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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, June 12, 2017 at 6:33:08 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)
700 WORKERS EVACUATED AFTER OAKEY BEEF CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, ammonia
FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL SPILL NEAR OAKEY
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, sulfuric_acid
TOXIC SPILL FEARED AS CHEMICAL TANKER STRANDED IN VIETNAM WATERS
Tags: Viet_Nam, transportation, discovery, response, oils
HAZMAT INVESTIGATING ROWLETT HOME AFTER RESIDENT HEARD 'EXPLOSION'
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, response, fireworks
HAZMAT, BOMB SQUAD CALLED TO TANEYTOWN FOLLOWING WELFARE CHECK
Tags: us_MD, public, discovery, response, bomb, mercury
SWEDEN NOTIFIES EU COMMISSION OF NANOMATERIAL REPORTING PROPOSAL
Tags: Sweden, public, discovery, response, other_chemical
STORE MANAGER ROBBED USING CHEMICAL LACED NOTES- THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Tags: India, public, release, injury, drugs
OBESITY LINKED TO CHEMICAL SUBSTITUTES FOUND IN FOOD CONTAINERS?
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
JUDGE REJECTS FINE FOR TEXAS OIL COMPANY IN DEADLY ANACORTES BLAST
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, environmental
COMMISSION SURVEY FINDS EU CITIZENS NEED MORE CHEMICAL SAFETY INFORMATION
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental
UNION WARNS AGAINST DRIVERLESS TRUCKS HAULING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Tags: us_RI, transportation, discovery, environmental, gas_cylinders
LAWYER SAYS FLAMING QUESO BURNS WOMAN AT CEDAR PARK RESTAURANT
Tags: us_TX, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL LEAK FORCES EVACUATION OF JAMESTOWN CALL CENTER
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, hvac_chemicals
PROBES AT INCINERATOR AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK MAKES STAFF SICK
Tags: Ireland, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
700 WORKERS EVACUATED AFTER OAKEY BEEF CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, ammonia
UPDATE 4.50PM: About 700 workers were evacuated from Oakey Beef Exports about 6.30am today after a liquid ammonia leak at the facility.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services remained on scene at 4.30pm conducting atmospheric testing and ventilating the cold storage room at the major facility after the leak.
Production was stopped for about four hours as the initial leak was identified and contained to the plate freezer conveyor belt room before workers in other sections were able to return to their shifts.
Oakey Beef Exports general manager Pat Gleeson said the impact on production had been minimal, and the priority was staff safety.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL SPILL NEAR OAKEY
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, sulfuric_acid
EMERGENCY crews are attending a suspected chemical spill at a site on the Old Warrego Highway west of Toowoomba this morning.
QFES were called to an industrial site on Keong Rd and the Old Warrego Hwy near Oakey following reports of a chemical spill at about 6:15am.
Paramedics are on standby but have not been requested at this stage.
Earlier this morning firefighters were called to another chemical spill in Brisbane??s south.
A chemical, believed to be sulfuric acid, had leaked from a site on Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba some time before 1:15am.
After assessing the site firefighters siphoned the excess chemical into salvage drums and successfully cleaned up the scene.
No one was injured in the incident at Woolloongabba.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC SPILL FEARED AS CHEMICAL TANKER STRANDED IN VIETNAM WATERS
Tags: Viet_Nam, transportation, discovery, response, oils
A stranded vessel from the Cayman Islands carrying 30,000 tons of chemicals has been spotted off Vietnam's central coast and is likely to sink, officials said.
Binh Thuan Province's disaster response and rescue team said on Sunday that the Chemroad Journey was around 70 sea miles off Phan Thiet resort town.
The ship was tilting and could sink, the team said.
It is believed that there are 27 crew members onboard. Officials have not confirmed what chemical products the tanker, reportedly on its journey from Singapore to China, is carrying.
Binh Thuan authorities are preparing measures to deal with the risks of an oil spill and toxic spill.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT INVESTIGATING ROWLETT HOME AFTER RESIDENT HEARD 'EXPLOSION'
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, response, fireworks
ROWLETT, TEXAS - Officials are investigating a home after a resident reported hearing a loud explosion from inside a home Friday night.
According to Rowlett police, officers were called to a house in the block of 5800 Maple Lane, shortly after 10 p.m.
A neighbor called 911 that smoke was coming out of the house. The resident of the home told officials he had detonated a "pyrotechnic device." Although there was no visual damage to the home, chemicals were found inside, police said.
Rowlett Fire Department investigators, a Dallas Fire-Rescue Hazmat team and ATF Agents are investigating the incident.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT, BOMB SQUAD CALLED TO TANEYTOWN FOLLOWING WELFARE CHECK
Tags: us_MD, public, discovery, response, bomb, mercury
The Office of the State Fire Marshal's bomb squad was called out to Taneytown on Friday afternoon to collect a black powdery substance.
The bomb squad responded to a residence in the 4000 block of Baptist Road after the residence's owner was found to be deceased. The owner was determined to be deceased after the Carroll County Sheriff's Office conducted a welfare check, according to a notice of investigation from the fire marshal's office.
The New Windsor Hazmat team, along with sheriff's office and the Maryland Department of the Environment, helped remove smokeless and black powder from inside the residence as well as from a detached building, according to the release.
The Maryland Department of the Environment also helped remove liquid mercury, according to the release.
The homeowner was "an avid reloader of ammunition," which explained the power. His death was not related to the powder's recovery, according to the release.
---------------------------------------------
SWEDEN NOTIFIES EU COMMISSION OF NANOMATERIAL REPORTING PROPOSAL
Tags: Sweden, public, discovery, response, other_chemical
Sweden's Board of Trade has notified the European Commission of plans to change its Chemicals Inspectorate Regulations with regard to nanomaterials.
Although the detail of the proposal will not be finalised until 14 June, the plan is that notifiers to the country's chemicals inspectorate product register will have to include information about any nanomaterials in an item.
This will include those that have been carefully added to the product, regardless of the concentration of nanomaterials.
The notification to the Commission's Technical Regulation Information System (Tris) lists several exemptions, including:
nanomaterials that are naturally occurring or accidentally produced;
for companies with annual sales of less than SEK 5m; and
pigment nanomaterials.
Exemptions will last three years while an evaluation is carried out. Those exempted will only have to supply information on whether a component of a product is a nanomaterial.
The Board of Trade says the aim is to create an overview of the nanomaterials used in Sweden. Any data collected will help identify them and provide statistics on their use.
---------------------------------------------
STORE MANAGER ROBBED USING CHEMICAL LACED NOTES- THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Tags: India, public, release, injury, drugs
CHENNAI: In a peculiar case of theft, two men stole about 15 sovereigns of gold after drugging the store manager with a currency note allegedly soaked with chemicals in Virugambakkam on Thursday morning.
As was her routine, store manager R Padma was doing her morning prayers when the two men entered the store. They asked her for handkerchiefs and started a conversation with her. They told her that she should take out her jewels in the morning and pray as it would help business.
They selected six handkerchiefs and Padma handed over the kerchieves and asked for Rs 180. ??The men gave her Rs 200 and while he was giving her the note, he rubbed it against her palm and fingers,?? said V Radhakrishnan, Padma??s brother.
??There was some chemical on the note which made her blank out completely. She has absolutely no recollection of what happened after that ?? whether she gave them the jewels or if they stole it themselves.?? About five or ten minutes later, Radhakrishnan said she was back to senses and immediately called for help.
---------------------------------------------
OBESITY LINKED TO CHEMICAL SUBSTITUTES FOUND IN FOOD CONTAINERS?
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Previously, packaging companies used the chemical bisphenol A or BPA while manufacturing plastic food containers. However, subsequent studies found that BPA results in the endocrine system's disruption and also leads to numerous health problems. BPA is used in the manufacturing of various typed of food packaging such as canned food, water bottles, drinks, and snacks.
The food or water that a BPA-induced container holds absorbs this chemical, which is how it enters the human body. Plenty of hue and cry was raised over BPA's ill effects on human health after several studies established the chemical's negative effects. The researchers determined that that BPA increases the risk of an array of health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and particularly obesity.
Following the consumer backlash post the studies' findings, packaging manufacturers reduced BPA use in the manufacture of food packaging. They replaced the chemical with a combination of bisphenol S and bisphenol F also known as BPS and BPF.
However, at the time, little was known about the impact of these two chemicals on human health. The latest study is the first to delve into the health impacts that BPF and BPS exposure can cause in humans. The study also checks if this chemical combination is in any way linked with obesity.
---------------------------------------------
JUDGE REJECTS FINE FOR TEXAS OIL COMPANY IN DEADLY ANACORTES BLAST
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, environmental
The largest workplace-safety fine in Washington history has been overturned.
A state appeals judge on Friday rejected a $2.4 million fine that oil company Tesoro faced after an explosion that killed seven workers in Anacortes.
The 2010 blast rattled houses miles away and lit up the night sky over the coastal town. It was Washington's worst industrial accident in half a century.
The Department of Labor and Industries accused Tesoro of 39 willful violations of state safety laws, and state officials slapped the Texas oil company with the record fine.
But after a six-year-long appeal by Tesoro, Judge Mark Jaffe of the Washington Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals overturned it Thursday.
Jaffe ruled the state failed to show that Tesoro was at fault for the deadly explosion. His decision criticized the state's case and its witnesses.
"There were a few who obviously blamed the incident on Tesoro but they were unable to really articulate what Tesoro did or did not do to cause the explosion," Jaffe wrote.
Tesoro attorneys have said the company acted in good faith to protect worker safety and to operate within the known safe zone of pressures and temperatures to avoid the type of corrosion that led to the explosion.
Jaffe had already knocked $1.9 million off the $2.4 million fine in preliminary decisions.
---------------------------------------------
COMMISSION SURVEY FINDS EU CITIZENS NEED MORE CHEMICAL SAFETY INFORMATION
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental
A European Commission survey on public awareness of the safety of chemical products has concluded there is a need to better inform EU citizens and clarify the concerns that many of them have.
Commissioner El14bieta Bie?kowska presented the findings of the special Eurobarometer survey in a keynote speech to the Helsinki Chemicals Forum.
Carried out to mark the tenth anniversary of the REACH Regulation, the survey paints a mixed picture of public awareness of, and confidence in, the safety of chemical products, the Commission admits.
Among its finding are that:
around two-thirds of EU citizens are, to varying degrees, concerned about being exposed to hazardous chemicals in their daily life;
less than half of respondents feel well informed about the potential dangers of the chemicals contained in consumer products;
the public uses product labels and the media to determine any potential dangers;
two-thirds of respondents say that if they ask whether a product contains particularly hazardous chemicals, the seller is required by law to provide them with this information. Only a small minority does not think this is the case;
awareness and comprehension of hazard pictograms is patchy, with some much more recognisable than others;
almost half think that chemical products are safe for human health and the environment. However half of respondents say the current level of EU regulation and standards is not high enough and should be increased;
more respondents think that product safety has improved in the last 10-15 years than say it has deteriorated; and
perceptions of who has responsibility for ensuring the safety of chemicals contained in consumer products in the EU varies greatly. And there are widely differing views on who should have this responsibility.
The survey, based on fieldwork carried out between November and December 2016, involved interviewing more than 28,000 members of the general public. The aim was have 1,000 interviews in each EU country.
---------------------------------------------
UNION WARNS AGAINST DRIVERLESS TRUCKS HAULING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Tags: us_RI, transportation, discovery, environmental, gas_cylinders
EAST GREENWICH, R.I., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hazardous material drivers and gas cylinder fillers who work at Airgas here have been negotiating a new contract since the current agreement expired in February. After continued bargaining and several contract extensions, the workers went on strike May 31.
The workers, represented by Teamsters Local 251, are concerned about their families' health care and a secure retirement. Additionally, Airgas' proposed contract language would allow the company to operate driverless trucks transporting dangerous materials through our communities and on America's highways.
"Airgas has been demanding contract language nationally that would allow the company to operate driverless vehicles. They have failed to take into consideration the potential dangers of the cargo or the fact that it could jeopardize the safety of the public if an accident were to occur," said Sean M. O'Brien, Teamsters International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Joint Council 10 New England.
"Teamsters are the safest and most experienced drivers in the country," he added. "We want to alert the public of the risks that corporations like Airgas are willing to take at the expense of working people."
---------------------------------------------
LAWYER SAYS FLAMING QUESO BURNS WOMAN AT CEDAR PARK RESTAURANT
Tags: us_TX, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
A 27-year-old woman received second- and third-degree burns after the flaming queso she ordered in May at a Mexican restaurant in Cedar Park blew up in her face, according to a lawsuit.
She has sued Dos Salsas and its manager, William Plata. Plata could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
The woman,an Austin resident, was eating at the restaurant at 1600 E. Whitestone Blvd. on May 20 with her family when the incident happened, said her lawyer, Adam Loewy.
She ordered an appetizer called the ??Quesos Flameados,?? the lawsuit said.
The waitress serving the dish at the restaurant usually brings it to the table already on fire and sprays a chemical on it that makes the flames go straight up, Loewy said. That didn??t happen in this case, he said. A waitress brought it out and sprayed the chemical but instead of going up, the fire ??went sideways and engulfed (the victim) in flames,?? he said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK FORCES EVACUATION OF JAMESTOWN CALL CENTER
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, hvac_chemicals
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WIVB) ?? Authorities blamed a leaking HVAC unit for the fumes that sickened as many as 30 people, Thursday, at a call center located in the Jamestown Furniture Mart on West Second Street.
The trouble centered on a cooling unit for ??The Connection?? contact center, a call center on the fifth floor, where a company spokesperson said 190 staffers were hard at the time.
Jamestown Deputy Fire Chief Chet Harvey said coolant from the unit started to leak, ??Maintenance personnel on location, were trying to service it. It began to leak, they started collecting some of the product, it leaked onto the floor.??
Harvey said fumes from the liquid coolant then became airborne and many of the workers started to complain of difficulty breathing. Other fire units were summoned, a triage center was set up, and the building was evacuated.
---------------------------------------------
PROBES AT INCINERATOR AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK MAKES STAFF SICK
Tags: Ireland, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Testing and commissioning at the Poolbeg incinerator remains suspended after 11 workers were taken to hospital following an incident at the ?600m plant.
The workers went to St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin after complaining of nausea, breathing difficulties and blurred vision, which followed the release of a small amount of hydrated lime in the building.
Three investigations are under way: one by the incinerator operator, US firm Covant; a second by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), and a third by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which licences the plant.
The EPA said it would require Covanta to produce a full report, which would address "corrective and preventative actions" to be taken.
"On foot of this report and the EPA's own investigation, further action may be considered," it said.
The incident occurred at 10.45pm on Wednesday. Around 30 workers were dismantling scaffolding in a part of the building close to the boilers when a small quantity of hydrated lime, which Covanta said was no more than two cubic metres, was released inside the flue gas treatment area.
Dangerous
Lime is used to help remove dangerous toxins while waste is being incinerated.
Eleven workers complained of feeling ill and received medical attention on site, before making their way to St Vincent's Hospital. Two of them were detained overnight.
In a statement Covanta said that a "number of workers" were in an adjacent area to the gas treatment area and were taken to hospital for evaluation "as a precaution".
The statement added: "Combustion Unit No 1, which was operating at the time, was shut down.
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