| 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] C&EN article: The uneven world of chemical accident investigation Date: Friday, September 2, 2016 at 3:21:17 AM Author: rosera**At_Symbol_Here**COMCAST.NET |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] C&EN article: The uneven world of chemical accident investigation Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2016 08:13:11 -0400 Author: Ralph Stuart |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, September 2, 2016 at 7:52:43 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=w0DVp1MoUi9BmFtxtp1ZmAM-QJ07N9lpGHOnB9nQxeM&s=rRq_bo9LM3sUaK-kmEwqx4vKu5tYdIlgAZA9wwwnoJg&e=
Table of Contents (17 articles)
SHEETS WITH MASSAGE OIL SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST IN SEATTLE BASEMENT
Tags: us_WA, public, fire, response, oils
EPA FIRES BACK AT CUOMO ADMINISTRATION OVER PFOA CRISIS
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
PARAMEDICS RESPOND AFTER CUSTODIAN ACCIDENTALLY MIXES TOXIC CLEANING CHEMICALS
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, response, cleaners
AMMONIA LEAK THAT CAUSED I-90 CLOSURE CAUSED BY FAULTY REFRIGERATION SYSTEM
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
HAZMAT TEAM NEUTRALISES ACID SPILL AT KL SCHOOL
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, release, response, nitric_acid
LAWSUIT FILED IN DEADLY EXPLOSION IN QUEMADO INVOLVING TAKATA AIRBAGS
Tags: us_TX, transportation, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
US ARMY TESTS DRONES THAT SNIFF OUT CLOUDS OF CHEMICAL AGENTS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
HAZMAT CREW AT LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK IN CHELMSFORD
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
HAZMAT SITUATION IN SPOKANE CLOSES I-90 NEAR SUNSET HILL
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
HAZMAT FIREFIGHTERS CALLED TO REMOTE SCHOOL
Tags: New_Zealand, education, release, response, mercury
CUSTODIAN MISTAKENLY MIXES TOXIC CHEMICALS AT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS BUILDING
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, response, cleaners
DUDLEY SCHOOL SITE TARGETED IN SUSPECTED ARSON ATTACK
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
MAN INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT WORKPLACE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, explosion, injury, other_chemical
CHEMICAL LEAK, FIRE SPARK WV SHELTER-IN-PLACE WARNING
Tags: us_WV, industrial, fire, response, phosphorus
THEIR SOIL TOXIC, 1,100 INDIANA RESIDENTS SCRAMBLE TO FIND NEW HOMES
Tags: us_IN, public, discovery, environmental, lead
VIDEO OF JIM BEAM FIRE TORNADO COULD HELP CLEAN UP OIL SPILLS
Tags: us_MD, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICALS USED TO MAKE METH CLOSE LEXINGTON STREET
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, drugs
---------------------------------------------
SHEETS WITH MASSAGE OIL SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST IN SEATTLE BASEMENT
Tags: us_WA, public, fire, response, oils
SEATTLE - A Seattle landlord has a cautionary tale about a household product that could pose a fire danger.
Karen Lucht was fixing up one of her rental properties on Capitol Hill when she smelled something coming from the laundry room in the basement.
??There was no smoke, there weren't any flames but there was something in the air,?? she said. ??You could tell there were particulates in the air.??
She couldn't figure out what it was, but when the firefighters arrived, they zeroed in on her tenant's backpack they pulled from the laundry room. The backpack was filled with freshly washed sheets.
Lucht pulled out her cell phone and recorded video as firefighters slowly pulled back the zipper and pulled out the sheets and right away they knew they found the source.
Lucht's tenant is a massage therapist. Hours earlier, he had pulled the sheets from the dryer and stuffed them into the backpack. The residual massage oil is what combusted and caught fire.
??It actually happens quite often,?? said Captain Kyle Ohashi with Kent Fire Department.
Ohashi said people are unaware of how combustible organic oils can be, like massage and linseed oils, especially on cotton sheets or rags that can easily catch fire.
---------------------------------------------
EPA FIRES BACK AT CUOMO ADMINISTRATION OVER PFOA CRISIS
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
Gina McCarthy, the administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on Thursday fired back at New York's commissioners of health and environmental conservation, who this week accused the federal agency of giving "conflicting guidance" about a toxic chemical that polluted water supplies in eastern Rensselaer County.
On Tuesday, the state agencies released a letter in which they cast blame at the EPA for issues in the state's handling of the crisis, including guiding local officials who waited more than a year to warn residents in the village of Hoosick Falls to stop drinking the PFOA-contaminated water. The state's letter was issued as a Senate hearing began in Hoosick Falls that day in which legislators called on government officials to explain their responses to the situation.
"I urge you to move beyond accusatory letters and, rather, work cooperatively with EPA Region 2 and the residents of Hoosick Falls on the important work of cleaning up the contamination in the village and protecting the public drinking water supply," McCarthy wrote in a letter Thursday to DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos and Health Commissioner Howard A. Zucker.
McCarthy's letter questioned the assertion by Seggos and Zucker that "changing" EPA guidelines on PFOA resulted in "undue public confusion."
---------------------------------------------
PARAMEDICS RESPOND AFTER CUSTODIAN ACCIDENTALLY MIXES TOXIC CLEANING CHEMICALS
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, response, cleaners
MADISON, Wis. ?? A custodian at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections accidentally created a toxic mixture of cleaning chemicals on Tuesday.
The Madison Fire Department responded to a report of a chemical spill at 5:30 pm, reported NBC 15 News. Paramedics were contacted when someone in the building reported difficulty breathing.
Officials said the custodian was preparing to clean a bathroom when she mixed lemon bleach and toilet bowl cleaner together. The combination is known to create chemicals that are toxic to humans, including hydrochloric acid and chlorine gas.
An incident report said the custodian poured the solution down the drain of a slop sink and left the building when she realized what happened.
---------------------------------------------
AMMONIA LEAK THAT CAUSED I-90 CLOSURE CAUSED BY FAULTY REFRIGERATION SYSTEM
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
SPOKANE, Wash. --- Fire officials confirmed Thursday an ammonia leak from a commercial refrigeration system forced officials to temporarily close Interstate 90 on Wednesday night.
The leak shut down parts of the freeway for a few hours after an ammonia cloud was spotted near Geiger.
Officials said this was the second chemical leak at Johanna Beverage in the last week. A leak on Saturday sent one person to the hospital and forced the building to evacuate.
Officials from Fire District 10 said the first leak on Saturday released between 700 to 1000 lbs. of anhydrous ammonia. The second leak on Wednesday released between 300 and 600 lbs. of the chemical.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM NEUTRALISES ACID SPILL AT KL SCHOOL
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, release, response, nitric_acid
PETALING JAYA: A Hazmat team was deployed after a chemical leak occurred in a school in Kuala Lumpur Thursday.
According to a Fire and Rescue Department spokesman, the department was notified of the incident at about 1.45pm.
Personnel from the Taman Tun Dr Ismail station and a Hazmat team from the KLCC station were rushed to the school.
The firemen found that a container holding nitric acid had cracked, which led to the spillage of 2.5 litres of the highly corrosive liquid.
One floor of the school was temporarily evacuated while the Hazmat team neutralised the scene with sand.
---------------------------------------------
LAWSUIT FILED IN DEADLY EXPLOSION IN QUEMADO INVOLVING TAKATA AIRBAGS
Tags: us_TX, transportation, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
HOUSTON, Texas -- A lawsuit has been filed in connection with the explosion at a home in Quemado that left one woman dead and at least four other people injured.
Investigators say an 18-wheeler hauling air bags and ammonium nitrate crashed, caught fire and exploded on August 22nd in the small town, leveling the home of Lucila Robles. Robles was killed in the accident.
A Houston attorney filed the lawsuit against TK Holdings, Inc. and Takata de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. on behalf of one of the surviving victims, Rene De Los Santos Olveda. The suit states the "chemical compound used Defendants (TK Holdings, Inc. and Takata de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.) in their air bag propellant and inflators has a history of causing death and destruction."
Olveda's attorney, Mo Aziz of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend, states Olveda "sustained a blast induced concussion and has suffered permanent hearing loss" due to his proximity to the blast.
---------------------------------------------
US ARMY TESTS DRONES THAT SNIFF OUT CLOUDS OF CHEMICAL AGENTS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
Drones are proving their worth in dangerous situations we don't want to expose humans to by keeping an eye out for sharks, mines and methane leaks. Now a team from the US Army's Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC) have tested a new pair of unmanned vehicles to detect chemical and biological agents.
The S/K Challenge is an annual event held by the US Army that allows different agencies and organizations to test their chemical and biological detection technologies by releasing clouds of "simulant agents" in controlled environments at the Dugway Proving Ground. In this year's event, held from August 15 to 26, ECBC entered Deep Purple, a quadcopter drone made from commercial and custom parts, and an unmanned ground vehicle known as the Mobile Detection Assessment and Response System (MDARS).
To take advantage of the calmer wind and weather at night, the tests were held over those two weeks between the hours of 11pm and 5am. A simulated agent was released into the air somewhere within the test space and with the help of stationary sensors, the drones would be sent off to intercept the cloud and identify the agent.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREW AT LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK IN CHELMSFORD
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
CHELMSFORD -- Chelmsford firefighters, a state hazardous materials team, and the Department of Environmental Protection were working to stabilize a leaking tank of liquid nitrogen inside an office building at 2 Executive Drive near the Lowell line Wednesday night.
Crews were called to Rockwell Automation Company inside 2 Executive Drive about 7 p.m., and found a leaking tank of liquid nitrogen, according to a Fire Chief Gary Ryan.
There were no reported injuries.
Ryan said workers were evacuated from the area around the leaking tank.
"We're trying to stabilize the incident now," Ryan said about 9 p.m.
Nitrogen is not toxic, but it can quickly cause frostbite burns if it contacts skin in its liquid form, and in its gaseous form it can displace oxygen and cause asphyxiation in enclosed spaces, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT SITUATION IN SPOKANE CLOSES I-90 NEAR SUNSET HILL
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
SPOKANE, Wash. --- I-90 near Sunset Hill and several other roads were shut down due to a hazmat situation on Wednesday night.
Westbound traffic was diverted off the freeway on Sunset Hill for about an hour.
This is all the result of some sort of a gas leak, possibly anhydrous ammonia, from a nearby beverage company.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT FIREFIGHTERS CALLED TO REMOTE SCHOOL
Tags: New_Zealand, education, release, response, mercury
Mercury balls have dropped from a shelf at Kawhia School, prompting a full scale response from the New Zealand Fire Service.
A hazardous materials unit with firefighters donning chemical splash suits is en route to the primary school in the remote seaside village south of Raglan.
Fire Northern Communications Centre shift manager Jaron Phillips said mercury was toxic but he was unclear if the school had been evacuated.
However, the alarm was raised after school finished, about 3.10pm.
Phillips said the mercury balls were in an old dental clinic at the school which was being refurbished.
"The mercury has fallen from within the wall."
---------------------------------------------
CUSTODIAN MISTAKENLY MIXES TOXIC CHEMICALS AT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS BUILDING
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, response, cleaners
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -- A facility custodian accidentally mixed a toxic combination of chemicals at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections building on Tuesday.
The Madison Fire Department says they responded to a report of a chemical spill at about 5:30 p.m. at the DOC building at 3099 East Washington Ave.
Paramedics were added to the call when the Dane County 911 Communications Center learned somebody in the building was having trouble breathing.
Officials say a facility custodian was preparing to clean the toilets when she mixed lemon bleach and toilet bowl cleaner together. This combination of cleaning chemicals is known to be toxic and even deadly.
According to the incident report, the custodian poured the solution down the drain of a slop sink and evacuated the building when she realized what happened.
Paramedics evaluated the custodian as firefighters entered the building to assess remaining hazards inside, according to the Fire Department. There was a slight odor of chlorine, but firefighters determined the hazard had been controlled.
---------------------------------------------
DUDLEY SCHOOL SITE TARGETED IN SUSPECTED ARSON ATTACK
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Around 20 firefighters were called to the grounds of Pens Meadow School Post 16 centre, in Tiled House Lane, Pensnett, on Monday
The site was formally Pensnett High School before it was forced to close around six years ago.
The fire was reported just before 4pm in the science laboratory.
A West Midlands Fire Service spokeswoman said: ??The fire was in the science lab on the ground floor of a single void school building. It was a deliberate ignition.
??There were a variety of chemicals found but none were involved in the fire.??
---------------------------------------------
MAN INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT WORKPLACE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, explosion, injury, other_chemical
CALEDONIA TWP. ?? The Corunna/Caledonia Township fire department Tuesday afternoon responded to a call at Hodge Glass, 1660 E. M-21, after an employee was burned during an explosion.
Deputy Fire Chief Brian Matthies said the individual had second-degree burns on about 80 percent of his body after a 1-gallon container of denatured alcohol he was holding made contact with a flame.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK, FIRE SPARK WV SHELTER-IN-PLACE WARNING
Tags: us_WV, industrial, fire, response, phosphorus
Residents and others near a Mason County chemical plant were told to shelter in place for about an hour Wednesday after a phosphorus fire at the plant.
Emergency officials warned people within two miles of the ICL Chemical plant in Gallipolis Ferry, including students in a nearby school, to shelter in place.
Around 12:08 p.m., the chemical began leaking in the phosphorus unloading station, resulting in a fire, according to a statement from Kurt Dailey, health, safety and environmental director for ICL. The company ?? which the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined in 2009 after two leaks occurred in the same day ?? sounded a emergency-alert siren in response.
The fire caused a ??cloud to form,?? according to callers to the state??s emergency-spill line.
??Phosphorus fires create a great deal of smoke,?? the company??s statement said. ??The leak and resultant fire was controlled by plant personnel and no one was injured during this event.??
Dailey did not respond to multiple phone calls or emails asking for more specific details of the incident and possible health or environmental effects.
---------------------------------------------
THEIR SOIL TOXIC, 1,100 INDIANA RESIDENTS SCRAMBLE TO FIND NEW HOMES
Tags: us_IN, public, discovery, environmental, lead
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. ?? Stephanie King, a single mother of five, has adopted a grim routine over the past month: mopping with bleach twice a day and sweeping even more often to remove any dirt her family might have tracked inside. She has a haunted look, and for good reason.
Ms. King and other residents of the West Calumet Housing Complex here learned recently that much of the soil outside their homes contained staggering levels of lead, one of the worst threats to children??s health.
Ms. King??s 3-year-old son, Josiah, has a worrisome amount of lead in his blood, according to test results she received last week. Like about 1,100 other poor, largely black residents of West Calumet, including 670 children, she is scrambling to find a new home after Mayor Anthony Copeland of East Chicago announced last month that the residents had to move out and that the complex would be demolished.
??If I??d have known the dirt had lead, he wouldn??t have been out there playing in it,?? Ms. King, 35, said a few nights ago as Josiah begged to follow his older brothers outside. ??Oh, my God, I??m ready to go.??
The extent of the contamination came as a shock to residents of the complex, even though it is just north of a huge former U.S.S. Lead smelting plant and on top of a smaller former smelting operation, in an area that was designated a Superfund site in 2009. Now, in a situation that many fearful residents are comparing to the water crisis in Flint, Mich., they are asking why neither the state nor the Environmental Protection Agency told them just how toxic their soil was much sooner, and a timeline is emerging that suggests a painfully slow government process of confronting the problem.
---------------------------------------------
VIDEO OF JIM BEAM FIRE TORNADO COULD HELP CLEAN UP OIL SPILLS
Tags: us_MD, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
A video showing 800,000 gallons of spilled Jim Beam being sucked into a fiery vortex was the inspiration for a study detailing a new form of fuel-spill cleanup.
The new study from University of Maryland researchers Huahua Xiao, Michael Gollner and Elaine Oran on fire whirls, which are tornadoes set ablaze through natural phenomena, suggests that these twisters might be more than ??a strong, essentially uncontrollable threat to life, property and surrounding environments.??
One of the first sparks of inspiration for the study was a 2003 video from famed storm videographer Mike Theiss.
The aerial video shows a giant fire whirl engulfing a retention pond outside a Jim Beam warehouse in Bardstown. The fire was started after the warehouse was hit by lightning. The video was uploaded on YouTube in 2011.
Oran found the footage online in fall 2013 and shared it with her co-authors.
??We began to wonder whether there could be some use to fire whirls, not just to scare the bejeesus out of anyone near it,?? Oran said. ??It was pulling the fuel to it from the surface of the lake. We said, OK, let??s look at fire whirls on water. Maybe it would be useful for remediation.??
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICALS USED TO MAKE METH CLOSE LEXINGTON STREET
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, drugs
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) - A chemical spill on Locust Avenue caused a headache for drivers Tuesday afternoon.
Lexington Fire said the chemicals discovered were components of meth manufacturing. Hazmat crews arrived on scene to clean up the chemicals.
Locust Avenue was closed for around thirty minutes to allow crews to rummage through the trash where the chemicals were found.
The scene has since cleared and traffic is flowing normally.
---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post