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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 (15 articles)
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 07:32:38 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 601550D6-5A14-482E-932D-659AA75E1D9F**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, November 13, 2017 at 7:32:25 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 (15 articles)
SUSPECTED OVERDOSE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN HARTFORD
Tags: us_CT, public, release, death, drugs
CHEMICALS IN SORRENTO VALLEY BUSINESS FIRE CREATE DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR FIREFIGHTERS
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
2 HURT AS TANKER WITH FLAMMABLE CHEMICAL CATCHES FIRE
Tags: India, transportation, fire, injury, flammables
CHEMOURS FACES SANCTIONS FROM NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNMENT
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE UNDERGROUND GAS TANK LEAK IN BUFFALO
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, gasoline
GOOD POLICY: MATERIAL STORAGE RULES SHOULD BE STRENGTHENED
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, plastics
AREAS WITH NO INTERNET A CHALLENGE FOR RESPONDERS IN BELMONT COUNTY
Tags: us_OH, public, discovery, environmental
TARDY INFO FLOW ON CHEMICAL SCARE HAS GOLD COAST AIRPORT FIREFIGHTERS UNION UP IN ARMS
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
ICE DETAINEE WOMEN SICKENED BY CHEMICAL FUMES
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, other_chemical
‰??REFRESHER COURSE ON LAB SAFETY‰??
Tags: India, laboratory, discovery, environmental, drugs, pharmaceutical, radiation
SYDNEY AIRPORT WORKERS DECONTAMINATED AFTER SUBSTANCE 'INCIDENT'
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT TEAMS RESPOND TO CHLORINE LEAK AT NARROWS WASTEWATER PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, chlorine
EPA WRAPS 75% OF CLEANUP OF NAPA, SONOMA FIRE-SCORCHED HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, waste
UKRAINE AT RISK FROM CHEMICAL DISASTER, WATER SAFETY IN ESCALATING CONFLICT: UN EXPERTS
Tags: Ukraine, public, discovery, environmental, chlorine
RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES CAN RAISE SAFETY CONCERNS
Tags: us_FL, transportation, explosion, injury, batteries
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SUSPECTED OVERDOSE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN HARTFORD
Tags: us_CT, public, release, death, drugs
A person was been found dead of a suspected drug overdose in Hartford Sunday morning, prompting a hazmat response.
Hartford fire officials said the Drug Enforcement Administration, police, fire and other agencies all responded to the scene at 127-129 Freeman Street.
Fire officials said they responded to a medical call at the address around 3:30 a.m. A person was found dead inside the home.
Authorities initially said the victim may have died from exposure to the drug, but police later clarified that they believe the incident is a suspected overdose.
Around 7:30 a.m. police determined the situation required a hazmat response. The DEA, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Hartford police and Hartford fire crews all responded.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICALS IN SORRENTO VALLEY BUSINESS FIRE CREATE DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR FIREFIGHTERS
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
San Diego Fire-Rescue crews battled a fire Saturday at a Sorrento Valley business with more than a dozen different hazardous materials on the property.
"This was a very dangerous call for responding crews," SDFD Battalion Chief David Gerboth said. "There were very dangerous chemicals that created very dangerous reactions when they reacted with the water."
Firefighters were called to the business park on Ferris Square, north of Carroll Road and west of Camino Santa Fe, at 9:10 p.m.
The fire was caused by a fuse in the building's fire safety system, Gerboth said.
The water from the building's sprinklers caused reactions with approximately 17 chemicals used at the business, officials said.
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2 HURT AS TANKER WITH FLAMMABLE CHEMICAL CATCHES FIRE
Tags: India, transportation, fire, injury, flammables
Motorists on National Highway 4 on the outskirts of Nelamangala had a narrow escape when a tanker, laden with flammable and volatile isopropyl alcohol, collided with an electricity pole while trying to avoid a bus, rolled into a ditch, and caught fire.
In what the police describe as a miracle the fire was put out before it engulfed the entire tanker.
The driver and the assistant, who were trapped in the cabin and later rescued by the traffic police, sustained minor injuries.
Isopropyl alcohol is a common compound used mainly in agriculture and medicine. The tanker was ferrying it from Tamil Nadu to Mumbai via Bengaluru.
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CHEMOURS FACES SANCTIONS FROM NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNMENT
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
North Carolina regulators will sanction The Chemours Co. for the release of an unregulated chemical into the Cape Fear River ‰?? the latest in a barrage of legal assaults facing the Delaware company in the Tar Heel State.
Officials in September had told Chemours to keep the chemical GenX from flowing into the river from outfall pipes at its Teflon production plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Regulators learned on Nov. 1 that discharges of GenX had surged following an October spill of a precursor chemical, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality announced last week.
The state has not determined a sanction yet, but it "could be anything from a violation notice or it could be more than that," said Jamie Kritzer, spokesman for the environmental department.
"We're investigating... to see any and all violations of their permits as well as any other violations that they may have committed in not disclosing this Oct. 6 spill," he said.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE UNDERGROUND GAS TANK LEAK IN BUFFALO
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, gasoline
Buffalo Fire Dept. Hazmat crews are on the scene of a gas tank leak at Main & Winspear.
According to officials, the tank is leaking underground. The Mobil gas station has been shut down and part of Winspear Ave. is also blocked off to traffic.
Fire officials tell News 4 they will continue to monitor the leak throughout the night and will be on the scene until county officials arrive in the morning. Fire officials stress it is important for people to stay away from the area while there is an active scene.They also say there is no threat to the public.
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GOOD POLICY: MATERIAL STORAGE RULES SHOULD BE STRENGTHENED
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, plastics
Last month‰??s enormous fire at the IEI Plastics warehouse in part of the former Ames site in Parkersburg turned out to be an eye-opener for residents and public officials alike. As officials scrambled to find out what, precisely, was burning and sending pungent fumes into the air inside a massive column of black smoke for more than a week, there were no clear answers.
Time and again, reporters and curious citizens were stymied as they asked a simple question: What was in there?
It seems now that perhaps even the owners of the facility were not certain. Safety Data Sheets available to first responders at the time were incomplete and likely did not reflect what was in the building at the time. More accurate sheets were destroyed in the fire. When pressed by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to submit an accurate, current list of what was being stored in the warehouse, IEI Plastics officials submitted information the DEP determined did not satisfy its request for answers.
Meanwhile, research attempts by numerous reporters and citizen groups yielded an upsetting realization. It is possible no one knows what is in all the warehouses that hold industrial material and much more, in West Virginia. There appears to be no publicly available (or even, available to first responders) source for information on what is being stored in deteriorating buildings close to our schools, shopping centers, churches, hospitals and our homes.
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AREAS WITH NO INTERNET A CHALLENGE FOR RESPONDERS IN BELMONT COUNTY
Tags: us_OH, public, discovery, environmental
ST. CLAIRSVILLE ‰?? Homeowners and businesses aren‰??t the only ones experiencing problems with internet access in East Ohio.
Emergency responders in Belmont, Harrison and Monroe counties have issues of their own ‰?? often while engaged in tasks where every second counts.
‰??It can be an issue for us because of the rural area that we‰??re in. We get into a lot of dead spots, which affects our mapping off satellites,‰?? Belmont Fire Chief Bob Mills said, adding that poor internet connectivity also limits the responders‰?? ability to transmit a patient‰??s heart rhythms to the local hospital. ‰??We can hook a patient up in the back of a squad and send it to the hospital we‰??re going to.‰??
Mills said this information can be valuable in enabling hospitals to prepare the necessary equipment while the patient is en route. He said hospital personnel can determine if the patient will require a heart catheter or arteries which need unclogged.
---------------------------------------------
TARDY INFO FLOW ON CHEMICAL SCARE HAS GOLD COAST AIRPORT FIREFIGHTERS UNION UP IN ARMS
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
THE Aviation branch of the United Firefighters Union has expressed its frustration with Airservices Australia over its continued blocking of Freedom of Information requests on the use of PFAs across civilian airports around the country.
According to Aviation branch secretary Henry Lawrence, Airservices had consistently blocked attempts by the Union to gain access information on PFAS use in four FOI requests, which were specifically revised down in scope to accommodate their requests.
‰??Due to the nature of their work, which involved fighting chemical and aviation fuel fires, Aviation Firefighters had much greater exposure to the toxic foam over time,‰?? he said.
---------------------------------------------
ICE DETAINEE WOMEN SICKENED BY CHEMICAL FUMES
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, other_chemical
Several women in immigration custody at Otay Mesa Detention Center were sickened by chemical fumes late Friday and evacuated from their housing unit.
About 118 detainees were taken to an outdoor recreational area after the strong chemical odor was reported, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack. The group was moved back inside about an hour later due to cold weather, she said.
The housing unit was deemed safe after about two-and-a-half hours, she said.
Medical staff were on site in case anyone needed attention, but she said no serious medical issues were reported.
The odor was identified as a floor-stripping agent being used by detainees working near the unit‰??s entrance. The incident is being investigated by CoreCivic, the contractor that runs the facility.
---------------------------------------------
‰??REFRESHER COURSE ON LAB SAFETY‰??
Tags: India, laboratory, discovery, environmental, drugs, pharmaceutical, radiation
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) organised a lecture titled ‰??A refresher course on laboratory safety‰?? here today to raise awareness among students on working safely in laboratories.
The course was divided into three parts ‰?? chemical safety, biological safety and radiation safety.
Professor PP Singh emphasised on guidelines issued by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, on working with pathogenic organisms and types of various bio-safety levels required in biology laboratories.
Bhupesh Upadhyay talked about chemical safety and precautions to be taken while working with toxic and hazardous chemicals.
Dr Ipsita Roy informed the students about issues related to working with radioactive materials.
---------------------------------------------
SYDNEY AIRPORT WORKERS DECONTAMINATED AFTER SUBSTANCE 'INCIDENT'
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Several Sydney Airport workers have undergone decontamination after being affected by a substance on an aircraft, 9NEWS understands.
Emergency crews were called to reports up to 15 people were affected by the unknown substance at the airport about 1am today.
The incident related to an aircraft parked at an international arrival bay.
9NEWS understands up to 15 people were affected by the unknown substance. (9NEWS)
Paramedics and Hazmat crews treated and decontaminated the workers, who were then released without requiring transport to hospital, 9NEWS understands.
The exact nature of the substance remains unclear.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAMS RESPOND TO CHLORINE LEAK AT NARROWS WASTEWATER PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, chlorine
NARROWS, Va. - Hazardous materials teams responded to the Narrows Wastewater treatment plant Friday morning after a chlorine leak. No one was injured in the leak and drinking water was not affected.
At approximately 7:03 a.m. on Friday morning a Narrows Wastewater treatment plant operator noticed a chlorine alarm at the Narrows plant at 141 MacArthur Lane in Narrows, according to Giles County Administrator Chris McKlarney. The operator notified Giles County dispatch at approximately 7:13 a.m. and a perimeter was immediately established around the plant by the Narrows Police Department, Giles County Sheriff‰??s Office as well as Narrows and Pearisburg Fire Department.
Route 61/ MacArthur Lane, which borders the plant, was closed. Norfolk Southern was also notified and stopped train traffic on nearby tracks.
Hazardous materials teams from Giles, Celanese, Salem, and Roanoke responded and determined that a 150-lb. cylinder of chlorine utilized for disinfection was the source of the leak. Hazmat teams have contained the leak and will be removing the tank. Norfolk Southern has resumed service but Route 61/ MacArthur Lane is currently still blocked in order to provide access to the plant by emergency services personnel.
---------------------------------------------
EPA WRAPS 75% OF CLEANUP OF NAPA, SONOMA FIRE-SCORCHED HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, waste
Thousands of containers identified as household hazardous wastes have been pulled from fire-scared sites in Napa and Sonoma counties, according to the EPA which also noted fire victims have reported people posing as EPA agents seeking financial information and offer bogus grant opportunities.
The collected hazardous materials, which range from small paint canisters to ‰??large chemical drums‰?? have come from the approximately 5,570 properties the EPA states it has surveyed so far following the early October wires were ravaged the Wine Country. The removal has reachd three-quarters of the burned out properties, the agency estimated.
What was left behind by the fire that is deemed hazardous household waste has been removed and taken to staging areas in Windsor in Sonoma County or Yountville in Napa County for eventual removal to permitted waste facilities.
Household hazardous waste includes leftover unstable, corrosive or toxic household products such as paints, cleaners, solvents, oils, batteries, herbicides, and pesticides that can contain hazardous ingredients and require special handling and disposal. Taking away those materials, allow other agencies and contractors to follow behind for ash and debris cleanup.
In announcing the progress so far on hazardous household waste cleanup, the EPA also report it has received reports of ‰??fraudulent calls from individuals posing as EPA staff and asking for financial information or offering grant awards.‰??
EPA officials said Wednesday that in their current work responding to the North Coast wildfires, they are not requesting such information.
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UKRAINE AT RISK FROM CHEMICAL DISASTER, WATER SAFETY IN ESCALATING CONFLICT: UN EXPERTS
Tags: Ukraine, public, discovery, environmental, chlorine
GENEVA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine is facing new risks of chemical disaster and water safety after an escalation of conflict near water supply facilities in the east of the country, two UN special rapporteurs warned Friday.
"We are alarmed by recent reports of shelling around water installations containing chlorine gas and other extremely dangerous chemicals in Donetsk region," said Baskut Tuncak, whose mandate includes hazardous substances, and Leo Heller, whose mandate covers safe drinking water and sanitation.
Their warning came two days after the UN resident humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine Neal Walker said there is deep concern at the recent escalation of hostilities near water, electricity and gas supply infrastructure in Donetsk province, eastern Ukraine.
He warned: "As we enter winter, any disruption of essential services, such as water and heating amid freezing temperatures could have grave consequences for millions of Ukrainians."
---------------------------------------------
RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES CAN RAISE SAFETY CONCERNS
Tags: us_FL, transportation, explosion, injury, batteries
(CBS 12) ‰?? A camera battery exploded at Orlando International Airport Friday, causing flight delays and pandemonium for passengers.
Rechargeable lithium batteries are in so many devices, such as cell phones and laptops.
But when something goes wrong, it can be horrific.
There have been at least 8 deaths reported worldwide due to battery fires or explosions.
Evan Spahlinger, 21, from Naples suffered third degree burns and spent a week in the intensive care unit.
‰??It was like a fire extinguisher being shot in my face,‰?? Spahlinger said.
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