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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, February 21, 2022 at 6:12:43 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)
CHEMICAL LEAK AT FREMONT PLANT INJURES THREE PEOPLE
Tags: us_NE, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
MAN DIES IN WORKSHOP FIRE, BROTHER CRITICAL
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
POLICE INVESTIGATING 'SUSPICIOUS' FIRE AT VANCOUVER'S PNE, NO INJURIES REPORTED
Tags: Canada, transportation, explosion, response, gasoline, propane
4 INJURED, INCLUDING 2 FIREFIGHTERS, IN BUILDING FIRE NEAR KNOTT'S BERRY FARM, AUTHORITIES SAY
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, illegal, clandestine_lab
THE TOXIC TIDE OF SHIP BREAKING
Tags: Bangladesh, transportation, release, environmental, waste
SATELLITES SPY HUGE METHANE EMISSIONS FROM OIL AND GAS SITES
Tags: Turkmenistan, industrial, release, environmental, methane, petroleum
SCIENTISTS RACE TO STUDY MICROPLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE
Tags: us_UT, laboratory, discovery, environmental, dust, microplastics
UNPRECEDENTED OIL SPILL CATCHES RESEARCHERS IN PERU OFF GUARD
Tags: Peru, public, release, response, oils
STRUCTURE FIRE IN GENEVA AT BUILDING CONTAINING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO CLEVELAND CLIFFS IN WEIRTON
Tags: us_WV, public, release, response, chlorine
HIGH LEVELS OF 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' FOUND IN THOSE NEAR BASE
Tags: us_DE, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical, dust
LEAK THAT CAUSED HAZMAT INCIDENT IN VIRGINIA BEACH FIXED
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, solvent
CORNERSTONE CHEMICAL PLANT IN JEFFERSON PARISH REPORTS SMALL FIRE
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, response, hydrogen
NUMEROUS TOWNS RESPOND TO FIRE AT ROCKLAND 3M FACILITY
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, adhesives, flammables
JUVENILE SUSPECTS IDENTIFIED IN DUNDEE CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
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CHEMICAL LEAK AT FREMONT PLANT INJURES THREE PEOPLE
https://www.ketv.com/article/chemical-leak-at-fremont-plant-injures-three-people/39155560
Tags: us_NE, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
FREMONT, Neb. '
A chemical leak at a plant in Fremont left three people hurt Saturday.
Lincoln Premium Poultry confirms there was an ammonia leak around 7:45 p.m. The company says the leak has since been contained; a hazmat team has also been brought in.
Advertisement
Two contractors and one employee went to the hospital. One of the contractors remains hospitalized.
The company says it is assessing what it will do going forward with operations.
Lincoln Premium Poultry said it does not yet know what caused the leak.
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MAN DIES IN WORKSHOP FIRE, BROTHER CRITICAL
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/man-dies-in-workshop-fire-brother-critical/article65068989.ece
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
A 24-year-old man died while his brother suffered severe burn injuries on Sunday after a fire broke out in their furniture workshop in Uttam Nagar. According to the police, the fire broke out after an explosion inside a chemical drum at their workshop. The brothers, along with their father, used to repair sofa, among other furniture. DCP (Dwarka) Shankar Choudhary said the chemical drum, which is generally used for storing chemical foam for repairing sofa, exploded due to a short circuit.
The brothers were taken to a nearby hospital. While one of them was declared brought dead, the other is critical, an officer said.
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POLICE INVESTIGATING 'SUSPICIOUS' FIRE AT VANCOUVER'S PNE, NO INJURIES REPORTED
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/02/20/firefighters-investigating-cause-of-volatile-fire-at-vancouvers-pne.html
Tags: Canada, transportation, explosion, response, gasoline, propane
VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Police Department says its major crimes section is investigating an overnight fire at the Pacific National Exhibition that firefighters say involved explosions and 30-metre flames.
Assistant Fire Chief Brian Bertuzzi says crews responded to the volatile blaze on the northwest corner of Hastings Park at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
He says no one was on site at the time of the blaze and no firefighters were injured putting it out.
Bertuzzi says there was a high fuel load on site, including 500 litres of gasoline storage and high-pressure propane tanks.
He says two Zambonis and up to a dozen truckers were involved in the fire, which did not affect the part of the grounds where horses are kept.
Police say 20 vehicles and a building were damaged and the fire is considered suspicious.
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4 INJURED, INCLUDING 2 FIREFIGHTERS, IN BUILDING FIRE NEAR KNOTT'S BERRY FARM, AUTHORITIES SAY
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/5-injured-including-3-firefighters-in-building-fire-near-knotts-berry-farm-authorities-say/ar-AAU6roS
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, illegal, clandestine_lab
t least four people were injured in a four-alarm fire Sunday at a building police believe was an illegal marijuana dispensary near Knott's Berry Farm, authorities say.
According to the Metro Cities Fire Authority, calls began coming in about a fire at a single-story commercial building at 1169 N. Knollwood Circle just before 11:30 a.m.
Authorities tell Eyewitness News a total of four people were injured, including two firefighters who suffered burn injuries due to an explosion that occurred.
They're currently getting treated at UCI Medical Center in Orange and police say they're expected to be OK.
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THE TOXIC TIDE OF SHIP BREAKING
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/the-toxic-tide-of-ship-breaking/4015158.article
Tags: Bangladesh, transportation, release, environmental, waste
Alang, a small town in the western Indian state of Gujarat, is where ships go to die. You'll find them along the shoreline, locked deep into the mud, their frames slowly rusting as they are stripped of all value. Container ships, freighters, cruise liners and even aircraft carriers all find their home here, many flying fake flags to bypass regulations. The largest of these behemoths often strike the bottom almost 1000m from shore and need to be winched from the brown swirl of the Gulf of Khambhat during high tide, slowly edging toward the beach over days or weeks. Once free of the ocean, these giants join the other carcasses to be scoured clean by Alang's 15,000 workers, few wearing protective equipment. These represent a fraction of the 500,000 people in India alone whose livelihoods depend on the work.
The hulks are spread out for miles amid cranes and debris, the shipyard fires blazing and cutting tools grinding around the clock. The work is systematic; nothing is spared and everything sold, either by the yards or the mile-long row of scrap merchants outside the gates. Items ranging from cutlery and lightbulbs to watertight doors, washing machines and even lifeboats are for sale at a fraction of their original price.
Around 600 large ocean-going vessels end up on one of three beaches in South Asia every year
Alang, and other harbours like it in Gadani, Pakistan, and Chittagong, Bangladesh, is home to shipbreakers. Although such recycling should be a green activity, the International Labour Office considers it one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, fraught with chemical peril ' and one whose pollutants are damaging both the local environment and the communities living nearby.
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SATELLITES SPY HUGE METHANE EMISSIONS FROM OIL AND GAS SITES
https://cen.acs.org/environment/greenhouse-gases/Satellites-spy-huge-methane-emissions-from-oil-and-gas-sites/100/web/2022/02
Tags: Turkmenistan, industrial, release, environmental, methane, petroleum
Oil and gas production sites collectively vent enormous amounts of methane into the atmosphere, but scientists have often struggled to single out the worst culprits. Two new satellite-based surveys have now identified some of the industry's biggest methane sources and found they spew even more gas than was previously thought. Because methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, preventing these emissions could offer a way to rapidly reduce the industry's climate impact.
The first survey found that methane emissions from dozens of crude oil production sites in Turkmenistan increased sharply in 2020 (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c04873), while the second revealed that similar gas releases are common at many other oil and gas industry sites around the world (Science 2022, DOI: 10.1126/science.abj4351).
'We had thought they were accidental and rare. And we discovered that they're not as rare as we thought, and they were not accidental,' says Thomas Lauvaux at the Laboratory for Climate and Environment Sciences at the University of Paris-Saclay, who led the second study. He adds that there is a pressing need for tougher regulation on companies' emissions and better enforcement. 'Everything is already possible, it's just a matter of political will,' he says.
Turkmenistan was already known to be one of the world's top methane emitters, but it wasn't clear exactly where the gas was coming from. 'This is happening in a country where external access to the data is very difficult,' says Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, a graduate student at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, who led the Turkmenistan survey. 'Without satellites, it would be very difficult to verify the origins of the emissions.'
---------------------------------------------
SCIENTISTS RACE TO STUDY MICROPLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/Scientists-race-study-microplastic-pollution/100/i7
Tags: us_UT, laboratory, discovery, environmental, dust, microplastics
In 2017, biogeochemist Janice Brahney was collecting dust deposited in remote wilderness areas in the western US. She wanted to study how phosphorus that was transported through the air to these wild places might disrupt their ecosystems.
But Brahney's samples contained more than the soil particles she was expecting. Under the microscope were 'enormous amounts of plastic,' the Utah State University researcher says. There were fibers, spheres, and chunks of the stuff, in all different colors.
Plastic is ubiquitous wherever people go, but Brahney's study areas'including remote parts of the High Uintas Wilderness in Utah and Rocky Mountain National Park'don't get a lot of human traffic. She was determined to figure out how microplastics could have gotten there. She didn't have funding to work on the problem, so she investigated this mystery in her spare time, spending years of evenings and weekends cataloging the plastic bits.
Her detailed investigation led Brahney to conclude that the microplastics were being transported in the atmosphere and then falling to the ground with snow, rain, or dusty winds (Science 2020, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz5819). And she wasn't the only scientist arriving at the conclusion that microplastics could travel long distances through the air. Two papers published in 2019 suggested that tiny plastic particles and fibers found in remote parts of the French Pyrenees and in snow from the Fram Strait (which lies between Greenland and Svalbard) had been transported there from urban areas via the atmosphere.
---------------------------------------------
UNPRECEDENTED OIL SPILL CATCHES RESEARCHERS IN PERU OFF GUARD
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00333-x#Echobox=1645207212
Tags: Peru, public, release, response, oils
A viscous, black wave rolled onto the beach of the seaside town of Anc̀3n, Peru, just as Deyvis Huam̀Án and his team arrived to assess the situation. Two days earlier, on 15 January, thousands of barrels of crude oil spilled from a refinery to the south of there. Heavy swells had slammed the coastline after the violent eruption of a volcano near Tonga, more than 10,300 kilometres away.
'We were astonished,' says Huam̀Án, a conservation biologist with Peru's National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP) in Lima. The oil coated everything ' rocks, seaweed, crabs ' setting a scene unlike anything Huam̀Án had experienced before. Although Peru is no stranger to oil spills, which have mostly occurred off its northern coast and in its Amazon jungle, this is the most damaging to pollute its marine waters, and the largest to take place near its heavily populated capital, Lima.
Scientists have joined authorities in assessing the extent of the damage and are helping to clean up the mess. According to reports, the oil slick has spread to more than 20 beaches, washing over 41 kilometres of coastline (see 'Spill spread'). Some researchers, who were already monitoring wildlife along the coast, are dismayed by the destruction they're seeing. Some are looking for opportunities to document and learn from the unprecedented spill, which they hope might one day spur the country to end its reliance on oil.
'Tragedies are never good,' says H̀©ctor Aponte, a wetland researcher at the Scientific University of the South in Lima. 'But sometimes they bring about change.'
---------------------------------------------
STRUCTURE FIRE IN GENEVA AT BUILDING CONTAINING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
https://13wham.com/news/local/structure-fire-in-geneva-at-building-containing-hazardous-material
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Geneva, N.Y. ' Fire departments from Geneva and surrounding areas responded to a structure fire Saturday morning at a commercial building on Route 14. The fire was in a commercial building that manufactured fiber glass body parts for busses, and there were several hazardous materials onsite.
The building was not open during the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.
The cause of fire is currently under investigation.
Fire departments were on the scene for approximately four hours, and fire departments from Oaks Corners, Geneva, Border City and White Springs as well as the Finger Lakes Ambulance responded to the incident.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO CLEVELAND CLIFFS IN WEIRTON
https://www.wtrf.com/top-stories/hazmat-team-called-to-cleveland-cliffs-in-weirton/
Tags: us_WV, public, release, response, chlorine
Weirton, W.Va. (WTRF) ' Officials say a hazmat team is on scene at Cleveland Cliffs Saturday night after chemicals were mixed and created a chlorine gas by the river.
The situation is under control, but toxins could be released into the air.
Cleveland Cliffs purchased ArcelorMittal's facility in Weirton last September.
7news will keep you updated as the situation develops.
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HIGH LEVELS OF 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' FOUND IN THOSE NEAR BASE
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/02/18/high-levels-of-forever-chemicals-found-those-near-base.html
Tags: us_DE, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical, dust
DOVER, Del. ' Residents living near an Air National Guard base in northern Delaware have average blood levels of certain toxic manmade chemicals that are significantly higher than the national average, according to a report by federal researchers.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry tested 214 people from 134 households for exposure to fluorinated chemical compounds that are collectively known as PFAS. The study included analyzing blood and urine samples, as well as testing tap water and dust samples from a small subset of homes.
Average blood levels of five specific PFAS compounds in study participants were higher than national averages, according to a report released earlier this month. Those chemicals include PFOA and PFOS, which have been found in public and private water supply wells in all three counties in Delaware.
---------------------------------------------
LEAK THAT CAUSED HAZMAT INCIDENT IN VIRGINIA BEACH FIXED
https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/virginia-beach/crews-responding-to-hazmat-incident-at-diamond-springs-road-and-northampton-blvd-in-virginia-beach/
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, solvent
VIRGINIA BEACH (WAVY) ' Virginia Beach firefighters say a leak that caused a small hazmat situation on Thursday morning has been fixed.
The situation happened at a shipping company in the 1300 block of Diamond Springs, across Northampton Blvd. from the Wawa. The 911 call came in at 9:06 a.m., dispatchers said.
Virginia Beach firefighters say a 50 gallon drum containing a solvent was accidentally punctured by a forklift operator. The drum was in a shipping container.
---------------------------------------------
CORNERSTONE CHEMICAL PLANT IN JEFFERSON PARISH REPORTS SMALL FIRE
https://www.wdsu.com/article/jefferson-parish-cornerstone-chemical-fire/39121052
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, response, hydrogen
JEFFERSON PARISH, La. '
Fire officials responded to a small fire at a chemical company in Jefferson Parish Thursday morning.
According to Jefferson Parish officials, Cornerstone Chemical Company had a small fire from a malfunction at the facility.
An explosion occurred at 4:45 am this morning when a high pressure hydrogen gas pipe burst igniting the gas causing a fire.
The Live Oak Manor Fire Department was notified but the fire extinguished itself because the shut-off valves on each end of the breech isolated the hydrogen feed.
The fire is out, nothing was released, and hazmat crews were notified, according to a news release issued by Jefferson Parish officials.
Residents near the plant were notified via the Cornerstone Emergency Notification System that the loud noise associated with the explosion was contained onsite the community was safe because no chemicals were released into the atmosphere.
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NUMEROUS TOWNS RESPOND TO FIRE AT ROCKLAND 3M FACILITY
https://959watd.com/blog/2022/02/numerous-towns-respond-to-fire-at-rockland-3m-facility/
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, adhesives, flammables
Rockland Fire Chief Scott Duffey says they responded after a fire alarm activation at 30 Commerce Road, just before 3 p.m. Thursday.
'While en route, we were updated that there was actually a smoke condition within the facility. On their arrival, Engine 1 under the direction of Lieutenant Charlie Williams, had a heavy smoke condition coming from the roof,' said Duffey. 'Further investigation found that there was fire in the facility, within the ductwork, above one of their process lines.'
A working fire assignment was struck, and mutual aid responded from Hanover, Norwell, and Weymouth.
He says this was a difficult fire due to the layout of the facility.
'It's a chemical company, they mix their own adhesives ‰?| they make tape. With just the nature of that, the fire was above one of the adhesive lines. We had the concerns of flammables below us, and then also within the ductwork, they have some different processors in the ductwork to keep it clean, and to keep the environment clean,' said Duffey. 'They burn off a lot of the vapor, so we were dealing with high heat, high electricity, so it was very difficult.'
Duffey says the bulk of the fire was knocked down in about 30 minutes.
No injuries were reported, but due to water above electrical equipment, there was extensive damage throughout the facility.
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JUVENILE SUSPECTS IDENTIFIED IN DUNDEE CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
https://www.miheadlines.com/2022/02/17/juvenile-suspects-identified-in-dundee-chemical-explosion/
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
DUNDEE, MI ' The Dundee Police Department have identified two juveniles who were responsible for the chemical/pressure device explosion at the Village Pointe Apartments at 611 Rawson St. on the evening of Tuesday February 15th, 2022.
The two juveniles involved and their parents met with police last night and have cooperated fully with investigators. A report will be turned over to the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office for a review of charges and forwarded to the Juvenile Division of the Monroe County Probate Court for further action.
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