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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] NSTA Blog: Safety Training for Non-Science Instructors Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 8:05:04 AM Author: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 8:22:04 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)
HUNDREDS OF OUT OF SERVICE CONDITIONS DISCOVERED DURING FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND HAZMAT BLITZ
Tags: transportation, follow-up, environmental
SPRINGFIELD NJ: SMALL URANIUM CHUNK LEFT IN SYNAGOGUE BY ACCIDENT
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, uranium
OSHA PROPOSES $1.59M FINE AFTER DEADLY SILICONE PLANT BLAST ‰?? THE DAILY REPORTER ‰?? WI CONSTRUCTION NEWS & BIDS
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical
FRANCE OPENS NEGLIGENCE PROBE INTO CHEMICAL PLANT INFERNO
Tags: France, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
STATE TASK FORCE EXPLORES REQUIRING WATER UTILITIES TO TEST FOR ‰??FOREVER CHEMICALS‰??
Tags: us_ME, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
CSB WILL FOCUS ON HYDROFLUORIC ACID IN REFINING, KULINOWSKI SAYS
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
CALIFORNIA RESEARCHERS LEARN TO ROLL WITH POWER OUTAGES
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
SPILL FROM CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT TANK SICKENS ALEMANY HIGH STAFF AND STUDENTS IN MISSION HILLS ‰?? DAILY NEWS
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, waste
FIRE AT UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD SCIENCE BUILDING
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
UPDATED: BODEGA LAB REMAINS CLOSED
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, response, other_chemical
LEVIN POOL EVACUATED TWICE IN ONE MONTH OVER CHEMICAL POISONING FEARS
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
WEEKEND ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LEAK DISPLACES SIX, AREA DEPARTMENTS WORK TOGETHER TO CONTAIN DANGEROUS GAS
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, ammonia
BAY AREA AIR QUALITY: UNHEALTHY AIR PLAGUES SAN FRANCISCO DURING FIRES
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, environmental, other_chemical
TELANGANA STATE FORENSIC SCIENCE LABORATORY IDENTIFIES CHEMICAL THAT CAUSED ATTAPUR BLAST- THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical
FIREFIGHTERS: ‰??I‰??VE NEVER SEEN A SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION FIRE LIKE THIS‰??
Tags: us_PA, public, follow-up, environmental, cleaners, grease
SHAPIRO, OTHER ATTORNEYS GENERAL, OPPOSE EPA PROPOSAL
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
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HUNDREDS OF OUT OF SERVICE CONDITIONS DISCOVERED DURING FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND HAZMAT BLITZ
https://cdllife.com/2019/hundreds-of-out-of-service-conditions-discovered-during-first-of-its-kind-hazmat-blitz/
Tags: transportation, follow-up, environmental
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) released the results from a week-long inspection effort targeting hazmat haulers that they conducted back in August.
The ‰??Transportation of Dangerous Goods/Hazardous Materials (TDG/HM) Road Blitz‰?? took place August 12 ‰?? 16, 2019, according to a recent news release from the CVSA.
During the week-long blitz, officers throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico conducted 9,259 inspections on commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials or dangerous goods. The CVSA says that inspectors discovered 683 out of service HM/DG conditions during the blitz.
The CVSA detailed the violations discovered during the enforcement effort:
Inspectors found 66 violations for package integrity (leaking) and 204 violations for loading and securement, all resulting in out-of-service conditions. There were 181 other packaging violations, resulting in 50 out-of-service conditions. Of the 432 total placarding violations, 102 were out-of-service conditions. There were 1,156 shipping paper violations, 226 were out-of-service conditions. Out of 171 markings violations, 35 were out-of-service conditions.
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SPRINGFIELD NJ: SMALL URANIUM CHUNK LEFT IN SYNAGOGUE BY ACCIDENT
https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2019/10/29/springfield-nj-small-uranium-chunk-left-synagogue-accident/2502037001/
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, uranium
SPRINGFIELD ‰?? A small quantity of depleted uranium, used as a teaching aid by a local educator who inadvertently left it in a meeting room of a synagogue here, has been recovered and secured by a county HAZMAT team that subsequently declared the surrounding area safe Tuesday morning, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo, Union County Public Safety Director Andrew Moran, and Springfield Police Chief John Cook jointly announced.
Members of the Springfield police and fire departments responded to Temple Sha‰??arey Shalom shortly before 9 a.m. on a report of a potentially hazardous substance on site, according to the preliminary investigation. Upon examination of the substance, members of the Union County HAZMAT and prosecutor‰??s office were notified and also responded to the scene.
The substance was identified as an approximately marble-sized amount of depleted uranium, which was tested and found to emit an extremely low-level pulse of radiation, below the threshold that would be deemed an imminent health hazard. Authorities subsequently contacted the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to coordinate safe disposal.
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OSHA PROPOSES $1.59M FINE AFTER DEADLY SILICONE PLANT BLAST ‰?? THE DAILY REPORTER ‰?? WI CONSTRUCTION NEWS & BIDS
https://dailyreporter.com/2019/10/29/osha-proposes-1-59m-fine-after-deadly-silicone-plant-blast/
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) ‰?? The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed fining a Chicago-area silicone factory $1.59 million for safety violations uncovered after an explosion at the plant that killed four workers.
The agency announced Friday it found 12 willful federal safety violations at AB Specialty Silicones following the May 3 explosion in Waukegan, about 50 miles north of Chicago.
OSHA says it has placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
It says the company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, to contest the findings, or to request a conference.
AB Specialty Silicones issued a statement saying it was reviewing the citations, that it‰??s cooperating with OSHA, and that the explosion was ‰??an accident, and there was no willful intent involved.‰??
---------------------------------------------
FRANCE OPENS NEGLIGENCE PROBE INTO CHEMICAL PLANT INFERNO
https://www.france24.com/en/20191029-france-opens-negligence-probe-into-chemical-plant-inferno
Tags: France, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
French prosecutors on Tuesday opened an investigation into negligence over a devastating fire at a chemicals factory in northern France last month that affected farmers and left local residents complaining of breathing problems.
The fire at the Lubrizol plant just outside the French city of Rouen saw some thousands of tonnes of chemical products burned and acrid smoke spread some 22 kilometres (14 miles) from the site.
Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said in a statement that an investigation had been opened into "involuntary destruction caused by fire due an obviously deliberate breach of a security obligation".
The investigation has been handed to three investigating magistrates in Paris who can then decide whether to press charges.
So far the investigation is only against "X" which in France's legal system means that no individual or institution is yet being targeted.
The statement said that despite a search of Lubrizol offices, the interviewing of some 100 witnesses and taking of samples it has not yet been possible to determine the origin of the fire.
The Lubrizol plant is owned by US billionaire investor Warren Buffett and makes industrial lubricants and fuel additives.
The September 27 fire proved a tipping point in public anger over environmental risks, especially after the lead contamination sparked by the April 15 fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.
---------------------------------------------
STATE TASK FORCE EXPLORES REQUIRING WATER UTILITIES TO TEST FOR ‰??FOREVER CHEMICALS‰??
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/10/29/pfas-task-force-explores-requiring-water-utilities-to-test-for-forever-chemicals/
Tags: us_ME, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
AUGUSTA ‰?? A state task force is considering recommending that all public water systems be required to test for PFAS contamination and that fire departments report any usage of the so-called ‰??forever chemicals‰?? to state environmental regulators.
Those are just two of dozens of draft recommendations discussed Tuesday by a group charged with helping guide Maine‰??s response to a class of chemicals that are popping up in drinking water, municipal sludge and food products around the country. Collectively referred to as PFAS, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances are being linked to health problems after decades of use in firefighting foam and countless consumer products.
---------------------------------------------
CSB WILL FOCUS ON HYDROFLUORIC ACID IN REFINING, KULINOWSKI SAYS
https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/19061-csb-will-focus-on-hydrofluoric-acid-in-refining-kulinowski-says
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
Philadelphia ‰?? The Chemical Safety Board will begin ‰??looking more closely‰?? at hydrofluoric acid in the refining process, CSB interim Executive Authority Kristen Kulinowski said during an Oct. 16 news conference on a June 21 explosion and fire at a Philadelphia refinery.
Announcing the release of a factual update and a new animation detailing the incident at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery, Kulinowski also noted the ‰??need for more robust reviews of (the) corrosion mechanism.‰??
According to the agency, the incident likely was caused by a pipe elbow in the refinery‰??s alkylation unit that had corroded to about ‰??half the thickness of a credit card.‰?? More than 5,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid was released from the pipe and formed a cloud, which ignited in minutes and resulted in a massive explosion and fire.
---------------------------------------------
CALIFORNIA RESEARCHERS LEARN TO ROLL WITH POWER OUTAGES
https://cen.acs.org/safety/lab-safety/California-researchers-learn-roll-power/97/web/2019/10
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Last Friday, for the second time in less than a month, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley faced a possible power outage in their labs. The campus‰??s power utility, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), has been implementing planned, rolling blackouts throughout the state during particularly hot, windy weather in an attempt to reduce the risk of damaged electric lines sparking fires in the parched landscape. From Oct. 9‰??12, the utility cut power to more than 700,000 customers in northern and central California, including on the UC Berkeley campus. On Friday, PG&E warned more outages would be possible over the weekend, and the company disconnected power to the campus on Saturday night. Power remained off into Monday.
And these situations could happen yet again. Rising global temperatures, longer wildfire seasons, and an ever-present earthquake risk are making power outages more common for California universities and researchers. Though PG&E is working to upgrade its electric system to make it safer in dry, windy weather, the company‰??s president and CEO has estimated it could take the company up to 10 years to complete that work, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. For researchers who rely on temperature-controlled equipment to store biological samples and expensive reagents, power outages represent not just safety concerns and lost time in the lab, but the potential to derail years of research.
---------------------------------------------
SPILL FROM CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT TANK SICKENS ALEMANY HIGH STAFF AND STUDENTS IN MISSION HILLS ‰?? DAILY NEWS
https://www.dailynews.com/2019/10/28/spill-from-chemistry-department-tank-sickens-alemany-high-staff-and-students-in-mission-hills/
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, waste
A substance leaking from a tank at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills sickened several people ‰?? both students and staff ‰?? Monday morning and prompted the evacuation of the campus, the fire department reported.
A 55-gallon tank containing thought to contain waste chemicals that was bolted to the floor in Alemany‰??s Math/Chemistry Building leaked about 2 quarts of a liquid that produced a noxious odor, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.
LAFD firefighters responded to the campus about 11 a.m. and evaluated those from the student body and staff who complained of a burning sensation to the eyes, nausea and dizziness, said Humphrey.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD SCIENCE BUILDING
https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/fire-university-sheffield-science-building-821212
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Firefighters have been called out to a blaze at a University of Sheffield science laboratory.
The ongoing incident is taking place at the University's nanoscience and technology building on Broad Lane.
The fire service said multiple crews were in attendance and had used breathing apparatus and hoses.
Firefighters were called out shortly after 6pm this evening to reports of a fire in a third floor laboratory.
The fire service have not as yet revealed if anyone was injured in the blaze or if hazardous materials were involved.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATED: BODEGA LAB REMAINS CLOSED
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/updated-bodega-lab-remains-closed
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, response, other_chemical
Updated 6 p.m. Oct. 28: The Bodega Marine Laboratory will remain closed at least through Tuesday (Oct. 29), lab officials said, even though the lab is no longer subject to mandatory evacuation. Instead, Sonoma County authorities reinstated an evacuation warning for the county‰??s west side, extending to the Pacific Ocean.
However, said Patrick Helbling, the lab‰??s associate director, the Sheriff‰??s Department advised that the warning can quickly be upgraded again, depending on what‰??s happening with the Kincade Fire.
‰??Knowing that high winds are projected for tomorrow (Tuesday) beginning around 9 a.m. through Thursday, we decided that the lab will remain closed on Tuesday (Oct. 29) and we will assess the situation in the late afternoon when the winds begin to diminish,‰?? Helbling said in an email to lab residents (faculty, staff and students) at about 5:30 p.m.
Air quality also played a factor in the lab‰??s decision to remain closed Tuesday, Helbling said. Prior to PG&E‰??s public safety power shutoff, air monitoring stations measured the air quality in the Bodega area at around 155 (unhealthy) on the Air Quality Index. ‰??With the power down, not all sensors are working on these sites,‰?? he said. However, ‰??we estimate the air quality is still very poor.‰??
---------------------------------------------
LEVIN POOL EVACUATED TWICE IN ONE MONTH OVER CHEMICAL POISONING FEARS
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/horowhenua-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503788&objectid=12280353
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
Two bizarre and completely unrelated incidents have led to the Horowhenua Aquatic Centre pool being evacuated twice in three weeks.
A chemical scare had staff clear the pool of 32 swimmers on Monday, with one swimmer taken to Palmerston North Hospital in what was initially described by emergency services as a serious condition.
The man, in his 40s, was discharged from hospital and was now at home in Levin.
Horowhenua District Council community facility and events manager Brent Harvey was playing golf in K€?piti when he received a call on his mobile about the emergency.
---------------------------------------------
WEEKEND ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LEAK DISPLACES SIX, AREA DEPARTMENTS WORK TOGETHER TO CONTAIN DANGEROUS GAS
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/weekend-anhydrous-ammonia-leak-displaces-six-area-departments-work-together-to-contain-dangerous-gas/
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, ammonia
FARMINGTON, Ill.‰?? A weekend anhydrous ammonia gas leak displaced six residents in Farmington. Fire crews from the area responded to the escaping chemical and were able to safety resolve the situation.
Large plumes of smoke were seen Saturday near Walters Ag Service on Route 116 in Farmington. But it wasn‰??t a fire, it was an anhydrous ammonia gas leak.
‰??They had three 12,000 gallon tanks of anhydrous ammonia,‰?? said Fire Prevention Division Chief for the Peoria Fire Department, Stan Taylor. ‰??One of them was leaking and they shut the valve off and that closed the leak pretty much all the way. Then they went in and capped it, and sealed it from leaking after that.‰??
Fulton County Emergency Management, Canton Fire Department and the Peoria Hazardous Materials team all responded to the call.
---------------------------------------------
BAY AREA AIR QUALITY: UNHEALTHY AIR PLAGUES SAN FRANCISCO DURING FIRES
https://sf.curbed.com/2019/10/28/20936853/air-quality-unhealthy-san-francisco-kincade-fire
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, environmental, other_chemical
With the Kincade Fire in northern Sonoma County growing to more than 74,300 acres, as well as new fires across the East Bay, San Francisco‰??s skies turned hazy Monday, posing a potential health risk to the region.
As of noon, the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s Air Now site registered air quality in San Francisco worse than usual, rating 54 (or ‰??moderate‰??) on the 500-point air quality index scale. But the Air Now forecast for San Francisco predicts that the index will rise to over 150 this afternoon, a number considered ‰??unhealthy‰?? for anyone to breathe.
According to the agency guidelines, people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should ‰??avoid prolonged or heavy exertion.‰??
Air quality has already declined into the ‰??unhealthy‰?? scale in parts of the East Bay near the site of fires in Vallejo and Lafayette, as well as in parts of Sonoma and Napa counties closer to the Kincade Fire.
---------------------------------------------
TELANGANA STATE FORENSIC SCIENCE LABORATORY IDENTIFIES CHEMICAL THAT CAUSED ATTAPUR BLAST- THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2019/oct/29/telangana-state-forensic-science-laboratory-identifies-chemical-that-caused-attapur-blast-2054044.html
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical
HYDERABAD: The explosion that killed a ragpicker on a footpath in Attapur on September 8 was triggered by a chemical compound, namely diethyl phthalate, according to the Telangana State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
In its report submitted to the Cyberabad police, the lab also stated that there was no explosive material in the bag that was seen lying on the footpath. Ragpicker Khaja Aliyuddhin, 40, was trying to open the bag when the explosion occurred.
Though the report has cleared rumours that the explosion was caused by explosive materials in the bag, how the bag came to be at the spot is still being looked into. The FSL also clarified that there were no traces of explosive materials in the victim‰??s body.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS: ‰??I‰??VE NEVER SEEN A SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION FIRE LIKE THIS‰??
https://wnep.com/2019/10/28/firefighters-ive-never-seen-a-spontaneous-combustion-fire-like-this/?fbclid=IwAR0iDqClDZrA_eyNZvySClJb03judrT9_x2LxhfZmt8xM_7OEedkw4OeC5s
Tags: us_PA, public, follow-up, environmental, cleaners, grease
LAKE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Firefighters in Lake Ariel say they've never seen anything like the fire that destroyed a restaurant and some apartments last week.
It was caused by spontaneous combustion after clothes with kitchen grease and a kitchen cleaning chemical on them were taken out of the dryer.
Once inside Liberty Restaurant on Friday morning, firefighters say it was well over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The fire started in an apartment above the restaurant. Firefighters say clothes that still had kitchen grease and a kitchen cleaning chemical on them were taken out of the dryer and piled into a laundry basket. With little air in the laundry basket, firefighters say there was spontaneous combustion.
"Basically it just gets warmer and warmer and hotter and hotter and then all of a sudden it just ignites," Deputy Fire Chief of Lake Ariel Volunteer Fire Department Christopher DiPierro said.
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SHAPIRO, OTHER ATTORNEYS GENERAL, OPPOSE EPA PROPOSAL
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2019/10/28/Shapiro-other-attorneys-general-oppose-EPA-proposal/stories/201910280123
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and 12 other state attorneys general sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urging it to scrap a proposed rollback of an accident prevention rule in light of the most recent revelation about the blast at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery earlier this year.
The explosion released two tons of potentially deadly hydrofluoric acid, according to a U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board report released Oct. 16. The blast also hurled metal shrapnel the size of a bus across the Schuylkill River.
In addition to Mr. Shapiro, the attorneys general of New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington signed off on the letter, which will be entered as part of a continuing objection to an EPA proposal to loosen a program designed to reduce accidents. The attorneys general want the CSB report submitted as part of that objection.
Representatives for the EPA could not be reached immediately for comment.
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