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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 (5 articles)
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2017 07:40:03 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 53256E28-0F6D-41C2-ACC8-D318231B20F2**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, September 15, 2017 at 7:39:48 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)
FIRE ALARM CAUSES EVACUATION OF CSU LAB
Tags: us_co, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL SAFETY POST-TRUMP?
Tags: Europe, discovery, enviromental
FIRE INVESTIGATORS STILL SEARCHING FOR WHAT CAUSED CHEMICAL FIRE AT LEE‰??S SUMMIT PLANT
Tags: us_mo, industrial, fire, follow-up
COAL MINE EXPLOSION KILLS NINE WORKERS IN NORTHERN CHINA: XINHUA
Tags: china, industrial, explosion, deaths
CLEARWATER PAPER BUILDING FOLLOWING CHEMICAL ALARM
Tags: us_id, industrial, release, response, chlorine
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FIRE ALARM CAUSES EVACUATION OF CSU LAB
Tags: us_co, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Update, Sept. 14: A Poudre Fire Authority investigator was unable to determine the cause of the fire. A sprinkler system in the building served to control the fire until firefighters could extinguish it.
Original story: Fire crews donned oxygen masks and protective gear as they entered a Colorado State University laboratory after a fire alarm forced the evacuation of the foothills campus building around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Crews from Poudre Fire Authority, UCHealth and the CSU Police Department responded to the alarm at the Advanced Beam Laboratory.
PFA spokesman Chris Wolf said there was a small fire in a piece of equipment, and a fire investigator will work to determine cause, a process he said could last until later this week.
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CHEMICAL SAFETY POST-TRUMP?
Tags: Europe, discovery, enviromental
Things are changing in the US with talk of 30 % cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). What does that mean for chemicals and the US-Europe cooperation? We met with Jim Jones, the former Assistant Administrator for Chemical Safety at the US EPA, to discuss the political changes in the US, the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the future for chemical safety.
The TSCA reform in summer 2016 ‰?? its first for nearly 40 years ‰?? was supported by both the Republicans and Democrats. The new law says that the government is obliged to examine chemicals in priority order according to strict deadlines and clear safety standards. This makes the law stronger and more efficient than the previous version. ‰??If the basic principles of the law are not met, the government can and will be challenged in court. If it hasn‰??t taken care of its duties as the law states, it will lose, because the deadlines are really quite clear,‰?? Mr Jones explains.
But a lot has happened in US politics and leadership since the new law was passed. According to Mr Jones, the changes are likely to have an impact on its implementation. ‰??If you listen to the rhetoric of the Trump administration, they are not interested in regulating. But under TSCA, you are required to regulate if you find a chemical that doesn‰??t meet the safety standards. So, it will be interesting to see how they manage that reality when their aspirations run counter to what is required by law‰??.
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FIRE INVESTIGATORS STILL SEARCHING FOR WHAT CAUSED CHEMICAL FIRE AT LEE‰??S SUMMIT PLANT
Tags: us_mo, industrial, fire, follow-up
LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- Investigators are trying to determine what caused a chemical fire at a plant here Wednesday.
Witnesses reported the fire at C.K. Enterprises on Southwest Jefferson Street just after 8 a.m.
Workers at the plant may have been transferring a flammable liquid from an outside storage tank when the fire started.
Flames quickly consumed that tank, sending thick, black smoke up into the sky that could be seen for miles around.
The owner of the plant, Charlie Kunkel, did not want to appear on camera but told FOX 4 that about 60 workers all escaped the building safely by the time firefighters arrived.
Kunkel says one worker did suffer burns to his arm. Paramedics took him to the hospital for treatment.
Firefighters say anytime you're dealing with chemicals, they must take some extra precautions.
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COAL MINE EXPLOSION KILLS NINE WORKERS IN NORTHERN CHINA: XINHUA
Tags: china, industrial, explosion, deaths
BEIJING (Reuters) - An explosion late on Wednesday at a small coal mine in China‰??s northern province of Heilongjiang killed nine workers, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at the Yuchen coal mine, which has 60,000 tonnes of annual production capacity, located in the city of Jixi.
The latest accident follows an announcement by China‰??s State Council on Aug. 31 to launch a new round of safety checks at coal mines and chemical plants starting in September after injuries during an incident at a state-owned coal mine in August.
China‰??s coal output in August fell to a 10-month low, data from the National Statistics Bureau showed on Thursday, suggesting mines have reduced production in the wake of major accidents.
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CLEARWATER PAPER BUILDING FOLLOWING CHEMICAL ALARM
Tags: us_id, industrial, release, response, chlorine
LEWISTON, ID - UPDATED story: Approximately 400 Clearwater Paper employees and contractors were evacuated this morning after a chemical alarm sounded. The company's Matt Van Vleet says the incident happened at about 8:50 a.m in the paperboard building.
"The evacuation was done very well, the employees got to their areas, the head counts were done, and most importantly nobody was injured," Van Vleet says, adding that safety was their #1 priority.
Van Vleet says there was no explosion. An investigation found that a valve for two chemicals was opened and they combined, creating a reaction. He identified the agents as ammonia and sodium hypochlorite. The latter is a chlorine compound and is the main ingredient in bleach.
"In the paperboard making process, we use two anti-bacterial agents to basically keep the paperboard clean - bacteria-free - and that's applied on the machines as we make the paperboard. During the shutdown, we were doing maintenance on the digital control system that meters those two agents," Van Vleet says. "When they were working on the device, a valve was opened and too much of the agents combined and created a reaction."
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