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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (17 articles)
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2019 08:19:40 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: F800AC9A-5620-4EE3-A588-5AFEEC2E72BF**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, November 22, 2019 at 8:19:02 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)
CIVILIAN, 3 POLICE OFFICERS HOSPITALIZED AFTER EXPOSURE TO TOXIC SUBSTANCE
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, hydrogen_sulfide
BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL ODOR, 20 PEOPLE TREATED
Tags: us_MA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
EPA SCALES BACK RULES PUT IN PLACE AFTER DEADLY 2013 BLAST AT TEXAS FERTILIZER PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
ELON MUSK: VIDEO SHOWS SPACEX STARSHIP PROTOTYPE EXPLOSION IN TEXAS
Tags: Australia, industrial, explosion, response, liquid_nitrogen
SEVEN INJURED IN CHEMICAL FACTORY FIRE AT SHERAKOT
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
FIRE IN ANGULANA CHEMICAL FACTORY
Tags: Sri_Lanka, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
ACC ANNOUNCES INITIAL TSCA RISK-EVALUATION CONSORTIA
Tags: us_DC, industrial, discovery, environmental
CLEANING UP CHEMICAL KITCHENS
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, environmental
DOD CRITICIZED FOR APPROACH TO TRICHLOROETHYLENE EXPOSURE LIMIT FOR WORKERS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical, cleaners
CHINA PLANS ANOTHER CRACKDOWN ON CHEMICAL PLANT SAFETY
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death
ASBESTOS PERMANENTLY SHUTS DOWN PLYMOUTH FIRE STATION
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, response, asbestos
CMU CLASS BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER PEPPER SPRAY RELEASED IN STUDENT'S BACKPACK
Tags: us_PA, education, release, response, pepper_spray
POLICE REPORT: NON-TOXIC LAB CHEMICAL OVERHEATS AT HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
DELAWARE RIVER PLANT FIXED, A YEAR AFTER TOXIC LEAK STOPPED THANKSGIVING TRAFFIC FOR SEVEN HOURS
Tags: us_DE, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ethylene_oxide
13 WORKERS TREATED AT HOSPITAL AFTER MERRIMACK CHEMICAL INCIDENT
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, injury, other_chemical
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES TURN UP IN EU PRODUCTS
Tags: Europe, discovery, public, enviromental
GAO REPORT: HUNDREDS OF FORMER US INDUSTRIAL SITES ARE AT RISK OF RELEASING TOXICS BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Tags: us, discovery, public, environmental
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CIVILIAN, 3 POLICE OFFICERS HOSPITALIZED AFTER EXPOSURE TO TOXIC SUBSTANCE
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/toxic-substance-3-officers-1-civilian-in-hospital-1.5369016
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, hydrogen_sulfide
Four people, including three police officers, were hospitalized after being exposed to a toxic substance in a vehicle parked outside a Dartmouth, N.S., grocery store.
Halifax Regional Police say they got a call at 4:46 p.m. Thursday about a woman suffering from a medical emergency in the 500 block of Portland Street, behind the Sobeys store.
Officers found the woman inside the vehicle, and as they tried to help her, they were exposed to a chemical substance.
All four were taken to hospital. Police said in a release around 11 p.m. that the three officers had been released, while the woman was being treated for injuries described as non-life threatening.
Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency district Chief Brad Connors said two materials in the car mixed together to create hydrogen sulfide, a gas that is hazardous to anyone who breathes it in.
In small concentrations, the gas smells like rotten eggs, but is odourless in higher concentrations because people lose their ability to smell the gas.
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BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL ODOR, 20 PEOPLE TREATED
https://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Massachusetts-College-Campus-Evacuated-due-to-Chemical-Odor-565285922.html
Tags: us_MA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
A Massachusetts community college campus was evacuated Thursday and 20 people received medical attention after having trouble breathing.
Bristol Community College's campus in New Bedford was evacuated about 10 a.m., the school said in a statement, after an unknown odor was detected.
First responders initially received a call reporting the smell of natural gas, but once crews arrived at the scene it became apparent it wasn't natural gas, but some sort of chemical gas, Deputy Fire Chief Scott Kruger told The Standard-Times.
He said that about 10 people taken to the hospital complained of trouble breathing and that others were treated at the scene.
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EPA SCALES BACK RULES PUT IN PLACE AFTER DEADLY 2013 BLAST AT TEXAS FERTILIZER PLANT
https://www.khou.com/article/news/nation-world/epa-scales-back-rules-put-in-place-after-deadly-2013-blast-at-texas-fertilizer-plant/285-884cbb6f-2994-4442-9c94-10a18326dd67
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
AUSTIN, Texas ‰?? The Trump administration is scaling back chemical plant safety measures that were put in place after a Texas fertilizer plant explosion in 2013 that killed 15 people.
The changes announced Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency include ending a requirement that plants provide members of the public information about chemical risks upon request.
The Obama era rules followed a fire at the West Fertilizer Co. plant that caused ammonium nitrate to ignite, triggering a massive explosion that ripped open a large crater. Ten firefighters were among those killed.
EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler says the changes do away with ‰??unnecessary administrative burdens.‰?? Chemical manufacturers had pushed for the changes.
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ELON MUSK: VIDEO SHOWS SPACEX STARSHIP PROTOTYPE EXPLOSION IN TEXAS
https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/spacex-prototype-explodes-sending-liquid-nitrogen-flying/news-story/035651969ad0e6530cf07fdc1b032f96
Tags: Australia, industrial, explosion, response, liquid_nitrogen
This is the dramatic moment Elon Musk‰??s Starship prototype covered a launch complex in huge plumes of frosty liquid nitrogen during a test failure.
The icy chemical was being used as part of a propellant test, and is at least -197C ‰?? and often much colder.
Dramatic footage captured by the NasaSpaceflight blog shows the rocket blowing open during a test on Wednesday.
A cloud of cryogenic fluid can be seen erupting from the vehicle‰??s upper bulkhead, The Sun reports.
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SEVEN INJURED IN CHEMICAL FACTORY FIRE AT SHERAKOT
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/572419-seven-injured-in-chemical-factory-fire-at-sherakot
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
LAHORE:At least seven persons received burns when a fire erupted at a chemical factory near Bao Sammay Ghati in the Sherakot police limits on Thursday.
The injured were shifted to Mayo Hospital. The Rescue 1122 fire service controlled the fire after hectic efforts for over two hours. The victims with minor injuries have been identified as Zulifqar, 42, s/o Aziz, Tassawar, 26, son of Sarwar, Ahmed, 22, son of Saif, Muzammil, 18, son of Iqbal, Qasim, 28, son of Hanif, Nadeem, 24, son of Salamat and Tayyab, 19, son of Nazir.
The fire had erupted in a chemical drum which engulfed the entire premises. help desks at Kartarpur Corridor: Punjab police have established two help desks at Kartarpur Corridor for the protection and facility of Sikh pilgrims and tourists.
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FIRE IN ANGULANA CHEMICAL FACTORY
https://www.newsfirst.lk/2019/11/22/fire-in-angulana-chemical-factory/
Tags: Sri_Lanka, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
COLOMBO (News 1st):- A fire erupted in a chemical factory located in Angulana, Katubedda at around 3:00 this morning (November 22).
The Fire Department said that 12 service trucks were deployed to douse the fire. The police stated that the fire had caused massive damage to the three-storey building.
The cause of the fire has not yet been identified.
---------------------------------------------
ACC ANNOUNCES INITIAL TSCA RISK-EVALUATION CONSORTIA
https://www.chemengonline.com/acc-announces-initial-tsca-risk-evaluation-consortia/
Tags: us_DC, industrial, discovery, environmental
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) today announced the formation of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Risk Evaluation Consortia to inform the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s (EPA) risk evaluation of five chemicals: 1,3-butadiene, 1,4-dichlorobenzene (p-DCB), formaldehyde, phthalic anhydride, and propylene dichloride. ACC‰??s Center for Chemical Safety will serve as the scientific and technical hub for these consortia.
‰??It is essential for companies across the value chain to understand and engage in the TSCA process because it is critical to their businesses. Forming a consortium is a great way to do that,‰?? said Steve Risotto from ACC‰??s Center for Chemical Safety. ‰??ACC is a natural choice for these companies given our subject matter expertise, the tools and resources we offer, and the partnerships we have developed over many years as the voice of the chemical industry,‰?? he continued.
In 2016, a bipartisan majority of Congress amended TSCA to reform the regulation of chemicals in the United States. TSCA gives EPA authority to regulate chemicals in commerce and manage any identified unreasonable risks to human health and the environment. Prioritization of chemicals for risk evaluation is a new feature of the updated law. Any final high-priority designation does not represent a finding of risk by EPA. Rather, that is the role of a TSCA risk evaluation.
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CLEANING UP CHEMICAL KITCHENS
https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/cleaning-up-chemical-kitchens/4010722.article
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, environmental
In a busy plant, ensuring small changes don‰??t produce unforeseen toxic impurities is key
I often compare a working chemical plant to a particularly busy restaurant. The chemists plan the dishes and develop the recipes, and the operators are out in the plant, cooking up the product. The customers are hungrily waiting for their compounds to be shipped to them, asking the waiters (the salespeople) how their orders are coming, and whether or not their products have been tested in the quality control laboratory.
But there are still other details to consider. Where can we get the ingredients? What quality will those ingredients be? And the grimiest detail of all ‰?? at the end of a busy shift, someone has to clean out the pots and pans.
That‰??s one of those not very fun tasks that process chemists eventually find themselves thinking about ‰?? what‰??s the best way to clean a reactor easily, when there might be gummed-up residues on the sides, or some leftover product in the pipework? While there might occasionally be times where an operator needs to get suited up and carefully lowered into the reactor to gently scrape off compound that is stuck on the ceramic walls, it‰??s generally safer and easier to use solvents.
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DOD CRITICIZED FOR APPROACH TO TRICHLOROETHYLENE EXPOSURE LIMIT FOR WORKERS
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/DOD-criticized-approach-trichloroethylene-exposure/97/i46
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical, cleaners
he US Department of Defense should overhaul its process for establishing a workplace exposure limit for the chlorinated solvent trichloroethylene (TCE), a Nov. 15 report by a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee says. The report questions why the DOD did not follow best practices in its hazard assessment and review of published studies on the health effects of TCE.
Deviating from best practices ‰??puts the agency in a position of having to develop, document, and defend a different approach, which is particularly difficult when applied to a chemical with a large and controversial database, such as TCE,‰?? the report states.
TCE is a human carcinogen and has adverse effects on the liver, kidneys, brain, and immune system, as well as on reproduction. The DOD is concerned about people inhaling TCE while working in facilities near contaminated DOD sites.
The US military once widely used TCE as a metal degreaser and in maintenance of tanks and aircraft. The chemical now contaminates the soil and groundwater at numerous DOD sites and can migrate into the air of buildings near such sites.
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CHINA PLANS ANOTHER CRACKDOWN ON CHEMICAL PLANT SAFETY
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/China-plans-another-crackdown-chemical/97/i46
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death
Eight months after a chemical plant explosion at an industrial park in Jiangsu Province, China, killed 78 and hospitalized over 600, China is penalizing some senior officials and launching a new round of national safety inspections. Yet experts worry that without more comprehensive efforts, the country‰??s fast-expanding chemical industry may still be vulnerable to deadly accidents.
On Nov. 15, at a meeting of the State Council (China‰??s cabinet), two vice governors of Jiangsu Province received disciplinary warnings. Earlier, authorities had arrested two dozen corporate executives, local officials, and safety assessment agents. They were found to be responsible for inadequate safety management at the company, Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical, where the March 21 blast occurred.
At the meeting, officials also vowed to enhance chemical safety management and increase surveillance to prevent major accidents. Except for a round of nationwide safety inspections, however, they released no new concrete measures.
The Jiangsu blast and a 2018 explosion at a ChemChina facility that killed 23 were major setbacks in China‰??s effort to improve chemical safety. Officials jump-started the initiative after a massive explosion at a hazardous goods warehouse in Tianjin in 2015 killed more than 170 people. One significant step was a plan to forcibly relocate certain chemical factories to well-monitored industrial parks.
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ASBESTOS PERMANENTLY SHUTS DOWN PLYMOUTH FIRE STATION
https://www.wcvb.com/article/asbestos-permanently-shuts-down-plymouth-fire-station-7-officials-say/29864103
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, response, asbestos
PLYMOUTH, Mass. ‰??
The North Plymouth Fire Station on Spooner Street has been permanently closed due to asbestos concerned, according to town officials.
At 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, the town received lab results from a wall sampling at Station 7 that showed 2% asbestos in the plaster.
Plymouth Fire Department and town management shared this information with the firefighters' union, and both parties agreed to shut down the station at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Firefighters in hazmat suits were seen cleaning out their gear Wednesday afternoon.
"Management and the union's united concern and focus at this point is providing notification and medical testing to any employee who may have had any exposure," said Town Manager Melissa Arrighi.
The town will start baseline testing for every firefighter who has worked at the North Plymouth Station since 2000. Those firefighters will also undergo annual chest X-rays and additional medical testing.
---------------------------------------------
CMU CLASS BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER PEPPER SPRAY RELEASED IN STUDENT'S BACKPACK
https://www.wtae.com/article/multiple-crews-on-scene-of-large-fire-in-monroeville/29867854
Tags: us_PA, education, release, response, pepper_spray
A Carnegie Mellon University classroom building was evacuated Wednesday evening after a can of pepper spray went off in a student's backpack.
The pepper spray irritated some students eyes, a CMU spokesman said. Students were evacuated from Porter Hall. Emergency responders and a hazmat team responded to the campus building.
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POLICE REPORT: NON-TOXIC LAB CHEMICAL OVERHEATS AT HIGH SCHOOL
http://scarsdale10583.com/section-table/107-todays-news/7915-police-report-non-toxic-lab-chemical-overheats-at-high-school
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Fire: On Monday, Nov. 18, a lab fire at Scarsdale High School resulted in the school being evacuated for approximately 25 minutes during the school day. According to principal Kenneth Bonamo, the fire alarm was triggered during second period, around 9:39 a.m., by a laboratory chemical that was overheated in that classroom. The chemical was considered non-hazardous and was comprised of non-hazardous ingredients including mineral oil and inert thermoplastic rubber, according to the manufacturer‰??s Safety Data Sheet.
Firefighters on site cleared the area of smoke before they allowed staff and students back into the building. The Fire Department did initial testing for volatile organic materials, and none were detected. However, upon their return into the building, staff and students reported smelling an unpleasant odor. The HVAC ventilation system automatically shut off during the evacuation, but it came back on for a brief time during re-entry before officials could manually shut it down again. Once it was turned back on, school officials, out of an abundance of caution, relocated classes in the science wing to the gymnasium and asked anyone who felt unwell to report to the nurse immediately.
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DELAWARE RIVER PLANT FIXED, A YEAR AFTER TOXIC LEAK STOPPED THANKSGIVING TRAFFIC FOR SEVEN HOURS
https://www.inquirer.com/news/croda-plant-shut-ethylene-oxide-toxic-delaware-memorial-bridge-fines-20191120.html
Tags: us_DE, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ethylene_oxide
Environmental officials have cleared Croda Inc.'s ethylene oxide unit at Atlas Point on the Delaware River to reopen, just in time for the first anniversary of the Nov. 25, 2018 toxic gas leak that shut Delaware Memorial Bridge traffic between New Jersey to Delaware and snarled homebound Thanksgiving travelers on I-95 and other roads for seven hours.
‰??We have given Croda the go ahead to start up,‰?? said Joanna Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. ‰??Croda is looking to begin the process of getting back online this week, but they have indicated it will take a while before the plant is fully operational.‰??
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13 WORKERS TREATED AT HOSPITAL AFTER MERRIMACK CHEMICAL INCIDENT
https://www.concordmonitor.com/13-workers-treated-at-hospital-after-chemical-incident-30628010
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, injury, other_chemical
Authorities say 13 people from a New Hampshire company were taken to hospitals and more than 50 others were evacuated after being exposed to a chemical.
The incident at Fluid Air, a subsidiary of Spraying Systems Co., in Merrimack, happened Tuesday after workers were exposed to sodium selenite, causing some to become sick, Merrimack Fire Department Capt. John Manuele said. The chemical is used in manufacturing, but the circumstances that led to the exposure weren‰??t immediately known.
He said 13 people were taken to Nashua hospitals after complaining of nausea or shortness of breath. Another 53 people were evacuated and assessed for exposure.
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HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES TURN UP IN EU PRODUCTS
https://cen.acs.org/business/consumer-products/Hazardous-substances-turn-EU-products/97/i46
Tags: Europe, discovery, public, enviromental
Some 88% of chemical suppliers are failing to tell European customers when their products contain substances of very high concern (SVHC), according to a study by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the body responsible for implementing chemical regulations in the European Union. The failure is a breach of the regulations, which classify SVHCs as being present when at concentrations of more than 0.1% by weight.
The same study found that SVHCs are present in 12% of consumer products such as footwear and electronic accessories. Chemicals classified as SVHCs have restricted uses. ECHA didn‰??t say whether SVHCs in the products made them unsafe, as this was outside the scope of the study.
For the study, ECHA inspected 682 consumer products made by 405 companies across 15 European countries. SVHCs identified in the consumer goods include various phthalates, heavy metals, and short-chain chloroparaffins.
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GAO REPORT: HUNDREDS OF FORMER US INDUSTRIAL SITES ARE AT RISK OF RELEASING TOXICS BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/Hundreds-former-US-industrial-sites/97/i46
Tags: us, discovery, public, environmental
Nearly 950 US Superfund sites may fail to contain toxic waste because of climate change, says a new report by the US Government Accountability Office. Consequently, the GAO recommends that the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the Superfund cleanup program for sites that are neither federal facilities nor on federal land, better prepare and take precautions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Those impacts include flooding, wildfires, sea level rise, and storm surge, according to the report, which includes an interactive national map of the sites.
The GAO, which audits and investigates government programs for the US Congress, notes that the EPA has taken some actions but needs to do more to incorporate potential climate impacts on human health and the environment into its decision making to ensure long-term protection at these sites.
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