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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (10 articles)
Date: Fri, 29 May 2020 08:04:12 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 3766774C-BCEA-49EA-BCB4-0EDDCD3CD28E**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, May 29, 2020 at 8:03:57 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 (10 articles)
DTSC AND DOE AGREEMENT FOR THE DEMOLITION OF STRUCTURES AT THE SANTA SUSANA FIELD LABORATORY RAISES MANY QUESTIONS
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, radiation, waste
OSHA CITES, FINES TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT OWNER $514.6K AFTER EXPLOSIONS, FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
HUGE FIRE ACCIDENT IN JEEDIMETLA CHEMICAL FACTORY
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
CONTINUOUS SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO AVOID RUNAWAY REACTIONS: THE CASE OF A CHLORO-THIADIAZOLE INTERMEDIATE SYNTHESIS TOWARD TIMOLOL
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental, solvent
US UNIVERSITIES RELEASE RESEARCH RESTART PLANS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
CHINA‰??S JIANGSU PROVINCE CRACKS DOWN ON CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
PFAS POLLUTION FROM CHEMOURS PLANT DISTRIBUTED BY AIR
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
GAS LEAK CLOSES OFF ROAD IN M€?NGERE BRIDGE
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, response, natural_gas
LARGE AMOUNT OF OIL DUMPED ALONG A COLORADO SPRINGS ROADWAY, WITNESSES ASKED TO CONTACT POLICE
Tags: us_CO, public, release, response, other_chemical
DOW RECOVERS FROM MIDLAND FLOODING
Tags: us_MI, industrial, discovery, environmental, plastics
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DTSC AND DOE AGREEMENT FOR THE DEMOLITION OF STRUCTURES AT THE SANTA SUSANA FIELD LABORATORY RAISES MANY QUESTIONS
https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/cw/los-angeles/19837-dtsc-and-doe-agreement-for-the-demolition-of-structures-at-the-santa-susana-field-laboratory-raises-many-questions
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, radiation, waste
‰??SACRAMENTO ‰?? California has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to remove contaminated buildings at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former nuclear research and rocket engine test facility in Ventura County. This action requires DOE to remove all 10 buildings within the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility Complex. Removal of these deteriorating buildings will avoid a release of hazardous substances and minimize risk to the public and environment in the event of a fire followed by heavy rain.
‰??Today‰??s actions to clean up this toxic site are the result of a critical partnership between California and the U.S. Department of Energy that greatly benefited from the personal involvement of DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette and former Secretary Rick Perry,‰?? said Governor Gavin Newsom. ‰??The surrounding communities have waited a long time for decisive action at the Santa Susana Field Lab and today‰??s Order represents a new and important chapter towards the full cleanup.‰??
‰??This is a significant step forward in the cleanup of this important site,‰?? said CalEPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld. ‰??We share this community‰??s concern regarding the possible release of contamination from this area, and credit the federal Department of Energy for working collaboratively to remove the buildings and complete this action.‰??
Demolition and removal of the building debris will be done under the requirements of the 2010 Administrative Orders on Consent, which governs the cleanup of SSFL. The debris from all 10 buildings will be transported out of state to a low-level radioactive waste facility for disposal.
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OSHA CITES, FINES TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT OWNER $514.6K AFTER EXPLOSIONS, FIRE
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2020/05/28/570235.htm
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
A chemical manufacturer has been cited by federal officials for workplace safety hazards and fined more than $500,000 after a fire and explosions at its Port Neches, Texas, plant in November 2019.
The U.S. Department of Labor‰??s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Houston-based Texas Petroleum Chemicals, or TPC Group LLC, for exposing employees to workplace safety and health hazards. The company faces a total of $514,692 in fines.
OSHA opened an investigation after vapor formed at the base of a butadiene finishing tower ignited and caused several explosions and fires. The explosion and fire prompted widespread evacuation in Port Neches, Nederland and northern Port Arthur during the week of Thanksgiving.
OSHA cited TPC for three willful violations for failing to develop and implement procedures for emergency shutdown, and inspect and test process vessel and piping components.
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HUGE FIRE ACCIDENT IN JEEDIMETLA CHEMICAL FACTORY
https://www.gulte.com/political-news/9369/huge-fire-accident-in-jeedimetla-chemical-factory
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
A major fire accident happened at a chemical factory in Jeedimetla phase 5 in Medchal district area of Hyderabad. The reason for the fire accident is still not known but the damage seems to be huge.
The chemical drums were seen flying with fire from the outside. The people who witnessed the incident confirm that there are many injured and many more stuck in the factory.
The fire service is working on putting the fire down and Pet Basheerabad police reached the place and collecting the information.
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CONTINUOUS SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO AVOID RUNAWAY REACTIONS: THE CASE OF A CHLORO-THIADIAZOLE INTERMEDIATE SYNTHESIS TOWARD TIMOLOL
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.0c00048
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental, solvent
Detailed process safety investigation of an old process revealed hidden, previously unnoticed danger. The synthesis of morpholine-adduct 2 was performed under reaction conditions very close to triggering a potentially dangerous runaway reaction. Process modifications such as dilution with an inert solvent allowed gaining better control of the process. Ultimately, improvement in both quality and yield was obtained.
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US UNIVERSITIES RELEASE RESEARCH RESTART PLANS
https://cen.acs.org/safety/lab-safety/US-universities-release-research-restart/98/i21
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
As colleges and universities around the world consider when and how to resume research stalled by efforts to stem the COVID-19 pandemic, 6 US research universities released guidelines prepared for their campuses.
‰??Common themes within our plans and elsewhere center around the critical need to adhere to public health guidance, prioritize the health and safety of the workforce and participants, and implement fair and transparent processes for decision-making,‰?? say representatives from the institutions in a Science policy forum paper (DOI: 10.1126/science.abc5599).
Releasing their plans were Johns Hopkins University; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Michigan; and the University of Washington. The schools estimate that COVID-19 restrictions halted more than 80% of on-site research activity at their campuses.
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CHINA‰??S JIANGSU PROVINCE CRACKS DOWN ON CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
https://cen.acs.org/safety/Chinas-Jiangsu-Province-cracks-down/98/i21
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
The government of China‰??s Jiangsu Province has released detailed regulations that restrict or eliminate some chemical manufacturing in the region. The rules are part of a planned shift away from heavy industry toward high-tech manufacturing and cleaner industries.
New chemical industrial parks and new chemical plants outside existing parks will be banned, as will expansions and renovations in parks lacking adequate environmental infrastructure and good safety records. The rules also restrict 13 types of chemical projects and prohibit 18 others.
Many activities related to scientific research, information technology, biomedicine, innovative materials, and green applications are exempted, such as electronics-grade sulfuric acid and waste reuse projects.
‰??Jiangsu is relatively rich and also has had a fair share of accidents in the past,‰?? says Kai Pflug, CEO of the Shanghai-based advisory firm Management Consulting‰??Chemicals. ‰??So governments need to make sure that they are seen as doing everything to avoid future accidents and environmental pollution.‰??
In March 2019, an explosion at a chemical plant in the city of Yancheng in Jiangsu Province killed 78 people and injured 617.
The regulations will also force industry consolidation, Pflug says. They state that many types of plants with small capacities or older technologies must be eliminated, while expansions and renovations are limited to existing chemical parks. That combination will weed out smaller and weaker firms, he says. Pflug adds that o
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PFAS POLLUTION FROM CHEMOURS PLANT DISTRIBUTED BY AIR
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/PFAS-pollution-Chemours-plant-distributed/98/i21
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical
Two toxic, persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used at a Chemours factory in West Virginia pollute soil and groundwater as far as 48 km downwind of the plant, researchers report (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b07384).
The findings demonstrate that wind-blown air emissions from the plant have been a main route of distribution for the two PFAS into the environment, says study co-author Linda K. Weavers, an environmental engineer at Ohio State University. The study‰??s data also show that the atmospheric transport of PFAS from the plant is more widespread than previously thought, Weavers says.
Discharges of wastewater into the Ohio River were once thought to be the primary way the facility released PFAS into the environment.
For decades, the plant, owned by DuPont from the middle of the last century until it spun off Chemours in 2015, released perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which was used as a processing aid in the production of Teflon brand polytetrafluoroethylene, a durable nonstick plastic. PFOA is linked to cancer, high cholesterol, and other health condtions in people.
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GAS LEAK CLOSES OFF ROAD IN M€?NGERE BRIDGE
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12335513
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, response, natural_gas
Emergency services are at the scene of a gas leak in M€?ngere Bridge.
A northern fire communications spokeswoman confirmed an incident had occurred at the site, on McKenzie Rd, just before 10.30am.
"Someone has drilled through a gas line. We have two fire appliances there and one hazmat crew at the scene," she said.
Two dozen apartment units have been evacuated as a result, she said, and police have blocked off McKenzie Rd between Badar Drive and Valient St.
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LARGE AMOUNT OF OIL DUMPED ALONG A COLORADO SPRINGS ROADWAY, WITNESSES ASKED TO CONTACT POLICE
https://www.kktv.com/content/news/Large-amount-of-oil-dumped-along-a-Colorado-Springs-roadway-witnesses-asked-to-contact-police-570812181.html
Tags: us_CO, public, release, response, other_chemical
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Colorado Springs firefighters were called to a hazmat situation on Wednesday after someone apparently dumped two large drums of oil on the side of the road.
The two 55-gallon oil drums were found at W. Fillmore and Sinton Road, just to the east of I-25. A photo showed the barrels had been leaking before crews got to the area.
The fire department is asking anyone who may have witnessed the dumping to contact police at 719-444-7000.
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DOW RECOVERS FROM MIDLAND FLOODING
https://cen.acs.org/safety/Dow-recovers-Midland-flooding/98/i21
Tags: us_MI, industrial, discovery, environmental, plastics
ow has begun cleanup and recovery at its Midland, Michigan, chemical complex, following flooding from rain and dam failures.
On May 19, heavy rains caused the Tittabawassee River to crest above flood stage. That evening, two dams ruptured, contributing to flooding in the region. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County, and more than 10,000 residents evacuated.
Dow‰??s manufacturing facility sits on the eastern bank of the Tittabawassee. The facility once made many Dow products, but due to restructuring and divestitures over the years, the company only makes silicones there now.
Other firms operate several former Dow plants on the site. For example, Corteva makes agrochemicals there, DuPont has a methylcellulose plant, Trinseo has latex and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene units, and SK Saran produces specialty plastics.
Dow began shutting down operations at the facility even before the breach of the two dams. The day after the flooding, Dow acknowledged that ‰??there were flood waters commingling with on-site containment ponds.‰?? Its headquarters, at a separate Midland location, wasn‰??t impacted by the event, the company says.
In a May 22 appearance on the business news channel CNBC, Dow CEO Jim Fitterling said the containment ponds hold brine that the site uses for groundwater remediation and pose no chemical hazards. ‰??To our knowledge, there‰??s nothing that‰??s been released,‰?? he said.
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