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From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (18 articles)
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2017 06:41:00 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: FB28EDB3-78C0-4058-983C-13FF717AD74C**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, November 22, 2017 at 6:40:44 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 (18 articles)
WALMART IN NORTH KINGSTOWN RE-OPENED AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_RI, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
MINNESOTA SAYS 3M CHEMICALS CAUSED CANCER, INFERTILITY; PUTS COST AT $5 BILLION
Tags: us_MN, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICALS LINKED TO FIRE FIGHTING FOAM DISCOVERED IN LAKE MARGRETHE
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
SAFETY CONSIGNED TO FLAMES
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables, plastics
MULTIPLE INVESTIGATIONS ARE IN MOTION IN COSMETICS FACTORY FIRE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
AFTER FLINT, HELPING DOCTORS RECOGNIZE CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, pesticides
ARKEMA DOCUMENTS: PLANNING, MECHANICAL FAILURES LED TO HARVEY CHEMICAL FIRES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
SCOTT LABORATORY EVACUATED TWICE MONDAY NIGHT
Tags: us_or, laboratory, release, response, steam
FIREFIGHTERS AMONG DOZENS INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION & FIRE AT NEW YORK COSMETIC FACTORY
Tags: us_ny, industrial, explosion, injuries, unknown_chemical
AGENT PINK CHEMICAL RELINQUISHED AT HAZMOBILE EVENT
Tags: new_zealand, public, discovery, response, pesticide
STUDENTS AT CONCORD HIGH SCHOOL TREATED FOR DIZZINESS AFTER SCHOOL EXPERIMENT GOES WRONG
Tags: australia, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
SUDDEN SHIFT AT A PUBLIC HEALTH JOURNAL LEAVES SCIENTISTS FEELING CENSORED
Tags: us, public, discovery, environmental
OSHA CITES TWO COMPANIES FOR HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_fl, industrial, release, follow-up, hvac_chemicals
EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE RESPONDING TO A HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, chlorine
3 INJURED AFTER SMALL PLANE CRASHES INTO HOUSE IN SAN JOSE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, other_chemical
CHEMICAL ALERT UPGRADED AT NSW RAAF BASE
Tags: Australia, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
LARGE-SCALE STUDY FINDS NO GLYPHOSATE-CANCER CONNECTION
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
TROPICAL STORM HARVEY SPARKED HUGE HUFF OF AIR POLLUTION IN TEXAS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics
---------------------------------------------
WALMART IN NORTH KINGSTOWN RE-OPENED AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_RI, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WLNE) ‰?? A local Walmart has been re-opened Tuesday evening after being closed for a hazmat incident earlier.
According to the North Kingstown Fire Department, a odor of gas was detected in the pharmacy area of the Walmart on Ten Rod Road around 1:45 p.m.
When employees started hearing complaints of coughing from multiple patrons, the store was evacuated.
Of the fifteen people evaluated by North Kingstown EMS professionals, one was transported to the hospital for difficulty breathing.
An air quality test showed that the air was clean Tuesday night, fire officials said.
---------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA SAYS 3M CHEMICALS CAUSED CANCER, INFERTILITY; PUTS COST AT $5 BILLION
Tags: us_MN, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson on Monday said in court filings that past chemical dumping by 3M Co. has cost $5 billion in damages in Oakdale, Minn., and she linked toxic materials by the company to health effects like cancer, infertility and low birth weights.
The Star Tribune has a report on the filing by Swanson, which is the first time in years of disputes over past chemical dumping by 3M that anyone has laid out the potential human cost.
In a statement, 3M said that Minnesota had not sustained any injuries. "3M believes these chemicals present no harm at the levels they are observed in Minnesota,‰?? said 3M‰??s lead attorney, William Brewer III.
Minnesota sued Maplewood-based 3M (NYSE: MMM) over decades-old practices of chemical dumping back in 2010, arguing that it should pay for widespread water contamination of perfluorochemicals, compounds known as PFCs that were used to make Scotchguard, fire retardants, paints and other chemical products. The trial is finally set to begin next year.
The new filings argue that 3M knew PFCs were dangerous years before it stopped dumping them (some of those findings also came up years ago). The chemicals have contributed to groundwater pollution in several east-metro cities.
An environmental expert hired by the state studied one of those areas, Oakdale, where 3M long had a facility. He found that mothers there were 34 percent more likely to give birth to low-weight babies than elsewhere in the county with different water sources. The rate of low-weight births declined when Oakdale switched to different water.
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CHEMICALS LINKED TO FIRE FIGHTING FOAM DISCOVERED IN LAKE MARGRETHE
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Chemicals linked to causing ill health effects in humans and animals have been discovered in Lake Margrethe, one of Crawford County‰??s most treasured natural resources.
Randy Rothe, the district supervisor for the Department of Quality‰??s (DEQ) Remediation and Redevelopment Division in Gaylord, said a DEQ employee reported seeing foam on the surface water of Lake Margrethe this past summer.
‰??We didn‰??t want to cause a stir out there because we didn‰??t have any data,‰??‰??Rothe said in a report to the Grayling Charter Township Board of Trustees on Nov. 15.
In 2016, the National Guard Bureau issued a directive to identify water sources at every training facility, camp, fort, and armory. The order also included every installation which had an airfield where fire crash training occurred or where fires occurred with the use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF).
The foam contains Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), which have been classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an emerging contaminate on the national landscape.
There are just over a dozen PFCs, which were in common use including Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). The EPA‰??s health advisory for just those two compounds is 70 parts per trillion
---------------------------------------------
SAFETY CONSIGNED TO FLAMES
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables, plastics
Fire safety has seldom been a priority in India, and it is, unfortunately, all too common to see the damage that results from the neglect of this basic norm. Monday‰??s fire in Amarson Polymers factory in Ludhiana has left in its wake destruction of the five-storied building, damage to adjoining properties, and most importantly, loss of lives among the workers, and even the firemen who were sent to douse the blaze. A tragedy that mocks all our claims on good governance.
Questions are now being raised about the appropriateness of basing an industrial unit, that too which manufactured polythene bags and polyester pouches and stored flammable chemicals, in a residential area; or the manner in which floors were added to the building. Even the manner in which the fire was tackled needs to be studied. Firemen did not, perhaps, have the requisite equipment and training to attend to what was essentially a chemical fire. Even as we laud the bravery of the firemen who went into the burning building, a thorough review is needed of their operating procedures so as to minimise casualties among them. The departments concerned must make the necessary investment in equipment and training at the earliest.
Ludhiana is no stranger to fires, and industrial units of various kinds have accounted for disproportionately high losses. Such units must have fire safety audits done regularly to prevent mishaps. Not only this, the municipal authorities must also crack down on unauthorised factories that operate in residential areas, and clean these up for people to live in. Any building, government or private, residential, commercial or industrial, should not be allowed to become a fire hazard. It may take a moment to trigger a fire, but a history of shortcomings and violations of basic safety stipulations and routines is what allows it to spread and become a menace. Safety must begin at home, and when that fails, a well-organised, well-equipped force must be available to fight the conflagration. The local administration and the state government should go beyond providing succour to the injured and the families of those who died in the fire. Politicians and officials must dedicate themsel!
ves to enforcing the much-needed simple rules and regulations of urban safety.
---------------------------------------------
MULTIPLE INVESTIGATIONS ARE IN MOTION IN COSMETICS FACTORY FIRE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
Tuesday in Orange County, New York state and local authorities were trying to determine what triggered explosions and a fire at a cosmetics factory Monday morning in New Windsor. One employee was found dead and some 125 others were injured, including nine firefighters, at the plant that was cited for safety violations earlier this year.
Authorities identified the Verla International worker whose body was found Monday night as 57-year-old William Huntington, of the Town of Newburgh. In a statement, the company said, "Bill was a valued employee and we at Verla are sorry to his friends and his family for their loss.‰?? Juan Pablo Marcos, a co-worker, told The Associated Press that Huntington had gone back inside after the first explosion to make sure everyone had gotten out safely, and was still inside when the second blast occurred.
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus released a statement Tuesday, saying the tragic event has deeply touched the community. His spokesman, Justin Rodriguez, says nine firefighters were injured ‰?? five from the City of Newburgh and four from Vails Gate, and that one of the Newburgh firefighters was taken to Westchester Medical Center for burns. These firefighters were caught in the second explosion, some 25 minutes after responding to the first blast. A St. Luke‰??s Cornwall Hospital spokeswoman says 125 patients affected by the incident were treated.
Brendan Casey is commissioner of emergency services for Orange County. He says 30 different fire agencies responded from multiple counties. He said about 250 employees worked at the 52,000-square foot facility that manufactures primarily nail polish and perfumes.
‰??We knew that it was a chemical explosion that caused this. It was not a Tier 2 facility so it wasn‰??t a high-level hazmat [hazardous materials] facility,‰?? said Casey. ‰??We believe that whatever chemicals were in the fire or the smoke were alcohol-based.‰??
---------------------------------------------
AFTER FLINT, HELPING DOCTORS RECOGNIZE CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, pesticides
Before doctors in Flint, Mich., knew they were dealing with a crisis of lead poisoning, there were warning signs of a problem with the water supply. The doctors just didn‰??t know what to do with them ‰?? including Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician credited with uncovering the widespread lead poisoning afflicting that city. She said Flint was exposed to a ‰??toxic soup‰?? for 18 months ‰?? with drinking water violations for nine of those months ‰?? but no one knew exactly what was in the soup, or more important, what the soup was doing to the health of the people drinking it.
‰??We knew other things were in this water, but we didn‰??t do anything because nobody knew what to do about them,‰?? she said. Officials had been advising residents concerned about one group of chemicals, called trihalomethanes, to ask their doctors for advice; the chemicals were elevated for months because of heavy disinfection treatment and are possibly carcinogenic. ‰??And the doctors‰?? groups in Flint were like, ‰??What do we know about total trihalomethanes? We don‰??t know what to tell people!‰?? ‰??
The medical community‰??s slow response to the water contamination in Flint is a symptom of what Dr. Hanna-Attisha calls one of the largest deficits in the field of medicine today ‰?? the omission of environmental factors, like air and water quality, in the way that doctors talk to patients about their health.
The long-term influence of the environment on our health has been a growing focus of environmental and health researchers in recent decades: scientists have shown that lead causes brain damage; bisphenol A and phthalates disrupt the endocrine system, impairing fertility and reproductive processes; some pesticides and flame retardants cause cancer and interfere with brain development in fetuses and children. Yet these variables remain largely overlooked in medical practice. Few doctors, for example, think to ask patients if they use a water filter at home, if they store food in plastic containers or glass, or if their children‰??s bedding contains flame retardants. That oversight begins in medical schools, which in the United States barely mention environmental factors beyond some acute scenarios like lead poisoning.
---------------------------------------------
ARKEMA DOCUMENTS: PLANNING, MECHANICAL FAILURES LED TO HARVEY CHEMICAL FIRES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
Prior to the chemical fire at its Crosby plant, Arkema underestimated the potential for storm damage and failed to keep essential backup power protected from rising floodwaters, documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle show.
Poor planning and a series of cascading equipment failures led to dangerous chemicals erupting into flames in late August during the height of Hurricane Harvey. The miscalculations indicate the company's lack of preparation for more than 3 feet of flooding, reflected by an emergency management plan that barely addressed how to handle such a storm.
Those judgments led to the burning of nine trailers containing the company's stockpile of organic peroxides. The resulting inferno exposed first responders and local residents to dangerous fumes and pulled emergency staffers away from hurricane recovery at a critical time.
Arkema officials argue that unprecedented floods made it impossible to prevent its chemicals from catching fire. The site had only seen up to 2 feet of flooding in the past, company officials said.
---------------------------------------------
SCOTT LABORATORY EVACUATED TWICE MONDAY NIGHT
Tags: us_or, laboratory, release, response, steam
The Columbus Division of Fire responded to fire alarms at Scott Laboratory two separate times Monday night due to an outpouring of steam from underneath the building. The building was evacuated on both occasions.
The first incident occurred around 7 p.m. Steam was coming from an open valve beneath the building and set off the alarm, which automatically calls the fire department, said Brock Smith, a second-shift plumber with Ohio State Facilities, Operations and Development, who responded to both incidents.
The second incident occurred around 8:10 p.m. and was caused by steam coming out of safety valves, creating a huge plume of steam blowing up more than a story high from the underground vent on the north side of the building.
Smith said the steam is generated by McCracken Power Plant, which is located a few blocks away. He added that a backup in the underground steam system had likely led to the outpouring of steam.
‰??There is no immediate safety concern,‰?? Columbus Division of Fire Captain Brian Williams said.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS AMONG DOZENS INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION & FIRE AT NEW YORK COSMETIC FACTORY
Tags: us_ny, industrial, explosion, injuries, unknown_chemical
More than 30 people, including firefighters, were injured as two chemical explosions and a five-alarm fire struck a cosmetic factory in Hudson Valley, New York.
The first explosion occurred at about 10:19am local time Monday at the Verla International cosmetics factory in New Windsor, 55 miles north of New York City.
Firefighters were responding to the scene when a second explosion occurred half an hour after the first, injuring seven and causing two firefighters to be transported to Westchester Medical Center for burns, according to Brendan Casey, Orange County commissioner of Emergency Services, during an afternoon press briefing.
Video from the scene showed thick, black smoke spewing from a section of the roof in the sprawling facility, which includes manufacturing and warehouse buildings.
Workers milled about in a parking lot while fire crews looked on. There was no word on what caused the fire.
Among the more than 30 people injured, 15 were Verla employees. The injured either made their own way to hospitals or were brought in by ambulance. None of the injuries were life-threatening, officials said. Among the injuries were burns, smoke inhalation, and falls when the explosion happened.
---------------------------------------------
AGENT PINK CHEMICAL RELINQUISHED AT HAZMOBILE EVENT
Tags: new_zealand, public, discovery, response, pesticide
Napier City Council Waste Minimisation Lead Rhett van Veldhuizen said one of the most startling things to have been unloaded at the Napier event on Sunday 12 November was two boxes of chemical sachets containing Agent Pink.
Agent Pink was one of the so-called ‰??rainbow herbicides‰?? used in the Vietnam War alongside the equally powerful Agent Orange. The chemical ‰?? more formally known as 2, 4, 5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (or 2, 4, 5-T) ‰?? is notorious for having contributed to a number of cancers, birth defects, disease and disability among those that ingested the herbicide during, and a long time after, the conflict. The effects on the environment and the people of Vietnam are still apparent today. ‰??We are very grateful to have received such a dangerous and hazardous substance through the HazMobile event,‰?? says Mr van Veldhuizen. ‰??It‰??s much better that we take care of the effective disposal of something like Agent Pink, rather than have it languishing in someone‰??s garden shed!‰??
In Napier, 324 customers dropped off unwanted chemicals and in Hastings, 357 locals took part. Several tonnes of paint, around 4500 litres of waste oil and unusable fuel, five 200 litre drums of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, approximately 200 empty gas bottles, thousands of batteries both big and small, and litres of pool chemicals and acids were among the haul. All of the chemicals and materials collected are disposed of in the correct way or recycled ‰?? for instance, oil and fuel can be reused as boiler fuel.
However Mr van Veldhuizen says there are concerns at the way members of the public are storing their chemicals. ‰??Many of the chemicals we collected arrived in unlabelled old household fizzy drink bottles. This is a challenge for our team to handle, even though they are experts, but more importantly it‰??s a very risky method of storing chemicals. Children have died after drinking from a soft drink bottle filled with chemicals. We encourage the community to keep chemicals locked away and in their original bottles or containers so there can be no mistaking the contents.‰??
---------------------------------------------
STUDENTS AT CONCORD HIGH SCHOOL TREATED FOR DIZZINESS AFTER SCHOOL EXPERIMENT GOES WRONG
Tags: australia, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
MULTIPLE students are being treated after a science experiment at school went horribly wrong.
Witnesses have reported emergency services travelling at high speeds towards Concord High School in NSW this morning, where seven students were being treated after suffering dizziness, minor respiratory difficulties and light-heads.
It is believed the sick students were in Year 8 but the experiment was conducted by Year 12 students in another classroom.
Ambulance, fire brigade and a HAZMAT team were all seen descending on the high school at approximately 10:15am. There were 30 evacuations across a number of classrooms.
One child has been transported to Auburn Hospital in a stable condition ‰??for assessment‰??, a NSW Ambulance spokesman told news.com.au.
---------------------------------------------
SUDDEN SHIFT AT A PUBLIC HEALTH JOURNAL LEAVES SCIENTISTS FEELING CENSORED
Tags: us, public, discovery, environmental
For much of its 22-year existence, few outside the corner of science devoted to toxic chemicals paid much attention to the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.
But now, a feud has erupted over the small academic publication, as its editorial board ‰?? the scientists who advise the journal‰??s direction and handle article submissions ‰?? has accused the journal‰??s new owner of suppressing a paper and promoting ‰??corporate interests over independent science in the public interest.‰??
More is at stake than just the journal‰??s direction.
IJOEH is best known for exposing so-called ‰??product defense science‰?? ‰?? industry-linked studies that defend the safety of products made by their funders. At a time when the Trump administration is advancing policies and nominees sympathetic to the chemical industry, the journal seems to be veering in the same direction.
‰??There are many scientists who work for corporations who are honest scientists,‰?? said David Michaels, the former head of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration under President Obama. ‰??What we‰??re concerned about here is the ‰??mercenary science‰?? ‰?| that‰??s published purely to influence regulation or litigation, and doesn‰??t contribute to public health.‰??
‰??I think the IJOEH articles were threatening to that whole industry,‰?? said Michaels, now an environmental and occupational health professor at George Washington University. While Michaels has never served on the journal‰??s editorial board, he has published an article in the journal and peer-reviewed others.
---------------------------------------------
OSHA CITES TWO COMPANIES FOR HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_fl, industrial, release, follow-up, hvac_chemicals
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing a combined $43,458 in penalties against Tampa Electric Co. and Critical Intervention Services following a release of a chemical refrigerant.
OSHA determined that ‰??the ammonia release occurred when a relief valve activated after a pipeline became over pressurized,‰?? after responding to an incident at Tampa Electric‰??s Gibsonton, Florida-based facility in May 2017. Four workers were taken to the hospital for observation and released, the department said in a Friday statement. The electric company is facing a proposed fine of $18,108 for the serious violations, according to the citations.
The investigation also led to citations for Largo, Florida-based security services provider Critical Intervention Services, which received two serious violations ‰??for not developing or implementing a written hazard communication program and failing to provide information and training on hazardous chemicals in the workplace,‰?? OSHA said in the statement. The company is facing $25,350 in proposed penalties for the serious violations.
‰??When there is a potential hazardous chemical exposure, the emergency response plan must include all of the minimum safety and health requirements, including appropriate respiratory protection for employees,‰?? Les Grove, Tampa, Florida-based OSHA area director, said in the statement.
Representatives from Tampa Electric Co. and Critical Intervention Services could not be immediately reached for comment.
---------------------------------------------
EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE RESPONDING TO A HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, chlorine
UPDATE 4.00pm: Aquazone says no members of the public were at risk during today‰??s chlorine gas leak.
Manager Ray Smith said last week sensors had alerted staff to the malfunctioning of the chlorination system, which led to them switching the system off and manually chlorinating the pool.
‰??Today a [chlorine] gas leak occurred while CFA officers and Aquazone staff were investigating the cause of the initial fault,‰?? Mr Smith said.
‰??To ensure everyone‰??s safety, the Aquazone car park was closed for about two hours from 11.30am to allow any gas to dissipate. The indoor pool was evacuated and as a precaution cars were unable to enter or leave the site.
‰??Patrons were provided with free food and drinks while they waited to be given the all-clear by the CFA.
‰??While this was certainly an inconvenience for some patrons, no members of the public were at risk.
---------------------------------------------
3 INJURED AFTER SMALL PLANE CRASHES INTO HOUSE IN SAN JOSE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, other_chemical
Three people were injured Sunday after a small plane crashed into a house near Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, according to fire officials.
The crash occurred about 3 p.m. at 2156 Evelyn Ave., which is just across the street from the airport, San Jose fire officials said.
Two men and one woman were transported to a hospital. One person suffered a major injury, and the other two were lesser injuries, fire officials said.
The plane, a single-engine Cessna 172, crashed into the house's garage, but no one in the home was hurt. About 40 gallons of fuel spilled from the plane, and hazmat personnel were on the scene to clean up, fire Capt. Mike Van Elgort said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL ALERT UPGRADED AT NSW RAAF BASE
Tags: Australia, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
The Federal Government will extend blood testing, mental health services and other health support to more residents surrounding the RAAF Base at Williamtown in NSW.
The government has so far refused to offer the same support to Katherine residents despite calls from the NT Government.
Yesterday‰??s move followed a decision by NSW‰??s Environment Protection Authority‰??s to extend the PFAS contamination area around the base.
The PFAS chemicals were contained in the same firefighting foams used in training at the RAAF Base as has been used at the Tindal base.
Defence is conducting the same investigation in the Katherine region as has now been updated on this advice from Williamtown.
Katherine‰??s report is not expect until next year.
Updated PFAS test results from Williamtown show a wider and more serious PFAS problem around the base.
---------------------------------------------
LARGE-SCALE STUDY FINDS NO GLYPHOSATE-CANCER CONNECTION
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
The latest data from a long-term study of the health of tens of thousands of people licensed to apply pesticides show no evidence of a link between exposure to the herbicide glyphosate and cancer (J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 2017, DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djx233). The data come at a critical time for Monsanto, maker of the widely used glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup. The company is being sued by hundreds of Roundup users who claim that exposure to the product caused them to get non-Hodgå-kin‰??s lymphoma. The study involves more than 54,000 pesticide applicators from North Carolina and Iowa who enrolled between 1993 and 1997. Initial data from the study were published in 2004 and documented 2,088 cancers through 2001 (Environ. Health Perspect. 2004, DOI: 10.1289/ehp.7340). The latest report finds 7,290 cancer cases through 2013 in Iowa and through 2012 in North Carolina. Neither study found any statistically significant associations between cancer and exposure to glyphosate. The resea!
rchers did find, however, a possible association between multiple myeloma and glyphosate exposure that they say should be investigated further.
---------------------------------------------
TROPICAL STORM HARVEY SPARKED HUGE HUFF OF AIR POLLUTION IN TEXAS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics
Refineries and petrochemical facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast shut down before Tropical Storm Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25. But even with a few days‰?? warning, such unplanned shutdowns can result in chemical emissions that exceed air pollution permit levels.
In all, 2.6 million kg of chemicals were released from Aug. 23 to Sept. 25, according to an interactive database published by Greenpeace and based on reports that companies provided to Texas environmental officials. Some 690,000 kg of emissions were deemed particularly hazardous by Greenpeace and include benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylbenzene, hexane, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, toluene, and xylenes.
Twelve companies emitted 90% of all pollution released, according to the data.
Ten companies released 90% of the most hazardous chemicals. Most of those ten were refineries, but one pipeline and distribution facility, Magellan Midstream Partners‰?? Galena Park terminal, emitted one-third of all hazardous chemicals.
Among hazardous chemicals released, nearly all emissions were beyond the amounts allowed under the companies‰?? air pollution permits.
Nearly all facilities are located in communities with above-average rates of poverty and with disproportionate shares of people of color, Greenpeace notes, citing data from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
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