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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at 7:02:00 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)
MELBOURNE CHEMICAL SPILL: 7 PEOPLE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL INCLUDING 5 FIREFIGHTERS
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid
ALL CLEAR AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN BERKELEY
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, chlorine, pool_chemicals
MAJOR FIRE AT CHEMICAL FACTORY
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, flammables, petroleum
AMMONIA LEAK ON NORTH VAN FISHING BOAT SENDS ONE TO HOSPITAL
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, ammonia
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT AT GOLETA BUSINESS
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
TOXIC STREAM OF ‰??MYSTERY FOAM‰?? NEAR DETROIT WAS PFAS ‰?? BUT FROM WHERE?
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
CONTAMINATED TURNOUT GEAR: TESTING BASICS AND LIMITATIONS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
STUDENTS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN BUCKEYE SCHOOL LAB
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
JIANGSU MAY FACE HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL, FISCAL BURDEN IN DOWNSIZING ITS CHEMICAL SECTOR: ANALYSTS
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
U.S. DEPART. OF LABOR CITES TEXAS MEAT-PACKING PLANT FOR EXPOSING WORKERS TO HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental, ammonia, illegal
LATEST FIRE ADDS TO GROWING LIST OF INCIDENTS AT WACKER'S CHARLESTON, TENNESSEE, CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, response, water_treatment
GOVERNMENTS ENDORSE GLOBAL PFOA BAN, WITH SOME EXEMPTIONS
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
EXPLOSION ROCKS SILICONES PLANT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
BREMER COUNTY POSTS ABOUT ANHYDROUS AMMONIA TANK SPILL
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
NO EXPLOSION: POOR LAB VENTILATION LED TO 13 STUDENTS INHALING IODINE GAS
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, release, injury, iodine
FUEL TRAVELS NEARLY ONE MILE FROM SITE OF SPILL IN LAKESIDE NEIGHBORHOOD
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, petroleum
SAN JACINTO BATTLEGROUND TO REOPEN 6 WEEKS AFTER ITC FIRE
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
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MELBOURNE CHEMICAL SPILL: 7 PEOPLE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL INCLUDING 5 FIREFIGHTERS
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/chemical-spill-in-melbournes-south-west-puts-seven-in-hospital/news-story/675cd7335820474d1ed4dd0ea6b99f61
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid
Seven people, including five firefighters, are in hospital after being exposed to chemical fumes following a spill in Melbourne‰??s southwest.
More than 30 firefighters were called to a transport company in Fitzgerald Road, Laverton North, just before 11am, after hydrofluoric acid leaked from a drum.
Hydrofluoric acid is highly corrosive and can immediately affect a person‰??s eyes, skin and lungs.
Emergency services were called as soon as the acid was found to be leaking from a drum at a factory owned by trucking company Toll Global Logistics.
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ALL CLEAR AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN BERKELEY
https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/berkeley/all-clear-after-chemical-spill-in-berkeley/
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, chlorine, pool_chemicals
BERKELEY ‰?? A smoky condition involving pool chemicals led to the all-day evacuation of the Holiday City Clubhouse Tuesday. Authorities say it could have been a whole lot worse.
Berkeley Police responded to the clubhouse on Jamaica Boulevard at around 10:50 a.m. due to the smoke condition. The Berkeley Township HAZMAT Unit and the Manitou Park Fire Department also responded.
Police realized that several gallons of pool chlorine had leaked on electrical apparatus causing the smoke condition.
The area was evacuated and roads were closed to non-essential personnel. As an extra precaution, all Berkeley Township Fire Departments and first aid squads responded including backup units from other Ocean County towns.
No one was injured and police said the cooperative effort of the first responders quickly mitigated the threat of a larger leak or contamination.
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MAJOR FIRE AT CHEMICAL FACTORY
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ludhiana/major-fire-at-chemical-factory/769898.html
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, flammables, petroleum
A major fire broke out at Parkash Chemicals in Durga Colony, Phase V, Focal Point, today. The firemen struggled hard to douse the flames as chemical containers kept exploding. More than a dozen workers were reportedly working inside the unit when the fire broke out.
Station Fire Officer SN Sharma said it was around 5 pm when an oil tanker carrying inflammable lubricants, which was about to leave the factory, caught fire following sparking. The tanker driver was lucky to jump off in time.
Soon, the flames spread to the chemical drums stored in the factory. More than six two-wheelers were destroyed in the fire.
The fire officials said there were more than 100 drums of chemical lying inside the unit. Water sprinkled on the flames was actually stoking the fire which forced the firemen to stop their operation for over an hour.
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AMMONIA LEAK ON NORTH VAN FISHING BOAT SENDS ONE TO HOSPITAL
https://www.nsnews.com/news/ammonia-leak-on-north-van-fishing-boat-sends-one-to-hospital-1.23813607
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, ammonia
North Van firefighters say a local fishing crew is lucky after an ammonia leak aboard their boat sent one man to hospital.
The first 911 call came in at 4 a.m. Monday from the Seymour Creek Marina at the foot of Orwell Street in the District of North Vancouver.
The crew was in the process of unloading their catch for a local fish processing plant when the boat‰??s sensors picked up unsafe levels of the noxious gas. Larger fishing vessels typically have their own ammonia-charged cooling plants on board, similar to ice arenas, to freeze fish.
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FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT AT GOLETA BUSINESS
https://ksby.com/news/local-news/2019/05/06/firefighters-respond-to-hazmat-incident-at-goleta-business
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
Santa Barbara County Fire Department crews responded to a hazmat incident at an Old Town Goleta business on Monday afternoon.
It was reported at about 4:30 p.m. at a dive shop in the 5000 block of Hollister Ave.
Fire officials say two employees at the shop were working with muriatic acid and chlorine and accidentally mixed the two chemicals, causing a reaction that made them feel ill.
The two workers were reportedly able to drive themselves to the hospital.
Once firefighters arrived, they contacted the hazardous materials team and crews were able to dilute the chemical mixture and render it non-hazardous. No other injuries were reported.
---------------------------------------------
TOXIC STREAM OF ‰??MYSTERY FOAM‰?? NEAR DETROIT WAS PFAS ‰?? BUT FROM WHERE?
https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/05/toxic-piles-of-mystery-foam-near-detroit-was-pfas-but-from-where.html
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
The thick white foam pouring through a ravine and rolling over a roadway near an I-75 interchange in southwest Detroit seemed scary and mysterious in summer 2018.
Police were called, Hazmat crews wore gloves and boots to get samples, and Schaefer Highway was closed for the so-called ‰??foam events‰?? over several days in early August.
By the time the foam dwindled to a trickle then stopped, the public was told it wasn‰??t harmful. Officials said the oozing river of foam it may have resulted from construction of a parking lot near Schaefer Highway and I-75 in Melvindale.
Neither was true, investigators now say.
Laboratory tests confirm extremely high concentrations of PFAS in that foam ‰?? and officials still are considering ‰??several possible enforcement actions‰?? against more than one ‰??unnamed parties‰?? believed to be responsible for foam so copious it stopped traffic on the industrial thoroughfare on the edge of Detroit, just south of Ford Motor Company‰??s Rouge complex in Dearborn.
---------------------------------------------
CONTAMINATED TURNOUT GEAR: TESTING BASICS AND LIMITATIONS
https://www.firechief.com/fire-products/personal-protective-equipment-ppe/articles/contaminated-turnout-gear-testing-basics-and-limitations-Xg9hq86tyB8uEvPt/
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
In ‰??How to Assess Contaminated Turnout Clothing,‰?? we explained the different types of contamination that could occur for firefighters responding to emergency events, with the primary focus on structural fires. We explained that if there were concerns about exposure to different hazardous substances, then it could be possible to test the clothing for levels of contamination to determine whether the wearing the gear posed continued exposure hazards. We suggested several questions to help make this determination.
This column provides guidance for how to answer those questions related to whether to test clothing ‰?? and whether the clothing should be considered for early retirement.
---------------------------------------------
STUDENTS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN BUCKEYE SCHOOL LAB
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley-breaking/2019/05/06/students-evacuated-after-chemical-spill-buckeye-school-lab/1122403001/
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
Students were evacuated from a Buckeye school while police and fire crews investigated a hazardous situation Monday afternoon, the Buckeye fire department said.
Fire officials said the incident appeared to be contained to the chemistry lab at the Odyssey Preparatory Academy at 1495 S. Verrado Way in Buckeye.
All other students were evacuated from the building while hazmat teams ran checks, fire officials said.
No serious injuries were reported, the fire department said, but two students were being evaluated by the fire department. One student was transported to a local hospital as a precaution, the fire department said.
---------------------------------------------
JIANGSU MAY FACE HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL, FISCAL BURDEN IN DOWNSIZING ITS CHEMICAL SECTOR: ANALYSTS
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1148731.shtml
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
East China's Jiangsu Province may face a huge environmental and fiscal burden as it pursues a campaign of drastically downsizing its chemical sector, following a blast that killed 78 people in March.
The province, a heavyweight of chemical production, reportedly aims to shut down some chemical plants in areas along the Yangtze River and those located in chemical parks by 2020, 21jingji.com reported, citing a provincial government circular.
The report said many industrial parks and producers in the sector will face tough regulatory scrutiny, relocation or closure.
An employee at Nanjing Jinxi Chemical Group told the Global Times Monday the company is on high alert for safety inspections by local authorities, but there hasn't been any official notice yet from the government. The company is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
Industry experts said the crackdown could push up chemical products prices.
However, a brokerage analyst who wished to remain anonymous questioned the approach taken by the province and warned that the East China province may face a hefty environmental cost once these chemical parks are emptied of their tenants.
---------------------------------------------
U.S. DEPART. OF LABOR CITES TEXAS MEAT-PACKING PLANT FOR EXPOSING WORKERS TO HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
https://www.crossroadstoday.com/news/texas-news/us-depart-of-labor-cites-texas-meat-packing-plant-for-exposing-workers-to-hazardous-chemicals/1075773545
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental, ammonia, illegal
SAN ANGELO, Texas - The U.S. Department of Labor‰??s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited 7 S Packing LLC ‰?? operating as Texas Packing Company in San Angelo, Texas ‰?? for exposing workers to releases of hazardous chemicals. The company faces $615,640 in penalties.
OSHA determined that the meat-packing facility failed to implement a required Process Safety Management (PSM) program for operating an ammonia refrigeration unit containing over 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia.
The employer also failed to provide fall protection, guard machines and equipment, control hazardous energy, and implement a respiratory protection program.
---------------------------------------------
LATEST FIRE ADDS TO GROWING LIST OF INCIDENTS AT WACKER'S CHARLESTON, TENNESSEE, CHEMICAL PLANT
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2019/may/06/latest-fire-adds-growing-list-incidents-wacke/494097/
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, response, water_treatment
A fire at the Wacker Polysilicon plant early Saturday morning required help from area emergency responders and added to the list of safety incidents at the chemical plant since it opened in Charleston, Tennessee in 2016.
The fire was contained to a small, non-processing area of the facility. No chemicals were involved or released, according to Adam Lewis, the Bradley County Sheriff's Office director of media and public relations. It was reported at 1:20 a.m. on the fourth floor of the wastewater treatment building inside the facility. A cloud of smoke and water vapor were present, but air quality tests showed no chemical residue in the air, according to Lewis.
---------------------------------------------
GOVERNMENTS ENDORSE GLOBAL PFOA BAN, WITH SOME EXEMPTIONS
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/Governments-endorse-global-PFOA-ban/97/web/2019/05
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
A widely used industrial fluorochemical that is linked to cancer and pollutes drinking water around the world is on its way to a global phaseout.
More than 180 countries agreed May 3 to ban production and use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts, and PFOA-related compounds under the international Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers PFOA possibly carcinogenic to humans. Exposure to the substance is also linked to hormonal disruption.
At a meeting of Stockholm Convention treaty partners in Geneva, governments carved out exemptions that allow some applications of PFOA to continue, including use in fire-fighting foams‰??a practice that has contaminated groundwater in many areas around the globe. Tons of these foams are in storage, at the ready to help first responders douse petroleum-fueled fires. Some of these foams also contain another fluorochemical, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which has been tightly restricted but not banned under the Stockholm Convention for a decade. At their recent meeting, treaty partners agreed to ban the use of firefighting foams containing PFOA or PFOS in training exercises and to prohibit the production, import, or export of foams with either or both chemicals.
Governments created an exemption for use of a PFOA-related chemical used to produce pharmaceuticals, says Pamela Miller, cochair of a coalition of public interest groups, the International POPs Elimination Network. The substance is perfluorooctyl iodide, which can degrade to PFOA. It is used to produce perfluorooctyl bromide, which is a processing aid in making some pharmaceuticals. Although the exemption for perfluorooctyl iodide will expire no later than 2036, treaty partners will review it and could potentially eliminate it before then, Miller tells C&EN.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION ROCKS SILICONES PLANT
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Explosion-rocks-silicones-plant/97/web/2019/05
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
Investigators are now sifting through the rubble and are trying to make sense of the unusual explosion and fire on the night of May 3 that left three people dead at a US silicones manufacturing plant. The accident, at the AB Specialty Silicones plant in Waukegan, Illinois‰??about 40 miles north of Chicago‰??shook nearby homes, made lights flicker, and scattered debris up to a mile away.
According to local news accounts, the blast occurred at around nightfall. Residents felt the ground shake and heard a loud boom. As local fire crews arrived, flames engulfed the plant.
First responders initially found one employee dead from the explosion. They took four others to the hospital, where one worker later died. After the blaze, two employees, a lab technician and a supervisor, were still missing. However, the body of one of the missing workers, who the authorities have not yet identified, was recovered on May 5. Nine people in all were in the plant at the time of the explosion.
In a statement posted on the AB website, general manager Mac Penman said, ‰??We are shocked and heartbroken by the tragedy that occurred in our plant on May 3rd. We are trying our best to support all of the members of our AB family as we attempt to process this terrible loss together.‰??
Waukegan authorities indicate that their inquiry into exactly what happened at AB will take some time. Joining them will be inspectors from the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which said it dispatched its team to the AB site on May 5.
Explosions at silicone manufacturing facilities are not frequent, but they have happened. In 2001, specialty silicones maker Gelest lost its Tullytown, Pennsylvania, plant in a devastating explosion and fire. No loss of life occurred in that incident, but two people suffered chemical burns. The company did not reveal the cause of the accident.
In 2009 when C&EN visited the rebuilt plant in Morrisville, Pa., the company proudly showed off design features meant to minimize potential fire and explosion hazards.
AB itself manufactures a variety of vinyl, hydride, phenyl, and fluro-functional silicones used in a variety of items including personal care, dental, medical, and electronics products. But while silicon, the raw material for silicones, is not flammable, a number of organosilicones the firm makes are flammable, toxic, or corrosive. However, investigators have not said these materials are a possible cause of the AB accident at this time.
---------------------------------------------
BREMER COUNTY POSTS ABOUT ANHYDROUS AMMONIA TANK SPILL
https://kwwl.com/news/2019/05/05/bremer-county-posts-about-anhydrous-ammonia-tank-spill/
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
BREMER COUNTY, Iowa ‰?? The Bremer County Emergency Management says this weekend a farmer had a tank drain out of control. It was filled with anhydrous ammonia.
They say anhydrous ammonia can be very beneficial to the agricultural community when it is used as intended. But, it can be very dangerous when accidents happen.
Emergency Management says luckily the farmer called 911; the Waverly Fire Department, Bremer County Sheriff‰??s Department, Waverly Health Center EMS and Bremer County Emergency Management responded.
A cloud grew and moved with the wind, which caused some nearby residents to evacuate. The good news is a few hours later, the situation was resolved and no one was hurt. This all happened overnight, from Friday into Saturday.
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NO EXPLOSION: POOR LAB VENTILATION LED TO 13 STUDENTS INHALING IODINE GAS
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/06/no-explosion-poor-lab-ventilation-led-to-13-students-inhaling-iodine-gas/
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, release, injury, iodine
BALIK PULAU: Thirteen students ‰?? 11 females and two males ‰?? were affected after inhaling iodine gas during a science experiment in the school‰??s laboratory in Bayan Lepas, Penang.
An earlier report on the incident said there was an explosion, but this turned out to be inaccurate.
A spokesman from the Fire and Rescue Department said all the students were in a stable condition, with only one sent to Penang Hospital to receive treatment.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh added that the Form Four students were conducting an experiment which involved iodine.
‰??Iodine was heated during the experiment to test its chemical reaction.
‰??As there was insufficient ventilation in the laboratory, around 20 students who were in class experienced breathing difficulties and started coughing,‰?? he said, adding that no explosion occurred during the experiment.
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FUEL TRAVELS NEARLY ONE MILE FROM SITE OF SPILL IN LAKESIDE NEIGHBORHOOD
https://www.richmond.com/news/local/henrico/fuel-travels-nearly-one-mile-from-site-of-spill-in/article_522ca704-a510-58df-81c8-c57ed25cff34.html
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, petroleum
Home heating fuel leaked from a house in the Lakeside neighborhood on Sunday and traveled nearly a mile along a ditch and into a stream, according to Henrico County fire officials.
Cricket Gerald, an assistant fire chief, said crews were summoned at 10:27 a.m. to a home near the intersection of Cedar Croft Street and Summit Court for a report of a fuel smell.
The home was undergoing renovation work, and Gerald said the county fire marshal‰??s office is working with the homeowner to identify the exact cause of the leak.
The fuel traveled about eight-tenths of a mile in a ditch and into a stream, Gerald said. But crews put chemical-absorbent booms in the water and mitigated the spill before the chemicals could reach a larger waterway near Club Road, he said.
Gerald added that a cleanup contractor is finishing up the work. The county also has notified the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality about the incident.
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SAN JACINTO BATTLEGROUND TO REOPEN 6 WEEKS AFTER ITC FIRE
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/San-Jacinto-Battleground-to-reopen-6-weeks-after-13821233.php
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
PASADENA ‰?? The San Jacinto Battleground state historic site and museum will reopen Wednesday, six weeks after a Deer Park chemical fire forced it to close at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars and more than 70,000 visitors.
‰??It‰??s been tough,‰?? said Justin Rhodes, executive director of State Parks, a division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. ‰??This happened in our busiest time of the year.‰??
The ongoing cleanup of a tank farm at Intercontinental Terminals Co. that caught fire March 17 led to the cancellation of the annual Battle of San Jacinto reenactment, which on average attracts 15,000 visitors, he said. The state park and museum also missed Spring Break and Easter weekend.
Based on last year‰??s data, Rhodes estimated that the department lost $200,000 in revenue, in addition to $320,000 lost by the San Jacinto Museum Association.
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