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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Job Opening: Emergency Response Coordinator for the University of Arkansas Office of EH&S Date: Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 4:28:06 PM Author: John David Dixon <jdd07**At_Symbol_Here**UARK.EDU> |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, April 12, 2019 at 7:45:37 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)
'LEAKING, SMOKING' SULFUR FOUND NEAR HAWTHORNE BALLFIELD: HAZMAT RESPONDS, EVACUATIONS ORDERED
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, sulphur
EPA, LDEQ REMOVING DOZENS OF CHEMICAL DRUMS AFTER SPILL MONDAY
Tags: us_LA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
FIRE FORCES EVACUATIONS AT TUALATIN WAREHOUSE
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, batteries
KEAAU GAS CLOUD SCARE EXPLAINED BY FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_HI, industrial, release, response, propane
OXFORD EXPLOSION WAS CAUSED BY DETONATED FIREWORK, POLICE SAY
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, injury, fireworks, illegal
LAWSUIT: HUNDREDS OF URINE SAMPLES CONTAMINATED IN TRANSIT FOLLOWING ITC FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene
4 DEAD, 2 MISSING IN CHINA ALUMINUM ORE TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: China, transportation, release, death
ITC IMPACT: ANNUAL FESTIVAL CELEBRATING BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO...
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
AFTER DEADLY EXPLOSION IN CHINA, RAW MATERIALS ARE EVEN MORE CHALLENGING
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, paints
BRAZIL SHELVES CHEMICALS BILL ‰??UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE‰??
Tags: Brazil, industrial, discovery, environmental
CHINA'S CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SET FOR MASSIVE CHANGES
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
WHY JURY VERDICTS GET OVERRULED IN US INDUSTRY CANCER TRIALS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, dust, pharmaceutical
HYDERABAD: FOUR INJURED IN AN EXPLOSION AT SCRAP YARD IN SHASTRIPURAM
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, waste
‰??NOTHING EVER CHANGES‰??: LIFE AFTER ONE OF CHINA‰??S DEADLIEST CHEMICAL DISASTERS
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
EPA ‰??CAN‰??T DO‰?? GREEN CHEMISTRY, AGENCY OFFICIAL SAYS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT EMPLOYEE CHARGED IN EXPLOSION IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE HARVEY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, illegal
GAS EXPLOSION IN DURHAM: GAS EXPLOSION LEVELS BUILDING IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
Tags: us_NC, public, explosion, death, natural_gas
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'LEAKING, SMOKING' SULFUR FOUND NEAR HAWTHORNE BALLFIELD: HAZMAT RESPONDS, EVACUATIONS ORDERED
https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/pascackvalley/police-fire/leaking-smoking-sulfur-found-near-hawthorne-ballfield-hazmat-responds-evacuations-ordered/765989/
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, sulphur
What one responder said was "leaking, smoking" sulfur near a Hawthorne ballfield Thursday afternoon forced the evacuations of nearby homes and businesses and brought a hazardous materials unit.
Bystanders said at least one person was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Wagaraw Road was closed from Lafayette to Lincoln avenues with "no entry to the roadway whatsoever," Hawthorne police said, as a Passaic County Hazardous Materials Unit tried to trace the origin of the leak.
A command center was set up at the Wagaraw Road ballfield, which was closed to practices for the rest of the day.
A work crew was digging a trench in the ballfield's auxiliary parking lot when the incident occurred.
Hawthorne police, firefighters and the Volunteer Ambulance Corps, responded, along with the Passaic County Health Department and Sheriff's Office and Valley Hospital EMS.
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EPA, LDEQ REMOVING DOZENS OF CHEMICAL DRUMS AFTER SPILL MONDAY
http://www.wafb.com/2019/04/11/epa-ldeq-removing-dozens-chemical-drums-after-spill-monday/
Tags: us_LA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Choctaw Drive near Kincaid Avenue remains blocked after a chemical spill Monday, April 8.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) says it responded to complaints of a foul odor coming from a property in the area after drums containing an unknown reddish substance spilled while they were being moved.
The spill has since been cleaned up, however, nearly 120 drums were located on the property and are still being moved.
Around noon on Thursday, April 11, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took over to assist with sampling the substance so crews can better determine how to remove it.
Sampling will take around five to ten days.
A team from the Baton Rouge Fire Department is remaining on scene to conduct air quality monitoring as a precaution.
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FIRE FORCES EVACUATIONS AT TUALATIN WAREHOUSE
https://katu.com/news/local/fire-forces-evacuations-at-tualatin-warehouse
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, batteries
TUALATIN, Ore. ‰??
A Tualatin warehouse was evacuated Thursday evening as hazmat crews assessed the scene of a commercial fire.
There were no known injuries at the warehouse on Southwest 115th Avenue.
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue says it thinks lithium batteries may have started the fire.
Firefighters said someone from inside the business told them a new product test on six large lithium-ion batteries was being conducted and the batteries were on fire.
They say sprinklers knocked down most of it before they got there.
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KEAAU GAS CLOUD SCARE EXPLAINED BY FIRE DEPARTMENT
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2019/04/11/keaau-gas-cloud-scare-explained-by-fire-department/
Tags: us_HI, industrial, release, response, propane
(BIVN) ‰?? A dangerous, floating cloud of gas resulted in the temporary closure of Shipman Industrial Park in KeaćČau today, and forced companies operating in the area to shelter in place.
No one was injured by the cloud of propane gas, which was created when a valve was reportedly torn off a Liquefied Petroleum Gas, or LPG, container, fire officials say.
The fire department responded to Kipimana Street, between Melekahiwa Place and Kalapa Place, just after 11 a.m., and found a ‰??large vapor cloud‰?? in area moving with light winds. Traffic was stopped to Shipman Industrial Area, and the source was identified as ‰??a torn off fill valve located at the bottom of a 20‰?? LPG shipping container (24 sq meter/ ~6,300 gallons),‰?? a fire dispatch stated.
The liquid LPG ‰??formed a large ice flow of LPG under the container, which released a large cloud of visible Propane gas,‰?? the fire department said.
The cloud propane cloud, which the fire department says can be highly flammable and is heavier than air, moved over the surrounding area in the variable winds and raining conditions. ‰??Neighboring properties were instructed to shelter in place and extinguish any outside flame/industrial sources, vehicles included,‰?? the dispatch said.
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OXFORD EXPLOSION WAS CAUSED BY DETONATED FIREWORK, POLICE SAY
https://www.journal-news.com/news/police-say-explosive-device-injuring-boys-was-detonated-firework/fEBO8xWn7AndbXzWKP2fYN/
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, injury, fireworks, illegal
Oxford police said the explosive device that injured two boys on March 19 was a detonated pyrotechnic, or firework, similar to one called an aerial salute.
Aerial salutes are fireworks that are designed be launched in the air for a fireworks display. A ground salute is one that functions from a stationary or secured position, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association website.Police said the boys discovered the firework in the alley in the 100 block of East Withrow Street and described it as silver colored and the shape and size of a baseball. One of the boys lost a hand in the explosion.
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LAWSUIT: HUNDREDS OF URINE SAMPLES CONTAMINATED IN TRANSIT FOLLOWING ITC FIRE
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/itc-fire/lawsuit-hundreds-of-urine-samples-contaminated-in-transit-following-itc-fire/285-2117c716-c06f-4a6e-a741-67e6fde93677
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene
DEER PARK, Texas ‰?? Two Deer Park residents have filed a lawsuit against a third-party testing company claiming they contaminated urine samples after mishandling them during transit.
According to a court affidavit, Bruce and Rita Gale sought medical treatment at Community Health First Emergency Center on March 29 after ‰??suffering symptoms consistent with chemical inhalation following the ITC industrial fire.‰??
During the fire at Intercontinental Terminal Co.‰??s Deer Park facility, area residents were ordered to shelter-in-place after action-levels of Benzene were detected by air quality monitors.
The plaintiffs said they submitted urine samples to be sent to a third-party testing facility to be tested for levels of Benzene exposure.
Their suit alleges they were told approximately 80 percent of the 500 urine samples couldn‰??t be tested due to contamination ‰??yielded from LABCORPS mishandling of the samples during transit.‰??
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4 DEAD, 2 MISSING IN CHINA ALUMINUM ORE TRAIN DERAILMENT
https://www.fireengineering.com/ap-news/2019/04/11/4-dead-2-missing-in-china-aluminum-ore-train-derailment.html
Tags: China, transportation, release, death
BEIJING (AP) ‰?? A train carrying aluminum ore derailed in a central Chinese province, killing at least four people, local authorities said Thursday, in the latest in a series of industrial accidents to strike the country.
The city government of Gongy in Henan province said the train crashed into a village home after jumping the tracks around 10 p.m. Wednesday. Two other people were listed as missing, it said.
The 25-car train is owned by a subsidiary of Aluminum Corporation of China and ran on a 22-kilometer (14-mile) track built in the 1950s specially for transporting ore.
TV footage showed tangled cars from the train spread across a forested area.
China experiences frequent industrial accidents despite orders from the central government to improve safety at factories, power plants and mines or risk prosecution. Skirting of safety regulations ‰?? sometimes with the collusion of corrupt local officials ‰?? is generally given as the cause.
---------------------------------------------
ITC IMPACT: ANNUAL FESTIVAL CELEBRATING BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO...
https://www.click2houston.com/news/itc-impact-annual-festival-celebrating-battle-of-san-jacinto-canceled
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - For the first time in 80 years, the annual San Jacinto Day Celebration at the San Jacinto Monument has been canceled due to safety concerns after a fire at the ITC facility in Deer Park.
As the cleanup continues, worries about chemical contamination have forced the closure of two of the state‰??s most popular tourist attractions during what is usually their busiest time of year.
The celebration has been held April 21 every year since the monument was completed in 1939 to commemorate the battle of San Jacinto that won Texas its independence in 1836.
It‰??s grown to include a weekendlong festival and battle re-enactment, but not this year.
The fire and chemical release at the ITC plant put the monument, as well as the Battleship Texas moored nearby, in the danger zone. The road leading to both remains closed.
---------------------------------------------
AFTER DEADLY EXPLOSION IN CHINA, RAW MATERIALS ARE EVEN MORE CHALLENGING
https://www.inkworldmagazine.com/contents/view_blog/2019-04-11/after-deadly-explosion-in-china-raw-materials-are-even-more-challenging/
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, paints
The past few years have been extremely challenging in terms of supply of key raw materials for inks and their ingredients. Suppliers in China have been closed temporarily or permanently due to tightening environmental regulations. In 2018, the shuttering of a key intermediate for photoinitiators creates a shortage of TPO and TPO-L, leaving ink companies scrambling to find materials for UV inks and coatings, often having to pay much higher prices for what they could find. As a result, many leading ink manufacturers have looked to diversify their supplier base.
The tragic explosion at Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical in China in March serves as a reminder of the need for tight regulation in China as well as concerns over doing business in the country.
---------------------------------------------
BRAZIL SHELVES CHEMICALS BILL ‰??UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE‰??
https://chemicalwatch.com/76218/brazil-shelves-chemicals-bill-until-further-notice
Tags: Brazil, industrial, discovery, environmental
Brazil‰??s environment minister has shelved the country‰??s draft chemicals bill, according to a government source.
The bill, which has been sitting with the Civil House since January, was awaiting review by the country‰??s president, Jair Bolsonaro.
However, Mr Bolsonaro, who took office on 1 January, has sent the bill back to his environment Minister Ricardo Salles (pictured), who has shelved it without review, the source says.
All scheduled meetings of the working groups tasked with reviewing and shaping the draft bill for final approval have been cancelled "until further notice". Some Brazilian industry sources say that they have been dropped for the rest of the year.
OECD accession
The source says this "demonstrates that there is no intention to send the proposal back to the presidency, despite being informed about its importance under the OECD membership process".
In 2017, Brazil applied to become a full OECD member country. It has not yet been invited to start the process of accession but if it is, the country will have to show its ability and willingness to implement the OECD council acts related to chemical safety.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA'S CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SET FOR MASSIVE CHANGES
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1145588.shtml
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
China's chemical industry could see major relocations and closures of plants and industrial parks this year amid a nationwide safety crackdown following a couple of deadly factory blasts in East China.
Experts said that the industry is shifting to a greener, more efficient model, with a focus on developing high added-value materials.
Initial assessments by regulators have revealed that about 30 percent of the country's 676 chemical industry parks have no safety regulation platforms, the Economic Information Daily reported, citing an unidentified official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Two-thirds of the industrial parks lacked proper facilities to handle hazardous waste, and nearly 9 percent of industrial parks lacked proper sewage treatment facilities, according to the report.
The MIIT is reportedly working with other government agencies to set up standards to evaluate chemical industrial parks and conduct a thorough assessment of safety risks, which could result in relocations and even closures.
The chemical sector has been under close regulatory scrutiny after a pair of deadly explosions at chemical plants in East China's Jiangsu Province killed a total of 85 people and injured dozens more in March.
---------------------------------------------
WHY JURY VERDICTS GET OVERRULED IN US INDUSTRY CANCER TRIALS
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/why-jury-verdicts-get-overruled-in-us-industry-cancer-trials/3010372.article
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, dust, pharmaceutical
Why do guilty verdicts get overruled by judges in trials linking chemical products to cancer?
High-profile lawsuits against large pharmaceutical, personal care and agrochemical companies, whose products are alleged to cause cancer, are a regular fixture in US courtrooms. Johnson and Johnson (J&J) is facing around 13,000 lawsuits relating to its talcum powder products, for example, while Bayer has assumed liability in over 11,000 cases relating to Monsanto‰??s glyphosate herbicide. A few years ago, Takeda and Eli Lilly faced a similar slew of suits over diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone).
The outcomes of these trials appear to follow a familiar pattern. A jury returns a guilty verdict and awards very large damages to plaintiffs, only for the decision to be overruled by a judge, or at least the amount of damages slashed. Experts suggest that this pattern reflects the scientific complexity of the legal cases involved, and they predict that these cases will continue to be primarily appealed rather than settled.
---------------------------------------------
HYDERABAD: FOUR INJURED IN AN EXPLOSION AT SCRAP YARD IN SHASTRIPURAM
https://telanganatoday.com/hyderabad-four-injured-in-an-explosion-at-scrap-yard-in-shastripuram
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, waste
Hyderabad: Four persons, including an Inspector of Police and a corporator were injured in an explosion at a scrap yard in Shastripuram, Mailardevpally here on Wednesday.
According to the Mailardevpally police, the scrap yard owners had brought some material for recycling purpose to the scrap yard and plastic waste recycling unit located in Shastripuram. The material was brought on Monday.
On Tuesday evening, there was an explosion following which one person identified as Afroz sustained injuries and was shifted to Osmania General Hospital for treatment.
Following the chemical explosion, on Wednesday morning, the local Inspector K Sattaiah Goud along with local corporator Mohd Misbahuddin went to the place and were inspecting the premises when suddenly another explosion happened.
---------------------------------------------
‰??NOTHING EVER CHANGES‰??: LIFE AFTER ONE OF CHINA‰??S DEADLIEST CHEMICAL DISASTERS
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/china-factory-explosion-tianjiayi-impact-deaths-a8852331.html
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
deadly factory explosion in 2007 didn‰??t kill Ren Guanying. Nor did the chlorine gas leak that sparked mass panic in 2010.
When countless smaller industrial accidents struck Xiangshui County, a smog-choked belt of Jiangsu province in China, over the years, they spared her, too.
The 58-year-old factory worker‰??s luck ran out on 21 March. An explosion at Tianjiayi Chemical Co ripped through an industrial zone and the surrounding countryside, killing at least 78 people and injuring more than 600.
Ren‰??s body was found on a country road not far from a 300-foot-wide crater, says her daughter, Ma Li.
‰??We used to always worry whenever we heard a blast, until we got numb to it,‰?? Ma says in her shattered home about half a mile from the chemical plants. ‰??This place was like a time bomb. This time, it finally got my mom.‰??
Watch more
Explosion kills seven people at metal-moulding plant in China
To the residents of Xiangshui County, about 200 miles north of Shanghai, the Tianjiayi explosion wasn‰??t so much an accident as an inevitability.
Over the past two decades, local officials have transformed this once-overlooked coastal expanse of wheat and rice farms into one of China‰??s major chemical-production centres, tripling the region‰??s economic output in the process.
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EPA ‰??CAN‰??T DO‰?? GREEN CHEMISTRY, AGENCY OFFICIAL SAYS
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-cant-do-green-chemistry-agency-official-says
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Research on designing chemicals that produce less waste, use less energy, and are safer is being cut at the EPA to increase the focus on chemical recycling and disposal.
‰??With a limited budget and resources, there are things we can‰??t do,‰?? Jeff Frithsen, national director for the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s Chemical Safety for Sustainability research program, told agency advisers April 10.
‰??Sustainable chemistry: Can‰??t do it,‰?? he said. ‰??We‰??re not saying it isn‰??t important, but in terms of all...
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TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT EMPLOYEE CHARGED IN EXPLOSION IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE HARVEY
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-chemical-plant-employee-charged-explosion-aftermath-hurricane-harvey-n993226
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, illegal
DALLAS ‰?? Another senior employee at a chemical company is facing criminal charges connected to a 2017 explosion at a Houston-area plant following Hurricane Harvey.
Michael Keough, vice president of logistics for Arkema Inc.'s North American subsidiary, was indicted on felony assault charges tied to his actions ahead of a chemical fire and explosion at the company's Crosby facility, the Harris County District Attorney's office announced Wednesday. The company was also charged.
Keough falsely told officials that Arkema was monitoring potentially explosive chemical tanks in real time when the company had insufficient data to give early warning, according to District Attorney Kim Ogg. These "misrepresentations" led two sheriff's deputies to drive directly into a toxic cloud, which then spread to exposing others, she said.
An attorney for Keough, Dan Cogdell, called the indictment "absurd" and "beyond rational thought."
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GAS EXPLOSION IN DURHAM: GAS EXPLOSION LEVELS BUILDING IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gas-explosion-in-durham-north-carolina-levels-building-today-2019-04-10-live-updates/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=65932934
Tags: us_NC, public, explosion, death, natural_gas
One person died Wednesday morning in a gas explosion and fire at a building in downtown Durham, North Carolina, authorities said. The city of Durham tweeted that people should avoid the area of Duke and Morgan streets.
The city said police and fire officials as well as those from PSNC Energy were responding. Authorities said 15 injured people were transported to hospitals.
A firefighter was in serious condition, Deputy Fire Chief Chris Iannuzzi told reporters. Durham Police spokesman Wil Glenn told reporters a contractor hit a gas line under the sidewalk.
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