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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, August 30, 2017 at 7:38:37 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)
EPA WORKS WITH LYNN, MASS. COMPANY TO REDUCE RISK FROM CHEMICALS BY IMPROVING SAFETY MEASURES
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonia
BREAKING: HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL FROM I-65 CRASH FLOWING INTO ESLAVA CREEK, DOG RIVER
Tags: us_AL, transportation, release, environmental, other_chemical
DANIEL CRAIG'S 'LOGAN LUCKY' BOMB IS BASIC HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY
Tags: public, explosion, environmental, bomb
CHEMICAL FACILITIES FACE DANGER DURING HARVEY SHUTDOWNS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, response, carbon_monoxide, peroxide, petroleum, toxics
TEFLON TOWN: PART 2: A SPECIAL VTDIGGER INVESTIGATION
Tags: us_VT, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics
HARVEY'S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: 'UNBEARABLE' CHEMICAL SMELLS
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, petroleum
MASSIVE FIRE BREAKS OUT AT NAIRIT CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: Armenia, industrial, fire, injury, waste
HEIGHTENING AWARENESS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF NANOMATERIALS ON HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT USING A THEORETICAL‰??PRACTICAL APPROACH
Tags: Brazil, laboratory, discovery, environmental, nanotech
REPORT PROVIDES MAP FOR ASSESSING THREATS FROM SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA CAN IMPROVE THEIR PARTNERSHIPS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
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EPA WORKS WITH LYNN, MASS. COMPANY TO REDUCE RISK FROM CHEMICALS BY IMPROVING SAFETY MEASURES
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonia
Boston - A Lynn, Mass. company that uses ammonia in its refrigeration system has come into compliance with federal environmental laws after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found the company was operating in violation of clean air and federal right-to-know laws and putting employees and the public in danger.
Demakes Enterprises of 37 Waterhill St. owns and operates a meat processing, cooking, packaging, and storage facility and sells products, in part, under the "Thin 'n Trim" and "Old Neighborhood" labels. As part of resolving the violations identified by EPA, the company spent about $300,000 on safety upgrades and other measures to come into compliance with the Clean Air Act, as well as the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. In an agreement signed with EPA's New England office, the company also said it would pay a penalty of $132,183 to resolve the violations.
The company violated a part of the Clean Air Act known as the General Duty Clause in its widespread mishandling of anhydrous ammonia. The company violated the right to know law by failing to accurately report the amount of ammonia used in the facility, as well as failing to report sulfuric acid present in the facility.
The General Duty Clause, or Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act, aims to reduce the risk of chemical accidents. Ammonia presents a significant health hazard because it is corrosive to the skin, eyes, and lungs. Ammonia is also flammable at high concentrations. It can explode if released in an enclosed space with a source of ignition, or if a vessel with anhydrous ammonia is exposed to fire. As a result of these dangers, the ammonia refrigeration industry has developed standards and guidelines for the design and operation of ammonia refrigeration systems.
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BREAKING: HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL FROM I-65 CRASH FLOWING INTO ESLAVA CREEK, DOG RIVER
Tags: us_AL, transportation, release, environmental, other_chemical
MOBILE, AL (WKRG) ‰?? Health experts say the chemical that leaked from Interstate 65 into Eslava Creek after a fatal tanker crash in Mobile is hazardous to human life.
Hazmat workers at the scene confirmed to Mobile Baykeeper officials that the chemical is alkenyl succinic anhydride, an alkaline compound commonly used for paper and packaging products. This is contrary to preliminary reports at the scene suggesting the chemical was non-hazardous.
Experts from Mobile Baykeeper did research and found that the chemical is dangerous to anyone who comes in contact with it. It is hazardous through skin contact, eye contact, ingestion or inhalation.
The chemical can cause side effects such as coughing, runny nose, sore throat, skin irritation, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea.
An hour after the tanker crash that claimed the life of a truck driver and caused a traffic nightmare in Mobile, News 5 crews smelled an odor coming from nearby Eslava Creek. A closer look showed the chemical from the crash flowing directly into Eslava Creek.
Eslava Creek doesn‰??t impact our local water supply, but as a tributary to Dog River, it feeds one of the most vital waterways in Mobile County.
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DANIEL CRAIG'S 'LOGAN LUCKY' BOMB IS BASIC HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY
Tags: public, explosion, environmental, bomb
In ‰??Logan Lucky,‰?? an unlikely team of downtrodden protagonists devises a seemingly impossible plan to get rich by robbing an unlikely target: the Charlotte Motor Speedway. In Steven Soderbergh‰??s blue-collar reply to Ocean‰??s Eleven, a team of resourceful West Virginians pools its physical and intellectual resources to attempt this high-stakes heist.
One member of the team is Joe Bang, a bleached-blonde safe-cracker played by Daniel Craig. Soderbergh hilariously stops the action in the middle of the film for Bang to provide an amateur chemistry lesson on the art of bomb-making, which proves to be noticeably less smart than the rest of the film.
Spoilers below for Logan Lucky. Also, this article contains explanations of the chemistry behind a homemade explosive device. Please do not attempt to copy the dangerous stuff you see in a heist movie about country dudes robbing a race track.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FACILITIES FACE DANGER DURING HARVEY SHUTDOWNS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, response, carbon_monoxide, peroxide, petroleum, toxics
Hurricane Harvey's winds and floodwaters have created emergencies at chemical facilities across the Houston area, from an Exxon Mobil roof collapse at its massive Baytown complex to the risk of an explosion at a chemical plant northeast of Houston.
The incidents, which also included a shelter-in-place Monday evening in La Porte from a pipeline leak, reveal how dangerous it can be when a storm of Harvey's magnitude collides with the nation's petrochemical capital. Even the controlled, Harvey-related shutdowns of refineries and plants are resulting in the release of millions of pounds of carbon monoxide and other chemicals into the region's atmosphere - primarily through a process called flaring.
"This is an unprecedented storm, and we have taken every effort to minimize emissions and safely shut down equipment," said Exxon spokeswoman Charlotte Huffaker. "Flaring is an environmentally approved measure to safely burn hydrocarbons that cannot be processed during a unit shutdown. This is necessary so personnel can safely work on the equipment."
Several companies, including Exxon, have reported problems with storage tanks in recent days. In Exxon's case, a roof collapse triggered the release of more than 12,000 pounds of potentially toxic chemical compounds, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
However, Exxon Mobil emphasized the collapse was partial and quickly brought under control. "The tank is now stable, and there are no containment issues," Huffaker added.
Northeast of Houston in Crosby, officials at an Arkema chemical plant are bracing themselves after multiple systems failed due to flooding.
Late Monday night, the facility lost power from both its primary supply and its backup generators. Employees moved highly volatile organic peroxides into back-up containers to keep them cool. If that class of chemical gets too hot, it can cause fires or explosions.
"At this time, while we do not believe there is any imminent danger, the potential for a chemical reaction leading to a fire and/or explosion within the site confines is real," Arkema spokeswoman Janet Smith said on Tuesday.
---------------------------------------------
TEFLON TOWN: PART 2: A SPECIAL VTDIGGER INVESTIGATION
Tags: us_VT, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics
When Vermont regulators learned last year that the former ChemFab factory had polluted hundreds of wells in Bennington with perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, the reaction was swift.
Gov. Peter Shumlin assembled a press conference hours after the findings were released, an investigation was launched, and that same day state authorities began delivering bottled drinking water to affected residents.
The response in 2016 was in dramatic contrast to the company-friendly approach state officials took in the preceding decades when the ChemFab factory emitted the toxic chemicals that polluted those wells.
Former regulators and other state officials say they were under no political pressure to look the other way when ChemFab broke the law and violated the permit for the factory.
But documents released last year by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation show that political leaders instructed state regulators to give ChemFab special consideration. State officials from the time say they were worried about retaining the company‰??s high-paying jobs.
For decades, Vermont officials asked ChemFab to test smokestack emissions to determine whether the company was emitting toxic chemicals in the manufacture of Teflon-coated fabrics. One of those chemicals was PFOA, used to bond the Teflon, or polytetrafluoroethylene, to fiberglass fabric.
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HARVEY'S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: 'UNBEARABLE' CHEMICAL SMELLS
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, petroleum
‰??Unbearable‰?? petrochemical smells are reportedly drifting into Houston.
As historic rainfall and flooding continue to pound America‰??s fourth-most populated city, residents of Houston‰??s industrial fence-line communities are reporting strong gas- and chemical-like smells coming from the many refineries and chemical plants nearby. ‰??I‰??ve been smelling them all night and off and on this morning,‰?? said Bryan Parras, an activist at the grassroots environmental justice group TEJAS. Parras, who lives and works in Houston‰??s East End, on Sunday said some residents are experiencing ‰??headaches, sore throat, scratchy throat, and itchy eyes.‰??
Parras said there are chemical smells in the air all over the East End, but particularly in communities adjacent to Houston‰??s sweeping petrochemical industry. And residents can‰??t escape the smell, because flood waters have overtaken the city, and could reach over four feet in some spots. ‰??Fenceline communities can‰??t leave or evacuate so they are literally getting gassed by these chemicals,‰?? Parras said.
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MASSIVE FIRE BREAKS OUT AT NAIRIT CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: Armenia, industrial, fire, injury, waste
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)‰??More than a hundred firefighters battled a massive fire on Monday inside a Soviet-era chemical plant in Yerevan that has largely stood idle for the last several years.
The fire broke out at the Nairit plant located on the city‰??s southern outskirts in the morning for reasons that were not immediately clear. It engulfed storage tanks filled with combustible chemical waste. Thick black smoke billowed skyward throughout the day, with firefighting crews struggling to contain the blaze which still raged as of 9 pm local time.
The Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations said late in the evening that the fire is now ‰??under the full control of the firefighters‰?? and will not spread to other parts of Nairit.
‰??Nobody was hurt,‰?? the chief of the ministry‰??s Rescue Service, Mushegh Ghazarian, told reporters at the scene earlier in the day. ‰??We are cooling the site to prevent the spread of the fire.‰??
Three firefighters were intoxicated with the smoke and required medical assistance.
Emergency services refrained from evacuating residents of nearby residential areas, insisting that the smoke emitted by the burning waste is not hazardous. Ghazarian said only that they should keep their windows closed.
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HEIGHTENING AWARENESS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF NANOMATERIALS ON HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT USING A THEORETICAL‰??PRACTICAL APPROACH
Tags: Brazil, laboratory, discovery, environmental, nanotech
Rapid growth in nanoscience and nanotechnology in recent years has been accompanied by studies of the toxicity and potential impacts of nanomaterials on human health and the environment, but less has been done concerning education in this area. There is therefore a need for courses that address this theme at universities worldwide, in order to improve the training of students, stimulate research in this area, and make information available to the wider population. The present work proposes a model for a theoretical and practical course for graduate students, introducing basic concepts of nanotechnology, methods for the characterization of nanomaterials, environmental applications, and potential toxic effects of nanomaterials in the environment. The course includes five theoretical and practical topics: (i) nanomaterials characterization, (ii) practical approaches, (iii) environmental applications, (iv) nanomaterials toxicity, and (v) integrated studies. These are designed to!
provide the students with a clear understanding of nanoscience and nanotechnology, addressing the main aspects of toxicity of nanomaterials, their correlations with physicochemical properties, and potential solutions for environmental problems. The teaching model was delivered to Master‰??s and Ph.D. students in a graduate program in Brazil, with highly satisfactory results.
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REPORT PROVIDES MAP FOR ASSESSING THREATS FROM SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Most biotechnology applications are being pursued for legitimate purposes that could benefit human health, the environment, or the economy, but various reports have reached different conclusions about the potential for people to use such techniques to intentionally cause harm. To better understand how much of a threat biotechnology, especially synthetic biology, poses to human health, the U.S. Department of Defense commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine to investigate potential security vulnerabilities related to manipulating biological functions, systems, or microorganisms. In an interim report released on Aug. 21, the committee provides a framework for examining possible security concerns related to synthetic biology in the near, medium, and long terms. The framework also provides options for mitigating such concerns. The committee is accepting input on the framework until Sept. 5. Once it finalizes the framework, the committee plans to!
use it to assess the security threats posed by synthetic biology. Those threats and options to address them will be the subject of a future report.
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INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA CAN IMPROVE THEIR PARTNERSHIPS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
Cultural differences between academic and industrial researchers are increasingly straining scientific collaborations, but those partnerships are essential to the health of the research enterprise. A commentary in Science suggests ways to improve those relationships (2017, DOI: 10.1126/science.aan4906). The heart of the problem is a fear by industry that academic research is not reproducible, according to the multiauthor commentary, which is the result of an American Association for the Advancement of Science workshop. ‰??Irreproducible research wastes time, money, and resources. Academic researchers, universities, and other institutions, industry, funding agencies, and [journal] editors all have a role to play in raising research standards and creating an environment of trust between communities,‰?? said the authors, who laid out suggestions for those players to help improve reproducibility. The commentary also outlines questions industrial and academic partners should ask !
when they form a partnership. They should decide up front what proprietary data can be shared and in what format, for example. They should also determine what will happen with the academic partner‰??s research and data after the collaboration ends.
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