Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 13:42:40 -0500
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Subject: 6 Chemical Safety News Reports from google

Iowa

http://www.wqad.com/news/sns-ap-ia--dupontfactoryfire,0,119783.story

Fire damage to cost more than $30,000 at Iowa chemical plant
By Associated Press
8:07 AM CST, December 4, 2009
FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) =97 A fire in the basement of a Fort Madison chemical plant caused thousands of dollars in damage and the building was evacuated.

No one was injured in the fire at the DuPont plant on Thursday morning.

Investigators say the factory suffered about $30,000 to $40,000 in damage.

Employees first reported the fire in the basement and shipping area of the plant, which makes colorants and pigmented inks for digital printing systems.

Fort Madison Fire Chief Joey Herren says employees cutting metal for maintenance likely set fire to the wooden floor framing accidentally.

===
United Kingdom

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/8396058.stm

Chemical spill shuts X-ray ward

An X-ray department at a Cambridgeshire hospital has been evacuated after chemicals mixed to create harmful gas.

Fire crews were called to North Cambridgeshire Hospital in Wisbech where a small amount of hydrochloric acid had been spilt.

The acid mixed with another substance creating chlorine gas on Thursday afternoon.

The department was evacuated, and two hospital staff needed medical treatment after breathing in the gas.

Extractor fans were used to remove the gas, and the department has since re-opened.

===
Pakistan

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJl19yd2 FjYmDBROQyalXb6Bh1mw

Three killed in Pak accidental blast: officials
(AFP) - 11 hours ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan =97 At least three people were killed and 13 others wounded in an accidental blast at a building in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Saturday, officials said.

"It was a low intensity explosion caused by a chemical reaction," local bomb disposal chief Shafqat Malik told AFP.

He added that the blast occurred in a chemical shop in the market.

City police chief Liaqat Ali Khan also confirmed the blast was accidental and caused by a chemical reaction, promising "stern action against those dealing with dangerous chemicals in densely populated areas of Peshawar."

Top local administration official Sahebzada Mohammad Anees said: "Three people were killed and 13 others wounded in the explosion."

A senior doctor at the government's main Lady Reading Hospital, Zafar Iqbal, said two bodies and 13 injured had been brought to the hospital."
A doctor at Peshawar's Khyber Teaching Hospital, Mohammad Imran, said one dead body was taken to his hospital.

===
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-091204-hazmat-situation -pg,0,3466625.photogallery

Milwaukee fire department finds ammonia burning at Hydrite Chemical Co.
Milwaukee fire department and its hazardous materials team respond to a call on the city's northwest side Friday morning.

An employee at Hydrite Chemical Company, located in the 7300 block of W. Bradley Rd., was moving 55 pounds of ammonium-sulfate and accidentally dropped the substance on the floor. When the worker tried to sweep it up, it ignited into a small fire. The fire was put out by the company's overhead sprinkler system.

===
Washington State follow up

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/12/04/ local_news/doc4b195d643d7e9855445593.txt

Cleanup plans under way at biodiesel plant
BY JACOB JONES
The Daily World
Friday, December 4, 2009 11:11 AM PST


Imperium Grays Harbor officials continue to assess the damage from Wednesday=92s explosion as clean-up crews sift through powdered glycerin and debris scattered by the blast.

Workers in bright green coats hustled in and out of the Hoquiam plant this morning as a large tanker truck sat parked near the damaged tanks. A large piece of metal tank that crashed into a chain-link security fence had been removed and the fence temporarily rebuilt.

Spokeswoman Kim Schmanke, with the Department of Ecology, said environmental officials monitored the site as private contractors worked Thursday to clear a layer of glycerin from the biodiesel plant grounds.

=93Most of it was in powder form,=94 she said, adding, =93It looks like soot.=94

The harmless material coated much of the refinery when a 10,000-gallon tank containing a mix of glycerin and sulfuric acid over-pressurized at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and exploded, rattling windows creating a boom heard miles away.

The blast completely destroyed the mixing tank and ruptured a nearby 3,000-gallon tank of sulfuric acid, which leaked about 500 gallons of the corrosive chemical into safety basins around the tank.

Officials say none of the acid leaked out of the containment basins and the spill does not pose any threat to nearby air or water. Environmental officials said air quality tests detected no traces of sulfuric acid at neighboring homes or businesses.

Imperium spokesman John Williams wrote in a news release the company was working closely with safety and environmental officials. He said environmental officials have turned over safety supervision and air quality monitoring to the private clean-up contractors.

=93(T)he incident site is fully stable and clean up crews remain active,=94 he wrote. =93Imperium officials are monitoring the clean up, continuing to investigate the cause of the accident, and assessing the damage.=94

Spokeswoman Elaine Fischer, with the state Department of Labor & Industries, confirmed safety inspectors had responded to the plant Thursday to launch a workplace safety investigation.

=93It=92ll be an ongoing inspection for some months,=94 she said, noting few details would be available until the investigation is complete.

Williams reported police and fire crews were no longer at the plant as private crews took the lead on Thursday. He wrote Imperium continues to take stock of the damage and could not offer any timeline for repairing the damage and restarting biodiesel production.

=93The company is still assessing the situation,=94 he wrote.

Schmanke said about two or three days of site cleaning and hazardous chemical work remain. Crews must finish removing the glycerin, some of which is solid or semi-solid, before they can clear the acid.

Crews will chemically neutralize the acid and then pump it into disposal trucks, she said, =93essentially vacuuming it up.=94

Schmanke said the ecology department will not be at the plant today, but will stay on call in case of any developments.

=93We remain responsive and ready to be there,=94 she said.

Williams wrote that Imperium hopes to release more information as it becomes available from inspectors and cleanup workers.

=93The company is grateful for the support of local first responders,=94 he wrote, =93and the Grays Harbor community as the cleanup continues.=94

===
S. Lorea

http: //english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6832831.html

Three killed, two injured in explosion at S. Korea's chemical plant
16:41, December 04, 2009      

Three people were killed and two others injured Friday in an explosion at a chemical factory in Yongin, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting local police. 

According to the media, the explosion, caused by a fire at the plant, occurred around local time 03:12 p.m. (0412 GMT). 

A 64-year-old man, a 61-year-old man, and a 63-year-old woman were killed, while a 62-year-old and a 47-year-old man were injured with burns, the media said. 

The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. 

Investigators said they are looking into the exact cause of the explosion, according to the media.




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