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Next by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (9 articles) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2017 07:55:10 -0500 Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, January 2, 2017 at 7:23:44 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 (5 articles)
LOW LEVELS OF MANGANESE IN WELDING FUMES CAUSE NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS
Tags: us_MO, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICALS FUEL FIRE AT MANTUA TWP. FIRM ON CHAMBERLAIN ROAD
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL REACTION AT WEST SIDE DEALERSHIP SENDS 5 TO HOSPITAL, FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
BOUNTIFUL STREET CLOSED AFTER TANKER CARRYING GAS ROLLS OVER
Tags: us_UT, transportation, release, response, ethanol
DEADLY EXPLOSION AT JURONG LAB CAUSED BY FAULTY VALVE, ASIAONE SINGAPORE NEWS
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, follow-up, death, gas_cylinders
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LOW LEVELS OF MANGANESE IN WELDING FUMES CAUSE NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS
Tags: us_MO, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Welders exposed to airborne manganese at estimated levels below federal occupational safety standards exhibit neurological problems similar to Parkinson's disease, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Further, the more they are exposed to manganese-containing welding fumes, the faster the workers' signs and symptoms worsen.
The findings, published Dec. 28 in Neurology, suggest that current safety standards may not adequately protect welders from the dangers of the job.
"We found that chronic exposure to manganese-containing welding fumes is associated with progressive neurological symptoms such as slow movement and difficulty speaking," said Brad A. Racette, MD, a professor of neurology and the study's senior author. "The more exposure you have to welding fumes, the more quickly those symptoms progress over time."
At high levels, manganese - a key component of important industrial processes such as welding and steelmaking - can cause manganism, a severe neurologic disorder with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease, including slowness, clumsiness, tremors, mood changes, and difficulty walking and speaking. The risk of manganism drove the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) decades ago to set standards limiting the amount of manganese in the air at workplaces. While these safety standards are widely believed to have eliminated manganism as an occupational hazard, researchers who study the effects of manganese exposure have long suspected that there may still be some health effects at levels much lower than what is allowable per OSHA standards.
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CHEMICALS FUEL FIRE AT MANTUA TWP. FIRM ON CHAMBERLAIN ROAD
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
Crews from several fire departments battled a chemical blaze Friday afternoon at Karl Industries Inc. on Chamberlain Road in Mantua Township. At least one person, reportedly the owner of the company, was taken to Akron Children's Hospital for treatment of burns suffered in what was described as an explosion and subsequent fire.
Mantua--Shalersviille Fire Chief Matt Roosa said the department had received a call for a fire alarm and a potential fire. He arrived to find the building ablaze.
"The roof was on fire when we pulled up," he said. "That was our main concern, exposure control."
Lt. Brooke Stamm owas first to arrive on the scene. "When we rounded the corner we could see a header, big black smoke over the building and explosions," she said. "There were loud noises. The roof blew off at one point."
Karl Industries is located at 11415 Chamberlain Road in Mantua Township. According to its website, the company works with small amounts of chemicals in high pressure reactions.
"There's all kinds of chemicals and tanks in the building," Stamm said. "That's what was burning when we arrived."
Roosa declared the building "a total loss" except for the front office, which is not attached to the main building. The property value was last appraised in 2012 at $418,000, according to the Portage County Auditor's Office.
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CHEMICAL REACTION AT WEST SIDE DEALERSHIP SENDS 5 TO HOSPITAL, FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Five people went to the hospital after mixed chemicals at a West Side car dealership caused a harmful reaction around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the Madison Fire Department said.
Fire department spokesman Eric Dahl said two people were transported from the Don Miller Subaru West dealership by fire department crews after a chemical reaction in the repair shop area made several people sick. Three other people were driven by others to a local hospital, Dahl said.
When the fire crews arrived at the dealership on Odana Road, Dahl said they tested the air quality and found no indication there was a further threat from the chemical reaction, and the area was deemed safe.
Dahl said he did not believe the reaction caused injuries that would be life threatening.
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BOUNTIFUL STREET CLOSED AFTER TANKER CARRYING GAS ROLLS OVER
Tags: us_UT, transportation, release, response, ethanol
(KUTV) A street under the freeway in Bountiful is closed after a tanker rolled over Saturday morning.
About 9:50 a.m. 500 South was closed between 550 West and 650 West in Bountiful after a semi tanker carrying ethanol rolled over. Hazmat teams responded to the scene and there were no injuries or evacuations.
At about 1:20 p.m. all the ethanol was transfered into another tanker and crews began working on removing the rolled tanker.
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DEADLY EXPLOSION AT JURONG LAB CAUSED BY FAULTY VALVE, ASIAONE SINGAPORE NEWS
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, follow-up, death, gas_cylinders
It has been slightly over a year since his wife was killed in a laboratory explosion.
Mr Ooi Peng Fung described this period as painful and challenging, as he had to raise his infant daughter as a single parent.
His wife, Leeden National Oxygen chemist Krysten Lim Siaw Chian, 30, was working at Leeden's Specialty Gas Centre Quality Control Laboratory in Jurong on Oct 12 last year when the blast happened.
Her charred remains were found on six occasions over a two-month period, the coroner's inquiry heard earlier this year.
Yesterday, State Coroner Marvin Bay said in his findings that the regulatory valve attached to the cylinder Madam Lim was using - which contained a mix of methane, nitrogen and oxygen - was faulty and welded unevenly.
This could have caused a leak. Heat, caused by friction, could have ignited the escaping gas mixture.
From there, a flashback, where the flames travelled from the ignition point back into the gas cylinder, could have occurred, and rapid overpressure caused it to explode.
The explosion took place instantaneously as soon as the leak happened, meaning the gas detectors, which were found to be working, had no time to go off, testified Ministry of Manpower (MOM) investigation officer Mohamed Haniffa Ibrahim.
Madam Lim was standing near the epicentre of the explosion, which led to subsequent explosions, testified Singapore Civil Defence Force investigation officer Basir Mohamed Yusof.
The cause of her death was blast injuries, said the state coroner in his findings.
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