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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, April 13, 2020 at 7:44:55 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 (10 articles)
LGUS WARNED ON SPRAYING, MISTING VS COVID-19 ‰?? THE MANILA TIMES
Tags: Philippines, public, discovery, environmental, disinfectants
PENTACHLOROPHENOL IS ON ITS WAY OUT AS A UTILITY POLE PRESERVATIVE. HERE‰??S WHAT MIGHT TAKE ITS PLACE
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
SEVERAL PEOPLE SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER AMMONIA LEAK IN QUONSET
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
HOW A POPULAR SCIENCE ARTICLE LED THE ATF TO THIS SMALL-TOWN MINNESOTA EXPLOSIVES MAKER
Tags: us_MN, industrial, discovery, response, fireworks, illegal
ROAD CLOSURES AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT TELFORD PLANT
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
RECYCLING CENTERS CLAMPING DOWN AS TRAFFIC HEATS UP
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, environmental, waste
FIRE LEADS TO EXPLOSION AND FIREBALL OVER BURBANK RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
FIRE AT VALERO REFINERY IN ST. BERNARD PARISH INJURES 1 WORKER: SEE VIDEOS
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
1 DEAD IN 3 VEHICLE CRASH NEAR AUBURN
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, ammonia
HOVERBOARD SPARKS 2-ALARM HOUSE FIRE IN ANDOVER
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, response, batteries
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LGUS WARNED ON SPRAYING, MISTING VS COVID-19 ‰?? THE MANILA TIMES
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/04/13/business/at-a-glance-business/lgus-warned-on-spraying-misting-vs-covid-19/713245/
Tags: Philippines, public, discovery, environmental, disinfectants
An environmental health organization has urged local government units (LGUs) to heed the advice by health experts against the spraying of individuals and surfaces or the misting of large areas with disinfectants in a bid to ward off or kill the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In a statement on Sunday, the EcoWaste Coalition urged city and municipal mayors, as well as barangay chairpersons, to reconsider the practice of spraying or misting as a method of disinfection against the dreaded Covid-19. ‰??We urge our local government executives to pay serious attention to the precautionary advice issued by health experts and avoid the ineffective practice of misting or spraying disinfectants, which may even cause harm instead of protecting human health and the environment,‰?? said Thony Dizon, chemical safety campaigner of EcoWaste Coalition. His statement came after following the precautionary advice given by the Department of Health and the World Health Organization against !
spraying or misting disinfectants to contain Covid-19.
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PENTACHLOROPHENOL IS ON ITS WAY OUT AS A UTILITY POLE PRESERVATIVE. HERE‰??S WHAT MIGHT TAKE ITS PLACE
https://cen.acs.org/business/specialty-chemicals/Pentachlorophenol-way-utility-pole-preservative/98/i14
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
About half the wood poles in the US are treated with pentachlorophenol, known as ‰??penta‰?? in the trade. Penta is ‰??cheap, easy, and effective,‰?? explains Philip Ford, director of technical sales and quality conformance at American Borate, which makes wood preservatives for other applications. The US penta market, according to industry player Koppers, is worth about $40 million per year.
But penta is also a possible carcinogen and is banned in most countries. This has prompted the sole North American producer to announce it will close its plant, in Mexico, by the end of 2021. With the clock ticking, utility pole makers are looking for safer alternatives, such as copper naphthenate and dichloro-octyl-isothiazolinone (DCOI).
Preservatives are applied to wood under pressure in a treatment chamber. Easier-to-treat woods, like southern yellow pine, can be processed with waterborne preservatives such as chromated copper arsenate (CCA), which more than a decade ago was phased out of decking and other domestic lumber uses. Other woods, such as Douglas fir, require oil-based preservatives, like penta, that penetrate better. CCA-protected poles predominate in the southeastern US. Penta-treated poles are more prevalent elsewhere.
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SEVERAL PEOPLE SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER AMMONIA LEAK IN QUONSET
https://www.ricentral.com/nk_standard_times/news/local_news/several-people-sent-to-hospital-after-ammonia-leak-in-quonset/article_6e7b5a40-7b41-11ea-8a2f-732535d1650f.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
NORTH KINGSTOWN ‰?? Last Thursday morning, the North Kingstown Fire Department responded to an anhydrous ammonia leak at Taylor Farms. Seventeen fire rescues were on the scene, along with Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) and Decon teams from neighboring departments. Due to
reported illnesses and various symptoms, rescues transported 14 Taylor Farms employees to area hospitals.
Taylor Farms California Inc., a producer of fresh salads and prepared foods, operates a 107,000 square-foot center in Quonset Business Park, according to park management.
As described by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), anhydrous ammonia is used as a refrigerant in mechanical compression systems at a large number of industrial facilities. However, under ambient conditions, ammonia is a toxic gas.
‰??Releases of ammonia have the potential for harmful effects on workers and the public,‰?? the EPA explained. ‰??If the ammonia is under pressure, risk of exposure increases since larger quantities of the refrigerant have the potential for rapid release into the air.‰??
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HOW A POPULAR SCIENCE ARTICLE LED THE ATF TO THIS SMALL-TOWN MINNESOTA EXPLOSIVES MAKER
https://www.startribune.com/how-a-popular-science-article-led-the-atf-to-this-small-town-minnesota-explosives-maker/569569272/
Tags: us_MN, industrial, discovery, response, fireworks, illegal
BROWNSVILLE, Minn. ‰?? On a recent afternoon in this small river town, a caravan of federal agents veered off the main drag, down a dirt road that leads into a valley of brown fields and farmland. They pulled up to a white house, tottering with age and isolated by hills and state forest land, where they‰??d come to arrest a man they say has been building explosives here for years.
Kenneth Miller, 58, faces felony charges for allegedly manufacturing, dealing and transporting highly combustible explosive material recovered that day. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also found three guns in the home, which Miller is forbidden from possessing due to his felony record, according to the criminal complaint. Miller‰??s attorney declined to comment on the case.
Miller didn‰??t do much to hide his business, Lightning Pyrotechnics. He has claimed to sell explosive products to big-name clients: the NFL, air shows, Hollywood movies, the military and foreign militaries.
Yet it was a national magazine article in Popular Science that led the ATF to Miller‰??s secluded home that March day, according to a warrant recently unsealed.
In May ‰?? 10 months before the ATF raid ‰?? special agent Sara Thomas came across a headline on the New York-based magazine‰??s website: ‰??This pyrotechnics expert turned his Minnesota backyard into a DIY fireworks testing ground.‰??
The article portrayed Miller as a mad scientist who harvests industrial material to build 50-pound rockets and magnesium fireworks that burn at 4,000 degrees and blow craters into his farmland.
---------------------------------------------
ROAD CLOSURES AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT TELFORD PLANT
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2020/04/11/road-closures-after-chemical-leak-at-telford-plant/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
The Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service website stated: "Crews attended reports of liquid nitrogen leaking from factory unit.
"Crews wearing two breathing apparatus and thermal gauntlets isolated valve to stem leak.
"A cordon was put in place prior to this isolation."
Two crews from Telford Central Fire Station using breathing gear attended along with and two specialist officers. They left shortly before 12.20pm.
West Mercia Police also attended the scene.
Kiyokuni is a Japanese owned firm which supplies parts to the motoring industry.
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RECYCLING CENTERS CLAMPING DOWN AS TRAFFIC HEATS UP
https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/recycling-centers-clamping-down-as-traffic-heats-up/article_d4a46d36-db42-58a8-ad3f-dd070ef63d67.html#utm_source=sentinelsource.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Flists%2Fcoronavirus%2F%3F-dc%3D1586606983&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, environmental, waste
The COVID-19 pandemic has many Monadnock Region towns rethinking their recycling programs, especially when it comes to collecting paper, plastic and cardboard.
In addition, some town transfer station facilities are no longer accepting cash, have closed swap shops where people leave items for others to reuse, and are taking steps to keep residents out of buildings and from mingling in an effort to hinder the spread of the novel coronavirus.
‰??We‰??ve stopped handling cardboard and stopped handling money because, for us, it‰??s the biggest point of contact,‰?? Chris Lord, Chesterfield‰??s public works director, said Wednesday.
In trying to limit those points of contact as much as possible, the sharing shed and book shed at the transfer station have been closed until further notice, and no members of the public are being allowed in the facility‰??s office, he said.
Walpole has also temporarily banned people who aren‰??t employees from entering buildings at the transfer station, Ben Hoy, director of recycling, said Wednesday. The town is continuing its recycling program, but is now relying solely on employees to sort the recyclables, as it‰??s no longer safe to continue to have volunteers help with that, he said.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE LEADS TO EXPLOSION AND FIREBALL OVER BURBANK RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD
https://mynewsla.com/crime/2020/04/10/fire-leads-to-explosion-and-fireball-over-burbank-residential-neighborhood-2/
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A fire at a Burbank Water and Power substation Friday triggered an explosion that sent a huge fireball over a dense residential neighborhood in Burbank, but there were no reports of injuries or damaged homes, police said.
The blaze started shortly before noon as a transformer fire at the Golden State Substation near North Meyers Street and West Pacific Avenue, according to Simone McFarland, public information officer for Burbank.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, and a hazmat team ensured there was no hazardous materials runoff.
Some power was interrupted in the aftermath of the fire, but there was no widespread outage, Green said.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT VALERO REFINERY IN ST. BERNARD PARISH INJURES 1 WORKER: SEE VIDEOS
https://www.nola.com/news/business/article_6e180bbe-7b16-11ea-8c3f-2335fa90ba07.html
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
An explosion and a fire early Friday injured a worker at the Valero refinery in St. Bernard Parish, according to the company.
The worker was taken to a hospital for treatment, according to Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas. There was no immediate information about the severity of the worker's injuries.
The fire was reported around 12:45 a.m. Friday at the refinery at 2235 Jacob Drive in Meraux, the company said. The incident also resulted in the closure of St. Bernard Highway at the refinery.
"Initial reports indicate a pressure relief valve blew and caused a blue flash flame/explosion," said Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Gregory Langley. He said the refinery was flaring excess materials, but was no longer considered to be in an emergency status.
The fire was "contained to the immediate area and no off-site impact is expected," Riojas said.
---------------------------------------------
1 DEAD IN 3 VEHICLE CRASH NEAR AUBURN
https://www.wandtv.com/news/1-dead-in-3-vehicle-crash-near-auburn/article_d7512966-7aae-11ea-b5b9-43c61ee350ca.html
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, ammonia
AUBURN, Ill. (WAND) - One person has died in a Thursday evening crash, according to Illinois State Police District 9.
Troopers were on scene at Illinois Route 104 at Purdom Road, just east of Auburn around 3:20 p.m.
According to the preliminary investigation by ISP, a 2006 GMC Pickup truck pulling a trailer with two anhydrous tanks and a USPS mail truck were traveling westbound on Illinois Route 104 near Purdom Road. The USPS truck slowed to turn south onto Purdom Road. The driver of the GMC truck failed to slow down and rear ended the USPS truck.
ISP said the GMC truck driver swerved into the eastbound lanes, observed oncoming traffic and swerved back into the westbound lanes. This caused the trailer to overturn onto a 2010 Buick, which was traveling westbound on Rt. 104.
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HOVERBOARD SPARKS 2-ALARM HOUSE FIRE IN ANDOVER
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/09/metro/hoverboard-sparks-2-alarm-house-fire-andover/
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, response, batteries
A hoverboard charging on the first floor of an Andover home sparked a 2-alarm fire Thursday that displaced five residents, officials said.
The fire broke out at a two-family-home at 10 Temple Place at about 3:40 p.m. Heavy flames and smoke was visible when firefighters arrived, Andover police said in a press release.
Fire investigators determined that the blaze was caused by a hoverboard, a self-balancing scooter, which malfunctioned, officials said.
Hoverboards run on lithium-ion batteries that can overheat. They were linked to several fires in 2016, when the boards first became popular. The devices now must comply with national safety standards, officials said.
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