Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (9 articles)
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2018 07:29:47 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: D9FD14EA-61B6-43D9-8A06-6C301270F31F**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, September 28, 2018 at 7:29:24 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 (9 articles)
POCATELLO WORKING TO CLEAN UP MASSIVE SULFURIC ACID SPILL ON MULTIPLE ROADS
Tags: us_ID, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
UPDATE -- GAS ODOR DETECTED
Tags: us_NE, education, release, response, carbon_monoxide
CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN WINDSOR LOCKS
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
SAFETY ENGINEER: EPA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT ANNUAL INSPECTIONS OF OIL REFINERIES
Tags: us_MN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
NEW TEXAS PETROCHEMICAL PROJECTS ADD MILLIONS OF TONS OF GREENHOUSE GAS POLLUTION, REPORT FINDS
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, environmental, petroleum
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION DEPT. TO TEST MORE VERMONT SCHOOLS FOR PFAS CHEMICALS
Tags: us_VT, education, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
LAB EXPLOSION INJURES TWO UD GRADUATE STUDENTS
Tags: us_DE, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical
MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS ASK FOR MEETING ON REFINERY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
JUDGE CONSIDERING STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, PLAINTIFFS' STANDING IN MTBE-CONTAMINATION LAWSUIT
Tags: us_NH, public, follow-up, environmental, gasoline
---------------------------------------------
POCATELLO WORKING TO CLEAN UP MASSIVE SULFURIC ACID SPILL ON MULTIPLE ROADS
https://www.localnews8.com/news/breaking-news/pocatello-working-to-clean-up-massive-sulfuric-acid-spill-on-multiple-roads/800455583
Tags: us_ID, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Pocatello police, the Pocatello Fire Department and several other agencies are working to clean up a massive sulfuric acid spill across multiple roads.
The Pocatello Police Department said the sulfuric acid came from a leak on a flatbed truck that was carrying an 83-gallon tank of the acid. It is 98% sulfuric acid, so it is very concentrated.
There are only about 20 gallons of acid left in the tank, so around 60 gallons of it was spilled on roadways from Soda Springs to Pocatello.
Lt. Whitney with the Pocatello Police Department said the truck left Soda Springs, stopped in Lava Hot Springs at the Sinclair there for fuel, went on U.S. 30, down to Old Highway 91, through Inkom, down Portneuf Road, up Fort Hall Mine Road, to North Main Street to the Gould Street overpass, then North on McKinley to the 700 block.
According to Pocatello police, crews are dealing with spills along all those roads in Bannock County, as well as a few spills in Inkom. There was no reported spill at the gas station.
All those roads, and some nearby roads, are closed off while HAZMAT teams work to clean up the spill and neutralize the acid.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE -- GAS ODOR DETECTED
https://www.auroranewsregister.com/articles/2018/09/27/update-gas-odor-detected
Tags: us_NE, education, release, response, carbon_monoxide
A bit of a rough start plagued Thursday morning for Aurora Elementary School students, staff and parents as officials detected a carbon monoxide leak inside the building.
Supt. Damon McDonald stated that fire department crews were called after an unidentified chemical odor was noticed. Fire crews then arrived with sensors to determine the source of the smell and whether or not the resulting odor was harmful. Crews used sensors to confirm the presence of carbon monoxide.
Classes were cancelled and parents were promptly contacted to retrieve students who had made it to the school. According to McDonald, this happened efficiently.
McDonald reported that all levels of carbon monoxide had been eliminated as of early Thursday afternoon and that the elementary building will be open Friday. Classes will begin at the regular starting time.
The unofficial source of the odor is said to have come from a cracked heating element exchange with one of the rooftop units, causing a chemical reaction. The carbon monoxide was believed to have come into the building through the cracked heat exchange overnight. There are presently no individual carbon monoxide sensors in the school building.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN WINDSOR LOCKS
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Crews-Respond-To-Chemical-Spill-in-Windsor-Locks-494521931.html
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
Crews were called to respond to a chemical spill at Liberty Power in Windsor Locks on Thursday.
Officials from Windsor Locks said some chemicals were accidentally mixed and it caused a vapor cloud over the building, which is south of Canal Bank on Elm Street.
The building was evacuated and no one was injured.
---------------------------------------------
SAFETY ENGINEER: EPA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT ANNUAL INSPECTIONS OF OIL REFINERIES
https://kstp.com/news/safety-engineer-says-epa-should-be-required-to-conduct-annual-inspections-of-oil-refineries/5087691/
Tags: us_MN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
A safety engineer in St. Paul says a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation has put a spotlight on oil refineries that store a toxic chemical and the federal agency tasked with regulating them.
David Sullivan-Nightengale, who has spent the past 18 years inspecting safety equipment in industrial plants for private companies, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be reviewing safety plans every year at refineries that use large amounts of hydrogen fluoride.
Hydrogen fluoride is a highly toxic chemical used to improve the quality of gasoline.
‰??An annual inspection of the safety systems should be required,‰?? Sullivan-Nightengale said.
Yet, a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation found the EPA had never inspected the Husky Energy refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, prior to an explosion last April.
---------------------------------------------
NEW TEXAS PETROCHEMICAL PROJECTS ADD MILLIONS OF TONS OF GREENHOUSE GAS POLLUTION, REPORT FINDS
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/New-Texas-petrochemical-projects-add-millions-of-13264492.php
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, environmental, petroleum
Texas, the United States‰?? leading emitter of greenhouse gases, has approved 43 petrochemical projects along the Gulf Coast since 2012 that will add millions tons of greenhouse gas pollution to the atmosphere, according to an environmental study released this week.
Released by the Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington, D.C.-based, nonpartisan environmental watchdog group, the report examined state records that detailed which plants in Texas and Louisiana applied for permits allowing an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 2012 through 2018.
Overall, 74 permits have been issued since 2012 in the two states to add 134 million tons of pollution to the atmosphere. That amount of pollution over a six-year span is equivalent to 29 new coal-fired power plants running around the clock, the report said.
---------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION DEPT. TO TEST MORE VERMONT SCHOOLS FOR PFAS CHEMICALS
http://digital.vpr.net/post/environmental-conservation-dept-test-more-vermont-schools-pfas-chemicals#stream/0
Tags: us_VT, education, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
The Department of Environmental Conservation will extend its testing program for PFAS chemicals in the drinking water at Vermont schools.
Previous testing by the state has detected lead and PFAS chemicals at some Vermont schools, and just last week the Health Department recommended that all schools test their water for lead.
The state tested 10 schools this summer for PFAS chemicals, and both Grafton Elementary School and Warren Elementary School had levels of the chemicals above the state‰??s safe drinking water standard of 20 parts per trillion.
Chuck Schwer, the Department of Environmental Conservation's waste management director, said the state is now looking over a list of approximately 25 other schools to figure out which should be the next in line for the water testing.
---------------------------------------------
LAB EXPLOSION INJURES TWO UD GRADUATE STUDENTS
https://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/lab-explosion-injures-two-ud-graduate-students/article_9b1186ca-176c-5f48-873a-2579f5521ef4.html
Tags: us_DE, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical
Two graduate students were injured at the University of Delaware's Brown Laboratory following a chemical explosion and spill Wednesday.
Andrea Boyle Tippett, a spokeswoman for the university, said the students, both men, were taken to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution" to be treated for cuts and chemical exposure.
The students were working on an inorganic chemistry experiment under a fume hood and were exposed to chromium oxide as a result of a "small, contained explosion" Tippett said.
John Farrell IV, a spokesman for Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder, said the incident occurred at 12:59 p.m. Brown Laboratory is connected to Drake Hall, an academic building.
By Wednesday evening, both buildings had reopened.
Several area fire companies, the New Castle County hazmat team, the university's hazmat team all responded to the scene, along with multiple ambulances.
Firefighters and police officers could be seen being sprayed down at a decontamination station outside the building. Two UD police officers were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
---------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS ASK FOR MEETING ON REFINERY EXPLOSION
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/09/26/superior-refinery-meeting
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum has asked the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to hold a public forum in the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior, Wis., in early fall, citing "serious questions about the safety of U.S. refineries using hydrogen fluoride" in the wake of an explosion and fires at the Husky oil refinery in Superior in April.
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin also signed the letter Wednesday.
The accident on April 26 caused an enormous smoke plume, and forced the evacuation of thousands of people in a zone extending 10 miles south of Superior and three miles to the south and east.
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is currently investigating the incident. In a preliminary report released in August, investigators say a failed valve caused the initial explosion.
Debris flew about 200 feet, puncturing a large storage tank, spilling more than 15,000 barrels of hot asphalt, which ignited a major subsequent fire.
The debris did not damage a tank about 150 feet away, containing 15,000 pounds of hydrogen fluoride, a highly toxic chemical that's used to make higher-octane gasoline. It's an acid that can cause lung damage when people are exposed to it.
---------------------------------------------
JUDGE CONSIDERING STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, PLAINTIFFS' STANDING IN MTBE-CONTAMINATION LAWSUIT
https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/judge-considering-statute-of-limitations-plaintiffs-standing-in-mtbe-contamination/article_d9960442-8bd1-58f6-95bd-fdb5fc0d8e7c.html
Tags: us_NH, public, follow-up, environmental, gasoline
CONCORD ‰?? A federal judge Tuesday gave a group of current and former West Swanzey residents a month to produce more evidence in a case involving five petroleum-related companies and residents‰?? claims that a fuel spill may have caused cancer and other illnesses.
The residents say they got cancer and other ailments after gasoline containing a toxic compound known as methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, spilled from a nearby gas station in 1990 and contaminated their drinking water, according to a July document summarizing their claims. They also allege the value of their properties declined because of the spill, the document states.
Cleanup included removing about 440 tons of contaminated soil around the gas station.
Residents and their lawyer, Peter G. McGrath of Concord, have cast a wide net in the lawsuit, which they filed in 2016 in U.S. District Court in Concord. They are suing Amerada Hess Corp., CITGO Petroleum Corp. and Exxon Mobil Oil Corp. as manufacturers, marketers or suppliers of gasoline containing MTBE. They are also suing Shri Ganesh Corp., Peterborough Oil Co. and its former president Joseph Hart as current and former owners of the gas station on Route 10 where the spill occurred, according to a May document summarizing the defendants‰?? arguments.
---------------------------------------------
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post