Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (18 articles)
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2017 07:44:11 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 272323C8-6976-471C-90C9-4AAEB6B99685**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 7:43:58 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)
WPSD LOCAL 6: YOUR NEWS, WEATHER, AND SPORTS AUTHORITY
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, response, ammonia
CHEMICAL FIRE LEADS TO EVACUATIONS, INTERSTATE CLOSURE ' MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES
Tags: us_TN, transportation, fire, response, pool_chemicals
RAGS SOAKED IN LINSEED OIL SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST IN SPARKS FIRE
Tags: us_NV, public, fire, response, other_chemical
NBC-2.COM WBBH NEWS FOR FORT MYERS, CAPE CORAL & NAPLES, FLORIDA
Tags: us_FL, industrial, explosion, injury, water_treatment
FIREFIGHTER AT HOSPITAL OVERCOME BY UNKNOWN CHEMICAL GAS
Tags: us_TX, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION TESTING RESUMES IN PUEBLO AFTER NOVEMBER SPILL DISCOVERY ' THE DENVER POST
Tags: us_CO, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
CHEMICAL SAFETY FOR WORKERS TARGETED BY NEXT EU ENFORCEMENT PROJECT
Tags: Denmark, industrial, discovery, environmental
HAZMAT CREW CLEANS ANTI-FREEZE SPILL AT IX CENTER
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, ethylene_glycol
HAZMAT UNIT CALLED TO INVISTA PLANT
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
MEYERSDALE PA FD LOSES 14 SETS OF TURNOUT GEAR AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrochloric_acid
OMNI HOTEL LOWER FLOORS EVACUATED DUE TO CARBON MONOXIDE LEAK
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, carbon_monoxide
WHITE HOUSE ATTEMPTS TO CLARIFY, BUT NOT CHANGE, GENETIC ENGINEERING REGULATIONS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, drugs, pesticides
1 INJURED IN HENDRY COUNTY CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_FL, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, plastics
FOR CHEMICALS, MEGA IS OUT AND BIO IS IN: ENGINEERS WEIGH IN ON 'SMALLER IS BETTER' CHEMICAL PRODUCTION -- SCIENCEDAILY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, methane, waste
NORTHWESTERN, LOCAL SCHOOLS SAFELY REMOVE CHEMICAL PRODUCTS
Tags: us_IL, education, discovery, response, waste
AUTHORITIES PINPOINT SOURCE OF INDIANA CHEMICAL SMELL
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
AS CHINESE MANUFACTURING BOOMS, RESIDENTS CHOKE
Tags: China, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
BIG OX EMPLOYEE RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER SUSTAINING MINOR CHEMICAL BURNS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
WPSD LOCAL 6: YOUR NEWS, WEATHER, AND SPORTS AUTHORITY
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, response, ammonia
PRINCETON, KY -
A portion of US 62 in Princeton was closed due to a chemical leak at the Agri-Chem plant.
Caldwell County Emergency Management Director Joey McCaslin says anhydrous ammonia leaked from the plant creating at large cloud.
That cloud was headed towards the TreeHouse plant and Walmart.
Fire crews used their ladder trucks to spray water onto the cloud to disperse the chemical.
They were then able to send someone in with a hazmat suit to shut off the valve.
No one was hurt in the chemical leak.
The water sprayed did freeze onto US 62 which was closed between Walmart and the city of Princeton.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRE LEADS TO EVACUATIONS, INTERSTATE CLOSURE ' MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES
Tags: us_TN, transportation, fire, response, pool_chemicals
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) ' Emergency crews have evacuated dozens of homes and shut down part of an interstate in Middle Tennessee after a semi-truck carrying hazardous pool chemicals crashed and caught fire.
Rutherford County Sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Marchesoni said in a statement that the crash happened about 3 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 24 near the 89 mile marker, which is about 30 miles southeast of Nashville.
Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency Assistant Director Tim Hooker told news organizations that the crash involved two trucks and at least one driver was taken to a hospital. No injuries have been reported from the chemicals.
---------------------------------------------
RAGS SOAKED IN LINSEED OIL SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST IN SPARKS FIRE
Tags: us_NV, public, fire, response, other_chemical
Sparks firefighters blamed rags drenched in linseed oil and spontaneous combustion for a fire that sparked at an apartment complex over the weekend.
The fire was reported at about 10 p.m. Sunday at the Ironhorse Village Condominiums on the corner of Sullivan Lane and G Street, according to Sparks Fire Department.
No injuries were reported, and no one was displaced.
Firefighters ruled the blaze as an 'accident,' Fire Marshal Bob King said Monday.
'It's a chemical reaction from linseed oil,' King said. 'If the rags are bunched up, and they have the oil on them, they can retain heat. And after a while, they can combust if they're not laid out properly.'
---------------------------------------------
NBC-2.COM WBBH NEWS FOR FORT MYERS, CAPE CORAL & NAPLES, FLORIDA
Tags: us_FL, industrial, explosion, injury, water_treatment
A Southwest Florida plant worker is fighting for his life after a violent explosion.
Fire crews from LaBelle, Felda and Immokalee rushed to Paramount Chemicals & Plastics, Inc. just after 7 a.m.
The blast at Paramount Chemical and Plastic was felt several blocks away and sent debris flying across the street.
....
Officials from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection quickly responded but soon left after determining no chemicals were released.
Our cameras later spotted investigators from OSHA closely examining several storage containers, which are used to house hazardous materials, like acid and fertilizer.
As OSHA continues to investigate the explosion, some neighbors are concerned it could happen again.
Paramount declined our requests for an interview but say they're cooperating with investigators.
According to its website, the business specializes "in the treatment of water via irrigation and injection systems for all types of businesses including farms, golf courses, groves, industrial, landscapers, marinas, nurseries, packing houses (food processing and sanitation), and water and waste water treatment."
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTER AT HOSPITAL OVERCOME BY UNKNOWN CHEMICAL GAS
Tags: us_TX, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
Authorities are investigating what might have caused a Haltom City firefighter to be overcome and taken to a local hospital.
The fire was called in about 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at State Fair Foods in the 3900 block of Meacham Boulevard. Units from the Fort Worth Fire Department were also called out.
The firefighter was taken to the hospital as a precaution, said Fred Napp, Haltom City fire marshal. The firefighter was still being observed at the hospital at 9 p.m. but seemed to be doing alright, Napp said.
Authorities are not identifying the firefighter. Napp said he believes the firefighter will be released from the hospital later Tuesday night.
'We are still trying to identify the substance,' Napp said.
Napp speculated that an unknown gas was released by the fire and was causing the firefighters some distress. The fire seemed to originate around a belt attached to some machinery, Napp said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION TESTING RESUMES IN PUEBLO AFTER NOVEMBER SPILL DISCOVERY ' THE DENVER POST
Tags: us_CO, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
Testing operations resumed Monday at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, which has been shut down since problems at the high-cost, hazardous materials site, including a 450-gallon spill and subsequent rainwater leakage, were discovered in November.
Officials say they relaunched their work by destroying 155mm projectiles as part of the first of three campaigns to address hundreds of thousands of mustard agent-filled munitions in the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot stockpile.
'As we return to pilot testing, we do so also knowing that monitoring systems inside the plant are working as designed to protect our workforce,' site project manager Gregory B. Mohrman said in a statement. 'This was shown last Thursday when mustard agent vapor was detected during baseline reconfiguration operations. The workforce responded to alarms and the event was handled effectively by our trained personnel.'
The plant shut down after Nov. 20 when about 450 gallons of hydrolysate spilled because of a seal failure in a storage tank. Plant operations were halted until the leak was stopped and the wastewater cleaned up.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SAFETY FOR WORKERS TARGETED BY NEXT EU ENFORCEMENT PROJECT
Tags: Denmark, industrial, discovery, environmental
Enforcement authorities in the EU will inspect how safety information on hazardous chemicals is compiled, communicated in the supply chain and followed at workplaces.
Helsinki, 10 January 2017 ' The safety of workers will be inspected by 28 EU and EEA Member States. The key element of the project will be to investigate the quality of the safety data sheets that contain guidelines on the safe use of hazardous substances.
Inspectors will check if the extended safety data sheets match the information established by the chemical safety reports (CSRs) that substance manufacturers prepare. They will also go through the exposure scenarios attached to the safety data sheets. An exposure scenario describes the amount and character of exposure to its hazards when a substance is manufactured or used for its destined purposes. It also advises how the exposure of humans and release to the environment can be controlled.
One of the objectives of this enforcement project is to ensure that workers handling hazardous chemicals, especially those dealing with substances of very high concern, receive sufficient and correct safety information. The project will also map how effectively extended safety data sheets are passed on and communicated all the way through the supply chain, i.e. from manufacturers of chemicals to the users.
Inspectors will furthermore check whether workers actually respect the safety information at their workplaces. Inspectors from national enforcement authorities will collaborate with labour inspectors to assess if the recommended operational conditions and risk management measures are fulfilled.
The REF-5 project was adopted by ECHA's Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement at the end of 2015. The first inspections will take place in January 2017, and the activity will continue throughout the year. A report on the results of the inspections will be available in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The project will be the first joint EU enforcement project that aims to improve communication, through safety data sheets, throughout the supply chain.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREW CLEANS ANTI-FREEZE SPILL AT IX CENTER
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, ethylene_glycol
CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -
Hazardous material and aircraft rescue and firefighting crews are conducting a cleanup after a deicing truck flipped at the IX Center.
A glycol aircraft deicing truck lost control and flipped on its side Monday, officials said, spilling glycol on a perimeter road.
No injuries have been reported.
Ethylene glycol is commonly used as an antifreeze. It is poisonous to humans if consumed.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT UNIT CALLED TO INVISTA PLANT
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
A situation unfolded at a Kingston plant this afternoon. Several fire crews were called to the Invista plant on front road.
A chemical spill was reported just before three o'clock.
More than a half dozen Kingston fire rescue trucks were said to be on site ' as well as the fire department's hazmat unit, which has only been used twice in the last 8 years.
A security worker tells CKWS there was no danger to the public ' and the bulk of the cleanup took roughly thirty minutes to complete.
There is no word on what caused the spill.
---------------------------------------------
MEYERSDALE PA FD LOSES 14 SETS OF TURNOUT GEAR AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrochloric_acid
Jan. 09--After Meyersdale Volunteer Fire Department assisted with a blaze in a Salisbury commercial building last month, it soon became clear there were consequences from battling the toxic flames.
Fourteen sets of the protective jackets and pants Meyersdale's firefighters wore were damaged in the blaze, fire Chief Tim Miller said.
Fortunately, a Cambria County department that dealt with a similar issue in the early 1990s was well-equipped -- and willing -- to offer help.
Richland Township Fire Department has provided Meyersdale's firefighters with enough used sets of protective clothing to enable the southern Somerset County department to continue handling calls until new gear arrives.
"It's a huge relief on our part because a lot of the firefighters affected are my top guys, who are very active when it comes to calls," Miller said.
His department received a double dose of bad news in the past month.
Crews were already battling the fire when they learned that hydrochloric acid was being stored inside the Salisbury structure, which is home to a salon and a garage.
"Over time, it breaks down the gear ... degrading it and making it unsafe," Miller said, noting that the heavy-duty attire will continue to slowly erode for months.
They've approached professional cleaning companies for help, but the only one that responded indicated the gear cannot be cleaned.
---------------------------------------------
OMNI HOTEL LOWER FLOORS EVACUATED DUE TO CARBON MONOXIDE LEAK
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, carbon_monoxide
CORPUS CHRISTI -
Just before noon on Tuesday, hazmat and Corpus Christi Fire Department teams responded to a carbon monoxide threat at the Omni Hotel in downtown Corpus Christi. Six employees were taken to a hospital as some areas of the hotel's lower floors were evacuated when high carbon monoxide levels were detected in the basement, laundry room, kitchen area and some offices.
Several hotel staff began complaining of feeling lightheaded and nauseous just before noon prompting calls to the Fire Department. Hazmat teams joined CCFD on site where high levels of carbon monoxide were found on the hotel's lower floors. Those floors were promptly evacuated and at least six employees were evacuated to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The hotel was promptly searched by response teams, who went to every floor to take readings for the gas. Smaller levels of gas were detected on some of the hotel's higher floors, following the path of the elevator shafts.
"The gases tend to migrate with the elevators," said Battalion Chief, David Saenz, "the elevator acts like a plunger, a suction, it will draw it from the lower floors and deposit it in the higher floors so we are getting some small readings, seven parts per million, which is very, very minor, it's within normal limits in some of the floors but we weren't compelled to evacuate the entire structure, we didn't want to create any problems if we didn't have to."
---------------------------------------------
WHITE HOUSE ATTEMPTS TO CLARIFY, BUT NOT CHANGE, GENETIC ENGINEERING REGULATIONS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, drugs, pesticides
The Obama Administration's update of a decades-old policy for reviewing U.S. biotechnology products, including genetically modified foods, is perhaps most notable for what it leaves out: a call for new regulations or mention of new gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR.
Released last week, the revision for the first time sets down in a single document the roles and responsibilities of the three agencies involved in regulating products of biotechnology, says Robbie Barbero, assistant director for biological innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The Environmental Protection Agency regulates crop plants engineered to produce their own pesticides. The Agriculture Department has jurisdiction over crops produced with genetic parts of plant pests'a formerly common but now aging method of genetic engineering. And the Food & Drug Administration regulates animals that contain recombinant DNA as if the animals were drugs.
The agencies' division of labor was first spelled out in 1986, when the Reagan Administration addressed the stream of new genetically manipulated products through the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. Instead of creating new laws explicitly regulating genetically modified products, the framework specifies which laws authorize the agencies to review such products. It was last updated in 1992.
---------------------------------------------
1 INJURED IN HENDRY COUNTY CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_FL, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, plastics
ELDA, Fla. ' One person was hospitalized following a chemical explosion Monday morning at Paramount Chemicals and Plastics, according to a Hendry County official.
The chemical explosion happened around 7:12 a.m. and injured an employee of the plant, who was flown to Lee Memorial Hospital and is believed to be in critical condition. The Hendry County Sheriff's Office and Immokalee Fire Control District responded.
Hazmat cleared the scene. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified and will be taking over the investigation, according to a Hendry County official.
The explosion happened inside the facility and had no impact on the surrounding environment, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said.
---------------------------------------------
FOR CHEMICALS, MEGA IS OUT AND BIO IS IN: ENGINEERS WEIGH IN ON 'SMALLER IS BETTER' CHEMICAL PRODUCTION -- SCIENCEDAILY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, methane, waste
Ramon Gonzalez sees flares burning methane from the stacks above Houston's refineries and thinks, "What a waste." He believes that methane represents an opportunity for biomanufacturing that should not be missed.
The Rice University professor and director of its new Advanced Biomanufacturing Initiative, aka iBIO, already knows what an entire sector of the chemical manufacturing industry is beginning to realize: Waste methane can and should be turned into profit.
Given the steady advance of biomanufacturing -- the use of wild-type or genetically modified bacteria to turn carbon-rich methane and other substances into valuable chemicals -- it should be possible to produce chemicals on a smaller, more environmentally friendly scale, he said. But it would require a shift from current thinking that economic viability can come only from the economies of unit scale afforded by large facilities.
Biomanufacturing's promise is the subject of a perspective paper in Science this week by Gonzalez and his Rice colleagues, senior research scientist James Clomburg and graduate student Anna Crumbley.
---------------------------------------------
NORTHWESTERN, LOCAL SCHOOLS SAFELY REMOVE CHEMICAL PRODUCTS
Tags: us_IL, education, discovery, response, waste
Northwestern University in a recently-formed partnership with local school districts used the recent holiday break, while students were away, to remove excess chemical products created during regular science instruction from local schools.
The Office for Research Safety (ORS) at Northwestern and its chemical products disposal partner, Clean Harbors, coordinated with Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and the Evanston Fire Department on Dec. 28-29, 2016, to safely dispose of chemical products from Evanston's three public middle schools, two K-8 magnet schools and Evanston Township High School (ETHS).
The two-day removal project was part of the District 65/Northwestern STEM partnership, launched in fall 2016 to strengthen STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in local schools.
'The care taken to remove chemical products swiftly and efficiently was extremely helpful, especially for District 65 science teachers,' said Jennifer Lewin, District 65 STEM coordinator in Northwestern's Science in Society education research center. Lewin is the primary liaison between District 65 and the University.
'ORS was 100 percent dedicated to this project, and its work was a huge asset to the school district,' she said. 'Excess chemical products are created while completing labs in the classroom, and teachers are often faced with finding the resources to dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way. The office was helpful throughout the inventory and removal process, keeping safety at the schools its highest priority.'
---------------------------------------------
AUTHORITIES PINPOINT SOURCE OF INDIANA CHEMICAL SMELL
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
Authorities say they've pinpointed the likely source of a smelly chemical that prompted reports of a natural gas-like odor in central Indiana.
The Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency says authorities on Sunday got dozens of calls about the smell of natural gas in Carmel-area homes and businesses. Gas monitors were used and no natural gas readings were found.
Northwestern Basketball Player Found Dead in Dorm Room
Officials say the smell in southern and central Hamilton County likely came from a came from an Indianapolis industrial business.
The odor has since dissipated.
---------------------------------------------
AS CHINESE MANUFACTURING BOOMS, RESIDENTS CHOKE
Tags: China, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
Bucking a general slowdown in economic growth, China posted its best manufacturing performance in four years last month. However, worsening air pollution in many Chinese cities could cause authorities to clamp down on the chemical plants and other factories that are contributing to this strong performance.
....'Production expanded at the fastest pace in nearly six years, supported by a solid increase in total new work,' Caixin said.
Caixin was unable to decide if the Chinese economy, slowing for the past three years, is accelerating again. Whereas the economy grew at annual rates exceeding 10% for most of the past 20 years, the Asian Development Bank estimates that China expanded at 6.6% in 2016, a rate lower than India's.
The manufacturing resurgence could be threatened by dangerously high levels of air pollution in northern China. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which is equipped to measure outdoor air quality, reports that its Air Quality Index repeatedly exceeded 400 last week, a level it considers 'hazardous.' Northern China has been shrouded in dangerous smog for most of this winter.
---------------------------------------------
BIG OX EMPLOYEE RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER SUSTAINING MINOR CHEMICAL BURNS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
SOUTH SIOUX CITY ' Emergency responders were called to the Big Ox Energy plant in South Sioux City shortly before 2 p.m. after two employees were exposed to unidentified chemicals.
One employee sustained minor chemical burns and was rushed to a local medical center where the person is still being treated, according to Kevin Bradley, a spokesman for Big Ox. The second employee also was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but has since been released.
"Like any kind of industrial accident or incident ' as the case may be ' we certainly will be working with OSHA on this and we'll report as we are required as so on and we'll work cooperatively with them," Bradley said.
Big Ox is in the midst of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation that began in October after someone on site was hospitalized due to an exposure to hydrogen sulfide.
Additionally, another employee was injured in December after being exposed to hydrogen sulfide, which can cause death after prolonged exposure, according to OSHA.
Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas produced by bacterial breakdown of organic material. It's typically associated with a rotten egg smell and can occur at plants like Big Ox, which converts organic waste into methane gas.
---------------------------------------------
---
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