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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: Fri, 1 Dec 2017 07:34:30 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: D86E8F1E-D41C-4A6D-B608-105786BC5BFB**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, December 1, 2017 at 7:34:15 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)
AT LEAST 10 INJURED IN BLAST AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN SOUTHEASTERN JAPAN
Tags: Japan, industrial, explosion, injury, adhesives
A TEENAGER TRIED TO KILL SOME BED BUGS BUT SET HIS ENTIRE APARTMENT COMPLEX ON FIRE INSTEAD
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, flammable
MAN INJURED IN VIC GAS BOTTLES EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, transportation, explosion, injury, acetylene
EU GREEN CRITERIA BACKS NEED FOR FLAME RETARDANTS, SAYS TRADE GROUP
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
CARPET MANUFACTURERS 'STEPPING UP EFFORTS' ON INGREDIENT DISCLOSURE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, toxics
REGULATORY AGENCIES RELUCTANT TO USE MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF ORGANISMS
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental
WOMAN POURING GAS ON BONFIRE BURNED WHEN CAN EXPLODES, COPS SAY
Tags: us_NJ, public, explosion, injury, gasoline
FATAL AMMONIA LEAK AT MUNICIPAL ARENA
Tags: Canada, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonia
LIQUID NITROGEN EXPERIMENT ALMOST GOES HORRIBLY WRONG ON LIVE TV
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, response, liquid_nitrogen
EMERGENCY SERVICES TACKLE CHEMICAL SPILL AT UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND'S MEDICAL SCHOOL
Tags: New_Zealand, laboratory, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
BICESTER LEISURE CENTRE EVACUATED AFTER 'SERIOUS' CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, chlorine
POLICE: RIPPED BAG AT HOSPITAL CONTAINED METH
Tags: us_NH, public, follow-up, injury, illegal, clandestine_lab
VIDEO SHOWS EXPLOSION INSIDE NEW WINDSOR COSMETICS PLANT
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
NEW HAMPSHIRE: FIRE DEPARTMENTS SHOULD TEST WATER FOR TOXINS
Tags: us_NH, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
STUDENTS HOSPITALISED AFTER SCIENCE EXPERIMENT GOES WRONG
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, bromine
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AT LEAST 10 INJURED IN BLAST AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN SOUTHEASTERN JAPAN
Tags: Japan, industrial, explosion, injury, adhesives
TOKYO, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in the Fuji city of Shizuoka prefecture in southeastern Japan on Friday, local media quoted fire department sources as saying.
Local fire department said it received report about the explosion around 8:30 a.m. local time on Friday.
Firefighters are still working to put out the fire, while plumes of black smoke could still be seen billowing into the sky from the area, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Residents nearby the fire site have been advised to evacuate, according to the local government.
The chemical plant belongs to Arakawa Chemical Industries, Ltd., a company that manufactures and sells chemicals for paper manufacturing, resins for printing inks and adhesives among others.
---------------------------------------------
A TEENAGER TRIED TO KILL SOME BED BUGS BUT SET HIS ENTIRE APARTMENT COMPLEX ON FIRE INSTEAD
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, flammable
Let this be a lesson in taming bed bugs ‰?? do not try to set them on fire. A 13-year-old boy in Cincinnati, Ohio tried to kill a bed bug in his home by setting it on fire. He used alcohol and a match which ignited a blaze that spread through six units in his apartment complex. The fire caused $300,000 dollars in damage and eight people, including five children, have been displaced.
‰??This was accidental. He wasn‰??t in there just playing with matches. It wasn‰??t the smartest thing, obviously, but he was trying to get rid of a bed bug,‰?? Cincinnati firefighter Marc Monahan revealed to the press.
Luckily the Red Cross has stepped up to help the displaced families, and thankfully no injuries were reported, but this is no joke.
---------------------------------------------
MAN INJURED IN VIC GAS BOTTLES EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, transportation, explosion, injury, acetylene
A man has been hospitalised after gas bottles on his ute exploded in Melbourne.
Surrounding homes were damaged after the acetylene gas bottles exploded on the Mountain Highway at Bayswater shortly before 8.30am on Friday.
The driver, aged in his 60s, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with non-life threatening injuries and WorkSafe is investigating the explosion.
---------------------------------------------
EU GREEN CRITERIA BACKS NEED FOR FLAME RETARDANTS, SAYS TRADE GROUP
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
The European Flame Retardant Association (Efra) said it welcomed the EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria for furniture.
The trade body's president Edie Engels told Chemical Watch that, because the criteria does not introduce new restrictions on flame retardants, the European Commission was "reaffirming the importance of fire safety" and acknowledging the chemicals are "used to save lives and in accordance with fire safety standards".
The voluntary guidelines ‰?? published in August ‰?? aim to help public authorities purchase products and services with reduced environmental impacts.
Mr Engels said that because flame retardants are classified under the REACH and CLP Regulations based on their individual toxicological properties, restricting their use as a group of chemicals would be "inconsistent and incoherent with the EU regulatory framework".
---------------------------------------------
CARPET MANUFACTURERS 'STEPPING UP EFFORTS' ON INGREDIENT DISCLOSURE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, toxics
Leading US carpet manufacturers are stepping up efforts to communicate the components of their products ‰?? and their relationship to human and ecological health ‰?? according to US trade association the Carpet and Rug Institute.
CRI president Joe Yarbrough told Chemical Watch that they were doing this through Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and certified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
Mr Yarbrough's comments are in response to a recent report by the NGO Healthy Building Network (HBN), which called for the fundamental redesign of the carpet industry to eliminate toxic chemicals so that carpets can be more recyclable.
The HBN report claims that manufacturers consistently fail to fully disclose carpet ingredients and green certifications did not address some of the key substances of concern.
---------------------------------------------
REGULATORY AGENCIES RELUCTANT TO USE MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF ORGANISMS
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental
Regulatory agencies remain reluctant to use physiologically based kinetic (PBK) models, according to an expert survey by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).
Widely used in industry and academia, PBK mathematical models describe how chemicals pass through the body, which is represented as a series of interconnected compartments. The models are becoming increasingly popular, particularly for use with non-animal test results and quantitative structure activity relationship (Qsar) predictions. For example, they are often used to help extrapolate from in vitro results to the in vivo situation.
Of 93 people that filled out an online survey, 27 described using PBK models for submitting dossiers, opinions or risk assessments to regulatory agencies. Together with scientists at the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Oak Ridge Institute and Slovakian consultancy Klimeto, the JRC team has summarised the PBK situation and come up with recommendations to boost regulatory acceptance.
A lack of standardised good modelling practice (GMP) guidelines, together with a wide range of computing platforms, may be the "greatest obstacles" for PBK model use in regulatory risk assessment, they write in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology.
---------------------------------------------
WOMAN POURING GAS ON BONFIRE BURNED WHEN CAN EXPLODES, COPS SAY
Tags: us_NJ, public, explosion, injury, gasoline
A Camden County woman suffered serious burns after a bonfire mishap early Thursday, Franklin Township police said.
Taylor Lanthier, 28, of Lindenwold, was at a home on Malaga Lake Boulevard in Franklin Township around 3 a.m. when police say she poured gasoline on a bonfire.
The flames traveled up into the can, causing it to explode, Lt. Matt DeCesari explained.
Lanthier was transported to the burn treatment center at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pennsylvania.
Family and friends have rallied to help Lanthier in her recovery.
---------------------------------------------
FATAL AMMONIA LEAK AT MUNICIPAL ARENA
Tags: Canada, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonia
Three workers in Fernie, British Columbia lost their lives due to an ammonia leak at the municipal arena and 95 residents living near the arena were evacuated from their homes for five days. The exact cause of the leak has not yet been determined but this incident highlights the need to understand ammonia and the risks that come with its use in the workplace.
What is ammonia?
Ammonia is a toxic chemical commonly found in refrigerants, cleaning products, and fertilizers. It is naturally found as a gas, but it can be pressurized and stored or transported as liquid. . Exposure to a high concentration of ammonia can be fatal. Ammonia has the following characteristics:
- Colourless with a distinct strong odour. However, repeated exposure reduces your ability to smell the gas. This odour fatigue can occur even if the levels of the gas are high.
- As a gas, it may explode if heated. High concentrations can be a fire and explosion hazard, especially in confined areas.
- Very toxic and can be fatal if inhaled.
- Corrosive to the respiratory tract, and causes severe skin burns and eye damage.
- May cause frost bite.
- How workers are exposed
Ammonia is most commonly found on farms, in refrigeration systems and in fertilizers and cleaners. On farms, ammonia gas is generated by compost piles on mushroom farms. Manure pits and any indoor or confined spaces where farm animals are kept can contain ammonia gas. Ice rinks and ice manufacturing plants use liquid ammonia in their refrigeration systems. If this liquefied ammonia leaks, it becomes a gas. In its liquid form, ammonia is often diluted and combined with other chemicals and found in fertilizers and cleaning products.
---------------------------------------------
LIQUID NITROGEN EXPERIMENT ALMOST GOES HORRIBLY WRONG ON LIVE TV
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, response, liquid_nitrogen
An Australian TV host came within inches of serious injury ‰?? or worse ‰?? when a science experiment went badly wrong during a live segment.
Science teacher-YouTuber Jacob Strickling was guest on the show ‰??Studio 10‰?? earlier this week, where he mixed liquid nitrogen into cola bottles, causing them to blast off like miniature rockets when he turned them upside down.
One of the show‰??s hosts, Natarsha Belling, held a bottle as Strickling filled it. However, she seemed uncertain how to hold it.
‰??I‰??ve done it twice ‰?? you should‰??ve been watching,‰?? Strickling said.
‰??I wasn‰??t watching,‰?? Belling replied.
That‰??s when the segment almost took a tragic turn. Belling turned the bottle to the side instead of upside down, and it shot right toward her face.
---------------------------------------------
EMERGENCY SERVICES TACKLE CHEMICAL SPILL AT UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND'S MEDICAL SCHOOL
Tags: New_Zealand, laboratory, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
Emergency services are responding to a liquid nitrogen spill at the University of Auckland's Medical and Health Sciences building.
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said 13 fire crews and a hazmat team have been on the scene at Park Road, Grafton, since about 8.30pm.
A liquid nitrogen cylinder had been filled earlier on Thursday and the release valve had been activated.
A large amount of liquid nitrogen spilled from one of the university's medical buildings.
They were unsure of the quantity of the spill and were seeking advice on how to best contain it, the spokesman said.
The valve was still leaking as of 11pm.
"It's just pouring out and spilling onto the road," a witness said earlier.
---------------------------------------------
BICESTER LEISURE CENTRE EVACUATED AFTER 'SERIOUS' CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, chlorine
A LEISURE centre was evacuated after a ‰??potentially serious‰?? chemical leak forced it to close for more than two hours.
Firefighters in chemical suits entered Bicester Leisure Centre in Queens Avenue after a chlorine alarm was triggered at 6.56am.
About 20 people using the centre and staff members were told to leave and moved to a neighbouring school.
Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue said crews wearing gas tight chemical suits entered the building, working with a specialist hazmat officer, to locate and isolate the leak.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE: RIPPED BAG AT HOSPITAL CONTAINED METH
Tags: us_NH, public, follow-up, injury, illegal, clandestine_lab
MANCHESTER ‰?? Police have identified the illegal drug that was in a bag that ripped open in the Elliot Hospital Emergency Department two weeks ago when a patient struggled with police.
Methamphetamine contaminated the bathroom and an adjacent hallway at the hospital on Nov. 16, according to police.
Six people fell ill after the incident.
According to previous accounts, police struggled with Manchester resident Theodore Macenas, 26, when they realized he had drugs concealed inside of his body. He was trying to swallow an unknown substance during the struggle, and the plastic bag tore, police said at the time.
---------------------------------------------
VIDEO SHOWS EXPLOSION INSIDE NEW WINDSOR COSMETICS PLANT
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
NEW WINDSOR, New York (WABC) -- New video shows the deadly explosion that happened inside a cosmetics plants in New York's Hudson Valley last week.
The Orange County Fire Investigation Unit has determined that static electricity caused a flammable liquid to ignite inside Verla International in New Windsor on November 20. The cause has been ruled an accident. The chemical involved was hexamethyldisiloxane.
The explosion took place during the manufacturing process when a worker was wiping excess product in the batch room.
---------------------------------------------
NEW HAMPSHIRE: FIRE DEPARTMENTS SHOULD TEST WATER FOR TOXINS
Tags: us_NH, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) ‰?? New Hampshire is recommending all fire departments in the state test their drinking water for a toxic chemical linked to cancer after it turned up at several facilities.
The chemical was used in industrial coatings, such as Teflon, and is part of a class of chemicals known as perfluorinated chemicals or PFCs. It was also used in firefighting foam, leading to contaminated groundwater at scores of Air Force bases around the country.
In New Hampshire, it was detected above state standards at 222 sites, including six out of seven fire departments.
If additional departments find their water exceeds the standard of 70 parts per trillion, the department should report it the state New Hampshire Department of Environmental within 60 days and a correction action plan may be required.
---------------------------------------------
STUDENTS HOSPITALISED AFTER SCIENCE EXPERIMENT GOES WRONG
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, bromine
Dozens of classrooms at Concord High School have been evacuated and several students hospitalised following a science experiment gone wrong.
It is understood that the experiment, which was performed by Year 12 students in another classroom, was being conducted in a fume cabinet using drops of Bromine water mixed with Hexane and Hexine.
Students in another classroom began complaining of dizziness and respiratory problems, prompting the school to contact NSW Ambulance and NSW Fire and Rescue Services.
Six ambulance units and two NSW Fire and Rescue Hazardous Materials units subsequently responded to the incident, which took place shortly before 10.15am this morning.
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said one Year 8 student was transported to Auburn Hospital in a stable condition and that five more were taken to Westmead Children‰??s hospital for further assessment.
‰??The issue was due to exposure to bromine water, which we understand to be a chemical irritant that can cause irritation to breathing,‰?? the spokesman told The Educator.
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