HF (Hydrofluoric Acid) is used in refineries as a process chemical in the "cracking" of crude oil.  Many refineries have about 5,000 gallons of anhydrous HF on site or may use lower concentrations.  It is often supplied as anyhydrous (100%), or aqueous solutions of 70%, 49%, 37%, or is avaliable in auto parts stores and other consumer outlets in concentrations of about 6-13% used to remove rust stains in the home and to clean vehicle wheels.  You might want to review what data are available from the Texas city incident.  And there was another one in Matamoros, Mexico near Brownsville, TX.

To learn a good deal about the properties and hazards of HF, Honeywell (the major international producer) has an excellent safety program which I highly recommend (just Google it).

The problem may be that, as with almost any otherwise useful chemical sustance, data are lacking on very low level chronic exposures.  Such studies are always very time consuming, very expensive to conduct, and there are so many confounding factors that make results, if any - positive or negative -- very difficult to interpret.

And can anyone scientifically "prove safety"?  The was a wonderful spoof pseudo-scientific paper about the safety of a parachute. How do you ethically do a double-blind, unlabelled, placebo controlled  study of people who are forced to jump out of non-functional aircarfts?  Somebody want to write up the permission form for that one?

Conundrum:  Guy is found dead out in the middle of a desert. He has a pack on his back.  If the pack had been opened, he wouldn't have died.  What did the pack contain?

And as another bad joke goes:  I may be able to make the blind to walk and the lame to see.  But I can't cure death.  Perhaps God sometimes thinks he's a medical doctor, but us mortal medical doctors should never think we are God.

Alan

Alan H. Hall, MD

Medical Toxicologist

Major, USAFR, MC, FS (Hon. Ret.)

On Wed, Aug 23, 2017 at 7:28 AM, Ernest Lippert <ernielippert**At_Symbol_Here**toast.net> wrote:

It is unbelievable that "data is lacking". RE: 

AQMD: NOT ENOUGH DATA TO PROVE SAFETY OF DEADLY TOXIC CHEMICAL USED AT TORRANCE REFINERY

Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid

 

Apparently common sense is also lacking. As an aside, what is the purpose of HF at a refinery anyway?

Ernie Lippert

 

 

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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2017 7:22 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (5 articles)

 

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, August 23, 2017 at 7:21:42 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 (5 articles)

WOONSOCKET FD: CLEANING AGENT TO BLAME FOR HAZMAT
Tags: us_RI, public, release, injury, cleaners

CHEMICAL LEAK TEMPORARILY CLOSES SOME ROADS NEAR PASCAGOULA WALM
Tags: us_MS, transportation, release, response, ammonia

AQMD: NOT ENOUGH DATA TO PROVE SAFETY OF DEADLY TOXIC CHEMICAL USED AT TORRANCE REFINERY
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid

DRIVER SUFFERS FROM BURNS IN ACID SPILL
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT EXXON'S REFINERY IN ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Tags: Netherlands, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical


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WOONSOCKET FD: CLEANING AGENT TO BLAME FOR HAZMAT
Tags: us_RI, public, release, injury, cleaners

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) - Hazmat technicians, the state fire marshal and the Department of Environmental Management are investigating a chemical spill at a Woonsocket mill building

Crews responded at about 7 p.m. to a reported fire at a mill building on Privilege Street. Upon arrival, they encountered chemicals on the second floor that looked like they were purposely spilled over. Three first responders were treated and released from Landmark Medical Center after noticing irritation in their throats.

Woonsocket Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Oakland told Eyewitness News Tuesday, the chemical was some sort of cleaning agent. He said the chemical is normally not harmful but it posed a problem for first responders because they were not in a well-ventilated area.

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CHEMICAL LEAK TEMPORARILY CLOSES SOME ROADS NEAR PASCAGOULA WALM
Tags: us_MS, transportation, release, response, ammonia

PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) -
Pascagoula police are looking into an anhydrous ammonia leak near Walmart.

Captain Doug Adams told WLOX News Now a rail car is leaking the chemical. At 10pm, investigators and agents with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality were working to find out if the car was damaged or if a valve on it was open.

Police say no serious injuries have been reported and no evacuations are in effect. But some nearby roads are closed. They're asking drivers to avoid the area during the cleanup.

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AQMD: NOT ENOUGH DATA TO PROVE SAFETY OF DEADLY TOXIC CHEMICAL USED AT TORRANCE REFINERY
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid

Southern California's air quality watchdog has become the latest regulatory agency to cast doubt on the safety of a potentially deadly chemical used at the Torrance refinery, concluding there is not enough evidence to dismiss concerns that a toxic cloud could form and kill or injure tens of thousands.

South Coast Air Quality Management District staff members came to what they described as an "initial conclusion" while reviewing data provided by refinery owner PBF Energy via its subsidiary, the Torrance Refining Co.

The agency is exploring whether to create a rule that would phase out the use of hydrofluoric acid, especially in the massive quantities used in Torrance.

A modified form of the acid is used in Torrance and at Valero's Wilmington refinery, the only two in the state that use hydrofluoric acid.

The MHF is supposed to inhibit the formation of the cloud; critics have questioned whether that would actually occur.

Meanwhile, the AQMD also questioned whether existing safety measures are sufficient to prevent a catastrophic HF release of the sort federal officials said almost occurred in February 2015, when a massive explosion ripped through the plant then owned by ExxonMobil.

DATA LACKING

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DRIVER SUFFERS FROM BURNS IN ACID SPILL
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

EAST FARMINGDALE, NY - A driver suffered from minor burns after an acid spill in East Farmingdale on Thursday evening.

The Melville Fire Department was requested to assist the East Farmingdale Fire Department with a hazardous materials incident on Smith Street at 6:35 p.m.

Melville firefighters arrived to find that a vehicle had run over a five-gallon container of Sulfuric Acid that fell from a cesspool truck.

The acid splashed on the driver who was transported to Huntington Hospital by the Melville Rescue Squad for treatments of his burns.

The Hicksville Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team was requested to respond, and their members in Hazmat suits were able to neutralize the acid spill.

---------------------------------------------

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT EXXON'S REFINERY IN ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Tags: Netherlands, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp said on Monday a fire broke out at its refinery in Rotterdam but that there were no injuries and most of the facility remained operational.

The fire erupted in the powerformer unit of the complex and some flaring occurred to reduce pressure, Exxon said, adding it was cooperating with local emergency personnel.

The complex can process about 190,000 barrels per day and the rest of the refining units and a connected chemical plant were still online, Exxon said.

"We regret the incident and any inconvenience caused to the community," Exxon spokeswoman Ellen Ehmen said in an emailed statement.

The fire came the same day that a blaze broke out at a Royal Dutch Shell refinery in the Netherlands. That fire was quickly contained.

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