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From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (9 articles)
Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2017 08:05:05 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 939CD874-37A0-4CF5-98C8-4C1997949AFC**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 8:04:48 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 (9 articles)
METROPOLITAN FIRE SERVICE CREWS BATTLING CHEMICAL FIRE AT GEORGE ST, WINGFIELD
Tags: Australia, public, fire, response, dust, solvent
OFFICIAL: 'NO IMMEDIATE DANGER' IN CHEMICAL SPILL AT LEXINGTON HOSPITAL
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS WORK TO CONTAIN 5,000 GALLON ACID SPILL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, acids
JAFFREY BIOCHEMICAL COMPANY TO PAY FINE BY EPA AFTER ALLEGED WATER POLLUTION
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, environmental, waste, water_treatment, illegal
A MAPLE SYRUP SPILL SLOWED TRAFFIC IN VERMONT
Tags: us_VT, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
OFFICIAL: NO PUBLIC HAZARDS FROM STERLING ETHANOL CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
DENMARK'S 'THINK CHEMICALS' GETS GOVERNMENT RENEWAL
Tags: Denmark, public, discovery, environmental
ABANDONED CHEMICALS THOUGHT TO BE FOR AGRICULTURAL USE
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
LEBANON MIDDLE SCHOOL DISMISSING EARLY AFTER HAZMAT SPILL
Tags: us_CT, education, release, response, solvent
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METROPOLITAN FIRE SERVICE CREWS BATTLING CHEMICAL FIRE AT GEORGE ST, WINGFIELD
Tags: Australia, public, fire, response, dust, solvent
FIREFIGHTERS have contained a chemical blaze that erupted at a business in Wingfield, north of Adelaide.
Metropolitan Fire Service crews were called to George St about 11.40am on Wednesday following reports of a fire at a chemical treatment plant.
The fire was burning in an outdoor sludge pit containing solvent and saw dust.
Up to 32 MFS firefighters from eight appliances, with support from CFS firefighters, worked to contain the blaze in about 40 minutes.
At the height of the fire, black smoke poured over Wingfield and surrounding suburbs and residents were advised to stay indoors and close all doors and windows.
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OFFICIAL: 'NO IMMEDIATE DANGER' IN CHEMICAL SPILL AT LEXINGTON HOSPITAL
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC
Hazmat crews have responded to a chemical spill on the ground floor of Lexington Medical Center, according to a Lexington County spokesman.
The spill happened just before 9 a.m. in the recycling center of Lexington Medical Center, according to county spokesman Harrison Cahill. There are no patients or medical staff in the area where the spill happened, and hazmat crews are responding 'out of an abundance of caution' to identify the chemical and the extent of the spill.
Cahill said the spill was contained by a device meant to minimize the extent of spills. He added that there is no immediate danger to anyone inside the hospital, and there has been no evacuation.
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HAZMAT CREWS WORK TO CONTAIN 5,000 GALLON ACID SPILL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, acids
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) - Air quality and pollution levels were monitored overnight, Tuesday, after a chemical fire on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.
5,000 gallons of acid were oozing out of massive vats, found burning, when firefighters got to the scene about 11:00 p.m. Monday.
The fire was at a factory-- right behind The Foundry-- down the block from Home Depot.
HAZMAT teams worked for hours to get this under control.
"Things weren't going out of control. Things weren't getting bad, so we could step back and take a slow, safe approach to it. No injuries," Division Chief Peter Kertzie said.
The chief said some acid got into the sewer, but it wasn't enough to cause concern.
A heating coil in the vat is believed to have caused the fire.
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JAFFREY BIOCHEMICAL COMPANY TO PAY FINE BY EPA AFTER ALLEGED WATER POLLUTION
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, environmental, waste, water_treatment, illegal
JAFFREY ' A biochemical manufacturer in Jaffrey has agreed to pay a $385,000 civil penalty and upgrade its wastewater treatment system to settle a lawsuit over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, according to a news release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
EMD Millipore, a Massachusetts-based biochemical company with a facility in Jaffrey, was said by the agency to be improperly treating its wastewater for pollutants and causing pollution in the Contoocook River. The Jaffrey facility manufactures water filtration devices, which has the side effect of producing wastewater with ammonia, hydrogen ions and other pollutants, according to the agency's news release.
EMD Millipore's wastewater is meant to be treated on-site before it enters the Jaffrey publicly owned treatment works. But the EPA has alleged that EMD Millipore overloaded the town's treatment plant with its waste, and caused 'pass-through and interference violations' at the treatment plant through inadequate onsite treatment.
A pass-through violation happens when waste discharge manages to escape from the public treatment works facility and seep into rivers and lakes at unacceptable levels, according to federal law. An interference violation involves waste that 'inhibits or disrupts' the plant, causing a buildup and blockage of sludge.
In the case of EMD Millipore, the EPA said that the treatment violations caused blockages in the Jaffrey plant and 'excessive amounts' of ammonia nitrogen and carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand to leak from the public works into the Contoocook River.
In addition, the EPA alleged, EMD Millipore failed to notify the Jaffrey plant that it was discharging waste that could overload its system, and to notify of other problems.
In a statement, Rachel Bloom-Baglin, a spokeswoman for MilliporeSigma, a parent company of EMD Millipore, said the company is committed to complying with the consent decree.
"MilliporeSigma will continue to work closely with the EPA and Dept. of Justice to implement a comprehensive treatment plan," she said, adding that actions would be taken to "effectively monitor effluent water quality and ensure that these types of violations do not occur in the future. '
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A MAPLE SYRUP SPILL SLOWED TRAFFIC IN VERMONT
Tags: us_VT, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
Drivers on I-91 in the upper reaches of Vermont had a little bit of traffic trouble late Monday afternoon, and for an extremely Vermont reason: a maple syrup spill.
Officials say that around 4:20 p.m., a 42-gallon drum of syrup loosed itself from a pickup truck taking exit 27 toward the city of Newport, just south of the Canadian border, and dumped part of its contents on the road.
The off-ramp was closed to traffic for a while as first responders arrived to clean it up, they say. A tweet informing drivers about the incident was shared widely Monday night.
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIAL: NO PUBLIC HAZARDS FROM STERLING ETHANOL CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
Multiple agencies are responding to a chemical spill at the Sterling Ethanol plant on Angus Avenue in Sterling.
According to Sterling Police Chief Tyson Kerr, who is serving as acting city manager while Don Saling is on vacation, the spill was a liquid form of sodium hydroxide, which the plant uses as a cleaning solution. Kerr stressed that the chemical did not enter any city water system ' drinking water or wastewater ' and there is no risk to the public from the incident.
The amount of chemical spilled was unknown, but Kerr said it was lower than originally thought. At most, he said, 500 gallons were involved, but responders were still investigating the incident.
The spill flowed toward the South Platte River, but according to Kerr, it is not clear how much ' if any ' of the chemical actually entered the waterway. He said it's possible that the chemical got into a ditch between the ethanol plant and the river. Tests of the river's pH have not shown any reason for concern, he said.
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DENMARK'S 'THINK CHEMICALS' GETS GOVERNMENT RENEWAL
Tags: Denmark, public, discovery, environmental
The Danish Consumer Council's Think Chemicals initiative has won government support for a further three years. However a substantial reduction in funding means the number of tests conducted on consumer products will be halved.
The programme carries out independent testing of products aimed at helping consumers avoid chemicals of concern.
Last October the Council's senior project manager Claus JÌürgensen said the scheme faced the axe because the Danish environment minister felt the country's EPA could do the same job.
But Mr Jorgensen said the government and its political allies have decided to prolong the project "until the end of 2019 at least". The funding level was slashed, however, to 3m DKK (‰?Â403,382) annually from 5.3m DKK (‰?Â672,304) previously.
"This means we will have to adjust and this will have an effect on the number of tests we can produce," Mr Jorgensen told Chemical Watch.
The programme will now aim to test between 12 to 14 products a year. This compares with 29 and 30 carried out in the last two years respectively. The results for two tests this year have already been published ' one on soft drink cans and another on children's highchairs.
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ABANDONED CHEMICALS THOUGHT TO BE FOR AGRICULTURAL USE
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
EARLIER: A property has been isolated, roads closed and residents warned to stay away from the area of a suspicious chemical find.
Specialist chemical analysts from Brisbane are currently testing the chemicals found at a Petrie Creek Rd property at Rosemount - between Nambour and Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast - about 8.50am Tuesday.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said crews were alerted via a 000 call to a pungent chemical smell coming from a cooler bin on the vacant block of land.
"It's got what appears to be abandoned chemicals inside," the spokesman said.
He said the specialist chemical crew arrived about 11am.
"They are testing chemicals."
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LEBANON MIDDLE SCHOOL DISMISSING EARLY AFTER HAZMAT SPILL
Tags: us_CT, education, release, response, solvent
Lebanon Middle School is dismissing early Monday because of a hazmat situation, according to the superintendent.
Superintendent Robert Angeli said that over the weekend a solvent in a container rusted through in a custodial closet. When administrators and students arrived at the school, located at 891 Exeter Road Monday, they noticed an odor.
Students were moved to the high school on the same campus so officials could investigate.
Angeli said the solvent is not toxic but can cause eye and respiratory irritation with prolonged exposure. School is being dismissed for the day so crews can clean up.
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