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Previous by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] SDS concern Date: Friday, February 3, 2017 at 2:41:30 AM Author: Goh Choo Ta <gohchoota**At_Symbol_Here**UKM.EDU.MY> |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, February 3, 2017 at 7:41:22 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 (14 articles)
CONGRESS CONSIDERS REVOKING INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL SAFETY RULE
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental
WORKERS MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO EBOLA, HIV AND TB AT WINNIPEG LAB, REPORTS REVEAL
Tags: Canada, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
ASTRO CHEMICAL OF SPRINGFIELD FINED $5,000 BY MASSDEP FOR NOT REPORTING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SPILL
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical, metals
CHEMICAL OCULAR INJURIES AMONG CHILDREN LINKED TO LAUNDRY DETERGENT PODS
Tags: public, discovery, injury, cleaners
$1 BILLION LAWSUIT FOR CONTAMINATION FROM LOVE CANAL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, environmental, waste
HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO WESTMEAD AFTER POISON SCARE AT CLYDE OIL REFINERY
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, petroleum
CHEMICAL PLUME CONCERNS HAMMOND OFFICIALS
Tags: us_OH, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
CHEMICAL POLLUTION IS SOARING FASTER THAN WE CAN MEASURE IT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
ODOR PROMPTS HAZMAT CALL AT SOUTH IREDELL HS
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
POOL CHEMICALS CAUSED HAZMAT INCIDENT IN BENICIA GARAGE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
HAZMAT INCIDENT CREATED SMOKE AT ALLENTOWN RECYCLING CENTER
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical, waste
LEAKING TRUCK PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN DOWNTOWN SEATTLE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, response, batteries, sulfuric_acid
AS ARGUMENT NEARS, DOJ BOLSTERS SUPPORT FOR HAZMAT APPEAL
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, waste
MERCURY SPILL AT REDLANDS PRIVATE SCHOOL TRIGGERS EVACUATIONS MONDAY
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, response, mercury
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CONGRESS CONSIDERS REVOKING INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL SAFETY RULE
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental
Congress is considering legislation that would nullify a recent regulation on industrial chemical safety.
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) introduced the legislation, H.J. Res.59, on Feb. 2 at the urging of 21 business groups, including several chemical industry organizations. In a recent letter to Congress, the groups'which include the American Chemistry Council and the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates'say Congress should block the regulation. The rule modifies EPA's 25-year-old risk management plan program to reduce chemical plant accidents and protect communities, workers, and emergency responders.
The Obama Administration finalized the rule in late December. Under the Congressional Review Act, lawmakers have 60 legislative days to review the regulation and can vote to overturn it.
Echoing the chemical industry groups' letter, Mullin says the regulation is unnecessary and burdensome and may make businesses less safe. EPA made the changes in response to a 2013 executive order from then-president Barack Obama. That directive ordered a broad multiagency safety review and came in the wake of a warehouse explosion involving ammonium nitrate that killed 15 people in West, Texas. The EPA regulation was the only regulatory response to emerge from the executive order.
The new regulation aims to encourage better communication among emergency responders and requires independent third-party accident audits and company consideration of inherently safer manufacturing methods.
If Congress blocks the regulation, the executive branch can't reissue it in the same form or in any other variation that is substantially the same. Congress has successfully used the 1996 Congressional Review Act against a regulation only once.
---------------------------------------------
WORKERS MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO EBOLA, HIV AND TB AT WINNIPEG LAB, REPORTS REVEAL
Tags: Canada, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
More than a dozen employees may have been exposed to potentially dangerous pathogens in incidents at Winnipeg's National Microbiology Laboratory over a 22-month period.
There were 14 cases involving possible exposures in 45 incident reports between January 2015 and October 2016, which were released under an access to information request.
Those incidents include problems with biosafety suits, contaminated needle pricks and equipment malfunctions which led to individuals coming into contact with samples of HIV, Ebola and tuberculosis, among other contaminants.
In each of these cases, the risk of infection was considered "low," "very low" or "negligible" by on-call infectious disease physicians.
"Any incident should be the last one," said Dr. Gary Kobinger, an infectious disease expert who used to work at the lab.
Kobinger said working with deadly pathogens does carry some degree of risk but proactive safety protocols and followup after each case minimizes the risk of an incident happening again.
None of the incidents in this period resulted in an employee becoming infected, according to Dr. Matthew Gilmour, scientific director general of the National Microbiology Laboratory's Public Health Agency.
---------------------------------------------
ASTRO CHEMICAL OF SPRINGFIELD FINED $5,000 BY MASSDEP FOR NOT REPORTING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SPILL
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical, metals
SPRINGFIELD -- The state Department of Environmental Protection has fined Astro Chemicals Inc. of Springfield $5,000 for violating regulations by failing to report a small chemical spill in July.
According to a DEP statement, the chemical supply company had a minor spill at its facility at 64 Shaw Lane on July 19.
Several drums of divinylbenzene, a combustible and reactive chemical, spilled from metal drums likely because elevated temperatures in the warehouse caused the chemical to expand. A small amount of the chemical spilled on to the floor and ventilated into the building.
Employees took steps to clean the chemical up but the company failed to notify either city public safety officials or the DEP. A spill is required to be reported to the state DEP within two hours after it is discovered.
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CHEMICAL OCULAR INJURIES AMONG CHILDREN LINKED TO LAUNDRY DETERGENT PODS
Tags: public, discovery, injury, cleaners
Between 2012 and 2015, the number of chemical burns to the eye associated with laundry detergent pods increased more than 30-fold among preschool-aged children in the U.S., according to a study published online by JAMA Ophthalmology.
The widespread adoption of laundry detergent pods, which are dissolvable pouches containing enough laundry detergent for a single use, has led to an increase in associated injuries among children. Reports of pod-related injuries, including poisoning, choking, and burns, have suggested that this pattern may be in part due to the products' colorful packaging and candy-like appearance.
R. Sterling Haring, D.O., M.P.H., of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and colleagues examined the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS; run by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) for the period 2010-2015 for eye injuries resulting in chemical burn or conjunctivitis among children age 3 to 4 years (i.e., preschool-aged children).
During this time period, 1,201 laundry detergent pod-related ocular burns occurred among children age 3 to 4 years. The number of chemical burns associated with laundry detergent pods increased from 12 instances in 2012 to 480 in 2015; the proportion of all chemical ocular injuries associated with these devices increased from 0.8 percent of burns in 2012 to 26 percent in 2015. These injuries most often occurred when children were handling the pods and the contents squirted into one or both of their eyes or when the pod contents leaked onto their hands and a burn resulted from subsequent hand-eye contact.
---------------------------------------------
$1 BILLION LAWSUIT FOR CONTAMINATION FROM LOVE CANAL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, release, environmental, waste
The Town of Wheatfield, New York, just east of Niagara Falls, is being sued by current and former residents who claim that contaminants from the old Niagara Sanitation landfill impact their adjacent properties.
There are 16 notices of claim that make up the lawsuit and more are expected. Each notice is for $60 million in damages. According to the filing notice, the plaintiffs have 15 months to file a formal lawsuit.
The claim made by the plaintiffs, all current or former residents of Forbes Street in North Tonawanda, claim that their poor health is a result of chemicals migrating from the old Niagara Sanitation Landfill in the Town of Wheatfield. The residents claim that they are experiencing headaches, nausea, respiratory issues and nervous system disorders
The site has been reclassified in recent years by the NYDEC to a Class 2 site on the New York State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites. The reclassification of the site by the NYDEC was due to recently characterized elevated surface soil concentrations identified in several locations and the presence of hazardous waste in the subsurface.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO WESTMEAD AFTER POISON SCARE AT CLYDE OIL REFINERY
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, petroleum
SERVICES have resumed as normal at Westmead Hospital after a hazmat operation shut down the ambulance bay on Friday afternoon.
Six men presented to the hospital requiring decontamination after potential exposure to hazardous material.
NSW Police Media have reported that the men were at the Clyde Oil Refinery when they were exposed.
The men are said to be experiencing no adverse symptoms however, Fire and Rescue NSW were required to carry out decontamination procedures on them before they could be triaged.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL PLUME CONCERNS HAMMOND OFFICIALS
Tags: us_OH, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
HAMMOND ' City officials are not satisfied with a recent proposal to deal with a chemical plume located below the grounds of a company in the Robertsdale neighborhood.
The plume is under property owned by Ferro Corp. at 3000 Sheffield Ave., which was the former site of the Keil Chemical Facility.
In 2003, Ferro sold Keil Chemical to Dover Chemical Corp., but it retains ownership of the land. Dover also is not satisfied with what Ferro has told it so far.
According to a remediation work plan prepared for Ferro last October by Hull & Associates Inc., of Dublin, Ohio, the chemicals of concern in the underground plume are 1,2-dichloroethane and vinyl chloride.
1,2-dichloroethane is used to produce vinyl chloride, which is used to make a variety of plastic and vinyl products. Ingesting high levels of the chemical can cause damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys and lungs and may cause cancer, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Hull's report noted that current operations at the site do not use these chemicals.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL POLLUTION IS SOARING FASTER THAN WE CAN MEASURE IT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
How many new synthetic chemicals do you think are being produced on an annual basis? Whatever your guess, there's a pretty good chance it's a massive underestimate. Fully 10 million new compounds are being unleashed each year: That's more than 1,100 every hour, or 19 per minute. If you read at about the same speed as I do, eight new compounds will have been produced by the time it takes you to get to the end of this sentence.
According to a new analysis in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and Environment, the rate of increase in the production and diversi•Â?cation of pharmaceuticals and pesticides exceeds that of most previously recognized agents of global change, such as habitat destruction and even CO2 emissions. But, reports the analysis ' by Emily Bernhardt of Duke University and colleagues ' the amount of scientific attention being paid to them, and particularly their possible ecological impacts, is disproportionately low.
Bernhardt and her co-authors "found that within mainstream ecological journals, studies of contaminant effects on populations, species, communities, and ecosystem processes lag well behind research on other, well-recognized drivers of global environmental change, with less than 1 percent of all papers in the 20 most highly cited ecological journals over the past 25 years referencing any type of synthetic chemical." At the 2015 meeting of the Ecological Society of America, with 5,000 attendees ' the largest-ever conference of international ecologists ' "only 1.3 percent of the presentations (51 out of 3810 abstracts) included any of our contaminant search terms. In comparison, 13 percent of all presentations referenced "nitrogen" and 22 percent referred to 'climate change.'"
---------------------------------------------
ODOR PROMPTS HAZMAT CALL AT SOUTH IREDELL HS
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. ' Hazmat crews were called to South Iredell High School Wednesday after an odor was reported in the school's science building.
According to Iredell Emergency Management, initial testing do not reveal anything toxic or flammable, but the exact cause of the smell has not been identified.
Officials say that no one was injured and school was not interrupted outside of the science building, which was closed. Parents were also notified by school officials of the situation.
---------------------------------------------
POOL CHEMICALS CAUSED HAZMAT INCIDENT IN BENICIA GARAGE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
Pool chemicals that mixed accidentally caused a hazardous materials incident in a Benicia garage Monday, a fire division chief said Wednesday.
A liquid acid and granular calcium mixed when one of the chemicals fell off a shelf in the garage at a residence at 509 Viewmont St., Benicia Fire Division Chief K.C. Smith said.
The mixture caused an odor and vapor, fire officials said.
The incident was reported around 11:30 a.m. Monday. Police closed Viewmont Street between East Fifth and Lindo streets, nearby residents sheltered in place and the residents of the home were evacuated.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT INCIDENT CREATED SMOKE AT ALLENTOWN RECYCLING CENTER
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical, waste
Firefighters were decontaminated Tuesday morning after investigating a report of smoke inside an Allentown recycling center on the 2500 block of Mitchell Avenue.
Allentown Fire Department Capt. John Christopher said firefighters were called to the recycling center about 1 a.m. after an employee discovered a cloud of smoke in the area of a restroom. Firefighters discovered two chemicals had been brought into contact with one another causing a reaction that created the smoke, Christopher said.
Firefighters had to be decontaminated after investigating the smoke. Employees did not need to be decontaminated and no one was injured, Christopher said. As firefighters and hazardous materials crews prepared to re-enter the building and neutralize the chemical reaction, the chemicals "burned off" on their own, Christopher said.
The company recycles batteries, mercury and various acids, Christopher said. Christopher said firefighters were on scene making sure the facility was safe until about 4:30 a.m.
---------------------------------------------
LEAKING TRUCK PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN DOWNTOWN SEATTLE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, response, batteries, sulfuric_acid
SEATTLE -- A truck leaking battery acid has caused the closure of a few streets in Downtown Seattle Monday afternoon, Seattle Fire officials said.
HazMat crews are at 2nd and Marion for a report of 11 pallets of batteries leaking. Seattle DOT says 1st Avenue and Madison and Columbia Streets are also closed for the cleanup.
There are no reports of any injuries.
---------------------------------------------
AS ARGUMENT NEARS, DOJ BOLSTERS SUPPORT FOR HAZMAT APPEAL
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, waste
Oral arguments are set for Feb. 17 in a closely-watched Ninth Circuit appeal over chemical leaks from wooden public utility poles that will test the reach of federal environmental laws ( Ecological Rights Found. v. Pac. Gas & Elec. Co. , 9th Cir. App., No. 15-15424, motion for argument filed 1/19/17 ).
The Ecological Rights Foundation brought the citizen suit against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for alleged discharges of dioxins and other chemicals from treated wood stored at four California PG&E facilities.
ERF has an ally in the Department of Justice, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a key element of the appeal. DOJ also filed a motion Jan. 19 asking to be allowed to present oral argument in the case.
The government contends that the seepage from the poles is a 'solid waste' that is properly regulated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
RCRA is a solid waste law disposal law that authorizes citizen suits to remedy 'imminent and substantial endangerments to health and the environment.'
ERF contends that solid wastes regulated under RCRA includes chemicals that drip from the treated poles, leach into the soil and migrate into San Francisco Bay and Humboldt Bay through storm water. But PG&E successfully argued in the Northern District of California that RCRA doesn't apply because it overlaps with another federal environmental law, the Clean Water Act
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MERCURY SPILL AT REDLANDS PRIVATE SCHOOL TRIGGERS EVACUATIONS MONDAY
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, response, mercury
REDLANDS >> Mercury stored in the science lab at the Packinghouse Christian Academy corroded through its container and spilled onto a student Monday, triggering a chain of events leading to evacuations at the school.
'The teacher took appropriate action to evacuate the classroom and decontaminate the student,' Redlands spokesman Carl Baker said in an emailed statement Tuesday. 'By the time Redlands Fire Department was called, the student had been sent home and we detected only trace amounts of mercury in the classroom, well below the threshold that is considered a concern.'
Shortly before 11 a.m. police called for Redlands firefighters to respond to the school to evaluate the spill.
Officials said approximately 4 to 6 ounces of the element were spilled; however, trace amounts were also detected in adjoining classrooms, most likely spread by the ventilation system.
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