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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, December 23, 2016 at 5:47:56 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 (18 articles)
CHEMICAL LEAK CONTAINED AT HOPEWELL PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL PLANT; NO INJURIES REPORTED
Tags: us_CT, industrial, explosion, response, methane, natural_gas, sodium_bisulfate
EPA ISSUES NEW RULE ON CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS, RISK MANAGEMENT ‰?? RT AMERICA
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
AMMONIA LEAK AT BERKELEY LAB PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, response, ammonia
STUDENT-DEVELOPED INNOVATION COULD IMPROVE LAB SAFETY AT HARVARD
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
CHEMICAL SPILL AT PLANT IN KEOKUK
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, HCl
SMOKE FROM CHEMISTRY CLASS FORCES STUDENT EVACUATION FROM CANANDAIGUA ACADEMY
Tags: us_NY, education, fire, response, unknown_chemical
6 STUDENTS, TEACHER HOSPITALIZED AFTER NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL ACID SPILL
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, injury, acids
DUPONT HIT WITH $2 MILLION VERDICT OVER TEFLON-MAKING CHEMICAL
Tags: us_OH, public, follow-up, injury, toxics
POLICE: THREE TEENS USE CHEMICAL MIXTURE TO SET HOUSE ON FIRE
Tags: us_NC, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FROM THE ARCHIVES: 'GARBAGE' CHEMICAL TCP THREATENS VALLEY WATER
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, ag_chems
EPA LOOKS TO MITIGATE CHEMICAL PLANT DISASTERS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
THE DEADLY EXPLOSION BEHIND AMERICA'S WHIPPED-CREAM SHORTAGE
Tags: us_FL, transportation, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
AT LEAST 29 DEAD, 70 HURT IN MEXICO FIREWORKS MARKET BLAST ‰?? VIETNAM BREAKING NEWS
Tags: Mexico, industrial, explosion, death, fireworks
CHEMICAL SPILL AT PLANT IN KEOKUK
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
FIRE LEAVES CHEMICAL TANKER ADRIFT
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, fire, response, flammables
MPLS. RECYCLING PLANT CATCHES FIRE AMID KEROSENE; ROADS BRIEFLY CLOSED
Tags: us_MN, industrial, fire, response, kerosene, metals, waste
CHEMICAL FIRE GUTS SURFBOARD GLASSING FACTORY
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, injury, acetone, flammables, resin
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CHEMICAL LEAK CONTAINED AT HOPEWELL PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
HOPEWELL, VA (WWBT) -
Hazmat crews were called to the Air Gas plant in Hopewell Thursday evening after an ammonia leak.
Crews say the building was undergoing routine maintenance, but a valve was stuck open, releasing the chemical inside the building. Some of the ammonia got outside of the building but stayed on the Air Gas facility site.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL PLANT; NO INJURIES REPORTED
Tags: us_CT, industrial, explosion, response, methane, natural_gas, sodium_bisulfate
Emergency crews were on the scene mid-day Thursday of an explosion at a chemical plant off State Street near the Hamden border in the Cedar Hill neighborhood.
The explosion was reported at around 11:30 a.m. at the former H. Krevit & Co., now known as Chlor-Alkali, at 73 Welton St.
It was originally reported as a hydrogen gas explosion. Then it turned out the explosion stemmed from a natural gas leak in a pipe connected to a heating unit inside the plant had exploded, officials said. Then, later Thursday, officials backtracked again. Now they‰??re saying they don‰??t know exactly what happened yet. Representatives of the state fire marshal‰??s office and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection arrived to help find answers.
The explosion ripped out a back wall. It blew debris onto the Amtrak train tracks, temporarily stopped service to Hartford until crews cleared the wau.
The Chlor-Alkali building was evacuated, and everyone got out safely, according to Fire Chief John Alston Jr.
The explosion also ruptured a container that had sodium bisulfate in it, Alston said. The fire department‰??s hazmat crew entered the building and determined that the chemical was confined to a pit around a storage container.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency cited the company in 2011 for failing to have a risk management or spill management plan in violation of the Clear Air Act. The company had to pay a $12,626 penalty and buy $36,056 of emergency response equipment for the fire department.so it could deal with chemical emergencies ‰?? like the one on Thursday.
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EPA ISSUES NEW RULE ON CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS, RISK MANAGEMENT ‰?? RT AMERICA
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
The US Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled a new rule aimed at preventing accidents at chemical facilities while sharpening emergency response in the event of a chemical release.
Tags
Ecology, Health
Following a 2013 executive order signed by President Barack Obama in response to various accidents at US chemical facilities, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finished crafting a new rule that seeks "to reduce risks associated with hazardous chemicals to owners and operators, workers, and communities by enhancing the safety and security of chemical facilities." The new rule was signed by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on Wednesday.
The new rule adopts changes to the EPA's Risk Management Program (RMP), which applies to facilities such a petrochemical plants that handle "extremely hazardous substances," requiring these facilities to submit an individual Risk Management Plan to the EPA every five years.
The executive order, signed following an explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people, emphasized "strengthening community planning and preparedness"; "enhancing federal operational coordination"; "improving data management"; and "modernizing policies and regulations."
---------------------------------------------
AMMONIA LEAK AT BERKELEY LAB PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, response, ammonia
Fire and hazmat crews in Berkeley responded to an ammonia release inside a lab in Berkeley on Thursday, according to the Berkeley Fire Department.
Fire officials confirmed about 4:45 p.m. that there was an ammonia release inside Bayer Lab at Parker and Seventh streets. The leak was isolated to the building's interior, and there was no immediate evacuation or shelter-in-place order, Deputy Fire Chief Donna McCracken said.
Drone Video Shows Pod of Killer Whales Feasting on Shark
The leak was contained and readings were back to zero by about 6:30 p.m., fire officials said.
All Bayer employees were accounted for, and no injuries or exposures were reported, McCracken said.
VIDEOMan Arrested After Catholic School in Santa Rosa Trashed
The Berkeley Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team worked with the Bayer Emergency Response Team to mitigate the incident, McCracken said.
---------------------------------------------
STUDENT-DEVELOPED INNOVATION COULD IMPROVE LAB SAFETY AT HARVARD
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
At Harvard University, where cutting-edge research sometimes involves the use of hazardous chemicals, the safety of students, faculty, and staff rests with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S). While Harvard has a commendable safety record, this 62-person office (which has 27 employees assigned to the laboratory safety sub-unit) faces the daunting challenge of monitoring the enormous amount of chemicals that are stored, utilized, and disposed of in more than 600 laboratories.
A team of John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) students produced a tech-driven solution that could help EH&S more efficiently catalogue Harvard‰??s hazardous chemicals. For their collaborative project in Engineering Problem Solving and Design (ES 96), the students developed a wireless label printing system that streamlines and standardizes the process of tagging hazardous materials and wastes.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL AT PLANT IN KEOKUK
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, HCl
KEOKUK ‰?? Five people were sent to the hospital Tuesday after a chemical spill at the Roquette America Inc. plant in Keokuk.
Company and county hazmat teams were summoned about 2:45 p.m. when a solution of 35 percent hydrogen chloride spilled, the company said in a press release. Employees working near the area were evacuated, which was secured. Drains to the river also were secured to contain the spill.
---------------------------------------------
SMOKE FROM CHEMISTRY CLASS FORCES STUDENT EVACUATION FROM CANANDAIGUA ACADEMY
Tags: us_NY, education, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Canandaigua, N.Y. (WHAM) - Students at Canandaigua Academy had to be evacuated from the school briefly Wednesday after a chemical reaction in a classroom.
The incident happened around 12:20 p.m. in a classroom while a teacher was supervising a class.
The reaction caused enough smoke to require the fire alarm to be triggered.
Students had to be evacuated outside the building until the Canandaigua Fire Department could respond.
A short time later, firefighters deemed the area of the school with the gym and auditorium to be safe, and students were brought in from the cold.
The incident was declared under control shortly after 1 p.m. An investigation is underway to determine what happened. It is not yet clear what the ‰??chemical reaction‰?? consisted of.
---------------------------------------------
6 STUDENTS, TEACHER HOSPITALIZED AFTER NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL ACID SPILL
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, injury, acids
UNION, New Jersey (WABC) -- Six students and one teacher were taken to a New Jersey hospital after a chemical spill at a high school Wednesday.
The incident happened around 8 a.m. in a science classroom at Union High School with 24 students present.
County spokesperson Sebastian D'Elia said the acid spilled is commonly used in vinegar and for printing.
One student said a teacher spilled a vial and burned his hand, and then a fire alarm sounded.
"This is not an issue where there was something that (the teacher) did inappropriately," superintendent Gregory Tatum said. "From my understanding, a handle...just snapped, and it was an accident that was totally unprovoked."
The victims were hospitalized for evaluation as a precaution. A custodian and 19 other students were evaluated at the scene.
---------------------------------------------
DUPONT HIT WITH $2 MILLION VERDICT OVER TEFLON-MAKING CHEMICAL
Tags: us_OH, public, follow-up, injury, toxics
A U.S. jury in Ohio on Wednesday ordered DuPont (DD.N) to pay $2 million to a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical leaked from one of the company's plants, according to the plaintiff's lawyer Robert Bilott.
The federal jury also found DuPont acted with actual malice, raising the possibility of punitive damages, Bilott said. It is the third time jurors in Columbus, Ohio federal court have found DuPont liable for injuries linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA or C-8, which is used to make Teflon.
There are more than 3,400 lawsuits pending against DuPont over the chemical leak, which allegedly contaminated local water supplies. Chemours Co (CC.N), the performance chemicals unit which was spun off from DuPont last year, has an agreement to cover the costs of such lawsuits.
Chemours spokeswoman Cynthia Salitsky stressed in a statement that Dupont was the named defendant in the cases and would be directly liable. She also noted that the litigation would likely continue for many years and the final outcomes could be different from the interim results.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE: THREE TEENS USE CHEMICAL MIXTURE TO SET HOUSE ON FIRE
Tags: us_NC, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical
EMERALD ISLE, NC (WNCT)- Three teenagers face arson charges in connection with a fire from earlier this month.
On December 8th, Emerald Isle Fire responded to Heverly Drive to see a house engulfed in flames. Five other stations had to assist in putting the fire out.
During the investigation, Emerald Isle Police learned the fire started from a plastic bottle filled with a chemical mixture. It was placed in a trash can under the residence. The mixture reacted with one another, combusted, and started the fire which spread through the house.
Police arrested Peyton Weist, 18, of Emerald Isle, and Lee Wilson, 17, of Havelock in connection with the crime. They are both charged with 2nd degree arson.
A 15-year-old was also arrested, but his information wasn‰??t released.
The police department encouraged parents to talk with their children about the dangers of mixing chemicals.
---------------------------------------------
FROM THE ARCHIVES: 'GARBAGE' CHEMICAL TCP THREATENS VALLEY WATER
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, ag_chems
A 1974 memo from Dow Chemical describes several chemicals in a widely used farm fumigant as "garbage." Today, one of those useless chemicals threatens drinking water for more than 1 million people across the San Joaquin Valley.
Now linked to cancer, the toxin was waste from a plastic-making process. Chemical companies often mix such leftovers to create other products to avoid the cost of disposal, says one long-time chemical engineer.
The fumigant manufacturers, Dow and Shell Oil Co., discovered decades ago that 1,2,3-trichloropropane, or TCP, was not effective against worms called nematodes, according to documents in lawsuits filed by a dozen Valley cities against the companies. But they apparently left it in a fumigant anyway.
"TCP was a hazardous waste, not a pesticide," said lawyer Todd Robins, who represents several Valley cities and water agencies. "It did nothing for farmers, but Shell and Dow knowingly used their fumigants as a way to dispose of it."
---------------------------------------------
EPA LOOKS TO MITIGATE CHEMICAL PLANT DISASTERS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
A new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation aims to minimize the harm to local communities from disasters at chemical plants.
The regulation overhauls major sections of the EPA‰??s Risk Management Program for such plants, with new requirements that companies coordinate with local officials and first responders, and learn from past mistakes.
The rule comes less than a month before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, so it could be invalidated by Congress easily. But the regulation has not received the same opposition from Trump and Republicans as more high-profile rules that are likely to be targeted first.
The rule was prompted in part by a 2013 explosion at a chemical plant in West, Texas, that killed 15, injured dozens more and destroyed more than 150 buildings.
---------------------------------------------
THE DEADLY EXPLOSION BEHIND AMERICA'S WHIPPED-CREAM SHORTAGE
Tags: us_FL, transportation, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
In August, a gas tanker exploded not far from a nylon factory in Cantonment, Florida. And this winter, just time in for the holiday season, the whole country is facing a sudden shortage of Reddi-wip. These two events are directly related, and their connection reveals the complicated mechanics of bringing sweet whipped dairy topping to your holiday pie.
Reddi-wip‰??s key ingredient is neither sweet nor dairy but a gas: nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas. Dentists use it to knock out their patients. Teenagers use it for whippets. And race-car engines use it for an extra boost, when nitrous oxide explosively decomposes into nitrogen and oxygen.
But most of the time, nitrous oxide is not exploding. It‰??s sitting inertly in refrigerators and trucks and tanks. ‰??Most people consider nitrous oxide to be very safe,‰?? says Dan Tillema, an investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. Tillema is investigating why that nitrous-oxide tanker exploded in Cantonment, Florida, one afternoon in August. The accident killed a plant operator, Jesse Graham Folmar, 32, who was filling the tanker at the time.
---------------------------------------------
AT LEAST 29 DEAD, 70 HURT IN MEXICO FIREWORKS MARKET BLAST ‰?? VIETNAM BREAKING NEWS
Tags: Mexico, industrial, explosion, death, fireworks
TULTEPEC, Mexico ‰?? A massive explosion gutted Mexico‰??s biggest fireworks market on Tuesday, killing at least 29 people and injuring 70, authorities said.
The conflagration, in the Mexico City suburb of Tultepec, set off a quick-fire series of multicolored blasts and a sent a vast cloud of smoke billowing over the capital city.
The market had been packed with customers buying pyrotechnics for traditional end-of-year festivities. Christmas and New Year‰??s parties in many Latin American countries often wrap up with clattering firework blasts.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL AT PLANT IN KEOKUK
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid
Roquette has communicated that today, at approximately 2:45PM CST, an acid line at its plant facility in Keokuk, IA leaked and spilled 35% HCL acid to the ground. Both the internal Hazmat team and Lee County Hazmat teams responded to the event immediately. The Keokuk Fire Department and local emergency personnel were also dispatched to the plant in response to the incident as part of Roquette‰??s standard procedure. The release was contained by approximately 3:00PM, drains to the river were secured to mitigate the release of HCL, and clean-up activities are currently under way. Employees working in close proximity to the release were immediately evacuated and the area was secured to prevent unauthorized entry. Five individuals directly impacted by the release were evaluated by medical personnel onsite and were later transported to the local hospital for further evaluation. Those individuals transported to the local hospital are either being monitored or have been released. R!
oquette has immediately initiated an investigation to determine the root causes of this incident and to identify corrective measures to put in place in order to avoid the occurrence of similar incidents in the future. Roquette will provide further updates and timely information to employees and the local community as they become available.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE LEAVES CHEMICAL TANKER ADRIFT
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, fire, response, flammables
On Monday afternoon, the chemical tanker Cape Bon suffered a fire in an electrical pane as she was transiting the English Channel. The loss of the panel knocked out her ship‰??s service power and left her unable to maneuver.
The French authorities were notified, and they dispatched the intervention tug Abeille Languedoc, which departed Boulogne-sur-Mer and arrived on scene at 1750 hours. In addition, a French Navy helicopter carried an evaluation and intervention team out to the Bon, and after an inspection, they determined that she should be towed to an anchorage.
French maritime authorities asked the Bon‰??s owner to make commercial arrangements for a tug. She was adrift in a shipping lane and carrying a cargo of 30,000 tons of flammable liquid, a potentially dangerous situation, and officials wanted a swift resolution.
---------------------------------------------
MPLS. RECYCLING PLANT CATCHES FIRE AMID KEROSENE; ROADS BRIEFLY CLOSED
Tags: us_MN, industrial, fire, response, kerosene, metals, waste
A recycling plant in north Minneapolis caught fire Tuesday morning, sending up huge clouds of smoke and disrupting traffic, authorities said.
The blaze broke out about 10:10 a.m. at Northern Metal Recycling in the 1800 block of 2nd Street N., a site bordered by Interstate 94 to the west and the Mississippi River to the east. The fire was declared under control shortly before 1 p.m.
Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Tyner said there were drums of kerosene inside used for metal stripping.
There were no reports of anyone harmed from the fire, which released continuous clouds of smoke that could be seen for miles against the blue sky. Government health officials have checked air quality in the immediate area and registered no adverse readings, a fire official said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRE GUTS SURFBOARD GLASSING FACTORY
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, injury, acetone, flammables, resin
Glassers are the surf industry‰??s version of Clark Kent. While shapers receive praise and name recognition for designing top-selling surfboards, glassers go unnoticed and underappreciated, as they humbly labor away with carcinogenic materials. On Friday, a bastion of those unsung heroes ‰?? Global Glassing in Oceanside, CA ‰?? was set ablaze from a chemical fire. Reports say the fire caused half-a-million dollars in damage. One employee was in the building at the time, attempting to extinguish the flames, and suffering burns to his face, but opting to drive himself to the hospital.
‰??Fire crews determined that there was no way to fight the increasing volume of fire inside the involved unit and pulled all personnel outside to begin defensive operations designed to limit the spread to the other businesses in the L-shaped building,‰?? Battalion Chief Pete Lawrence told Fox 5 San Diego.
Surfboard glassing involves using many hazardous and flammable materials, including resin and acetone ‰?? which is reported to be the culprit of Friday‰??s fire. And Global Glassing was a major player in the Southern California surfboard industry, being the last stop for many local shapers and big brands before hitting the store racks. From Channel Islands to Firewire to Slater Designs, the Oceanside glass house had a wide array of popular industry clients.
‰??I watched from across the street as my place of occupation burned to the ground in what seemed to be an instant,‰?? Global Glassing‰??s Arin McKinney wrote via Instagram. ‰??It's a horrifying feeling to watch a fire of that magnitude burn beyond our control. Relieved to say that everybody made it out mostly unscathed from what I understand and fortunately I was not directly in harms [sic] way on this go around.‰??
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For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
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