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From: CHAS membership chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (14 articles)
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2021 07:59:58 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: E26D3244-DE4F-4FA1-96B2-53F863B9A3FC**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, February 8, 2021 at 7:59:34 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)
AT LEAST 29 INJURED IN HAZMAT INCIDENT AT CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE PLANT
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
LITTLE FALLS ARTIST CREATES JEWELRY WITH INTENTION
Tags: us_MN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, acids
WITNESSES DESCRIBE 'EXPLOSION' AS FIRE DESTROYED NORTH-EAST RIFLE RANGE
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
QUEENSLAND BUS DRIVER SUFFERS BURNS IN CHEMICAL ATTACK
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, irritant
FEDS: FATAL ACCIDENT AT GEORGIA PLANT MAY BE LINKED TO CHICKEN PRODUCTION CONVEYOR
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, liquid_nitrogen
FACTORY FIRE SMOKES OUT ILLEGAL LAB
Tags: Myanmar, fire, laboratory, response, unknown_chemical, illegal
GERMAN FIRM TO REMOVE DANGEROUS MATERIAL FROM BEIRUT PORT
Tags: lebanon, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonia_nitrate
DESPITE COMPLAINTS ILLEGAL GODOWNS FLOURISH AT MUMBAI'S MANKHURD FIRE SITE
Tags: india, industiral, fire, response, unknown_chemical
LGUS PUSHED TO INSPECT ICE PLANTS
Tags: Philippines, public, discovery, follow-up, environmental, ammonia
FIRE DEPARTMENT CALLED TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS LEAK
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, thiols
ACT GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES INQUIRY INTO SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
Tags: Australia, education, discovery, environmental, asbestos, lead_dust
UMATILLA COUNTY AGREES TO TAKE ON EXPLOSION SITE
Tags: us_OR, public, follow-up, environmental, bomb
TOLL ROAD ACCIDENT KILLS ONE AND CAUSES DANGEROUS CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, death, HCl
FIREFIGHTERS MAY BE WEARING GEAR THAT CONTAINS TOXIC CHEMICALS, RESEARCHERS FIND
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
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AT LEAST 29 INJURED IN HAZMAT INCIDENT AT CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE PLANT
https://www.firefighternation.com/ems/at-least-29-injured-in-hazmat-incident-at-california-healthcare-plant/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Nine people were hospitalized Thursday due to a hazardous materials incident at a commercial building in Ontario, Calif., officials said.
The incident at a Philips North American facility that makes oral healthcare products affected at least 29 people total, the Ontario Fire Department said.
The incident caused breathing issues for victims, but none of the injuries were considered life-threatening, The Press-Enterprise said in a report that cited Ontario Fire Department Battalion Chief Scot Roeber.
Video from ABC7 showed ambulances and first responders attending to victims at an impromptu triage area outside the plant at 1700 S. Baker Ave.
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LITTLE FALLS ARTIST CREATES JEWELRY WITH INTENTION
https://www.hometownsource.com/morrison_county_record/little-falls-artist-creates-jewelry-with-intention/article_0eb55c80-6738-11eb-8bb1-bfa09f35ab24.html
Tags: us_MN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, acids
Marquart continued to make jewelry and other artwork after she graduated from college. Little did she know at the time that she would one day walk away from it.
Doing hot work in her studio in the late 1980s, Marquart said the studio accidentally caught on fire while she was welding.
‰??I was there, barefooted and welding on carpet. Back then, they didn‰??t teach you safety in college,‰?? she said.
After the studio burned down, having no insurance coverage to rebuild, Marquart decided to change careers. She chose the field of environmental sciences, working with hazardous materials, sick buildings and teaching Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety. Part of the job was also to clean up after acid spills and methamphetamine laboratory explosions, she said.
Looking back, Marquart believes it was the fire at her studio that led her to ultimately choose a career in environmental sciences. That combined with the fact that safety wasn‰??t widely taught.
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WITNESSES DESCRIBE 'EXPLOSION' AS FIRE DESTROYED NORTH-EAST RIFLE RANGE
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/2880016/witnesses-describe-explosion-as-fire-destroyed-north-east-rifle-range/
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A champion north-east shooting club has been left counting the costs after firebugs torched outbuildings and equipment in what is thought to have been a deliberate attack.
Two sheds and a shelter were set ablaze at Kemnay Small Bore Rifle Club, ‰??100% destroying‰?? everything inside.
Witnesses reported an ‰??unbelievably sized‰?? explosion caused by burning gas canisters, with 18 fire-fighters needed to extinguish the flames.
A crew from Kintore was called to the scene at around 6.30pm on Friday, with a further two arriving as back-up from Inverurie shortly after.
At the weekend the remnants of maintenance equipment, targets and a chemical toilet could be seen among the charred and more unidentifiable items left strewn across the historic facility.
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QUEENSLAND BUS DRIVER SUFFERS BURNS IN CHEMICAL ATTACK
https://www.973fm.com.au/local/queensland-bus-driver-suffers-burns-in-chemical-attack/
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, irritant
A bus driver has suffered burns to his eyes and face after an an unknown substance believed to be chemicals was thrown on him south of Brisbane.
The liquid was thrown at the man through the driver‰??s side window of the bus on Drews Rd, Loganholme, about 9.30am on Monday.
The driver was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital.
The Queensland Ambulance Service said the substance was a ‰??chemical irritant‰??.
Police say no passengers were on the bus and no one else was injured in the attack.
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FEDS: FATAL ACCIDENT AT GEORGIA PLANT MAY BE LINKED TO CHICKEN PRODUCTION CONVEYOR
https://www.ajc.com/news/feds-give-update-on-probe-in-deadly-gainesville-poultry-plant-incident/JW3IIVJF5RFFXIDEVDS6KJZ42Q/
Tags: us_GA, industrial, follow-up, death, liquid_nitrogen
The federal investigative board looking into last month‰??s incident at a poultry processing plant in Gainesville has found that issues on a conveyor appear linked to the deadly chemical leak.
Six workers were killed at the Foundation Food Group on Jan. 28. The plant uses liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze chicken, and an ‰??inadvertent release‰?? happened on one of the plant‰??s five production lines. About a dozen people were injured and taken to a hospital, and 130 people were evacuated.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released the following new details Sunday about the incident:
‰?? The plant had been experiencing unresolved operational issues on the chicken conveyor that appear to have resulted in the accidental release of liquid nitrogen in the flash-freezing bath.
‰?? The Chemical Safety Board has information that Line No. 4 was shut down the morning of the incident. The shutdown was due to operational issues on the conveyor line.
‰?? Foundation Food Group maintenance personnel reported the computerized measuring system indicated a low liquid level in the immersion bath used to flash-freeze the chicken products.
‰?? The liquid nitrogen units were manufactured and installed by Messer and are leased to the Foundation Food Group.
‰?? The Foundation Food Group performs routine maintenance on the Messer-owned equipment.
---------------------------------------------
FACTORY FIRE SMOKES OUT ILLEGAL LAB
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/02/07/factory-fire-smokes-out-illegal-lab
Tags: Myanmar, fire, laboratory, response, unknown_chemical, illegal
JOHOR BARU: A fire that broke out at a factory in Desa Cemerlang industrial area here led to the discovery of a drug lab that had been hidden in the building for about a month.
State police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said that drugs worth RM5.06mil were seized from the laboratory that went up in flames at about 9.40pm on Jan 31.
‰??We received information from the Fire and Rescue Department about the laboratory that caught fire the same day.
‰??Following a raid at the factory, we arrested six men between the ages of 34 and 48, ‰?? he said at a press conference at the Johor police headquarters yesterday.
He added that the laboratory, which is believed to have only been active for a month, could feed the addiction of some 660,000 individuals.
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GERMAN FIRM TO REMOVE DANGEROUS MATERIAL FROM BEIRUT PORT
https://www.startribune.com/german-firm-to-remove-dangerous-material-from-beirut-port/600019849/
Tags: lebanon, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonia_nitrate
BEIRUT ‰?? A German company is ready to remove hazardous materials stored in dozens of containers at Beirut's port, Germany's ambassador to Lebanon said Saturday, following efforts to secure the facility after the Aug. 4 explosion that devastated the port and much of the city.
Ambassador Andreas Kindl tweeted that the treatment at Beirut's port for 52 containers of "hazardous and dangerous chemical material" has been completed. He added that the material is ready to be shipped to Germany.
The decision to remove the material followed the Aug. 4 explosion that was triggered by nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrates, a highly explosive fertilizer component, that had languished at the port for years. The blast killed 211 people, wounded more than 6,000, and destroyed parts of the capital.
In November, Lebanon signed a deal with Germany's Combi Lift to treat and ship abroad the containers consisting of flammable chemicals. The deal is worth $3.6 million, toward which port authorities in Lebanon paid will pay $2 million with the German government covering the rest.
---------------------------------------------
DESPITE COMPLAINTS ILLEGAL GODOWNS FLOURISH AT MUMBAI'S MANKHURD FIRE SITE
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/despite-complaints-illegal-godowns-flourish-at-mankhurd-fire-site/articleshow/80728069.cms
Tags: india, industiral, fire, response, unknown_chemical
MUMBAI: Fire brigade personnel extinguished the blaze at Man ..
Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/80728069.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/80728069.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
---------------------------------------------
LGUS PUSHED TO INSPECT ICE PLANTS
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/02/07/news/national/lgus-pushed-to-inspect-ice-plants/837839/
Tags: Philippines, public, discovery, follow-up, environmental, ammonia
THE EcoWaste Coalition, an advocate for chemical safety and environmental health, urged local government units (LGUs) to immediately inspect ice and cold storage plants following the recent ammonia gas leak incidents in Metro Manila and Batangas province.
On February 3, an ammonia gas leak from an ice plant in Navotas City led to the death of two workers, the hospitalization of close to 100 people and the evacuation of some 3,000 nearby residents. A leakage from an ice plant in Lian, Batangas on the same day caused the plants at an adjacent creek to wither and fish to die.
Ammonia, particularly anhydrous ammonia, is a common refrigerant used in commercial and industrial facilities such as those involved in ice making, manufacturing of dairy products and cold storage.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE DEPARTMENT CALLED TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS LEAK
https://www.discoverestevan.com/local/fire-department-called-to-hazardous-materials-leak
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, thiols
Several businesses on the outskirts of Estevan had to be evacuated yesterday due to a leak of hazardous materials. The Estevan Fire Department were called out to the scene at about 1:30 in the afternoon and arrived at the business east of Estevan just inside the RM.
"The company that reported the leak had taken the opportunity to ensure the surrounding businesses were evacuated to make sure everyone was accounted for," said Fire Chief Dale Feser. "What had happened was, in the process of decanting an odorant called mercaptan, it actually spilled and caused quite the odor to occur."
You may not have heard of mercaptan but you're likely familiar with the smell of it. According to Feser, mercaptan is added to natural gas or methane to help people smell the gas if a leak is occurring.
"We were able to get on-site there and confirm that it was a rather small leak," he said. "However, Sask Energy assisted in providing a neutralizing agent, which firefighters applied. Then we brought the scene to a successful mitigation and the product and the container that it was in was removed and disposed of accordingly."
Feser thanked Sask Energy for a quick response, and praised the company in question as well for moving quickly to get everyone out of potential harm's way. Firefighters had another ally in shutting this leak down as well: the cold weather.
---------------------------------------------
ACT GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES INQUIRY INTO SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
https://the-riotact.com/act-government-launches-inquiry-into-school-infrastructure-hazardous-materials-management/437160
Tags: Australia, education, discovery, environmental, asbestos, lead_dust
Parents and teachers will have the chance to air their concerns about how their schools and the ACT Government are managing hazardous materials in schools, with an ACT Legislative Assembly Committee launching a new inquiry.
The inquiry into the management of school infrastructure was announced just days after parents at a fourth ACT school were notified that hazardous levels of lead paint dust were found during the recent school holidays.
It was revealed on Monday, 1 February, that levels above the hazardous threshold of lead dust were found at Richardson Primary School following routine maintenance throughout the school holidays. The school has since undergone specialist cleaning and ACT Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development Yvette Berry said she is confident the premises is safe to occupy on the advice of experts.
Around 70 public schools in the ACT contain some sort of hazardous materials, including lead paint or asbestos due to the popularity of the products in construction prior to 1992.
A dedicated task force was formed in December 2020 to coordinate the management and removal of hazardous materials across ACT public schools after dangerous lead levels associated with lead paint were found at Yarralumla Primary School, North Ainslie Primary School and Alfred Deakin High School.
---------------------------------------------
UMATILLA COUNTY AGREES TO TAKE ON EXPLOSION SITE
https://www.eastoregonian.com/townnews/law/umatilla-county-agrees-to-take-on-explosion-site/article_591c07c8-673e-11eb-a77c-2311bfd239b0.html
Tags: us_OR, public, follow-up, environmental, bomb
UMATILLA COUNTY ‰?? The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution during their Wednesday, Feb. 3, meeting expressing the county's willingness to take on responsibility for a historical site at the former Umatilla Chemical Depot.
In 1944, when the depot was still in operation, an accidental explosion ignited inside one of the concrete "igloos" where bombs were stored, killing six workers. The Army is in the process of turning the former depot over to local control, and when the transfer is complete, the county has agreed to take over preservation and maintenance responsibilities for the site of the explosion.
County counsel Doug Olsen told commissioners the resolution before them was not the official agreement that will spell out the details of the county's responsibilities, but the Columbia Development Authority (a partnership between five local government entities) had requested the county voice its willingness now, as negotiations continue for transfer of the depot.
Greg Smith, director of the Columbia Development Authority, told commissioners the plan is to provide public access to the historical site, most likely through an easement on a future road through the depot.
---------------------------------------------
TOLL ROAD ACCIDENT KILLS ONE AND CAUSES DANGEROUS CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.kpcnews.com/newssun/article_736ea6d4-4ee1-58ce-8223-b60b27701e04.html
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, death, HCl
LAGRANGE ‰?? A semi-tractor hauling a tanker filled with a hazardous liquid crashed on the Toll Road Thursday night in Greenfield Township just east of the service center, killing the truck‰??s driver and forcing state police to shut down traffic on the Toll Road.
The truck driver, Omar Pleasont, 35, of Portage, was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident happened shortly after 8:30 p.m.
Pleasont was hauling a tanker filled with hydrogen chloride. The Indiana State Police said in a press release that Pleasont was headed east on the Toll Road in his 2020 Freightliner when for reasons unknown, he drove off the road near the 129.5 mile marker and landed in the road‰??s center median. Both the truck and trailer rolled over in the center of the road‰??s median. The force of the accident caused the tractor to separate from the trailer. The tractor eventually came to rest on its roof in the center of the right eastbound lane.
The tanker finally came to rest in the median, badly damaged and leaking the toxic chemical.
After combining with water vapor the hydrogen chloride creates hydrochloric acid, a dangerous inhalation irritant.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS MAY BE WEARING GEAR THAT CONTAINS TOXIC CHEMICALS, RESEARCHERS FIND
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/06/metro/firefighters-may-be-wearing-gear-that-contains-toxic-chemicals-researchers-find/
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
The heavy turnout gear firefighters use to protect themselves from flames and other hazards is highly likely to contain a range of carcinogenic chemicals, according to a new study.
Harvard University researchers took dust samples at 15 fire stations in Eastern Massachusetts and found significant amounts of toxic compounds known as PFAS. The so-called ‰??forever chemicals,‰?? which never fully degrade, have been linked to cancer, low infant birth weights, and suppression of the immune system.
Researchers found the highest concentrations of the chemicals in rooms where turnout gear was stored. The stations rarely, if ever, used foam, a known source of PFAS, to fight fires.
Using special vacuums and wipes, the researchers tested for just two dozen of nearly 5,000 known PFAS compounds and found concentrations in the storage rooms with turnout gear at nearly twice the amount found elsewhere in the stations.
Perhaps more concerning, their tests detected the presence of far greater amounts of other PFAS compounds. The researchers said the 24 chemicals they tested for amounted to about 1 percent of all the compounds likely to contain forever chemicals in the dust.
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