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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 7:07:53 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)
UPDATE: U.S. 35 RAMPS TO SB I-75 REOPEN AFTER LENGTHY HAZMAT INVESTIGATION ' WHIO TV 7 AND WHIO RADIO
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, acids, water_treatment
NEARLY 30 MILLION UNDER LOCKDOWN IN CHINA AS VIRUS SURGES
Tags: China, public, discovery, environmental
FAULTY EQUIPMENT, NOT JUST BAD CHEMICALS, LED TO NOV. SHUTDOWN AT O.B. CURTIS, EMAILS SHOW
Tags: us_MS, industrial, follow-up, response, water_treatment
UPDATED: CHEMICAL MIXTURE PROMPT HAZMAT RESPONSE AND SENDS ONE PERSON TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, cleaners
STATE DOJ SUES TYCO, JOHNSON CONTROLS OVER MARINETTE-AREA PFAS CONTAMINATION
Tags: us_WI, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
'APPALLING' CHEMICAL SPILL IN MELBOURNE'S WEST LEAVES DEAD WILDLIFE STREWN THROUGH WATERWAYS
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical
CRUSH IT SAFELY: SAFETY ASPECTS OF MECHANOCHEMICAL GRIGNARD SYNTHESIS
Tags: Thailand, laboratory, discovery, environmental, magnesium, metals, solvent
CHEMISTRY IN PICTURES: LURKING IN THE CORNER
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, discovery, environmental, bromine, corrosives
TWO STUDENTS CHARGED WITH CAUSING EVACUATION AT SOUTH BRUNSWICK HIGH SCHOOL AFTER DISCHARGING PEPPER SPRAY
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, pepper_spray
PROPANE TRUCK CRASHES, CLOSING I-80 IN AUBURN
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, propane
HAZMAT SITUATION ENDS IN COLONIE AFTER INCIDENT AT TOBIN PLANT
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, ammonia
EP.92 HOW DO DIFFERENT CAREER PATHS AFFECT THE ROLES AND TRAINING NEEDS OF SAFETY PRACTITIONERS?
Tags: France, education, discovery, environmental
UNDERSTANDING INTERNATIONAL MECHANICAL CODE SECTION 510: RESEARCH LABORATORY APPLICATION
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
MASSIVE AUSTRALIAN WILDFIRES CAUSED NEW DAMAGE TO THE OZONE LAYER
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, dust, nitrogen_dioxide
COMPARING MODERN AND ARCHIVAL PINE NEEDLES SHOWS HOW PFAS POLLUTION EVOLVES OVER TIME
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
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UPDATE: U.S. 35 RAMPS TO SB I-75 REOPEN AFTER LENGTHY HAZMAT INVESTIGATION ' WHIO TV 7 AND WHIO RADIO
https://www.whio.com/traffic/traffic-alert-hazmat-investigation-shuts-down-us-35-ramps-sb-i-75-dayton/SVIWYIXLCNBSPI3SGSAANSEKCQ/
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, acids, water_treatment
A hazmat investigation forced a lengthy closure of the U.S. 35 ramps to southbound I-75 in Dayton while crews investigated the source of a leak inside a semitrailer.
Police, hazmat, and fire crews were called around 9:20 a.m. on reports of a liquid leaking from a semitrailer.
The truck was returning to a chemical company in Cincinnati and was hauling strong acids, bases, and water treatment materials, Denny Bristow Dayton Regional Hazmat Coordinator told News Center 7.
The leak was caused by a quick stop the semi made, which caused the load to shift, Bristow said. Hazmat crews tested the leaking liquid was the water treatment materials, which Bristow described as the 'least hazardous' material inside the trailer.
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NEARLY 30 MILLION UNDER LOCKDOWN IN CHINA AS VIRUS SURGES
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220315-nearly-30-million-under-lockdown-in-china-as-virus-surges-1
Tags: China, public, discovery, environmental
Beijing (AFP) ' Nearly 30 million people were under lockdown across China on Tuesday, as surging virus cases prompted the return of mass tests and hazmat-suited health officials to streets on a scale not seen since the start of the pandemic.
ADVERTISING
China reported 5,280 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, more than double the previous day's tally, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spread across a country that has stuck tightly to a zero-Covid strategy.
That approach, which pivots on hard localised lockdowns and has left China virtually cut off from the outside world for two years, appears stretched to the limit as Omicron finds its way into communities.
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FAULTY EQUIPMENT, NOT JUST BAD CHEMICALS, LED TO NOV. SHUTDOWN AT O.B. CURTIS, EMAILS SHOW
https://www.wlbt.com/2022/03/15/faulty-equipment-not-just-bad-chemicals-led-nov-shutdown-ob-curtis-emails-show/
Tags: us_MS, industrial, follow-up, response, water_treatment
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A temporary shut down at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant in November was not solely the result of a bad batch of chemicals, but also the result of a leak and faulty equipment at the plant's chemical bulk tanks, emails obtained by WLBT indicate.
In November, the city of Jackson shut down production on the conventional side of the Curtis plant, after an operator at the facility discovered that a 'bad batch' of chemicals had gotten into the water.
The chemicals, ACH, or aluminum clorohydrate, are used to help solids 'coagulate' and sink to the bottom of the plant's conventional basins.
However, on Saturday, November 13, an operator noticed that the treatment was not working. And, as a result, the conventional side of the plant was shut down, causing water production in the city to drop.
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UPDATED: CHEMICAL MIXTURE PROMPT HAZMAT RESPONSE AND SENDS ONE PERSON TO HOSPITAL
https://www.capecod.com/cape-wide-news/chemical-mixture-prompt-hazmat-response-and-sends-one-person-to-hospital/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, cleaners
DENNIS ' A reported chemical mixture prompted a hazmat response to Dennis about 5:30 AM. The incident happened at 14 Prince Way. State Hazardous Materials technicians were working to determine what the chemicals were.
Statement from Dennnis Fire: At 5:39 AM Tuesday, the Dennis Fire Department had to request members of the Massachusetts State Hazardous Material Team to 14 Prince Way. One member of the household was treated and transported to Cape Cod Hospital with non-life threatening injuries due to incorrectly mixing household chemicals. Two police officers were evaluated on scene by paramedics and returned to work. The Mass state team isolated and identified the chemicals and abated any future hazards. No injuries to firefighters were sustained.
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STATE DOJ SUES TYCO, JOHNSON CONTROLS OVER MARINETTE-AREA PFAS CONTAMINATION
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2022/03/15/state-doj-sues-tyco-johnson-controls-over-marinette-area-pfas-contamination/
Tags: us_WI, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
The state Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Monday against the companies involved in the discharge of PFAS-related chemicals in northeast Wisconsin first reported five years ago.
The suit, filed in Marinette County Circuit Court against Johnson Controls Inc. and Tyco Fire Products, resulted from a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) investigation of PFAS contamination from firefighting foam around the communities of Marinette and Peshtigo that began more than two years ago.
The contamination originated at a fire technology facility in Marinette where Tyco developed and tested firefighting foams containing PFAS chemicals. Nicknamed 'forever chemicals' because they persist in the environment, PFAS chemicals contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and are found in thousands of everyday consumer products.
The Marinette PFAS discharge has produced 'a plume of PFAS groundwater contamination at and around' the fire technology center, the lawsuit charges. 'Because of Tyco and Johnson Controls' failure to completely investigate and define the extent of the PFAS contamination, the extent of this plume is not accurately known at this time,' the lawsuit states.
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'APPALLING' CHEMICAL SPILL IN MELBOURNE'S WEST LEAVES DEAD WILDLIFE STREWN THROUGH WATERWAYS
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-14/chemical-spill-kills-wildlife-in-melbournes-west/100909200
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical
Residents in Melbourne's west are devastated about a significant chemical spill that has left dead fish through local waterways and may have made it all the way to Port Phillip Bay.
The chemical spill occurred last Monday and came from an industrial area in Laverton North after a factory fire.
Environmental authorities believe about 12,000 to 13,000 litres of surfactant ' a type of chemical often found in detergent or soap ' was released into the waterways via stormwater drains.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has started a formal investigation, probing just how the spill occurred.
It does know pollution made its way into Cherry Creek, and then followed the creek's water flows east to Cherry Lake, a large lake used for fishing and recreational activities in Altona.
Here, fish and eels have been seen floating dead in large numbers right across the lake's surface for days.
---------------------------------------------
CRUSH IT SAFELY: SAFETY ASPECTS OF MECHANOCHEMICAL GRIGNARD SYNTHESIS
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chas.2c00018
Tags: Thailand, laboratory, discovery, environmental, magnesium, metals, solvent
The Grignard reaction has been one of the most versatile workhorses for synthetic organic chemists for more than a century. Typically, the preparation of Grignard reagents and their subsequent reactions require anhydrous solvents and a protective inert atmosphere. A recent report showed that the reactions could be performed under mechanochemical conditions by ball-milling magnesium metal, an organic halide, and a small amount of an ethereal solvent together followed by the addition of an electrophile. Excellent results were reported for a broad range of substrates even when the reaction was performed under the ambient atmosphere, making the process highly appealing to a wide synthetic community. In this commentary, some safety aspects of this mechanochemical Grignard reaction are pointed out so that appropriate risk management plans can be devised to ensure its safe use.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMISTRY IN PICTURES: LURKING IN THE CORNER
https://cen.acs.org/safety/lab-safety/Chemistry-Pictures-Lurking-corner/100/web/2022/03
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, discovery, environmental, bromine, corrosives
Cleaning out the corrosives cabinet isn't many people's favorite lab chore, but after finding this decomposing container of hydrobromic acid (HBr), Mark Olson was glad his group got around to it. Olson is a chemistry professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where he researches soft matter, nanoscience, and supramolecular chemistry. Glass reagent bottles are sometimes shipped in steel cans like this, surrounded by padding. 'I am not sure how long the bottle sat there,' he says. 'It was sitting towards the back behind a much larger bottle of another substance, easily out of view. What became clear once we began to clean it up was that the bottle inside the unopened can had somehow ruptured and was leaking,' he says.
The brown material is iron bromide (FeBr2), a relatively benign substance that formed as the acid leaked and reacted with the steel container. And the cabinet was properly vented, Olson says. Nonetheless, Olson says, they carefully moved the whole mess into a fume hood, took it apart, and disposed of everything in appropriate hazardous and chemical waste containers. In this case, the can corroded from the inside out, Olson says, but because other chemicals in the corrosives cabinet react with steel, whoever took delivery should have opened the can and placed just the bottle of reagent in with the others. 'Opening the can immediately after delivery to the lab might have shown that the bottle cap had failed,' he adds.
---------------------------------------------
TWO STUDENTS CHARGED WITH CAUSING EVACUATION AT SOUTH BRUNSWICK HIGH SCHOOL AFTER DISCHARGING PEPPER SPRAY
https://centraljersey.com/2022/03/14/two-students-charged-with-causing-evacuation-at-south-brunswick-high-school-after-discharging-pepper-spray/
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, pepper_spray
SOUTH BRUNSWICK ' Two students have been charged after pepper spray was found to be the irritant that caused an evacuation at South Brunswick High School (SBHS) on March 11.
The South Brunswick Police Department (SBPD) was notified about several students reporting eye and throat irritation following exposure to a chemical odor in a science classroom at SBHS around 12:25 p.m.
Upon police arrival, school administration decided to evacuate the school while the source of the odor was determined, according to reports.
While approximately 3,000 students and staff evacuated the building, 12 additional police officers responded to maintain safety and security, according to the statement from the SBPD on March 14.
...
After more than an hour of investigation, it was determined that the chemical irritant was pepper spray, according to the statement. The building was ventilated, and students and staff were allowed to re-enter the building.
---------------------------------------------
PROPANE TRUCK CRASHES, CLOSING I-80 IN AUBURN
https://fox40.com/news/local-news/propane-truck-crashes-closing-i-80-in-auburn/
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, propane
AUBURN, Calif. (KTXL) ' Authorities closed down part of Interstate 80 in Auburn after a crash involving a propane truck, the California Highway Patrol said.
The crash happened near Heather Glen on westbound I-80. According to the CHP, the driver of the truck had major injuries and was life-flighted out.
Authorities have stopped traffic at West Paoli Road on westbound I-80 due to a possible gas leak. Eastbound traffic is stopped at Applegate Road.
Caltrans advised drivers to not use local roads in an attempt to go around the closure.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT SITUATION ENDS IN COLONIE AFTER INCIDENT AT TOBIN PLANT
https://www.news10.com/top-stories/active-hazmat-situation-in-colonie-after-incident-at-tobin-plant/
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, ammonia
COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) ' A Hazardous Materials Incident on Exchange Street in the town of Colonie ended Monday evening. Officials said the incident took place at the former Tobin plant at 76 Exchange Street.
Many people reported chemical smells after the incident, and some reportedly vomited from chemical exposure. One person was driven to the hospital in a private vehicle, but they are okay.
According to Colonie Deputy Fire Coordinator Mike Romano, around the time the chemical smells were reported, Jackson Demolition, who is tearing down the former Tobin plant, reported a chemical leak. Romano said the company thought all the lines in an old refrigerator had been drained, but when the crew was tearing it apart, ammonia came out.
Romano said the leak has since been stopped. ENCON also came to the scene to assess the situation and see if any ammonia is left.
There were numerous road closures in the Exchange Street area, but they have since reopened.
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EP.92 HOW DO DIFFERENT CAREER PATHS AFFECT THE ROLES AND TRAINING NEEDS OF SAFETY PRACTITIONERS?
https://safetyofwork.com/episodes/ep92-how-do-different-career-paths-affect-the-roles-and-training-needs-of-safety-practitioners
Tags: France, education, discovery, environmental
The paper results center on a survey sent to a multitude of French industries, and although the sampling is from only one country, 15 years ago, the findings are very illustrative of common issues among safety professionals within their organizations. David used this paper as a reference for his PhD thesis, and we are going to dig into each section to discuss.
The paper's abstract introduction reads:
What are the training needs of company preventionists? An apparently straightforward question, but one that will very quickly run into a number of difficulties. The first involves the extreme variability of situations and functions concealed behind the term preventionist and which stretch way beyond the term's polysemous nature. Moreover, analysis of the literature reveals that very few research papers have endeavoured to analyse the activities associated with prevention practices, especially those of preventionists. This is a fact, even though prevention-related issues and preventionist responsibilities are becoming increasingly important.
---------------------------------------------
UNDERSTANDING INTERNATIONAL MECHANICAL CODE SECTION 510: RESEARCH LABORATORY APPLICATION
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chas.1c00091
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
A key engineering control to prevent overexposure to laboratory chemicals is the use of enclosed chemical processes connected to exhaust ventilation. The vast majority of the US states have adopted the International Mechanical Code which provides guidance on the design of mechanical systems, including exhaust ventilation systems. This code contains Chapter 510, which addresses hazardous exhaust systems. This article explains where and how this often misunderstood chapter applies to research laboratory exhaust systems.
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MASSIVE AUSTRALIAN WILDFIRES CAUSED NEW DAMAGE TO THE OZONE LAYER
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/massive-australian-wildfires-caused-new-damage-to-the-ozone-layer/4015362.article
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, dust, nitrogen_dioxide
Smoke from immense wildfires, which are projected to become more frequent because of climate change, can reach high into the upper atmosphere and damage the ozone layer, according to a new study. The researchers say the massive pillars of smoke above the huge wildfires in Australia in late 2019 and early 2020 ' what's called the 'Black Summer' ' injected over 1 million tonnes of smoke particles as high as 35km into the atmosphere, and caused chemical reactions that set back the recovery of stratospheric ozone by about 10 years.
'This event essentially cancelled out a decade's worth of recovery,' says atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the lead author of the study.1 'It only lasted six to eight months, but what if they happen more often?'
The Australian wildfires in the southern summer of 2019 and 2020 were some of the worst on record. It's estimated that they burnt more than 240,000km2 of bush over six months and resulted in more than 400 deaths, while their towering clouds of smoke ' called pyrocumulonimbus ' measured more than 1000km across and stayed intact for several months.2
Solomon and her colleagues observed the chemical effects of the smoke clouds on the stratosphere in mid-latitudes in data from three orbiting scientific instruments. Each showed the smoke particles caused a sharp drop in the amount of nitrogen dioxide in the stratosphere ' a cold and very dry layer of the upper atmosphere, typically between 10km and 50km above the Earth's surface ' which is the first step of a chemical cascade that results in ozone depletion.
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COMPARING MODERN AND ARCHIVAL PINE NEEDLES SHOWS HOW PFAS POLLUTION EVOLVES OVER TIME
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/Comparing-modern-archival-pine-needles/100/web/2022/03
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Fallen pine needles may offer a cheap and simple way to monitor the atmosphere for pollution from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). By running pine needles through a combination of chemical separations and analyses, researchers mapped the presence of more than 70 PFAS in a single region (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c06483). The results provide a proof of concept for PFAS sampling that doesn't require continuous air monitoring.
PFAS in the environment has been linked to serious health issues, but monitoring atmospheric PFAS levels is challenging because there are potentially more than 9,000 different PFAS molecules and because air sampling systems are cumbersome and expensive.
Inspired by past work on detecting persistent chemicals in tree bark, Scott Belcher, an environmental scientist at North Carolina State University, and his colleagues, found that atmospheric PFAS sticks especially strongly to pine needles' waxy cuticles. He and his team collected pine needles in the region and analyzed them using liquid chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry, and mass spectrometry. The technique could distinguish different PFAS from just 20 or so dry, ground-up needles.
The researchers performed the same analysis on pine needles archived by NC State and Duke University going back to 1961, achieving a snapshot of where particular PFAS were most prominent over the past 6 decades.
By using the historical samples, Belcher's team was able to observe the shift from phased-out PFAS to newer derivatives that are less well studied. For example, the researchers observed remnants of aqueous film-forming foams that came into use by the military in the 1960s. They also observed a rise in levels of fluoroethers produced at a factory that was built in the 1980s. Seeing how the samples track the spatial and temporal distribution of particular PFAS was 'jaw-dropping,' Belcher says.
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