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From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (11 articles)
Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2016 05:27:34 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: A9687BA6-F6E6-49CE-85E7-31A3DE8611B1**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, December 26, 2016 at 5:27:20 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 (11 articles)
HAZMAT CREWS ON SCENE OF GAS LEAK IN CHESAPEAKE
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, gasoline
WHAT LURKS INSIDE ALL THOSE OLD BUILDINGS?
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, environmental, pesticides
FUNKY SMELL BLANKETS PARTS OF PHILLY
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide, sulfur_dioxide
SOME TEETHERS ADVERTISED AS BPA-FREE LEACH THE COMPOUND
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, plastics
BU CLOSING IN ON GETTING LEVEL-4 BIOSAFETY OK
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
THREAT OVER FROM LAB FIRE IN THE NORTH
Tags: Cyprus, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
MADISON HEIGHTS PLATING FIRM SHUT DOWN AMID CHEMICAL SPILL CONCERNS
Tags: us_MI, industrial, discovery, response, cyanide, hydrochloric_acid, waste, illegal
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
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HAZMAT CREWS ON SCENE OF GAS LEAK IN CHESAPEAKE
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, gasoline
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WVEC) -- Emergency officials spent hours investigating a gas leak at TransMontaigne Product Services in Chesapeake.
The incident was reported at 8:16 a.m. at the company located in the 7600 block of Halifax Lane, according to the Chesapeake Fire Department.
Officials with TransMontaigne Product Services estimate about 1,000 gallons of gasoline leaked.
Fire officials say the leak has been stopped and the product has been contained.
The Chesapeake Fire Department‰??s Foam Team and Hazardous Materials Team are on the scene, as well as a local clean up contractor.
The Chesapeake Fire Department says no evacuations are in place and there is no hazard to the public.
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WHAT LURKS INSIDE ALL THOSE OLD BUILDINGS?
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, environmental, pesticides
It took five months to get started on the demolition of the Carpet Mill building on South Fourth Street.
The delay wasn't attributed to structural issues, but rather questions about chemical containers stored in the crumbling building.
An abatement order by the Environmental Protection Agency on the owner of the property had to be resolved before the property at 417 S. Fourth St., which partially collapsed during a July storm, could be demolished.
According to an EPA report, a ruptured water pipe in the building that flooded the basement in January of 2007 prompted the city of St. Joseph to conduct water sampling when barrels of chemicals were spotted in the building.
The vacant structure was used by HPI Chemical Products as storage. The report stated that HPI owns and operates eight properties in St. Joseph, and lists William Garvey as the owner.
In March of 2007, EPA special agents issued a warrant and inspected the building. The report states that "hundreds of drums, bags and other containers" were stored throughout each of the four floors of the building.
Samples found that arsenic, chromium, lead and various pesticides were stored in the containers. The report stated that many of the containers were "badly deteriorated and leaking" and some pesticides were misbranded, canceled and unregistered.
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FUNKY SMELL BLANKETS PARTS OF PHILLY
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide, sulfur_dioxide
A "rotten eggs" smell that slunk across the city Friday night was caused by a chemical release at a South Jersey refinery, officials said Saturday.
Paulsboro Refinery released 130 pounds of sulfur dioxide and nine pounds of hydrogen sulfide Friday night, according to Philadelphia police.
PBF Energy, which runs the refinery, apologized and said Saturday that a brief loss of power at the refinery shortly before 8 p.m. Friday resulted in "flaring and odors." The refinery is located just across the Delaware River.
The odor was not dangerous, officials said, and no injuries were reported.
The release was not at a level high enough to require reporting by the company, said a police spokesperson.
---------------------------------------------
SOME TEETHERS ADVERTISED AS BPA-FREE LEACH THE COMPOUND
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, plastics
Small amounts of the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A leach from many plastic baby teethers, including some labeled BPA-free, a new study shows (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b04128). The teethers also leach low levels of other endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including parabens. However, the estimated exposure to BPA for babies is much lower than the safety thresholds suggested by U.S. and European regulatory agencies.
Kurunthachalam Kannan of the New York State Department of Health‰??s Wadsworth Center and his colleagues study the exposure of infants and children to chemicals in the environment, including endocrine disruptors. They recently decided to examine plastic baby teethers, a potential source that has not been clearly characterized. Kannan‰??s team tested 59 different teethers‰??53 of which are sold in the U.S. ‰??for 26 potential endocrine disruptors. These include bisphenols, which are used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins; parabens, which are used as preservatives; benzophenones, which prevent UV damage; and antimicrobials, including triclosan and triclocarban. They soaked the teethers in highly purified water, free of any of the contaminants being tested, for an hour to simulate the average amount of time per day that babies suck on a teether. After measuring the chemicals that leached into the water using high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass-s!
pectrometry, the researchers estimated chemical exposure levels for average-sized, one-year-old children.
---------------------------------------------
BU CLOSING IN ON GETTING LEVEL-4 BIOSAFETY OK
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
Boston University is closing in on its goal of obtaining a Biosafety Level-4 status that would allow the college to study deadly diseases like Ebola.
The change in status for the university‰??s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, located at Boston Medical Center, was approved this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is now in the permitting process to operate as a Level-4 laboratory with the Boston Public Health Commission.
Biosafety Level-4 status is required to work with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high risk of aerosol-transmitted infections, according to the CDC‰??s website. BU Spokesman Colin Riley would not comment on the application submitted to the city because the permitting process is ongoing.
In a statement, Boston Public Health Commission spokeswoman Marjorie Nesin said the agency has been reviewing safety plans and procedures at the lab since 2013 and will continue its monitoring and inspection program before any permits are issued.
---------------------------------------------
THREAT OVER FROM LAB FIRE IN THE NORTH
Tags: Cyprus, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Air pollution caused from a fire in the ‰??state‰?? lab in Nicosia in the north on Thursday night was dispersed due to rain and winds and it is no longer a threat to human health, authorities of the breakaway regime said on Friday.
A warning was issued on Thursday night in the north, urging members of the public to stay inside as the fumes caused from a fire at the ‰??state‰?? lab in Nicosia that destroyed the chemicals kept at the warehouse, were deemed as harmful to health.
The fire, according to reports in the north, broke out at around 7pm, and was put out by the fire service and civil defence in around two hours. There were also explosions. The fumes mainly affected Kaymakli, Neapolis, and Trachonas.
An investigation was launched to determine the cause of the fire.
Due to the burning of chemicals thick fume clouds were formed, and authorities had urged members of the public to keep clear of the area, as a precaution, and for vulnerable groups to remain inside.
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MADISON HEIGHTS PLATING FIRM SHUT DOWN AMID CHEMICAL SPILL CONCERNS
Tags: us_MI, industrial, discovery, response, cyanide, hydrochloric_acid, waste, illegal
A Madison Heights plating company has been ordered by the state to cease operations after nearly 5,000 containers of hazardous waste and materials ‰?? including cyanide and hydrochloric acid ‰?? were found improperly stored or opened, potentially endangering nearby residential neighborhoods.
Electro Plating Services at 945 E. Ten Mile Road was given multiple chances to comply and rectify the situation, according to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Heidi Grether, but it continued to "ignore the most basic requirements of public safety."
‰??Its location, within 500 feet of residential neighbors and overlooking I-696, poses an imminent threat that could cause untold damage to people and the environment," Grether said in a news release. "We have worked with the Madison Heights Fire Department to help EPS meet its obligations to the community and under law. The company has shown only recalcitrance and is now closed until the site can be cleared of hazardous materials.‰??
---------------------------------------------
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.
---------------------------------------------
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.
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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.
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The Berkeley Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team worked with the Bayer Emergency Response Team to mitigate the incident, McCracken said.
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