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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, November 18, 2019 at 7:51:57 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 (15 articles)
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO MERCURY SPILL IN BARRINGTON
Tags: us_RI, public, release, response, mercury
RESPONSE BY RESEARCHER TO BREACHED GLOVEBOX PREVENTS SIGNIFICANT CONTAMINATION SPREAD
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, response, radiation
POTENTIAL HAZMAT INCIDENT OCCURS AT NUSIL FACILITY
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, other_chemical
TANKER ROLLOVER NEAR SONOMA SPILLS MORE THAN 4,000 GALLONS OF GAS
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
NAVY RESEARCHERS HOPEFUL NEW FIREFIGHTING FOAMS WILL REDUCE HEALTH RISKS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
DEEP RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN DANBURY
Tags: us_CT, transportation, release, response, flammables
'DON'T FIGHT': CFA TOLD TO STAY HOME IF CHEMICAL STASH EXPLODES
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, illegal, toxics, waste
2 HOSPITALIZED AS PRECAUTION AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT IN BELLEVUE
Tags: us_WA, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical, bleach
UVM GRAD STUDENT‰??S ARM BURNED IN LAB ‰??FLASH FIRE‰??
Tags: us_VT, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
COURT ISSUES MIXED RULING ON US CHEMICAL RISK ASSESSMENTS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, asbestos
GAS SMELL AT SMITH HIGH SCHOOL CAME FROM CHEMISTRY LAB, FIREFIGHTERS SAY
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, release, response, methane
TRAIN CAR FLIPS, SPILLS FLAMMABLE LIQUID IN UPPER TYRONE TOWNSHIP
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, solvent
NEIGHBORS EVACUATED IN BIRD ROCK AS FBI, HAZMAT TEAM DETONATES 'UNSTABLE CHEMICALS' AT HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, explosives
HAZMAT TEAM INVESTIGATES TAOS POST OFFICE FUMES
Tags: us_NM, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
THE SERIOUSNESS OF SMOKE: AS CALIFORNIA BURNS, SCIENTISTS STUDY THREATS TO FIREFIGHTER HEALTH
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical
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HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO MERCURY SPILL IN BARRINGTON
http://origin.turnto10.com/news/local/hazmat-team-works-scene-of-a-mercury-spill-in-barrington
Tags: us_RI, public, release, response, mercury
BARRINGTON, R.I. (WJAR) ‰?? A hazardous-materials team responded to a mercury spill in Barrington on Sunday afternoon that was caused by a man who dropped a piece of equipment in his bedroom.
A Barrington fire captain told NBC 10 News that the equipment had mercury in it and that the spill at a home on Fountain Avenue was more than the typical size that would come from a thermometer.
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RESPONSE BY RESEARCHER TO BREACHED GLOVEBOX PREVENTS SIGNIFICANT CONTAMINATION SPREAD
https://opexshare.doe.gov/lesson.cfm/2019/11/12/28350/Response-by-Researcher-to-Breached-Glovebox-Prevents-Significant-Contamination-Spread
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, response, radiation
Recently, a researcher was cleaning the interior of a glovebox window when a glovebox differential pressure alarm was activated. Remaining calm, the researcher visually surveyed the glovebox work area and realized the left glovebox support ring and glove he was working in had detached outward from the glovebox port creating an opening directly into the glovebox. The researcher was able to close the gap between the glove and glovebox by pressing his shoulder into the glove ring while simultaneously pulling the left glove into the box with his right glove. Another staff member in the room notified a Radiation Protection Technician (RPT), who immediately responded and re-seated the glove ring. With the assistance of several other RPTs, the researcher was then able to exit the glovebox safely and with minor contamination on his laboratory coat.
In this Lessons Learned article, you'll read what caused the breach and what steps are being taken at PNNL to prevent reoccurrence.
---------------------------------------------
POTENTIAL HAZMAT INCIDENT OCCURS AT NUSIL FACILITY
https://www.bakersfield.com/news/potential-hazmat-incident-occurs-at-nusil-facility/article_6d4c5546-08bb-11ea-b92d-ef055657998b.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, other_chemical
The Kern County Fire Department, along with Kern County Environmental Health Services, responded to reports of a potential hazmat incident just before 8 p.m. Friday at the NuSil facility on Pegasus Drive, according to a Fire Department news release.
Firefighters confirmed the facility had been evacuated and isolated the area as a hazmat team investigated, according to the Fire Department. A 55-gallon barrel was located and reported as ‰??bulging‰?? after being used previously to store sodium amide, which reacted with the water it had been cleaned with. It was determined that the barrel was empty, the chemical reaction had stopped and the barrel was no longer a hazard, the Fire Department reported.
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TANKER ROLLOVER NEAR SONOMA SPILLS MORE THAN 4,000 GALLONS OF GAS
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/local/10329344-181/tanker-rollover-near-sonoma-spills?sba=AAS
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
A gasoline tanker rolled over on Highway 121 near Sonoma on Saturday, spilling several thousand gallons of fuel, according to Schell-Vista firefighters.
The rollover was reported at 10:31 a.m. near the entrance to Viansa Sonoma Winery, according to Schell-Vista Engineer Kevin Plume. Highway 121 was closed between Bonneau Gas Station and Highway 37 while crews tried to contain and clean up the spill of between 4,000 and ‰??4,500 ‰??gallons of gasoline.
The operation lasted about 6å1Ú2 hours, Plume said. Caltrans will operate one-way traffic control around the area of the rollover until about Monday so that it can test the road and surrounding area affected by the fuel leak.
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NAVY RESEARCHERS HOPEFUL NEW FIREFIGHTING FOAMS WILL REDUCE HEALTH RISKS
https://abcnews.go.com/US/navy-researchers-working-pfas-free-firefighting-foams-pose/story?id=67052773
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Testing is still at a small scale, but U.S. Navy researchers are encouraged by their work to develop new firefighting foams that do not contain the "forever chemicals" known as PFAS, that at high levels have been linked to increased health risks, including cancer.
PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl, is known as a "forever chemical" because it never degrades and will remain in the soil permanently.
While found in a variety of household products and non-stick surfaces, PFAS compounds are found in large concentrations in the firefighting foams first developed by the U.S. military more than 50 years ago to put out jet-fuel fires at military bases and aboard warships.
Over time, the PFAS in the foam enters the groundwater surrounding some military bases, which affects drinking water.
---------------------------------------------
DEEP RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN DANBURY
https://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/DEEP-responds-to-chemical-spill-in-Danbury-14840357.php
Tags: us_CT, transportation, release, response, flammables
DANBURY‰??Fire officials and responders from the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection were at the scene of a chemical spill Saturday morning around 5:00 a.m., said James Gagliardo, communications coordinator for the Danbury fire department.
The spill occurred when a small amount of methyl acetate leaked from a trailer, Gagliardo said, adding that fire officials did not remain on scene long as it was a minor issue.
Though methyl acetate can be highly flammable, that did not pose an issue in the morning‰??s cold weather, according to Gagliardo.
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'DON'T FIGHT': CFA TOLD TO STAY HOME IF CHEMICAL STASH EXPLODES
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/don-t-fight-cfa-told-to-stay-home-if-chemical-stash-explodes-20191115-p53b3b.html
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, illegal, toxics, waste
The Country Fire Authority has ordered firefighters not to respond if a blaze breaks out this summer at a massive illegal chemical dump outside the western Victorian town of Kaniva amid concerns that it would expose local crews to toxic contamination.
A secret emergency plan developed by senior command at the CFA, Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Victoria Police calls for road blocks 10km to the north and south of the site until a specialist CFA hazardous materials team can arrive, said local emergency management sources who declined to be named. The specialist team is based about three hours away in Ballarat.
Kaniva CFA captain Brad Witmitz confirmed the order, saying, ‰??I've been told that if there is a fire we would not be turned out (dispatched). That we are to stay away from the fire and that a Hazmat (hazardous materials) team would be sent."
But he said CFA command had not provided details to local firefighters about the nature of the threat posed by the illicit waste stockpile or a copy of the joint-agency emergency response plan.
---------------------------------------------
2 HOSPITALIZED AS PRECAUTION AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT IN BELLEVUE
https://patch.com/washington/bellevue/2-hospitalized-precaution-after-hazmat-incident-bellevue
Tags: us_WA, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical, bleach
BELLEVUE, WA ‰?? Two people were hospitalized as a precaution Friday afternoon after an incident involving bleach, according to Bellevue Fire. A Hazmat team said an unidentified chemical was added to a 55-gallon drum full of bleach at a facility on the 13800 block of Southeast 32nd Street. Firefighters are performing tests on the mixture and working to secure the barrel. Bellevue Fire said two people were transported to the hospital with no apparent symptoms.
---------------------------------------------
UVM GRAD STUDENT‰??S ARM BURNED IN LAB ‰??FLASH FIRE‰??
https://www.wcax.com/content/news/UVM-grad-students-arm-burned-in-lab-flash-fire-564986562.html
Tags: us_VT, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) The University of Vermont says a graduate student received burns to the arm in a flash fire that occurred when a vial broke and the chemical inside was exposed to the air.
UVM spokesman Enrique Corredera says the Friday morning incident that occurred inside an exhaust hood in a laboratory in Discovery Hall, one of the university‰??s science buildings.
The female graduate student, whose name not released, was taken to the hospital with burns to one arm. Her injuries are described as minor.
Burlington Fire Department Deputy Chief Aaron Collette says state hazardous materials officials have been called in.
There was no damage to the building. Classes in the building were cancelled for the day.
Corredera says the student was working with others to reorganize chemicals in the lab.
---------------------------------------------
COURT ISSUES MIXED RULING ON US CHEMICAL RISK ASSESSMENTS
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/Court-issues-mixed-ruling-US/97/web/2019/11
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, asbestos
In a win for environmental, labor, and public health groups, a federal appeals court has directed the US Environmental Protection Agency to include ‰??legacy uses‰?? of chemicals in its risk evaluations. A legacy use is when a substance is no longer manufactured for that use but is still present in products made earlier, such as asbestos insulation and fireproofing in older buildings.
On other challenges, the court sided with the EPA. One was related to the agency‰??s use-by-use approach to evaluating chemical risks and another was for ignoring risks of substances that have been disposed of.
At issue is the EPA‰??s exclusion of certain uses of chemicals as it evaluates their risks to human health and the environment under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Groups that challenged the agency‰??s current approach argue that it will lead to underestimated risks.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit threw out the petitioners‰?? complaint alleging that the EPA is considering each use of a chemical individually rather than all uses together. In the Nov. 14 ruling, the court claims that the argument is too speculative, noting that how the EPA describes its approach is ambiguous. It is unclear ‰??whether the Agency will actually conduct risk evaluations in the manner Petitioners fear,‰?? Judge Michelle T. Friedland wrote. However, the court left open the possibility of future challenges should the EPA‰??s final risk assessments fail to comply with TSCA‰??s requirements.
---------------------------------------------
GAS SMELL AT SMITH HIGH SCHOOL CAME FROM CHEMISTRY LAB, FIREFIGHTERS SAY
https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/gas-smell-reported-smith-high-school/83-846547dd-2bfa-441e-8abe-8b5630b07fae
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, release, response, methane
GREENSBORO, N.C. ‰?? Greensboro Fire Officials say a reported gas smell at Smith High School was coming from the chemistry lab.
The fire department and HAZMAT team were called to the school Thursday afternoon, where they discovered an gas valve that was not properly shut in the chemistry lab. The valve was shut off and the windows and doors were opened to ventilate the school.
Guilford County Schools said students were moved to a different part of the building while firefighters investigated. They say parents were informed of the situation, and classes were able to resume as normal.
---------------------------------------------
TRAIN CAR FLIPS, SPILLS FLAMMABLE LIQUID IN UPPER TYRONE TOWNSHIP
https://www.heraldstandard.com/news/hsnewsnow/train-car-flips-spills-flammable-liquid-in-upper-tyrone-township/article_a258acbe-070b-11ea-a5f0-97ffb82e76a6.html
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, solvent
A train car overturned in Upper Tyrone Township Thursday afternoon, causing about 200 gallons of a flammable liquid to spill into a tributary of Jacobs Creek, officials said.
The accident occurred near the intersection of Broadford and Woods roads at about 1 p.m. There was no danger to residents, and the leak did not pose any threat to fish or wildlife, according to Fayette County Emergency Management Agency Hazmat Director Jim Bittner. No injuries were reported.
Officials believe the brakes went out on the train car. It overturned when it hit a derailer, which is designed to flip an out-of-control car off the tracks.
"The derailer is designed to do just what it did ‰?? keep it from residential areas," he said.
The train car was dropped off at about 10 or 11 a.m. Another train was scheduled to pick up the car and take it into Everson Borough, but neighbors noticed it was flipped and spilling fuel. Officials stopped the leak when they arrived on scene. They estimated about 200 gallons of the industrial solvent spilled.
---------------------------------------------
NEIGHBORS EVACUATED IN BIRD ROCK AS FBI, HAZMAT TEAM DETONATES 'UNSTABLE CHEMICALS' AT HOME
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2019-11-14/neighbors-evacuated-in-bird-rock-as-fbi-hazmat-team-detonates-unstable-chemicals-at-home
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, explosives
LA JOLLA ‰?? San Diego FBI agents serving a search warrant Thursday found ‰??unstable chemicals‰?? at a home in the Bird Rock area of La Jolla, prompting evacuations from nearby homes as teams dealt with the hazardous materials, according to an FBI statement.
Agents were serving the warrant at a home on Wrelton Drive near Chelsea Street, a little west of La Jolla Boulevard, ‰??related to an ongoing investigation,‰?? FBI San Diego spokeswoman Special Agent Davene Butler said in the statement.
Certain materials discovered in the home prompted the agents to request the help of San Diego County‰??s Hazardous Incident Response Team, Butler said.
The hazardous materials team was tasked with ‰??assistance in detonating and disposing of unstable chemicals that were determined could not be transported safely,‰?? Butler said.
Some residents in the area were evacuated from their homes, Butler said. Once the unstable chemicals are dealt with during the controlled detonation, the evacuation will be lifted.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM INVESTIGATES TAOS POST OFFICE FUMES
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/hazmat-team-investigates-taos-post-office-fumes/article_009f9e4d-2a62-5d2c-a515-5c5d5fefe0f8.html
Tags: us_NM, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
TAOS ‰?? Noxious fumes at a Taos post office sent two people to a local hospital Wednesday evening and prompted police to call in a hazardous materials team to clean up a volatile organic compound that still has not been identified.
Authorities also did not release information about how the substance might have been released.
The Taos Fire Department responded to a report of fumes at the north-side post office on Paseo del Pueblo Norte around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from Taos Manager Rick Bellis.
Someone at the post office had called about a ‰??potential issue of something noxious that was causing coughing and possible breathing issues,‰?? the statement said. ‰??Taos Fire department arrived and sent 2 to 4 patrons that were on the scene to Holy Cross Hospital as a precaution.‰??
---------------------------------------------
THE SERIOUSNESS OF SMOKE: AS CALIFORNIA BURNS, SCIENTISTS STUDY THREATS TO FIREFIGHTER HEALTH
http://www.cvindependent.com/index.php/en-US/news/features/item/5575-the-seriousness-of-smoke-as-california-burns-scientists-study-threats-to-firefighter-health
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical
Matt Rahn was about 200 feet away when flames started climbing up the side of the garage and creeping toward the car inside.
A wildfire researcher with California State University at San Marcos, Rahn was at the edge of a fire that would go on to burn 4,240 acres across California‰??s Amador and El Dorado counties. He was there to study the smoke rising off blackening shrubs and trees. Watching the garage burn, though, he realized that firefighters‰??fending off flames without any real lung protection‰??were inhaling more than airborne remnants of burnt plants.
‰??Think about the average home, all the chemicals and things that are in there, not to mention all the building materials and furniture,‰?? said Rahn, who also is a member of Temecula‰??s city council. ‰??That‰??s when we started really thinking about what happens. What‰??s in the smoke when you have all that complicated fuel being combusted at the same time?‰??
That was in 2014, when wildfires burned 568 buildings across the state. Fire season is not yet over this year, and the toll already is higher: three people dead and 732 buildings burned, as of this writing. And the state is still recovering from back-to-back years of catastrophic fires that killed 137 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 35,000 buildings.
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