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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Grad & Postdoc Chemist March/April Issue: Learn how to succeed by failing Date: Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 12:41:07 PM Author: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, March 29, 2019 at 4:54:30 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)
HAZMAT CREWS RESPONDING TO REPORTED 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' IN NW OK
Tags: us_OK, industrial, release, response, cleaners
THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER: LEARNING ABOUT SAFETY FIRST
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
THOMASTON CEMENT PLANT BADLY DAMAGED IN FIRE
Tags: us_ME, industrial, fire, response, diesel
PROPEL SCHOOL: STUDENT WILL BE CHARGED FOR ACTIVATING FIRE SUPPRESSION LEADING TO SCHOOL EVACUATION
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
OREGON HERBICIDE BAN SLOWED BY CHEMICAL COMPANY APPEAL . NEWS
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
COAST GUARD REOPENS CONTAMINATED SECTION OF HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL
Tags: us_TX, transportation, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, toxics
CHINA TO LAUNCH MONTH-LONG PRODUCTION SAFETY INSPECTION
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
TRUCK CARRYING CHEMICAL EXPLODES ON ARKANSAS HIGHWAY KILLING DRIVER ‰?? THETRUCKER.COM
Tags: us_AR, transportation, explosion, death, ammonium_nitrate
CREWS BURNING OFF PROPANE AFTER UNDERGROUND TANK LEAK IN LA CROSSE
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, propane
MADDINGTON FIRE: WORKER BURNED IN MASSIVE WAREHOUSE BLAZE
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, injury, waste
EXAMS, MEDICAL STUDIES DISRUPTED BY FIRE AT NUS BUILDING, 1,000 PEOPLE EVACUATED
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
WHY FIREFIGHTERS DROPPED A SMOLDERING BMW I8 INTO A WATER TANK
Tags: Netherlands, public, fire, response, waste, batteries
RICE CRISIS MANAGEMENT SHOULD HAVE ISSUED NOTIFICATIONS DURING DEER PARK FIRE
Tags: us_TX, education, fire, environmental
HUGE BLAST AT NARAYANGANJ CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, explosion, response, dye
CHINA‰??S LATEST CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION WAS AVOIDABLE
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
WITH PESTICIDE SPRAYING SEASON AT HAND, SAFETY MEASURES A MUST TO PROTECT AGAINST SERIOUS, EVEN LETHAL, DISEASES
Tags: India, industrial, discovery, environmental, pesticides
HOUSTON CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION TANK FARM BURNS, CAUSE UNKNOWN
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
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HAZMAT CREWS RESPONDING TO REPORTED 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' IN NW OK
http://www.news9.com/story/40213844/hazmat-crews-responding-to-reported-chemical-incident-in-nw-okc
Tags: us_OK, industrial, release, response, cleaners
Hazmat crews responded to a chemical incident in Northwest Oklahoma City.
According to the Oklahoma City Fire Department, crews are on scene at Interim Healthcare Oklahoma City located at 3613 NW 56th Street. The building is being evacuated due to an acidic smell.
OKCFD says a small amount of commercial-grade cleaning product was poured down a sink, producing the odor.
Crews will continue to monitor the situation until it is safe for employees to re-enter the building.
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THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER: LEARNING ABOUT SAFETY FIRST
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/safety-first-1/
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
I REMEMBER attending my first technical team meeting at the refinery. I was a fresh-faced vacation student, ready to take on all the interesting challenges the world of oil refining had to offer. Reaction engineering, unit operations, distillation ‰?? I was so excited. I was going to help change the world, one molecule at a time.
Almost immediately I‰??m thrust into a state of confusion. Nearly the entire meeting is taken up with talk on safety? I looked around me attempting to understand why these amazingly talented engineers were talking about safety? To be perfectly honest, I felt a bit embarrassed. Why weren‰??t they talking about efficiency, margins ‰?? engineering stuff? Looking back on my 20-year-old self, if I was the teacher filling out the safety report card, I would generously give myself a 1/10: ‰??Safety seems to be important‰??.
Another technical meeting rolled around, and this time the VHS player was wheeled out ‰?? we were going to watch a movie. ‰??Great,‰?? I thought, ‰??this will be the one on distillation theory for sure‰??. It wasn‰??t. It was much more impactful than my beloved distillation. That afternoon, after watching a video on the Piper Alpha tragedy, I finally ‰??got it‰??. I now knew why the engineers talked about safety. So much was at stake. Report card 3/10: ‰??It has happened‰??.
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THOMASTON CEMENT PLANT BADLY DAMAGED IN FIRE
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/03/27/thomaston-cement-plant-badly-damaged-in-fire/
Tags: us_ME, industrial, fire, response, diesel
THOMASTON ‰?? The investigation into a major fire at the Dragon Products cement plant is expected to take a long time, Thomaston Fire Chief Mikial Mazzeo said Wednesday morning, March 27.
Mazzeo said there was heavy damage to the three-story building that was ablaze when the first crews arrived Tuesday night. The fire was the most serious one at the cement plant in his more than 30 years with the department, the chief said.
There were no injuries.
An employee reported finding a large leak or spill of number 2 fuel oil on the floor which was flowing into a below grade mechanical area in the core building, Mazzeo said. In this area the fuel oil ignited spreading back to the leak origin and ultimately throughout the building, the chief said. The fire was stopped just as it was entering a laboratory and control room areas.
That section of the building was largely spared from fire damage, Mazzeo said.
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PROPEL SCHOOL: STUDENT WILL BE CHARGED FOR ACTIVATING FIRE SUPPRESSION LEADING TO SCHOOL EVACUATION
https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/student-will-be-charged-for-activating-fire-suppression-leading-to-school-evacuation-1/934593881
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Students were evacuated from a school in Robinson Township after an incident in a chemistry lab.
According to a spokesperson for Propel Schools, the middle/high school on Steubenville Pike was evacuated after a student activated the fire suppression system, releasing foam into the classroom.
The foam, which is used to fight fires, landed on students.
Officials said about a dozen students were sickened and were treated by paramedics. At last check, no one was taken to the hospital.
Police said the fire suppression system was activated intentionally and the student could face charges.
Classes resumed after the incident was brought under control.
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OREGON HERBICIDE BAN SLOWED BY CHEMICAL COMPANY APPEAL . NEWS
https://www.opb.org/news/article/herbicide-ban-slowed-chemical-company-appeal-bayer/
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides
A conifer tree-killing herbicide would have been banned from Oregon roadsides this month, but the rule has been delayed by a request from chemical giant, Bayer AG.
Perhaps best known for aspirin, Bayer also makes agricultural products like Perspective, an herbicide once commonly used to control weeds and reduce fire risk along highways. The active ingredient, ACP, is behind killing about 2,100 ponderosa pines in Deschutes National Forest near Sisters, Oregon.
Poisoned Pines In Central Oregon To Be Cut
The product label says not to apply it near ‰??desirable‰?? roots‰?? a warning that came after a wave of tree deaths were linked to ACP in 2011. But as one product made by DuPont was pulled off the market, Bayer launched a different brand.
That‰??s the stuff state contractors working for the Oregon Department of Transportation sprayed outside of Sisters until 2015. Last year, complaints about dead and dying trees led the Oregon Department of Agriculture to launch an investigation and order a temporary stop to ACP applications on road sides and rights of way.
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COAST GUARD REOPENS CONTAMINATED SECTION OF HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL
https://www.click2houston.com/news/coast-guard-reopens-contaminated-section-of-houston-ship-channel
Tags: us_TX, transportation, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, toxics
HOUSTON - The United States Coast Guard reopened a section of the Houston Ship Channel on Wednesday that was closed last week after toxic chemicals seeped into it during a chemical fire at the Deer Park ITC storage facility.
Traffic is moving again within limits, but still far from being back to normal.
As cleanup crews continue to skim oily sludge along a seven-mile stretch of the ship channel, roughly from Tucker‰??s Bayou to Lynchburg, the Coast Guard reopened the contaminated area to ship traffic.
The section was closed March 22 after a fire and dike breach at the ITC facility sent an unknown amount of toxic chemicals into the channel.
"We‰??re largely moving but it's selected metered traffic. We‰??re moving traffic essentially in both directions, it's just one way at a time for ships. So, we ran a ship out this morning. Later today we‰??ll start seeing the first inbound ships above Lynchburg,‰?? vessel traffic services director Steve Nerheim said.
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CHINA TO LAUNCH MONTH-LONG PRODUCTION SAFETY INSPECTION
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/27/c_137928398.htm
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China's emergency management authorities will carry out a month-long special inspection in the fields of hazardous chemicals, mines and fire safety.
Lessons should be learned from recent accidents, and the country must thoroughly analyze its production safety systems, and resolutely curb the occurrence of major accidents, according to a statement issued after a video-conference held by the office of the State Council production safety committee and the Ministry of Emergency Management Wednesday.
All localities and relevant departments should put the safety of dangerous chemicals in a more prominent position, and ensure that hidden dangers found by municipal and county regulatory agencies are properly rectified, the statement said.
"Local authorities should study the requirements for entering chemical industry parks, toughen risk assessment and safety standards, and must not let chemical parks become areas that gather major hidden dangers and where accidents frequently take place," the statement said.
Big data, the Internet of Things and other scientific and technological means should be used to strengthen the real-time monitoring of employees and dangerous chemicals, it added.
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TRUCK CARRYING CHEMICAL EXPLODES ON ARKANSAS HIGHWAY KILLING DRIVER ‰?? THETRUCKER.COM
https://www.thetrucker.com/truck-carrying-chemical-explodes-on-arkansas-highway-killing-driver/
Tags: us_AR, transportation, explosion, death, ammonium_nitrate
CAMDEN, Ark. ‰?? A commercial truck carrying an unknown chemical exploded Wednesday morning on a highway in Arkansas, killing the driver and creating a massive crater in the road, authorities said.
The explosion happened west of the city of Camden, or about 100 miles south of Little Rock.
The Arkansas State Police identified the driver late Wednesday morning as 63-year-old Randall McDougal of El Dorado, Arkansas.
The agency said McDougal was hauling ammonium nitrate ‰?? a highly combustible chemical used in fertilizers ‰?? to Texarkana for Blann Trucking Company, a firm headquartered in Hampton, Arkansas.
‰??It looks like a bomb went off,‰?? Camden Fire Chief Robert Medford told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. ‰??There‰??s a big hole in the ground on where the truck was at.‰??
The Arkansas Department of Transportation said crews would begin repairing the 15-foot crater once the wreckage from the accident is cleared. The affected road is a low-volume road that carries about 1,300 vehicles per day, department spokesman Danny Straessle said.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS BURNING OFF PROPANE AFTER UNDERGROUND TANK LEAK IN LA CROSSE
https://www.news8000.com/news/crews-burning-off-propane-after-underground-tank-leak-in-la-crosse/1063006896
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, propane
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) - Crews are using a flaring operation, or burning off propane, after a leak was discovered in an underground tank on La Crosse's south side.
The La Crosse Fire Department was called to the area of 28th St. and Mesa Grande Pl. at approximately 1:00 p.m. Tuesday for an odor of gas coming from an underground propane tank.
Xcel Energy crews reported the leak after a gas surveillance truck detected it during a routine survey.
Some of the first crews on scene also discovered slight gas readings in the basement of a nearby business.
---------------------------------------------
MADDINGTON FIRE: WORKER BURNED IN MASSIVE WAREHOUSE BLAZE
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/disaster-and-emergency/maddington-fire-worker-burned-in-massive-warehouse-blaze-ng-b881149696z
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, injury, waste
A worker has been injured in a huge scrap yard blaze in Maddington which burnt through thousands of litres of fuel.
The toxic black smoke caused evacuations and a health warning across Perth's eastern suburbs.
The massive blaze, which left a worker in hospital with burns, consumed the Ryelane Street warehouse.
A hazmat warning was issued as thick plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky.
Firefighters were up against an industrial sized inferno complete with explosions and fire balls.
At the heart of this blaze was 2,000 litres of fuel and about 40 car batteries.
A giant plume of toxic back smoke stained the horizon across Perth.
Health authorities ordered locals to shut their windows and doors while police rushed to evacuate nearby businesses.
One officer who copped a lungful was rushed to hospital where she is being treated for smoke inhalation.
---------------------------------------------
EXAMS, MEDICAL STUDIES DISRUPTED BY FIRE AT NUS BUILDING, 1,000 PEOPLE EVACUATED
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/exams-medical-studies-disrupted-fire-nus-building-1000-people-evacuated
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SINGAPORE ‰?? About 1,000 people were evacuated from the Centre for Translational Medicine, also known as Block MD6, at the National University of Singapore (NUS) after a fire broke out in the building on Tuesday morning (March 26).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement that it was alerted to a fire at 14 Medical Drive at about 11.10am.
Contents of a freezer room were part of the fire, which was extinguished by the sprinkler system before SCDF‰??s personnel arrived.
SCDF added that there were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
When contacted, NUS said that a ‰??small fire broke out at the WIL**At_Symbol_Here**NUS Corporate Laboratory‰??.
The SCDF was alerted immediately and users of the building were evacuated.
‰??No one was hurt in the fire. The safety of students and staff remains our top priority. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation,‰?? its spokesperson said.
---------------------------------------------
WHY FIREFIGHTERS DROPPED A SMOLDERING BMW I8 INTO A WATER TANK
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/03/26/firefighters-dropped-smoldering-bmw-i8-water-tank/
Tags: Netherlands, public, fire, response, waste, batteries
Electric vehicle fires are a new reality that many first responders have been unfortunately forced to deal with on a trial-and-error basis. Some of the blazes have served as wakeup calls as to just how difficult these types of accidents can be to control. After a BMW i8 hybrid started smoking in the Netherlands recently, local firefighters demonstrated what might be one of the best, albeit one of the strangest, solutions.
Posted by CarScoops, Brandweer Midden- en West-Brabant took to Facebook to post photos of an i8 that was dumped into a giant water vessel after the BMW started to catch fire. Via a Facebook translation, the caption detailed that the hybrid sports car had begun smoking while inside of a showroom. The car was moved outside before firefighters took initial containment steps. The ultimate procedure was to lift the car and drop it into what essentially looks like a scrap dumpster full of water.
At face value, it all seems like a bit of odd overkill, but that's far from the truth. We've told you previously ‰?? again just yesterday, in fact ‰?? that typical firefighting procedures involving vehicles with internal combustion engines cannot be used on electric vehicles. The i8 is not a fully electric vehicle, but it does contain similar parts in its hybrid powertrain setup.
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RICE CRISIS MANAGEMENT SHOULD HAVE ISSUED NOTIFICATIONS DURING DEER PARK FIRE
http://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019/03/rice-crisis-management-should-have-issued-notifications-during-deer-park-fire
Tags: us_TX, education, fire, environmental
A cloud often hangs over the student body as it returns from spring break. Usually, that‰??s a product of mixing Frio 6.0, Red Bull and sunshine. This year, though, that cloud was the result of a massive fire at a chemical storage facility on the bank of the Houston Ship Channel.
The plume was visible from suburbs of San Antonio. It dominated the Houston skyline and caught the attention of national media outlets.
Despite the fire‰??s magnitude, Rice‰??s Crisis Management Team provided the Rice community with no information about this high-profile disaster. Students and faculty rely upon the university for information ‰?? both when situations aren‰??t safe and when they are. No official statement or text alert regarding outside air quality left community members unsure of whether or not they should be taking precautions.
Rice‰??s Crisis Management Team should have have reached out immediately through text and email alerts, assuring the community they were tracking the situation. They should have then used this alert system to send updates on the latest from local authorities if the situation changed.
---------------------------------------------
HUGE BLAST AT NARAYANGANJ CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2019/03/26/huge-blast-at-narayanganj-chemical-warehouse
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, explosion, response, dye
Locals said the explosion took place at Bombay Dyeing at Bou Bazar damaging the four-storey factory building and several buildings nearby
A huge explosion ripped through a chemical warehouse of a dyeing factory at Fatullah in Narayanganj early Tuesday.
Locals said the explosion took place at Bombay Dyeing at Bou Bazar damaging the four-storey factory building and several buildings nearby as a fire broke out following the blast.
A large hole was created on the ceiling of third floor while walls were blown off and an air-conditioner skidded off the floor.
However, no casualty was reported in the incident.
Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Assistant Director Al Arefin said the explosion originated at the chemical warehouse on the second floor.
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CHINA‰??S LATEST CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION WAS AVOIDABLE
https://chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11159-China-s-latest-chemical-plant-explosion-was-avoidable
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
News and social media images of an explosion on March 21 in Xiangshui county, eastern China, call to mind•ČŔ the terrifying blast at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin in 2015.
•ČŔ
By March 25, 78 people were known to have died in the latest blast, which occurred at a plant in the Chenjiagang industrial park. A further 566 are receiving treatment in local hospitals. Officials from the plant, which belongs to Tianjiayi Chemical Company, have been detained.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. But media reports indicate that the tragedy was avoidable and that the lessons of Tianjin have still not been learned.
Hidden risks
There had long been indications of risk at the Chenjiagang industrial park, and at the Tianjiayi plant in particular.
In 2007, another explosion at the park, at the Lianhua Technology plant, killed eight and injured dozens. Then in 2010, tens of people were hospitalised after a chlorine leak from a chloralkali process plant.
According to media reports, locals had repeatedly complained of the park being too close to homes. Three elementary schools and two kindergartens are located within two kilometres of the Tianjiayi plant.
According to the Beijing News, the State Administration of Work Safety, which regulates occupational safety in China, had reported problems with the body responsible for monitoring safety at the Tianjiayi plant, citing insufficient analysis and identification of risk factors and hazards, and a lack of targeted measures to rectify issues.
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WITH PESTICIDE SPRAYING SEASON AT HAND, SAFETY MEASURES A MUST TO PROTECT AGAINST SERIOUS, EVEN LETHAL, DISEASES
https://kashmirreader.com/2019/03/27/with-pesticide-spraying-season-at-hand-safety-measures-a-must-to-protect-against-serious-even-lethal-diseases/
Tags: India, industrial, discovery, environmental, pesticides
SHOPIAN: With the arrival of spring, orchardists in the valley get busy with horticultural chores as this is a sector on which the majority of the rural economy depends. Unfortunately, most people do not use safety measures while spraying pesticides, fungicides and insecticides or while fixing fertilisers around plants. Many are unaware of the serious diseases these chemical sprays and fertilizers can cause.
Applying these sprays without using safety measures has taken a heavy toll on the lives and health of people in the horticulture sector. While horticulture is a prime means of livelihood in the valley, all those engaged in it, including workers, must not ignore the necessary precautions. Doing so has led to many life-claiming diseases and much suffering among those affiliated to this sector.
Doctors say that inhaling or spraying fungicides without safety measures is one of the reasons the valley is witnessing an alarming incidence of impotency and increase in cancer cases.
Dr Shafat Hussain, an assistant professor at Government Medical College Srinagar, told Kashmir Reader that cancer cases are rising at an unprecedented rate in rural areas, which of course is where the horticulture sector largely practiced. ‰??In areas of Shopian, the number of cancer cases is much higher and so is the occurence of impotency. For this, we believe the use of sprays in orchards is a major reason. When we spray on fruit trees, the pesticides get sprayed on vegetables grown nearby as well and on people growing the vegetables too. In that process, we again inhale or otherwise ingest these chemicals, ‰?? he said.
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HOUSTON CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION TANK FARM BURNS, CAUSE UNKNOWN
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Houston-chemical-distribution-tank-farm/97/web/2019/03
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
The cause of a massive fire at a petrochemical storage and distribution facility near Houston remains unknown, more than a week after the blaze and resulting smoke and chemical releases resulted in shelter-in-place orders for residents and shut down the Houston ship channel. No workers were injured or killed.
In all, 11 above-ground chemical storage tanks, each with a capacity of 80,000 barrels (12.7 million L), caught fire on March 17 and burned for three days. Residents of nearby Deer Park, which abuts the Houston ship channel, were twice ordered to stay indoors, first because of the initial fire and chemical releases and then again several days later following more releases due to a containment dam breach. Also, throughout the week several smaller fires broke out but were quickly contained.
A 10-mile stretch of the busy ship channel remained closed as of C&EN‰??s deadline.
Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC), a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., owns and operates the large tank facility. It is one of two ITC terminal centers along the Houston ship channel.
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