Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (11 articles)
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 07:37:07 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 4BA15AC9-AAEB-4E60-A43C-8F4054681E0F**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, January 10, 2020 at 7:36:51 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)
SMALL EXPLOSION PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE AT SOUTH SIDE SCRAP YARD FIRE
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, waste
3 PEOPLE SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICALS MIX AT AMAZON IN NASHUA
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
UNITED STEELWORKERS SUES EPA OVER WEAKENING OF CHEMICAL SAFETY RULE
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems
TWO-ALARM FIRE SET OFF AT WILMINGTON CHEMICAL BUILDING ‰?? LOWELL SUN
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FORKLIFT FALLS OFF TRUCK, 12 GALLONS OF ACID SPILL
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, hydraulic_fluid, sulfuric_acid
CHEMICAL COMPANY FINED OVER MASSIVE POCKLINGTON FIRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables, illegal
CHEMICAL FIRE IN HANDSWORTH NEARLY CAUSED MASS EVACUATION OF 6,400 HOMES
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, follow-up, environmental, sodium
CHEMICAL FACTORY GUTTED NEAR MEHSANA
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, plastics
CAUSE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE THAT CLOSED THE PULASKI SKYWAY IS UNDETERMINED
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, environmental, pool_chemicals
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO SLO BUILDING FOLLOWING REPORT OF FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, methanol
GRADUATE STUDENT SETS FIRE TO COMMIT SUICIDE
Tags: China, laboratory, fire, death, suicide
---------------------------------------------
SMALL EXPLOSION PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE AT SOUTH SIDE SCRAP YARD FIRE
https://wgntv.com/2020/01/09/small-explosion-prompts-hazmat-response-at-south-side-scrap-yard-fire/
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, waste
CHICAGO ‰??A large fire in a South Side scrap yard Thursday morning triggered a hazmat response after a small explosion.
Firefighters responding to the call in the new city area just after 5 a.m. could see the flames from two blocks away.
The fire spanned a block from Morgan to Aberdeen north of 49th Street. The area contained abandoned trailers, pallets and other scrap.
The hazmat unit was called after firefighters heard what sounded like a gas can exploding, but there was little danger to residents.
Due to the early hour, the Chicago Fire Deputy Chief Carmelita Wiley-Earls believes the fire may have spread for some time before being discovered.
---------------------------------------------
3 PEOPLE SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICALS MIX AT AMAZON IN NASHUA
https://wokq.com/three-people-sent-to-hospital-after-chemicals-mix-at-amazon-in-nashua/
Tags: us_NH, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
It was a scary day at Amazon in Nashua, NH, on Thursday.
WMUR reported that the building had to be evacuated after some chemicals were mixed together, sending three employees to the hospital.
Nashua Fire-Rescue said that the hazmat team responded to the scene after being called about a chemical reaction. Officials say some of the workers were exposed while cleaning the building.
Deputy Chief Karl Gerhard told the news station that they assisted three people from the building who exhibited signs of respiratory related issues, and coughing.
Amazon said that they take the safety of their employees seriously and are cooperating fully with the investigation as to what happened, according to WMUR
---------------------------------------------
UNITED STEELWORKERS SUES EPA OVER WEAKENING OF CHEMICAL SAFETY RULE
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-environment-lawsuit/united-steelworkers-sues-epa-over-weakening-of-chemical-safety-rule-idUSKBN1Z82BL
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United Steelworkers sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court on Thursday in a bid to reverse its gutting of a safety rule at chemical plants, the union said.
The largest U.S. industrial union‰??s lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia adds to previous litigation against the rollback of Obama-era chemical safety rules.
The Trump administration‰??s EPA in November released its ‰??Risk Management Program,‰?? which rids chemical plants of what EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said were ‰??unnecessary regulatory burdens.‰??
The plan weakened the Obama-era 2017 Chemical Disaster Rule, which bolstered measures to reduce risk at chemical plants with measures like third-party audits and safety technology analysis. The measure was developed in the wake of a deadly 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people.
‰??Eliminating these requirements will allow a profit-hungry industry to police itself while putting workers, first responders and the public at risk,‰?? Tom Conway, the USW‰??s international president, said in a statement.
---------------------------------------------
TWO-ALARM FIRE SET OFF AT WILMINGTON CHEMICAL BUILDING ‰?? LOWELL SUN
https://www.lowellsun.com/2020/01/09/two-alarm-fire-set-off-at-wilmington-chemical-building/
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
WILMINGTON ‰?? Local fire departments and police shut off a major portion of Industrial Way Thursday afternoon after a machine caught fire inside a chemical building.
A two-alarm fire broke out at 33 Industrial Way aaround 2:30 p.m. as the sprinkler system inside ChemGenes Corporation set off a text message alert to nearby authorities.
ChemGenes Corporation works with and researches DNA/RNA synthesis, according to its website.
The fire was not visible from the street, as police blocked off both sides of Industrial Way and sent traffic away from the scene. Acton EMS responded to the scene and a helicopter could be seen hovering around the area. A level one Hazmat team was requested, according to officials.
---------------------------------------------
FORKLIFT FALLS OFF TRUCK, 12 GALLONS OF ACID SPILL
https://midhudsonnews.com/2020/01/08/forklift-falls-off-truck-12-gallons-of-acid-spill/
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, hydraulic_fluid, sulfuric_acid
TOWN OF WALLKILL ‰?? A Forklift fell off a truck at 90 Crystal Run Road in the Town of Wallkill around 5:30 Wednesday evening spilling an estimated 12 gallons of sulfuric acid from a battery combined with hydraulic fluid, Mechanicstown Fire Chief Mike Palmer said.
The liquid spilled onto the road, but Orange County Hazmat was called in and neutralized it, the chief said.
There were no injuries, but the forklift was damaged, he said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL COMPANY FINED OVER MASSIVE POCKLINGTON FIRE
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/18146383.chemical-company-fined-massive-pocklington-fire/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables, illegal
AN AEROSOL factory has been fined over a massive fire that led to part of an industrial estate being evacuated.
Explosions shook Pocklington Industrial Estate and thick black smoke could be seen from some distance around as the flames gutted LMA Services's building.
LMA Services Ltd, of Halifax Way, Pocklington Industrial Estate, appeared before Leeds Magistrates Court where it admitted safety breaches involving explosive liquids in connection with the fire.
It was ordered to pay a total of å£16,377 with a å£14,000 fine and å£2,377 prosecution costs.
A spokesman for Health and Safety Executive, which brought the prosecution, said a spark from electrical weighing scales started the fire as heptane, a highly flammable liquid, was being decanted from a bulk storage container into 4-litre metal cans.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRE IN HANDSWORTH NEARLY CAUSED MASS EVACUATION OF 6,400 HOMES
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/chemical-fire-handsworth-nearly-caused-17534569
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, follow-up, environmental, sodium
A chemical emergency in Handsworth involved 40 barrels of sodium, nearly caused more than 6,400 homes to be evacuated and could cost the council around å£200,000, it has been revealed.
Birmingham City Council has vowed to recoup the costs but for now has been left saddled with two tonnes of the material, which they say is the greatest amount of it in its metallic form in all of Western Europe.
The incident ground the area surrounding the junction of Windermere Road and Oxhill Road to a halt on Thursday, November 14, as dozens of firefighters descended on a garage blaze.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FACTORY GUTTED NEAR MEHSANA
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/chemical-factory-gutted-near-mehsana/articleshow/73162964.cms
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, plastics
PALANPUR: A chemical factory was gutted in fire at GIDC industrial estate near Dediyasan village of Mehsana on Wednesday afternoon. No person was injured in the incident that triggered panic among workers of neighbouring units. No person was injured in the incident.
At least four fire fighting teams were pressed into service to douse the fire that broke out at Linsol Polymer in plot 295 of Dediyasan GIDC. It took fire fighters from local municipality and ONGC over three hours to bring the blaze under control.
According to fire inspector Haresh Patel of Mehsana municipality said that the reason for the fire was not immediately known. The fire broke out at about 2.30pm had was brought under control at about 5.30pm, said Patel.
---------------------------------------------
CAUSE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE THAT CLOSED THE PULASKI SKYWAY IS UNDETERMINED
https://www.nj.com/hudson/2020/01/cause-of-fire-at-chemical-plant-that-closed-the-pulaski-skyway-is-undetermined-official-says.html
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, environmental, pool_chemicals
The cause of the May 2019 fire at a chemical plant in Kearny - which caused the closure of portions of the Pulaski Skyway - was never conclusively determined, a fire official said.
Kearny Fire Chief Steve Dyl said the investigation in the blaze at the Alden Leeds chemical plant was closed down, but the possibility of spontaneous combustion was not ruled out. Chemical reactions at the plant caused explosions days after the fire, which created large plumes of smoke that were visible in New York City
The smoke prompted officials to warn residents in Newark, Bayonne and Hoboken to close their windows and stay indoors. Dyl said this week he was not aware of any lingering air quality issues from the fire at the plant, which manufactures chlorine products for swimming pools and spas.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO SLO BUILDING FOLLOWING REPORT OF FIRE
https://www.ksby.com/news/hazmat-team-responds-to-slo-building-following-report-of-fire
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, methanol
SLO City Fire responded to a commercial structure fire early Tuesday afternoon.
It was reported at about 11:25 a.m. on the 200 block of Granada St. in San Luis Obispo.
Fire officials reported the fire was out but they remained on scene to evaluate potential hazardous materials.
The regional hazmat team was requested. SLO City Fire says the fire was caused by ignited methanol and it was controlled with a fire suppression foam system in the building.
We are following this story and will bring you more updates as they become available.
---------------------------------------------
GRADUATE STUDENT SETS FIRE TO COMMIT SUICIDE
https://www.theepochtimes.com/graduate-student-sets-fire-to-commit-suicide_3196605.html
Tags: China, laboratory, fire, death, suicide
A graduate student at China‰??s Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications committed suicide on the night of Dec. 25 by setting a fire in a lab. The school authorities strictly blocked information about the incident so that even students in the same department didn‰??t know about his death. It wasn‰??t until the student‰??s mother was seen at the top of a school building crying loudly and blaming the school for her son‰??s death that people learned what happened.
Tan Dawei was in his third year of graduate school in Material Science at the university. His dormmate revealed that Tan was severely depressed because of constant exploitation and verbal abuse by his academic advisor over three years.
The Tragedy
Early in the morning of Dec. 26, a fire was seen in the Material Science laboratory building. The entire building was immediately sealed off once the fire was extinguished. Police officers visited the school that afternoon. However, students in Tan‰??s faculty had no idea how the fire started or that Tan ended his life in the blaze.
On Jan. 5, Tan‰??s mother was seen on the roof of the school‰??s history building on campus, crying and tragically saying: ‰??Return my son to me. Where is justice?‰?? The building is located in a high-traffic area. It was only then that people learned of Tan‰??s tragic death.
---------------------------------------------
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post