From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (9 articles)
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2016 06:41:03 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 58ED44F5-932C-4586-B5A2-D9AB5CDE7D09**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, November 25, 2016 at 6:40:52 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 (9 articles)

COURT DENIES MUNICIPALITY ACCESS TO INDUSTRY'S HAZARD ASSESSMENT REPORT
Tags: Canada, industrial, discovery, environmental

CLEANING UP LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN PORT HOPE
Tags: Canada, public, release, environmental, radiation, waste

TSB RULES THAT DERAILMENT CAUSED BY ‰??SUDDEN AND CATASTROPHIC‰?? RAIL FAILURE
Tags: Canada, transportation, follow-up, response

HAZMAT TEAM, STATE OFFICIALS REMAIN AT SCENE OF PARTIAL TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, other_chemical

PLAIN TOWNSHIP, OH, FIREFIGHTERS DEAL WITH 25K HAZMAT SPILL AT RAIL YARD
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, flammables

LIVE: CHEMICAL LEAK AT THE HEINEKEN BREWERY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

MELBOURNE AIRPORT CHEMICAL SPILL MOPPED UP
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid

HOW TO KEEP YOUR DRINKING WATER FREE OF CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

CHEMICAL LEAK AT ALTONA MOBIL PLANT
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, flammables, hydrogen, naphtha


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COURT DENIES MUNICIPALITY ACCESS TO INDUSTRY'S HAZARD ASSESSMENT REPORT
Tags: Canada, industrial, discovery, environmental

On October 13, 2016 the Saskatchewan Queen‰??s Bench in Consumers‰?? Co-operative Refineries Ltd. (CCRL) v. the City of Regina 2016 SKQB 335 held that information in a major instance hazard assessment report, prepared by Marsh Risk Consulting so that CCRL could obtain approvals from the City and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to expand its refinery, should not be publicly disclosed. CCRL had appealed decisions by both the City and the MOE to release redacted versions of the hazard assessment report to a journalist under both the Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act SS 1990-91,c L-27.1 and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act SS1990-91 c F-22. These statutes, dealing with the rights and obligations of the City and MOE respectively, mirror access legislation both federally and in other provinces around the country.

The ruling has important implications for industries which supply technical information to regulators, particularly nuclear and chemical industries for whom security concerns must always be in the forefront.

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CLEANING UP LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN PORT HOPE
Tags: Canada, public, release, environmental, radiation, waste

As reported in Northumberland Today, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) recently held an update meeting for the public on the progress of cleaning up low-level radioactive waste in the Town of Port Hope. The town is located approximately a 1-hour drive east of Toronto.

Five representatives of the CNSC and members of the public heard presentations on what has been accomplished to date on the facilities that will permanently house the historic low-level radioactive waste that originated from the Eldorado radium extraction facility that first started operations in the town in 1932.

Eldorado Nuclear Ltd. was a company wholly owned by the Canadian Government. In 1988, Eldorado Nuclear and the Saskatchewan Mining Company were amalgamated and privatized to form Cameco.

The presentations included a discussion on how the scans for radioactivity of Port Hope properties and streets is going, in terms of finding low level radioactive waste in order to transport it to the facilities, and how the environment and people will be protected while it all takes place.

Concerns by the townsfolk about the cleanup were far ranging including the program‰??s impact on Lake Ontario in general and the Port Hope harbour, in particular.

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TSB RULES THAT DERAILMENT CAUSED BY ‰??SUDDEN AND CATASTROPHIC‰?? RAIL FAILURE
Tags: Canada, transportation, follow-up, response

As reported by Alex MacPherson in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, a ‰??sudden and catastrophic failure‰?? of a 57-year-old rail that had been exposed to higher-than-expected traffic caused a fiery derailment east of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan two years ago, according to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigation released recently.

Canadian National (CN) railway officials ‰??far exceeded‰?? inspection requirements, but visual and ultrasonic checks failed to reveal the defect in the rail, which deteriorated faster than expected, Transportation Safety Board officials said recently in Saskatoon.

‰??Unfortunately, this one just kind of fell through the cracks,‰?? said Rob Johnston, who oversees all TSB rail safety investigations in the federal agency‰??s central region, which runs from Cornwall, Ont. to the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.

Clouds of black smoke darkened the sky and about 50 people were evacuated from Clair, which is about 190 kilometres east of Saskatoon, after the Oct. 7, 2014 derailment. No one was injured. About 650 feet of track was destroyed.

‰??I‰??ve seen derailments, but this is a pretty bad one,‰?? a local resident who visited the scene told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. ‰??When I got there, there was a small explosion. The smoke is too thick to see what cars are involved.‰??

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HAZMAT TEAM, STATE OFFICIALS REMAIN AT SCENE OF PARTIAL TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, other_chemical

But the peracetic acid that spilled from a 330-gallon tote when a truck struck it in the parking lot of Case Farms on U.S. 30 Tuesday afternoon did stream into the storm sewers "and partly into the creek," Henderson said. Peracetic acid is typically used in a sanitation process.

Crews were still at the rail yard when the hazmat team was called at 4:50 p.m. Tuesday to Case Farms, he said.

The hazmat team, Ohio EPA workers and cleanup crews from SunPro and EnviroServ responded to address that spill, Henderson said.

---------------------------------------------

PLAIN TOWNSHIP, OH, FIREFIGHTERS DEAL WITH 25K HAZMAT SPILL AT RAIL YARD
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, flammables

Nov. 23--PLAIN TWP. -- Township firefighters had to suppress a hazardous situation Tuesday afternoon when gallons of a chemical compound known as tripropylene spilled out of a ruptured railcar at the Norfolk Southern Railway yard in the 4100 block of Louisville Street NE.

"They were moving railcars around and one was damaged from that," said Chief Chuck Shalenberger of the township Fire Department. "One (car) was pushed into another. That chemical is flammable. So our first concern was a fire threat."

There were no injuries. Firefighters responded at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday.

"It was fully loaded, and the estimate is about 25,000 gallons," Shalenberger said. "It stayed pretty much localized to the area around the rail car. We used foam to suppress the vapors."

Other agencies called included the Stark County Hazardous Materials team, or Hazmat. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency also was notified. The railroad company is to have a contractor clean up the site.

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LIVE: CHEMICAL LEAK AT THE HEINEKEN BREWERY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

A chemical alert has broken out at the Heineken brewery in Manchester .

Specialist HAZMAT (Hazardous Material) crews were called to Denmark Road in Hulme at 10.12am on Wednesday to reports of a chemical leak.

The brewery was evacuated before fire crews arrived, and a spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue said there is no risk to nearby homes or businesses.

Follow live updates below

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MELBOURNE AIRPORT CHEMICAL SPILL MOPPED UP
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid

A shipment of acid that leaked at Melbourne Airport has been cleared.
Eight people were hospitalised after hydrofluoric acid cartons in the freight area of the airport began leaking on Wednesday morning.
Ambulance Victoria said one person came into contact with the chemical and all eight were later sent home.
Airport and MFB firefighters moved the containers to hazmat drums.
No flights or terminals had been affected by the spill, an airport spokesman said.
Worksafe Victoria and the EPA were notified.
Hydrofluoric acid is used for cleaning, metal treatment or car detailing, and in strong concentrations can cause severe burns to skin and airways.

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HOW TO KEEP YOUR DRINKING WATER FREE OF CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

HOUSTON - There is a cancer-causing chemical found in Houston's drinking water. The levels we found on average are more than 30 percent higher than the state of California recommends.

"It has the potential to cause increased risk of cancer," said Dr. Qilin Li, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University.

Chromium-6 is a cancer-causing chemical that can be naturally occurring or come from industrial pollution.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reviewed test results across the Houston area. Channel 2 discovered ZIP code 77099 had levels 300 times more than California's health goal.

The movie "Erin Brockovich" documented the deaths of California residents exposed to high levels of chromium-6.

So what can you do to keep your drinking water safe?
"There are multiple technologies that can take out chromium-6 from drinking water," Dr. Li said.

Li said a fairly proven method to remove chromium-6 is to use reverse osmosis filtration systems. Some can be installed under your sink. They'll cost you anywhere from $100 to $1,000.

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CHEMICAL LEAK AT ALTONA MOBIL PLANT
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, flammables, hydrogen, naphtha

FIRE crews are working to contain a chemical leak at the Mobil plant in Altona this morning.

The MFB received a call around 3.00am and expect to be on the scene for some time yet as the leak cannot be isolated.

The leak was identified as a mixture of Hydrogen and Naptha, a general term used for many flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixtures.

Extra appliances were requested including specialist Hazmat crews.

Mobil crews are working to replace the contents of the pipe with Nitrogen which would allow the leak to be sealed.

Almost 30 firefighters in breathing masks are working to disperse the product with water sprays.

Crews expect to be on scene for an extended period of time.

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