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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (11 articles)
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:28:53 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: B012F77A-1D66-446C-9A5D-FC1BE3E07BAC**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 7:28:39 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 (11 articles)
ONE INJURED AT SCENE OF ACID SPILL IN BELOIT
Tags: us_WI, public, release, injury, acids
DOWNTOWN SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD ORDERED TO SHELTER IN PLACE AFTER OXYGEN TANK LEAK
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, oxygen
MYSTERIOUS ODOR AT ALA MOANA FOOD COURT SICKENS SOME, SENDS 1 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_HI, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
OIL REFINERY PHILADELPHIA ENERGY DECLARES BANKRUPTCY AFTER EXPLOSION, COSTING 1,000 WORKERS JOBS
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental
FIREFIGHTERS CONCERNED BY ASBESTOS DUMPING IN INGLEBURN
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, asbestos
BERLIN CLOSES PARK TEMPORARILY AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MD, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
CLEANUP CONTINUES AFTER TEXAS PETROCHEMICAL FIRE IN MARCH
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, waste
MULTIPLE U.S. SENATORS ASK EPA TO RE-EVALUATE CONTINUED USE OF HYDROGEN FLUORIDE
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
US CONGRESS TAKES UP SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY ACT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO EXPLOSION AT SAN JOSE POOL
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, natural_gas
OXYGEN REGULATOR CAUSED NORWALK HOSPITAL EXPLOSION: POLICE
Tags: us_CT, industrial, explosion, injury, oxygen, gas_cylinder
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ONE INJURED AT SCENE OF ACID SPILL IN BELOIT
https://www.channel3000.com/news/one-injured-at-scene-of-acid-spill-in-beloit/1098965919
Tags: us_WI, public, release, injury, acids
BELOIT, Wis. - The City of Beloit Fire Department is cleaning up the scene of an acid spill this morning.
The department said it happened around 11:23 a.m. in the 2800 block of Kennedy Drive. The business nearby was evacuated as a precaution.
One person was injured at the scene, but the department said that person did not need to be taken to the hospital.
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DOWNTOWN SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD ORDERED TO SHELTER IN PLACE AFTER OXYGEN TANK LEAK
https://q13fox.com/2019/07/23/downtown-seattle-neighborhood-asked-to-shelter-in-place-after-oxygen-tank-leak/
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, oxygen
SEATTLE -- Residents of a Seattle neighborhood were asked to stay in their homes after a large oxygen tank started to leak, causing hazmat teams to be called out.
It happened at the corner of Terry Ave and University St around 3 p.m. Firefighters didn‰??t say what caused the tank to leak, but crews had to warn people to stay away while they contained the leak.
Hazmat teams were able to stop the leak within an hour.
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MYSTERIOUS ODOR AT ALA MOANA FOOD COURT SICKENS SOME, SENDS 1 TO HOSPITAL
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/07/23/breaking-news/mysterious-odor-at-ala-moana-food-court-sickens-some-sends-1-to-hospital/
Tags: us_HI, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Fire, police and Emergency Medical Services responded to a strong odor at the Ala Moana Center‰??s Makai Market Food Court late this afternoon.
The fire department got the call at 4:35 p.m. Three units and a Hazardous Materials team with 11 personnel responded.
But the food court had been evacuated before the fire personnel arrived.
Many complained of irritation to their respiratory system, difficulty swallowing and coughing, fire Capt. Scot Seguirant said.
Emergency Medical Services transported a 69-year-old man in serious condition to a hospital.
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OIL REFINERY PHILADELPHIA ENERGY DECLARES BANKRUPTCY AFTER EXPLOSION, COSTING 1,000 WORKERS JOBS
https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/philadelphia-energy-oil-refinery-bankruptcy
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental
Less than a month after an explosion Opens a New Window. rocked a South Philadelphia refinery Opens a New Window. , the company that owns it has filed for bankruptcy.
It‰??s the second such filing by Philadelphia Energy Solutions in less than two years. According to Reuters, 1,000 people who worked at the plant Opens a New Window. will be laid off.
The largest refinery on the East Coast burst into flames in late June after authorities said a butane vent malfunctioned. It took hours to tame the fire, which had residents sheltering in place for the better part of the morning.
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FIREFIGHTERS CONCERNED BY ASBESTOS DUMPING IN INGLEBURN
https://www.wollondillyadvertiser.com.au/story/6289311/firefighters-concerned-by-asbestos-dumping-in-ingleburn/?cs=1552
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, asbestos
Firefighters have worked to clean up an alleged asbestos dumping in Ingleburn on Saturday morning.
Fire and Rescue NSW crews were forced to wear special HAZMAT (hazardous materials) suits to deal with the potentially deadly dumping on Chester Road.
FRNSW Ingleburn and Macquarie Fields firies picked up every last piece of asbestos to ensure the community's safety.
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BERLIN CLOSES PARK TEMPORARILY AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2019/07/22/berlin-closes-park-temporarily-after-chemical-spill/
Tags: us_MD, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
BERLIN ‰?? Berlin Falls Park is now closed following a chemical spill at the property in June.
Though the park was open in the weeks immediately following the spill, the municipality was advised to close it late last week.
‰??We still have some hazardous soil and liquid on site,‰?? Town Administrator Laura Allen said. ‰??We‰??re in the process finishing a review of the property to see if there‰??s anything else that needs to come off.‰??
Allen said officials cordoned off the entrance to the park late Thursday afternoon. She said the closure came at the advice of Chesapeake Environmental Services‰??the company that‰??s working with the town on site cleanup‰??and the Worcester County Fire Marshal‰??s Office. Allen said she expected the closure to last a couple of weeks or a month at most.
When asked about the fact that the park was open in the weeks immediately following the spill, including for the town‰??s fireworks display, Allen said the closure recommendation didn‰??t come until later.
‰??We had clearance from the fire marshal to have the fireworks event,‰?? she said. She added that in subsequent conversations with the fire marshal and Chesapeake Environmental Services (CES) they‰??d suggested closing the park on a temporary basis.
A chemical spill was located at Berlin Falls Park in late June, as a contractor was working to demolish several small buildings on the property that hadn‰??t been used since its days as a poultry processing plant. Town officials were alerted to the spill via a social media post from a resident that showed dead turtles in what looked like a pool of oil. Officials immediately brought CES in to handle the cleanup. Mayor Gee Williams outlined the process in a July 1 statement.
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CLEANUP CONTINUES AFTER TEXAS PETROCHEMICAL FIRE IN MARCH
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/texas/article/Texas-petrochemical-facility-fire-creates-14114137.php
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, waste
DEER PARK, Texas (AP) ‰?? The cleanup of millions of gallons of waste and polluted water is far from over four months after a large fire burned for days at a Houston-area petrochemical storage site.
Intercontinental Terminals Company, the facility's owner, must abide by a 31-page management plan that dictates how waste must be sampled and identified, stored and discarded, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The detailed plan orders how the waste is transported and where it can go. But specific information regarding the status of the work at the Deer Park facility and where the waste will end up are difficult to find.
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MULTIPLE U.S. SENATORS ASK EPA TO RE-EVALUATE CONTINUED USE OF HYDROGEN FLUORIDE
https://www.fox21online.com/2019/07/22/multiple-u-s-senators-ask-epa-to-re-evaluate-continued-use-of-hydrogen-fluoride/
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
WASHINGTON, D.C. ‰?? Multiple U.S. Senators are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to re-evaluate the continued use of hydrogen fluoride at refineries across the country.
U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) signed a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Friday stating the EPA needed to promptly review the refineries risk management plans to protect communities.
‰??It is clear that your agency needs to re-evaluate the existing Risk Management Plans for all refineries that use HF to determine whether their plans robustly protect workers and communities from potentially catastrophic HF releases. Refineries in Utah and Louisiana have already demonstrated the viability of alternatives to HF by ending the use of HF in their processes. In April, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) called upon your agency to update a 1993 study of HF‰??s hazards to help evaluate the adequacy of refineries‰?? risk management plans and the viability of HF alternatives. We believe these are wise recommendations and urge you to follow them.‰??
In the letter the Senators also urge the EPA to ensure communities are aware of the hazards of HF stating, ‰??In many cases, including the Husky Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, most people living near the refinery are totally unaware of the presence of such a hazardous chemical in their community.‰??
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US CONGRESS TAKES UP SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY ACT
https://cen.acs.org/research-integrity/US-Congress-takes-Scientific-Integrity/97/i30
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Protecting scientists, their research, and their data and ensuring data availability without government meddling is the aim of legislation recently introduced in the US House of Representatives.
The bill, called the Scientific Integrity Act (H.R. 1709), was introduced in March and has 192 cosponsors. It was the subject of discussion at a July 17 hearing of the Subcommittee on Research and Technology of the US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, & Technology.
Hearing witnesses presented examples of both Democratic- and Republican-led administrations withholding, modifying, or even rewriting scientific studies to fit their policy needs. Several witnesses said restrictive actions by Trump administration departments have grown exponentially.
However, the bill has yet to gain a single Republican sponsor, and it will face an uphill battle particularly in the Republican-controlled Senate.
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FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO EXPLOSION AT SAN JOSE POOL
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/07/21/firefighters-respond-to-explosion-at-san-jose-pool/
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, natural_gas
SAN JOSE ‰?? Firefighters are on the scene of a gas leak and explosion that prompted an evacuation at a San Jose pool.
The San Jose Fire Department received a call at 10:49 a.m. from a residential complex at the corner of Townsend Park Circle and Araujo Street, Captain Mitch Matlow said. Witnesses reported hearing multiple small explosions and smelling gas in the pool facility at the center of the complex.
Ten San Jose Police officers and 46 firefighters responded to the scene, including the fire department‰??s hazardous materials team.
When firefighters arrived, they evacuated the pool, turned off the gas and power, and shut down traffic on Townsend Park Circle. They found a problem with the water heater had caused the issue.
After making sure the pool chemical containers were still intact and verifying there were not unsafe levels of chemicals in the air, firefighters lifted the evacuation. No injuries were reported. Other than the heater, there were no damages reported to the pool or surrounding structures.
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OXYGEN REGULATOR CAUSED NORWALK HOSPITAL EXPLOSION: POLICE
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Explosion-in-Norwalk-Hospital-Emergency-Room-513016901.html
Tags: us_CT, industrial, explosion, injury, oxygen, gas_cylinder
Police now say an oxygen regulator caused the explosion in the Norwalk Hospital emergency room Sunday night.
The oxygen regulator was being transported on a gurney, according to police.
The gurney was transporting a patient into the emergency room with two attendants at the time of the explosion, police said.
There are burn marks on the wall and ceiling as a result of the explosion.
Firefighters found a moderate dust condition from a dry-chemical extinguisher, but no smoke or fire.
Police said an EMT attendant from out of town was treated and released while another EMT attendant and the patient were uninjured.
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