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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 5:55:26 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 (13 articles)
FIRE RETARDANT REPLACEMENTS MIGRATE TO ARCTIC SEDIMENT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
124 WASTE WORKERS RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, release, injury, chlorine, waste
CHEMICAL LEAK CAUSES EVACUATION AT TSU SCIENCE BUILDING
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
BROCKTON FIRE RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid
OVER 50 FACTORY WORKERS RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
BLAZE AT WIRI, AUCKLAND CHEMICAL STORAGE FACILITY
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
TWO INJURED IN BASEMENT FIRE ON UNION STREET MONDAY
Tags: us_MN, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
PASADENA DRUG LAB EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION ONGOING
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, butane, clandestine_lab
BAR OF SOAP IN TOILET LEADS TO CHEMICAL REACTION, HOSPITAL TRIP FOR THREE AMHERST WOMEN
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, cleaners
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES I-75S
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, response, acetone
FIREFIGHTERS DISPERSE PROPANE LEAK AT SWANZEY GAS STORAGE FACILITY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING
Tags: us_NH, public, release, response, propane
EPA DENIES PETITION TO BAN CHLORPYRIFOS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, pesticides
POLLUTED SITES LINGER UNDER U.S. CLEANUP PROGRAM
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, waste
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FIRE RETARDANT REPLACEMENTS MIGRATE TO ARCTIC SEDIMENT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
For the first time, researchers have measured a new class of fire retardants in Arctic Ocean sediments, far from the compounds‰?? intended end uses in couch cushions and television sets (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b00755). The findings add to growing evidence that organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPEs) might have many of the same properties that led to the phase-out of their predecessors, brominated flame retardants.
After decades of research, manufacturers and regulators curtailed the use of brominated flame retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the early 2000s. Numerous studies cataloged how these compounds interfere with the endocrine systems of humans and animals and contaminate substances including mothers‰?? milk and arctic sediment. In 2009, the parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) added two kinds of PBDEs to their POPs list. The parties determined that the compounds met the criteria: The listed PBDEs are persistent, toxic, travel long range, and accumulate in food chains.
As concerns grew over PBDEs, manufacturers turned to OPEs as alternative flame retardants, but scientists are concerned that these replacements may also meet the Stockholm Convention‰??s criteria for POPs. Not much is known about the human health effects of OPEs, yet some governments have listed them as cancer-causing agents, and in vitro and animal data suggest that the compounds may be endocrine disrupters‰??so they may meet the criterion of toxicity. They do not appear to increase in concentration as they move up the food chain, although like the brominated retardants they are replacing, OPEs readily escape into the environment and have been found in fish and in human breast milk, research shows.
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124 WASTE WORKERS RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, release, injury, chlorine, waste
Johannesburg ‰?? The strong stench of chlorine still hung in the air hours after an early morning chemical leak on Monday at a hazardous waste treatment facility in Germiston that left more than 100 workers hospitalised.
‰??One hundred and twenty-four workers from the Interwaste Germiston depot on Power Street were treated at the scene for chest pain and respiratory distress before being transported to nearby hospitals for further treatment,‰?? said Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) spokesperson William Ntladi.
‰??Two of the workers are in critical condition, but other members of the public are not known to have been affected,‰?? he explained.
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CHEMICAL LEAK CAUSES EVACUATION AT TSU SCIENCE BUILDING
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
HOUSTON -- Several HFD vehicles are on the scene of an evacuation at the Texas Southern University Science Building due to a chemical leak.
TSU Police say classes in the building are suspended until 1:45 p.m. Tuesday. Students and staff are asked to stay clear of the building.
HFD initially responded to the scene on Ennis Street shortly before 10:30 a.m.
So far there are no reports of injuries, although Air 11 showed an ambulance along with fire trucks at the scene.
---------------------------------------------
BROCKTON FIRE RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid
BROCKTON, MA ‰?? Brockton fire and a Hazmat team responded to a chemical spill at a UPS facility in Brockton early Tuesday morning.
Mayor Bill Carpenter confirmed that a nitric acid container broke while being loaded on a truck at the company's facility on Oak Hill Way early. Brockton Fire and Life Safety and a State Hazmat Team of about 20 technicians mitigated and stabilized the spill, and Clean Harbors completed the the clean up, Carpenter said.
Brockton fire told NBC Boston that the incident was a Tier 2 incident and involved five liters of nitric acid leaking in a trailer.
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OVER 50 FACTORY WORKERS RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Johannesburg ‰?? More than 50 employees from a chemical factory in Germiston had to be rushed to hospital for respiratory problems on Monday morning after an alleged chemical leak.
ER24‰??s Russel Meiring said they had found between 50 and 100 employees outside the factory.
The type of chemical and the source of the leak was unknown.
"The exact cause of this incident is not yet known, but local authorities were on the scene for further investigations. The exact number of patients is not yet known, due to the number of services on scene," said Meiring.
The patients were treated for their injuries and then transferred to local hospitals for further treatment.
---------------------------------------------
BLAZE AT WIRI, AUCKLAND CHEMICAL STORAGE FACILITY
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Part of a three-storey chemical storage facility in south Auckland was engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived just before 4am on Tuesday.
Nineteen fire engines rushed to the 100sqm building on Mayo Rd, Wiri, and 14 remained at 6.30am.
Northern fire service spokeswoman Megan Ruru said that its owner was on site to advise about the chemicals stored in the building.
Chris McKeen/FAIRFAX NZ
Emergency services at the fire at a chemical manufacturing plant on Mayo Rd, Wiri.
"At this stage we do not know what chemicals were involved, or whether they are in the part of the building on fire," she said.
It had not been confirmed whether neighbouring buildings were being evacuated.
The fire started in the northeast corner of the building.
---------------------------------------------
TWO INJURED IN BASEMENT FIRE ON UNION STREET MONDAY
Tags: us_MN, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
Emergency crews responded to a call of a fire on the 400 block of Union Street East in Detroit Lakes just after 2 p.m. today, where a homeowner was doing a basement reconstruction project and using a chemical sealant that flashed, causing him and his wife to be burned.
St. Mary's EMS took both of the victims to the emergency room for treatment, while the Detroit Lakes Fire Department worked to keep the fire contained.
Another adult and a child were also in the house at the time of the incident, but they were both about to get out unaffected, since the fire was contained to the basement.
---------------------------------------------
PASADENA DRUG LAB EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION ONGOING
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, butane, clandestine_lab
PASADENA, CA ‰?? Authorities Monday were investigating an explosion at a drug lab in Pasadena that left a man with serious burns.
Firefighters sent to the 1900 block of East Washington Boulevard about 9 p.m. Sunday found a small blaze in a shed-type building at the rear of the property and quickly extinguished the flames, said county fire Capt. Keith Mora.
"Multiple" empty butane tanks were found at the scene, and the cause of the fire was listed as suspicious, Mora said.
ABC7 reported that bundles of marijuana, baking plates and butane canisters were also found, triggering an investigation by the L.A. IMPACT drug task force.
---------------------------------------------
BAR OF SOAP IN TOILET LEADS TO CHEMICAL REACTION, HOSPITAL TRIP FOR THREE AMHERST WOMEN
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, cleaners
AMHERST -- Three women faced with the dilemma of a bar of soap that fell into a toilet were taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital Saturday night after they accidentally created a chemical reaction by mixing drain cleaners.
Fire Chief Tim Nelson said the women used a combination of Liquid Plumber and Green Gobbler to dissolve the soap.
When the first product failed to clear the toilet, the women added the second -- which produced a byproduct of chlorine gas, Nelson said.
The women immediately started having respiratory issues and opened the windows. They were taken to the hospital as a precaution, he said, and a hazmat team was called in to assess the situation.
Nelson said the women were lucky, as such a mixture is used by some people seeking to kill themselves. Others have died accidentally after mixing cleaning agents.
"You've got to be smart and read directions," Nelson said. "You need to know ho to use it and how to dispose of it and what not mix it with."
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES I-75S
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, response, acetone
HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - Emergency crews were on the scene of an overturned tanker truck at I-75 South near I-675 on Monday.
The Henry Co. Fire Dept. said the accident caused a chemical spill and had I-75S blocked as the accident was investigated.
According to Captain Michael Black with the Henry Co. Fire Department, 250 gallons of acetone was spilled on the 75/675 connector going southbound.
Thankfully, no one was injured.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS DISPERSE PROPANE LEAK AT SWANZEY GAS STORAGE FACILITY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING
Tags: us_NH, public, release, response, propane
SWANZEY ‰?? Thirty firefighters from across the region worked to disperse a cloud of propane gas that formed after a tank at a gas storage facility on Sawyers Crossing Road leaked early Sunday morning.
A state trooper first detected an odor of propane in the area at around 4:15 a.m., while responding to a separate call, according to Swanzey Fire Chief Norman W. Skantze.
The Swanzey Fire Department was the first agency to respond to the scene.
Upon arriving, firefighters searched with gas meters for an hour before locating the leak, because the odor was detected in the vicinity of two neighboring propane storage facilities. One is owned by Keene Gas, at 583 Sawyers Crossing Road, and the other by Rymes Propane & Oil.
‰??There‰??s literally hundreds of tanks on both of those properties,‰?? Skantze said.
The 500-gallon outdoor tank leaking propane was found on Rymes Propane & Oil‰??s property, and by the time firefighters found it, it was about 75 percent empty, according to Skantze. A faulty valve was the source of the gas leak, he said.
After leaking out of the tank, most of the propane evaporated, as propane vaporizes at temperatures above -44 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Skantze.
Firefighters used 15,000 gallons of water to disperse the vapor cloud that had formed near the area of the leak, he said.
Firefighters were extra cautious, according to Skantze, because propane is highly flammable, and they were surrounded by hundreds of additional gas tanks.
‰??Any kind of fire explosion could be a big problem, so there was a heightened awareness,‰?? he said.
---------------------------------------------
EPA DENIES PETITION TO BAN CHLORPYRIFOS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, pesticides
The Trump EPA has denied a petition from environmental groups to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Under the Obama Administration, EPA proposed twice to revoke all food tolerances for the organophosphate insecticide. EPA previously said that exposure to chlorpyrifos from food and drinking water poses a human health risk, citing neurotoxicity concerns. Dow AgroSciences, which makes the pesticide, and farmers have been pushing hard to keep chlorpyrifos on the market. They claim that chlorpyrifos is safely used on dozens of crops in the U.S. and that there are no alternatives for many pests. The Trump Administration sided with pesticide and farm groups and reversed EPA‰??s earlier decision. Responding to the petition from environmental groups, EPA says that ‰??the science addressing neurodevelopmental effects remains unresolved,‰?? and further evaluation is warranted. EPA plans to continue evaluating the risks of chlorpyrifos over the next five years. The agency must complete its!
review of all chlorpyrifos uses by Oct. 1, 2022, as part of its routine review of pesticides. Groups that filed the petition are outraged by EPA‰??s about-face move. ‰??EPA‰??s refusal to ban this dangerous pesticide is unconscionable,‰?? says Patti Goldman, an attorney for one of the groups, Earthjustice. ‰??EPA is defying its legal obligation to protect children from unsafe pesticides,‰?? she says. The groups plan to go back to court to challenge EPA‰??s decision.
---------------------------------------------
POLLUTED SITES LINGER UNDER U.S. CLEANUP PROGRAM
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, waste
Nearly 40 years ago, a dump oozing chemicals in upstate New York triggered a state of emergency, and Love Canal became synonymous with hazardous waste in the U.S. The toxic site made headlines, and hundreds of families were evacuated from a 10-block area surrounding the canal. The plight of the community led Congress to create a federal program called Superfund that pays for cleanup of contaminated sites.
Decades later, government leaders are asking what‰??s taking so long.
‰??Most Americans aren‰??t aware that there are more than 1,300 Superfund sites across the country,‰?? Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt tells C&EN in a statement. Some have been on the Superfund list for almost 40 years, he notes. ‰??That‰??s unacceptable.‰??
One of 114 Superfund sites in New Jersey, former Edgewater manufacturing site Quanta Resources has been on the National Priorities List since 2002.
The 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act, which is commonly referred to as the Superfund law, created a framework for regulating and managing toxic waste sites. The law established liability for companies responsible for hazardous waste contamination. And it levied a tax on chemical and petroleum industries to offset cleanup costs when the firm or companies responsible for the pollution can‰??t be identified or are no longer in business.
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