Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, February 1, 2021 at 6:40:51 AM

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Table of Contents (11 articles)

COUNTY COMMISSION WANTS LOS ALAMOS LAB TO CONDUCT STUDY
Tags: us_NM, industrial, follow-up, environmental

TWO MEN KILLED IN CHEMICAL TANK EXPLOSION AT PAPER MILL IN US NAGAR
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

THE TERRIFYING BLUNDER WHICH CAUSED A GATWICK AIRPORT FLIGHT TO CATCH FIRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, fire, response, cleaners

FIRE IS OUT, BUT MANY BURNING QUESTIONS REMAIN AFTER THE CARTHAGE CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

AREA OF FATAL WACKER INCIDENT IN CHARLESTON, TENNESSEE, RELEASED FOR REPAIR AND OPERATION DURING ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, hydrochloric_acid

SURAT: 30 WORKERS SAVED IN MAJOR MILL FIRE
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, dye, oils

BURNING CHEMICAL STILL NOT IDENTIFIED AT OLD CARTHAGE MILL
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

INVESTIGATORS: WOOD STAIN RAGS SPARK WATERVILLE FIRE
Tags: us_ME, public, fire, response, combustible

NEW MASS. LAW BANS LIST OF CHEMICAL FLAME RETARDANTS IN PRODUCTS
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, environmental, toxics

I-25 IN LAS CRUCES RE-OPENS AFTER HAZMAT CLEANUP FROM OVERTURNED FUEL TANKER
Tags: us_NM, transportation, release, injury, diesel

SHORT LINE RAILROAD SAFETY GROUP LAUNCHES FREE HAZMAT TRAINING
Tags: us_WA, transportation, discovery, environmental


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COUNTY COMMISSION WANTS LOS ALAMOS LAB TO CONDUCT STUDY
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/county-commission-wants-los-alamos-lab-to-conduct-study/5996822/
Tags: us_NM, industrial, follow-up, environmental

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) =97 The Santa Fe County Commission wants Los Alamos National Laboratory to conduct a site-wide environmental review of the potential effects of ramping up production of the plutonium cores used in the nation's nuclear arsenal.

The commission on Tuesday approved a resolution outlining its wishes. It comes as the lab plans to increase production to 30 cores per year by 2026.

The last site-wide review at the northern New Mexico lab was done 13 years ago, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the nuclear stockpile, determined last year that an updated review wasn't need because there was already sufficient information.

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/TWO MEN KILLED IN CHEMICAL TANK EXPLOSION AT PAPER MILL IN US NAGAR
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/two-men-killed-in-chemical-tank-explosion-at-paper-mill-in-us-nagar/articleshow/80617214.cms
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

Rudrapur: Two men died in a chemical tank explosion at a paper mill in the Kashipur town of Udham Singh Nagar district around 3.30 am on Sunday. The paper mill is located at the Moradabad Road and the workers were carrying out maintenance activities when the accident took place, the police said.
They were taken to a private hospital immediately after the blast but were pronounced dead by the doctors. Subsequently, the bodies were sent for autopsy. The deceased were identified as Rahul Kumar (30), a resident of Dilari village in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh, and Pratap Singh (27), resident of Hastinapur, Meerut.
Meanwhile, Vinay Mittal, in-charge of the Surya police outpost, said that the bodies have been handed over to the kin after the postmortem examination.. "A probe has been ordered into the accident to check if the factory management compromised with the security arrangements at the mill. We will register a case against the mill owners and the management if the kin of the victims file a complaint," he added.

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/THE TERRIFYING BLUNDER WHICH CAUSED A GATWICK AIRPORT FLIGHT TO CATCH FIRE
https://www.mylondon.news/lifestyle/travel/terrifying-blunder-caused-gatwick-airport-19734363
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, fire, response, cleaners

A passenger jet had to make an emergency landing after an engine caught fire after it was sprayed with too much cleaning product, as found by the Air Accidents Incident Board (AAIB).

The incident took place as the aircraft was being moved from Gatwick Airport to Stansted on February 26, 2020.

Have you ever had a terrifying experience on a flight? Let us know in the comments below.

After spending just 11 minutes in the air the Airbus A321 was forced to make an emergency landing when the fire broke out.

Earlier in the day it had made a number of flights, including a journey to and from Krakow, Poland.

Throughout the day an engine had stalled several times but there were no major issues.

However, the AAIB report discovered an engineer had added 37 times too much of a chemical called Kathon.

Usually 1.6kg of Kathon is used to prevent engines being contaminated by microbes but in this case 60kg were added.

The report stated the engineer who was tasked with applying the chemical had not done the task before and incorrectly used an internet calculator to determine how much Kathon was required.

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/FIRE IS OUT, BUT MANY BURNING QUESTIONS REMAIN AFTER THE CARTHAGE CHEMICAL FIRE
https://www.nny360.com/news/jeffersoncounty/fire-is-out-but-many-burning-questions-remain-after-the-carthage-chemical-fire/article_8a7d8f16-86eb-57bc-aa9b-6e2313696d5b.html
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

But the unidentified cobalt-blue gelatinous liquid that sported the low flames on Jan. 19 at the old Island Paper Company mill on Tannery Island in the village was hot enough to be seen bubbling and boiling. It was hot enough trees near the brick building that had not been on fire were completely charred.

It was hot enough that part of the front edifice of the building collapsed, dumping bricks and mortar on the area firefighters and other first responders were using to access the building just hours before. It was hot enough a sample taken for analysis needed about 24 hours to cool, according to Carthage Fire Chief Brian Draper.

On Thursday morning, after nine days of continuous air monitoring and tending the fire while it continued to burn because the burning chemical had not yet been identified so they could actively extinguish it, the Carthage Fire Department reached their basic goal: the fire was finally completely out.

"When we sat in our meeting [of all agencies involved with containing the fire and contaminants] and we were looking at a long range plan, the plan for the fire department was to make sure the fire was extinguished. We've been checking and checking and we're confident that it's out," Mr. Draper said. "It's in the hands of the right people that are going to do whatever has to be done, cleanup or whatever."

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/AREA OF FATAL WACKER INCIDENT IN CHARLESTON, TENNESSEE, RELEASED FOR REPAIR AND OPERATION DURING ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2021/jan/29/wacker-fatal-incident-released/540651/
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, hydrochloric_acid

A Wacker spokeswoman says that an area of the Charleston, Tennessee, polysilicon production plant where a fatal incident occurred late last year was recently released for repair and operation.
"It was temporarily shut down," said Lisa Mantooth, adding that investigations are ongoing into the incident in which one person died and four were injured on Nov. 13.
According to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the fatal mishap took place during maintenance activity at the sprawling Bradley County factory.
The incident resulted in a release of about 15 pounds of hydrochloric acid (HCl), a TDEC statement said. The reportable quantity under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act for HCl is 5,000 pounds, the agency said.
The TDEC statement said the quantity of HCl released would not affect air quality or adversely impact the surrounding community.
But TDEC said HCl is a permitted source and the November incident is under investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. In addition, the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) has an investigation in progress.

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/SURAT: 30 WORKERS SAVED IN MAJOR MILL FIRE
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/30-workers-saved-in-major-mill-fire/articleshow/80590679.cms
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, dye, oils

SURAT: As many as 30 workers, including women were rescued in a major fire, which broke out at the Labdhi Dyeing and Printing Mills at Bhawani circle at Varachha's Ashwani Kumar Road on Friday. No casualty was reported. However, four people received minor injuries when they tried to come down from the third floor. The area houses many diamond cutting and polishing units, engineering units, residential and commercial apartments and is bustling with activity during day time.
Chief Fire Officer (CFO) of the fire and emergency department of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), Basant Pareek, who had gone to rescue few women lost balance and fell on the hot oil spilled on the ground, too sustained burns injuries on his leg and arms and was immediately rushed to the Mahavir Hospital, where his condition is said to be normal.
About 10 fire tenders and foam extinguishers were pressed into service to put out the blaze that erupted at 2.24 pm. The exact reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained.

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/BURNING CHEMICAL STILL NOT IDENTIFIED AT OLD CARTHAGE MILL
https://www.wwnytv.com/2021/01/29/burning-chemical-still-not-identified-old-carthage-mill/
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

CARTHAGE, N.Y. (WWNY) - On Friday, 7 News got a closer look at the old Carthage mill where a chemical fire was brewing.
It has now been 10 days since the fire that prompted a shelter in place order for the twin villages.
The now-condemned building has caution tape around it to keep people out.
We asked village officials where things go from here. They say they're waiting for more reports to come in before they comment.
We then asked the state Department of Conservation when it would have the answers as to what the burning chemical was. Officials said it still has not been identified.
In the meantime, village officials are working to keep people off of the island.
"The code department has issued an order to remedy, requiring them to prevent access to the vacant building. As of now they've sent over some construction crews to look at putting up a fence to prevent entry to the building," said Carthage Police Chief Reginald Huber.

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/INVESTIGATORS: WOOD STAIN RAGS SPARK WATERVILLE FIRE
https://www.wmtw.com/article/investigators-wood-stain-rags-spark-waterville-fire/35107753#
Tags: us_ME, public, fire, response, combustible

WATERVILLE, Maine =97
A fire that badly damaged a Waterville building on Thursday was sparked by chemical-soaked rags.

Waterville Fire and Rescue were called to Kennedy Memorial Drive around 5:30 in the morning with reports of a structure fire.

Crews arriving on scene found smoke and fire on the first and second floors of the building.

Investigators said firefighters were hampered when part of the second story floor collapsed.

According to investigators from the state fire marshal's office, the fire was sparked when rags that had been soaked in wood stain and left inside a plastic bag combusted.

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/NEW MASS. LAW BANS LIST OF CHEMICAL FLAME RETARDANTS IN PRODUCTS
https://www.wwlp.com/news/state-politics/new-mass-law-bans-list-of-chemical-flame-retardants-in-products/
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, environmental, toxics

BOSTON (SHNS) - Manufacturers and retailers in Massachusetts will be banned from selling or importing covered products like bedding, furniture, children's products, window treatments and carpeting that contain 11 flame-retardant chemicals under legislation signed Friday by Gov. Charlie Baker.

The new law, which does not apply to inventory manufactured prior to Dec. 31, 2021, was celebrated by supporters who have pushed for its passage for years by arguing the chemicals can cause cancer and also are ineffective at slowing down fires.

In a tweet, Sen. Cynthia Creem said she filed flame retardants legislation eight years ago and called its passage a "great start to 2021" and an important way to protect children and first responders from "harmful chemicals." When products containing the chemicals burn, Creem has said, they create "toxic smoke."

The Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts thanked Creem and Rep. Marjorie Decker of Cambridge for their work on the bill.

"This is a massive step forward in protecting our residents and first responders in Massachusetts from the dangers of these toxic chemicals associated with flame-retardant products," union president Richard MacKinnon Jr. wrote in a message to members.

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/I-25 IN LAS CRUCES RE-OPENS AFTER HAZMAT CLEANUP FROM OVERTURNED FUEL TANKER
https://kvia.com/news/new-mexico/2020/12/31/i-25-south-in-las-cruces-remains-closed-due-to-hazmat-cleanup-from-overturned-fuel-tanker/
Tags: us_NM, transportation, release, injury, diesel

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico =97 New Mexico State Police shut down a stretch of Interstate 25 in Las Cruces and a hazardous materials team responded Thursday after a rollover crash involving a commercial motor vehicle hauling fuel.

The driver sustained unknown injuries and was transported to an area hospital, police said.

NMSP spokesman Dusty Francisco said the Las Cruces Fire Department's Hazmat team was called about 2 p.m. to assist because diesel and gas was believed to be leaking from the tanker.

Transportation officials said I-25 south and northbound lanes at mile post 18-32 had finally reopened as of 11:30 p.m., after the accident was removed..

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/SHORT LINE RAILROAD SAFETY GROUP LAUNCHES FREE HAZMAT TRAINING
https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20697-short-line-railroad-safety-group-launches-free-hazmat-training
Tags: us_WA, transportation, discovery, environmental

Washington =97 The Short Line Safety Institute has published a series of free videos designed to provide railroad workers with an overview of key elements of hazardous materials safety regulations.

The "Fast Class" series - consisting of five four- to seven-minute videos each covering different topics - can be used as training tools during safety briefings or as quick refreshers for employees. Topics covered: shipping documentation, placarding, rail car inspection, using an emergency response guidebook and training requirements.

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