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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, January 11, 2021 at 6:30:15 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)
CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT AT PROVIDENCE POST OFFICE
Tags: us_RI, industrial, release, injury, batteries, hydrogen
UPDATE: HADDON TWP. STUDENT SCIENCE PROJECT LEADS TO HAZMAT EVACUATION OF HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_NJ, education, discovery, response, radiation, uranium
EIGHT HURT AS CATEGORY III FIRE DESTROYS CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
RAILROAD BRIDGE CATCHES FIRE, FILLING FAIRPARK AND ROSE PARK NEIGHBORHOODS WITH SMOKE
Tags: us_UT, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HADDON TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER ‰??POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE‰?? FOUND
Tags: us_NJ, education, discovery, response, radiation, uranium
EXPLOSION AT CHINESE BATTERY RECYCLING PLANT KILLS ONE AND INJURES 20
Tags: china, industrial, explosion, death
SYNTHETIC RUBBER PRODUCTION UNIT DAMAGED BY EXPLOSION AND FIRE
Tags: Poland, industrial, explosion, response, other_chemical
EXPLOSION IN SHIPPING CONTAINER SERVES AS SAFETY REMINDER
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, propane
CHEMICAL IDENTITIES COULD REMAIN SECRET UNDER US EPA RULE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
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CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT AT PROVIDENCE POST OFFICE
https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/providence/crews-respond-to-hazmat-at-main-post-office/
Tags: us_RI, industrial, release, injury, batteries, hydrogen
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) ‰?? A battery issue forced people to evacuate the main post office in Providence on Sunday morning.
Hazmat crews responded to the Corliss Street building around 9:30 a.m.
Fire officials said two people were exposed to hydrogen gas from a faulty forklift battery.
Crews quickly turned off the power and ventilated the area.
The fire department said one person refused treatment and the other was transported to Miriam Hospital as a precaution.
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UPDATE: HADDON TWP. STUDENT SCIENCE PROJECT LEADS TO HAZMAT EVACUATION OF HIGH SCHOOL
https://www.njpen.com/haddon-township-high-school-evacuated-for-hazmat-emergency/
Tags: us_NJ, education, discovery, response, radiation, uranium
UPDATE: January 8, 2021, 3:30 p.m. ‰??Haddon Township High School was evacuated briefly Friday morning after officials determined that a student had brought ‰??a potentially dangerous substance‰?? into school, the district said.
That turned out to be a sample of Fiesta dinnerware that had been purchased from a Barrington antique shop by a 10th-grade science student.
The antique material contains radioactive properties because of a uranium oxide glaze that was used in their construction from 1936 to 1972, according to educational reference outlet ThoughtCo.
The student had been given a Geiger counter for Christmas and was testing it at home using the Fiesta ware and other naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) purchased legally at gem stores, according to a parent.
‰??He‰??s not trying to blow anything up,‰?? the parent said. ‰??He likes science.‰??
The student broke off a small piece of the material to create a homemade reference disk for the classroom to use in its experiments, and brought it to school January 4 to show a teacher. Authorities were reportedly called on Friday after an administrator at the building realized that the material was labeled radioactive.
The student said he was ‰??thankful for the abundance of caution‰?? shown by first responders, and added that authorities contacted a scientist who deemed all his sample materials safe to keep at home.
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EIGHT HURT AS CATEGORY III FIRE DESTROYS CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/771792-eight-hurt-as-category-iii-fire-destroys-chemical-warehouse
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
As many as eight people were injured on Saturday after a Category III fire broke out at a chemical warehouse of a factory in the SITE area of Karachi.
It was at around 9:15am in the morning when the fire erupted at the multi-storey factory located in the Haroonabad area of SITE. Reacting to the information, the fire brigade immediately despatched fire tenders to the site, however, due to the severe intensity of the blaze, more fire tenders were sent to participate in the extinguishing work.
Heavy clouds of black smoke billowing out of the factory could be seen from far away. Fortunately, no death was reported and many employees, including women, trapped on the roof were rescued through a ladder.
At least eight people sustained injuries as they attempted to escape from the burning factory. They were shifted to the burns ward of the Civil Hospital, Karachi and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
A heavy contingent of law enforcers, including police and the Rangers, also reached the site and cordoned off the area.
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RAILROAD BRIDGE CATCHES FIRE, FILLING FAIRPARK AND ROSE PARK NEIGHBORHOODS WITH SMOKE
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/01/09/salt-lake-city-west-side/
Tags: us_UT, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
People who live in the Fairpark and Rose Park neighborhoods of Salt Lake City say noxious fumes filled their streets and homes on Thursday and Friday after a chemical-coated railroad bridge caught fire.
Jake Van Epps, who lives in the Fairpark neighborhood about half a mile from the fire, said he was coughing and tearing up Friday morning just driving his child to day care. He said the smoke had cleared up a bit by the afternoon.
The fire started about 9 p.m. Thursday, according to the Salt Lake City Fire Department. Fire Capt. Anthony Burton said the cause is still under investigation. He said the bridge, which spans the Jordan River, is located just north of Fisher Mansion, which is at 1206 W. 200 South.
The fire is in a difficult place for firefighters to access, according to Burton. He said firefighters in wetsuits have been trying to get at the fire from under the bridge. Railway officials are supposed to bring in equipment to dissemble the bridge on Sunday or Monday, but it will likely keep smoldering until then.
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HADDON TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER ‰??POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE‰?? FOUND
https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-jersey/haddon-township-high-school-evacuation-hazmat-uranium-substance-20210108.html
Tags: us_NJ, education, discovery, response, radiation, uranium
Students at Haddon Township High School in Camden County were evacuated for about half an hour Friday after a report that a student had brought a ‰??potentially dangerous substance‰?? into the school, the school district said in a statement.
‰??No injuries were reported,‰?? Haddon Township Superintendent Robert Fisicaro said in the statement to parents and staff that his office forwarded to the media.
An assistant to the superintendent said the district would not provide further details on the substance.
The Cherry Hill Courier-Post reported that in an interview, a student said he had brought in a piece of an antique Fiestaware plate to show to a teacher, and that the student‰??s mother said the plate was glazed with radioactive uranium.
The student told the newspaper he had gotten a Geiger counter, which can measure radiation, for Christmas, and that he and his parents bought the plate at a local antique store to test the device.
Fiestaware plates that contain uranium oxide in the ceramic glaze are considered radioactive.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION AT CHINESE BATTERY RECYCLING PLANT KILLS ONE AND INJURES 20
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/explosion-blast-china-battery-fire-hunan-b1784643.html
Tags: china, industrial, explosion, death
One person was killed and 20 injured in a huge explosion at a Chinese battery-recycling plant, authorities in the country say.
The blast sent a mushroom cloud into the air and sparked a fire that could be seen from several kilometres away, China News reported.
The explosion, in a workshop in Ningxiang city, in the southern province of Hunan, was caused by waste aluminium foil catching fire, factory chiefs said.
A total of 288 firefighters and soldiers from 36 fire lorries were sent to the scene.
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SYNTHETIC RUBBER PRODUCTION UNIT DAMAGED BY EXPLOSION AND FIRE
https://www.powderbulksolids.com/industrial-fires-explosions/synthetic-rubber-production-unit-damaged-explosion
Tags: Poland, industrial, explosion, response, other_chemical
Production has halted at the Synthos Dwory plant in Oswiecim, Poland after an explosion and fire occurred at the plant on Thursday evening, the company announced Friday.
‰??At 6:46 p.m. an uncontrolled ignition catalyzed an explosion and a fire of the ESBR [emulsion styrene butadiene rubber] rubber production installation,‰?? the chemical company said in a release.
Company and state firefighters worked for about 45 minutes to put out the fire. No injuries were reported during the incident.
‰??There was no excess emission to the atmosphere and land waters, production lines were immediately,‰?? said Synthos. ‰??The event had no significant impact on other production facilities. Windows in the nearby halls were damaged, pipelines discharging off-gases from the rubber drying installation were damaged.‰??
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EXPLOSION IN SHIPPING CONTAINER SERVES AS SAFETY REMINDER
http://oaklandcounty115.com/2021/01/07/explosion-in-shipping-container-serves-as-safety-reminder/
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, propane
Ferndale, MI ‰?? Homes and businesses near 8 Mile and Livernois in Ferndale shook as the thunderous sound of an explosion inside a shipping container pierced the otherwise quiet evening of Jan. 2, 2021.
The explosion had enough force to buckle out the walls and roof of the 4,000 lb, thick-steel-walled container, leaving it with a ballooned out appearance. The force also blew out windows of Olive Labs, a laboratory currently specializing in COVID-19 testing.
The container was one of several placed on the site without the owner having gotten a permit. And the cause of the explosion was because a contracted worker had set up a propane space heater in the enclosed space to help dry glue on insulation panels he was adding to the inside walls.
‰??It was not a good decision,‰?? said Ferndale Fire Marshall Dennis Barr who was tasked with investigating the explosion. ‰??First off, you shouldn‰??t use propane space heaters in enclosed spaces, and you should never leave space heaters unattended,‰?? he said.
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CHEMICAL IDENTITIES COULD REMAIN SECRET UNDER US EPA RULE
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/Chemical-identities-remain-secret-under/99/i2
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
In one of several last-minute moves before the Trump administration ends, the US Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule Jan. 5 that gives chemical companies a second chance to justify why the identities of certain chemicals should be shielded from the public and competitors.
Environmental groups were taken aback by the rule, which the EPA did not propose in draft form or open for public comments. The Environmental Defense Fund, in particular, has long advocated for people‰??s right to know what chemicals they are being exposed to.
The EPA‰??s initial rule gave manufacturers until October 2018 to report chemicals that they made or imported into the US during a 10-year period ending June 21, 2016. Under 2016 revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act, companies have to substantiate why the identities of those chemicals should remain confidential business information (CBI) and provide structurally descriptive generic names for each. In May 2020, the EPA posted a list of 2,812 chemicals that would lose their CBI status.
In response to that list, the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers in the US, argued that making such information public would financially harm many companies. The group claimed that companies mistakenly invalidated legitimate CBI claims because of confusion over who has authority to substantiate claims.
The new rule is intended to clear up that confusion, the EPA says. The agency will reopen the reporting period 30 days after publishing the rule in the Federal Register. Manufacturers will then have 60 days to resubmit their responses.
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