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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: Wed, 3 May 2017 07:46:42 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 8C4D8D2D-675E-432E-A437-251F838DADAB**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 7:46:30 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)
INDIA‰??S CONTENTIOUS STAND ON CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS IS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS
Tags: India, public, discovery, environmental, asbestos
DRYDEN MIDDLE, HIGH SCHOOLS TO REMAIN CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILL SLOWS TRAFFIC I-20 NEAR EDWARDS
Tags: us_MS, public, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CONFIRMED TO KEYNOTE AT CALGARY ENERGY SUMMIT THIS JUNE 5-7
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, environmental
HOW TO HAND IN YOUR EXPLOSIVES WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, explosives
ANDOVER OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE HAZMAT SITUATION INSIDE FRONTAGE ROAD BUILDING
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, response, waste
SIX HOSPITALISED AFTER ALDINGA BEACH HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL INCIDENT
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
FREE BLOOD TESTS FOR FIREFIGHTERS AMID TOXIC CHEMICAL SCARE
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, response, toxics
BIPARTISAN N.J. POLS TRY TO STOP TRUMP SAFETY BOARD CUT
Tags: us_NJ, public, follow-up, environmental
DOW AND BAYER SUED FOR POLLUTING UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
Tags: us_WV, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
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INDIA‰??S CONTENTIOUS STAND ON CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS IS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS
Tags: India, public, discovery, environmental, asbestos
An Indian delegation led by environment secretary Ajay Narayan Jha is in Geneva to negotiate some of the most important environmental treaties dealing with trade in hazardous chemicals and waste.
Environmentalists are paying close attention to India‰??s stand on Chrysotile asbestos, a substance that has been banned in many parts of the world for being carcinogenic but is not listed as a hazardous substance under the Rotterdam Convention that regulates trade in hazardous substances.
‰??Chrysotile asbestos should be listed as a hazardous substance under the Rotterdam Convention,‰?? said Gopal Krishna of Toxics Watch‰??Alliance, an India-based non-governmental organisation, adding, ‰??all it does is places the onus on exporters of the material to another country to obtain prior informed consent (PIC).‰??
India‰??s stand on the listing of the substance has been far from consistent. In 2011, the Indian delegation came out in favour of including it in the list, receiving a standing ovation for taking the stand. At the next convention in 2013, India reversed its stand based on a study by the National Institute of Occupational Health, that has been widely discredited.
This ambiguity has persisted with the government‰??s statements not lining up with its actions. Last year, the environment minister for state Anil Madhav Dave said they were looking for alternatives to asbestos while maintaining that there were no studies from India linking Chrysotile asbestos to health impacts.
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DRYDEN MIDDLE, HIGH SCHOOLS TO REMAIN CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
DRYDEN, N.Y. ‰?? Dryden Middle and High Schools will remain closed on Wednesday after closing early Tuesday due to a small chemical fire, according to school officials.
Authorities say the fire started in a trash can in a chemistry lab on school property. No one was reportedly injured during the fire.
The fire started when a student cleaning up wiped a container with a chemical on it and tossed the paper towel in the trash. Another student then threw away a wet paper in the same trash can which caused a reaction and sparked the fire.
A teacher was able to quickly put the flames out with an extinguisher. Students and faculty were instructed to evacuate the building at the time of the fire.
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CHEMICAL SPILL SLOWS TRAFFIC I-20 NEAR EDWARDS
Tags: us_MS, public, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
A chemical spill at the weigh station on Interstate 20 in Warren County caused traffic delays Tuesday evening.
The leaking chemical has been identified as Sodium Hydroxide. I-20 was closed near Edwards, according to the Mississippi Dept. of Transportation.
Left lanes on I-20 West and East opened later as hazmat workers cleaned up the spill.
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U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CONFIRMED TO KEYNOTE AT CALGARY ENERGY SUMMIT THIS JUNE 5-7
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, environmental
Dr. Kristen Kulinowski, Board Member at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, confirmed to Keynote at the Operational Excellence in Energy, Chemicals & Resources Summit taking place this June 5-7 in Calgary.
We‰??re thrilled to announce that Dr. Kristen Kulinowski from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board will be joining the list of keynote speakers at the Operational Excellence in Energy, Chemicals & Resources summit this June 5-7.
CSB Investigators have recently closed high profile investigations into Macondo, the West Fertilizer explosion and fire, the Tesoro Martinez chemical spill, Williams olefins explosion and several others ‰?? and are currently investigating spills and explosions at ExxonMobil, AirGas, Dupont facilities among others.
Ahead of the Calgary OpEx summit we wanted to share this interview with Dr. Kulinowski to gain her insight on the critical lessons learned from these recent chemical accidents and the operational risks associated with deferred maintenance, improper MoC, inadequate condition monitoring and more.
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HOW TO HAND IN YOUR EXPLOSIVES WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, explosives
IF YOU have some explosives hanging around your property, there is now a safe way to dispose of them.
The NSW Police Force today formally announced the Commercial Explosives Amnesty which has been put in place for six months in NSW.
The amnesty commenced on March 15 and will end on September 14, 2017.
The aim of the Commercial Explosive Amnesty is to provide a safe avenue for members of the community to hand in explosives and related hazardous materials to police.
Commander of the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command, Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch said the amnesty is about taking proactive steps to reduce the amount of dangerous explosives in the community.
"In recent years we have had an increased number of requests for the destruction of commercial explosives which have been found in the community," Assistant Commissioner Murdoch said.
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ANDOVER OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE HAZMAT SITUATION INSIDE FRONTAGE ROAD BUILDING
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, response, waste
Andover officials and hazmat technicians late Monday night were still trying to determine what caused two chemicals to have an unusual reaction and explode inside a security company in Andover earlier in the day, according to Fire Chief Michael Mansfield.
Police and fire officials were called at about 4:25 p.m. to 23 Frontage Road, the home of Morpho Detection LLC, a security company that manufactures explosive and drug detection equipment. After they arrived, they saw a ‰??green vapor cloud‰?? hovering above the building, Mansfield said.
The cloud began ‰??dissipating very rapidly,‰?? though, Mansfield said, and officials determined it presented no danger to anyone in the area and no one was injured.
The explosion, which forced about 100 employees to evacuate the building, occurred when 2 gallons of a substance that contained two chemicals had an unexpected reaction inside a chemical waste container.
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SIX HOSPITALISED AFTER ALDINGA BEACH HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL INCIDENT
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
ALDINGA BEACH ‰?? Six members of a family have been taken to hospital following a hazardous chemical incident at Aldinga Beach.
Country Fire Service (CFS) spokeswoman Heidi Davis said the home owner called emergency services just after 2am on Tuesday, May 2.
‰??On arrival, specialist hazardous materials firefighters assessed the scene and found products that were part of a fish tank in the process of being cleaned had been released and contaminated the area,‰?? Ms Davis said.
‰??The CFS is currently in the process of identifying the hazard to ensure correct containment and decontamination processes are conducted.‰??
SA Ambulance responded to take all six family members to hospital.
CFS and SA Police will remain at the scene for some time.
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FREE BLOOD TESTS FOR FIREFIGHTERS AMID TOXIC CHEMICAL SCARE
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, response, toxics
Past and present firefighters in Queensland who have been exposed to toxic firefighting chemicals are receiving free blood tests, as part of a policy just signed by State Government.
The tests will examine if the firefighters have the toxins in their system and will go towards a baseline study to discover any long-term effects.
The chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA) are contained in a firefighting foam that was widely used on Defence bases and during firefighting drills until 2003.
Retired firefighter Peter Campion used firefighting foams containing perfluorinated chemicals during practice drills in Cairns in the late 1990s.
He said in those days its risk was regarded at the same level as "dishwashing detergent".
It is a sentiment shared by United Firefighters Union's Billy Mantaris, who used the foam during bi-monthly practice drills in Cairns around the same time.
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BIPARTISAN N.J. POLS TRY TO STOP TRUMP SAFETY BOARD CUT
Tags: us_NJ, public, follow-up, environmental
In a bipartisan move, most of New Jersey's congressional delegation is calling on colleagues to block a request by President Donald Trump that would eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which was created in the wake of a deadly industrial explosion in Lodi.
Six Democrats and three Republicans signed a letter, released Monday, calling on House leaders to earmark $11.6 million for the board that Trump had pegged for elimination in his budget proposal for fiscal year 2018.
"With less than a $12 million-dollar budget and 43 employees, the board is a prudent investment on behalf of the American taxpayer," the lawmakers wrote to leaders of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on environmental matters.
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DOW AND BAYER SUED FOR POLLUTING UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
Tags: us_WV, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
In a lawsuit, West Virginia State University is accusing Dow Chemical and Bayer of polluting the groundwater under its campus with three likely carcinogens: 1,4-dioxane, 1,2-dichloroethane, and chloroform.
While the suit, filed on April 27 in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, places no dollar value on a remedy, it seeks cleanup as well as compensatory and punitive damages, including a ‰??national public relations program‰?? to restore the school‰??s reputation.
Dow operates the nearby Institute Industrial Park, where Bayer is a tenant. Dow ‰??must be held accountable for the damage it has done to our property and reputation,‰?? university President Anthony L. Jenkins says.
The industrial park was the site of a methyl isocyanate plant once owned by Bayer and Union Carbide, now a subsidiary of Dow. Although the plant closed several years ago, for years, Institute, W.Va., residents worried about a leak, mindful of the 1984 accident at a similar Union Carbide facility in India that killed thousands.
In announcing the suit, the university says the contamination ‰??does not pose a current health risk to anyone on campus.‰?? It also notes that ‰??outside experts have concluded that the available evidence does not indicate a threat to human health from [the] contaminants.‰?? West Virginia State University is a historically black university that is now fully integrated.
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