Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, September 3, 2021 at 6:29:40 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 (15 articles)
NEW INFO: ONE HURT IN CHEMICAL LEAK OUTSIDE OF WAUSAU
Tags: us_WI, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
4 KILLED WHEN A JET CRASHES INTO A BUILDING IN CONNECTICUT
Tags: us_CT, transportation, fire, death, unknown_chemical
ONGOING EMERGENCY RESPONSE FOR UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE SPILL IN FLAT ROCK
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, unknown_chemical, gasoline
SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT SENT TO POSSIBLE OIL SPILL REPORTED IN WAKE OF IDA
Tags: us_LA, industrial, release, response, oils, petroleum
CREWS ON SCENE OF HAZMAT FIRE IN DUNDALK ‰?? CBS BALTIMORE
Tags: us_MD, industrial, fire, response, magnesium
SPRINKLER KEEPS OVEN FIRE UNDER CONTROL AT UW-MADISON WISCONSIN ENERGY INSTITUTE, AUTHORITIES SAY
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, fire, response, fire_extinguisher
'TAKE COVER' LIFTED AT HANFORD SITE AFTER APPARENT ODORS
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
LACK OF POWER HINDERS ASSESSMENT OF TOXIC POLLUTION CAUSED BY IDA
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, flammables
KEEPING AN EYE ON ROCK RIVER AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
LARGE CHEMICAL SPILL CLEAN UP UNDERWAY IN WELLINGTON
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, response, chlorine_dioxide
FIRE AT LEAMINGTON SPA PLASTICS FACILITY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, plastics, urethane
CREWS SLOWLY VACUUM PLASTIC POWDER NEAR ZEELAND PLANT
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, environmental, plastics
PASADENA AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING CHEMICAL LEAK AT IDC WAREHOUSE ON BAY PARK ROAD
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
USE OF 3-DIMENSIONAL PRINTERS IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS: THE NEED FOR AWARENESS OF THE EFFECTS OF PRINTER TEMPERATURE AND FILAMENT TYPE ON CONTAMINANT RELEASES
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, acrylonitrile, plastics, styrene
EXPERIMENT AND SIMULATIONS FOR THE THERMAL SAFETY OF THE NITRATION REACTION LIQUID OF THE FINAL STATE IN THE SYNTHESIS PROCESS OF N-NITRODIHYDROXYETHYL DINITRATE (DINA)
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, magnesium, nitric_acid
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NEW INFO: ONE HURT IN CHEMICAL LEAK OUTSIDE OF WAUSAU
https://www.wsaw.com/2021/09/02/breaking-news-hazmat-team-scene-incident-town-stettin/
Tags: us_WI, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
TOWN OF STETTIN, Wis. (WSAW) -
Sherifff‰??s deputies tell NewsChannel 7 one person was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries after a chemical leak outside of Wausau.
Multiple fire departments and the Hazmat team were called to the Central Transport, a shipping company just after 5:30 with the report of a leak from a 250-gallon drum.
It was stopped and there‰??s no danger to the public, according to deputies. The scene has been contained to the building and parking lot.
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4 KILLED WHEN A JET CRASHES INTO A BUILDING IN CONNECTICUT
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/02/1033787070/jet-crash-connecticut-building-four-killed
Tags: us_CT, transportation, fire, death, unknown_chemical
A small jet crashed shortly after taking off from a small airport in Connecticut on Thursday morning, killing all four people aboard, officials said.
The jet took off just before 10 a.m. from the Robertson Airport before crashing into the building at Trumpf Inc., a manufacturing company, Farmington Police Lt. Tim McKenzie said.
"It appears there was some type of mechanical failure during the takeoff sequence that resulted in the crash behind us," he said.
The plane, a Cessna Citation 560X, was headed to Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Two pilots and two passengers were killed, McKenzie said. Their names were not immediately released.
The crash set off chemical fires inside the Trumpf building, Gov. Ned Lamont said. Everybody who was in the building has been accounted for, with two employees suffering injuries the company said were not serious, according to officials.
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ONGOING EMERGENCY RESPONSE FOR UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE SPILL IN FLAT ROCK
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2021/09/02/flat-rock-unknown-substance-spill-emergency-decalred/5705402001/
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, unknown_chemical, gasoline
Federal, state and local personnel are responding to an apparent spill of an unknown chemical in the Flat Rock sanitary sewer system.
Wayne County Chief Executive Officer Warren C. Evans on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in Wayne County over the spill, seeking emergency assistance from the state and federal government.
Evans noted that the odors were first detected in the sanitary sewer system on Monday, and spread to homes in and around the Hickory Ridge subdivision, in a southeastern portion of the city south of Gibraltar Road. On Tuesday, the odor was detected by city personnel at a sanitary sewer lift station.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, and Downriver, Western Wayne and Washtenaw hazardous materials response teams have all converged in the city. The exact substance spilled, where it came from and how much spilled have still not been determined.
"My sense is that it's gasoline," said Flat Rock Mayor Mark Hammond, who is retired from 25 years as a firefighter at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
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SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT SENT TO POSSIBLE OIL SPILL REPORTED IN WAKE OF IDA
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-09-02/us-epa-responds-to-report-of-oil-spill-after-ida-by-activating-special-aircraft
Tags: us_LA, industrial, release, response, oils, petroleum
(Reuters) -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it has dispatched a surveillance aircraft to an area in Louisiana hard hit by Hurricane Ida that includes a refinery where an apparent oil spill has been reported.
The aircraft dispatched from Texas will gather data on the Phillips 66 refinery and other priority sites, an EPA spokesman told Reuters.
"EPA's ASPECT aircraft ‰?? the Agency's airborne real-time chemical and radiological detection, infrared and photographic imagery platform ‰?? has been activated to support the state of Louisiana," the spokesman said.
Phillips 66 said earlier that flooding had occurred at its Alliance Refinery and a sheen of unknown origin in some flooded areas of the refinery had been discovered.
"At this time, the sheen appears to be secured and contained within refinery grounds. Clean-up crews are on site. The incident was reported to the appropriate regulatory agencies upon discovery", the company said.
"A full post-storm assessment remains underway at the refinery. An investigation into the cause/origin of the sheen will be conducted. The refinery remains shut down", it added.
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CREWS ON SCENE OF HAZMAT FIRE IN DUNDALK ‰?? CBS BALTIMORE
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2021/09/01/crews-on-scene-of-hazmat-fire-in-dundalk/
Tags: us_MD, industrial, fire, response, magnesium
DUNDALK, Md. (WJZ) ‰?? Crews are on the scene of a hazmat fire in Dundalk.
Officials are reporting that crews are currently working on the scene of a large pile of magnesium burning outside of a building in the 2300 block of Grays Road.
There are no reported injuries at this time.
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SPRINKLER KEEPS OVEN FIRE UNDER CONTROL AT UW-MADISON WISCONSIN ENERGY INSTITUTE, AUTHORITIES SAY
https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/sprinkler-keeps-oven-fire-under-control-at-uw-madison-wisconsin-energy-institute-authorities-say/article_bb5008c4-6342-537c-8194-65fcdbbb5905.html
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, fire, response, fire_extinguisher
sprinkler kept an oven fire under control at the UW-Madison Wisconsin Energy Institute on Tuesday until fire crews arrived to put it out, authorities reported.
Fire crews were sent to the building in the 1500 block of University Avenue at 1:20 p.m. and arrived at 1:24 p.m. to find no smoke or fire showing from the five-story building, though people were evacuating, Madison Fire Department spokesperson Cynthia Schuster said in a statement.
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A building manager told firefighters there was a fire in an autoclave room, prompting Engine 4 to upgrade the call to a full structure fire response, and additional fire crews were sent, Schuster said.
As the other crews responded, Engine 4 went to the autoclave room, where a fire sprinkler above an oven kept a fire at bay. The oven was open, and a small amount of fire continued to burn inside. Firefighters extinguished that fire with a water can extinguisher, Medic 4 shut down the sprinkler system, and Ladder 1 assisted with ventilation, Schuster said.
The investigation determined that some plastic items that normally are cleaned in an autoclave, but are not oven-safe, were accidentally placed in the oven. Someone working in the lab noticed smoke coming from the room, and when they opened the oven to check on it, incoming oxygen fueled the fire and caused it to flare up. Attempts to put out the fire with a dry chemical extinguisher failed, and the fire alarm was pulled to prompt a building evacuation, Schuster said.
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'TAKE COVER' LIFTED AT HANFORD SITE AFTER APPARENT ODORS
https://komonews.com/news/local/odors-at-hanford-site-prompts-take-cover-for-many-employees
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
[UPDATE 1:15 PM] -- The 'Take Cover' order has been lifted for all employees at the Hanford site after crews investigating reports of odors near the REDOX facility have found no evidence of radiation or a chemical release near the area.
The take cover that was initiated in the 200 West Area near the center of the Hanford Site has now been lifted for all personnel. No injuries as a result of the occurrence were reported.
------------------
HANFORD -- A spokesperson with the Department of Energy at Hanford confirms that a 'take cover' has been issued for workers in the 200 West Area at Hanford after odors were detected.
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LACK OF POWER HINDERS ASSESSMENT OF TOXIC POLLUTION CAUSED BY IDA
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/climate/hurricane-ida-toxic-pollution.html
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, flammables
A fertilizer plant battered by Hurricane Ida belched highly toxic anhydrous ammonia into the air. Two damaged gas pipelines leaked isobutane and propylene, flammable chemicals that are hazardous to human health. And a plastic plant that lost power in the storm‰??s aftermath is emitting ethylene dichloride, yet another toxic substance.
Early incident reports filed with the federal authorities are starting to paint a clearer picture of the damage wrought by the hurricane to Louisiana‰??s industrial corridor, complicating relief efforts and adding to the conditions that make it perilous for residents to return.
Stay up-to-dateRead the latest updates on Hurricane Ida and its aftermath.
An analysis of facility records and power outage data shows that at least 138 industrial sites that handle large amounts of hazardous substances are in and around parishes that have completely lost power, forcing facilities to rely on precarious backup power systems. Hurricane Harvey, which brought torrential rain to parts of Texas in 2017, knocked out cooling power at a chemical plant outside Houston, triggering a series of explosions that injured emergency workers and prompted a local evacuation.
Local officials were still assessing the full extent of the damage. But adding to the uncertainty, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality warned that more than a third of its ambient monitoring sites had stopped working, primarily because of power outages. And some sites, like the Valero Refinery in St. Bernard Parish, said they had shut down their air monitors ahead of the storm to protect the equipment.
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KEEPING AN EYE ON ROCK RIVER AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-news/2021-09-01/keeping-an-eye-on-rock-river-after-chemical-fire
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
Months after the fire at the Chemtool facility in Rockton, Illinois, people in the community and beyond have been left trying to make sense of its effect on the environment ‰?? specifically the Rock River. It flows directly adjacent to the site of the weeks-long chemical fire.
Sanjay Sofat with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency‰??s Bureau of Water said that five days of testing in the Rock River between June 15th and the 19th showed a range of different contaminants present in the Rock River.
‰??When we went out there, we were aware of an incident that the firefighting foam had gotten into the river,‰?? said Sofat. ‰??So we went straight to that point, we took sample and of course, we found that PFAS, was present."
Sofat is referring to an incident early on in the firefighting operation. Lubrizol, the company that owns Chemtool, hired US Fire Pump, an industrial firefighting company. Its crew sprayed a mixture of 3,200 gallons of a PFAS based firefighting foam concentrate and more than 70,000 gallons of water over the Chemtool fire for about three hours.
PFAS are typically referred to as ‰??forever chemicals.‰?? PFAS is also shorthand for a family of some 5,000 synthesized chemicals that are manufactured at scale for their resistance to oil and water.
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LARGE CHEMICAL SPILL CLEAN UP UNDERWAY IN WELLINGTON
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/large-chemical-spill-clean-up-underway-in-wellington
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, response, chlorine_dioxide
Nine Fire and Emergency appliances were sent to deal with the spill in Ngauranga on Thursday morning after they were alerted to the situation at 9.45am.
It's understood around 200 litres of chlorine dioxide spilled inside a commercial building on Centennial Highway, Ngauranga.
FENZ Central shift manager Belinda Beets confirmed the spill has been ‰??isolated, contained, made safe and flushed‰??, and there is no environmental risk.
FENZ confirmed the building was evacuated, and there are no reports of any injuries.
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FIRE AT LEAMINGTON SPA PLASTICS FACILITY
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/fire-at-leamington-spa-plastics-facility/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, plastics, urethane
A FIRE and subsequent explosions occurred at a plastics facility in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, UK on 27 August. One worker is still unaccounted for.
The fire started at around 10:30 local time at Leeson Polyurethanes facility in Tachbrook Park in Leamington Spa. The business park is surrounded by residential areas. Several explosions occurred as a result of the fire. No injuries were reported but one employee remains missing.
Local residents reported on social media groups that there was a strong chemical smell in the area and that some people were vomiting in the streets. A huge plume of black plume could be seen from at least 20 km away. A video from The Guardian shows the extent of the fire.
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CREWS SLOWLY VACUUM PLASTIC POWDER NEAR ZEELAND PLANT
https://www.woodtv.com/news/ottawa-county/crews-clean-up-chemical-spill-at-zeeland-plant/
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, environmental, plastics
ZEELAND, Mich. (WOOD) ‰?? Crews painstakingly worked to clean up the release of a plastic powder outside a plant in Zeeland Tuesday.
The spill at the plant on Centennial Street north of E. Washington Avenue was reported shortly after 9 a.m. Ottawa County Emergency Management Director Lou Hunt told News 8 said the pulverized copolymer ‰?? essentially a fine plastic ‰?? was released when a valve blew and dispersed west and north of the plant.
Crews will need to vacuum the plastic up, a laborious process stretching into the evening.
‰??There‰??s multiple companies that are coming in, some local, even some out of the area. They will be coming in to take all of that chemical away,‰?? Hunt said.
There was not any immediate threat to the public. People may notice a fine white powder on their car or property but a small amount is not dangerous.
‰??If there‰??s any risk, it would be to stir it up significantly and to breathe it in. All of it right now is on the ground, on roofs, on tops of cars,‰?? Hunt said.
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PASADENA AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING CHEMICAL LEAK AT IDC WAREHOUSE ON BAY PARK ROAD
https://abc13.com/idc-warehouse-chemical-leak-pasadena-shelter-in-place/10990744/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- Residents in Pasadena were under a brief shelter-in-place order as authorities responded to a chemical release at a warehouse. Now, the cause is under investigation.
According to an alert issued by Community Awareness Emergency Response, or CAER, the leak happened shortly after noon on Tuesday at the IDC Warehouse on Bay Park Road, just south of Fairmont Parkway.
People who live near the area were asked to stay at home as a precautionary measure.
According to the company's website, the facility offers various warehouse services, including chemical storage.
The type of chemical that was leaked wasn't immediately disclosed.
The latest chemical incident in east Harris County comes a month after two workers were killed and dozens were injured in a deadly chemical release at the LyondellBasell plant in La Porte.
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USE OF 3-DIMENSIONAL PRINTERS IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS: THE NEED FOR AWARENESS OF THE EFFECTS OF PRINTER TEMPERATURE AND FILAMENT TYPE ON CONTAMINANT RELEASES
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chas.1c00041
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, acrylonitrile, plastics, styrene
Material extrusion-type fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3-D printing is a valuable tool for education. During FFF 3-D printing, thermal degradation of the polymer releases small particles and chemicals, many of which are hazardous to human health. In this study, particle and chemical emissions from 10 different filaments made from virgin (never printed) and recycled polymers were used to print the same object at the polymer manufacturer‰??s recommended nozzle temperature (‰??normal‰??) and at a temperature higher than recommended (‰??hot‰??) to simulate the real-world scenarios of a person intentionally or unknowingly printing on a machine with a changed setting. Emissions were evaluated in a college teaching laboratory using standard sampling and analytical methods. From mobility sizer measurements, particle number-based emission rates were 81 times higher; the proportion of ultrafine particles (diameter <100 nm) were 4% higher, and median particle sizes were a factor o!
f 2 smaller for hot-temperature prints compared with normal-temperature prints (all p-values <0.05). There was no difference in emission characteristics between recycled and virgin acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polylactic acid polymer filaments. Reducing contaminant release from FFF 3-D printers in educational settings can be achieved using the hierarchy of controls: (1) elimination/substitution (e.g., training students on principles of prevention-through-design, limiting the use of higher emitting polymer when possible); (2) engineering controls (e.g., using local exhaust ventilation to directly remove contaminants at the printer or isolating the printer from students); (3) administrative controls such as password protecting printer settings and establishing and enforcing adherence to a standard operating procedure based on a proper risk assessment for the setup and use (e.g., limiting the use of temperatures higher than those specified for the filaments used); an!
d (4) maintenance of printers.
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EXPERIMENT AND SIMULATIONS FOR THE THERMAL SAFETY OF THE NITRATION REACTION LIQUID OF THE FINAL STATE IN THE SYNTHESIS PROCESS OF N-NITRODIHYDROXYETHYL DINITRATE (DINA)
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.1c00172
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, magnesium, nitric_acid
In the synthesis process of N-nitrodihydroxyethyl dinitrate (DINA) with the HNO3‰??Mg(NO3)2 method, the thermal stability of the nitration reaction liquid of the final state is poor, which leads to the thermal runaway of the entire reaction system easily. The research on the thermal runaway reaction under actual reaction conditions indicates high consumption and high risk. In this article, thermal decomposition behavior and isothermal thermal decomposition kinetics of the nitration reaction liquid of the final state in the synthesis process of DINA were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and microcalorimetry. The mechanism of the stability of the nitration reaction liquid was explored. The thermal safety of the material in a large-scale reactor was simulated and predicted by a thermal simulation software on the basis of kinetic parameters including activation energy, pre-exponential factors, and mechanistic functions. These findings not only avoid the ri!
sk and consumption of large-size materials but also guide their application in process optimization, inherent safety design, and handling.
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Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Membership Chair
American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Health and Safety
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