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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, March 7, 2022 at 6:45:03 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 (16 articles)
HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS ROADWAY OIL SPILL IN BERKELEY
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, oils
ACID SPILLED AT BI-COUNTY TRANSFER STATION, CAUSING SHUTDOWN UNTIL MONDAY
Tags: us_TN, industrial, release, response, acids, waste
CORKSCREW RD. REOPENS AFTER SODIUM HYDROXIDE SPILL
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
ISLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SHUTS AFTER RAGING WAREHOUSE INFERNO IN NEWCASTLE
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, environmental, asbestos
'TOTAL DECONTAMINATION OF THREE PEOPLE ON SCENE': HOW CORK FIRE SERVICE DEALT WITH SUSPECTED ACID ATTACK
Tags: Ireland, public, release, injury, acids, illegal
KEARSARGE REGIONAL REMOVES PROPANE-FUELED BUSES OUT OF CAUTION AFTER EXPLOSION
Tags: us_NH, transportation, explosion, injury, propane
STUDENTS, STAFF SICKENED BY 'UNKNOWN IRRITANT' AT BALLENGER CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL
Tags: us_MD, education, release, injury, illegal, irritant
DOZENS OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES AFFECTED BY DEBRIS FIRE IN MESA, OFFICIALS SAY
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, fire, injury, batteries
SELAH CREEK WEST REST AREA CLOSED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, response, ammonium_nitrate
BEFORE THE FIRE, WEAVER FERTILIZER PLANT WAS STORING MORE THAN 4.5 MILLION POUNDS OF CHEMICALS ONSITE
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
PROCESS SAFETY BEACON: HOT WORK IS MORE THAN WELDING, BURNING AND GRINDING
Tags: industrial, follow-up, death, flammables, resin
LOSING YOUR HEAT BALANCE: INSIGHTS INTO THERMAL HAZARD ASSESSMENTS
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, follow-up, injury, plastics
WORLD AGREES TO SIGN UP TO A TREATY TO CONTROL PLASTIC AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, plastics, waste
LYNN MA HAZMAT SITUATION: POLICE OFFICERS EXPOSED TO FENTANYL ' NBC BOSTON
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, clandestine_lab
FREDERICK CO. TEEN WHO TRIED MAKING MUSTARD GAS IN SCHOOL FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES
Tags: us_MD, education, discovery, response, illegal, mustard_gas
CALIFORNIA FIRE LED TO SPIKE IN BACTERIA, CLOUDINESS IN COASTAL WATERS
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, runoff
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HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS ROADWAY OIL SPILL IN BERKELEY
https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2022/03/06/hazmat-team-cleans-roadway-oil-spill-in-berkeley/
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, release, response, oils
BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, NJ ' Police don't know how it happened, but on Friday, officers responded to an oil slick on North Island Road. Upon arrival, a hazardous material team was called to assist with the cleanup.
'On February 4, 2022, Patrolman Don Rowley responded to a report of a possible oil leak near the area of North Island Rd. A caller stated that there was oil on the roadway from the street to the lagoon. Upon arrival it was determined that a type of liquid had covered several streets in the area,' the Berkeley Township Police Department reported.
A Hazmat Team was called and immediately responded to the scene.
According to the department, Sgt. Will Cullen and the Bayville Fire Company also responded.
The affected roads were closed down due to safety reasons.
'It could not be determined what had caused the oil spill. Berkeley Township Public Works arrived on scene and sanded the roadways to help absorb the slick substance,' the department said in a statement.
The scene has since been cleared.
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ACID SPILLED AT BI-COUNTY TRANSFER STATION, CAUSING SHUTDOWN UNTIL MONDAY
https://clarksvillenow.com/local/acid-spilled-at-bi-county-transfer-station-causing-shutdown-until-monday/
Tags: us_TN, industrial, release, response, acids, waste
LARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) ' The Bi-County Landfill Transfer Station was shut down Sunday morning after someone discarded an acid that began smoking and melting objects.
Just after 9:30 a.m., Clarksville Fire Rescue Station 1 units and HazMat personnel were on the scene at Highway Drive, working to neutralize the product, according to a CFR alert.
Clarksville Fire Rescue crews respond to a hazardous materials spill at the Bi-County Transfer Station on Highway Drive on March 6, 2022. (CFR, Contributed)
'The facilities will remain closed the remainder of Sunday and expected to re-open Monday, March 7,' said Mary Anderson, assistant director of administration and education at Bi-County.
The culprit was a weak acid that was in a bucket, CFR Assistant Chief Michael Rios told Clarksville Now. The bucket punctured, and the acid began off-gassing and melting material in the compactor. Luckily, Rios said, the compactor was fairly empty at the time.
'As a reminder, hazardous materials such as what was disposed of can be delivered to Household Hazardous Waste Events,' Anderson said.
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CORKSCREW RD. REOPENS AFTER SODIUM HYDROXIDE SPILL
https://www.fox4now.com/news/local-news/lee-county/all-southbound-lanes-of-i-75-near-corkscrew-shut-down
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
ESTERO, Fla. ' All lanes were reported blocked on I-75 South at exit 123 Corkscrew Road after a hazardous material spill.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a truck had lost two containers containing sodium hydroxide; approximately 200 gallons have leaked out onto southbound lanes.
FHP troopers are assessing the scene and traffic is said to be diverted at mile marker 123 on Corkscrew Road.
Lanes were blocked until troopers could assess and clear out the scene.
According to the FHP, the lanes are now safe and open.
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ISLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SHUTS AFTER RAGING WAREHOUSE INFERNO IN NEWCASTLE
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-07/islington-public-school-shut-after-warehouse-fire/100888038
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, environmental, asbestos
The Department of Education has confirmed that no date has been set for the reopening of a public school forced to close after a massive warehouse fire in Newcastle.
Key points:
Parents in the suburb are worried about asbestos contamination
Students will be moved to other schools from Tuesday
The damaged warehouse buildings are being demolished
Nairn Johnstone, whose eight-year-old son, Bjarni, is a student Islington Public School school, says he is "pretty anxious" about the situation.
Nairn Johnstone doesn't know when Bjarni will be able to go back to his school.(ABC Newcastle: Blake Doyle)
Parents were asked to collect their children from Islington Public School last Wednesday, when it shut.
The school was downwind from the huge fire, which destroyed two four-storey buildings the day before.
The roofs of the buildings were made of asbestos, which collapsed and sent a plume across several suburbs west of the site.
---------------------------------------------
'TOTAL DECONTAMINATION OF THREE PEOPLE ON SCENE': HOW CORK FIRE SERVICE DEALT WITH SUSPECTED ACID ATTACK
https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-40822527.html
Tags: Ireland, public, release, injury, acids, illegal
Two men - one in his 40s and the other in his 30s - were rushed to Cork University Hospital with what are believed to be serious, but non-life threatening injuries. A third man in his thirties received treatment for his injuries at the scene.
Gardà- arrested a man, aged in his 30s - shortly after midnight on Friday - who was being detained on Saturday morning under Section 4 of The Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Bridewell Garda Station.
Second officer from Cork City Fire Brigade, Victor Shine described the scene.
"We had specialist teams there with various detection equipment to try to isolate down what the chemical actually was,' he said.
'We could only speculate based on our previous experience of handling chemicals and colours what it might have been.
"There is a lot of experience that is being put into this kind of scenario. Your levels of protections have to be appropriate to cover the worst-case scenarios."
He explained the types of dangers an incident like this can pose to others.
"The ambulance crew were unable to rush into this situation because they didn't have the PPE that the fire service has.
"They held back until the casualties were appropriately decontaminated which we have to give them credit for. This was a multi-agency approach and we'd like to extend our gratitude and credit to everyone who was involved including the Gardà-, trauma doctor, Dr Hugh Doran, as well as specialist teams from city council and other environmental agencies."
Mr Shine spoke of the precautions taken on-site.
"On this occasion the numbers were small so we were able to use localised equipment such as diphotorine which is the gold standard of neutralising chemicals from acids," he said. "The person can then be transported to hospital by ambulance.
"Patients won't be accepted in the emergency medicine department if they are contaminated so this has to be done on-site. What was carried out was a total decontamination of three people on scene.
"We didn't set up a tent in this instance as the people were being moved quite quickly to the hospital due to the nature of their injuries. What we did use is a neutralising agent called diphotorine which neutralises any acids or bases back to a neutral PH. This was used on all parts of the body to limit the damage."
He described the incident as complicated in nature.
"We have the ability to check out chemicals as long as we know what they are. However, when we're in unknown territory it gets very complicated. While the nature of this incident was rare, chemical contamination wouldn't be unusual for us.
---------------------------------------------
KEARSARGE REGIONAL REMOVES PROPANE-FUELED BUSES OUT OF CAUTION AFTER EXPLOSION
https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2022-03-05/kearsarge-removes-propane-fueled-buses-after-explosion
Tags: us_NH, transportation, explosion, injury, propane
NEW LONDON, N.H. (AP) ' A school district and a business that provides school bus transportation say they are removing the district's propane-fueled buses from service out of an abundance of caution as the state Fire Marshal's Office investigates what led to an explosion and fire that critically injured two bus company workers.
The two men who suffered serious burns were performing a state-required inspection on a propane-powered bus at the building in Bradford on Thursday.
The Kearsarge Regional School District and Student Transportation of America said the two were the only people in the building at the time.
The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
---------------------------------------------
STUDENTS, STAFF SICKENED BY 'UNKNOWN IRRITANT' AT BALLENGER CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL
https://wtop.com/frederick-county/2022/03/students-staff-sickened-by-unknown-irritant-at-ballenger-creek-middle-school/
Tags: us_MD, education, release, injury, illegal, irritant
More than a dozen students and staff were sickened by an unknown irritant at Ballenger Creek Middle School in Frederick, Maryland, on Friday.
The school was evacuated at around 10:15 a.m. while a county HAZMAT team was called to the scene after staff reported a strange odor.
The Frederick County Sheriff's Office said the HAZMAT team detected an unknown irritant released inside the school. Five students and one staff member were taken to Frederick Health Hospital for evaluation. Seven other students and one staff member were evaluated on the scene for minor injuries.
Students were let back into school for the rest of the day.
The Frederick County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident, including reviewing video footage from inside the school, and said that once it identifies a suspect or suspects, criminal charges will be forthcoming.
---------------------------------------------
DOZENS OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES AFFECTED BY DEBRIS FIRE IN MESA, OFFICIALS SAY
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/dozens-of-lithium-ion-batteries-affected-by-debris-fire-in-mesa-officials-say
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, fire, injury, batteries
MESA, Ariz. - Officials with the Mesa Fire and Medical Department say a HAZMAT crews are working to cool down lithium-ion batteries that were affected by a debris fire on Feb. 2.
According to a brief statement, the fire took place in the area of Southern Avenue and Lindsay Road. A total of 30 lithium-ion batteries, each about 6'x2'x1.5' in size, were affected.
"MFMD Hazardous Materials crews are working with Mesa Environmental and a private contractor to determine exactly how many of the batteries are damaged and the most effective way to submerge the batteries that have been damaged for an appropriate time frame to cool the batteries," read a portion of the statement.
Conditions are not deemed to be hazardous to those living in the area, and the battery cooling could take several hours to potentially days.
---------------------------------------------
SELAH CREEK WEST REST AREA CLOSED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.nbcrightnow.com/traffic/selah-creek-west-rest-area-closed-due-to-chemical-spill/article_dd2cf720-9c03-11ec-ba23-cb5abe1125bd.html
Tags: us_WA, transportation, release, response, ammonium_nitrate
Officials have confirmed the chemical leak was ammonium nitrate. The cause was reported to be a semi containing 21 metric tons of ammonium nitrate that began leaking at a fast rate.
Three vehicles were evacuated from the area, two cars and one semi. No injuries were reported and the leak is considered contained by Yakima Fire Department, who responded in hazmat gear. The rest stop will remain closed for several hours, possibly overnight.
The company that owned the semi is sending a hazmat team to clean the area.
We will update when the area is reopened.
Wash., -
The Selah Creek rest area west side has been closed due to a chemical spill. The rest area has two locations, the west location is closed. Washington state officials are on scene.
---------------------------------------------
BEFORE THE FIRE, WEAVER FERTILIZER PLANT WAS STORING MORE THAN 4.5 MILLION POUNDS OF CHEMICALS ONSITE
https://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2022/03/04/before-the-fire-weaver-fertilizer-plant-was-storing-more-than-4-5-million-pounds-of-chemicals-onsite/#sthash.mmoJvKts.dpbs
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
Before a massive blaze erupted at the Weaver Fertilizer plant in late January, it was storing more than 2,000 tons ' roughly 4.5 million pounds ' of chemicals every day at its facility in Winston-Salem, according to the company's most recent chemical inventory filed with state emergency management officials.
Weaver Fertilizer didn't submit a chemical inventory to the state in 2020, in violation of federal reporting law. The deadline for the 2021 report was March 1.
The recent inventory shows that on a typical day in 2021 the plant had an average of 30 tons of ammonium nitrate on hand, with a daily maximum of 60 tons. However, just a month into 2022, when the fire erupted on Jan. 31, Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo publicly announced that nearly 600 tons of ammonium nitrate had ignited; that's 10 to 20 times greater than amounts listed in the report.
Michael Spence, who filed the report on behalf of Weaver Fertilizer, told Policy Watch today that there was a typographical error. The daily maximum was, in fact, 600 tons, or 1.2 million pounds.
Ammonium nitrate, a main component in fertilizer, and burned for four days. The risk of explosion was so great that Winston-Salem officials asked people to evacuate within a mile radius, temporarily displacing 6,000 residents. The Winston-Salem Fire Department has not yet issued an investigation report or announced the cause of the blaze.
---------------------------------------------
PROCESS SAFETY BEACON: HOT WORK IS MORE THAN WELDING, BURNING AND GRINDING
https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2022/march/process-safety-beacon-hot-work-more-welding-burning-and-grinding
Tags: industrial, follow-up, death, flammables, resin
On Sept. 21, 2020, a fire was ignited in a bucket of flammable resin being used to re-line a fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) tower at a paper mill (Figure 1). Smoke and fumes from the fire killed two contractors. The incident had many contributing factors and lessons learned, but this Beacon focuses on the uncontrolled hot work.
‰?2 A fire occurred during hot work at a paper mill. Read U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Report No. 2020'07'I'NC'3 for more information.
The paper mill was shut down for a turnaround, which included internal repairs to the upflow and downflow bleaching columns (Figure 2). The column repairs were managed under two confined space entry (CSE) permits. Hot work was not planned nor authorized for either job. Initially, no flammable materials were present inside the towers, but the FRP walls in the upflow tower were combustible.
On the day of the fire, the crew working in the upflow tower could not cure their resin properly due to cool temperatures. When the crew could not locate drum heaters, they decided to use a heat gun (Figure 3) to warm the bucket in their working area (Figure 2, red). The crew accidentally dropped the heat gun into the resin bucket, igniting the flammable contents. The crew did not have a fire extinguisher, and the fire spread, eventually igniting the FRP walls. Two contractors working in the connected downflow tower (Figure 2, green) were overcome by the gases before they could escape.
---------------------------------------------
LOSING YOUR HEAT BALANCE: INSIGHTS INTO THERMAL HAZARD ASSESSMENTS
https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2022/march/losing-your-heat-balance-insights-thermal-hazard-assessments
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, follow-up, injury, plastics
On a cold day in Seal Sands, Teesside (U.K.) in January 1976, a road tanker exploded and released glacial acrylic acid (GAA), injuring five workers. Prior to the explosion, workers filled the truck with 14,500 lbs of GAA and fed a steam-water mixture into the coil at the bottom of the truck to prevent the monomer from freezing. The explosion occurred soon thereafter. It may surprise some readers that a simple act of filling a tanker with monomer and then warming it could have led to an incident (1, 2). What went wrong?
It was later determined that when GAA was first pumped into the truck, the material that first contacted the very cold bottom of the trailer froze (GAA freezing point is 15å¡C). As it froze, the inhibitor that keeps the GAA monomer stable migrated to the bulk liquid GAA, leaving the frozen portion uninhibited. When this frozen GAA, now depleted in inhibitor and in direct contact with the heating coils, was warmed by the 60å¡C steam/water mixture in the coils, it polymerized exothermically, which was accompanied by vigorous heat release. The rate at which heat was released from the polymerizing GAA far exceeded the rate at which heat could be dissipated from the tank's surface, leading to a rise in bulk temperature and subsequent polymerization of the entire GAA mass in the tank. The rising temperature led to the tank over-pressurizing and exploding.
The tank of GAA experienced what is known as a thermal runaway. Figure 1 depicts the self-sustaining chain of events that typically lead to thermal runaway situations.
---------------------------------------------
WORLD AGREES TO SIGN UP TO A TREATY TO CONTROL PLASTIC AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/world-agrees-to-sign-up-to-a-treaty-to-control-plastic-and-chemical-pollution/4015327.article
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, plastics, waste
Over 190 nations have agreed to negotiate a legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution on land and sea, and one that will focus on the entire value chain to create a circular plastics economy. Agreement was also reached on creating a intergovernmental science policy panel to advise on chemical pollution and waste.
'We still have a lot of homework ahead of us‰?|.. but the bottom line is we will eliminate plastic pollution from our environment,' said Inger Anderson, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Work will begin later this year, with the aim of agreeing a treaty by the end of 2024.
The new chemical and waste advisory panel was inspired by international panels on climate change and biodiversity, and will tackle what's been described as the third planetary crisis. Negotiators also resolved to step up efforts on the environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste ' a target originally set for 2020 and not met, develop recommendations to reduce the environmental impact of mineral extraction and manage nitrogen waste, primarily from agricultural run-off.
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LYNN MA HAZMAT SITUATION: POLICE OFFICERS EXPOSED TO FENTANYL ' NBC BOSTON
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/hazmat-incident-in-lynn-police-suspects-exposed-to-fentanyl/2660189/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, clandestine_lab
Emergency crews are on scene of a hazardous materials incident in Lynn, Massachusetts, after police were exposed to fentanyl while attempting to execute a search warrant Thursday afternoon.
The scene is located on Michigan Avenue.
Lynn Police Lt Michael Kmiec said officers were executing a search warrant and a few officers were exposed to what is believed to be fentanyl. He said an unspecified number of officers were being treated at the scene and two suspects were taken to the hospital.
"Nothing appears to be life-threatening at this time," he said.
The scene remains active.
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FREDERICK CO. TEEN WHO TRIED MAKING MUSTARD GAS IN SCHOOL FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES
https://wtop.com/frederick-county/2022/03/frederick-co-teen-who-tried-making-mustard-gas-in-school-faces-criminal-charges/
Tags: us_MD, education, discovery, response, illegal, mustard_gas
A 14-year-old boy is facing criminal charges after a social media video inspired him to attempt to make mustard gas at a Frederick County, Maryland, high school on Thursday.
According to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, the teenager told deputies he watched a TikTok video on how to make mustard gas and then shared the video and a photo on Snapchat saying how he planned to make the chemical agent at Urbana High School.
At 8:30 a.m., school staff alerted a school resource officer about the social media post and that a student may have brought hazardous materials into the building. As a result, deputies were alerted and arrived with hazmat units from the Frederick County Division Fire and Rescue Services.
Students were evacuated to Urbana Middle School and into school buses while first responders did a full sweep of the building. The hazardous material the student brought to school was bleach.
---------------------------------------------
CALIFORNIA FIRE LED TO SPIKE IN BACTERIA, CLOUDINESS IN COASTAL WATERS
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/california-fire-led-to-spike-in-bacteria-cloudiness-in-coastal-waters
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental, runoff
The November 2018 Woolsey Fire in Southern California's Los Angeles and Ventura counties left more than a nearly 100,000-acre burn scar behind: It also left the adjacent coastal waters with unusually high levels of fecal bacteria and sediment that remained for months.
For a new study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, scientists combined satellite imagery, precipitation data, and water quality reports to assess two standard parameters for coastal water quality after the fire: the presence of fecal indicator bacteria and the turbidity, or cloudiness, of the water.
Fecal indicator bacteria originate from the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other warm-blooded animals. While they're not harmful, they indicate the presence of other bacteria and pathogens found in feces that can be. Turbidity has other implications: Cloudy, murky water results in less sunlight reaching marine life ' like kelp and phytoplankton ' that rely on it to survive.
When it rains, runoff typically carries some bacteria and sediment from the land to coastal waters. But the huge spike in both following the fire was anything but typical.
'Post-fire, we saw drastic water quality changes, particularly at beaches draining the burned area,' said the study's lead author, Marisol Cira, a UCLA Ph.D. candidate and an intern at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 'In those areas, both total coliform bacteria and enterococcus were far greater than pre-fire levels, as was turbidity plume size.'
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