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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (10 articles)
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2018 03:33:39 -0700
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 8996D53B-8220-4487-9B5D-BBF545724AF6**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, June 18, 2018 at 3:33:14 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (10 articles)
HIGH LEVELS OF CARBON MONOXIDE AT EL CAJON STARBUCKS:HEARTLAND FIRE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
SMITHERS HOTEL HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS NINE TO HOSPITAL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, chlorine
RESIDENTS EVACUATED IN CAMPERDOWN AS FACTORY CATCHES FIRE
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, asbestos
PLANT EXPLOSION VICTIM'S MOTHER 'RELIVES THAT DAY OVER AND OVER,
Tags: us_SC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
TOXIC PAINT SITE STILL NOT CLEANED UP YEARS AFTER COURT ORDER
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
HOUSTON‰??S FIRE CHIEF SAYS EPA IS ‰??GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION‰?? ON CHEMICAL SAFETY RULES ‰?? HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
EB COURTNEY CAMPBELL CAUSEWAY REOPENS AFTER CHLORINE SPILL
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, chlorine
TANKER TRUCK SPILLS CHEMICAL ONTO SUFFOLK ROAD
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, calcium_carbonate
35 PEOPLE EXPOSED TO DANGEROUS CHEMICAL MIX AT POOL
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
KRISTEN KULINOWSKI TO LEAD CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, nanotech
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HIGH LEVELS OF CARBON MONOXIDE AT EL CAJON STARBUCKS:HEARTLAND FIRE
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Hazmat-Responds-to-Carbon-Monoxide-Alarm-at-La-Mesa-Business-485774151.html
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
High levels of carbon monoxide were found at a Starbucks and Golden Bagel in the 2700 block of Fletcher Parkway around 8 a.m. Sunday morning.
Heartland Fire, La Mesa Police Department, San Diego County Hazmat and San Diego Fire-Rescue all responded to the scene after more than one carbon monoxide alarm went off and people called 911.
The Starbucks, Golden Bagel and other nearby businesses were briefly evacuated, and one Starbucks employee was taken to the hospital.
"(The employee) who received medical attention is doing well and the store has since reopened," Starbucks said in a statement to NBC 7.
An exhaust fan above the boiler at Golden Bagel was turned off, causing carbon monoxide to accumulate and spread to the nearby businesses, Heartland Fire said.
The gas itself is not poisonous but can cause problems if it displaces oxygen.
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SMITHERS HOTEL HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS NINE TO HOSPITAL
https://www.interior-news.com/news/smithers-hotel-hazmat-incident-sends-nine-to-hospital/
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, chlorine
The BC Ambulance Service and Smithers Fire Department were called after several people, many of whom were children, got sick after swimming in the Aspen Inn‰??s pool.
‰??We‰??re truly concerned about the well being of our customers,‰?? assistant general manager Eric Peter said. ‰??Right now we‰??re looking into provisions to ensure something like this doesn‰??t happen again.‰??
Peter thought an employee may have used too much chlorine while doing maintenance but wasn‰??t certain as the investigation into what happened is ongoing.
Smithers RCMP conducted an investigation and determined the incident was caused by an Aspen Inn employee adding chemicals to the pool as a part of its routine maintenance.
The chlorine‰??s vapor caused breathing issues for those affected, Peter said.
Nine people were taken to the Bulkley Valley District Hospital, Smithers RCMP said.
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RESIDENTS EVACUATED IN CAMPERDOWN AS FACTORY CATCHES FIRE
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/residents-evacuated-in-camperdown-as-factory-catches-fire-20180617-p4zlyg.html
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, asbestos
Residents have been warned to keep clear of a fire in Sydney‰??s inner west because the smoke may contain asbestos.
The large blaze started at a factory on Australia Street in Camperdown about 9.30am on Sunday morning and continued to burn for several hours, with 55 firefighters and 12 fire trucks responding to the scene.
Police have been warning residents and passersby to avoid the area as there are concerns the Australia Street factory may contain asbestos.
Superintendent Norman Buckley from Fire and Rescue NSW said three people were inside the building but they evacuated on their own and were not injured.
The fire was contained to a single-level workshop and did not spread to neighbouring homes, but the building was significantly damaged with parts of the ceiling and the roof collapsing.
Several "hotspots" continued to burn several hours after the fire began, with fire investigators expected to be called in to determine how the blaze started.
Residents from neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution, with some running out in their dressing gowns when they were alerted to the fire.
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PLANT EXPLOSION VICTIM'S MOTHER 'RELIVES THAT DAY OVER AND OVER,
http://www.live5news.com/story/38435707/plant-explosion-victims-mother-relives-that-day-decades-later
Tags: us_SC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) -
Sunday marks the 27th anniversary of a fatal explosion at a Charleston chemical plant.
Nearly three decades after the Albright & Wilson Americas Inc. plant explosion, those affected are still coping with the loss.
The explosion happened on the morning of June 17, 1991.
The youngest of the nine people who died as a result of the explosion, Tim Chubb, was 22 years old.
Decades later, his mother, Barbara Chubb, says there isn't a day that goes by where she doesn't think about those lost.
"You could be somewhere and you can hear something or see something and it all just comes back and I relive that day over and over and over in my mind," she said.
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TOXIC PAINT SITE STILL NOT CLEANED UP YEARS AFTER COURT ORDER
http://www.krgv.com/story/38437379/toxic-paint-site-still-not-cleaned-up-years-after-court-order
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
NEAR ARROYO CITY ‰?? A property in Arroyo City continues to unsettle residents in the area.
The property, located at the intersection of FM 106 and FM 803, is full of charred paint cans and other chemical materials.
It‰??s the same site that went up in flames in 2012. The massive fire took days to contain.
Residents tell CHANNEL 5 NEWS they‰??re tired of waiting for the property to be cleaned up.
Since 2008, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality agency has issued notices of violations and ordered the owner, William Templeton, to clean up the site multiple times.
In 2015, he was ordered to pay nearly $300,000 in fines and was given months to clean up.
KRGV‰??s Daisy Martinez went to visit the site, which remains the same years after the court order.
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HOUSTON‰??S FIRE CHIEF SAYS EPA IS ‰??GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION‰?? ON CHEMICAL SAFETY RULES ‰?? HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2018/06/15/291244/houstons-fire-chief-says-epa-is-going-in-the-wrong-direction-on-chemical-safety-rules/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Pe̱a said the EPA‰??s move to roll back chemical safety reforms that were proposed after the deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas would make it harder for his department to respond to such incidents.
‰??It‰??s counter-intuitive and it‰??s really unreasonable,‰?? Pe̱a said.
After the 2013 explosion, the Obama Administration announced tougher safety rules on facilities that store chemicals. The changes required companies to be more transparent about potential hazards and how chemicals are stored.
The updated rules never went into effect: the EPA under Administrator Scott Pruitt delayed the changes until 2019. Then in May, the EPA released a new version of the proposal that did away with some of the transparency requirements, after industry groups argued those requirements would lead to ‰??significant‰?? security risks.
The new rule keeps a requirement for companies to share emergency plans with local authorities, but allows flexibility on details that could pose security risks.
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EB COURTNEY CAMPBELL CAUSEWAY REOPENS AFTER CHLORINE SPILL
http://www.wfla.com/news/traffic/eb-courtney-campbell-causeway-reopens-after-chlorine-spill/1238393790
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, chlorine
CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) ‰?? 150 gallons of a chlorine solution spilled onto the Courtney Campbell Causeway Thursday, closing the eastbound lanes of the bridge and creating a traffic fiasco during the morning commute.
A driver in the eastbound lanes called 911 around 7:15 to report the truck in front of him was leaking liquid and he could smell chlorine. The Triangle Pool Service truck pulled over on the right shoulder of the road, just west of the Pinellas-Hillsborough County line.
Clearwater Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene. The eastbound lanes of the Courtney Campbell Causeway were closed.
The truck was later moved to the inside lane of the causeway to increase the distance from the water and to make it easier to drain the remaining chlorine from tanks on the truck.
It is estimated that about 150 gallons of the 450 gallons in one of the tanks spilled onto the ground. The other 300 gallons were contained in various barrels and buckets and transferred to another pool supply truck.
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TANKER TRUCK SPILLS CHEMICAL ONTO SUFFOLK ROAD
https://wtkr.com/2018/06/14/possible-hazmat-incident-closes-suffolk-road/
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, calcium_carbonate
SUFFOLK, Va. ‰?? Suffolk Fire & Rescue and Suffolk Police responded to a possible hazmat incident in the Harbour View area of northern Suffolk Thursday night.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., a citizen called emergency communications and notified them that an industrial tanker truck that was pulling out of a parking lot near the intersection of Bridge Road and Harbour View Boulevard leaked an unknown substance into the road.
The truck left the scene after the spill.
State Hazmat officials have identified the chemical as Calcium Carbonate, which is used to clean up tar related to paving operations. Officials say the chemical will dissipate on its own and no remediation efforts were needed.
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35 PEOPLE EXPOSED TO DANGEROUS CHEMICAL MIX AT POOL
http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/national/people-exposed-to-dangerous-chemical-mix-at-pool/article_172ea57b-91ec-5416-86fe-b452a0f38642.html
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
SAN JOSE, Calif. ‰?? A summer afternoon at a neighborhood swimming pool took a frightening turn Thursday when at least 35 people, including kids, were exposed to a dangerous mixture of chemicals after a pool maintenance worker mixed the wrong products.
All of the people exposed to the combination of muriatic acid and chlorine ‰?? pool chemicals which created a gas cloud at the Shadow Brook Swim Club in Almaden Valley ‰?? were decontaminated and transported to hospitals, according to the San Jose Fire Department.
Officials said the victims were taken to nine different local hospitals in 10 ambulances. The patients included children as young as 6 and a number of parents. San Jose Fire Capt. Mitch Matlow said a few of those exposed to the gas cloud experienced shortness of breath and vomiting, but he could not say whether any were seriously injured.
Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center treated six patients for upper respiratory conditions and breathing difficulties, according to a Kaiser spokesman. Five of those six patients were released from the hospital by 4 p.m. Good Samaritan Hospital reported the three patients taken there for treatment were in ‰??good condition.‰??
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KRISTEN KULINOWSKI TO LEAD CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Kristen-Kulinowski-lead-Chemical-Safety/96/i25
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, nanotech
Kristen Kulinowski will head the Chemical Safety Board as its ‰??interim executive authority‰?? following the resignation of chair Vanessa Allen Sutherland, according to a CSB statement. The board will now be down to three members, two short of the number set by law. ‰??I am committed to ensuring that the CSB‰??s current investigations are completed in a timely and efficient manner and that the lessons learned are available to industry, workers, and members of the public,‰?? Kulinowski said. The board currently has 10 investigations under way. A longtime American Chemical Society member, Kulinowski was a research staff member in the Science & Technology Policy Institute of the Institute for Defense Analyses before being appointed to CSB in 2015. Earlier, she spent 13 years at Rice University as executive director of the Center for Biological & Environmental Nanotechnology and director of the International Council on Nanotechnology. At CSB, she has focused her outreac!
h efforts on laboratory safety and safe practices for welding and other ‰??hot work‰?? in the chemical industry. The U.S. president nominates and the Senate confirms CSB members and the chair. President Donald J. Trump has twice proposed eliminating CSB.
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