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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, October 16, 2017 at 3:26:08 PM
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 (16 articles)
OIL RIG EXPLODES IN LOUISIANA LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, INJURING 5 CRITICALLY
Tags: us_la, industrial, explosion, injuries, petroleum
OUTRAGE, CALLS FOR HEALTH STUDY AFTER CHEMICAL VALLEY SPILLS INVESTIGATION
Tags: canada, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
CHEMICAL EXPLOSION SENDS TAUNTON MAN TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_ma, public, explosion, injury, cleaners
TWO U.S. STATES BAN FLAME RETARDANTS IN FURNITURE, SAN FRANCISCO MAY DO THE SAME
Tags: us, discovery, public, environmental, toxics
CALIF. WILDFIRE SMOKE SPEWS DANGEROUS TOXINS
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental
OILFIELD ACCIDENT FORCES CLOSURE OF OLD HWY 7 IN STEPHENS COUNTY
Tags: us_OK, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
TOXIC CHEMICAL FOAM PLUME FOUND AT NATIONAL GUARD BASE IN ALPENA
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, response, toxics
GROUPS OPPOSE REDUCTION IN BAYER PAYMENT FOR FATAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental
MOURE-ERASO: CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS CAN BE PREVENTED
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate, peroxide
DOZENS LINE UP TO RECEIVE FREE MOLD-KILLING CHEMICALS AT BEVIL OAKS CHURCH
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
TOXIC CHEMICAL TESTING FOR WA FIREFIGHTERS YAHOO7 NEWS
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, injury, other_chemical, toxics
FEAR OVER VOTE TO BAN WEEDKILLER CHEMICAL
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY DEPARTMENT: MORE THAN JUST REGULATIONS
Tags: us_KS, public, discovery, environmental
CHEMICAL SMELL AT LOOP BUILDING SENDS 6 PEOPLE TO HOSPITALS
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, other_chemical
BREAKING: STUDENTS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT MISHAWAKA SCHOOL
Tags: us_IN, education, release, response, unknown_chemical
INORGANICS REG NEG COMMITTEE DISSOLVED; EPA STILL SEEKING PUBLIC INPUT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
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OIL RIG EXPLODES IN LOUISIANA LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, INJURING 5 CRITICALLY
Tags: us_la, industrial, explosion, injuries, petroleum
An oil rig exploded on a Louisiana lake Sunday night, injuring seven people, five of them critically, while another person remained unaccounted, authorities said.
The explosion on Lake Pontchartrain was reported at 7:18 p.m. (8:18 p.m. ET) about 1å1Ú2 miles from shore, authorities said at a briefing late Sunday. Rescue efforts were still underway, they said.
Authorities respond to an oil rig explosion in Lake Pontchartrain, off Kenner, La., on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. Matthew Hinton / The Advocate via AP
The cause remained unknown, and authorities said it was too soon to tell whether any oil had spilled. Ben Zahn, the mayor of nearby Kenner, said no homes were threatened.
Mike Guillot, director of emergency services at East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, said that five patients were in critical condition at University Medical Center and that two others were listed as stable at East Jefferson. All suffered blast-type injuries and burns, he said.
The Coast Guard said it was coordinating search efforts for a missing man.
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OUTRAGE, CALLS FOR HEALTH STUDY AFTER CHEMICAL VALLEY SPILLS INVESTIGATION
Tags: canada, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
A chorus of outraged Ontarians ‰?? ranging from to the province‰??s environment watchdog to the First Nations community living in the shadows of industrial smokestacks ‰?? called for a health study Sunday in the aftermath of an investigation revealing a pattern of potentially dangerous leaks in Sarnia‰??s Chemical Valley.
Ontario environmental commissioner Dianne Saxe said the situation in the area ‰?? home to Canada‰??s highest concentration of petrochemical plants ‰?? is ‰??shameful.‰??
‰??It is clear to me that this situation is outrageous and it needs immediate attention,‰?? Saxe said, adding that there needs to be better air monitoring by industry and the province.
‰??First Nations communities disproportionately bear the burden of pollution across Ontario and that needs to change.‰??
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CHEMICAL EXPLOSION SENDS TAUNTON MAN TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_ma, public, explosion, injury, cleaners
TAUNTON, Mass. ‰?? A chemical explosion sent a Taunton man to the hospital with serious injuries Sunday evening.
Firefighters say the man was washing his back deck on Pine Street, when he mixed two cleaning products together into a spray bottle that should not have been paired up. "It was just two of the wrong ones,‰?? explained Capt. Keith Hartung. "The container that he was mixing them in exploded [and] gave him some pretty severe injuries."
The man was conscious when rescuers rushed him to the hospital with serious abdominal injuries.
Hazmat crews responded to the scene to evaluate the chemicals, eventually deeming the area safe. There was no fire from the explosion and no damage to the porch.
Hartung offered a common sense warning to residents: "Don't mix two chemicals if you don't know what they are."
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TWO U.S. STATES BAN FLAME RETARDANTS IN FURNITURE, SAN FRANCISCO MAY DO THE SAME
Tags: us, discovery, public, environmental, toxics
Rhode Island and Maine are halting the sale of new upholstered furniture containing flame retardants, and San Francisco may follow suit. Under legislation enacted earlier this month, Rhode Island is banning the sale of new furniture and bedding that contain organohalogen flame retardants as of July 1, 2019. Some organohalogen flame retardants have been linked to health problems, including cancer, reproductive and developmental effects, and hormone disruption, in animal studies. In August, Maine‰??s legislature overrode the governor‰??s veto and enacted a more sweeping ban than Rhode Island. That law, as of January 2018, prohibits the sale in Maine of new upholstered furniture containing any kind of flame retardant chemicals. Meanwhile, the city of San Francisco is considering a ban on flame retardants in upholstered furniture and children‰??s products such as nap mats. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission last month agreed to prohibit organohalogen flame retardants in!
infant and toddler items, residential furniture, mattresses and mattress pads, and outer casings on electronics. However, the agency has not started the official process for turning this plan into regulation.
---------------------------------------------
CALIF. WILDFIRE SMOKE SPEWS DANGEROUS TOXINS
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental
NAPA, Calif. ‰?? The air quality in much of the Bay Area this week has at times been comparable to ‰?? or even worse than ‰??Beijing, one of the most notoriously polluted cities in the world, as smoke from the Wine Country wildfires drifts south and settles over the region.
Smoke-choked residents wore masks while biking or walking to work, and even on BART trains and inside offices. Schools kept restless students indoors all day, or canceled classes altogether. A hundred miles from the fires, people showed up in emergency rooms saying they were having trouble breathing.
The brown-hued sunlight, ash falling like snow, and a persistent campfire smell are the obvious signs of heavy pollution. But more concerning are the invisible, noxious particulates carried in the smoke. These microscopic particles are easily inhaled and can make their way deep into the lungs, causing damage to the delicate tissue.
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OILFIELD ACCIDENT FORCES CLOSURE OF OLD HWY 7 IN STEPHENS COUNTY
Tags: us_OK, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
Hazmat crews are working a gas leak that closed down about 4 1/2 miles of Old Highway 7 in Stephens County overnight.
At 4 a.m. Saturday, the Stephens County Sheriff‰??s Office said the highway was closed due to an oilfield accident.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says all lanes are closed from just west of Ratliff City to just west of Velma. The lanes have since been opened.
‰??Specialists are on-site evaluating the situation but it is still unknown how long this area will be affected,‰?? the Sheriff's Office said.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC CHEMICAL FOAM PLUME FOUND AT NATIONAL GUARD BASE IN ALPENA
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, response, toxics
ALPENA, MI -- Unsafe levels of toxic chemicals from old firefighting foam use have contaminated the groundwater at the Michigan Air National Guard base in Alpena County.
Five test wells have tested positive for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances called PFAS, (also called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs), a class of chemicals which are also contaminating groundwater near Marquette, Grayling, Oscoda and Plainfield Township.
According to local public health officials, the concentration of two PFAS compounds reached about 80,000 parts-per-trillion at one location, which is about 1,140 times higher than a federal health advisory level for those chemicals in drinking water.
---------------------------------------------
GROUPS OPPOSE REDUCTION IN BAYER PAYMENT FOR FATAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental
Citizens groups, environmentalists and civil rights organizations have teamed up to oppose a Trump administration effort to significantly reduce the amount of money Bayer CropScience has to pay to resolve serious safety violations related to an August 2008 explosion that killed two Institute plant workers.
Last week, People Concerned About Chemical Safety, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Charleston branch of the NAACP wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice about an administration effort to cut Bayer‰??s payments under a federal settlement with the DOJ and the Environmental Protection Agency by nearly $1.4 million.
In a seven-page letter, Pam Nixon, of People Concerned, and Vivian Wang, of the NRDC, objected to the DOJ-EPA proposal, which would replace improvements in the Bayer plant‰??s wastewater treatment system ‰?? aimed at curbing chemical discharges into the Kanawha River ‰?? with a ‰??far less costly‰?? program that involves buying emergency response equipment for two local volunteer fire departments.
---------------------------------------------
MOURE-ERASO: CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS CAN BE PREVENTED
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate, peroxide
Hurricane Harvey has reminded us that much of America's chemical infrastructure is in serious peril. The fires and explosions at the Arkema peroxide plant in Crosby, which sickened first responders and terrified the surrounding community, illustrate what happens when industry is allowed to operate for decades without effective safety oversight.
Arkema capitalized on the weakness of the current regulatory system, even as the company lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency to keep those rules unchanged. The current rules largely omit coverage for reactive chemicals like Arkema's peroxides - just as those rules still do not cover the fertilizer ammonium nitrate that detonated and leveled much of West, Texas in April 2013, killing 15 people.
Arkema filed its federally required risk management plans but did far too little to reduce the actual danger from an obvious and acknowledged hazard - the loss of power to the refrigeration systems needed to keep its highly reactive organic peroxides from decomposing explosively.
This highlights a fatal design weakness in current rules. Companies can substantively comply with the rules by generating paperwork showing that they have analyzed their chemical risks and possible worst-case scenarios. But these companies are under no obligation to actually reduce these risks to the lowest practicable levels by applying safer technologies and utilizing the most up-to-date industry best practices.
---------------------------------------------
DOZENS LINE UP TO RECEIVE FREE MOLD-KILLING CHEMICALS AT BEVIL OAKS CHURCH
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
BEVIL OAKS - As thousands of homes are in the rebuilding stage after Tropical Storm Harvey, concern over mold in homes is growing.
One group is erasing that concern by providing free chemicals to help destroy mold in homes.
John Wilson picked up five gallons of the chemical today at First Baptist Church in Bevil Oaks.
"Cleanliness and sanitation is a big issue when your home floods, and this stuff is really going to help. It makes you feel like it's going to be safe to be back in your home," Wilson said.
Jeepers 4 Jesus member Scot Shaffer says he‰??s humbled that he‰??s helped nearly 7,000 homeowners in Southeast Texas.
"It's definitely critical, I'm no expert by any means, and I tell every person that comes through here I'm not the expert, I'm just the tool handing something out, that's basically it," Shaffer said.
The chemical, called Virex II, works as a bactericidal, virucidal, mildewcidal, and a deodorizer, according to the E.P.A.
The group raised funds to buy up to 30,000 gallons of the chemical, according to Shaffer.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC CHEMICAL TESTING FOR WA FIREFIGHTERS YAHOO7 NEWS
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, injury, other_chemical, toxics
West Australian firefighters will be offered blood tests to check for chemicals which may increase the risk of cancer.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has confirmed it will be offering current and former firefighters testing for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), previously used in firefighting foam.
Some studies have PFAS linked to issues with development, fertility, the immune system and an increased risk of developing cancer.
United Firefighters Union of WA secretary Lea Anderson says the union hopes the government will adopt the "world class" Queensland model of testing which offers voluntary testing and counselling on results.
The union is currently in negotiations with the WA government over access to medical data.
"Only firefighters should have access to their personal test results, the government can then take group results and form a kind of baseline," Ms Anderson said.
Firefighters employed by the DFES on contract from private companies such as Broadwater should also be offered testing, she said.
She warned those employed on mine sites or as fire safety officers for companies could also have been exposed to the toxic chemical.
---------------------------------------------
FEAR OVER VOTE TO BAN WEEDKILLER CHEMICAL
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
GARDNENERS could soon be forced to weed their gardens by hand if Brussels bureaucrats ban a chemical found in the biggest selling weed-killers.
Farming output could fall by nearly å£1 billion and councils would need to find an additional å£228 million to tackle weeds if glyphosate is outlawed by the EU, experts predict.
For more than 40 years glyphosate has been the key component of weedkillers such as Roundup which tackle menaces including knotweed, hogweed, bindweed and black grass.
But over recent years a campaign by the green lobby to get it banned has gathered strength, despite it being certified as safe by numerous chemical and food safety agencies.
The European Commission‰??s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed is due to vote on October 23 whether to renew glyphosate‰??s licence. It has backing from France and a number of other member states.
Experts fear the committee will back a ban and, with no other viable alternative to glysophate available, researchers predict a huge financial impact if a ban comes into force.
---------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY DEPARTMENT: MORE THAN JUST REGULATIONS
Tags: us_KS, public, discovery, environmental
From maintaining proper laboratory signage to environmental emissions standards, the Environmental Health and Safety Department at Kansas State has a wide variety of duties to keep students safe on a daily basis and ensure K-State is meeting required environmental standards.
‰??The first and most important reason is for the safety of our campus, employees, our students and visitors to campus,‰?? Christina Aguilera, director of EHS, said. ‰??Also, the environmental health of the surrounding community [is important] as well, to ensure we‰??re being good stewards of our environmental resources.‰??
EHS is even responsible for food standards at bake sales and other student functions, Aguilera said.
‰??Whenever someone is doing a food event on campus, if they‰??re preparing even something as simple as a bake sale, we have a sanitation officer that those materials need to be reviewed by,‰?? Aguilera said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SMELL AT LOOP BUILDING SENDS 6 PEOPLE TO HOSPITALS
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, other_chemical
At least six people were taken to hospitals because of a chemical smell at a building in the Loop, authorities said.
Firefighters were called to the building at 77 W. Wacker Drive around 10:30 a.m. after chemicals mixed for cleaning purposes gave off sickening fumes, officials said.
Six people were transported from the scene in fair to serious condition, fire officials said. At least two of them were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
One person at the scene refused medical treatment.
---------------------------------------------
BREAKING: STUDENTS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT MISHAWAKA SCHOOL
Tags: us_IN, education, release, response, unknown_chemical
MISHAWAKA ‰?? One Penn-Harris-Madison elementary school may not open Monday because of a hazmat situation that shut down the school.
Students had to be evacuated this afternoon after a mysterious gas odor was reported.
South Bend Fire Department did tell school officials that the building is safe, but the school is taking extra precautions before classes can resume.
This all happened around 1 p.m. this afternoon at Walt Disney Elementary in Mishawaka.
Despite the scare, the principal tells WSBT the evacuation went smoothly.
When the Mishawaka Fire Department first went in to the building, firefighters came out complaining of a skin irritation.
By that time the kids were safely out and on their way home.
"Our teachers we do regular drills and so we were able to have all students out of the building very timely and account for every student,‰?? said Ryan Towner, Walt Disney Elementary Principal.
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INORGANICS REG NEG COMMITTEE DISSOLVED; EPA STILL SEEKING PUBLIC INPUT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
On October 12, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register announcing the cancellation of the fourth meeting of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee for Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements for inorganic byproducts (Reg Neg Committee) scheduled for October 25-26, 2017. 82 Fed. Reg. 47423.
During their September 13-14, 2017, meeting, the members of the Reg Neg Committee concluded that further dialogue within the Committee context would be unproductive, and that the fourth meeting was not necessary. EPA is, however, still providing the public an opportunity to weigh in on the legislative directive to reduce the CDR reporting burden for inorganic substances that are recycled, while maintaining EPA‰??s access to exposure information needed for risk assessment purposes. The notice states that the Reg Neg Committee docket will remain open until December 11, 2017, to allow for public comment.
The Reg Neg Committee was established to respond to the legislative mandate under Section 8(a)(6)(A) of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which states:
The [EPA] Administrator shall enter into a negotiated rulemaking ‰?| to develop and publish ‰?| a proposed rule providing for limiting the reporting requirements, under this subsection, for manufacturers of any inorganic byproducts, when such byproducts, whether by the byproduct manufacturer or by any other person, are subsequently recycled, reused, or reprocessed.
During the first set of Reg Neg Committee meetings, EPA stressed its desire to implement the outcome of the Reg Neg Committee work during the next CDR reporting cycle in 2020. To achieve this timeline, the Committee would need to reach a consensus on an approach or approaches by the October 2017 meetings. While several different stakeholder organizations offered proposals for consideration, it became clear to Committee members during the September 14-15, 2017, meeting that those proposals would not have consensus support because they either required considerable further refinement and discussion beyond the October 2017 timeframe; did not provide EPA with appropriate exposure information needed for risk assessment; or did not adequately achieve the mandated goal of limiting reporting requirements.
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