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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at 6:32:25 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 (9 articles)
PEPSI PLANT IN ORANGE COUNTY EVACUATED AS HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE AMMONIA LEAK
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, ammonia
HOUSTON SEEKS TO TIGHTEN HAZMAT RULES, INCLUDING STORAGE LOOPHOLE CITED IN WATSON EXPLOSION
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
SOUTH AFRICA CHEMICAL FACTORY EXPLOSIONS INJURE 13, TWO CRITICALLY
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, explosion, injury, acetone, gas_cylinders
CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION, FIRE INJURES OVER 10 WORKERS
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, solvent
LEBANON PRIME MINISTER CHARGED WITH NEGLIGENCE OVER BEIRUT EXPLOSION
Tags: Lebanon, public, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate, illegal
WILDFIRES TAKE OVER FROM INDUSTRY AS MAJOR SOURCE OF CANCER-CAUSING AIR TOXINS: STUDY
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
HAZARD WARNING AFTER ASBESTOS-RELATED FIRE IN SLIGO
Tags: Ireland, public, fire, response, asbestos
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
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PEPSI PLANT IN ORANGE COUNTY EVACUATED AS HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE AMMONIA LEAK
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/12/15/pepsi-plant-in-orange-county-evacuated-as-hazmat-crews-investigate-ammonia-leak/
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, ammonia
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. ‰?? Hazmat crews are investigating an ammonia leak Tuesday morning at a Pepsi plant in Orange County.
Orange County Fire Rescue was called just after 8 a.m. to the Oak Ridge plant on Directors Row.
The building was evacuated before first responders arrived, according to OCFR.
Authorities say hazmat teams are working to find the source of the leak and the cause.
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HOUSTON SEEKS TO TIGHTEN HAZMAT RULES, INCLUDING STORAGE LOOPHOLE CITED IN WATSON EXPLOSION
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-seeks-to-tighten-hazmat-rules-including-15803881.php
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
City Council this week is set to consider changes to how Houston oversees the storage and use of hazardous materials, the first step of a broader effort to tighten restrictions after the January explosion of the Watson Grinding & Manufacturing plant that killed three people and damaged hundreds of Spring Branch-area homes.
The first batch of changes are on the council‰??s Wednesday agenda. If approved, they would make adjustments to the city‰??s ‰??hazardous enterprise‰?? ordinance, called Chapter 28, which dictates the permitting process for nearly 200 Houston businesses and lays out inspection requirements and other rules.
The ordinance was adopted in 1996, and it has been ‰??largely untouched since then,‰?? said Brian Crimmins of the city‰??s Planning Department.
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SOUTH AFRICA CHEMICAL FACTORY EXPLOSIONS INJURE 13, TWO CRITICALLY
http://www.hazardexonthenet.net/article/182590/South-Africa-chemical-factory-explosions-injure-13--two-critically.aspx
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, explosion, injury, acetone, gas_cylinders
A fire and several explosions at a chemical factory in Durban, South Africa injured 13 people on December 8. Over 100 workers were evacuated from the factory and two of the injured are reported to have suffered life-threatening injuries.
The incident happened at a factory belonging to Zeta Laboratories in New Germany, outside of Pinetown in Durban and occurred just days after another explosion in the city at an oil refinery operated by Engen.
Firefighters tackled the blaze for several hours before it was extinguished. A lack of fire hydrants in the area had made it difficult for firefighters to tackle the flames until fire trucks arrived at the scene. Paramedics attended the scene at around 11:00 local time and all 13 inured people were taken to local hospitals.
Local officials said that they believe the fire started in the processing area of the factory and quickly spread to 20 gas cylinders which caused an explosion. A number of chemicals were stored on site, including 10 tonnes of sanitisers, acetone, hydrogen peroxide, caustic soda, and petroleum jelly tanks which all helped the fire to spread and caused further explosions.
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CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION, FIRE INJURES OVER 10 WORKERS
https://www.powderbulksolids.com/chemical/chemical-plant-explosion-fire-injures-over-10-workers
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, solvent
An explosion and fire at the Vindhya Organics Private Limited chemical plant in Hyderabad, India on Saturday left more than 10 workers with injuries, reports by local news organizations said.
Emergency personnel were called to the facility at about 1:30 p.m. and discovered after arrival that a solvent was involved in the blaze, law enforcement officials told The Times of India. Injured workers were transported to an area hospital.
‰??The fire erupted in the factory supposedly due to the explosion of a reactor,‰?? a fire official said in coverage by The Hindustan Times. Personnel at other facilities near the chemical plant were evacuated during the incident.
At least 11 workers were injured during the incident, according to The Sentinel.
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LEBANON PRIME MINISTER CHARGED WITH NEGLIGENCE OVER BEIRUT EXPLOSION
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/lebanon-prime-minister-charged-with-negligence-over-beirut-explosion/
Tags: Lebanon, public, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate, illegal
AN investigating prosecutor has charged Lebanon‰??s acting Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers with negligence in connection with the ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut that killed around 200 people.
Diab and the three former ministers ‰?? Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zaiter, and Youssef Fenianos ‰?? were charged by prosecutor Fadi Sawan for negligence in relation to the explosion that occurred on 4 August. Diab had allegedly been warned about the stockpile a few weeks prior to the explosion, according to documents seen by The New York Times. Diab was Prime Minister at the time of the explosion. He resigned a few days afterwards, along with his cabinet, but he remains in a caretaker role.
The 2,750 t of ammonium nitrate had been stored at the port since 2013 and the bags were reported to be torn and piled on top of each other. The explosion killed around 200 people, as well as injuring 6,000 and leaving 300,000 people homeless.
Diab has accused Sawan of violating the constitution and bypassing the parliament, according to state-run National News Agency (NNA). NNA also reported that Sawan will be listening to the testimonies of the former ministers this week.
---------------------------------------------
WILDFIRES TAKE OVER FROM INDUSTRY AS MAJOR SOURCE OF CANCER-CAUSING AIR TOXINS: STUDY
https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/wildfires-take-over-from-industry-as-major-source-of-cancer-causing-air-toxins-study-1.5230669
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
Wildfires have taken over from industry as a major source of a group of cancer-causing chemical toxins in the air, Environment Canada says.
The first national assessment of polycyclic aromatic compounds in more than 25 years has found that air has improved around aluminum and steel plants. But wildfires and vehicles have stepped in to keep average concentrations at about the same level that they were in the 1990s, says federal researcher Elisabeth Galarneau.
"Those big industrial point sources have been reduced to a very small fraction of the total," she says. "The largest (remaining) source by far is the natural emissions from forest fires."
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HAZARD WARNING AFTER ASBESTOS-RELATED FIRE IN SLIGO
https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2020/1215/1184475-sligo-fire/
Tags: Ireland, public, fire, response, asbestos
A fire in Sligo has been contained and asbestos material at the scene has been dampened down.
The blaze in a garage adjoining a semi-detached house on Larkhill Road broke out in the early hours of this morning.
A hazard warning remains in place as the roof contained low-level asbestos.
Sligo Fire Service was called to the scene at 5am and gardaĚ- were also in attendance.
As a precautionary measure, due to low levels of asbestos material, and pending an inspection by the Health and Safety Authority, a small number of houses were evacuated.
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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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