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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, May 16, 2016 at 6:24:13 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=RZcTFQZ-fylZXIbIMTXO30ckbKaemM8MFV6Hlw6QP8o&s=ND2Xh8hyVCKj-hRbGUlBlXIATAOvQxfbkkoK9f1b9yg&e=
Table of Contents (21 articles)
PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS TAINT DRINKING WATER
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
U.S. CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS FROM ENERGY USE FALL
Tags: industrial, discovery, response, carbon_dioxide
12 TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER POSSIBLE CHEMICAL EXPOSURE AT AIR BASE
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, injury, hydrazine
FIVE LABOURERS DIE AFTER INHALING CHEMICAL FUMES AT KARACHI FACTORY
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
SURPRISE FIRE OFFICIALS: 1 DEAD AFTER FIRE, EXPLOSION AT HOME
Tags: us_AZ, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
UPDATE: HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO UTEP FOR SPILLED RUBBING ALCOHOL
Tags: us_TX, education, release, response, propanol
POOL SERVICE WORKER BURNS SELF WITH CHEMICALS, OFFICIALS SAY
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
TULSA SOLVAY PLANT EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL REACTION
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
MASSIVE FIRE IN CHEMICAL FACTORY IN DELHI'S ANAND PARBAT
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, flammables
MAN IN HOSPITAL AFTER 'DRUG LAB' EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, injury, illegal, meth_lab
EPA MOVES TO CUT METHANE EMISSIONS FROM OIL AND NATURAL GAS OPERATIONS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, natural_gas
SPAIN EVACUATES 9,000 FROM MASSIVE TIRE FIRE NEAR MADRID
Tags: Spain, public, fire, injury, wastes
CHEMICAL FACTORY GUTTED IN MASSIVE EXPLOSION
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, methanol, phenol, sulfuric_acid
BUSH EPA HEAD SAYS OBAMA CHEMICAL SAFETY PLAN IS TOO WEAK
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems, explosives
HAZMAT TEAM CONTAINED LEAKY SHIPPING CONTAINER
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical, corrosives
COMMENTARY: HOW A GAG ORDER, CLOSED DOORS AND HUSH MONEY FURTHER TWIST TRANSPARENCY PLEDGE AT U OF L
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
100 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EVACUATED AFTER A 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' IN LONDON
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, ammonia
WEST TEXAS FERTILIZER BLAST: 'CRIMINAL ACT' RULING DEEPENS MYSTERY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonium_nitrate, illegal
AVON FIRE MARSHAL: OILY RAGS SPONTANEOUSLY IGNITED, SPARKING FIRE AT DERRIN HOUSE
Tags: us_CT, public, fire, response, petroleum, waste
OXNARD"S DEL NORTE SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING FACILITY REOPENS AFTER SMALL CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, waste
EVACUATION AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT STOCKHOLM LAB
Tags: Sweden, laboratory, release, response, toluene
---------------------------------------------
PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS TAINT DRINKING WATER
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Remnants of past industrial chemical innovation linger in rivers and aquifers that supply drinking water to millions of people in the U.S., and more worldwide, potentially putting their health at risk. Dissolved in the water are perfluorinated compounds that gave rise to iconic household brands such as 3M"s Scotchgard and DuPont"s Teflon.
In places such as Parkersburg, W.Va., where a DuPont plant used perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) for decades, residents are turning to bottles of water rather than turning on unfiltered taps because of contamination of the local water supply. DuPont and other firms that made or used PFOA are likely to be on the hook financially for personal injury claims or cleanup for years to come.
PFOA, sometimes called C8, has been linked to disease, including high cholesterol, thyroid disease, and some cancers.
---------------------------------------------
U.S. CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS FROM ENERGY USE FALL
Tags: industrial, discovery, response, carbon_dioxide
Energy-related U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide fell 12% from 2005 to 2015, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Nearly 70% of these reductions were driven by electricity-generating plants shifting from coal to natural gas, which releases about half as much CO2 as coal when burned.
The rest of the decline was a result of energy efficiency in homes, industry, and transportation; growing use of renewable energy; and milder weather, says EIA"s Paul Holtberg. Overall, energy-related activities were responsible for more than 80% of U.S. CO2 emissions.
The drop in energy sector CO2 emissions came despite a 15% growth in the U.S. economy over the same period, EIA reports. In fact, U.S. CO2 emissions fell by 23% per unit of gross domestic product, says Holtberg, who credits transportation and home appliance efficiency as well as a general shift to less energy-intensive industrial production.
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12 TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER POSSIBLE CHEMICAL EXPOSURE AT AIR BASE
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, injury, hydrazine
Twelve Airmen from the Homestead Air Reserve Base were taken to the hospital Sunday afternoon as precaution after possible exposure to Hydrazine, a highly toxic chemical, according to a spokesman for the base.
The Airmen were doing routine maintenance on an F-16 when they may have come in contact with the chemical, said Senior Airman Frank Casciotta.
---------------------------------------------
FIVE LABOURERS DIE AFTER INHALING CHEMICAL FUMES AT KARACHI FACTORY
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
KARACHI: Five labourers in Karachi lost their lives on Sunday after they reportedly inhaled chemical fumes while trying to clean an underground tank at the factory in Korangi Industrial area.
The bodies were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where Dr Seemi Jamali, head of the emergency department, confirmed the deaths.
Police sealed the factory, which belonged to a privately-owned company, following the incident and arrested the guard (chowkidar) at the factory.
According to workers at the site, the owner of the factory had called 11 labourers today to clean the underground tank.
Six workers initially entered the tank but they soon lost consciousness due to the fumes. The workers were taken out of the tank and brought to the Jinnah hospital by rescue workers.
Five of the workers were pronounced dead at the hospital, while one was still under treatment.
---------------------------------------------
SURPRISE FIRE OFFICIALS: 1 DEAD AFTER FIRE, EXPLOSION AT HOME
Tags: us_AZ, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
One person is reported dead at the scene of a house fire involving an explosion Sunday evening at a Surprise home, fire officials said.
The fire occurred near Point Parkway and Greenway Road, said Battalion Chief Julie Moore of the Surprise Fire Department.
Surprise police said neighbors have been evacuated until they determine when it is safe.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, Moore said.
Firefighters originally were dispatched to the house on a hazardous situation call at about 7:25 p.m., Moore said. Firefighters at the scene reported there was an explosion at the residence, Moore said.
Moore said firefighters believe the fire could be "chemical related" but the exact cause was under investigation.
"We have a large investigation on our hands," Moore said, adding there were no other injuries.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO UTEP FOR SPILLED RUBBING ALCOHOL
Tags: us_TX, education, release, response, propanol
The hazmat team arrived around 6 p.m. Sunday.
A fire dispatch operator says it was a "small spill" which was turned over to Environmental Services and UTEP Police.
UTEP's officials released the following state: '"A small amount of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) was spilled. The substance was not toxic and not hazardous. The situation was handled by UTEP staff."
---------------------------------------------
POOL SERVICE WORKER BURNS SELF WITH CHEMICALS, OFFICIALS SAY
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
A pool service worker was hurt Saturday when chlorine chemicals exploded in his face as he was mixing them, fire officials said.
The Dix Hills Fire Department was called to a home on Bayard Drive at 3:10 p.m. to help the 20-year-old man, who had chemical burns on his face and chest.
The Dix Hills Rescue Squad took the man by ambulance to Commack Middle School, and he was transferred...
---------------------------------------------
TULSA SOLVAY PLANT EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL REACTION
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
TULSA, Oklahoma - Several workers at an east Tulsa chemical plant evacuated early Sunday morning after firefighters say chemicals reacted and filled the air with smoke.
EMSA took several workers here at the Cytec Solvay Plant to the hospital for precautionary reasons, according to Tulsa Fire Department. Workers evacuated the plant safely and called TFD around 2 a.m.
Firefighters say a slight chemical reaction in the plant caused smoke to fill the air. Tulsa Fire came in and ventilated the plant.
Tulsa's Hazmat Unit also responded because of the chemicals used inside the plant.
Solvay is one of the main manufacturers of the solar plane Solar Impulse 2 which landed in Tulsa on Thursday night. Solvay makes advanced composites used to make the ultra light weight plane fly across the world.
---------------------------------------------
MASSIVE FIRE IN CHEMICAL FACTORY IN DELHI'S ANAND PARBAT
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, flammables
New Delhi: A massive fire broke out at a chemical factory in Delhi's Anand Parbat Industrial Area early Saturday morning.
At least 12 fire tenders reached the spot and the furious flames were doused over two whole hours. The damage has not yet been ascertained.
As per current reports a printing press caught fire, and a clothing factory was nearby that had workers present who managed to control the fire from spreading.
No causalities have been reported so far. Authorities are investigating the entire incident.
A similar fire took place at a chemical factory near Mallapur Industrial area, Nacharam, Hyderabad at around 8 AM on Friday. The fire broke out in the Salislait Chemical Factory when the reactors exploded. The chemical factory had highly inflammable and explosive material that was combustible.
---------------------------------------------
MAN IN HOSPITAL AFTER 'DRUG LAB' EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, injury, illegal, meth_lab
A man is in a stable condition in hospital after an explosion in a suspected illegal drug laboratory in Sydney's west.
The explosion occurred at about 10.15am on Saturday, in a shed in the backyard of a house in Blewett Road, Marayong. The 26-year-old man, who was initially treated by paramedics at the scene, was admitted to Westmead hospital with burns to his face, chest and hands. A woman in her 20s, who was also at the scene, was treated for smoke inhalation and is now helping police with their investigation.
It is unknown what kind of drugs were being processed at the lab. The man remains in a stable condition at Concord Hospital.
---------------------------------------------
EPA MOVES TO CUT METHANE EMISSIONS FROM OIL AND NATURAL GAS OPERATIONS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, natural_gas
In a move to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency on May 12 issued its first-ever regulations to reduce methane releases by the oil and natural gas sector.
The new regulations apply to new, modified, and reconstructed oil and gas operations. Similar rules for millions of existing oil and gas drilling and production facilities are on hold as the agency collects additional information.
Under the new rules, operations are expected to capture some 460,000 metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, by 2025, EPA says. The benefits to the climate will be worth $690 million in 2025, the agency claims, and will outweigh the regulations" costs of $530 million. In addition, the regulations will reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds, which are precursors to ground-level ozone or smog, and toxic air pollutants, EPA adds.
In addition to natural gas operations, the Obama EPA rules cover hydraulically fractured oil wells that hold large amounts of natural gas"which is mainly methane"along with oil. The regulations require these operations to phase in technologies to capture methane.
The rules call for more frequent inspections for leaks. Inspections must occur quarterly, twice per year, or annually, depending on the type of oil and gas operation and equipment. They allow use of portable inspection devices and optical infrared cameras.
---------------------------------------------
SPAIN EVACUATES 9,000 FROM MASSIVE TIRE FIRE NEAR MADRID
Tags: Spain, public, fire, injury, wastes
Spanish officials ordered 9,000 people evacuated Friday night from a large apartment complex after a raging fire at a sprawling tire dump sent spectacular, toxic clouds of black smoke into the sky.
About 8,000 apartment dwellers had already left their homes in Sesena, a central town near Madrid, as the thick smoke poured out from the fire that started before dawn, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha announced.
It said ambulances were being sent to the complex to evacuate people with health problems who could not leave on their own.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FACTORY GUTTED IN MASSIVE EXPLOSION
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, methanol, phenol, sulfuric_acid
HYDERABAD: Several residents of Nacharam industrial area had to be evacuated to safety after a major fire broke out in manufacturing unit of Salicylates and Chemicals Private Ltd located in the industrial area early Friday morning. Thick black smoke enveloped the area as chemicals stored in drums burst into flames while fire fighters struggled throughout the day and could control the flames only by evening. Fire department personnel douse the fire at Mallapur industrial area in Nacharam in Hyderabad on Friday | a suresh kumar While no one was injured in the fire, the intensity was such that some burning material from the factory blew up and landed in adjoining areas leading to chaos. "Drums filled with chemical materials including methanol, sulphuric acid, caustic potash and phenol were kept in godown. Fire broke out from the manufacturing unit due to severe heat inside the premises. Some drums filled with chemicals exploded and landed in nearby areas leading to chaos," said!
Ranga Reddy district fire officer T Mahender Reddy. Meanwhile, fire fighters who had a tough time controlling the fire, said, "The temperature inside was almost 1,500 degrees and we suspect that the reactors may have exploded.
---------------------------------------------
BUSH EPA HEAD SAYS OBAMA CHEMICAL SAFETY PLAN IS TOO WEAK
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems, explosives
Former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman (R), who headed the EPA under President George W. Bush, has written to President Obama"s EPA head, Gina McCarthy, to argue that the EPA"s proposed regulation to reduce the risks of explosions at U.S. chemical plants is too weak. Whitman writes that her purpose is "to urge the EPA to strengthen" its rule "to increase the safety of the American people," particularly by requiring numerous high-risk chemical facilities to move to inherently safer technologies (IST).
A chemical plant disaster could result from accident, natural disaster, or deliberate attack. The EPA has identified 466 chemical facilities in the U.S. that each put 100,000 or more people at risk.
Whitman submitted her comment to the EPA on Wednesday, the same day that investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced that the April 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer Company plant in Texas was intentionally set and not, as previously thought, an accident. That Texas explosion, which moved President Obama to speak at a memorial service for the 15 people who were killed, triggered a White House executive order aimed at reducing chemical plant dangers, which in turn led to the new EPA proposed rules.
But Whitman made clear in her letter to McCarthy that the new draft rule did not do enough to prevent future tragedies. "It would be most regrettable," she wrote, "if in the closing months of the Obama Administration EPA did not use the opportunity that President Obama"s Executive Order provides to expand the use of IST, when economically and technologically feasible, to reduce the vulnerability of high-risk sites to terrorist attack and to better protect the American people in the event of either an accidental or deliberate release."
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM CONTAINED LEAKY SHIPPING CONTAINER
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical, corrosives
WILMINGTON, CA - Firefighters contained a corrosive substance that leaked from a shipping container at Terminal Island on Thursday.
The leak was reported at 3:20 p.m. at Berth 406 near Navy Way, according to Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
A hazardous materials crew entered the container and took samples of the unknown substance, which was slowly leaking from drums on pallets inside a 40-foot container, Scott said.
The crew contained and stopped the leak then wrapped the container so it could be m
---------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY: HOW A GAG ORDER, CLOSED DOORS AND HUSH MONEY FURTHER TWIST TRANSPARENCY PLEDGE AT U OF L
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
Insider Louisville recently obtained an email exchange between University of Louisville paralegal Carcyle D. Barrett and former Biosafety Committee member Art Williams. It begins with notification of a lawsuit by two laid-off employees of the university"s biological safety program " whistleblower Karen Brinkley and her boss, Carol Whetstone " and urges parties who "may have relevant information" not to discuss the claims with "anyone other than the University"s inside or outside counsel."
But similar claims were publicized long before the suit was filed. In December of 2014, Williams vacated the Biosafety Committee after 13 years as he decried violations of National Institutes of Health guidelines, incident reporting delays, retaliation, no-bid contracts and potential conflicts of interest.
As former director of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District and as a former state environmental commissioner, he routinely partnered with the press to educate the public on vital concerns. Consequently Williams, a soft-spoken scientist with a law degree, bristled when he read, "This memorandum should be treated as attorney-client privileged and confidential, and its contents should not be shared with others."
His reply doesn"t resonate as that of a client: "You may not appreciate how anxiety producing and disturbing it is suddenly, with no notice, to receive what purports to be a gag order ?| with no legal authority behind it. It makes me very angry " and further disappointed [that] U of L ?| would seek to prevent me from even consulting my own counsel ?|"
---------------------------------------------
100 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EVACUATED AFTER A 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' IN LONDON
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, ammonia
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) rushed the crowds of people from their workplace, along London Wall, after a fridge leaked ammonia.
The fire service responded to the incident by sending two fire engines, two fire and rescue units as well as specialist chemical response units, including scientific support vehicles and officers.
Workers were evacuated for their own safety after the leak, and two women were treated at the scene by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) after they came into contact with the substance.
A spokesman for the LFB said: "It was a chemical leak in an office block of ammonia leaking from a fridge from an office on the third floor.
---------------------------------------------
WEST TEXAS FERTILIZER BLAST: 'CRIMINAL ACT' RULING DEEPENS MYSTERY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonium_nitrate, illegal
Federal investigators opened a captivating new chapter in a deadly West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion when they announced that someone deliberately set the fire that sparked it.
But, as with many mysteries, the revelation raises more urgent questions.
Who did it? How? Why? And how do authorities know it was arson?
Anyone wanting answers to those questions immediately will have to wait. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it is still investigating the April 17, 2013, blast at a West Fertilizer Co. plant, which killed 15 people " including a dozen emergency workers " injured 260 and leveled 120 houses, two schools and a nursing home.
The fire was reported about 20 minutes before the detonation, which was fueled by the plant's massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate.
Related: Deadly West, Texas, Fertilizer Plant Explosion Was 'Criminal Act': Feds
The partial destruction of the city of 2,800 people " marked by a crater 90 feet wide and 10 feet deep "was largely lost in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, which occurred two days earlier, as the nation remained gripped over the hunt for the killers.
---------------------------------------------
AVON FIRE MARSHAL: OILY RAGS SPONTANEOUSLY IGNITED, SPARKING FIRE AT DERRIN HOUSE
Tags: us_CT, public, fire, response, petroleum, waste
AVON " The fire that badly damaged the historic Derrin House on Wednesday started when oily rags that had been thrown in a garbage can spontaneously ignited, the town fire marshal said Thursday.
The fire marshal, James DiPace, said members of the Avon Historical Society were working in the house Tuesday and threw oily rags they used in a garbage can rather than laying them out separately to dry. DiPace said a chemical reaction from the oils caused the rags to catch fire, which then spread to other parts of the house.
"It was just improper disposal of oily rags. It was an accident," DiPace said.
He said he commonly advises people who plan on putting an oil-based stain on woodwork to dry out rags used for cleanup separately before throwing them away.
The extent of the damage to the house has not been fully determined. DiPace said there is extensive fire damage to one room while other areas sustained heat and smoke damage.
---------------------------------------------
OXNARD"S DEL NORTE SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING FACILITY REOPENS AFTER SMALL CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, waste
A small chemical spill Thursday temporarily shut Oxnard's Del Norte Regional Recycling and Transfer Station.
No one was injured, Oxnard Fire Chief Bryan Brice said.
The building at 111 S. Del Norte Blvd. was evacuated as a safety precaution as hazardous material teams investigated. It later reopened.
The staff at the facility, which handles trash and recycling services, did a "great job getting the area isolated and everybody safe and accounted for," Brice said.
The substance was apparently brought in with a load of recyclables or waste.
The plant accepts recycled materials and trash dropped off by customers as well as loads hauled in by the city's sanitation fleet.
---------------------------------------------
EVACUATION AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT STOCKHOLM LAB
Tags: Sweden, laboratory, release, response, toluene
UPDATED: Five hundred people were escorted from a building near the Karolinska Institute following a chemical leak.
Eleven people were cared for by ambulance staff after experiencing dizziness and facial numbness, said police.
The affected premises in Solna municipality in Stockholm county house both the Karolinska Institute and the Royal Institute of Technology as well as several privately-owned companies, wrote Aftonbladet.
The Swedish tabloid reported that the leak was believed to have started on the seventh floor of the building in a laboratory area used by a biochemical company which also is located in the building.
"There has been a discharge of gas in this room. It is probably the chemical toluene. In concentrated form it constitutes a fire and explosion hazard," police spokesperson Sven-Erik Olsson told the newspaper.
Police and emergency services examined the building, which was cordoned off between 1pm and 3pm.
One of the individuals affected by the incident was Sci Life Lab safety officer, Erik Malm.
"It's OK now, it was something chemical," he told news agency TT. "There was a strong chemical smell on a couple of floors, but we haven't been able to locate a source," he added.
Police later said that there was no longer any risk of explosion and no suspicion of any criminal activity.
"An unknown person had spilled or thrown the substance in a bin. A cleaner had then brought the substance into the room," confirmed police spokesperson Albin NĖ?verberg to TT.
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