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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, December 11, 2017 at 7:56:04 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 (11 articles)
SIX EMPLOYEES SICKENED AT SHAW'S IN WEYMOUTH
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, hvac
A CINCINNATI WOMAN BURNED DOWN HER HOME TRYING TO GET RID OF BEDBUGS
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, propanol
POOR VENTILATION AT B.C. GREENHOUSE BLAMED FOR CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
FIRE DAMAGES NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY LAB
Tags: us_ND, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
EXPLOSION INJURES 1
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
PCA CONTESTING PENALTIES IN DERIDDER EXPLOSION THAT KILLED 3
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
BARREL CONTAINING CHEMICAL EXPLODES AT VASHI GODOWN, 2 NABBED FOR NEGLIGENCE
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, solvent, illegal
WATCHDOGS SAY US CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD IS "FLYING BLIND"
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
DIDION PLANS FOR NEW BUILDING IN CAMBRIA, NO WORD ON OSHA FINES OR PENDING INVESTIGATIONS
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
LAWSUIT SEEKS INCIDENT-REPORTING RULE FROM CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, environmental
EPA WORKS WITH INDUSTRY TO STREAMLINE CHEMICAL REVIEWS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
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SIX EMPLOYEES SICKENED AT SHAW'S IN WEYMOUTH
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, hvac
WEYMOUTH, Mass. - Six employees were sickened by a chemical leak Sunday morning at a Weymouth grocery store.
The employees complained of nausea and shortness of breath after they reported an odor in the Shaw's supermarket before noon.
A Hazmat team found a leak coming from the refrigeration system and fixed the problem.
The employees were checked out by EMTs and are expected to be fine.
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A CINCINNATI WOMAN BURNED DOWN HER HOME TRYING TO GET RID OF BEDBUGS
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, propanol
A Cincinnati woman burned down her house trying to get rid of bedbugs, injuring three people and leaving ten homeless, WXIX-TV (Cincinnati) is reporting.
Bedbugs are right up there with ghosts as the most unwanted ‰??guests‰?? imaginable, and if you see one, more of his friends are hiding somewhere. And getting rid of them should be your top priority. However, there are right ways and wrong ways to get rid of them, as the residents of the Hutchins Avenue home found out the hard way.
Authorities say that the woman was trying to get rid of the pests using rubbing alcohol, which then ignited due to a nearby open flame ‰?? perhaps a candle or a burning incense stick. The fire did an estimated $250,000 to the multi-family structure, leaving three teenagers and seven adults temporarily homeless.
What‰??s more, three adults were treated at nearby hospitals for smoke inhalation. They are expected to recover. An elderly woman, who couldn‰??t see due to the smoke, was evacuated by firefighters. She was not injured.
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POOR VENTILATION AT B.C. GREENHOUSE BLAMED FOR CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
DELTA, B.C. ‰?? Poor ventilation at a Delta, B.C., greenhouse is to blame for sending dozens of workers to hospital for carbon monoxide exposure, a fire chief said.
Delta fire battalion chief Neil Shuster said an emergency call came in Saturday afternoon that at least 12 people at Windset Farms were suffering from inhalation of a suspected cleaning product.
Three fire crews and a hazmat crew were dispatched along with police and BC Ambulance Services.
Once on scene, Shuster said crews determined there were high levels of carbon monoxide in the building.
Approximately 43 people required treatment on site.
The workers had been inside a greenhouse while a gas-powered pressure washer was running without adequate ventilation, he said.
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FIRE DAMAGES NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY LAB
Tags: us_ND, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FARGO, N.D. (AP) ‰?? Officials say a fire has caused significant damage to a lab at North Dakota State University.
Fargo firefighters responded to a firm alarm at Dunbar Hall on Saturday evening. Crews found a fire in a lab in the basement.
Firefighters were able to control the fire within 15 minutes. Because Dunbar Hall holds chemistry classes, crews checked and found several chemicals in the room. While the chemicals were found to be low hazard, a hazardous materials team checked the building and found no chemical hazard.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. No damage estimate was available yet, but authorities say there was significant fire damage to the lab and light smoke damage on three floors.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION INJURES 1
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
An explosion at a business near Rhome around midday Thursday injured a man.
The incident happened at Spartan Chemical just south of Texas 114 east of the Rhome city limits just after noon.
The business owner, Carl Thomas, received second degree burns to the top of his head and his upper body, according to Wise County Assistant Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty.
Thomas was transported by Wise County EMS ground ambulance to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
The explosion happened outside the building, but the exact cause of the explosion is still undetermined.
‰??He was either transporting one chemical to another container or mixing chemicals, and we‰??re not sure if a spark may have caused it,‰?? Doughty said.
Thomas was either on a forklift or next to it when the explosion happened.
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PCA CONTESTING PENALTIES IN DERIDDER EXPLOSION THAT KILLED 3
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables
Packaging Corporation of America is contesting the tens of thousands of dollars in penalties OSHA lodged against it for a February tank explosion that killed three people and injured seven.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration penalized PCA with five "serious" safety violations and fines totaling $63,375 in the fatal accident, according to the agency's inspection database.
Three employees were climbing down from an elevated pipe rack when a tank exploded, "striking the employees and tossing their bodies 200 yards from the explosion," according to OSHA's narrative of the Feb. 8 incident. It happened during a shutdown of the facility, where corrugated cardboard boxes are produced.
OSHA noted PCA allowed workers to perform work on a gas system while methanol, turpentine and flammable vapors were present, according to its description of PCA's violations:
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BARREL CONTAINING CHEMICAL EXPLODES AT VASHI GODOWN, 2 NABBED FOR NEGLIGENCE
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, solvent, illegal
Navi Mumbai: One barrel filled with highly inflammable chemical solvent exploded due to improper storage at the godown of a transport company located in sector 19, Vashi near the truck terminal.
The incident had occurred at the Okara Trade Parcel Carriers godown on Wednesday evening. The APMC police have arrested the godown manager, Deepak Vishwas and a supplier of chemical solvents, Chandrabhan Kanojiya, for their alleged negligent act.
There was panic among transporters and traders in the locality as barrel pieces flew in the air due to the explosion and one huge piece fell on a new SUV belonging to another transporter, damaging his vehicle. Also, the chemical solvent spilled over the road and the passersby complained of pungent smell and burning eyes.
The explosion occurred near a petrol pump but thankfully, more such chemical filled drums stored at the godown, were not affected. A fire engine from Vashi fire brigade has been stationed near the godown for the past two days to prevent any untoward incident.
Assistant inspector, Ram Chopade said, "Reportedly, the lid of one of the six barrels was not sealed properly and rainwater seeped into it and caused an chemical reaction and led to the explosion."
---------------------------------------------
WATCHDOGS SAY US CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD IS "FLYING BLIND"
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
In the early hours of August 31, explosions erupted at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, where floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey had cut off the power supply to refrigerated containers containing organic peroxide. Residences in a 1.5-mile radius had been evacuated, and deputies manning barricades began falling ill in the middle of the road one by one. Medics were called, but no further warning was given as columns of black smoke filled the air.
Arkema knew the fires were coming -- organic peroxides burst into flames unless they are kept cool -- but company officials had insisted in a press conference prior to the explosions that the chemicals were not toxic or harmful to people, according to a lawsuit filed in September by emergency workers injured at the scene.
The lawsuit describes the scene near the plant as "nothing less than chaos," with police officers doubled over vomiting and medics gasping for air on their way to assist them. At least 15 people were hospitalized. Arkema initially told authorities the victims had inhaled a "non-toxic irritant," but residues obtained from nearby residences tested positive for dangerous toxins, such as dioxins and heavy metals, according to a separate lawsuit filed by people living nearby.
What else is Arkema hiding? For answers to that question, the public is turning to the US Chemical Safety Board, where an investigation of the Arkema incident is ongoing. However, the federal agency has failed to implement a rule requiring chemical plant operators to report dangerous releases during accidents to its investigators. Congress mandated this provision back in 1990.
Had Arkema been required to report the looming chemical fires to the Chemical Safety Board, the government and emergency workers would have had more to go on than the "vague" disclosure offered by the company during the storm, according to Adam Carlesco, a staff attorney at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The watchdog group filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging the chemical board's inaction on the reporting rule. Other plaintiffs include the Memorial for Workplace Fatalities and two Gulf South environmental groups.
"America's sole industrial safety monitor is currently flying blind and placing the health of the public at risk," Carlesco said.
---------------------------------------------
DIDION PLANS FOR NEW BUILDING IN CAMBRIA, NO WORD ON OSHA FINES OR PENDING INVESTIGATIONS
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
CAMBRIA ‰?? Didion Milling is getting ready to pour cement foundations for a new building as they respond to $1.8 million in OSHA fines that resulted from an investigation into the conditions that led to the fatal explosion and fire that killed and injured several employees on May 31.
Late Friday afternoon, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed that Didion Milling is disputing citations brought against the company in November, though in public appearances, company leaders are focused on new development.
On Nov. 17, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the results of that investigation, listing examples of both serious and willful worker safety violations, with penalties totaling $1.8 million. A serious violation is one which causes serious injury or death, while a willful violation one in which an employer ‰??either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.‰??
Following the announcement, the company had 15 working days to contest the results. Didion Milling‰??s spokesperson did not respond to inquiries Friday about the company‰??s response.
Company President Riley Didion gave an update to the Cambria Village Board Monday evening on the state of the company six months after the late-night explosion.
---------------------------------------------
LAWSUIT SEEKS INCIDENT-REPORTING RULE FROM CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, environmental
Four environmental and safety groups have asked a federal court in Washington D.C. to order the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to issue a long-overdue rule requiring the reporting of accidental chemical releases.
In a complaint filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the groups said the need for the rule was underscored by fires and explosions at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas in August, when several first responders who were not aware of hazardous chemicals in the air were sickened and sent to local hospitals.
---------------------------------------------
EPA WORKS WITH INDUSTRY TO STREAMLINE CHEMICAL REVIEWS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is struggling to review the safety of new chemicals in an efficient yet still protective manner. The agency has been meeting with the chemical industry over the last few months to develop a framework for getting new chemicals onto the market faster. Environmental groups and other stakeholders are troubled that they were left out of the discussions.
A year ago, chemical manufacturers were grumbling about a backlog of new chemicals waiting to be reviewed for safety by EPA. The backlog was a consequence of amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act that were passed by Congress in 2016. The updated law requires EPA to affirm the safety of chemicals before they enter the market.
EPA used its new authorities under the amended law to request additional toxicity data from chemical manufacturers when information was insufficient to evaluate the safety of a chemical. The agency also considered all uses of a chemical, including reasonably foreseen uses.
But that process came to a halt in January amid complaints about a growing backlog of new chemicals. Today, most of the backlog is gone because EPA put extra staff and resources on the problem and streamlined its review process.Rather than looking at all reasonably foreseeable uses of a chemical, EPA is now evaluating only the intended uses reported by a manufacturer. All other uses are being handled under a separate rule-making process, called a significant new use rule. Consequently, the agency is requesting much less toxicity data from industry than it did initially under the revised TSCA because the scope of use for each chemical is much narrower.
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