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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 7:34:04 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 (19 articles)
BARRELS OF MYSTERY WASTE HAVE NEIGHBORS CONCERNED
Tags: us_TN, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS MONITORING AIR QUALITY LEVELS AFTER LEAK AT CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, plastics
FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE POTENTIALLY FATAL GAS AT HEALTH CENTRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, response, gas_cylinders, nitrogen
LARAMIE LANDFILL FIRE RE-EVALUATION EFFORTS ‰?? THE UW STUDENT NEWSPAPER ONLINE
Tags: us_WY, industrial, fire, response, waste
FIRE IN NORTH ASHEBORO QUICKLY CONTAINED
Tags: us_NC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CAUSE OF CHEMICAL INFERNO ON I-495 PROBED BY OFFICIALS
Tags: us_MA, transportation, follow-up, response, ag_chems, pesticides, radiation, solvent, sulfuric_acid
NORWEGIAN STUDY FINDS HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN HOUSE DUST
Tags: Norway, public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, dust, pesticides, solvent
HOLLISTON HIGH EVACUATED, DISMISSED AFTER SCIENCE DEMO
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL LEAK AT HOPEWELL PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
THIS TALK EXPLORES HOW TECH HELPS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS
Tags: us_MD, industrial, follow-up, response
LARGE FIRE AT RADIOLOGY LABORATORY EXTINGUISHED
Tags: Lebanon, laboratory, fire, response, helium
EXTERMINATOR AND OLDER BROTHER ACCIDENTALLY POISONED AT HOME
Tags: belize, public, release, death, pesticide
BOY HOSPITALIZED AFTER INGESTING LIQUID BELIEVED TO BE RICIN
Tags: us_tx, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
GAS LEAK EVACUATIONS LIFTED IN VENICE
Tags: us_ca, public, release, response, natural_gas
NOBODY INJURED IN COVANCE LAB FIRE, MADISON FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Tags: us_wi, laboratory, fire, response, flammable
25 STUDENTS SENT TO HOSPITALS OVER KITCHEN CHEMICAL FUMES
Tags: us_ma, education, release, injuries, cleaning_chemicals
HAZARDOUS WASTE FIRE IN TRACTOR-TRAILER THROWS I-495 COMMUTE INTO DISARRAY
Tags: us_ma, transportation, fire, response, waste
KBTX ANCHOR BURNED BY EXPLODING WAX FIRE SHARES SAFETY TIPS, REMINDERS
Tags: us_tx, public, fire, injury, follow-up, wax
FORMER MANAGER SENTENCED IN 2014 BLAST AT SANTA CLARA WASTE WATER CO. FACILITY
Tags: us_ca, industrial, follow-up, illegal, peroxides
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BARRELS OF MYSTERY WASTE HAVE NEIGHBORS CONCERNED
Tags: us_TN, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
MEMPHIS, Tenn.-- Homeowners are getting answers after a potentially toxic solution was dumped near a south east Shelby County neighborhood.
The barrels have been near a subdivision on what appears to be public property for months. One concerned citizen says he‰??s reached out multiple times for help but no one has cleaned up the mess, and the site is almost scary.
Large black barrels are on a small plot of land that backs up to a drainage ditch feet from the homes in the Ragan Farms subdivision off Crumpler.
The barrels sit below a sign‰??clearly stating ‰??No Dumping.‰??
The warning did not deter litter bugs.
The thought of what could be in these barrels is making residents uneasy.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS MONITORING AIR QUALITY LEVELS AFTER LEAK AT CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, plastics
HARRISBURG, N.C. - Hazmat crews are monitoring air quality levels in Cabarrus County following a chemical leak overnight in Harrisburg.
Officials told Channel 9 the leak is secure but crews are still monitoring the air in the area. Other crews are trying to determine how much of the chemical leaked and how they'll clean it up.
The leak happened just before midnight at Mallard Creek Polymers transfer site on Mulberry Road.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE POTENTIALLY FATAL GAS AT HEALTH CENTRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, response, gas_cylinders, nitrogen
Firefighters wearing breathing masks spent two hours fixing a potentially fatal nitrogen gas leak inside the Inverness Centre for Health Science.
The gas ‰?? toxic if leaked extensively and in an enclosed area ‰?? came from a cylinder in a chemical lab occupied by the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
It happened just five weeks after Princess Anne visited students at the Highlands and Islands Enterprise-owned building on Old Perth Road, in her role as UHI chancellor.
Professor Iain Baikie, who has expertise in chemistry and physics and founded Wick-based KP Technology, said: ‰??Any gas leak is bad, a spontaneous one even more so as this might leak for a long time. If nitrogen gas leaks into an enclosed and unventilated space it is dangerous.
‰??A high pressure gas leak requires immediate attention and it is very serious. There is a potential for serious injury or even fatal injury.
---------------------------------------------
LARAMIE LANDFILL FIRE RE-EVALUATION EFFORTS ‰?? THE UW STUDENT NEWSPAPER ONLINE
Tags: us_WY, industrial, fire, response, waste
The Laramie Landfill fire that ignited last Wednesday evening, spread over one and a half acres of green waste piled 8 feet high, engulfing the town in the smell of toxic fumes and is being re-evaluated today by the Laramie Fire Department in order to determine the source of the fire.
University of Wyoming Senior in Geology, Connor Elbert, reacted to the fire, said, ‰??It smelled like burning organic material and I was surprised by the intensity of the aroma.‰??
Laramie Landfill Supervisor, JR Slingerland, described the efforts in managing the still smoldering pile of material, containing tree and lawn trimmings, manure from ranches and other kinds of green waste, as ‰??a continuous strategy.‰??
Heavy equipment operators are separating non-burned piles from the largest portion of the site and increasing the burn rate by continuing to stir the pile.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE IN NORTH ASHEBORO QUICKLY CONTAINED
Tags: us_NC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
ASHEBORO ‰?? Sawdust and chemical products caught fire, threatening property at Covanta Environmental Solutions on Tuesday afternoon.
The call came into Asheboro Fire Department‰??s Station 2 at 2:28 p.m. In addition to Station 2, stations 1 and 5 responded to the scene at 2503 N. Fayetteville St.
The fire began in a pit containing sawdust and other materials, some of which were chemical products.
‰??It was burning out of control,‰?? Station 2 Captain Frankie Kelly said. ‰??It was coming out of the pit and extending toward the structure.‰??
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to contain the fire with a foam and water solution. Kelly said that based on the information provided at the scene, there were no hazardous materials involved in the incident.
Responders remained on site for about two hours.
Efforts to contact a representative of Covanta were unsuccessful on Tuesday evening.
---------------------------------------------
CAUSE OF CHEMICAL INFERNO ON I-495 PROBED BY OFFICIALS
Tags: us_MA, transportation, follow-up, response, ag_chems, pesticides, radiation, solvent, sulfuric_acid
The tractor-trailer that caught fire Monday ‰?? paralyzing Interstate 495 for hours ‰?? had a ‰??cornucopia‰?? of hazardous materials onboard, including sulfuric acid, cleaning supplies and pesticides, according to officials, who are now probing how the volatile materials were secured before the truck burst into flames.
State environmental officials also returned to the scene in Andover yesterday to look for any ‰??possible environmental impacts‰?? after the fire burned through the truck‰??s trailer, completely shutting the highway for seven hours during the evening commute.
‰??It was a cornucopia of different types of hazardous materials,‰?? said Andover fire chief Michael Mansfield, adding that the 50-gallon drums included paint, thinners, and pesticides. A state police spokesman said sulfuric acid and other cleaning supplies were also on the truck.
‰??Anything from any hazard group you can imagine was onboard, with the exception of radioactive materials,‰?? Mansfield said. ‰??There obviously was some sort of reaction to create the heat within the trailer itself.‰??
State police are still investigating what specifically started the fire, and how the chemicals ‰??were stored and secured,‰?? spokesman David Procopio said. No one was injured.
The driver was not cited, and Procopio said state police performed a ‰??visual inspection‰?? of the truck and the driver‰??s records, finding no immediate ‰??violations of federal motor carrier law.‰??
State officials did not immediately release a copy of the truck‰??s manifest yesterday.
---------------------------------------------
NORWEGIAN STUDY FINDS HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN HOUSE DUST
Tags: Norway, public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, dust, pesticides, solvent
A 2016 screening study of compounds in the environment carried out in Norway, has found that samples of house dust gave the most positive results for the chemicals it was looking for.
Furthermore, the Norwegian Environment Directorate research concluded that house dust and indoor air can serve as an early warning tool, because they are closely connected to the original product that caused them and they can reflect its composition.
The study looked at the occurrence of selected solvents, siloxanes, flame retardants, bisphenols and other PBT compounds in:
effluents;
sewage sludge;
surface water;
sediments;
house dust;
indoor air; and
biota.
With the exception of pesticides and some purely industrial chemicals, the study noted, most of the detected chemicals are either part of products used in an indoor environment or are easily transported into houses.
The chemicals were selected for screening because of their potential harm to the environment and relevance to EU regulation.
---------------------------------------------
HOLLISTON HIGH EVACUATED, DISMISSED AFTER SCIENCE DEMO
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HOLLISTON - A chemistry demonstration gone awry saw students evacuated from the high school Tuesday morning.
‰??In one of our chemistry labs, a chemistry teacher was doing a demonstration that involved flame,‰?? School Superintendent Bradford Jackson said, ‰??and that demonstration triggered one of the sprinkler heads to release.‰??
The sprinkler system going off set the school into an automatic evacuation, Jackson said. A few minutes later, officials estimate, the water got into ‰??a small amount‰?? of a chemical set aside for the second part of the demonstration. That chemical, which Jackson wasn‰??t able to immediately identify Tuesday afternoon, released a similarly ‰??small amount‰?? of gas as a reaction to the water, he said.
Students and staff had already evacuated, Jackson said, and no one was hurt, according to the fire department, but a state hazardous materials team was called in to test and ventilate the building. By 11:15 a.m., the administration determined that the process of testing and clearing classrooms would take too long to reasonably wait out, and dismissed students at 12:15 p.m. Students waited out the time in the field house, Jackson said, which had been cleared already.
After school activities are also canceled.
Students were not originally allowed to bring home their belongings, as the classrooms were off-limits. Fire department and school staff collected student items from classrooms, however, and brought them into the cafeteria, where students could pick them up after 2 p.m.
Jackson said damage was limited to the science lab where the demonstration took place and a classroom next to it. Use of the classrooms will likely pend a test for mold and other possible air quality issues.
‰??There will be school tomorrow at the high school, at normal hours,‰?? Jackson said.
The incident was reported as a chemical spill on the Holliston Fire Department Facebook page, but Jackson said it was not a spill.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL LEAK AT HOPEWELL PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
HOPEWELL, VA (WWBT) -
The Hopewell Fire Department‰??s Hazmat team is monitoring a chemical leak at the Aqualon Division plant on Hercules Road.
The call came in around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. Officials say the chemical is Ethylene Chloride, and the smell is throughout the plant. The vapors are contained to the building, and there is no threat to the public.
No one was injured by the leak. HazMat crews are going inside to run further tests before they turn it back over to plant officials.
---------------------------------------------
THIS TALK EXPLORES HOW TECH HELPS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS
Tags: us_MD, industrial, follow-up, response
Thanks to an emergency text alert, word quickly spread on Sept. 18 about an ‰??acid cloud‰?? in Curtis Bay. There was a recommendation to shelter-in-place for a large part of South Baltimore as crews responded to a leak at a chemical plant. After two hours, the order was lifted, and most lives proceeded as normal.
However, that wasn‰??t the end of the response.
There‰??s lots more that goes into the investigation of such an incident. On Nov. 8 at Spark Baltimore, a talk organized by Baltimore Women in Tech will delve into efforts to get to the root cause, and take steps to prevent future emergencies.
Manuel Ehrlich, a member of the U.S. Chemical Safety Hazard and Investigation Board, will talk about investigating industrial chemical accidents. It‰??s called ‰??Using Tech to Investigate Chemical Explosions: Knowing What You Don‰??t Know.‰?? Along with info on how the federal body goes about its work, there will also be ‰??digital reenactments‰?? of such incidents. The board‰??s work has included investigations of the 2010 BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion in 2013.
---------------------------------------------
LARGE FIRE AT RADIOLOGY LABORATORY EXTINGUISHED
Tags: Lebanon, laboratory, fire, response, helium
BEIRUT: Firefighters managed to control a fire at a medical facility in Beirut‰??s Hamra, a Beirut Municipality statement reported.
Firefighters rushed to the Doctors‰?? Center, a radiology center and laboratory near the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Hamra in the early hours of Sunday morning, deploying on the first and second floors. They quickly controlled and extinguished the fire.
At around 8 a.m., there was a sudden, large leakage of helium gas from the center‰??s 3 Tesla MRI scan machine. The owner of the Doctors‰?? Center Kamal Sleim told The Daily Star that the leakage was to be expected. ‰??The helium contained inside the MRI machine is usually stored at a low temperature. After the fire erupted, the helium‰??s temperature rose and it leaked as a safety mechanism,‰?? he said. He explained that problems would have arisen if the helium didn‰??t leak.
Local media had mistakenly reported that the helium leak would have caused an explosion had the fire reached it.
Sleim said there was absolutely no fear of an explosion, and he was bewildered by the media reports.
The Civil Defense could not be reached to confirm details of the incident.
A statement by Doctor‰??s Center carried by the state-run National News Agency on Sunday said that the fire had been caused by an electrical malfunction and that no explosion had occurred.
The statement said there was no need for panic or concern as the center was taking the necessary precautions in line with ‰??international standards," adding that work at the center would resume as soon as possible and that patients‰?? information had not been damaged.
---------------------------------------------
EXTERMINATOR AND OLDER BROTHER ACCIDENTALLY POISONED AT HOME
Tags: belize, public, release, death, pesticide
But the strangest death over the weekend involved one of two Belize City brothers, who are believed to have inadvertently consumed a toxic chemical as they socialized on Saturday afternoon. Ryan Swift, a well-known exterminator died immediately while his sibling, Steve Swift, remains alive and has pulled out of a coma at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he is receiving treatment. How that was possible remains under investigation, but it is known that due to the nature of his business, chemicals were kept at Ryan‰??s house on Central American Boulevard. News Five‰??s Isani Cayetano went looking for answers today.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Scenes of Crimes technicians, all three donning see-through hazmat suits, exited the lower flat of Ryan Swift‰??s home on Central American Boulevard on Saturday morning. One of them carried with her a black plastic bag presumably containing evidence gathered from inside the residence. The well-known exterminator had been pronounced dead; his older brother Steven lay comatose on the other side of Central American Boulevard, across from where the two had been drinking moments earlier.
---------------------------------------------
BOY HOSPITALIZED AFTER INGESTING LIQUID BELIEVED TO BE RICIN
Tags: us_tx, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
A 16-year-old boy was taken to the hospital after he made a liquid toxin and ingested it.
About 8:30 p.m. Monday the Corpus Christi fire and police departments responded to a condo in the 14200 block of Whitecap Boulevard and found the 16-year-old ingested a liquid believed to be ricin, Capt. James Brown said.
Hazmat crews were called to decontaminate the scene. Another hazmat crew was called to the hospital to decontaminate the emergency medical vehicle that took two medics and the 16-year-old to the hospital, Brown said. There boy‰??s condition was not known as of 10:20 p.m.
Samples of the liquid that was in a container will be sent to be tested.
---------------------------------------------
GAS LEAK EVACUATIONS LIFTED IN VENICE
Tags: us_ca, public, release, response, natural_gas
VENICE (CBSLA) ‰?? A natural gas line was leaking Monday afternoon at a residential property in Venice, leading to evacuations, a hazardous materials investigation and bomb squad call-out after suspicious containers were found on the property, authorities said.
As KCAL9/CBS2‰??s Tom Wait reports, the evacuation orders were lifted Monday night. Wait also reports that authorities do not think that the natural gas line was tampered with.
Firefighters responded about 1:35 p.m. to a report of a natural gas leak in the area before the containers were found at 2013 S. Walgrove Ave., according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Hazmat teams and the bomb squad were initially called in. With the huge response came evacuation orders for more than 50 homes on and around Walgrove.
Dave Sipos says his home was initially in the evacuation zone, but he was let back in.
---------------------------------------------
NOBODY INJURED IN COVANCE LAB FIRE, MADISON FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Tags: us_wi, laboratory, fire, response, flammable
A fire in a laboratory hood system brought Madison firefighters and the hazardous materials team to a North Side company Sunday evening, with nobody injured in the blaze.
The fire was reported at about 6:35 p.m. at Covance Laboratories, 3301 Kinsman Boulevard, the Madison Fire Department said.
"It is believed a spark from within a work station ignited some flammable chemicals, causing a chain reaction that results in a fire large enough to trigger the lab's automatic fire sprinkler system," said MFD spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster.
A security guard also used a fire extinguisher on the fire, which was extinguished before firefighters arrived.
No damage estimate was given.
"The hazardous incident team also responded to the lab to further investigate the scene, and confirmed there were no chemical hazards remaining," Schuster said.
---------------------------------------------
25 STUDENTS SENT TO HOSPITALS OVER KITCHEN CHEMICAL FUMES
Tags: us_ma, education, release, injuries, cleaning_chemicals
BRAINTREE (AP) ‰?? Officials say more than two dozen students at a Massachusetts middle school were taken to hospitals due to possible exposure to chemicals from a cleaning solution.
East Middle School Principal John Sheehan told parents a solution used to clean ovens wasn‰??t fully drained before the oven was turned on Monday morning.
Sheehan says the fire department was called to the Braintree school because of the smell. Several students complained of eye irritation.
Officials say 25 students and a worker were taken to hospitals out of an abundance of caution. They are OK and are being released.
Sheehan says health and fire officials have deemed the building safe.
---------------------------------------------
HAZARDOUS WASTE FIRE IN TRACTOR-TRAILER THROWS I-495 COMMUTE INTO DISARRAY
Tags: us_ma, transportation, fire, response, waste
A tractor-trailer carrying more than 1,000 gallons of hazardous waste caught fire yesterday on Interstate 495 in Andover, closing the northbound side of the road for hours, and choking roads around the area in a nightmare commute.
The driver told authorities other truckers flagged him down while he was driving to tell him that his trailer was smoking, said Andover fire Chief Michael Mansfield.
‰??The driver immediately pulled over and, after seeing the smoke, detached the trailer from the truck and called 911,‰?? Mansfield said.
Mansfield called for a hazardous material response that brought 20 technicians to the scene. He said it appears a chemical reaction between two materials inside the trailer caused the fire, as well as ‰??several explosions‰?? within the trailer.
The fire was put out shortly after 5 p.m., but it took time to offload the barrels that contained the chemicals. State police said air quality was being checked in the communities around the fire, however as of last night no issues were found.
---------------------------------------------
KBTX ANCHOR BURNED BY EXPLODING WAX FIRE SHARES SAFETY TIPS, REMINDERS
Tags: us_tx, public, fire, injury, follow-up, wax
KBTX News Anchor Kathleen Witte is speaking publicly for the first time since she received 2nd and 3rd degree burns on her body.
Witte was home on the evening of October 15th when candle wax in a jar began burning in her kitchen. She went to douse the fire with water, and that's when the jar exploded.
"At the time, I didn‰??t know that wax on fire is like grease on fire: it must be put out by suffocation, not water. Ignorant to this fact, and not thinking the situation through, I swiftly and rather confidently tossed a glass-full of water on the burning candle jar," said Witte.
Fire experts say if you do have a wax fire in your home, a dry chemical extinguisher or baking soda should be used to suffocate the flames.
"The fire and flaming wax exploded onto me. It was, quite easily, the most terrifying moment of my life," said Witte.
She was rushed to CHI St. Joseph Hospital and then taken by a medical helicopter to a burn unit in Houston. Most of her facial scars have healed, and makeup gives the illusion that nothing ever happened.
However, deeper scars on her hands, legs, torso and hip will take much longer to heal.
"My skin will be raw, pink, and extremely sensitive to sun for up to year. Look forward to me bringing hats and thick sunscreen back in style," she said.
She's very thankful for the flood of calls, emails, texts, dinners, flowers and other gifts she's received from family, friends and viewers.
"I've received messages from strangers who say 'hey, I'm praying for you.' It's just one more person out there who is rooting for you. That means a lot."
---------------------------------------------
FORMER MANAGER SENTENCED IN 2014 BLAST AT SANTA CLARA WASTE WATER CO. FACILITY
Tags: us_ca, industrial, follow-up, illegal, peroxides
A former Santa Clara Waste Water Co. manager was sentenced to 210 days in jail in connection with a 2014 blast at the company's facility, according to Ventura County Superior Court records.
David Wirsing, 46, of Ventura, was ordered to turn himself into Ventura County jail at 7 a.m. on Nov. 27 to start serving his sentence. He also was ordered to 36 months of probation and to pay restitution, records indicate.
As part of his probation terms, Wirsing is prohibited from transporting any type of hazardous waste or transporting any quantity of hazardous waste that would require a license or a hazardous materials endorsement from the California Highway Patrol, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Dominic Kardum.
Wirsing was one of several company officials to face criminal charges stemming from the Nov. 18, 2014, explosion at the wastewater facility at 815 Mission Rock Road near Santa Paula that injured three Santa Paula firefighters.
The Ventura man pleaded not guilty in March to felony conspiracy to impede the enforcement of a Certified Unified Program Agency official. Prosecutors said those officials were from the Ventura County Environmental Health Department.
Wirsing also admitted to overt acts in the count, which includes planning or moving chemicals from the Mission Rock Road facility to a storage yard on Palm Avenue in Santa Paula. Wirsing also admitted exchanging text messages with another Santa Clara Waste Water employee about moving chemicals and transporting the chemicals back to the Mission Rock facility.
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