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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, March 29, 2021 at 6:29:48 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 (18 articles)
NASSAU POLICE AND EMS MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO FENTANYL AT OVERDOSE RESPONSE
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, clandestine_lab
HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS TO FALSE ALARM AT BROWN UNIVERSITY LAB
Tags: us_RI, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
FINAL STAGES OF I-696 GREEN OOZE CLEANUP BEGIN ON MONDAY
Tags: us_MI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT GEORGETOWN CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_SC, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
DAVIE FAMILIES EVACUATED AFTER PROPANE GAS LEAK
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, propane
SULFURIC ACID SPILL LEADS TO HAZMAT CLEANUP NEAR SAN MIGUEL
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
NSW BEACH CLOSED AFTER 'POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS' ITEM WASHES UP
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, petroleum
MAHA: 3 LABOURERS DIE WHILE CLEANING UNDERGROUND CHEMICAL TANK
Tags: India, industrial, release, death, used_oil, waste
IN THE DEEP END: ALEXANDRA MAN BURNT MIXING SWIMMING POOL CHEMICALS
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, injury, chlorine, pool_chemicals
US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FILES LAWSUIT ALLEGING TEXAS HOTEL OPERATOR ILLEGALLY FIRED WORKER WHO SOUGHT MEDICAL CARE FOR CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, injury, carbon_monoxide
NITROUS OXIDE LEAK AT PASADENA MEDICAL BUILDING PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_ca, public, release, response, nitrous_oxide
RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND INSIDE OIL FACILITY IN LEBANON
Tags: lebanon, industrial, discovery, response, environmental
DESPITE PAST ISSUES, LOCAL OFFICIALS SAY THEY'RE READY TO RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SAFETY EMERGENCIES
Tags: us_wv, industrial, follow-up
'VERY RAPID' REMOVAL OF GASES VITAL TO EXPLOSION PREVENTION DURING BATTERY FIRES
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, discovery, environmental, batteries, flammables
OTTAWA POLICE INVESTIGATE FIRE AT 'CLANDESTINE' DRUG LAB
Tags: Canada, public, fire, response, clandestine_lab
US MILITARY ORDERED 'CLANDESTINE BURNING' OF TOXIC CHEMICALS IN POOR NEIGHBORHOODS: STUDY
Tags: us_VT, public, discovery, environmental
POLICE INVESTIGATING AFTER CHEMICAL-LACED CAT FOOD FOUND IN CALGARY PARK
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, environmental, sulfuric_acid
FIRE RIPS THROUGH THAILAND'S INFAMOUS 'AIRPLANE GRAVEYARD'
Tags: Thailand, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
NASSAU POLICE AND EMS MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO FENTANYL AT OVERDOSE RESPONSE
https://www.tapinto.net/sections/police-and-fire/articles/nassau-police-and-ems-may-have-been-exposed-to-fentanyl-at-overdose-response
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, clandestine_lab
NASSAU BAY ‰?? Nassau Bay law enforcement and emergency medical services responded to an overdose call Sunday morning, where they believe they could have been exposed to highly toxic Fentanyl.
At about 9:15 a.m., Nassau Bay EMS and the police department responded to a reported fatal overdose at an apartment in Space Park. While investigating the death, officers and EMS personnel learned there was a possibility of Fentanyl being present. The personnel evacuated from the apartment and contacted HazMat crews to the scene.
The Police Department reported on their Facebook page Sunday that HazMat will stabilize and decontaminate the scene and remove any dangerous substances. Officers will complete the death investigation once the scene is safe.
All personnel at the scene were being monitored and examined by EMS and HazMat for any possible exposure.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS TO FALSE ALARM AT BROWN UNIVERSITY LAB
https://turnto10.com/news/local/hazmat-crew-responds-to-false-alarm-at-brown-university-lab
Tags: us_RI, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) ‰?? Fire crews in Providence responded to a hazardous materials situation at a Brown University lab on Sunday.
The incident involved a vapor cloud on the second floor of the Brown University Bio Med Lab.
It turned out to be a false alarm as it was later determined to be just steam coming from a piece of equipment.
Everyone made it out of the building safely.
---------------------------------------------
FINAL STAGES OF I-696 GREEN OOZE CLEANUP BEGIN ON MONDAY
https://www.wxyz.com/news/i-696-contamination-crisis/final-stages-of-i-696-green-ooze-cleanup-begin-on-monday
Tags: us_MI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) ‰?? Could this be the home stretch toward the end of the green ooze cleanup? Beginning Monday after 9 a.m., the eastbound I-696 ramp to Couzens Ave. will be closed again for the remaining stages of HAZMAT cleanup.
The ooze found seeping onto I-696 in Madison Heights more than a year ago was found to be a highly toxic, cancer-causing chemical called hexavalent chromium. It was coming from Electro-Plating Services in Madison Heights, and brought in EPA emergency teams. Now, the state is once again in charge of the final stages of the cleanup.
Crews will remove a concrete barrier separating the ramp from the HAZMAT location and will also remove the interceptor trench sump that has been in place for more than a year.
Over the years, Gary Sayers, the owner and operator of Electro-Plating Services, racked up EPA violations. He even dug a pit in the basement to hold the toxic byproducts of the businesses, mainly Hexavalent Chromium, according to the EPA.
In 2020, the EPA removed more than 300,000 gallons of the contaminated liquid and installed an interceptor trench to prevent it from running into the storm drains.
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CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT GEORGETOWN CHEMICAL PLANT
https://www.wbtw.com/georgetown-county-news/crews-respond-to-hazmat-leak-at-georgetown-chemical-plant/
Tags: us_SC, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WBTW) ‰?? Multiple fire and rescue crews are responding to a hazardous materials situation at 3V Chemical in Georgetown Saturday morning.
Assistant Chief Tony Hucks with Georgetown County Fire says that the leak was contained to the building. It was a vapor leak.
One person was transported to a hospital and two did not want to go to the hospital, according to Hucks.
Midway Fire Rescue is assisting Georgetown County Fire/EMS at the scene.
Chief Doug Eggiman of Midway Fire Rescue confirms that they sent hazmat units as well as an ambulance to assist.
---------------------------------------------
DAVIE FAMILIES EVACUATED AFTER PROPANE GAS LEAK
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/davie/fl-ne-davie-gas-leak-evac-20210327-q2hudyecybffjbumgswvy5puz4-story.html
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, propane
DAVIE ‰?? Several families were evacuated when a 120-gallon propane tank started leaking beside a home in Davie.
Hazardous materials teams and other firefighters from Davie, Sunrise, Hollywood, and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue showed up to the scene in the 12000 block of Southwest 26th Court at about noon Saturday.
‰??We requested the hazmat teams to do a burn off so that this tank can be removed and transported by AmeriGas,‰?? said Davie Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Chris Abramczyk.
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SULFURIC ACID SPILL LEADS TO HAZMAT CLEANUP NEAR SAN MIGUEL
https://calcoastnews.com/2021/03/sulfuric-acid-spill-leads-to-hazmat-cleanup-near-san-miguel/
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid
A punctured vineyard storage tank leaked sulfuric acid across a San Miguel roadway and into a storm drain leading to the Salinas River on Thursday afternoon, according to the San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Health.
A trailer towed by a farm tractor at the Locatelli Vineyards at 8585 Cross Canyons Road punctured a tank of sulfuric acid causing the toxic spill. While some of the acid leached into soil at the vineyard, excess acid pooled on Cross Canyons Road.
---------------------------------------------
NSW BEACH CLOSED AFTER 'POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS' ITEM WASHES UP
https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw-beach-closed-after-potentially-dangerous-item-washes-up-064820501.html
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, petroleum
NSW Fire and Rescue crews dressed in hazmat suits were called to a Newcastle beach after a large metal object believed to contain hazardous materials washed ashore.
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) attended the scene at Shortland Esplanade just after midday on Sunday after the container was spotted on the beach.
The drum was initially thought to contain hydrochloric acid due to the markings on the container, with crews immediately closing the beach and setting up a 200-metre exclusion zone, the Newcastle Herald reported.
NSW Fire and Rescue crews dressed in hazmat suits were called to the beach. Source: FRNSW
Hazmat crews worked to siphon the contents of the container into three large orange drums while Newcastle Council cautioned the public to stay away from the area. It's since been revealed the container was filled with oil.
---------------------------------------------
MAHA: 3 LABOURERS DIE WHILE CLEANING UNDERGROUND CHEMICAL TANK
https://in.news.yahoo.com/maha-3-labourers-die-while-130045239.html
Tags: India, industrial, release, death, used_oil, waste
Sat, 27 March 2021, 6:00 AMå•1-min read
Thane, Mar 27(PTI) Three labourers died on Saturday while they were cleaning an underground tank which was used to store waste oil in a now-defunct chemical factory in Ambernath town in Thane district of Maharashtra, fire officials said.
The trio complained of suffocation after removing some waste, Ambernath Municipal Council's chief fire officer Yashwant Nalawade said.
He said the labourers also complained of nausea and giddiness before they collapsed inside the tank this morning.
The deceased, hailing from suburban Govandi in Mumbai, are identified as Bidresh Sahani (35), Dinesh Sahani (35) and Irshad (30).
They were engaged in the cleaning work at the chemical unit since Thursday, Nalawade said, adding that the work was going on without any supervision contrary to rules.
---------------------------------------------
IN THE DEEP END: ALEXANDRA MAN BURNT MIXING SWIMMING POOL CHEMICALS
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/in-the-deep-end-alexandra-man-burnt-mixing-swimming-pool-chemicals/VY5DDGS776R4HWGE5K47ESYDQU/
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, injury, chlorine, pool_chemicals
A Central Otago man has suffered a minor burn during a mishap mixing his swimming pool chemicals.
Fire crews were called to the Alexandra property this morning after reports of an explosion.
On arrival, emergency services found a man had suffered a minor burn.
Southern Fire and Emergency communication shift manager Andrew Norris said the man had been mixing the chemicals to clean his pool and got it wrong.
While it was still being investigated, Norris believed the man had likely put the chlorine into a vessel, possibly a bucket, before putting in the water.
---------------------------------------------
US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FILES LAWSUIT ALLEGING TEXAS HOTEL OPERATOR ILLEGALLY FIRED WORKER WHO SOUGHT MEDICAL CARE FOR CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20210326-0
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, injury, carbon_monoxide
HOUSTON ‰?? In January 2019, a worker at a Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in Waller alerted their employer that exposure to carbon monoxide made them ill and asked the employer to call an ambulance. In addition to refusing the worker‰??s request, the employer allegedly threatened to terminate the employee. After going to the hospital, the worker was terminated.
Following an investigation on the employee‰??s behalf, the U.S. Department of Labor‰??s Occupational Safety and Health Administration filed a lawsuit alleging that the hotel‰??s operator, All Seasons Hospitality and Investments LLC and its owner, Tanvir Shahmohd fired the employee for engaging in protected activity, in violation of federal law.
‰??All Seasons Hospitality and Investments LLC and Tanvir Shahmohd violated the employee‰??s rights by terminating them for reporting unsafe working conditions and seeking medical care,‰?? said OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin in Dallas. ‰??The U.S. Department of Labor provides protections for workers who exercise their right to raise safety concerns without the fear of retaliation.‰??
Filed on March 25, 2021, the department‰??s suit asks the court to order the defendants to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act‰??s anti-retaliation provisions, reinstate the employee, expunge the employee‰??s personnel record and pay the employee back wages, interest, compensatory and punitive damages and other remedies.
---------------------------------------------
NITROUS OXIDE LEAK AT PASADENA MEDICAL BUILDING PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
https://www.pasadenanow.com/main/smoke-or-gas-in-parking-structure-at-pasadena-medical-building-prompts-hazmat-response-evacuations-at-medical-building/
Tags: us_ca, public, release, response, nitrous_oxide
[UPDATED] Officials evacuated the parking structure of a Pasadena medical building and summoned a hazardous material response crew Friday after a leak of what was ultimately determined to be nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, authorities said.
The incident was first reported shortly before 1 p.m. in the first floor of a parking structure at 301 S. Fair Oaks Ave., according to Pasadena Fire Department officials.
The gas initially appeared to be emanating from a cylinder in a storage closet, according to fire department radio traffic.
The substance had largely dissipated by 1:30, but a hazmat team continued working to identify it and its source, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
---------------------------------------------
RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND INSIDE OIL FACILITY IN LEBANON
https://www.startribune.com/radioactive-material-found-inside-oil-facility-in-lebanon/600039022/
Tags: lebanon, industrial, discovery, response, environmental
BEIRUT ‰?? A German company has found dangerous nuclear material stored in an oil facility in southern Lebanon, officials said Friday.
The material has been stored at the Zahrani Oil Installation that is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Beirut, according to a statement released after a meeting by Lebanon Higher Defense Council, the country's top security and military body. In its statement, the council quoted outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
Lebanese authorities have been searching for hazardous material around the country after a deadly explosion in Beirut last year. The Aug. 4 blast of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrates, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilizers, killed 211 people, wounded more than 6,000 people and damaged several Beirut neighborhoods.
During Friday's meeting, Diab told other officials that the material found by German company Combi Lift, which Lebanon had tasked with clearing hazardous material at Beirut port, "is a highly pure nuclear substance" and its presence poses dangers.
---------------------------------------------
DESPITE PAST ISSUES, LOCAL OFFICIALS SAY THEY'RE READY TO RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SAFETY EMERGENCIES
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/despite-past-issues-local-officials-say-theyre-ready-to-respond-to-chemical-safety-emergencies/article_fe82c4fc-e72e-5ca8-9611-4799e9d3d0f5.html
Tags: us_wv, industrial, follow-up
Longtime Belle Volunteer Fire Department member David Fletcher recalls that it was easy back in the 1950s and ‰??60s for the town‰??s volunteer firefighters and employees at the DuPont chemical plant to stay in sync.
They were often one and the same.
That‰??s not the case in 2021, six years after Chemours, which is based in Delaware, was founded as a spinoff from DuPont and took ownership of the Belle plant site.
But it‰??s as important as ever for the Chemours in-house fire brigade, and other responders and local emergency officials, to be on the same page.
The Dec. 8 explosion at the Optima Belle chemical facility on the Chemours site that killed one worker and injured two others continued an all-too-long history of chemical incidents throughout West Virginia, particularly in the Kanawha Valley.
Only Texas has been the focus of more investigations by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents, than West Virginia since 2006.
---------------------------------------------
'VERY RAPID' REMOVAL OF GASES VITAL TO EXPLOSION PREVENTION DURING BATTERY FIRES
https://www.energy-storage.news/news/very-rapid-removal-of-gases-vital-to-explosion-prevention-during-battery-fi
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, discovery, environmental, batteries, flammables
The challenges of explosion prevention ‰?? with flammable gases needing to be vented ‰??very rapidly‰?? ‰?? in the event of a battery fire have been highlighted at this week‰??s Energy Storage Summit USA.
Speaking at the event, hosted by our publisher Solar Media, Matthew Paiss, technical advisor, battery materials & systems at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), referenced the two most recent high-profile battery fires, with one at utility Arizona Public Services‰??s (APS) energy storage facility in 2019 and one at Ì?rsted‰??s 20MW project in Liverpool, England in 2020.
Both explosions caused a ‰??significant pressure wave‰??, with the APS incident resulting in the injuries of four firefighters and the Liverpool incident causing debris to be thrown between six and 20 meters away according to the fire department‰??s response report.
Paiss explained that there are ‰??many similar battery enclosures operating today that could experience the exact same kind of failure‰??.
---------------------------------------------
OTTAWA POLICE INVESTIGATE FIRE AT 'CLANDESTINE' DRUG LAB
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/clandestine-drug-lab-fire-ottawa-1.5963924
Tags: Canada, public, fire, response, clandestine_lab
A large fire earlier this week at a building in Ottawa's rural southeast is now being linked to an illegal cannabis grow-op and drug lab.
Firefighters and police responded to a 911 call just before 9 a.m. ET Tuesday and found thick, black smoke and flames spilling from the doors of an agricultural building on Renaud Road.
Firefighters used portable water tanks to battle the flames. Hazmat teams were also called in to help and decontaminate firefighters.
On Thursday, Ottawa police said they discovered a grow-op and a "sophisticated clandestine extraction laboratory," but could not specify the type of drugs there because chemical tests have not yet been done.
Police said such labs can be dangerous to the public because of the type of equipment and chemicals they use.
---------------------------------------------
US MILITARY ORDERED 'CLANDESTINE BURNING' OF TOXIC CHEMICALS IN POOR NEIGHBORHOODS: STUDY
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/25/us-military-ordered-clandestine-burning-toxic-chemicals-poor-neighborhoods-study
Tags: us_VT, public, discovery, environmental
New research conducted by environmental justice scholars at Vermont's Bennington College reveals that between 2016 and 2020, the U.S. military oversaw the "clandestine burning" of more than 20 million pounds of Aqueous Fire Fighting Foam in low-income communities around the country‰??even though there is no evidence that incineration destroys the toxic "forever chemicals" that make up the foam and are linked to a range of cancers, developmental disorders, immune dysfunction, and infertility.
"In defiance of common sense and environmental expertise, the Department of Defense (DOD) has enlisted poor communities across the U.S. as unwilling test subjects in its toxic experiment with burning AFFF," David Bond, associate director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College, said (pdf) in a statement earlier this week.
Noting that scientists, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and even Pentagon officials have warned that "burning AFFF is an unproven method and dangerous mix that threatens the health of millions of Americans," Bond characterized the decision of the military to dump huge stockpiles of AFFF and AFFF wastewater into "a handful of habitually negligent incinerators" as a "harebrained" operation as well as a manifestation of environmental injustice.
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POLICE INVESTIGATING AFTER CHEMICAL-LACED CAT FOOD FOUND IN CALGARY PARK
https://dailyhive.com/calgary/chemical-laced-cat-food-calgary-park
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, environmental, sulfuric_acid
The Calgary Police are currently investigating a series of incidents in which chemical-laced cat food has been left in one of the city‰??s parks.
An unidentified man is allegedly placing cat food in and around the trees in Confederation Park, near the 1000 block of 24 Avenue NW.
According to the police, there have been three separate incidents of this nature reported in March. The fact that this park is frequented by families with young children and pets makes this ‰??even more concerning,‰?? the Calgary Police say.
Investigators have been able to confirm that the food found contained chemicals that are not typically present in cat food products.
By working with the Calgary Fire Department HAZMAT team, investigators identified both sulfuric acid and phenyltoloxamine citrate in the cat food.
These substances could cause unnecessary pain, and potentially death, to an animal, if they were to ingest enough of it.
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FIRE RIPS THROUGH THAILAND'S INFAMOUS 'AIRPLANE GRAVEYARD'
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/124666112/fire-rips-through-thailands-infamous-airplane-graveyard
Tags: Thailand, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A fire has broken out at Thailand‰??s infamous ‰??Airplane Graveyard‰??.
The wasteland in the capital Bangkok is home to an old Boeing 747 and two McDonnell Douglas MD-82, and is listed on TripAdvisor as one of the most unusual abandoned places in the world to explore.
On Wednesday evening, nearby residents saw black smoke coming from the field and reported strong chemical odours from one of the junked planes.
Fire crews tackled the blaze and brought it under control shortly after 10.15pm (local time). They believe it started in dry grass before engulfing one of the jets.
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