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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (10 articles)
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2017 07:39:58 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 79159334-7D53-47BA-8776-BBA87BC954F9**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, March 20, 2017 at 7:39:45 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 (10 articles)
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY BACKS MARCH FOR SCIENCE
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
UL SOFTWARE TARGETS ANIMAL TESTING
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
CHEMICAL CRISIS SPREADS TO NATION'S AIRPORTS
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
EAST BAY HAZMAT CREWS CLEAN UP MERCURY SPILL
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, mercury
POLICE INVESTIGATE ASSAULT, HAZMAT SITUATION IN HUNTING PARK
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, response, ag_chems, clandestine_lab
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL PLANT ON GRAND ISLAND
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
ONE PERSON IN HOSPITAL AFTER VANCOUVER HAZMAT CALL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, acids, waste
HAZMAT TEAM MOVES FAST TO SAVE DAD AND DAUGHTER FROM MERCURY SPILL
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, response, mercury
TRUMP'S PROPOSAL TO SCRAP CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD DRAWS CRITICISM
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
NEWBURY PARK HIGH HAZMAT INCIDENT OVER
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
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AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY BACKS MARCH FOR SCIENCE
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
The American Chemical Society is officially supporting next month‰??s planned mass demonstration in support of science.
The March for Science, scheduled for Earth Day, April 22, will take place in Washington, D.C. In addition, more than 320 satellite marches are scheduled throughout the U.S.‰??from Miami to Fairbanks, Alaska‰??and across the world. The March for Science organizers have tweeted that they hope to build a movement ‰??to champion science that serves the public good and the need to protect such science.‰??
ACS says in a March 15 statement that its support for the march is predicated on two conditions. One is that the event must ‰??adhere strictly to its established and publicly posted mission and principles, which closely mirror ACS‰??s own vision, mission and goals.‰?? The other is that the march maintains its nonpartisan stance as a celebration of science and its contributions to ‰??improving the human condition and addressing the world‰??s most pressing challenges.‰??
Glenn Ruskin, director of External Affairs & Communications at ACS, tells C&EN, ‰??The beauty of the timing of the march is that it occurs on the same day that ACS has had its long-standing Chemists Celebrate Earth Day.‰?? The theme of this year‰??s April 22 outreach event is ‰??Chemistry Helps Feed the World.‰??
ACS, which publishes C&EN, joins an array of science groups that partnered with the march earlier. They include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union, American Association of University Professors, California Academy of Sciences, New York Academy of Sciences, Society for Neuroscience, Sigma Xi, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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UL SOFTWARE TARGETS ANIMAL TESTING
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
The testing and certifying company UL has introduced software aimed at reducing the need for animal testing when assessing chemicals for Europe‰??s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) program.
The product, REACHAcross software, uses machine learning, a method whereby data continually enhances software, to assess the behavior of any chemical of interest to European regulators, UL says.
REACHAcross, which debuted at the Society of Toxicology‰??s annual meeting in Baltimore last week, is the latest in an effort by professional organizations, chemical makers, and equipment suppliers to develop improved means of assessing chemicals‰?? effects on human health and the environment. Many of the efforts target a reduction in animal testing.
Managing regulatory assessment was a prominent topic at the toxicologists‰?? meeting, in part because of changes last year to the U.S.‰??s Toxic Substances Control Act requiring more data reporting.
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CHEMICAL CRISIS SPREADS TO NATION'S AIRPORTS
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
The chemical contamination crisis hitting Australian military bases is now flaring up at commercial airports across the country, including Canberra.
Officials fear toxic chemicals from fire fighting foams have polluted the soil at 22 of the country's largest airports, which are stuck in a year-long deadlock with the federal government over how to clean them up.
At least 22 airports across Australia are though to be affected by legacy chemical contamination. Pictured is Canberra Airport, where contamination has been detected near the old fire fighting training ground. Photo: Canberra Airport
From 1980 to 2003 the foams, which contained harmful polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), were used by government-employed fire fighters at dozens of airports and military bases.
The Environment Department has previously described the chemicals as "persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic".
---------------------------------------------
EAST BAY HAZMAT CREWS CLEAN UP MERCURY SPILL
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, mercury
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA -- Hazardous materials crews have finished cleaning up a mercury spill that was discovered Monday morning on a street in Antioch, officials with Contra Costa County Health Services said Friday.
Crews found liquid mercury in seven places in the 2200 block of Manzanita Way after someone reported a silvery substance in the street at about 10:15 a.m. on March 13.
Workers from the county's hazardous material team, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control searched the area for several days to find all the places where the mercury was and clean it up.
Crews bound the mercury with sulfur and vacuumed it up.
No mercury was found on any sidewalks or on any residents' driveways.
Investigators have not said what was the source of the spill. It's the third spill reported in the area since December, health services officials said.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE INVESTIGATE ASSAULT, HAZMAT SITUATION IN HUNTING PARK
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, response, ag_chems, clandestine_lab
HUNTING PARK (WPVI) -- An assault call to police turned into something more in the Hunting Park section of Philadelphia.
Officers responded after 10 p.m. Friday to a rooming house on the 1300 block of West Jerome Street where a man had been pistol whipped.
When they arrived to the scene, they found the victim and suspect, along with an AK-47 rifle, marijuana plants and fertilizer in a home.
Hazmat crews were brought in to test the fertilizer. It turned out to be nothing harmful.
The suspect is in custody.
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HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL PLANT ON GRAND ISLAND
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) - Erie County Fire investigators are trying to figure out what caused a fire at a Grand Island chemical plant today. Grand Island Fire officials said It happened at IsleChem LLC at 2801 Long Road at 12:30 pm. First responders say flames broke erupted in three labs on the second floor.
HAZMAT teams from Brighton and Erie County Emergencies Services were on the scene.
Seven emergency teams responded to the fire, including the Town of Tonawanda, Niagara Falls, and Erie County after the fire up upgraded to a two alarm.
Grand Island Fire officials said the fire was under control by 1:47 pm and caused no immediate danger to the public.
---------------------------------------------
ONE PERSON IN HOSPITAL AFTER VANCOUVER HAZMAT CALL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, acids, waste
One person and two ambulance attendance are in hospital after a hazmat call to an apartment on Granville between Nelson and Helmcken Saturday night.
Their condition is not known.
Hazmat crews were called in just after 8:30 p.m. after reports of an ‰??acid‰?? smell in an apartment.
Vancouver Fire Assistant Chief Chris Herbert.
‰??They found approximately 250 milliliters of a unknown acid product in an unmarked container. They packaged it up and passed it on to City Environmental for disposal.‰??
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HAZMAT TEAM MOVES FAST TO SAVE DAD AND DAUGHTER FROM MERCURY SPILL
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, response, mercury
KUCHING: A hazardous materials (Hazmat) emergency response team reacted swiftly to contain a mercury spill at a home here that had put a man and his young daughter in danger.
The spill happened at a house in the Tabuan Jaya residential estate not far from the Kuching International Airport at about 8.15pm on Saturday.
The Fire and Rescue station at Stutong township received an emergency call and swiftly despatched a Hazmat unit and an ambulance to the site.
It was discovered that the father had accidentally dropped the thermometer he was using to take the temperature of his daughter, aged about five or six years old, who was not feeling well.
Mercury spilled onto the floor and traces fell on both of them.
The Hazmat team, equipped in protective gear, took about an hour to clean up the mercury.
They also safely cleansed the stains from the father and little girl.
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TRUMP'S PROPOSAL TO SCRAP CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD DRAWS CRITICISM
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
President Donald Trump's proposal to do away with the federal agency that investigates chemical accidents drew sharp criticism from environmental, labor and safety advocates, who said that eliminating the watchdog would put American lives at risk.
Christine Todd Whitman, the former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head, on Thursday called the proposal to get rid of Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and cut EPA funding short-sighted, saying both have long been an industry target for advocating greater public information on chemicals.
"If you want to put the American people in danger this is the way to do it," she said of the president's proposal to cut the CSB's funding entirely from the 2018 federal budget. "The chemical industry has fought back from the beginning."
The CSB investigates major chemicals accidents to search for their causes and makes recommendations that could prevent a recurrence. It has no regulatory power, but is influential because its recommendations are often adopted by industry, labor, government officials, the EPA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The president on Thursday outlined a plan for fiscal 2018 discretionary spending, which exclude programs like Social Security, that removes allocations for 19 independent bodies, including the CSB and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The CSB, which has an annual budget of about $12 million, defended its work, saying its work has broadly improved safety. "As this process moves forward, we hope that the important mission of this agency will be preserved," the agency said in a statement.
Chemical and energy industry officials offered limited comment on the proposal. Petroleum and refining industry groups, Exxon Mobil Corp, BP plc and Tesoro Corp did not respond or declined to comment directly on the potential phase out.
The American Chemistry Council, a trade group that represents major chemicals producers, said in a statement it would work with the administration and Congress to "ensure EPA has funding to carry out essential responsibilities." It did not comment directly on the CSB.
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry trade group, said it looked "forward to working with the administration and Congress as all of these issues work their way through the budget process."
---------------------------------------------
NEWBURY PARK HIGH HAZMAT INCIDENT OVER
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
Newbury Park High School parents were notified on Friday morning that old chemicals found in a storage unit were properly sealed and contained.
"We apologize if the sight of fire trucks on campus caused alarm or confusion," they said in their note to parents.
A hazardous materials team was called to the high school at 9:44 a.m.
No one was reported exposed to any hazardous material, administrators said, adding "no students or staff were exposed or harmed in any way."
Hazmat officials later said the campus was safe, allowing the school day to proceed.
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