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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 6:37:32 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 (12 articles)
TANKER LEAKING FUEL FORCES CLOSURE OF HIGHWAY 36 NEAR LYONS, HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS ‰?? CBS DENVER
Tags: us_CO, transportation, release, response, petroleum
RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL DETECTED IN SAUGUS INCIDENT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, environmental, radiation, waste
INTEGRATED DESIGN GIVES LITHIUM‰??AIR BATTERY ROOM TO BREATHE SAFELY
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, batteries
WHO PAYS WHEN A GRADUATE STUDENT GETS HURT IN A BRITISH OR FRENCH LAB?
Tags: Europe, laboratory, discovery, environmental
THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF SUSPECTED TOXIC DDT FOUND DUMPED IN CALIFORNIA OCEAN
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, toxics, waste
REGULATORS MISSING POLLUTION‰??S EFFECT ON MARINE LIFE, STUDY FINDS
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
ONE INJURED AFTER CAR CRASHES INTO WESTERN MASS STORE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
ARMANITOLA CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE: 2 OWNERS ARRESTED
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, fire, death, flammables
CHEMICAL SPILL IN LINCOLN, HAZMAT AND DECONTAMINATION TEAMS ON SCENE
Tags: us_RI, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
INDIAN NATIONAL DIES AFTER INHALING CHEMICALS WHILE CLEANING TANKER
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
3 YEARS LATER: HUSKY REFINERY REBUILD, WAIT FOR FINAL REPORT CONTINUE
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
NO INJURIES FROM CLINT CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE CAUSING HEAVY SMOKE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
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TANKER LEAKING FUEL FORCES CLOSURE OF HIGHWAY 36 NEAR LYONS, HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS ‰?? CBS DENVER
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/04/27/tanker-leaking-fuel-highway-36-closed-lyons-hazmat/
Tags: us_CO, transportation, release, response, petroleum
LYONS, Colo. (CBS4) ‰?? A tanker rolled over and spilled fuel early Tuesday afternoon, forcing the closure of Highway 36 near Lyons. Carrie Haverfield, a public information officer for the Boulder County Sheriff‰??s Office, tells CBS4 that the highway is closed in both directions from the first Apple Valley Road intersection just outside downtown Lyons to the Longmont Dam Road.
Haverfield said it is expected to be a prolonged closure. Drivers trying to get to or from Estes Park or Rocky Mountain National Park through that stretch of roadway are encouraged to find alternative routes.
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RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL DETECTED IN SAUGUS INCIDENT
https://www.itemlive.com/2021/04/27/radioactive-material-detected-in-saugus-incident/
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, environmental, radiation, waste
SAUGUS ‰?? A radioactive-materials incident that occurred earlier this month at WIN Waste Innovations, formerly known as Wheelabrator Saugus, was caused by trace amounts of radioactive activity found in private household waste, Town Public Health Director John Fralick confirmed.
On April 13, Fralick said he was contacted by several community members and plant representatives about a situation at the facility involving radioactive materials.
Early that morning, Fralick said a waste hauler from Somerville tipped the waste-to-energy facility‰??s drive-through scanners ‰?? used to detect radioactive materials ‰?? which caused them to go off.
The truck was quickly segregated from the rest of the facility and searched, and WIN Waste Innovations Asset Manager John Rice said the material was later determined to be medical waste commonly associated with cancer treatments.
‰??We discovered and isolated a low-level radioactive material coming from a residential waste load entering our scale,‰?? Rice said. ‰??We quickly isolated the load and found trace amounts of radioactive material that are occasionally found in household waste, often in forms of material used in medical treatments.‰??
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INTEGRATED DESIGN GIVES LITHIUM‰??AIR BATTERY ROOM TO BREATHE SAFELY
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/integrated-design-gives-lithium-air-battery-room-to-breathe-safely/4013602.article
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, batteries
A new type of lithium‰??air battery unveiled by researchers in China combines higher capacity, longer-cycle life and greater stability than comparable batteries, the scientists say. The device, which has a solid zeolite electrolyte integrated with two electrodes, may mark a significant step towards the viability of such batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.
Lithium‰??air batteries normally use a pure lithium anode and some form of porous carbon at the cathode. When the battery is discharged, lithium ions flow from the anode to the cathode, where they meet electrons that flow through the external circuit and react with oxygen from the air. When the battery is recharged this process is reversed. As lithium is highly electropositive and extremely light and air is effectively massless, lithium‰??air batteries have the highest theoretical maximum specific energy density of any battery type.
In practice, however, designing a viable rechargeable device has proved extremely challenging. The extreme reactivity of lithium is a double-edged sword: it allows for the storage of a huge amount of energy, but releasing that energy in a controlled, safe, reversible way is difficult. The first designs used various liquid electrolytes. However, lithium reacts violently with water, which creates problems in aqueous electrolytes, and organic electrolytes are prone to side reactions. ‰??Lithium‰??s intrinsic thermodynamic instability brings about continuous and irreversible reactions between the anode and the organic electrolyte, resulting in electrolyte decomposition, which is accompanied by corrosion of the lithium metal anode,‰?? explains Jijing Xu of Jilin University in Changchun. An ionically-conductive ‰??separator‰?? is usually included to protect the lithium, but nevertheless placing such a system ‰?? especially if it contains a flammable organic electrolyte ‰?? in a ba!
ttery that must be open to the air poses serious safety concerns.
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WHO PAYS WHEN A GRADUATE STUDENT GETS HURT IN A BRITISH OR FRENCH LAB?
https://cen.acs.org/safety/lab-safety/Who-pays-when-a-graduate-student-gets-hurt-in-a-British-or-French-lab/99/i16
Tags: Europe, laboratory, discovery, environmental
In 2018, Shiva Dastjerdi, a PhD student at Boston University, got a chemical burn on her upper chest. She subsequently had to hire a lawyer to get the school to pay her medical bills, raising the question: Are graduate students eligible for the same benefits available to other workers if they are injured on the job‰??in Dastjerdi‰??s case, doing research for her dissertation?
A previous C&EN investigation found that the answer is far from clear in the US. Looking at Europe, using the UK and France as examples, C&EN finds that faculty and university administrators are confident that graduate students are better cared for. But the extent of that care depends on the student‰??s status, the institution‰??s insurance policy, and at times, the discretion of the school‰??s administration.
University accidents that are serious enough to require significant medical treatment or that result in a disability appear to be rare in those countries. ‰??The number of injuries we have that require hospitalization are like hens‰?? teeth,‰?? says Tim Gallagher, an emeritus professor and former head of the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol, in the UK. ‰??However, it would be quite hard to put an exact figure on it, and I‰??m not sure nationwide data like that exist in a centralized way,‰?? he says.
That sentiment is echoed by academics on the other side of the English Channel. ‰??I‰??ve seen a lab fire and something explode once, but it wasn‰??t an especially big problem. In my 30-year career, I‰??ve seen a few minor things, but no one has ever been seriously injured,‰?? says Clotilde Policar, dean of science studies at the Ì?cole normale supÌ©rieure, in France.
Nevertheless, as Dastjerdi‰??s story illustrates, graduate students should know what support they might‰??or might not‰??get if they are hurt in the lab.
---------------------------------------------
THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF SUSPECTED TOXIC DDT FOUND DUMPED IN CALIFORNIA OCEAN
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/27/up-to-25000-barrels-found-at-suspected-ddt-dump-off-california-say-scientists?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, toxics, waste
Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels possibly containing DDT dumped off the southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to the second world war has long been suspected.
The 27,345 ‰??barrel-like‰??‰?? images were captured by researchers at the University of California San Diego‰??s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They mapped more than 36,000 acres of seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles coast in a region previously found to contain high levels of the toxic chemical in sediments and in the ecosystem.
Historical shipping logs show that industrial companies in southern California used the basin as a dumping ground until 1972, when the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, was enacted.
Resting deep in the ocean, the exact location and extent of the dumping was not known until now.
The territory covered was ‰??staggering‰??, said Eric Terrill, chief scientist of the expedition and director of the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Underwater drones using sonar technology captured high-resolution images of barrels resting 900 metres (3,000ft) below the surface all along the steep seafloor that was surveyed. They also were seen beyond the dumpsite limits.
---------------------------------------------
REGULATORS MISSING POLLUTION‰??S EFFECT ON MARINE LIFE, STUDY FINDS
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/27/regulators-missing-pollutions-effect-on-marine-life-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
Increasing chemical and plastic pollution are ‰??significant‰?? contributors to the decline of fish and other aquatic organisms, yet their impact is being missed by regulators, according to a report by environmentalists.
The report, Aquatic Pollutants in Oceans and Fisheries, by the International Pollutants Elimination Network and the National Toxics Network, draws together scientific research on how pollution is adversely affecting the aquatic food chain. It catalogues the ‰??serious impacts‰?? of ‰??invisible killers‰?? such as persistent organic pollutants and excessive nutrients on the immunity, fertility, development and survivaL of aquatic animals.
In it, scientists argue the regulation of fisheries does not always take into account biologically or scientifically relevant data on all contributors to the health of fish populations, leading to a ‰??narrow view‰?? of declining numbers based on quota catch rates and efforts. ‰??Regulators have yet to grasp the impact of pollution,‰?? the report says.
‰??Many people think fish declines are just the result of overfishing,‰?? said Dr Matt Landos, the report‰??s co-author and a director of Future Fisheries Veterinary Service, a consultancy based in New South Wales, Australia. ‰??In fact, the entire aquatic food web has been seriously compromised, with fewer and fewer fish at the top, losses of invertebrates in the sediments and water column, less healthy marine algae, coral and other habitats, as well as a proliferation of bacteria and toxic algal blooms.‰??
---------------------------------------------
ONE INJURED AFTER CAR CRASHES INTO WESTERN MASS STORE
https://dailyvoice.com/massachusetts/the-berkshires/police-fire/one-injured-after-car-crashes-into-western-mass-store/807685/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
A Western Massachusetts business is still closed a day after a vehicle crashed into the building causing major damage to the inside of the store.
The incident took place in Hampden County at the Teddy Bear Pools & Spas at 41 East St., in Chicopee around Sunday, April 25, after the car crashed right into the building, leaving a hole and causing damage to the inside of the store, said Detective Donna Liszku of the Chicopee Police.
The female driver lost control of the vehicle and hit the building, Liszku said. The driver, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, was later arrested, police said.
Police did not have the charges the woman was arrested for.
Store owners said on Facebook the vehicle entered through the front window and traveled through the store, coming to rest in the lab area.
Hazmat was called due to the chemicals used for pool cleaning, Liszku said.
---------------------------------------------
ARMANITOLA CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE: 2 OWNERS ARRESTED
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/crime-and-law/armanitola-chemical-warehouse-fire-2-owners-arrested
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, fire, death, flammables
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Monday arrested two chemical warehouse owners from Bogura and Dhaka city in connection with a case filed over the blaze in old Dhaka's Armanitola Friday, reports UNB.
The arrestees are the owners of the warehouse from which the fire broke out and left five people dead.
Mostafizur Rahman, owner of Moin and Brothers, and Mohammad Mostafa, owner of RS Enterprise, illegally stored flammable items and chemicals, said RAB spokesperson assistant superintendent of police Imran Khan.
A special team comprising RAB intelligence and RAB-10 Battalion conducted a drive at Nandigram of Bagura at around 4am and arrested Mustafizur. Another team of the elite force carried out a raid in the city's Uttara-10 at around 5am and arrested Mustafa.
During preliminary interrogation, both the arrestees said they had been storing chemicals in their warehouses but did not have legal permission to do so.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL IN LINCOLN, HAZMAT AND DECONTAMINATION TEAMS ON SCENE
https://www.abc6.com/chemical-spill-in-lincoln-hazmat-and-decontamination-teams-on-scene/
Tags: us_RI, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
LINCOLN, R.I (WLNE) ‰?? The DEM and multiple fire departments responded to the ChemArt company in Lincoln where a spill occurred.
The spill happened during a regularly scheduled delivery of Hydrochloric Acid,
According to the DEM, 50 gallons of material was spilled into a containment area.
The building was quickly evacuated and the Woonsocket Hazmat, and North Providence Decontamination teams were on scene.
---------------------------------------------
INDIAN NATIONAL DIES AFTER INHALING CHEMICALS WHILE CLEANING TANKER
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/indian-national-dies-after-inhaling-chemicals-while-cleaning-tanker
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
JOHOR BAHRU (April 26): An Indian national died and a local man is in critical condition, after they were believed to have inhaled chemical residue while cleaning a tanker at a vehicle washing centre at Jalan Seri Perkasa 1/1, Taman Tampoi Indah here today.
Larkin Fire and Rescue station chief Deputy Fire Supt I Suhaimi Abdul Jamal said Magehindran, the worker killed was in his 40s, while the injured worker is S. Balamurali, 32.
He said 12 firefighters and a Fire Rescue Tender engine, an Emergency Rescue Medical Services (EMRS) vehicle and two Rapid Intervention Motorcycles were rushed to the scene after receiving an emergency call at 9.58am.
‰??As soon as they arrived, they found an unconscious victim and another man who was semi-conscious on top of an empty tanker.
‰??The tanker had previously carried Fatty Alcohol UN No.3082 which is widely used for detergents, and we believe that the victims inhaled the chemical residue as they were at the manhole of the tank,‰?? he said in a statement here today.
The Indian national was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other victim was currently being treated at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital here. Another local worker, S.Thangamali, 34, did not sustain any injuries.
Suhaimi added that members of the Hazardous Materials team also conducted checks to ensure that the area was safe.
---------------------------------------------
3 YEARS LATER: HUSKY REFINERY REBUILD, WAIT FOR FINAL REPORT CONTINUE
https://kbjr6.com/2021/04/26/3-years-later-husky-refinery-rebuild-wait-for-final-report-continues/
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
SUPERIOR, WI -- Three years after the explosions and fires, Superior's Husky Oil Refinery is still offline and the wait for a final report into exactly what happened that day continues.
The incident on April 26, 2018, injured dozens of people and forced much of the city to evacuate.
Preliminary reports show a faulty safety valve launched debris, punctured an asphalt storage tank, and led to additional fires.
However, the final report by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board hasn't been released.
Superior's Mayor acknowledged the safety updates Husky has included in its rebuild plan and said he doesn't believe the final report is needed to move forward with a safe rebuild.
However, he added, "it's critical that city leaders, emergency managers, and the community get the full story."
"This was a significant crisis. Probably the most severe the city has ever faced," Paine said. "And an important part of healing, and moving on and building a safer community is knowing the entire story and that's what the investigation is supposed to provide us."
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NO INJURIES FROM CLINT CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE CAUSING HEAVY SMOKE
https://kvia.com/news/el-paso/2021/04/26/no-injuries-from-chemical-plant-blaze-in-clint-that-caused-heavy-smoke/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CLINT, Texas -- Firefighters battled a blaze at a chemical factory late Monday afternoon in the Clint area of El Paso County.
The fire broke out at TR Chemicals at 700 Celum Road, the entrance to which was blocked off by sheriff's deputies. Thick, black smoke from the fire was highly visible near San Elizario Road and North Loop.
Homeowners living nearby the plant said they heard a loud boom that sounded like an explosion as the flames erupted. Fire crews indicated it appeared a semi-truck at the factory caught fire.
There were no reports of any injuries from the blaze, which was eventually contained by firefighters.
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Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Membership Chair
American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Health and Safety
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
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