| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2019 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] DCHAS Social in Orlando Date: Sunday, March 24, 2019 at 10:33:43 PM Author: RAMPUR VISWANATH <000005c25051b089-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU> |
Next by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] ACS Job Opportunity: Development Editor for JCHAS Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2019 13:57:16 +0000 Author: "Gmurczyk, Marta" |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, March 25, 2019 at 7:10:27 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 (17 articles)
GAS EXPLOSION KILLS 16 IN MYANMAR'S REMOTE WA STATE: WA ARMY
Tags: Myanmar, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL CLOSURE HALTS OIL REFINERS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
MEDICAL TREATMENT TOP PRIORITY AFTER BLAST IN XIANGSHUI
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS SUPPORTS EU‰??S TOXIC TATTOO INK BAN
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, dye, metals
1,000 LOCALS REPORTEDLY SEEK TREATMENT AFTER MULTI-DAY FIRE AT HOUSTON CHEMICAL FACILITY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene
BLACK PLUMES REPLACED BY CANCER-CAUSING BENZENE FUMES IN HOUSTON AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE EXTINGUISHED, AS EXPECTED
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene, petroleum
DAVITA DIALYSIS CENTER IN AVE MARIA EVACUATED DUE TO HAZARD SCAR
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, cleaners
CHINA SENDS TASK FORCE TO PROBE BLAST AT CHEMICAL PLANT WHERE GREEN GROUP SAYS ‰??PROBLEMS WERE KNOWN‰??
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST COMPANY WHERE CHEMICALS BURNED FOR DAYS
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
CHEMICAL SPILL THAT LED TO BUILDING LOCKDOWN WAS SULPHURIC ACID, SAYS JOHOR ENVIRONMENT DEPT
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, release, injury, sulfuric_acid
ITC DEER PARK BENZENE SCARE: COMMUNITY NEAR HOUSTON ADVISED TO TEST WELL WATER
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene, toluene
METH LAB SHUTS DOWN CANBERRA STREET AS 39-YEAR-OLD MAN ARRESTED, EXPECTED TO BE CHARGED LATER TODAY
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, illegal, clandestine_lab
EGYPT: AT LEAST EIGHT KILLED IN CHEMICAL BLAST
Tags: Egypt, industrial, explosion, death, petroleum
CHEMICAL WEAPON DESTRUCTION TO BEGIN AT ARMY DEPOT
Tags: us_KY, industrial, discovery, environmental, mustard_gas, waste
TOXIC LESSONS CAN INFORM MICHIGAN PFAS POLICY, SAY EXPERTS
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, environmental
DEER PARK RESIDENTS TRY TO COPE WITH CONCERNS OVER AIR QUALITY
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene
DOZENS KILLED AND HUNDREDS INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT CHINESE CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, flammables, pesticides
---------------------------------------------
GAS EXPLOSION KILLS 16 IN MYANMAR'S REMOTE WA STATE: WA ARMY
https://www.france24.com/en/20190324-gas-explosion-kills-16-myanmars-remote-wa-state-wa-army
Tags: Myanmar, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
A gas explosion in a secretive enclave run by the ethnic Wa in Myanmar's eastern borderlands has killed 16 people and injured dozens, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) said Sunday.
Emergency workers could be seen trawling through debris at the explosion site in Mongmaw town in a video posted on Facebook by UWSA spokesman Nyi Rang.
"Sixteen people were killed and 48 others injured in a gas explosion accident," he wrote, confirming that the blast occurred early Saturday evening.
---------------------------------------------
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL CLOSURE HALTS OIL REFINERS
https://www.worldoil.com/news/2019/3/24/houston-ship-channel-closure-halts-oil-refiners
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- The Houston Ship Channel won‰??t reopen until the U.S. Coast Guard verifies that a cloud of cancer-causing benzene has dissipated and oily runoff from the region‰??s worst chemical disaster in 14 years poses no threat to vessels or their crews.
Oil refiners, chemical manufacturers and grain exporters in Houston‰??s eastern suburbs are cut off from Gulf of Mexico shipping as the unfolding Intercontinental Terminals Co. calamity enters its second week.
ITC achieved a significant milestone early Sunday in emptying more than half a million gallons of toxic liquid from an onshore tank wrecked in the four-day blaze that erupted March 17 and sent a mile-high plume of black smoke skyward.
The Coast Guard plans to move a test vessel through the channel‰??s two-mile-long no-go zone to determine whether ship traffic can resume without disrupting efforts to skim gasoline ingredients that spilled into the waterway, Lieutenant Commander Jason Toczko said. He declined to estimate when the channel will reopen or specify when the test vessel will launch.
---------------------------------------------
MEDICAL TREATMENT TOP PRIORITY AFTER BLAST IN XIANGSHUI
http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201903/25/WS5c98297ca3104842260b2423.html
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death
A total of 604 people injured in a chemical plant blast on Thursday in Jiangsu province were still receiving medical care in nearby medical facilities as of Sunday, including 19 in critical condition and 98 seriously wounded, according to the latest official information.
At the same time, rescuers were busy inspecting chemical plants damaged in the blast in Xiangshui county, Yancheng city, for possible toxic substance leaks.
The disaster occurred at Tianjiayi chemical plant in Xiangshui's Chenjiagang Chemical Park, with a fire quickly spreading to 16 neighboring enterprises, with the latest death toll at 64.
Since the blast, six rounds of search and rescue missions have been launched, and the search area has been expanded from 1.1 square kilometers to 2 sq km, Cao Lubao, mayor of Yancheng, said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
He said more than 4,500 medical workers and 116 ambulances have so far participated in rescue work. The National Health Commission sent 16 leading experts and Jiangsu sent 65 medical experts to treat the injured. "As of Sunday noon, victims were being treated in 16 hospitals, and 59 others have been discharged," he said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS SUPPORTS EU‰??S TOXIC TATTOO INK BAN
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/chemical-analysis-supports-eus-toxic-tattoo-ink-ban/3010278.article
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, dye, metals
An analysis of tattoo and permanent makeup inks has found aromatic hydrocarbons, amines and heavy metals ‰?? all potentially hazardous compounds the EU wants controlled more tightly. The report, commissioned by the European Chemicals Agency (Echa), proposes concentration limits on ingredients such as azo pigments, which might release carcinogenic aromatic amines once in the body.
12% of Europeans ‰?? over 60 million people, most of them under the age of 35 ‰?? and 24% of US citizens have tattoos or permanent makeup. Apart from the general law requiring manufacturers not provide unsafe products, there aren‰??t any EU-wide regulations on what components can go into these inks. In 2016, the European commission asked Echa to investigate ink components and their safety.
Tattoo inks‰?? main components are a colourant and water, but they may contain surfactants, polymeric binding agents, fillers like silica or barium sulfate, and alcohol preservatives. A 2017 Joint Research Council report identified 67 azo compounds in tattoo inks, around half of which can produce carcinogenic aromatic amines as they break down in the skin under UV radiation.
---------------------------------------------
1,000 LOCALS REPORTEDLY SEEK TREATMENT AFTER MULTI-DAY FIRE AT HOUSTON CHEMICAL FACILITY
https://earther.gizmodo.com/1-000-locals-reportedly-seek-treatment-after-multi-day-1833518984
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene
Roughly 1,000 people sought treatment at a pop-up treatment center for symptoms including nausea, headaches, and respiratory problems after Intercontinental Terminals Co.‰??s (ITC) chemical storage facility in Deer Park, Houston caught fire this week, Bloomberg reported on Friday, with at least 15 cases dubbed serious enough to warrant a transfer to local emergency rooms.
The massive fire broke out on March 17, releasing over 9 million pounds of pollutants into the region, and was eventually extinguished on March 20. The catastrophe also released large amounts of benzene, a carcinogenic chemical, in the form of vapor after the fire was put out. On Thursday, benzene levels detected near the facility spiked to 190.68 parts per billion, exceeding Texas Commission on Environmental Quality one-hour maximum safe exposure limits of 180 parts per billion. (The TCEQ wrote that level of exposure would cause ‰??no lasting effects.‰??)
On Friday, Bloomberg reported, a wall at the facility collapsed amid another blaze, resulting in contamination of and a temporary shutdown of the busy Houston Ship Channel:
---------------------------------------------
BLACK PLUMES REPLACED BY CANCER-CAUSING BENZENE FUMES IN HOUSTON AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE EXTINGUISHED, AS EXPECTED
https://www.worldoil.com/news/2019/3/21/black-plumes-replaced-by-cancer-causing-benzene-fumes-in-houston-after-chemical-fire-extinguished-as-expected
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene, petroleum
HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- Even after the four-day fire is out at a Houston-area chemical storage complex, the real danger has emerged.
Cancer-causing benzene wafted across suburbs of the fourth-largest U.S. city Thursday, shutting roads, schools and industrial plants, and disrupting normal life for half a day. A major oil refinery in the heart of North America‰??s most important fuel-producing region told workers to stay home and the Texas National Guard deployed troops to assist with air monitoring. The benzene probably arose from charred chemical tanks as overnight winds stirred remnants of their contents, owner Intercontinental Terminals Co. said.
Even after the working-class suburb of Deer Park rescinded an order telling everyone to shut their windows and stay inside around lunchtime, the reprieve may be temporary, scientists warned. Warm temperatures that are swirling the air and dispersing toxic fumes will disappear after sunset, potentially allowing benzene to settle at ground level, said Jeff Evans, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service‰??s Houston office.
---------------------------------------------
DAVITA DIALYSIS CENTER IN AVE MARIA EVACUATED DUE TO HAZARD SCAR
https://www.nbc-2.com/story/40179008/acid-leak-forces-evacuations-at-davita-dialysis-center-in-ave-maria
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, cleaners
AVE MARIA, Fla. - A hazardous material scare forced a hazmat team and North Collier firefighters to evacuate the DaVita Dialysis Center in Ave Maria early Friday morning.
Crews responded around 5:35 a.m. after a report of an odor inside the building. Officials said one person was taken to the hospital.
Immokalee Fire Control District Battalion Chief Josh Bauer initially reported that the odor was coming from acid that was leaking from a pipe inside the building. It was later determined that the odor was actually from a cleaner being used to wax the floors before the center opened for operation on Friday.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA SENDS TASK FORCE TO PROBE BLAST AT CHEMICAL PLANT WHERE GREEN GROUP SAYS ‰??PROBLEMS WERE KNOWN‰??
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3002949/china-sends-task-force-probe-blast-chemical-plant-where-green
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
Beijing said late on Friday it had sent a senior cabinet official to the site of a chemical plant blast in eastern China and set up a central government task force to investigate the cause of Thursday‰??s explosion.
But it was cold comfort to residents and environmental groups in Yancheng who believe the explosion at the Chenjiagang industrial park ‰?? which left at least 64 people dead and injured more than 600 ‰?? could prove their concerns over safety and pollution at the factory were valid.
Zhang Wenbin, from a local environmental protection group, recalled the scene when he arrived at the disaster zone surrounding the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical plant late on Thursday.
---------------------------------------------
TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST COMPANY WHERE CHEMICALS BURNED FOR DAYS
https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-attorney-general-files-lawsuit-company-chemicals-burned/story?id=61887662
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
Texas has filed a lawsuit against a company where petrochemicals burned for days and sent thick, black clouds of smoke wafting over the Houston area.
Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the environmental lawsuit against Intercontinental Terminals Company on Friday in order to seek "injunctive relief and civil penalties" in connection with the fire. The fire, which began last weekend, briefly reignited at the same time Paxton was announcing the suit.
(MORE: As immediate threat passes, activists say Deer Park chemical fire brings attention to persistent issues)
The company is involved in the production of gasoline and the fire released multiple chemicals in the air, including benzene, according to the attorney general. The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday morning there had been no detection of benzene in the air as of Thursday, however, it's unclear if the reignition changed that.
"The state of Texas works hard to maintain good air quality and will hold ITC accountable for the damage it has done to our environment," Paxton said in a statement. "ITC has a history of environmental violations, and this latest incident is especially disturbing and frightening. No company can be allowed to disrupt lives and put public health and safety at risk."
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL THAT LED TO BUILDING LOCKDOWN WAS SULPHURIC ACID, SAYS JOHOR ENVIRONMENT DEPT
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/03/21/chemical-spill-that-caused-building-lockdown-was-sulphuric-acid-says-johor/1735162
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, release, injury, sulfuric_acid
JOHOR BARU, March 21 ‰?? It was a spill of sulphuric acid that caused a lockdown at the Johor Department of Environment‰??s (DoE) building here, the authority confirmed today.
Johor DoE director Datuk Mohammad Ezanni Mat Salleh said the spilled chemical was concentrated sulphuric acid.
‰??Initial investigations revealed that the spilled chemical was only sulphuric acid and contained no other substances.
‰??The acid was in its pure form and considered highly hazardous if spilled.‰?? said Mohammad Ezanni when contacted by Malay Mail tonight.
Concentrated sulphuric acid is extremely corrosive and can cause serious burns when not handled properly. This hazardous chemical is capable of corroding skin, paper, metals, and even stone in some cases.
If sulphuric acid makes direct contact with the eyes, it can cause permanent blindness. If ingested, this chemical may cause internal burns, irreversible organ damage, and possibly death.
Mohammad Ezanni said the 30-year-old DoE technician involved in the incident is reported to be in stable condition after being treated at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) here.
‰??He is recuperating after he lost consciousness in the laboratory, believed to be from the fumes,‰?? he said, adding that the incident was a minor incident.
---------------------------------------------
ITC DEER PARK BENZENE SCARE: COMMUNITY NEAR HOUSTON ADVISED TO TEST WELL WATER
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/itc-fire/researchers-local-agencies-collecting-water-samples-from-galveston-bay-after-itc-fire/285-32a18b9d-d530-4ad9-8888-8bf38cfbbdb1
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene, toluene
HOUSTON ‰?? The Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University researchers said they will collect water samples from Galveston Bay to measure what pollutants might be flowing from the shipping channel near the ITC fire, according to the Associated Press.
The samples will be collected Friday and will be tested for such chemicals as benzene and toluene.
Elena Craft, a senior health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the researchers will get real-time results for most pollutants. She said samples will also be collected to test for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, or PFAS, which are found in foam firefighters were using Thursday to prevent flare-ups at ITC in Deer Park.
---------------------------------------------
METH LAB SHUTS DOWN CANBERRA STREET AS 39-YEAR-OLD MAN ARRESTED, EXPECTED TO BE CHARGED LATER TODAY
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-22/meth-lab-closes-canberra-street-as-39-year-old-man-arrested/10929614
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, illegal, clandestine_lab
A 39-year-old man has been arrested and is expected to be charged later today with possessing and manufacturing illicit substances, after ACT police raided an alleged clandestine drug lab at a property in Canberra's south.
Officers executed a search warrant at the home on Wilkins Street in Mawson about 6:30am today, where they said they found a "clandestine laboratory" manufacturing methamphetamine.
The street was closed off after officers also discovered "dangerous items" ‰?? separate to the alleged drug lab ‰?? and called in ACT Fire and Rescue crews to help secure the site.
Detective Superintendent Scott Moller said the bomb squad had eliminated any danger to the public, but the way those items were sitting and the "wiring attached to them" had raised red flags.
---------------------------------------------
EGYPT: AT LEAST EIGHT KILLED IN CHEMICAL BLAST
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47651758#
Tags: Egypt, industrial, explosion, death, petroleum
At least eight people have been killed in an explosion at a chemical plant in Egypt, local security forces say.
Reuters news agency quoted them as saying that a further five people were injured as a tank exploded at a military-owned phosphates factory in the port of Ain Sokhna.
Civil defence forces cordoned off the area around the factory and the injured were taken to local hospitals.
State news agency Mena said the tank had exploded during testing.
It reported that 15 people were killed or injured.
Two medics told the AFP news agency that 10 bodies had been received at a morgue in Suez and families of victims had gathered outside.
Ain Sokhna is about 130km (80 miles) south-east of the capital Cairo. Popular with tourists, the Red Sea coastal town is also home to several petrochemical, ceramics and steel factories.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL WEAPON DESTRUCTION TO BEGIN AT ARMY DEPOT
https://lex18.com/news/covering-kentucky/2019/03/21/chemical-weapon-destruction-to-begin-at-army-depot/
Tags: us_KY, industrial, discovery, environmental, mustard_gas, waste
RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18)‰?? The project to destroy the stockpile of chemical weapons housed at the Bluegrass Army Depot will begin soon.
The stockpile has been stored there since World War II.
Since the 1940s, stockpiles of chemical weapons such as mustard gas, sarin, and VX have been stored in igloos like the one at Bluegrass Army Depot. In a few months, the workers there will begin to remove the weapons and take them to newly constructed plants where they‰??ll be neutralized. They‰??ll start first with mustard gas in June.
‰??After being involved with the program for approximately 35 years, I‰??m pretty excited about how close we are now,‰?? said Craig Williams, a member of the Governor‰??s Commission on Chemical Weapons Disposal.
The destruction requires precautions at every step to make sure it‰??s done safely. Williams, who works in many ways as a voice for the local community on the project, says he is impressed by what he‰??s seen.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC LESSONS CAN INFORM MICHIGAN PFAS POLICY, SAY EXPERTS
https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/03/toxic-lessons-can-inform-michigan-pfas-policy-say-experts.html
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, environmental
LANSING, MI ‰?? Ask Francis ‰??Bus‰?? Spaniola about the current PFAS pollution crisis and he‰??ll likely respond with a Yogi Berra quote: ‰??It‰??s like dÌ©jÌ vu all over again.‰??
Spaniola, a former state representative from Corunna, successfully pushed for regulations lowering the amount of polybrominated biphenyl, or PBB, allowed in Michigan meat and dairy products following the infamous 1970s statewide chemical poisoning.
The Michigan Farm Bureau opposed the legislation, which sought to reduce human exposure to the toxic fire retardant, which was inadvertently mixed into livestock feed in 1973.
Today, Spaniola sees parallels in the pushback against proposed regulations to reduce exposure to PFAS from business groups, utilities and Republicans, who are blocking a Democrat-sponsored bill to establish a state drinking water standard of 5 parts-per-trillion (ppt).
‰??Nothing has changed. It‰??s the same old story,‰?? said Spaniola, 83, who served in the state House from 1974 to 1990. ‰??People don‰??t want to admit it‰??s a problem.‰??
‰??Some political courage is needed.‰??
Spaniola was among the group of legislators and staffers who gathered Thursday in Lansing to discuss policy lessons from the PBB crisis from a historian, public health expert and researcher who has been studying the long-term impacts of the mass poisoning.
---------------------------------------------
DEER PARK RESIDENTS TRY TO COPE WITH CONCERNS OVER AIR QUALITY
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Deer-Park-residents-try-to-cope-with-after-13707517.php
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene
Shannon McDuff tasted something sweet in the back of her throat. She figured it was from the benzene.
While she has faith in those dealing with the aftermath of a chemical blaze at a Deer Park plant, McDuff said she cannot ignore concerns over the detection of the known carcinogen, which Thursday morning briefly triggered a shelter-in-place order in the city .
‰??I am scared, though,‰?? she said. ‰??I‰??m scared right now for my body.‰??
The 48-year-old sat among dozens of others waiting for screenings in the afternoon at Harris County Public Health‰??s mobile clinic at a Deer Park activity center on West 13th Street. Some seeking treatment at the clinic assumed that their symptoms were triggered by the fire that formed a plume of black smoke over the Houston area.
---------------------------------------------
DOZENS KILLED AND HUNDREDS INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT CHINESE CHEMICAL PLANT
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/22/dozens-killed-hundreds-injured-explosion-china-chemical-plant
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, flammables, pesticides
An explosion at a pesticide plant in eastern China has killed at least 47 people and injured more than 600, state media said, the latest in a series of industrial accidents that has sparked widespread public anger.
The blast occurred on shortly before 3pm on Thursday afternoon in Yancheng in Jiangsu province, north of Shanghai.
The fire was not brought under control until the early hours of Friday, state television said.
Survivors were taken to 16 hospitals with 640 people being treated for injuries. Thirty-two of them were critically injured, it said.
The explosion at the plant owned by Tianjiayi Chemical sent fire spreading to neighbouring factories. Children at a kindergarten in the vicinity were also injured in the blast, media reported.
The cause of the blast was under investigation, but the company ‰?? which produces more than 30 organic chemical compounds, some of which are highly flammable ‰?? has been cited and fined for work safety violations in the past, the China Daily said.
---------------------------------------------
---
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