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From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2021 06:59:28 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: B8F918D3-95D1-464A-9FAB-DE38D910BDF2**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, October 25, 2021 at 6:59:15 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)
LABORATORY BLAST KILLS 2 AND INJURES 9 AT CHINA‰??S TOP AEROSPACE UNIVERSITY
Tags: China, laboratory, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL DISASTER: UPL HUNKERS DOWN IN ‰??RIGHT TO SILE...
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, follow-up, environmental, phosphorus, toxics
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS BURNING ABOARD CONTAINER SHIP ANCHORED OFF SOUTHERN B.C.
Tags: Canada, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical
CHEMICAL LEAK AT SEOUL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SITE KILLS 2
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, release, death, carbon_dioxide, fire_extinguisher
BREAKING BUDGET: COSTLY REPAIRS OF CHEMISTRY LAB AT HENDERSON ‰?? ORACLE ONLINE
Tags: us_AR, public, follow-up, environmental, clandestine_lab, toxics
TWO CONTAINERS OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AMONG 40 THAT WENT OVERBOARD NEAR VANCOUVER ISLAND
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
SIXTEEN PEOPLE DEAD FOLLOWING BLAST AT RUSSIAN GUNPOWDER FACTORY
Tags: Russia, industrial, explosion, death, explosives
CREWS RESPOND TO FIRE AT WESTLAKE CHEMICAL PLANT IN COPIAH COUNTY
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
MIXTURE OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN WOBURN PROMPTS LARGE RESPONSE FROM STATE, LOCAL OFFICALS ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
LIMONENE IN CITRUS: A STRING OF UNCHECKED LITERATURE CITINGS?
Tags: Norway, education, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
STUDY: RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS REACHED NEIGHBORHOODS NEAR SANTA SUSANA FIELD LAB DURING WOOLSEY FIRE ‰?? DAILY NEWS
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, dust, radiation
FDA CHASTISES THREE US FIRMS FOR IGNORING RECORD REQUESTS, INADEQUATE CMO OVERSIGHT, AND SHODDY RESP
Tags: us_MO, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, fire_extinguisher, pharmaceutical
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LABORATORY BLAST KILLS 2 AND INJURES 9 AT CHINA‰??S TOP AEROSPACE UNIVERSITY
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3153527/laboratory-blast-kills-2-and-injures-9-chinas-top-aerospace
Tags: China, laboratory, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
Two people were killed and nine injured in a laboratory explosion at China‰??s top national aerospace university on Sunday.
The explosion happened shortly before 4pm at the Jiangjun Road campus of the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, known as the cradle of the country‰??s cutting-edge aerospace technology.
‰??Two people died and nine were injured. The reason for the explosion is under investigation and rescue work has ended,‰?? the city‰??s fire service said on its official Weibo page.
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CHEMICAL DISASTER: UPL HUNKERS DOWN IN ‰??RIGHT TO SILE...
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-10-24-chemical-disaster-upl-hunkers-down-in-right-to-silence-legal-trench/
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, follow-up, environmental, phosphorus, toxics
United Phosphorus Limited has taken refuge behind a legal laager, refusing to disclose a raft of regulatory and safety documentation to Durban residents. It has also refused to fund or to take part in a new public forum to access more information about the Cornubia chemical disaster.
United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) and its media consultants ventured out to the frontline of public opinion last week, but very soon the company beat a hasty retreat to its legal redoubt where it invoked its ‰??right to silence‰?? and the ‰??right against self-incrimination‰??.
The UPL media offensive began on Wednesday, 20 October when the company issued another public statement calling on the eThekwini municipality to reopen several beaches that have been closed for three months after a cocktail of toxic chemicals poured into the sea from its chemical warehouse inferno.
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HAZARDOUS MATERIALS BURNING ABOARD CONTAINER SHIP ANCHORED OFF SOUTHERN B.C.
https://www.dawsoncreekmirror.ca/national-news/hazardous-materials-burning-aboard-container-ship-anchored-off-southern-bc-4545446
Tags: Canada, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical
VICTORIA ‰?? The Canadian Coast Guard says a fire is continuing to burn in several containers aboard a cargo ship about eight kilometres off the coast of Victoria.
The Coast Guard says in a release that it received word late Saturday morning that a fire had broken out in 10 damaged containers aboard the MV Zim Kingston, which is now anchored in Constance Bank, and that two of the burning containers contain hazardous material identified as potassium amylxanthate.
The release notes that the ship itself is not on fire, but says an emergency zone has been set up for one nautical mile around the Zim Kingston, adding there is currently no safety risk to people on shore.
The Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre in Victoria says 16 crewmembers have been safely taken off the ship, while five others, including the captain, remain on board at their own behest.
Canadian Coast Guard spokeswoman Michelle Imbeau says an Incident Command Post led by the Coast Guard on behalf of the federal and B.C. government's, as well as First Nations representatives, is coordinating a
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CHEMICAL LEAK AT SEOUL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SITE KILLS 2
https://www.5dariyanews.com/news/346353-Chemical-leak-at-Seoul-building-construction-site-kills-2
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, release, death, carbon_dioxide, fire_extinguisher
A chemical used for fire suppression leaked from the basement of a high-rise building under construction in Seoul on Saturday, left two workers dead and nine others injured, firefighters said.The fatal chemical leak occurred on the third basement floor of the 18-storey Gasan Metro Knowledge Industry Centre building under construction in the capital's southwestern ward of Geumcheon shortly before 9 a.m., Yonhap News Agency quoted the firefighters as saying.Two male workers aged 50 and 45, were rushed to a nearby hospital after the chemical leak but pronounced dead later, they said.Two other workers suffered serious respiratory tract injuries, while seven others sustained minor injuries and are being treated at the hospital.The workers were reportedly insulating boilers and firefighting facilities when a facility that stores some fire extinguishing agents containing carbon dioxide was damaged, leading to the chemical leak.Fifty-two people were working at the site at the time o!
f the accident, and all but the 11 people evacuated the area.Firefighters and police said they plan to investigate the exact cause of the accident as soon as all the rescue operations are completed.
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BREAKING BUDGET: COSTLY REPAIRS OF CHEMISTRY LAB AT HENDERSON ‰?? ORACLE ONLINE
https://hsuoracle.com/15298/news/breaking-budget-costly-repairs-of-chemistry-lab-at-henderson/
Tags: us_AR, public, follow-up, environmental, clandestine_lab, toxics
It was two years ago this month, when professors Terry David Bateman and Bradley Rowland allegedly spilled benzyl chloride in the process of manufacturing methamphetamine in a laboratory on the third floor of Henderson State‰??s Donald W. Reynolds Science Center. What would follow was a national news circus that made HSU the setup to countless obvious joking references to the 2008-2013 television drama series ‰??Breaking Bad‰??.
At time of writing, the dust has quite literally settled in the lab space of room 304, now cleaned of toxic chemicals and used as a storage room for old furniture. Where once was a fume hood there is a black garbage bag, puffing up whenever the air conditioner kicks on.
Ingo Schranz, a professor in the Chemistry department whose office is just next to the now gutted room 304, said to The Oracle that while the department is able to manage without for the time being, the emptying of that lab and another nearby room has put considerable strain on himself and his colleagues.
‰??In my opinion, this is a temporary solution,‰?? said Schranz on Friday. ‰??What we lack the most is a storeroom manager and hygiene officer. Preparing reagents, setting up weekly labs, cleaning lab spaces in addition to finding and ordering chemicals is consuming a lot of time that we could spend working with students.‰??
A story by Debra Hale-Shelton and Benjamin Hardy for the Arkansas Non-Profit News Network published in the Magnolia Reporter claims the cost to clean up and repair the room only to its current state was $149,917. Now, a university shackled by financial dire straits experiencing record low enrollment amidst a global pandemic and legal controversy faces the possibility that these labs may never be in use again due to the sheer cost to restore.
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TWO CONTAINERS OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AMONG 40 THAT WENT OVERBOARD NEAR VANCOUVER ISLAND
https://vancouversun.com/news/two-containers-of-hazardous-materials-among-40-that-went-overboard-near-vancouver-island
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
Dozens of shipping containers, at least two of them containing hazardous materials, were dumped into Canadian waters early Friday morning when a ship en route to Vancouver lost some of its load.
After a report to Canada‰??s and U.S. Coast Guard, crews from both agencies have been working to locate the containers. At 10 a.m., a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter located 35 of the containers 60 kilometres off Vancouver Island, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Diolanda Caballero.
‰??Two of the containers have been identified as carrying spontaneous combustibles,‰?? said Caballeros, in this case, flammable metals and compounds that burn quickly and are hard to extinguish by water.
‰??They are currently drifting north but we can‰??t predict which way they will go because of the heavy weather. The bomb cyclone (storm) is around that area,‰?? she said.
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SIXTEEN PEOPLE DEAD FOLLOWING BLAST AT RUSSIAN GUNPOWDER FACTORY
https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/22/at-least-seven-people-dead-following-blast-at-russian-gunpowder-factory
Tags: Russia, industrial, explosion, death, explosives
An explosion and fire at a gunpowder factory in Russia has killed at least sixteen people, regional officials said.
A fire broke out at the factory in the Ryazan region after a "technological process", according to Russia's Emergency Ministry.
Seven people were initially reported to have been killed but the death toll rose to sixteen later on Friday morning. One other person was seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
The explosion occurred in the village of Lesnoy in Shilovsky District, about 270 kilometres southeast of Moscow.
Images from the scene showed smoke billowing over a partially blown-out building and charred debris.
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CREWS RESPOND TO FIRE AT WESTLAKE CHEMICAL PLANT IN COPIAH COUNTY
https://www.wjtv.com/news/local/crews-respond-to-fire-at-westlake-chemical-plant-in-copiah-county/
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
COPIAH COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) ‰?? Firefighters in Copiah and Lincoln counties responded to a fire at Westlake Chemical plant near Gallman.
The Daily Leader reported the fire started Friday morning and parts of Highway 51 were closed due to the fire and emergency response.
Officials reported the fire was on the third and fourth floor at two towers of the plant. Crews said six to eight people were on the floors when the fire started, and they were safely evacuated.
Crews also evacuated the entire plant. No injuries have been reported.
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MIXTURE OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN WOBURN PROMPTS LARGE RESPONSE FROM STATE, LOCAL OFFICALS ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
https://whdh.com/news/mixture-of-dangerous-chemicals-in-woburn-prompts-large-response-from-state-local-officals/
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
WOBURN, MASS. (WHDH) - Fire crews are responding to a dangerous chemical incident in Woburn, officials said.
Crews were called to Roessler Road Friday night for an incident involving furfuryl alcohol and decided to elevate the response level from Tier 2 to Tier 3.
State fire officials say the accidental mixture caused a chemical reaction and the building had to be evacuated.
Despite the high risk, no injuries have been reported.
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LIMONENE IN CITRUS: A STRING OF UNCHECKED LITERATURE CITINGS?
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00363
Tags: Norway, education, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
In organic chemistry textbooks (S)-(‰??)-limonene, (‰??)-limonene or l-limonene, is often given credit for the smell of lemons, while the R-analogue, (+)-limonene or d-limonene, is credited with that of oranges. Results from two odor tests revealed that few persons in the test associated (R)-(+)-limonene with oranges and (S)-(‰??)-limonene with lemons, when these compounds were of analytical grade. Quality and composition of standard compounds and mixtures used in these olfactory tests were corroborated by gas chromatographic analyses. The statement of (R)-(+)-limonene being responsible for orange odor and (S)-(‰??)-limonene for the lemon odor apparently stems from an often quoted article from 1971. This investigation was a lesson for both our students and us. Textbooks in organic chemistry that still promote (R)-(+)- and (S)-(‰??)-limonene as, respectively, the ‰??orange‰?? and ‰??lemon‰?? smell ingredient should be corrected.
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STUDY: RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS REACHED NEIGHBORHOODS NEAR SANTA SUSANA FIELD LAB DURING WOOLSEY FIRE ‰?? DAILY NEWS
https://www.dailynews.com/2021/10/21/study-radioactive-elements-reached-neighborhoods-near-santa-susana-field-lab-during-woolsey-fire/
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, dust, radiation
Highly contaminated radioactive particles traveled to residential neighborhoods from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory during the 2018 Woolsey Fire, according to a new study.
The peer-reviewed study called ‰??Radioactive microparticles related to the Woolsey Fire in Simi Valley, CA‰?? was spearheaded by Marco Kaltofen of the Dept. of Physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, who examined radiation risks following the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan and Maggie and Arnie Gunderson of Fairewinds Energy Education.
The study examined 360 samples of household dust, surface soils, and ash from 150 homes as well as other locations collected in the weeks following the Woolsey Fire and found that while most samples were at normal levels ‰??some ashes and dusts collected from the Woolsey Fire zone in the fire‰??s immediate aftermath contained high activities of radioactive isotopes associated with the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.‰??
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FDA CHASTISES THREE US FIRMS FOR IGNORING RECORD REQUESTS, INADEQUATE CMO OVERSIGHT, AND SHODDY RESP
https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2021/10/fda-chastises-three-us-firms-for-ignoring-record-r
Tags: us_MO, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, fire_extinguisher, pharmaceutical
FDA‰??s 30 September warning letter to Marcus Research Laboratory found ‰??significant deviations from current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) violations for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)‰?? in its manufacturing of povidone iodine (PVP-I) used for presurgical preparations. The warning letter followed inspections conducted in May.
The firm failed to adequately investigate the effect of temperature excursions on the quality of an API following a fire and use of an extinguisher.
During production, personnel observed PVP-I in a reactor cabinet that was ‰??smoldering‰?? and responded to an ‰??imminent fire‰?? by using a fire extinguisher. The API was subjected to ‰??inconsistent temperature exposure and additional processing and hold times.‰?? Yet the firm only tested the affected drums to determine the amount of iodine that was still present in the material and released them for further processing.
A similar situation occurred in August 2020 when production personnel observed a ‰??smoking‰?? reactor cabinet in the facility. Production stopped and the materials were ‰??held in unknown conditions,‰?? according to the letter. ‰??Your firm again, solely tested the affected drums of material for percent available iodine and released them for further processing‰?? after this second incident, noted FDA.
‰??In both instances, your firm created deviation reports but released drugs based solely on composite results of percent available iodine,‰?? wrote the agency. ‰??Your drugs were exposed to excess heat, fire, smoke, and debris. Additional contaminants or other particulates from the use of the fire extinguisher may have also compromised the material.‰??
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