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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (14 articles)
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2020 06:41:52 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 0D5FAED6-6470-4980-8C25-C1FC27E34EAA**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, December 14, 2020 at 6:41:21 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 (14 articles)
HALLUCINOGENIC CHEMICALS POSSIBLY LINKED TO MAN‰??S DEATH
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, death, unknown_chemical
AZIDOAZIDE AZIDE
Tags: Germany, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
PERSON FOUND DEAD IN VEHICLE ON MESA IN SANTA BARBARA
Tags: us_CA, public, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide, suicide
CHEMICAL USED FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN BELLE PLANT EXPLODED
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, bleach
COCA-COLA PLANT IN GRAND RAPIDS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, sulfuric_acid
BY-THE-BOOK EXPLOSION RESPONSE STILL LEAVES SOME BELLE RESIDENTS CONCERNED
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO STRIP DISTRICT FOR STRANGE ODOR
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
PIRANA BLAST: OWNERS OF UNIT, PREMISES DENIED BAIL
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
SAFETY DOCUMENT SHOWS DANGERS OF CHEMICAL SAID TO BE PRESENT IN FIRE AFTER FATAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, death, bleach
ALL CLEAR AFTER BRIEF SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER FOR LA PORTE RESIDENTS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
DAMAGE IN EXCESS OF $60,000 REPORTEDLY CAUSED BY CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
BLAZE GUTTED CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE IN KARACHI
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FATAL EXPLOSION AT US CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, death, bleach, methanol
EXPECT A WHITE HOUSE DEEP CLEAN WHEN BIDEN MOVES IN
Tags: us_DC, public, discovery, environmental
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HALLUCINOGENIC CHEMICALS POSSIBLY LINKED TO MAN‰??S DEATH
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/hallucinogenic-chemicals-possibly-linked-mans-death/QTRTNBA3BJATLFL577EK5TYTAQ/
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, death, unknown_chemical
SEATTLE ‰?? Seattle police believe a man died from possibly trying to extract hallucinogenic chemicals from mushrooms.
Police and hazmat crews were called Sunday afternoon to the 7900 block of 14th Avenue Southwest in the Delridge neighborhood for a report of a possible overdose.
When first responders arrived, they found a man in his early 40s, and he was declared dead at the scene.
An extraction lab was found at the scene, but hazmat crews determined the scene was safe.
Cleanup of the area was arranged.
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AZIDOAZIDE AZIDE
https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/azidoazide-azide/4012909.article
Tags: Germany, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
In 2011, a group of researchers at the University of Munich in Germany announced that they were the first people to synthesise an unlikely molecule. The compound, which we‰??re going to call azidoazide azide ‰?? more on that later ‰?? is made up of two carbon atoms, no hydrogen, and a staggering fourteen nitrogen atoms, making it 89.1% nitrogen by weight and one of the most nitrogen-rich organic compounds ever made.
From that description alone, most chemists are going to start wincing. Looking at the chemical structure of azidoazide azide and examining the extreme inequality in charge distribution between the functional groups, it‰??s little wonder that it has subsequently become known as the most explosive chemical compound ever created. But, as you might expect, the story isn‰??t quite so simple.
To start with, the team from the University of Munich weren‰??t the first to ever synthesise azidoazide azide, although they were the first to correctly identify the structure. In truth, they were beaten to the punch by a solid five decades; a patent filed in 1961 records a technique for synthesising the ‰??open form‰?? of C2N14, which claimed to have a fourth azide group in place of the tetrazole ring seen in the structure identified in 2011. However, further research in 2013 revealed that at room temperature, the fourth azide rapidly cyclises to form the tetrazole, meaning that the open form the patent describes doesn‰??t actually exist under the conditions they were using.
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PERSON FOUND DEAD IN VEHICLE ON MESA IN SANTA BARBARA
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/person_found_dead_in_vehicle_on_mesa_in_santa_barbara_an_apparent_suicide
Tags: us_CA, public, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide, suicide
Emergency personnel responded to the Mesa area of Santa Barbara on Saturday after a woman was found dead in a vehicle.
Santa Barbara police and firefighters were dispatched to the cul de sac at the ocean end of Santa Cruz Boulevard shortly after 7 a.m.
The woman was found deceased in the vehicle, an apparent suicide victim, according to Anthony Wagner, a police spokesman.
Hazmat crews were brought in because the woman used a "chemical concoction" in taking their own life, Wagner said.
Police had previously said the death was by carbon monoxide poisoning, but Wagner said that was incorrect.
The chemical mixture reportedly was hydrogen sulfide, which was created by combining readily available household products, but that could not be confirmed.
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CHEMICAL USED FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN BELLE PLANT EXPLODED
https://www.wsaz.com/2020/12/12/chemical-used-for-the-first-time-when-belle-plant-exploded/
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, bleach
KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - New details have been released about the explosion at Optima Chemicals Company along W. Dupont Ave. in Belle.
According to company officials, the chemical involved in the explosion had not been used prior to that day.
Optima was providing toll manufacturing services on chlorinated dry bleach, company officials say, also known as sodium dichloroisocyanurate dihydrate.
Sodium dichloroisocyanurate dihydrate is regularly used in home and swimming pools for ‰??chlorination‰?? disinfection purposes.
Company officials say this chemical was not added to the Tier ll Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory, since it was not used or processed at the facility prior to the explosion.
Under Tier II, company officials say the facility is required to provide notification of a change of regulated operations within 30 days after a change in the process occurred. This new chemical had only been on-site for less than two weeks prior to Tuesday.
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COCA-COLA PLANT IN GRAND RAPIDS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2020/12/coca-cola-plant-in-grand-rapids-evacuated-after-chemical-spill.html
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, sulfuric_acid
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Workers at a Grand Rapids‰?? Coca-Cola plant were evacuated Saturday after a sulfuric acid spill.
There were no reports of injuries.
Grand Rapids firefighters responded to the plant on Butterworth Avenue SW, just east of I-196, shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 12.
Grand Rapids fire officials said sulfuric acid was being offloaded into a tank when the spill occurred. A secondary containment system, designed for just such an accident, worked properly.
The chemical would be a respiratory irritant to anyone exposed.
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BY-THE-BOOK EXPLOSION RESPONSE STILL LEAVES SOME BELLE RESIDENTS CONCERNED
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/kanawha_valley/by-the-book-explosion-response-still-leaves-some-belle-residents-concerned/article_ba775d74-cef0-589d-aea4-ca35addfd9e4.html
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental
An explosion at a Belle chemical plant provided locals a vivid reminder of the potential danger looming over their town.
‰??I think sometimes people kind of get complacent, and think, ‰??Hey, we‰??ve been good for a long time,‰??‰?? said Belle Mayor David Fletcher. ‰??‰??It‰??ll stay good.‰??‰??
Recent years of relative quiet were shattered at 10:02 p.m. Tuesday, when the blast at Optima Chemical‰??s facility on the Chemours site killed plant worker John Gillenwater, 42, of Hurricane, and injured three others. Preliminary information indicates a 1,200-gallon metal dryer became overpressurized during a chemical drying product operation, according to Optima. The material in the dryer was a compound used for sanitation.
Response closely followed plans formed in 2015 and updated annually by the Kanawha Putnam Emergency Planning Committee, officials said. But sirens took longer to sound than some neighbors and responders preferred.
Eight minutes after the explosion, Belle fire Chief David Armstrong arrived at the plant. An on-site fire brigade quickly briefed him and Belle volunteer firefighters on the chemicals involved, how they should respond and necessary precautions needed inside.
Responders called Metro 911 to issue a shelter-in-place declaration while they gathered further details on the blast, said C.W. Sigman, director of Kanawha County Homeland Security. Responders also activated an emergency operations center.
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HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO STRIP DISTRICT FOR STRANGE ODOR
https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2020/12/11/HazMat-team-responds-to-Strip-District-for-strange-odor/stories/202012110165
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, ammonia
Pittsburgh HazMat said on Friday night that a building in the Strip District is experiencing an ammonia leak.
Officials said that the HazMat team responded to a report of a strong gas odor outside of Consumer Fresh Produce Inc. at 21st St.
After inspecting the building, which is a large cold storage facility, the HazMat team determined that there was a sustained ammonia leak on the roof, and that it does not present a hazard.
Officials said however that the odor will linger, especially at night, until the leak is fixed.
---------------------------------------------
PIRANA BLAST: OWNERS OF UNIT, PREMISES DENIED BAIL
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/pirana-blast-owners-of-unit-premises-denied-bail/articleshow/79685988.cms
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
AHMEDABAD: A city sessions court refused bail to Hetal Sutaria, the owner of a chemical unit on Piplaj-Pirana road where an explosion occurred last month, killing 12 people and injuring 10 others. The court also denied bail to the owner of the premises, Pradeep Bharwad.
In denying bail to Sutaria, additional sessions judge P T Ram observed that Sutaria had hired a man named Mustufa Saiyed at his chemical unit, Sahil Enterprise. Saiyed had no knowledge of the subject and yet was employed to make chemicals. The court accepted public prosecutor Sudhir Brahmbhatt‰??s submission that Sutaria is liable for the alleged incident.
In this case, a huge blast took place on November 4 at Revakaka Godown on Piplaj-Pirana road. The incident led to the arrest of Sutaria, the owner of the premises Pradeep Bharwad and the owner of the nearby premises, Nanubhai Bharwad. Nanubhai was booked and arrested because the people killed were working on his premises.
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SAFETY DOCUMENT SHOWS DANGERS OF CHEMICAL SAID TO BE PRESENT IN FIRE AFTER FATAL PLANT EXPLOSION
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/safety-document-shows-dangers-of-chemical-said-to-be-present-in-fire-after-fatal-plant/article_2b9ef15a-edc7-5464-922a-4287433b1fe9.html
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, death, bleach
Kanawha County‰??s director of emergency management said he received a document in a meeting with Optima Chemical and Chemours Co. representatives in the hours after a fatal explosion at Optima‰??s facility on the Chemours site in Belle Tuesday night. It reveals more about a chemical that emergency responders have reported was present in the fire that followed.
The document, a safety data sheet from South Charleston-based water treatment chemical manufacturer and distributor Clearon Corp. for CDB-63, a chlorinated dry bleach product, details the many hazards associated with the chemical.
The product, listed as sodium dichloroisocyanurate, might intensify fire, causes severe skin burns and eye damage, should be kept away from combustible materials and not be released into the environment, according to the safety data sheet.
‰??Sodium dichloroisocyanurate is widely used to disinfect water and water systems,‰?? said Harry O. Finklea, professor emeritus at West Virginia University‰??s C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry. ‰??It is a solid that is convenient to store and to transport. It reacts rapidly with water to form hypochlorous acid and chlorine gas, both of which kill microorganisms."
‰??At fire temperatures, it decomposes to form gases that are hazardous to breathe: chlorine, hydrogen chloride and nitrogen oxides,‰?? Finklea noted.
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ALL CLEAR AFTER BRIEF SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER FOR LA PORTE RESIDENTS
https://abc13.com/shelter-in-place-order-stay-inside-whats-burning/8699446/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
LA PORTE, Texas (KTRK) -- An all clear has been given after a fire in Seabrook prompted a shelter-in-place for La Porte residents.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents in La Porte after a fire was reported at the Odfjell Terminal Houston located at 12211 Port Rd in Seabrook.
Odfjell Terminal said the fire started in its utility and power pack area.
Odfjell Terminals Houston provides unsurpassed storage, transfer and distribution services to the liquid bulk chemical industry.
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DAMAGE IN EXCESS OF $60,000 REPORTEDLY CAUSED BY CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7052410/south-burnie-fire-deemed-suspicious/
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A large chemical warehouse fire at South Burnie overnight has been deemed suspicious.
The fire on Reeves Street was quickly controlled and extinguished when Tasmania Fire Serve and police arrived at approximately 2.15am on Saturday .
Police estimate in excess of $60,000 of "extensive damage" has been caused to the building, nearby storage containers and products.
The fire has been deemed as suspicious and police investigations are continuing.
---------------------------------------------
BLAZE GUTTED CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE IN KARACHI
https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/577719-Blaze-gutted-chemical-warehouse-in-Karachi
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
KARACHI (Dunya News) ‰?? Fire broke out at a chemical warehouse located in Light House area of Karachi on Friday which spread very quickly and engulfed the entire building, Dunya News reported.
Two fire brigade vehicles reached the spot after the initial report of the blaze but due to intensity of the inferno, two more fire tenders were called in and the fire was brought under control after a hectic effort of two hours.
According to fire brigade sources, no casualty was reported in the incident. However, chemical and other valuables worth millions of rupees were gutted by the fire. The cause of fire is not yet known.
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FATAL EXPLOSION AT US CHEMICAL PLANT
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/fatal-explosion-at-us-chemical-plant/4012898.article
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, death, bleach, methanol
An explosion and fire at an Optima Chemicals facility that is located on a Chemours site in Belle, US, has killed one person and injured three others. The incident occurred late on 8 December, leading to a shelter-in-place order covering a two mile radius, which was lifted the following day.
‰??It was a massive explosion ‰?? it blew metal debris out onto the interstate and across the river ‰?| hundreds of feet away,‰?? Kent Carper, president of the local county commission, told a local radio programme the morning after the accident. He said the Optima facility makes a chlorine-based product to clean spas. ‰??It was a dry bleach type of chemical, and somehow it interacted with methanol,‰?? Carper explained.
Carper said it appears that pipework leading down to the site‰??s river barge terminal blew up. An Optima statement suggests a 4500 litre metal dryer become over-pressurised during operation.
It has been since been confirmed that there was no associated chemical leak, and no danger to the local community. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration is reportedly investigating the underlying cause, and the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is expected to initiate its own probe shortly.
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EXPECT A WHITE HOUSE DEEP CLEAN WHEN BIDEN MOVES IN
https://www.weny.com/story/43040263/expect-a-white-house-deep-clean-when-biden-moves-in
Tags: us_DC, public, discovery, environmental
When the White House welcomes a new first family it gets a thorough cleaning in the five hours allotted for the turnover. But with a global pandemic raging -- and an outgoing President whose orbit is rife with people shunning public health guidelines and coming down with Covid-19, this January 20 is expected to include a deeper, more exhaustive cleaning, according to a White House official.
It's one of many changes expected around how the White House operates when President-elect Joe Biden takes over. His campaign has diligently modeled public health guidelines with mask wearing and social distancing even as he campaigned against outgoing President Donald Trump, who instead held large rallies packed with people, many of whom did not wear masks.
While there are not "firm plans" for execution, the agency in charge of things, the General Services Administration, is handling what will be a "thorough disinfecting and cleansing" of every surface in the 55,000 square foot mansion.
Rugs and window treatments, if kept, will also be deep-cleaned, according to the official. The executive residence will be deep-cleaned and likely sprayed "in the same manner as the West Wing and the rest of the White House has been since Covid regulations and guidelines were implemented months ago."
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