| 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 Safety headlines from Google (13 articles) Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2016 13:02:07 -0800 Author: davivid <davivid**At_Symbol_Here**WELL.COM> |
Next by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] UC Davis Opening - Associate CHO/Field Safety Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2016 19:40:58 -0500 Author: Chris Jakober |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, November 21, 2016 at 7:03:11 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (17 articles)
SOUTH SIDE FIRE BRINGS TO LIGHT METH LAB OPERATION
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, response, clandestine_lab
2 TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHLORINE SPILL AT WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, injury, chlorine, water_treatment
RIGGIN TO REMAIN CLOSED AFTER ETHANOL TRUCK CRASH
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, ethanol
EVIDENCE-BASED BIOSAFETY: A REVIEW OF THE PRINCIPLES AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAINMENT MEASURES.
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
UH STAFF AND STUDENT HONORED BY HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_HI, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
REPS. MAXINE WATERS, TED LIEU PRESS FOR FEDERAL PROBE INTO TORRANCE REFINERY FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid, toxics
HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL ODOR FROM GYM CLEANING
Tags: us_NH, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
CARCINOGENIC SMOKE WAS HIGH DURING BETHLEHEM FIRE, DEC DATA SHOWS
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, response, benzene, styrene, toluene
LEAKING FIRE RETARDANT CREATES FOAM SEA OUTSIDE AIRPORT
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
EXPLOSION VICTIMS QUESTION ARSON RULING
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems
EXPERIMENTAL CHEMICAL LEAK AT BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM
Tags: us_CT, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT SITUATION REPORTED AT SCHOOL IN INWOOD
Tags: us_NY, education, release, response, copper_sulphate
HAZMAT RESPONSE IN NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide
GOVERNMENT PLANNING NEW EXAMINATION TO DETERMINE CAUSE OF GALAXY NOTE 7 FIRES
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, batteries
DA: NO EVIDENCE JUVENILES HAD MEANS TO PULL OFF BOMB PLOT
Tags: education, discovery, environmental, bomb, mustard_gas
STRONG CHEMICAL ODOR ON EAST SIDE WAS NON-TOXIC, FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, solvent, styrene
SHELL FACES $133,000 PENALTY FOR SMELLY CHEMICAL RELEASE IN ANACORTES
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, response, benzene, illegal
---------------------------------------------
SOUTH SIDE FIRE BRINGS TO LIGHT METH LAB OPERATION
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, response, clandestine_lab
A South Williamsport couple remains in prison this morning after fire department officials responded to a basement fire in a house Saturday that turned out to be a residence serving as a laboratory manufacturing methamphetamine.
Michael E. Harris, 37, and Courtney P. Long, 29, of 534 Childs Drive, a street that dead-ends near the Little League complex, were arraigned before District Judge Jon Kemp on multiple charges filed by state police and jailed in Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $200,000 each, South Williamsport Police Chief Robert Hetner said Sunday evening.
Firefighters responded to the cellar fire about 7 p.m. and in the process of dealing with putting the fire out noticed what they suspected could be chemicals that could be used to manufacture the drug.
---------------------------------------------
2 TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHLORINE SPILL AT WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, injury, chlorine, water_treatment
LEE ‰?? Two workers were taken to a local hospital Saturday after a "significant" amount of chlorine spilled at the Rome City Water Treatment Plant in the town of Lee, officials said.
Oneida County Emergency Services Director Kevin Revere said between 150 and 200 pounds of chlorine spilled both inside and outside the facility, and that crews would be working throughout the night to clean up the chemical.
"Much less can really hurt somebody so we take every precaution possible," Revere said.
"The thing about hazmat situations is they're very methodical," he added later. "They want to take their time so they don't make a bad situation worse."
The two people taken to the hospital were taken as a precaution, he added, and not due to any specific injuries. The spill won't affect drinking water in the city of Rome or neighboring wells, he said.
---------------------------------------------
RIGGIN TO REMAIN CLOSED AFTER ETHANOL TRUCK CRASH
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, ethanol
MUNCIE, Ind. ‰?? An overturned tanker truck carrying about 7,000 gallons of ethanol resulted in Riggin Road being closed to traffic between the Muncie Bypass and Broadway throughout Sunday and into Monday.
The truck rolled over in an accident early Sunday, leaving it on its back with one of the three tanks damaged and leaking the flammable liquid when HazMat crews arrived around 6:30 a.m., according to John Coutinho, deputy director of Emergency Management, on the scene Sunday.
Muncie and Hamilton Township firefighters were the first on scene, with their crews damming the leaking fuel. Fuel that escaped the tanker was vacuumed up Sunday morning while the tanker was drained.
By 1 p.m., the last of the three tanks were being drilled and emptied out before the truck could be turned back over and removed. Emergency responders estimated Riggin Road would remain closed another hour to hour and a half.
---------------------------------------------
EVIDENCE-BASED BIOSAFETY: A REVIEW OF THE PRINCIPLES AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAINMENT MEASURES.
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Abstract We examined the available evidence on the effectiveness of measures aimed at protecting humans and the environment against the risks of working with genetically modified microorganisms (GMOs) and with non-GMO pathogenic microorganisms. A few principles and methods underlie the current biosafety practice: risk assessment, biological containment, concentration and enclosure, exposure minimization, physical containment, and hazard minimization. Many of the current practices are based on experience and expert judgment. The effectiveness of biosafety measures may be evaluated at the level of single containment equipment items and procedures, at the level of the laboratory as a whole, or at the clinical-epidemiological level. Data on the containment effectiveness of equipment and laboratories are scarce and fragmented. Laboratory-acquired infections (LAIs) are therefore important for evaluating the effectiveness of biosafety. For the majority of LAIs there appears to be n!
o direct cause, suggesting that failures of biosafety were not noticed or that containment may have been insufficient. The number of reported laboratory accidents associated with GMOs is substantially lower than that of those associated with non-GMOs. It is unknown to what extent specific measures contribute to the overall level of biosafety. We therefore recommend that the evidence base of biosafety practice be strengthened.
---------------------------------------------
UH STAFF AND STUDENT HONORED BY HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_HI, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow)- Honolulu Fire Department ceremony awarded UH Manoa public safety officers and a student Certificates of Commendation for their role in rescuing a researcher in a laboratory explosion last March.
On March 16, 2016, University of Hawaii at Manoa‰??s Department of Public Safety Sergeant Bridget Evangelista-Gouveia, Officers Savannah Alpuro and Irenio San Nicolas and student Jan Kealoha came to the rescue of 29-year-old postdoctoral fellow Thea Ekins-Coward after the lab she was working in exploded. The explosion was likely caused by an electrostatic charge and Ekins-Coward lost her arm.
‰??There was somebody alive that needed help, so. I mean you need to help, right?‰?? said Bridget Evangelista-Gouveia at the award ceremony.
‰??At that very moment, you're not thinking exactly what you're running into, what to expect. All I know is somebody is in distress and needs help and I am going to try my best to help them," said Savannah Alpuro after she received his award.
In the award ceremony two Medals of Valor and 18 Certificates of Commendation were awarded.
---------------------------------------------
REPS. MAXINE WATERS, TED LIEU PRESS FOR FEDERAL PROBE INTO TORRANCE REFINERY FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid, toxics
Federal safety regulators agreed Friday to investigate this week‰??s fire at the PBF Energy-owned Torrance refinery following a request from South Bay Reps. Maxine Waters and Ted Lieu for a probe into the ‰??cause and potential consequences‰?? of the blaze.
In a letter to Vanessa Allen Sutherland, chairwoman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in Washington, D.C., Waters and Lieu requested that investigators already looking into a 2015 explosion at the former ExxonMobil refinery include Tuesday afternoon‰??s fire in its probe and report.
‰??As has been reported by the Torrance Fire Department and local media, the fire burned dangerously close to the alkylation unit of the refinery,‰?? the representatives wrote. ‰??This is especially alarming because the alkylation unit utilizes hydrofluoric acid, which is regulated as a highly toxic chemical with the potential to kill tens of thousands of people in the surrounding area if accidentally released.‰??
The South Coast Air Quality Management District, Torrance Fire Department, California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and refinery officials are investigating the fire and any potential impact on the community. By the end of the day Friday, the CSB, an independent federal agency that looks into the root causes of industrial chemical accidents to make recommendations to improve safety, said it also would investigate.
‰??The CSB is continuing its examination of the February 2015 incident at the then ExxonMobil now PBF Energy-owned refinery in Torrance, California, and intends to include additional details on the Nov. 15, 2016, fire in its final report,‰?? spokeswoman Hillary Cohen said in a statement.
---------------------------------------------
HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL ODOR FROM GYM CLEANING
Tags: us_NH, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) ‰?? Police say a high school in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been evacuated after a chemical odor was smelled throughout the building.
Police say the custodial staff was working in the gymnasium at Manchester High School West with a solution that could be detected throughout the school. The school was evacuated at about 11:15 a.m. Friday. Due to poor ventilation, some students reported nausea, headaches and other symptoms.
The Manchester Fire Department and American Medical Response Ambulance also were on the scene.
Police said several students were being treated at school and the situation was under control. It wasn't known when students would be allowed back into their classrooms.
---------------------------------------------
CARCINOGENIC SMOKE WAS HIGH DURING BETHLEHEM FIRE, DEC DATA SHOWS
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, response, benzene, styrene, toluene
In the hour around noon last Thursday, the air at the Bocce Courts on Madison Avenue in Lackawanna contained 180 times more carcinogenic benzene than background levels, according to air quality monitoring data.
The data -- which also showed elevated levels of the suspected carcinogens vinyl chloride, butadiene and styrene and higher levels of toluene at air monitoring devices in neighborhoods near the fire -- was revealed Wednesday by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
DEC and state health officials said the results were not unlike what would be expected to occur in the air nearby a large industrial fire like the one that erupted at the former Bethlehem Steel plant coal mill on Route 5 in Lackawanna.
"They found what we expect to be typical constituents of fires," said Dr. Nathan Graber, of the state health department's Center for Environmental Health. during a conference call Wednesday.
---------------------------------------------
LEAKING FIRE RETARDANT CREATES FOAM SEA OUTSIDE AIRPORT
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
SAN JOSE, Calif. ‰?? A sea of foam has spilled out of a hangar at Mineta San Jose International Airport in California and onto an adjacent street.
San Jose Fire Capt. Mitch Matlow tells The Mercury News (http://bayareane.ws/2g51sig">http://bayareane.ws/2g51sig ) the foam is a chemical used as a fire retardant and is coming from the hangar‰??s fire prevention system. Matlow says the retardant discharged accidentally.
By Friday afternoon, the foam had surrounded two tanker trucks and spilled onto the street. Crews were on the scene.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION VICTIMS QUESTION ARSON RULING
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems
WEST, TX (CBSDFW.COM) ‰?? More than three years after one of the deadliest fires in state history, ruled arson by the federal government, no suspect has been caught, no motive established and no substantial reward posted for leads.
So the I-Team went to the small Central Texas town of West, rocked in April 2013 by a fertilizer plant explosion, and began asking questions.
Consider the following.
When a college student disappeared in south Texas this fall, there was a $200,000 reward offered to find her.
When a Dallas woman was accused of arranging her rival‰??s murder, she made the FBI‰??s Ten Most Wanted list.
But in West, where the explosion killed 15 people, 12 of them firefighters, and hundreds were injured, the reward to find the person or persons responsible is a mere $50,000.
In addition, after three and a half years, there are growing doubts about the federal government‰??s conclusions that the fire, which subsequently triggered the explosion, was ‰??incendiary,‰?? meaning arson.
---------------------------------------------
EXPERIMENTAL CHEMICAL LEAK AT BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM
Tags: us_CT, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
DANBURY - State and local emergency crews rushed to Boehringer Ingelheim Friday after the accidental release of an experimental chemical in one of the drug maker‰??s research and development labs.
Company officials would not say what the chemical was or whether it was potentially harmful to the health of employeees.
According to fire officials, a bottle containing the chemical had over-pressurized overnight and sprayed the material into the lab.
Nobody was in the lab at the time and no injuries were reported.
State Police were called to assist the Danbury Fire Department with removal of a second bottle from the lab containing the same material. Police have robots and other equipment that was useful in removing the second bottle, officials said.
A crew from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was also sent to the drug maker‰??s campus to investigate the incident.
The building was partly evacuated out of ‰??an abundance of caution‰?? after the release was discovered, officials said.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT SITUATION REPORTED AT SCHOOL IN INWOOD
Tags: us_NY, education, release, response, copper_sulphate
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) ‰?? More than two dozen people were decontaminated after possible exposure to hazardous materials at an Inwood school Thursday.
There was concern several students were exposed to copper sulfate at the Northeastern Academy school on 215th Street near Park Terrace East, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
The incident took place just before noon Thursday.
A total of 27 people were decontaminated at the scene and the streets and school have since reopened.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT RESPONSE IN NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide
Firefighters and emergency responded to the scene of a hazardous materials incident in Newton, Massachusetts on Thursday morning.
Newton Fire said at 9:40 a.m. that they responded to Walnut Street in Newtonville Square for a hazmat incident at Bank of America. A Tier 1 hazmat response has been requested.
Original tests showed high levels of hydrogen sulfide, which prompted emergency crews to evacuate the building.
There were about six employees inside at the time and are all reported safe.
---------------------------------------------
GOVERNMENT PLANNING NEW EXAMINATION TO DETERMINE CAUSE OF GALAXY NOTE 7 FIRES
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, batteries
Previous examination was criticized as being hasty and incomplete, determining that fire wasn‰??t caused by product flaw
The South Korean government has resolved to carry out a new examination of the first replacement model of Samsung Electronics‰?? Galaxy Note 7 smartphone that caught on fire. The government has been sharply criticized for hastily concluding during the first examination that the fire did not result from a product flaw.
‰??Today, Samsung Electronics gave us the first Galaxy Note 7 replacement model that caught on fire on Oct. 2. We will be once again inspecting the phone and using all available methods to explore every possible defect,‰?? the Korea Testing Laboratory, which is affiliated with South Korea‰??s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, announced on Nov. 17.
On Oct. 4 and 5, immediately after the accident, Samsung Electronics asked the Korea Testing Laboratory to carry out a ‰??non-destructive comparative assessment‰?? of the phone. After just two days, the laboratory concluded from a visual inspection and from X-ray and CT scans that it had ‰??detected signs presumably caused by external impact or pressure.‰?? But after replacement phones continued to catch fire even afterward, this examination was criticized for being hasty and inaccurate.
---------------------------------------------
DA: NO EVIDENCE JUVENILES HAD MEANS TO PULL OFF BOMB PLOT
Tags: education, discovery, environmental, bomb, mustard_gas
The Humboldt County District Attorney‰??s office has decided not to pursue criminal charges against two 15-year-olds accused of plotting the bombing of a Fortuna High School assembly.
‰??To date, the investigation has yielded no evidence that either juvenile had the means to create an item that could be a hazard ‰?? one individual possessed approximately 2 grams ([less than] .1 ounces) of sulfur, a readily available legal product with a variety of uses,‰?? a press release from the office states. ‰??Further, there is insufficient evidence to indicate the two juveniles conspired to commit an attack.‰??
Both findings are in direct conflict with statements from Fortuna Police Chief Bill Dobberstein on Nov. 11, the day after police thwarted the alleged plot. The chief told the Journal and other media outlets that one of the juveniles was found to be in possession of ‰??several components for making some kind of toxic chemical gas explosion devices‰?? but were missing a ‰??key ingredient‰?? that police believed was stashed somewhere on campus. Dobberstein said it appeared the students were planning on making multiple explosive devices with a substance akin to homemade mustard gas, or sulfur mustard, to detonate them at an all-school assembly that day.
Further, Dobberstein said it appeared the students had been planning a ‰??mass casualty event‰?? for some time and targeting ‰??when there was going to be a large gathering of students and teachers in one place.‰??
---------------------------------------------
STRONG CHEMICAL ODOR ON EAST SIDE WAS NON-TOXIC, FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, solvent, styrene
A strong paint thinner smell on the East Side Wednesday brought out the hazardous incident team, but the chemical was non-toxic and no illnesses or injuries were reported.
The incident started at about 12:40 p.m. in the 800 block of East Johnson Street, the Madison Fire Department said.
"Someone smelled a vapor comparable to paint thinner coming from a storm drain," said spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster. "Area business owners said the smell was also permeating into their basements."
A white haze that was unidentifiable on monitoring equipment was seen coming out of a storm sewer drain, so firefighters called in the hazardous incident team.
"Air samples identified the chemical as styrene," Schuster said. "The level of styrene in the air, including in the basements, was not harmful."
The styrene was traced to a company that was lining sewers in the neighborhood; the chemical is a component of the work.
---------------------------------------------
SHELL FACES $133,000 PENALTY FOR SMELLY CHEMICAL RELEASE IN ANACORTES
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, response, benzene, illegal
ANACORTES, Wash. ‰?? Shell Puget Sound Refinery faces a $133,000 penalty for a 2015 chemical release that prompted complaints from people living near the Anacortes facility.
The Northwest Clean Air Agency, which enforces air quality regulations, on Wednesday also found the refinery failed to follow certain practices to minimize emissions.
In a statement, Shell says that while it regrets this odor incident, the company took immediate steps to minimize the impact. It says it values the safety of employees and the community.
The agency alleged in April that Shell did not follow shutdown and decontamination procedures while cleaning the refinery‰??s east flare system. It says the refinery released certain chemicals, including benzene, into the atmosphere.
Winds carried those chemicals, and hundreds reported symptoms such as headaches and nausea. Many complaints came from people living in La Conner, or working and living on the Swinomish Reservation.
---------------------------------------------
---
This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post