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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, May 3, 2019 at 7:45:20 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 (16 articles)
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND IN HOUSE THAT BELONGED TO DECEASED SLAC SCIENTIST
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, radiation
8 PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED AFTER RADIOACTIVE HAZMAT BREACH IN SEATTLE
Tags: us_WA, public, release, injury, radiation
MAINE IS THE FIRST STATE TO BAN STYROFOAM
Tags: us_ME, public, discovery, environmental
API REVISES STANDARD TO REDUCE WORKER FATIGUE IN REFINERIES, CHEMICAL PLANTS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
STATE SUES SHREWSBURY MAN OVER SHED DEMOLITION BLAST THAT RELEASED TOXINS
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, environmental, asphalt, cyanide, dust, explosives, hydrofluoric_acid, mercury, sodium_cyanide, toluene
CHEMISTRY BUILDING AT UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK EVACUATED DUE TO LAB FIRE
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
ENVIRONMENTALISTS CALL FOR GLOBAL PFAS BAN, INCLUDING IN FIREFIGHTING FOAM
Tags: Sweden, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
CITY BEEFS UP SAFETY MEASURES FOR WORKING WITH AMMONIA AT MUNICIPAL ARENAS
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, response, ammonia
HEALTH ADVISORY ISSUED AFTER SPILL ON NC 226 IN MCDOWELL COUNTY FLOWS INTO CREEKS
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, asphalt
MELBOURNE CBD GAS LEAK CONTAINED
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES FROM AMAZON ARE EXPLODING
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, injury, batteries
RELOCATION SITE OF OLD DHAKA CHEMICAL STORES CHANGED
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
HARRIS COUNTY BEEFS UP DA‰??S ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES DIVISION IN WAKE OF ITC, KMCO DISASTERS ‰?? HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE MASSIVE BLAZE AT RECYCLING CENTER SENDING OFF ‰??TOXIC FUMES‰??: ONTARIO FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, waste
CREWS TACKLE CHEMICAL LEAK AT MELKSHAM
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
WIND TURBINE MAKER SETTLES WITH IOWA OVER SAFETY VIOLATIONS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
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LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND IN HOUSE THAT BELONGED TO DECEASED SLAC SCIENTIST
https://padailypost.com/2019/05/02/low-level-radioactive-material-found-in-house-that-belonged-to-deceased-slac-scientist/
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, radiation
Low-level radioactive materials were found today (May 2) in a San Carlos home near Burton Park. The discovery caused authorities to close the park and a nearby youth center.
The materials belonged to a SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory scientist who died earlier this year.
At about noon today, the San Mateo County Department of Environmental Health got a call from the family of Ronald Seefred. They found some containers at Seefred‰??s house at 1054 Cedar St. contained radioactive materials.
Seefred, who died on Jan. 1 at age 82, retired in 2003 after 40 years at SLAC in Menlo Park, where he co-authored six radiation physics articles and served as a crew member of the High Energy Electronics Pool Lab, according to the Northern California chapter of the Health and Physics Society.
---------------------------------------------
8 PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED AFTER RADIOACTIVE HAZMAT BREACH IN SEATTLE
https://www.khq.com/news/people-hospitalized-after-radioactive-hazmat-breach-in-seattle/article_77914a2e-6d94-11e9-9008-eb6432630dff.html
Tags: us_WA, public, release, injury, radiation
Eight people were hospitalized after a radioactive hazmat situation in Seattle.
Fire officials say contract workers were removing cesium chloride salt from Harborview Hall when the breach happened. Teams worked quickly to contain the breach.
The Seattle Fire Department says 13 people tested positive for exposure to radioactive materials. All 13 underwent decontamination and were asymptomatic.
Eight of those affected were transported to Harvorview Medical Center.
Firefighters say there is no threat to the general public and the breach has been contained.
---------------------------------------------
MAINE IS THE FIRST STATE TO BAN STYROFOAM
https://psmag.com/news/maine-is-the-first-state-to-ban-styrofoam
Tags: us_ME, public, discovery, environmental
In a major victory for environmentalists, Maine has become the the first state to ban Styrofoam containers for food and beverages. The ban, signed by Democratic Governor Janet Mills on Tuesday, will take effect on January 1st, 2021.
The ban will make it illegal for restaurants to sell or distribute the containers (such as bowls, plates, cups, trays, and cartons), with penalties of up to $100 in fines. In addition, grocery stores and other businesses will be prohibited from using the containers. There are some exceptions: Hospitals, seafood shippers, and state-funded meals-on-wheels programs will still be allowed to use Styrofoam.
According to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, these containers are some of the most commonly littered items in the United States, with the state of Maine using 256 million Styrofoam items every year.
---------------------------------------------
API REVISES STANDARD TO REDUCE WORKER FATIGUE IN REFINERIES, CHEMICAL PLANTS
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-labor-refineries-fatigue/api-revises-standard-to-reduce-worker-fatigue-in-refineries-chemical-plants-idUSKCN1S82CH
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
HOUSTON (Reuters) - The American Petroleum Institute issued on Thursday a revised standard aimed at reducing fatigue among workers in the nation‰??s refineries and chemical plants, the trade group said.
The fatigue standard, officially called Recommended Practice (RP) 755, was first issued in 2010, based on the U.S. Chemical Safety Board‰??s finding that worker fatigue was one of the factors in the 2005 explosion at BP Plc‰??s refinery in Texas City, Texas, which killed 15 workers and injured 180 others.
The revised RP 755 is intended to further tighten the limits on the number of consecutive hours and days work may be required including during malfunctions and shutdowns.
‰??The second edition of RP 755 advances unified and condensed requirements to avoid fatigue for all workers involved in safety sensitive processes,‰?? said Debra Phillips, vice president of API‰??s Global Industry Services division in a statement issued on Thursday.
The United Steelworkers union (USW), which represents 30,000 workers in the oil industry did not reply to a request for comment on Thursday.
USW officials have in the past criticized the standard for being too easy for refinery and chemical plant managers to bypass or abuse.
---------------------------------------------
STATE SUES SHREWSBURY MAN OVER SHED DEMOLITION BLAST THAT RELEASED TOXINS
https://www.telegram.com/news/20190501/state-sues-shrewsbury-man-over-shed-demolition-blast-that-released-toxins
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, environmental, asphalt, cyanide, dust, explosives, hydrofluoric_acid, mercury, sodium_cyanide, toluene
A Shrewsbury man has been sued for illegally demolishing a backyard shed containing dynamite, causing a hazardous fire and explosion in the fall of 2016, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Wednesday.
On Oct. 24, 2016, Edgar Muntz Jr. directed P&M Asphalt Services Inc. of Sutton to demolish an old wooden shed at 393 Oak St. and to remove the construction and demolition debris from the property. Mr. Muntz, who lives at 10 Grove Meadow Lane, owned the 393 Oak St. property as trustee of 393 Oak Street Realty Trust.
Inside the shed were about 550 glass jars and other containers holding hazardous materials, including dynamite, hydrofluoric acid, mercury, sodium cyanide, arsenic, chloroform, toluene, and chromium, according to a complaint filed by the attorney general‰??s office in Suffolk Superior Court.
During demolition the shed caught fire, releasing hazardous materials to the air and soil, according to the attorney general‰??s office. The fumes caused P&M workers and a neighbor to suffer chest, throat, and respiratory discomfort, the lawsuit says.
After a neighbor alerted authorities to the explosion, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, along with other state and local agencies, took remedial action to secure the site and clean up the hazardous materials.
P&M workers previously had knocked down a house on the property. They backfilled the cellar hole of the demolished house using soil mixed with debris from the shed. That debris included jugs and plastic containers, some labeled ‰??Poison,‰?? that held bright multicolored powders, some of which were spilling out of cracked and broken containers, the lawsuit says.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMISTRY BUILDING AT UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK EVACUATED DUE TO LAB FIRE
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Chemistry-Building-at-University-of-Maryland-College-Park-Evacuated-509320791.html
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A chemistry building at University of Maryland College Park was evacuated Wednesday morning after an experiment caused a classroom fire, leading 17 people to be taken to a hospital for evaluation, authorities said.
People were conducting a lab experiment when a chemical reaction caught on fire at the Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Building, campus police said. Prince George's County Fire & EMS were called about 11 a.m.
The fire was extinguished by a powder extiguisher, a fire department spokesman said.
Multiple people were transported for precautionary evaluations, the fire department said: four students, a contractor, an employee, eight Prince George's County Fire personnel, two members of the campus police department and an assistant fire marshal. A spokesman initially said there were no reports of injuries.
---------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTALISTS CALL FOR GLOBAL PFAS BAN, INCLUDING IN FIREFIGHTING FOAM
https://www.sciencecodex.com/fire-safety-sectors-call-global-pfas-ban-no-loopholes-toxic-firefighting-foam-626009
Tags: Sweden, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
(Gothenburg, Sweden): Industry fire-safety experts from the oil and gas and aviation sectors are joining with firefighter trade unions to urge governments to protect human health and the environment with a global ban on the toxic chemical, PFOA, and to reject loopholes for its use in firefighting foams. The use of PFOA and other fluorinated organic compounds (PFAS) is widespread across many industrial and domestic applications including textiles, food packaging, stain and oil resistant treatments, and industrial processes. Fluorinated firefighting foam is a leading cause of water contamination with toxic chemicals that are associated with cancer, endocrine disruption, and harm to fetal development.
The upcoming 9th Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is scheduled to address a global ban on PFOA as the UN meeting commences next week (April 29-May 10). A key issue will be whether an exemption should be granted for continued PFOA use in firefighting foams. Industry fire-safety experts assert that no exemption is needed because cost-effective fluorine-free alternatives work as well or better than PFOA- and other PFAS-containing foams. Unlike PFAS-containing foams, fluorine-free alternatives do not cause long-term harm to human health and the environment or incur the extremely high cleanup costs of PFAS-containing foams.
The Stockholm Convention's scientific expert body recommended global elimination of PFOA due to its toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation in the food chain, and ability to travel long distances. They also recommended strengthening the listing of PFOS in the treaty by closing a large number of loopholes. Since PFOA and PFOS have been used in firefighting foams, the expert body addressed alternatives to them, warning against using the entire class of PFAS substances in firefighting foams, "due to their persistence and mobility, as well as their potential negative environmental, human health and socioeconomic impacts." (POPRC-14/2)
---------------------------------------------
CITY BEEFS UP SAFETY MEASURES FOR WORKING WITH AMMONIA AT MUNICIPAL ARENAS
https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/city-beefs-up-safety-measures-for-working-with-ammonia-at-municipal-arenas
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, response, ammonia
A report on ammonia levels exceeding the recommended limit for short-term exposure at six municipal rinks will go before Windsor city council on Monday.
We‰??re going above and beyond
Following the two ministry complaints lodged in February, administration called for testing of ammonia levels in the refrigeration rooms at Charles Clark Square, Lanspeary Park, Adie Knox, South Windsor, Forest Glade and the main bowl and community rinks at the WFCU Centre.
All six locations showed readings that exceeded 50 parts per million during a routine oil draining process. Ontario‰??s acceptable level is 35 ppm.
The readings were taken while workers conducted maintenance for draining chiller oil from the refrigeration system.
Monitors at Lanspeary‰??s rink showed a reading of 127 ppm and WFCU‰??s main bowl had a reading of 200 ppm. Levels exceeding 300 ppm can pose a health risk.
---------------------------------------------
HEALTH ADVISORY ISSUED AFTER SPILL ON NC 226 IN MCDOWELL COUNTY FLOWS INTO CREEKS
https://wlos.com/news/local/health-advisory-issued-after-spill-on-nc-226-in-mcdowell-county-flows-into-creeks
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, asphalt
a health advisory Tuesday afternoon, hours after a tanker crashed on a mountain highway and spilled a liquid asphalt solution.
N.C. 226 was closed for about nine hours as HAZMAT crews worked to contain the liquid asphalt and keep it from reaching a nearby creek.
The crash happened about 5 a.m. in the North Cove community of McDowell County near Triple J Park.
By mid afternoon, crews had removed the 18 wheeler from the crash site and put a lot of sand on the liquid tar. But plenty of the asphalt reached nearby Coxes and Armstrong creeks.
---------------------------------------------
MELBOURNE CBD GAS LEAK CONTAINED
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/fire-crews-probe-gas-leak-in-melbourne-cbd/news-story/f352f2b9cad01a6f7b9d5984181ac7bd
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
A gas leak in Melbourne's CBD has been contained after firefighters and workers located and stopped the chemicals leaching out from a storm water drain.
A pedestrian reported the leak near the corner of Lonsdale and Spencer streets about 8am on Wednesday before firefighters arrived and identified the source in a storm water tunnel.
"(The) Metropolitan Fire Brigade's specialist HAZMAT teams commenced a thorough investigation and have pinpointed the source of the gas leak to a storm water tunnel," a statement from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said earlier on Wednesday.
Authorities including a gas company worked for most of the day to contain the leak and were forced to shut part of a major road because of the works disruption.
---------------------------------------------
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES FROM AMAZON ARE EXPLODING
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/04/lithium-ion-batteries-amazon-are-exploding/587005/
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, injury, batteries
Nicholas Jones didn‰??t think twice about purchasing a lithium-ion battery from Amazon in 2016. Like most Americans, he was used to ordering whatever he needed on the site and having it show up at his front door days later. So when his laptop‰??s battery stopped working, Jones, then a graduate student, went online, found a replacement HP battery for about $15, and bought it.
A few nights later, he was sitting on the couch in his Buffalo, New York, apartment when he heard a sound like a gunshot. His fiancÌ©e screamed. The lithium-ion battery in the laptop sitting next to him had ignited, setting his couch on fire. Battery cells were flying all over the living room, leaking acid. ‰??It was like a war zone,‰?? Jones told me. Later, he was treated for first-degree and chemical burns. His computer and hardwood floor were destroyed.
Curious about what had happened, Jones went back online to try to contact the seller and alert Amazon to the problem. Scrolling through reviews, he realized other buyers were reporting fires from the same item. But Amazon seemed unconcerned, he told me: Customer-service representatives treated his report like a new one each time he called, asking for his name, the order number, and the story of what had happened over and over again. Amazon would not put him in touch with the seller and never assumed blame for the fire.
---------------------------------------------
RELOCATION SITE OF OLD DHAKA CHEMICAL STORES CHANGED
http://www.newagebd.net/article/71258/relocation-site-of-old-dhaka-chemical-stores-changed
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
A total of 54 makeshift warehouses will be set up in the city‰??s Shyampur area, instead of Keraniganj, to relocate hazardous chemical stores from Old Dhaka.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the proposal at a meeting presided over by prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the planning commission in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The ECNEC also approved another proposal to revise a project aiming at establishing a permanent chemical industrial park at Sirajdikhan in Munshiganj.
ECNEC approved the projects as another project of establishing a permanent chemical park, on 50 acre of land at Keraniganj, failed to make progress and was abandoned finally.
The Keraniganj project, taken in the wake of deadly fire at a chemical warehouse at Nimtoli that killed 124 people in 2010, would not be implemented, said planning minister MA Mannan at a briefing after the meeting.
Earlier, the industries ministry said they faced problem in acquisition of land in the densely populated Keraniganj area.
The relocation of chemical shops from the old city resurfaced after 71 people were killed in another fire incident at Chawkbazar in February.
---------------------------------------------
HARRIS COUNTY BEEFS UP DA‰??S ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES DIVISION IN WAKE OF ITC, KMCO DISASTERS ‰?? HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2019/04/30/331423/harris-county-beefs-up-das-environmental-crimes-division-in-wake-of-itc-kmco-disasters/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
Harris County is taking steps to crack down on environmental crimes, as County commissioners voted unanimously to spend $850,000 to beef up the environmental division of the District Attorney‰??s Office.
The funds will hire four prosecutors, two investigators and two support staffers to deal with everything from illegal dumping to industrial accidents.
The move comes just two months after Democrats on the Commissioners Court rejected a request by the DA‰??s Office to hire 102 new prosecutors. Republican Commissioner Steve Radack asked Vivian King, the DA‰??s chief of staff, whether this latest request had been part of the earlier one.
‰??I just want to clarify that this is one of these twists of fate, that all of a sudden, you‰??re going to get what you need when this court rejected what you needed a few weeks ago,‰?? Radack said.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE MASSIVE BLAZE AT RECYCLING CENTER SENDING OFF ‰??TOXIC FUMES‰??: ONTARIO FIRE DEPARTMENT
https://ktla.com/2019/04/30/firefighters-battle-blaze-at-commercial-structure-in-ontario/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, waste
Firefighters battled a massive blaze at a recycling center in Ontario for more than three hours as it sent off toxic fumes before managing to contain it by Tuesday evening, authorities said.
A massive plume of black smoke rises from a fire at a recycling facility in Ontario on April 30, 2019. (Credit: KTLA)
The fire, located at 825 E. State St., was reported to fire officials at 1:14 p.m., according to Ontario Fire Department Chief Art Andres.
About 110 firefighters worked against the flames for hours before it was fairly contained by 5 p.m., according to Andres. By that time, the fire was isolated to just one main hot spot, he said.
The recycling facility bundles cardboard, plastics and other materials together so firefighters must break apart those bundles to make sure there aren't smaller fires still burning within them, according to Andres.
The mixture of combustible materials being burned has resulted in the "deep dark black smoke" that could be seen floating from the scene of the blaze, Andres said.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS TACKLE CHEMICAL LEAK AT MELKSHAM
https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/17608109.crews-tackle-chemical-leak-at-melksham/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
FIRE crews from Chippenham, Trowbridge and Shepton Mallet have tackled a chemical leak at Melksham this afternoon.
A mixture of two chemicals caused an "exothermic reaction" which released energy through gasses.
The crews were called out to the hazardous materials incident at 2.58pm and by 4pm had the chemicals under control.
It appears that contractors laying a floor at the Novacast metal casting foundry at Lancaster Road, Bowerhill Industrial Estate, Melksham, mixed two chemicals in a bucket using a metal stirrer.
The chemicals reacted with each other, giving off gasses, and the whole area was cordoned off as a safety precaution.
A spokeswoman for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Two crews from Chippenham and Trowbridge attended.
---------------------------------------------
WIND TURBINE MAKER SETTLES WITH IOWA OVER SAFETY VIOLATIONS
https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Wind-turbine-maker-settles-with-Iowa-over-safety-13807029.php
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) ‰?? A Newton company that builds wind turbine blades has settled with state regulators following an investigation into workplace safety violations.
TPI Composites agreed last month to pay the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration a total of $100,000 in fines, the Des Moines Register reported.
The settlement requires TPI to restrict employee contact with hazardous chemicals, eliminate fall dangers and alter how the factory stores combustible liquids. The company has adopted new polyethylene suits to protect workers against the chemicals.
"I think the settlement has done an effective job of making TPI in Newton, Iowa, a safer place to work," said Don Peddy, who oversees the Iowa OSHA program.
Iowa regulators gave TPI until Aug. 31 to fix all of the residual safety hazards.
Iowa OSHA levied nearly $155,000 in fines against TPI last year due violations that include fire dangers, airborne contaminants, improper record keeping, fall hazards and a shortage of adequate protective gear for employees.
The citations support complaints from dozens of former workers who said TPI didn't properly protect them from dangerous chemicals that caused them severe skin injuries. Some workers said they were fired after reporting the injuries.
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