance work on chemical tanker Su Dong You 0020, with the vessel anchored next to it Su Dong You 0021 also suffering damage. There was no chemicals loaded onboard the two vessels when the explosion occurred.
The fire on the two vessels has been put out, and six of the eight crew onboard them have been rescued, however another two crew members are missing.
Authorities have started investigations into the accident while search and rescue operations are ongoing.
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IN ADDITION TO SAINT-GOBAIN, 43 COMPANIES IN N.H. HAVE USED PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NH, industrial, discovery, environmental, plastics
Saint-Gobain is not the only company using perfluorinated compounds in New Hampshire. New Hampshire"s Department of Environmental Services has identified 44 companies in the state that likely use or once used this water-contaminating compound in their products.
Perfluorinated compounds include PFOA, found earlier this year at Saint-Gobain"s Performance Plastics plant in Merrimack, and PFOS, found two years ago in well water on the former Pease Air Force base.
The companies are located across the state, and include Texas Instruments in Merrimack; Foss Manufacturing in Hampton, Sealpro in Manchester, and Sturm Ruger in Newport.
DES has alerted all of the companies, and is surveying most for addition information. In the meantime, says spokesperson Jim Martin, the state is testing water for contamination at a few sites about which they have specific concerns.
DES posted the list online, Friday. It was published as an act of transparency, says Martin. The department does not assume all of the companies are sources of contamination.
---------------------------------------------
NTU LABORATORY BELCHES SMOKE AFTER SUSPECTED GAS LEAK
Tags: Taiwan, laboratory, fire, response, fluorine, helium, krypton
Taipei, May 7 (CNA) Heavy smoke was seen pouring from a building at National Taiwan University Saturday afternoon, after what was believed to have been a gas leak in the school's Department of Physics, police said.
Fire trucks and an ambulance rushed to the scene after receiving an emergency call at around 2 p.m. but did not find any fires, police said.
Firefighters suspected, however, that a gas leak had occurred while some students were conducting an experiment in a laboratory on the first floor of the Department of Physics building, police said.
The students and faculty in the building were evacuated and it was cordoned off for safety reasons, police said.
Two firefighters and a teacher donned protective gear and entered the laboratory to turn off the gas valves, police said.
It was not clear what had caused the smoke, police said, adding that three types of gas -- fluorine, helium and krypton -- were kept in the laboratory.
No one was injured in the incident, according to police.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK LEADS TO EVACUATION AT PORT EVERGLADES
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, cyanide, sodium_cyanide
The BSO Department of Fire Rescue hazardous materials team's action centered at a warehouse, 4300 McIntosh Road, west of the Stranahan River and east of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
BSO Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said a port employee noticed a sodium cyanide tank was leaking.
The report prompted the evacuation of some 65 workers about 7 p.m. Sodium cyanide is poisonous and may be fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Jachles said the crews determined the substance that was in the tank that had just returned from the Dominican Republic was not a hazardous chemical. Authorities suspect the leak may be liquid left over from when the tank was cleaned out after transporting sodium cyanide.
---------------------------------------------
CONTAMINATION FEARS REMAIN AFTER HOUSTON CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, runoff
May 07--Yolanda Rios woke up the morning after the fire with a pounding headache.
She pulled out a mask she normally wears to scrub the bathroom and gave it to her 12-year-old son, David, as he prepared to leave for school.
Rios, 51, lives just a few homes away from a warehouse that caught fire Thursday and sent black, acrid plumes of smoke into the air, leaving a fine ash on much of her Spring Branch neighborhood. On Friday morning, as she took David to school, firefighters battled spot fires. Nearby, dead fish floated in a bayou stained blood-red by the fire run-off.
"They need to do a very hard cleaning," Rios said.
So far, she said, authorities have been unable to answer some of her most pressing questions, particularly what chemicals people near the fire may have been exposed to.
There have been no reported injuries, caused by inhalation or otherwise, said Jay Evans, a Houston Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters evacuated a Houston school after a 4-alarm fire erupted at a warehouse in the Spring Branch neighborhood on Thursday. Houston Fire Department warned nearby residents to shelter in place and avoid runoff after the fire swept through a unit sto
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL BREAKDOWN PART 1
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, metals, peroxide, pesticides, petroleum, titanium
Just outside Pearland, theater patrons come and go within 200 feet of a warehouse that stockpiles a pesticide so toxic it seeped into a family"s house in Utah and killed two little girls.
A metal forging company about a half-mile from Cy-Fair High School stores 27 chemicals, including titanium, a material that blew up at a golf club manufacturer in Los Angeles and leveled a city block.
And in Crosby, a public sports complex is close to a plant that houses explosive organic peroxides, a class of chemicals used in terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.
All over America and across greater Houston, capital of the nation"s petrochemical industry, hundreds of chemicals pose serious threats to public safety at facilities that may be unknown to most neighbors and are largely unpoliced by government at all levels, a yearlong Houston Chronicle investigation reveals.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration doesn"t inspect most facilities; when it does, it"s often due to an accident or complaint. The Environmental Protection Agency ignores entire classes of hazardous chemicals when looking at which sites to scrutinize. Texas and other states have made accessing information about chemical stockpiles more difficult. Local emergency planning groups are in many cases unfunded and, in the most extreme instances, staff lists include people who have died.
---------------------------------------------
FIGHTING A FIRE CAN BE COSTLY
Tags: industrial, follow-up, response, asphalt, paints
BOUNTIFUL"There"s a lot that goes into fighting a fire and equipment is essential. South Davis Metro Fire Agency lost around $35,000 in equipment as they battled the blaze during last week"s fire at Foreland Refinery in Woods Cross.
"We had 12 sets of turnout gear, which is the protective gear we wear, that was ruined by the asphalt and tar," said South Davis Metro Fire Chief Jeff Bassett. "We couldn"t get them cleaned without damaging the fire resistant coating."
Bassett said the fire started when a pipe in the furnace broke allowing the product to leak out into the furnace box and onto the ground. "It was just asphalt not chemical," he said. "We didn"t have to evacuate any homes and we had air monitor sensors up but other than the odor, nothing registered."
But that tar and asphalt did destroy the turnout gear, leaving the agency short on critical equipment.
"It"s not just an XL or something," he said. "It is custom fit gear and assigned to individual firefighters. We"ve been checking all over to get them replaced but the laws are changing on how they"re issued. Right now they"re good for 10 years but those restrictions make it so vendors don"t keep a large stock on hand because they don"t want them to expire on the selves."
---------------------------------------------
MILITARY LABS ARE TOO CARELESS WITH DEADLY DISEASES: REPORT
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
Two years after major security lapses at federal labs that handle bioterror organisms, the Department of Defense is reorganizing how it polices its own laboratories, acknowledging in a report published last week that its labs were "risking dangerous lapses in biosafety practices." In response, the DOD is creating a new position in the sprawling agency to oversee the hazardous work.
But scientists who have scrutinized federal research into these pathogens, known as select agents, say the DOD commitment does not go far enough. That view is backed up by a Government Accountability Office report published a month ago that criticizes all eight federal departments that operate high-containment laboratories handling hazardous organisms. The report says the agencies are not training personnel adequately, not inspecting labs, and not reporting the results of their inspections.
"The program is going to continue as before, with a new layer of managerial review that will not change matters, and with no accountability," says Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University who has been critical of the operations of high-containment labs.
---------------------------------------------
DO CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS WORK? å• ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER å• ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT NEWS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Leading chemical assessment tools may not provide product manufacturers and retailers with adequate hazard-screening information, according to a study published in the Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management journal.
The analysis of chemical assessment tools " authors include Dow Chemical, American Chemistry Council and two consulting firms " finds that when evaluating the same chemical, individual tools come to different conclusions regarding the hazard categorization of each chemical.
This may call into question the extent to which such tools can provide product manufacturers and other stakeholders with definitive and actionable information about chemical substances in consumer products without further analysis and contextual information.
The analysis comes as the EPA has proposed changes to the Risk Management Program chemical safety rules that would require some facilities that use and distribute hazardous chemicals assess whether safer technologies and chemicals are feasible.
---------------------------------------------
60+ EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN PORT EVERGLADES
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
A shipping container sprung a small chemical leak in Port Everglades, according to Broward Sheriff"s Office.
BSO Spokesman Mike Jachles said the spill is on a paved area in the southernmost point of Port Everglades. No homes, wildlife or traffic are affected.
The 60 people in the immediate area around the spill, at 4300 McIntosh Road, were evacuated and a hazmat team from Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue is "suited up and ready to make entry into the container," he said. Officials don"t know what the chemical is, but they"ve set up a technical contamination area nearby with large outdoor showers and a swimming pool to decontaminate the hazmat team.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL-TAINTED CREEK CONCERNS RESIDENTS AFTER FIRE IN SPRING BRANCH
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, environmental, dye, petroleum
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Thursday included the shock and awe of a four-alarm warehouse fire in Spring Branch, which evacuated a nearby elementary school and prompted a shelter-in-place for nearby neighborhoods.
Day 2 brought with it dead fish in Spring Branch Creek and turtles struggling in the water.
VIDEO: Firefighters ID chemicals in water after massive warehouse fire
EMBED
"There was so much wildlife out here," said one woman staring at the murky water Friday afternoon. "And it's all dying."
The toxic runoff was identified by the Houston Fire Department as petroleum additive, with a bright red colorant. The more serious one was a pesticide that dissolves in water. Vegetation along the creek already appeared to be dying Thursday.
---------------------------------------------
THINKING AHEAD IN GRADUATE SCHOOL
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
When pondering whether to pursue postdoctoral training, chemistry graduate students understand what their chances are of getting a faculty job, a new survey shows.
A survey published last week in Science asked graduate students to pick the career path they find most attractive. The authors then compared those who say they plan to get postdoctoral training with those who do not. Here are the responses for chemistry graduate students.
But the results confirm educators" fears that students don"t feel well-informed about what training they need to work in industry R&D, start-ups, or government (Science 2016, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf2061).
The survey results are "intriguing," says Michael Doyle, a professor at the University of Texas, San Antonio, who was on an American Chemical Society panel that recommended changes to graduate education. "It"s really going to cause a stir."
Educators have long worried that students do not get enough training or mentoring to make informed career choices, Doyle explains. That could lead them to waste years in a low-paying postdoc position that won"t help advance their career.
Until this study, knowledge about what graduate students understand about the labor market was mostly anecdotal. That"s why authors Henry Sauermann of Georgia Tech and Michael Roach of Cornell University surveyed almost 6,000 graduate students at 39 research universities"including around 670 chemistry students. They followed up with those who did a postdoc.
"We wanted to get into people"s brains" to find out what they knew about the job market and how they thought about their career options, Sauermann explains.
The researchers found that graduate students across scientific fields had a good understanding of the academic job market. Those who choose to do a postdoc were more likely to pursue careers in academia, which requires additional training. Chemists had a more realistic view of their own chances of getting a tenure-track job than life scientists, who tended to overestimate their odds of getting a position.
However, a large percentage of those getting a postdoc were most attracted to careers outside of academia, the study found. It"s not clear whether they need postdoctoral training for those jobs.
---------------------------------------------
FIRM APOLOGIZES FOR POISONING HUNDREDS
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, public, discovery, environmental, cleaners
The head of the South Korean unit of the British firm Reckitt Benckiser, a supplier of home sanitation and personal care products, was physically assaulted while apologizing for his company"s line of home humidifier disinfectants that caused the death or serious lung injuries of hundreds of victims in the country.
Reckitt Benckiser is known in the U.S. for its Lysol air freshener, Durex condoms, and Easy-Off oven cleaner, among other products.
In 1996, its South Korean subsidiary Oxy RB launched a line of humidifier disinfectants that contained a guanidine derivative. The South Korean government ordered the products off the market in 2011 after they were linked to an epidemic of serious lung injuries throughout the country. By the end of 2015, at least 95 people had died from exposure to the disinfectants, according to a survey by the South Korean Ministry of Environment. Many victims were children or pregnant women.
At a press conference in Seoul on May 2, Ata Safdar, Reckitt Benckiser"s head of operations for Korea and Japan, offered the company"s "sincere apologies." Safdar also expressed his company"s regrets for not taking full responsibility earlier.
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FIRE BREAKS OUT AT NATIONAL CHEMICAL LABORATORY IN PUNE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, response, various_chemicals
A fire broke out at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune on Tuesday midnight owing to a short circuit, but luckily a major accident was averted.
NCL is a government laboratory based in Pashan. On Tuesday, the Pune Fire Brigade team had received a call about the fire breaking out at laboratory.
According to a fire brigade jawan, Shatrugan Waje said, "The fire broke at the chemical laboratory in NCL on late Tuesday night, around 12.30 am. We rushed to the spot and forcefully broke the glass windows of the laboratory. While some of our jawans put off the fire, others were shifting various chemicals like sodium, potassium and hydrogen. There were many sodium plates, which could have easily caught fire. Within 15 minutes, the operation was carried out successfully."
Another fire brigade jawan Madhukar Mate added, "It seems the fire broke out as there are various chemical kept for experiment, and such chemicals need cool temperature."
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FIRE BREAKS OUT AT MORATUWA UNIVERSITY LABORATORY
Tags: Sri_Lanka, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A fire broke out at a laboratory located in the University of Moratuwa.The Fire Brigade said that several fire trucks were dispatched to the location and that the flames have currently being extinguished
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STUDENT BECOMES UNWELL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LABORATORY (FROM EVENING TIMES)
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
A GLASGOW University student became unwell after a routine experiment caused a chemical spill within a laboratory.
The male student was treated at the scene as a precaution when the incident happened within the Joseph Black Building on Wednesday afternoon.
The laboratory was sealed off as precaution and students were evacuated from the area.
It is understood the incident was minor and there was no other injuries.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said they arrived at the scene after 3pm. They checked the surrounding area of the laboratory to make sure it was clear of contaminants and crews left after 4.45pm.
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service added there was no risk to the public following the incident.
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RESIDENTS IN BUCKS COUNTY TOLD TO SHELTER IN PLACE AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, ferric_chloride, water_treatment
Authorities in a Bucks County township told residents to temporarily shelter in place after a chemical spill at a municipal site.
Crews rushed to the Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority water treatment plant along Main Street in Tulleytown, Pennsylvania around 8:30 a.m. to address a chemical spill, said Tulleytown Borough Police Department Chief Daniel Doyle.
Crews arrived to find a tank of ferric chloride leaking, said police.
"As a PRECAUTIONARY action only we are asking residents & businesses in the area of Main Street to keep windows and doors closed," the borough police posted to Facebook.
Around 11 a.m., police posted to Facebook that the situation was contained and air quality tests determined the air to be safe. The spill also had no adverse effect on the water supply, said police.
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BROOKLYN MANUFACTURER FACES $105K IN FINES AFTER OSHA FINDS DANGEROUS LEAD, NOISE AND CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Tags: us_NY, industrial, discovery, response, other_chemical
MEW YORK - Responding to a report of an elevated blood lead level in a machinist at a Brooklyn brass plumbing fittings manufacturer, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that employees at Acme Parts Inc., lacked adequate protections against lead exposure, hearing loss and hazardous chemicals.
"An elevated level of lead in a worker's bloodstream is a serious health matter, and a sign that employees are not being adequately protected against exposure to this hazardous substance. Lead can damage the nervous system, kidneys, blood forming organs, and reproductive system if inhaled or ingested in dangerous quantities," said Kay Gee, OSHA's area director for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
Specifically, OSHA found that the company failed to:
Train employees about lead hazards and provide them proper protective clothing.
Prevent lead from accumulating on surfaces in the plant.
Prohibit employees from consuming food and drink in lead contaminated areas.
Conduct initial monitoring to determine employees' lead exposure levels.
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STUDENT ARRESTED AFTER EXPLOSION AT SAN PASQUAL ACADEMY
Tags: us_CA, education, explosion, response, bomb, cleaners
ESCONDIDO (CNS) - A San Pasqual Academy student was arrested Thursday morning after he allegedly created a crude chemical bomb that caused a non-injury blast at the North County campus for foster youth, authorities reported.
The 15-year old boy, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, constructed the device out of a plastic soda bottle, cleaning solution and aluminum foil and put it in a toilet at the high school in unincorporated Escondido about 9 a.m., according to sheriff's officials.
Before the container blew up, a teacher discovered and retrieved it, according to Sgt. Tom Vrable.
"The (boy) warned the staff member to get rid of it, as it would explode,'' the sergeant said. "The bottle was tossed into nearby bushes, and a few minutes later (it) exploded.''
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TORRANCE REFINERY EXPLOSION COST CALIFORNIA DRIVERS $2.4 BILLION IN HIGH PUMP PRICES, STUDY SAYS
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, gasoline
The February 2015 explosion that shuttered the ExxonMobil plant in Torrance was the costliest disruption at a California refinery in the past 16 years, with motorists paying at least $2.4 billion in higher pump prices in the following six months, according to a recent RAND study.
Soaring prices stemming from the lost gasoline supply sucked a staggering $6.9 billion from the California economy in the first six months after the explosion alone.
But the total economic loss is likely more than double that figure, RAND researchers noted.
Fifteen months after the blast in a pollution-control device, ExxonMobil this weekend is scheduled to begin restarting the refinery, which normally produces 155,000 barrels of gasoline a day, or about 10 percent of the total refined product in California.
The economic losses tied to the Torrance blast were part of a larger RAND cost-benefit analysis of proposed California oil and gas refinery safety regulations.
Those recommendations were made by a state task force in the wake of the 2012 fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond that forced 15,000 people to seek medical treatment. The RAND study was sponsored by the state as part of a mandatory regulatory assessment conducted when proposed regulations have an economic impact exceeding $50 million.
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