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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, May 24, 2019 at 7:57:27 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (17 articles)
CHLORINE LEAK IN LEWISTON CAUSES EVACUATION; NO ONE HARMED
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, chlorine, gas_cylinders
14 TREATED AFTER HAZMAT SITUATION AT LINCOLNSHIRE APARTMENT COMPLEX POOL
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
PROFESSORS FIRED FROM EMORY UNIVERSITY FOR HIDING GRANTS FROM CHINA
Tags: us_GA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS ISSUE PLANS TO CURB FIREFIGHTING FOAM CONTAMINATION
Tags: us_WI, public, release, environmental, other_chemical
POLICE CARRY OUT CONTROLLED EXPLOSION AFTER 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' AT GIRLS' SCHOOL IN BECKENHAM
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
WESTERN FIRMS MUST RETHINK SOURCING AFTER CHINESE EXPLOSION, REPORT URGES
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, dye, paints
SIX WORKERS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER CHLORINE LEAK FROM RAIL CAR IN CHARLESTON
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, injury, chlorine
URI SCIENCE BUILDING EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT SCARE
Tags: us_RI, laboratory, discovery, response, hydrogen_sulfide, peroxide
BATTERIES, ELECTRONICS LIGHT UP LOCAL LANDFILL
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, batteries, plastics, waste
CHEMICAL REACTION FIRE AT GR RECYCLING CENTER
Tags: us_MI, industrial, fire, response, cleaners, waste
NORTH CAROLINA FIREFIGHTERS FACE CHALLENGES AFTER CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, zinc
'EXPLOSION' AS FACTORY FIRE SENDS SMOKE OVER MELBOURNE'S NORTH
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, waste
55-GALLON DRUMS OF UNKNOWN CHEMICAL DISCOVERED AT BUSINESS ON WESTERVILLE ROAD
Tags: us_OH, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
EPA AND DOJ PROPOSED SETTLEMENT IMPROVES SAFETY OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS FACILITY DEALING WITH DANGEROUS CHEMICALS
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, environmental, ammonia, hvac_chemicals
BEAR REPELLENT SPRAY: WOMAN ACCUSED OF SPRAYING BEAR REPELLENT INSIDE PITT BUILDING
Tags: us_PA, education, release, response, repellent
ALLEVA, GRUBSTAKE AUCTION CO. SENTENCED IN CHEMICAL MISUSE CASE
Tags: us_AK, public, follow-up, environmental, bleach
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN GUJARAT'S VALSAD, 8 FIRE TENDERS AT SPOT
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
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CHLORINE LEAK IN LEWISTON CAUSES EVACUATION; NO ONE HARMED
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/may/23/chlorine-leak-in-lewiston-causes-evacuation-no-one/
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, chlorine, gas_cylinders
A chlorine leak at a Lewiston welding supplies store caused an evacuation of the business and surrounding homes on Thursday afternoon.
A hazmat team responded and cleaned up the leak at 2:11 p.m. at OXARC Inc., 2513 Third Ave., according to a news release from the City of Lewiston. No one was harmed.
An employee who reported the leak saw a ‰??150 pound cylinder of chlorine with a green cloud of smoke on the floor around the base of the cylinder,‰?? according to the news release.
The leak was cleaned by 6 p.m., allowing evacuees to return home.
---------------------------------------------
14 TREATED AFTER HAZMAT SITUATION AT LINCOLNSHIRE APARTMENT COMPLEX POOL
https://abc7chicago.com/14-treated-after-hazmat-situation-at-lincolnshire-pool/5314601/
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. (WLS) -- Officials said 14 people were treated for exposure to toxic fumes as the result of a hazmat situation at a community pool at an apartment complex in Lincolnshire.
The Lincolnshire Police Department said officers responded to a community pool at 445 Village Green at about 2:20 p.m. for reports of two unresponsive teenagers, one male and one female.
When officers arrived, they found the two teens unconscious but breathing. They were taken to Lutheran General Hospital in serious condition.
Police said their initial investigation suggests there was possibly a chlorine gas leak or a carbon monoxide leak from servicing to the pool earlier in the day. The situation was treated as a hazmat situation, police said.
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PROFESSORS FIRED FROM EMORY UNIVERSITY FOR HIDING GRANTS FROM CHINA
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/professors-fired-from-emory-university-for-hiding-grants-from-china-215407630.html
Tags: us_GA, laboratory, discovery, environmental
Two Chinese American professors at Emory University have been fired for failing to disclose research fundings from China and their work for Chinese universities while receiving federal grants from the U.S. government, the latest example of how the U.S. is battling with Beijing‰??s growing influence on academic activities and addressing intellectual property protection in the science field.
Xiao-Jiang Li and his wife Shihua Li, both professors of human genetics at Emory University School of Medicine, have been dismissed this week, Yahoo Finance learned. The investigation on Li was prompted by a letter that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sent to over 10,000 academic research universities last August. The letter urged institutions to work with NIH and other agencies including the FBI to crack down on foreign influence, particularly from China. Recipients of U.S. federal funds have to disclose if they are receiving funds from other countries and are not allowed to share their grant applications with foreign governments.
The dismissal of Xiao-Jiang Li, a tenured Emory professor since 2005, came as a surprise to many. He is a distinguished professor, who also runs Emory‰??s Li Laboratory, which has 11 researchers. Information about the couple and the lab has been removed from Emory‰??s website.
‰??Through an internal investigation, Emory discovered that two of its faculty members named as key personnel on NIH grant awards to Emory University had failed to fully disclose foreign sources of research funding and the extent of their work for research institutions and universities in China. Emory has shared this information with the NIH, and the faculty members are no longer employed at Emory,‰?? Emory said in a statement on Thursday.
---------------------------------------------
DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS ISSUE PLANS TO CURB FIREFIGHTING FOAM CONTAMINATION
https://www.wbay.com/content/news/Democrats-and-republicans-issue-plans-to-curb-firefighting-foam-contamination-510327261.html?ref=261
Tags: us_WI, public, release, environmental, other_chemical
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Democrats and Republicans each have released plans on curbing chemical contamination in Wisconsin.
On May 23, Gov. Tony Evers and state Democrats visited Green Bay to introduce the party's PFAS standards legislation.
It's called the CLEAR (Chemical Level Enforcement and Remediation Act). It targets PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These are chemicals found in household products. They're also found in firefighting foams.
"It would once again make Wisconsin an environmental leader when it comes to PFAS, again relying on science," Evers says. "The bill addresses PFA contamination -- groundwater, drinking water, surface water, air, and water quality -- throughout the State of Wisconsin."
Action 2 News has been covering the contamination of wells in the Town of Peshtigo from firefighter foam manufactured at the nearby Tyco Fire Protection Products. Contaminates were found in drinking water.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE CARRY OUT CONTROLLED EXPLOSION AFTER 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' AT GIRLS' SCHOOL IN BECKENHAM
https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/police-carry-out-controlled-explosion-16322723
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
Pupils were evacuated and a controlled explosion set off at Langley Park School for Girls in Bromley after a "volatile chemical" was discovered in the science lab.
The school, on Hawksbrook Lane in Beckenham, put out a statement today, Thursday (May 23), to say they had evacuated the school and emergency services were in attendance.
Police were called at 2.46pm and the London Ambulance Service also went to the school.
It has since been confirmed no one was injured, though emergency services had to carry out a controlled explosion.
The school has put out a notice to say that it has re-opened.
In the immediate aftermath, Langley Park released a statement on Twitter which said: "Please be aware the school has been evacuated and emergency services are in attendance.
---------------------------------------------
WESTERN FIRMS MUST RETHINK SOURCING AFTER CHINESE EXPLOSION, REPORT URGES
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Western-firms-must-rethink-sourcing/97/i21
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, dye, paints
deadly explosion at a chemical plant in China has created shortages of certain key chemicals purchased by Western firms. It has also prompted a call for those firms to reconsider sourcing policies that allowed them to purchase from a company that was clearly out of compliance with local safety and environmental laws.
The March 21 explosion at Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical, in the city of Yancheng in China‰??s Jiangsu Province, killed 78 people and injured more than 600. After the explosion, local officials closed all operations in the industrial park where the plant was located to assess safety conditions.
Customers started to feel the effects of the explosion soon thereafter. In its April 18 earnings report, the Swiss chemical maker Lonza said the explosion and other Chinese supply-chain disruptions were creating raw material sourcing challenges for its specialty ingredient business.
And the British Coatings Federation recently warned members that the closure of factories in the industrial park has caused ‰??severe shortages‰?? of ingredients such as preservatives for waterborne paints, photoinitiators for ultraviolet light‰??cured inks, and certain red and yellow pigments.
After the accident, China‰??s State Council said local authorities were lax in enforcing safety regulations at the facility. But in a new report, the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based environmental research group, charges that Western companies also perpetuate dangerous conditions at Tianjiayi and other Chinese chemical companies by purchasing from them in spite of documented safety and environmental shortcomings.
---------------------------------------------
SIX WORKERS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER CHLORINE LEAK FROM RAIL CAR IN CHARLESTON
https://www.live5news.com/2019/05/22/six-workers-transported-hospital-after-chlorine-leak-rail-car-charleston/
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, injury, chlorine
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Emergency officials say six facility workers were transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure following a chlorine leak from a rail car in Charleston on Wednesday.
Officials with the Charleston Fire Department say crews responded to a rail car at LanXess on the upper peninsula.
Hazmat crews responded to the scene, and the leak was quickly stopped, according to CFD officials. Fire officials say the issue was cleared around 3:30 p.m. and employees returned to work.
LanXess officials said at 12:50 p.m., a rail car containing chlorine was being disconnected when chlorine was released.
A report states that there was a visible vapor cloud, which dissipated within 15 feet of the rail car lasting for 15 minutes.
---------------------------------------------
URI SCIENCE BUILDING EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT SCARE
https://www.abc6.com/story/40519063/uri-science-building-evacuated-due-to-hazmat-scare
Tags: us_RI, laboratory, discovery, response, hydrogen_sulfide, peroxide
KINGSTON, R.I. (WLNE) ‰?? Hazardous materials teams responded to the University of Rhode Island campus Wednesday morning after a container of improperly stored chemicals was found.
URI‰??s Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences was evacuated around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday after an unvented container was discovered containing a potentially volatile hydrogen sulfide and peroxide.
The Kingston Fire Department, URI Office of Emergency Management, including its Environmental Health and Safety unit, and URI Police responded to the scene, followed by regional HazMat units from nearby towns.
The container is being safely vented before being disposed of.
The building was cleared for re-entry around 10:00 a.m.
---------------------------------------------
BATTERIES, ELECTRONICS LIGHT UP LOCAL LANDFILL
https://www.thecreswellchronicle.com/story/2019/05/23/news/watch-what-you-toss-batteries-electronics-light-up-local-landfill/1996.html
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, batteries, plastics, waste
This month, Short Mountain experienced two fires in one weekend, prompting a visit from South Lane County Fire & Rescue. It was the largest Strunk has seen in the past three years, he said.
Strunk said lithium batteries, coupled with a streak of dry, hot days, were the likely culprits of the fires. Lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries are often encased in a soft pouch. The batteries are likely punctured when run over and compacted at the landfill, causing air to reach the battery, and a chemical reaction that leads to sparks, fire and sometimes explosions. The fire also produces toxic smoke to boot.
"There is a good possibility something hot came into the landfill - bar-b-que ashes, potentially a battery ignited, and (the landfill) just started to smoulder for a couple of weeks," Strunk said. "As things dried out, when the conditions were right, (the battery) was able to ignite."
At times, there have been as many as four fires per day at the Glenwood Transfer Station and Short Mountain Landfill due to improperly disposed of materials.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL REACTION FIRE AT GR RECYCLING CENTER
https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/chemical-reaction-fire-at-gr-recycling-center/2018771520
Tags: us_MI, industrial, fire, response, cleaners, waste
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) ‰?? A fire at a Grand Rapids recycling center was likely started after a chemical reaction involving a cleaning product.
The Kent County Department of Public Works‰?? Reimagine Trash Facebook page posted the fire broke out Wednesday morning at the Kent County Recycling and Education Center, located at 977 Wealthy Street SW.
After putting out the flames at the plastics storage area, it was determined a chemical reaction involving a drain cleaner likely started the fire. No was injured.
Public Works officials are reminding residents to make sure recyclables are clean and empty. Residents can drop off home cleaners for free at SafeChem centers, which are located across the county.
---------------------------------------------
NORTH CAROLINA FIREFIGHTERS FACE CHALLENGES AFTER CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE
https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/pt/2019/05/north-carolina-firefighters-face-challenges-after-chemical-plant-fire.html
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, zinc
A Western North Carolina fire department said it is still recovering nearly a month after helping fight a fire at a chemical plant. Columbus Fire and Rescue was one of several departments called to the American Zinc Plant in the Mooresboro area of Rutherford County when it went up in flames in April.
Read more at www.wspa.com
The fire chief said his department could be out tens of thousands of dollars because of all the damage done to several firefighters' suits and other equipment.
Seven members of Priester's department helped fight the massive chemical fire at American Zinc last month and he said the fire took a huge toll on their equipment and they're in need of help to make sure they're best equipped to protect their community.
---------------------------------------------
'EXPLOSION' AS FACTORY FIRE SENDS SMOKE OVER MELBOURNE'S NORTH
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/explosion-as-factory-fire-sends-smoke-over-melbourne-s-north-20190523-p51qb9.html
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, waste
A factory blaze has sent smoke billowing over Melbourne's north, as firefighters stop the flames from spreading to a chemical storage facility next door.
Six employees of a mechanic's workshop in Campbellfield were safely evacuated on Thursday morning after the Metropolitan Fire Brigade were called to the Malcolm Place factory at 8.52am.
Nearby residents told 3AW radio of hearing an explosion, and smoke is moving in a southerly direction across Melbourne's north.
A statement issued by the MFB at 9.35am confirmed the fire had been brought under control.
"The fire is confined to the premises and firefighters are attacking the fire internally and have made good progress in knocking the fire down."
Fifty firefighters fought for 44 minutes to control the blaze, and prevent it from spreading to a neighbouring chemical storage facility.
The neighbouring property stores tens of thousands of litres of toxic waste in an alleged illicit dumping operation spanning 12 factories in north Melbourne.
A WorkSafe spokeswoman on Thursday said measures were in place to manage the fire risk at the sites.
---------------------------------------------
55-GALLON DRUMS OF UNKNOWN CHEMICAL DISCOVERED AT BUSINESS ON WESTERVILLE ROAD
https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/55-gallon-drums-of-unknown-chemical-discovered-at-business-on-westerville-road/2019138307
Tags: us_OH, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - Inspectors discovered a large quantity of 55-gallon drums of an unknown chemical during a routine fire safety inspection of a business at 5095 Westerville Road, according to Chief Steve Martin with the Columbus Division of Fire.
Officials are working to identify the chemical and are trying to find out why they have so much of it at that location, Martin said.
There are no chemical leaks at this time and no one has been injured, Martin said.
Martin said officials need to know if a special building/ventilation/permit is needed.
---------------------------------------------
EPA AND DOJ PROPOSED SETTLEMENT IMPROVES SAFETY OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS FACILITY DEALING WITH DANGEROUS CHEMICALS
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-doj-proposed-settlement-improves-safety-chelsea-massachusetts-facility-dealing
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, environmental, ammonia, hvac_chemicals
Chelsea, Mass. ‰?? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a proposed settlement with Kayem Foods, Inc. to resolve alleged violations of the Risk Management regulations issued by EPA under Section 112(r)(7) of the Clean Air Act. Under the Risk Management regulations, Kayem Foods is required to properly manage the anhydrous ammonia used in the refrigeration system at its Chelsea, Massachusetts facility in order to protect the safety of workers, emergency responders, and the surrounding community. The proposed settlement resolves claims in a complaint filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of EPA simultaneously with the settlement.
Kayem Foods operates a meat processing, cooking, packaging, and storage facility located in a densely populated neighborhood in Chelsea. The facility uses an ammonia-based refrigeration system in its production process. Anhydrous ammonia is an efficient refrigerant with many operational benefits, but it is also a dangerous chemical that if accidently released can have catastrophic consequences to a community. Due to the toxicity of anhydrous ammonia and the fact that Kayem Foods's system contains over 10,000 pounds of it, the facility is subject to the Risk Management regulations, which require Kayem Foods to have protocols in place to properly manage the ammonia to greatly reduce the possibility of its accidental release.
In July 2014, EPA discovered violations of the Risk Management regulations at the Kayem Foods facility. Kayem Foods was out of compliance and needed to upgrade and improve access to critical valves in case of emergency, provide alarms to warn of a release, reposition pressure relief piping to keep from endangering anyone nearby when in use, improve maintenance of system piping, improve the ventilation system for managing a potential ammonia release, and make other corrections at the facility.
Under the proposed agreement, Kayem Foods has agreed to pay a $138,281 penalty. Kayem Foods has also provided EPA information indicating that the Chelsea Facility is now in compliance with the various EPA requirements for managing anhydrous ammonia. Kayem Foods fully cooperated with EPA throughout the enforcement process.
---------------------------------------------
BEAR REPELLENT SPRAY: WOMAN ACCUSED OF SPRAYING BEAR REPELLENT INSIDE PITT BUILDING
https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/woman-accused-of-spraying-bear-repellent-inside-pitt-building/951126822
Tags: us_PA, education, release, response, repellent
PITTSBURGH - Police have charged a woman they say sprayed bear repellent Monday causing hazmat to respond and evacuations at the University of Pittsburgh.
Police say they found two cans of Grizzly Tough Bear Spray Assault in Mary Siegert‰??s coat.
She claims one of the cans just went off inside the Eureka Building on Forbes Avenue in Oakland.
First responders treated six people who said their eyes, noses and throats were burning.
Sigert is charged with risking a catastrophe.
---------------------------------------------
ALLEVA, GRUBSTAKE AUCTION CO. SENTENCED IN CHEMICAL MISUSE CASE
https://www.ktva.com/story/40513576/alleva-grubstake-auction-co-sentenced-in-chemical-misuse-case
Tags: us_AK, public, follow-up, environmental, bleach
State prosecutors argue he could have hurt people, but Ron Alleva says he was trying to help. The Anchorage businessman was sentenced Tuesday, after a jury found him guilty of multiple misdemeanor environmental crimes.
In June 2018, Alleva told his employees to sprinkle Zappit, a chlorine bleach powder, on the sidewalk areas along Karluk Street near Bean‰??s CafĚ© and Brother Francis Shelter in downtown Anchorage, an area often occupied with homeless individuals who receive services from both agencies.
Alleva owns Grubstake Auction Company, located along the same block. He has long expressed concern about a problem he says the homeless have created in the area, including trespassing and other crimes. He was also upset over large amounts of garbage, including syringes, used condoms and fecal matter on and around his property.
His effort the clean up the area triggered a hazmat response from the Anchorage Fire Department, and the removal of 1,400 pounds of contaminated soil, according to the Attorney General's Office.
"Alleva's conduct, along with that of Grubstake Auction Co., Inc. and its employees endangered the health and welfare of individuals, putting them at risk of serious physical injury including blindness and even death had the substance been ingested," a previous statement from the attorney general read.
In April, a jury convicted Alleva of reckless endangerment, pollution, unauthorized pesticide distribution and misuse of a pesticide.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN GUJARAT'S VALSAD, 8 FIRE TENDERS AT SPOT
https://zeenews.india.com/india/fire-breaks-out-at-chemical-factory-in-gujarats-valsad-8-fire-tenders-at-spot-2205066.html
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Valsad: A massive fire broke out at a chemical factory in Gujarat's Valsad district late on Tuesday night, news agency ANI reported.
Eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot. An official said that the fire-fighting operations would take time as the fire was massive.
"Fire-fighting operations are underway. It will take time to douse the fire as it is massive," fire official Shivlal Rathore told ANI
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