| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2016 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] chemical inventory program Date: Thursday, August 11, 2016 5:51:56 PM Author: David Roberts <droberts**At_Symbol_Here**DEPAUW.EDU> |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] chemical inventory program Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:12:06 +0000 Author: Jarral Ryter |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, August 12, 2016 at 7:06:36 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=4Yrl9XchhjF_Z8nOjJvGiAWnAZ1k9r3neN190MwSHF4&s=vf6Ys5Hc-c7vQG2hHKC6aTjGGRTakaon_DadC_DbDNE&e=
Table of Contents (19 articles)
CHLORINE LEAK AT DETROIT PLANT CONTAINED
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment
ELK GROVE VILLAGE FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO MINOR CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
REPORTED EXPLOSION, CHEMICAL FIRE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE ON CHICAGO'S SOUTHWEST SIDE
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, injury, metals
OSHA CITES DOW SUBSIDIARY FOLLOWING JANUARY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, injury, flammables, gas_cylinders
EXPLOSION OF STEAM PIPE AT CHINESE POWER STATION KILLS 21
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical
PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS LINKED TO MILITARY BASES, AIRPORTS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, water_treatment
COUNTY FIRE CREWS EXTINGUISH CHEMICAL FIRE IN MESQUITE
Tags: us_NM, industrial, fire, response, sulphur
COUNTY HAZMAT TEAMS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid
MAIN STREET GIVEN ALL CLEAR AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK, SHELTER IN PLACE LIFTED
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, ammonia
UTAH ASSESSING HOW MUCH ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER COAL WASTE WASHED INTO PRICE RIVER
Tags: us_UT, industrial, release, response, runoff, waste
STUDY: AT LEAST 6 MILLION AT RISK FROM PFOA CHEMICAL FAMILY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
EXPLOSION AT FERTILIZER PLANT HAPPENED INSIDE HERBICIDE TANK
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, response, ag_chems
GROWERS AT 12 WINERIES WATCHING CROP EXPOSED TO SMOKE FROM SOBERANES FIRE
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
WORKERS SHELTERED AT LYONDELLBASELL REFINERY DUE TO CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide
TESTS SHOW ELEVATED CHEMICAL LEVELS NEAR COAKLEY LANDFILL
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
"HOME RECIPE" PESTICIDE MIX SENDS HAMILTON WOMAN TO HOSPITAL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, pesticides
CHEMICAL SPILL AT CASE FARMS THREATENS FISH IN NIMISHILLEN CREEK
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, response, corrosives
HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS TO LARGE PROPANE LEAK IN HARRISONBURG
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, propane
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO SPILL IN OSNABURG
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, injury, other_chemical, diesel
---------------------------------------------
CHLORINE LEAK AT DETROIT PLANT CONTAINED
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment
A chlorine leak at the Detroit Waste Water Treatment on Thursday prompted a HAZMAT Level 3 response, according to the city‰??s fire department.
The leak was discovered Thursday morning in an 80-ton tank of chlorine at 9300 W. Jefferson, near the Rouge River and Interstate 75, Chief Dale Bradley said.
A ‰??limited amount‰?? of the substance leaked from a feed line into a process building at the plant, according to officials with the Great Lakes Water Authority, which operates the facility. The leak was ‰??immediately‰?? contained.
‰??All early warning systems were activated and operated as planned,‰?? Great Lakes Water Authority officials said in a Thursday afternoon statement. ‰??As is standard protocol, the emergency response staff on-site notified appropriate local, state and federal agencies. Presently, the building‰??s air control system is removing chlorine from the atmosphere inside the building.‰??
It was not immediately clear exactly how much chlorine leaked before the situation was contained.
A HAZMAT Level 3 is called when a crisis requires resources beyond those available through typical state or regional channels, according to the National Fire Protection Association. The situations may pose extreme, immediate and/or long-term risk to the environment and public health.
---------------------------------------------
ELK GROVE VILLAGE FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO MINOR CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Elk Grove Village firefighters responded to a small fire at a chemical plant this morning (Thursday).
A barrel of chemicals spontaneously combusted at the Dow Chemical facility in the 2400 block of Pratt Boulevard at about 11:15 a.m.
Although the fire was called in as a structure fire with Elk Grove Village, Elk Grove Township and Des Plaines firefighters initially dispatched, Elk Grove Village fire officials said the blaze was very minor.
The fire was contained to the barrel and quickly extinguished with a minimal amount of water once firefighters arrived on scene. Fire officials did not report any injuries.
---------------------------------------------
REPORTED EXPLOSION, CHEMICAL FIRE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE ON CHICAGO'S SOUTHWEST SIDE
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, injury, metals
A reported explosion and chemical fire injured two people and prompted a HazMat response on Chicago's Southwest Side Thursday evening, according to fire officials.
The incident occurred at a global metal handling company in the 2900 block of W 31st St in the city's Little Village neighborhood around 7 p.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department.
One employee of the company was injured and taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, authorities said. One firefighter sustained minor facial burns and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, according to fire officials.
Crews were waiting on special fire extinguishers to put out a chemical fire, the Fire Department tweeted shortly after 7:30 p.m. They then requested sand to dampen and apply to burning metal.
---------------------------------------------
OSHA CITES DOW SUBSIDIARY FOLLOWING JANUARY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, injury, flammables, gas_cylinders
Federal labor officials last week cited a Dow Chemical subsidiary over violations found in the wake of an explosion early this year.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an inspection of Rohm-Haas Electronics Material's North Andover, Mass., facility following the Jan. 7 explosion that injured four workers.
The workers were purging cylinders of residual amounts of trimethyl aluminum, a compound that can spontaneously ignite in the air. Inspectors found that the company failed to design and maintain systems to prevent oxygen from making contact with the substance.
"Plant employees were needlessly exposed to fire and explosion hazards due to the deficiencies in the trimethyl aluminum reclamation process and other inadequate safeguards," OSHA area director Anthony Covello said in a statement.
The inspection also identified problems with storage of flammable liquids and emergency response planning, as well as protective equipment violations that were similar to OSHA citations issued in 2014.
In total, the agency levied 11 workplace safety violations against the company and proposed $129,200 in penalties. OSHA will also place Rohm-Haas in its Severe Violators Enforcement Program.
Rohm-Haas informed the agency that it no longer manufacturers or reclaims trimethyl aluminum or similarly dangerous compounds. The company indicated that it plans to contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION OF STEAM PIPE AT CHINESE POWER STATION KILLS 21
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical
BEIJING (AP) ‰?? A high-pressure steam pipe exploded at a power station in central China on Thursday, killing 21 people and injuring five others, an official newspaper reported.
The blast occurred at a power plant in the city of Danyang, according to a report on the website of the Hubei Daily. It said officials rushed to the site to oversee rescue efforts and the cause of the explosion was being investigated.
China continues to suffer from frequent industrial accidents despite a central government-ordered drive to upgrade safety in factories, power plants and mines.
Those efforts were redoubled after a massive series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in the eastern port city of Tianjin a year ago killed 173 people ‰?? mostly firefighters and police ‰?? in one of China‰??s worst-ever workplace accidents. In June, an accident at an aluminum refinery in central China killed 11 workers.
---------------------------------------------
PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS LINKED TO MILITARY BASES, AIRPORTS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, water_treatment
Drinking water contamination from perfluorinated chemicals is a known concern for communities near industrial sites in the U.S. where the chemicals were once produced. Contamination that extends beyond the reach of production facilities is coming from other sources, experts say.
Researchers are now pointing to military bases, civilian airports, and wastewater treatment facilities as sources of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in ground and surface waters.
Xindi C. Hu of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and colleagues report drinking water supplies of some 6 million U.S. residents exceed the lifetime health advisory levels for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) set by the Environmental Protection Agency in May (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00260).
Hu and her colleagues examined EPA‰??s national drinking water contaminant data for a suite of PFASs and analyzed 16 industrial sites, 664 military fire training sites, 533 civilian airports, and 8,572 wastewater treatment plants. They show a statistical association between the number of these facilities in an area and the concentration of PFASs in its drinking water.
---------------------------------------------
COUNTY FIRE CREWS EXTINGUISH CHEMICAL FIRE IN MESQUITE
Tags: us_NM, industrial, fire, response, sulphur
LAS CRUCES - Crews with the Do̱a Ana County Fire and Emergency Services extinguished a fire at a chemical plant in Mesquite on Wednesday morning.
Firefighters were dispatched to Crop Production Services at 7:11 a.m. Wednesday after workers reported seeing smoke coming from the building in the 8000 block of N.M. 478, according to a news release.
Firefighters arrived within five minutes of the call, the release stated. Upon arrival, fire crews determined a large pile of sulfur had caught fire, which was contained by 7:57 a.m.
While there was no immediate threat to the public, residents within a mile of the plant were encouraged to shelter in place or evacuate at their own will, according to the release.
---------------------------------------------
COUNTY HAZMAT TEAMS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid
CANANDAIGUA ‰?? Hazardous materials units from four counties responded Wednesday morning for a chemical spill that resulted in an evacuation of the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center off Route 332.
No employees were hurt as a result of the spill and one firefighter was treated at Thompson Hospital as a precaution, although crews not only battled the spill but also the oppressive heat and humidity, said Canandaigua Fire Chief Mark Marentette.
Facility staff reported a leak of hydrofluoric acid at 11:44 a.m., Marentette said. Workers pulled a fire alarm, which resulted in employees leaving the center without incident, Marentette said.
As much as 90 gallons of the product spilled, but none of it escaped the building, Marentette said.
‰??There was never a threat to the public,‰?? Marentette said.
No estimate was available on the number of employees at the center at the time of the incident.
---------------------------------------------
MAIN STREET GIVEN ALL CLEAR AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK, SHELTER IN PLACE LIFTED
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, ammonia
LOUISVILLE, Ky. ‰??A chemical leak shut down a portion of east Main Street for several hours Wednesday.
Louisville fire officials said the shelter in place was a precaution.
....
The vacant building used to be a cold storage facility. The problem is the anhydrous ammonia used in the refrigeration process.
The business was shut down in 2009. It was purchased by the state for the bridge's project.
But the state ended up not needing the property and is trying to sell it.
Fire officials said the last time they checked the building in 2011 there were no issues.
‰??All the product that used to be stored here was removed in 2009,‰?? Melendez said.
A residual amount of dry chemicals remained, but just how much is unknown. High readings were discovered on the east side of the building.
---------------------------------------------
UTAH ASSESSING HOW MUCH ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER COAL WASTE WASHED INTO PRICE RIVER
Tags: us_UT, industrial, release, response, runoff, waste
A flash flood Thursday afternoon cut through a massive repository of coal ash outside Helper and pushed unknown quantities of the waste into the Price River.
Over the past six decades, Rocky Mountain Power has filled a side canyon to Price Canyon, just downstream of its Carbon Power Plant, with the plant's ash. The plant was retired in April 2015, and the power company has been in the process of grading and capping the ash pile for permanent closure.
But a cloudburst Thursday sent floodwaters down Panther Canyon, overwhelming stormwater systems. Paul Murphy, a spokesman for Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), said the company is installing landfill safeguards ‰?? construction crews were on site when the flood hit ‰?? designed to withstand a storm so big that, statistically, it only happens once every 100 years.
Those controls diverted some of the stormwater away from the landfill, he said, until "very intense flooding" filled a culvert with debris.
The blockage allowed some of the runoff to flow directly into the landfill, where it cut a canyon-like path through the ash, according to Scott Hacking, an environmental engineer with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
---------------------------------------------
STUDY: AT LEAST 6 MILLION AT RISK FROM PFOA CHEMICAL FAMILY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Drinking water systems serving at least six million Americans have shown levels of C8 and other similar chemicals higher than a health advisory issued earlier this year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a new study published Tuesday by researchers from Harvard University and several other institutions and groups.
The study, though, cautions that another 44.5 million Americans rely on private wells that generally have not been sampled for these chemicals and another 52 million residents are served by small drinking water systems that are rarely sampled. And, the study further warns, studies continue to strongly suggest that exposure to these chemicals can make people sick, even at or below the concentration recommended as acceptable under the EPA health advisory.
‰??The EPA advisory limit ... is much too high to protect us against toxic effects on the immune system,‰?? said study co-author Dr. Philippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health. ‰??And the available water data only reveals the tip of the iceberg of contaminated drinking water.‰??
The study, published in the peer-review journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters, comes amid growing new attention for the potential threats from C8 and similar chemicals in the months following their discovery in water systems in New York and Vermont ‰?? a development that has driven political and media focus on the issue as residents near a DuPont Co. plant in Wood County, West Virginia, have waited for years for EPA to publish its new guidance.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION AT FERTILIZER PLANT HAPPENED INSIDE HERBICIDE TANK
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, response, ag_chems
The State Fire Marshal‰??s Office is continuing the investigation into the origin and cause of the explosion that punched a hole in the roof of a building at a fertilizer plant Monday in Bonham. Officials with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the incident was a pressure explosion involving a 6,000-gallon container of liquid herbicide.
Jerry Hagins, a public information officer for the Texas Department of Insurance, said SFMO personnel are investigating, but while the investigation is open, they don‰??t provide details on that investigation. He said there is not an exact timetable for the completion of an investigation, and it could take a few weeks depending on the complexity of the case.
‰??They conduct the investigation, then they submit a report,‰?? Hagins said. ‰??Until that report is in, they don‰??t release any details.‰??
The small explosion happened at about 7:30 a.m. inside the bulk tank storage facility on the far north side of the Voluntary Purchasing Group complex, which is on FM 87 near that roadway‰??s intersection with Highway 56. The blast was contained to the one building and no employees were injured. VPG President/CEO Steve Money said on Monday the building housed several different types of chemicals, but they do not handle ammonium nitrate or anhydrous ammonia at the facility.
---------------------------------------------
GROWERS AT 12 WINERIES WATCHING CROP EXPOSED TO SMOKE FROM SOBERANES FIRE
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
Grape growers are keeping their eyes on their crops at a dozen wineries in Carmel Valley closest to the Soberanes Fire, which has burned over 60,000 acres since it began more than two weeks ago in Monterey County.
The grapes have been exposed to heavy levels of smoke as they undergo veraison, when the berries change color indicating they're moving closer to ripening, and many growers can't do much to protect their crop, Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association executive director Kim Stemler said.
The Soberanes Fire sparked on July 22 at Garrapata State Park due to an illegal campfire and has charred 60,400 acres. It was 45 percent contained as of morning, Cal Fire officials said.
More than 5,000 firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze, which isn't expected to reach full containment until the end of the month and has already destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings, according to Cal Fire.
---------------------------------------------
WORKERS SHELTERED AT LYONDELLBASELL REFINERY DUE TO CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide
Workers from the LyondellBasell plant tell abc13 Eyewitness News the plant was evacuated this afternoon due to a chemical release.
The Houston refinery located on the 12000 block of Lawndale was evacuated at about 2pm, according to employees who were taking shelter at a nearby park.
The company says a localized power failure resulted in the shutdown of the sulfur recovery unit. During the shutdown, there was a brief release of sulfur dioxide. However, the company says that out of an abundance of caution, employees were asked to remain in place, but no evacuation of the plant was called.
Air monitoring shows the levels of material detected are within safety standards, according to the company. Power has been restored and efforts are being made to restore the affected unit. The other parts of the refinery continue to operate.
---------------------------------------------
TESTS SHOW ELEVATED CHEMICAL LEVELS NEAR COAKLEY LANDFILL
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
GREENLAND, N.H. ‰??New Hampshire officials have found elevated levels of a potentially cancer-causing chemical at wells near the Coakley Landfill.
Groundwater tests conducted by the Department of Environmental Services and Environmental Protection Agency found perfluorochemicals (PFCs) including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in nine of 20 wells.
Officials said Monday the levels ranged from 1 parts per trillion to 1,133 parts per trillion. The groundwater standard for PFOA/PFOS is 70 parts per trillion.
Eight wells at or near the landfill previously showed elevated levels of PFCs. The landfill in Greenland and North Hampton is a federal Superfund site.
Along with Coakley, contamination from PFCs, used in Teflon coatings, has been found at several industrial sites in the state including near the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics facility in Merrimack.
---------------------------------------------
"HOME RECIPE" PESTICIDE MIX SENDS HAMILTON WOMAN TO HOSPITAL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, pesticides
A woman was taken to hospital Tuesday afternoon after inhaling toxic fumes from mixing three household cleaning products as a form of pest control in her home.
Hamilton firefighters responded to a medical call on Oriole Crescent in the east end and it turned into a hazardous materials operation.
Nine units, including the HAZMAT team, were dispatched to the scene just after 1 p.m.
Fire department spokesperson Claudio Mostacci declined to reveal precisely which substances were mixed, but they were all conventional cleaning products found in any home.
Mostacci said the woman had followed a "home recipe" pesticide solution by mixing the products in several small containers and then placed them on each level of her home to combat insects.
Firefighters responded to a 911 call when the woman became ill; they found her in distress outside her home.
The HAMAT team determined the home brew had produced toxic gases called chloramines, which can induce everything from coughing to chest pains, a sore throat, and fluid in the lung.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL AT CASE FARMS THREATENS FISH IN NIMISHILLEN CREEK
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, response, corrosives
CANTON A chemical spill at a Case Farms chicken processing facility Tuesday morning that went into the city's storm sewer system prompted an evacuation, and firefighters spent hours pumping water into the system to minimize the chances of an explosion, the city's fire department said.
Fire Chief Tom Garra said someone at the Case Farms facility at 1925 30th St. NE around 10 a.m. reported that a tow motor on a forklift punctured a 330-gallon polyurethane container with the chemical Perasafe FB-100, which contains acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid. The mishap took place in an outdoor area.
About two-thirds of the chemical in the container leaked out and drained into the storm sewer system, Garra said. An information sheet about the Perasafe said it is corrosive and is harmful if swallowed. In diluted form, the chemical is used to reduce "bacterial contamination and cross-contamination that may cause product spoilage or decay of edible food products."
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS TO LARGE PROPANE LEAK IN HARRISONBURG
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, propane
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) -- A HAZMAT team is responding to a large propane leak in Harrisonburg.
The leak was reported at 703 Greenbriar Dr around 5:30 p.m. A lawn mower reportedly struck a line in this area. That's what started the leak. This is near University Outpost just off of Port Republic Rd.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO SPILL IN OSNABURG
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, injury, other_chemical, diesel
OSNABURG TWP. A tanker truck traveling south on state Route 44 that was carrying 600 gallons of toulene and diesel fuel overturned Tuesday morning, causing chemicals to spill onto the road and the nearby woods, the township fire department said.
Township Fire Chief Rick Shearer said the crash happened at 8:35 a.m. in the 3300 block of Ravenna Avenue SE, north of Mapleton Street SE and south of Orchard View Drive SE. Firefighters found the heavily damaged truck overturned. The cause is unclear. He said the driver was transported to Mercy Medical Center with minor injuries. No one else was hurt and no other vehicles were involved.
The spill was contained with booms within a few hours, and while the chemicals came close, the spilled materials did not make it into the nearby creek, the chief said. There was no threat to human health, he said.
---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post