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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, February 14, 2022 at 6:37:06 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 (10 articles)
ACCIDENT ON I-64 EAST IN GREENBRIER COUNTY INVOLVING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Tags: us_WV, transportation, release, injury, sulphur
UPL CHEMICAL DISASTER: SMOKE PLUME'S TOXIC COCKTAIL OF...
Tags: South_Africa, public, follow-up, environmental, bromine, cyanide, nitrogen_dioxide, pesticides, sulfur_dioxide
EP.90 DOES FORMAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT DISPLACE OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE?
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental
TIGHTEN PARTICULATE LIMIT, ADVISERS TO US EPA SAY IN DRAFT REPORT
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, dust
POSSIBLE CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING SENDS 8 NAVARRO PHARMACY WORKERS TO MIAMI HOSPITALS
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
THREE WORKERS DEAD AFTER INHALING TOXIC FUMES AT GUJARAT CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: India, industrial, release, death, other_chemical
KCCI INVESTIGATES: OSHA VIOLATIONS FOUND AFTER CHEMICAL SPILLS AT FEDEX FREIGHT IN DES MOINES, IOWA
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CATEGORY THREE FIRE AT CHEMICAL FACTORY CAUSES PANIC IN MEHRAN TOWN
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
REUSABLE PLASTIC BOTTLES RELEASE HUNDREDS OF CHEMICALS -- SCIENCEDAILY
Tags: Denmark, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
EPA AXES PENTACHLOROPHENOL WOOD PRESERVATIVE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, illegal, pesticides
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ACCIDENT ON I-64 EAST IN GREENBRIER COUNTY INVOLVING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
https://www.wvnstv.com/news/accident-on-i-64-east-in-greenbrier-county-involving-hazardous-materials/
Tags: us_WV, transportation, release, injury, sulphur
2/13/22 7:30 p.m. update: The Greenbrier County Sheriff's Department released a statement regarding the crash on Interstate 64 East in Greenbrier County.
They say the call came in around 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, February 13, 2022, near mile marker 176.
On scene, first responders found a tractor-trailer carrying hazardous materials that went off the roadway and over the embankment as well as a passenger car against the guardrail. The drivers of both vehicles were taken to the hospital where their current conditions are unknown.
The interstate from Exit 175 eastbound is expected to be closed through the night as a hazardous materials team and towing services recover the tractor-trailer. There is no danger to the public from the material that was being transported by the tractor-trailer. Traffic is being routed via US Route 60 east.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (WVNS)- I-64 East is shut down due to a motor vehicle accident that involves hazardous materials.
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UPL CHEMICAL DISASTER: SMOKE PLUME'S TOXIC COCKTAIL OF...
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-02-13-upl-cornubia-catastrophe-highly-toxic-cocktail-of-chemicals-in-smoke-plume-finally-identified/
Tags: South_Africa, public, follow-up, environmental, bromine, cyanide, nitrogen_dioxide, pesticides, sulfur_dioxide
Seven months after a chemical warehouse in Durban was set alight, residents finally have some answers about what chemicals they inhaled.
For months, residents of Durban have been pleading to know which toxic chemicals they were exposed to when the UPL chemical warehouse was set alight during the July 2021 unrest.
Now, finally, they have some answers.
The UPL warehouse in Cornubia was storing up to 19,000 tons of pesticides. At about midnight on 13 July 2021, the building was torched as part of the ongoing violence in KwaZulu-Natal.
In the days that followed, a toxic soup of chemicals flowed into the Ohlanga River, turning the Umhlanga Lagoon a luminous turquoise and killing thousands of fish. The fire also blanketed northern Durban in acrid smoke for more than a week, leaving residents struggling to breathe and with few answers about what was in the air.
Last week, the provincial government finally released an atmospheric impact report, commissioned as part of the mammoth clean-up of the chemical disaster.
The report, produced by Airshed Planning Professionals in Midrand, identifies 62 chemicals that were likely present in the smoke, the 'most significant' being hydrogen cyanide, hydrochloric acid and bromine, as well as pollutants more commonly associated with coal power plants: SO2, NO2 and PM.
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EP.90 DOES FORMAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT DISPLACE OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE?
https://safetyofwork.com/episodes/ep90-does-formal-safety-management-displace-operational-knowledge
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental
EPISODE SUMMARY
Our discussion today centers around a 2014 paper by a group of Norwegian academics (Almklov, Rosness, & StÌürkersen) entitled 'When safety science meets the practitioners: Does safety science contribute to marginalization of practical knowledge?' From the Journal of Safety Science, 67, 25-36.
EPISODE NOTES
An excerpt from the paper's abstract reads as follows: The proposition is based on theory about relationships between knowledge and power, complemented by organizational theory on standardization and accountability. We suggest that the increased reliance on self-regulation and international standards in safety management may be drivers for a shift in the distribution of power regarding safety, changing the conception of what is valid and useful knowledge. Case studies from two Norwegian transport sectors, the railway and the maritime sectors, are used to illustrate the proposition. In both sectors, we observe discourses based on generic approaches to safety management and an accompanying disempowerment of the practitioners and their perspectives.
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TIGHTEN PARTICULATE LIMIT, ADVISERS TO US EPA SAY IN DRAFT REPORT
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/Tighten-particulate-limit-advisers-US/100/i6
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, dust
To protect the health of US residents, the Environmental Protection Agency should ratchet down the limit for airborne particulate matter, a panel of scientific experts says in a draft report. Breathing in particulates that are 2.5 åµm or less in diameter (PM2.5) is associated with heart attacks, decreased lung function, asthma attacks, and premature death in people with heart or lung problems. In its draft report, the EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee says it concurs with an agency assessment released last year that concludes, 'Meaningful risk reductions will result from lowering the annual PM2.5 standard.' A majority of the panel recommended a limit of 8'10 åµg/m3 of air; the current standard, set in 2012, is 12 åµg/m3. Under former president Donald J. Trump, the EPA proposed in 2020 to maintain that standard rather than tighten it as agency staff members had recommended. The chemical industry group American Chemistry Council backed the Trump plan, sayin!
g further controls weren't needed because US air quality is improving. In its draft report, the advisory committee says, 'The [scientific] literature, as it is expanding, continues to show strong associations with health effects, even though concentrations of PM2.5 in the air have been dropping over time.' The panel will finalize the report in the spring.
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POSSIBLE CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING SENDS 8 NAVARRO PHARMACY WORKERS TO MIAMI HOSPITALS
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/possible-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-sends-8-navarro-pharmacy-workers-to-miami-hospitals/ar-AATM2yk
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
ight employees at a Little Havana Navarro Pharmacy were taken to hospitals with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning Saturday morning, Miami Fire Rescue said.
After monitoring the CO levels in the building at 1601 W. Flagler St., Miami Fire Rescue's hazardous material team deemed the building clear and the store was allowed to reopen, Lt. Pete Sanchez said.
Sanchez said a 10:30 a.m. call concerning people feeling ill at the store brought fire rescue workers. Upon smelling exhaust, the store and the surrounding office spaces were evacuated. The hazmat team showed up and found high CO levels. Miami Fire Rescue was told that a gas-powered polisher used on the floors daily was the likely cause of the problem.
Meanwhile, 30 people were treated in the parking lot, Sanchez said. Five employees were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital and three were taken to Mercy Hospital with symptoms of CO poisoning.
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THREE WORKERS DEAD AFTER INHALING TOXIC FUMES AT GUJARAT CHEMICAL PLANT
https://www.ndtv.com/ahmedabad-news/three-workers-dead-after-inhaling-toxic-fumes-at-gujarat-chemical-plant-2362049#ndtv_related
Tags: India, industrial, release, death, other_chemical
Ahmedabad: Three workers died after inhaling toxic gas at a chemical processing unit in Gujarat's Mehsana district, the police said on Tuesday.
The workers were transferring liquid sodium bromide into a tank on Monday evening when the incident took place, the police said.
The police on Tuesday registered an FIR against factory owner Ravi Patel and his business partner Mitul Mistry under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for "causing death by negligence", said police sub-inspector SD Ratda.
The dead workers have been identified as Ramsingh Rajput, Uttam Gavariya and Pukhraj Taank, all between 25 to 30 years of age.
The chemical unit is located near Mandaali village in Mehsana district.
Owner Ravi Patel also inhaled the toxic gas and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mehsana.
---------------------------------------------
KCCI INVESTIGATES: OSHA VIOLATIONS FOUND AFTER CHEMICAL SPILLS AT FEDEX FREIGHT IN DES MOINES, IOWA
https://www.kcci.com/article/kcci-investigates-osha-violations-found-after-chemical-spills-at-fedex-freight-in-des-moines-insecticide/39048555
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
DES MOINES, Iowa '
Three serious violations were handed down by OSHA to FedEx Freight in the 5800 block of Northeast 22nd Street in Des Moines resulting in a proposed fine of almost $25,000.
"Everyone makes mistakes, even big companies like FedEx. The important thing is identifying what went wrong so you can remediate, and fix the problem, and make sure that it doesn't happen again," said Alex Patch, a worker at the facility.
Patch's complaint led to the OSHA investigation. He also formed a petition for change after chemical spills happened last July and August.
KCCI Investigates reported on those spills, at least one employee went to the emergency room after one spill.
Employees tell KCCI a worker at the facility punctured a bulk container of formic acid. Formic acid, according to its safety data sheet, can cause difficulty breathing, nausea, coughing and more depending on the mixture of the chemical.
---------------------------------------------
CATEGORY THREE FIRE AT CHEMICAL FACTORY CAUSES PANIC IN MEHRAN TOWN
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/932790-category-three-fire-at-chemical-factory-causes-panic-in-mehran-town
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A massive fire broke out on Friday at a chemical factory in Korangi's Mehran Town area. No loss of life was reported in the incident.
The chemical factory is located in Mehran Town Sector A/6 within the jurisdiction of the Korangi Industrial Area police station. The blaze, which was termed a Category Three fire, caused fear in the area and clouds of smoke were visible on the horizon from faraway areas of the city.
Upon receiving the information, the fire brigade department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation dispatched two fire engines to douse the fire. However, at they were not enough, more fire tenders has to be sent to the factory.
---------------------------------------------
REUSABLE PLASTIC BOTTLES RELEASE HUNDREDS OF CHEMICALS -- SCIENCEDAILY
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220211102618.htm
Tags: Denmark, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found several hundred different chemical substances in tap water stored in reusable plastic bottles. Several of these substances are potentially harmful to human health. There is a need for better regulation and manufacturing standards for manufacturers, according to the chemists behind the study.
Have you ever experienced the strange taste of water after it has been in a reusable plastic bottle for a while? It appears that there is a solid, yet worrying reason for this.
Two chemists from the University of Copenhagen have studied which chemical substances are released into liquids by popular types of soft plastic reusable bottles. The results were quite a surprise.
"We were taken aback by the large amount of chemical substances we found in water after 24 hours in the bottles. There were hundreds of substances in the water -- including substances never before found in plastic, as well as substances that are potentially harmful to health. After a dishwasher cycle, there were several thousand," says Jan H. Christensen, Professor of Environmental Analytical Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.
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EPA AXES PENTACHLOROPHENOL WOOD PRESERVATIVE
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/EPA-axes-pentachlorophenol-wood-preservative/100/i6
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, illegal, pesticides
Companies can produce, distribute, and sell the wood preservative pentachlorophenol in the US for only 2 more years, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced Feb. 4. Wood treatment facilities, however, have until 2027 to use up their existing stocks of the chemical. The National Toxicology Program lists pentachlorophenol as a 'reasonably anticipated' human carcinogen. It is banned under the United Nations' Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, an international treaty the US signed but has not ratified. The EPA claims that pentachlorophenol poses health risks to workers. Alternative wood preservatives'including chromated arsenicals, copper naphthenate, creosote, and dichloro-octyl-isothiazolinone'are available, the EPA says. Environmental groups have been urging the EPA for decades to ban pentachlorophenol. The chemical is persistent in the environment and contaminates about 250 Superfund hazardous waste sites where it was made, according to!
the advocacy group Beyond Pesticides.
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