=E2=9C=AD Bucks County Church Evacuated Due to Fumes | NBC Philadelphia 

Bucks County officials are calling this a "mass casualty" incident. 

A call was placed to emergency services around 9:40 a.m. reporting people fainting at the church on Almshouse Road. Police, fire officials, and hazmat teams quickly responded to the scence. Members of the first response crew that entered the church were also sickened by the fumes. 

The county labeled the event "code yellow," requiring additional emergency workers. 

The church had been filling up with people who had come for the 10 a.m. service. There were about 300 people inside the church at the time of the incident. While emergency responders went to work, churchgoers held Mass outside on the church parking lot.

us_pa  exposures  injuries  response  

=E2=9C=AD SunLive - Metal burns at chemical plant - The Bays' News First 

Thick black smoke billowed into the air at a Mount Maunganui chemical plant on Sunday night after metal filters in an open yard caught fire. 

Fire fighters arrived at Hexion Specialty Chemicals Limited on Totara Street at about 7.30pm to battle the blaze. 

It took them close to an hour to completely extinguish the fire. 

Outiside Hexion Specialty Chemicals Limited on Monday morning. 

Tauranga senior station officer, Mark Keller, says the metal filters were full of a flammable resin. 

He says the build up of resin is formed when the filters are used to process pine tree extract into turpentine. 

"The fire started in the metal filters and at this stage we think it was caused by chemical spontaneous combustion.=" 

The fire spread to other metal components in the yard, including a shipping container.

nz  industrial  fire  response  

=E2=9C=AD HAZMAT Team Finds Chemicals at Smelly Hastings House | Firstcoastnews.com | Most Popular 

HASTINGS, Fla. -- Drums of chemicals were likely the cause of a foul odor in the Flagler Estates neighborhood, police said. 

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office responded this evening to a bad smell coming from the back yard of a home in the Flagler Estates neighborhood in Hastings, according to SJCSO Sgt. Chuck Mulligan. 

The home had been foreclosed on and officials found drums of what they said are chemicals left behind by the former owners. 

It does not seem to be a drug situation or a meth lab, Mulligan said.

us_fl  wastes  response  odor  home  

=E2=9C=AD Green chemical in B.C. river not toxic, study confirms 

VICTORIA =E2=80=94 The chemical that turned Victoria=E2=80=99s Goldstream River green earlier this week has been confirmed as fluorescein. 

Water samples taken Wednesday from the river and from a green-spouting fountain in Veterans Memorial Park were sent to Environment Canada=E2=80=99s Pacific Environmental Science Centre in North Vancouver for assessment, said Dan Gilmore, provincial environment ministry spokesman. 

"Test results . . . confirm the substance causing the green colour in the river and the fountain was fluorescein,=" Gilmore said. 

"Fluorescein is a synthetic organic compound soluble in water and alcohol. It is widely used as a fluorescent tracer for many applications. The product itself and its products of degradation are not toxic.=" 

Based on the flow rate of the river, the probable concentration of fluorescein and lab results, Environment Ministry staff do not believe that fish or fish habitat were harmed during this incident, Gilmore said.

canada  leak  response  dye  

=E2=9C=AD Chemical reaction sparks fire at Amarillo business : News : 

AMARILLO, TEXAS -- A chemical reaction, sparked a fire Wednesday night at Amarillo Artificial Brace and Limb at 713 North Taylor. Around 9:50, firefighters responded to the call, it took 28 firefighters to put the blaze out staying on scene until just before 1:30 a.m. 

Fire officials said that the fire started in a closet, a chemical reaction was the heat source that sparked the blaze. Oily rags stored in the closet contributed to the fire, as it spread to the roof deck. 

The roof was heavily damaged, and adjacent areas had minor smoke and water damage.

us_tx  fire  response  industrial  

=E2=9C=AD Minnesota sues 3M over chemical disposal - Bloomberg 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) =E2=80=94 The state of Minnesota sued 3M Co. on Thursday, alleging its disposal of chemicals once used to make Scotchgard fabric protector and other products damaged the state's natural resources, including more than 100 miles of the Mississippi River. 

The lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County, demands 3M pay for the damage, which the state says includes the loss of fish and damage to groundwater, surface water and sediment. The lawsuit doesn't specify the cost of the damage. 

"3M made a mess, they contaminated the waters," Attorney General Lori Swanson said. "We want them to step up and make it right." 

3M spokesman Bill Nelson said Thursday that 3M has stepped up, pledging to pay the state up to $8 million to cover some direct costs of cleanup and $5 million to fund environmental research into the chemicals. 3M also is working on remediation at its disposal sites. 

The lawsuit focuses on 3M's disposal of perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, and their compounds. The Maplewood-based 3M began producing PFCs in the 1940s, and legally disposed of them in landfills until the early 1970s =E2=80=94 when the company built a corporate incinerator to handle the waste.

us_mn  wastes  followup  

=E2=9C=AD BBC News - Witney health centre chemical leak sparks evacuation 

Twenty-five firefighters were called to a health centre laboratory in Oxfordshire following a chemical leak. 

A strong smell of ammonia was reported from a laboratory fridge in the Windrush Health Centre, Witney. It was then evacuated. 

Three people were checked over by paramedics after breathing in fumes during the leak on Wednesday at 1500 GMT. 

The fridge was removed by specialist crews who ventilated the building. 

A specialist environmental protection unit was also called to the scene as well as two fire engines, before the centre reopened two hours later.

uk  laboratory  response  hospital  ammonia  leak  

=E2=9C=AD WPD: Four teens arrested for exploding porch bottle bomb | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC News 

WILMINGTON, NC (NEWS RELEASE) - WPD officers responded to a chemical bottle bomb explosion at 3950 Appleton Way at 12:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The victim reported that when he answered the doorbell, the bottle bomb detonated, causing damage to the residence. Responding officers also found a second bomb at the scene that had not exploded. Initially there were no suspects. 

At 4:30 p.m. on the same day (Wednesday afternoon), a citizen called 911 to report that some teenagers at 3927 Appleton Way were blowing up bottles in their backyard. Responding officers determined that the suspects at 3927 Appleton Way had been involved in the earlier incident. When WPD detectives interviewed them, all four suspects were implicated in the manufacture and explosion of the device used at 3950 Appleton Way. All were charged with Malicious Use of an Explosive Device. Arrested:

us_nc  illegal  explosion  response  home  

=E2=9C=AD UPDATE: All lanes reopened on I-20 after big-rig fire - KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville | 

HARRISON COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - All lanes of Interstate 20 between Longivew and Marshall are now open. 

According to Harrison County officials, at around 5:30, Thursday morning, a semi-truck carrying cooking oil and aerosol cans of cooking spray had a tire blowout on I-20 westbound at mile marker 612. The trailer of the truck as well as the load it was carrying caught fire. 

Hazmat and other emergency crews had to wash the oil off the roadway and clean up the aerosol cans.

us_tx  transportation  fire  response  

=E2=9C=AD Chemical Spill Evacuates the Oregon Primate Center | ThePortlander 

A chlorine gas leak caused the evacuation of an Oregon National Primate Center building in Hillsboro Wednesday morning along with a response from firefighters and a Hazardous Materials Team. The incident happened around 9am when Primate Center employees reported a chemical leak. Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue=E2=80=99s (TVF&R) Engine 64 from the nearby Somerset Station, arrived minutes later. They requested additional resources from the Hillsboro Fire Department and also the regional hazardous materials response team. 

Firefighters entered the building known as the Animal Services ABSL3 building and found two 4=E2=80 =B2 tall chlorine cylinders strapped to a cart. They shut off the flow of chlorine and began monitoring the air quality inside the building. The Hazardous Materials Team later removed the two tanks from the building and continued to monitor the air quality inside the building=E2=80=99s hallways. 

Primate Center Health and Safety workers say they were preparing to disinfect a laboratory area with chlorine when one worker said she heard an unusual pop from the chlorine tank=E2=80=99s regulator as she opened the tank=E2=80=99s valve and then began smelling chlorine gas. She quickly activated the building=E2=80=99s safety system, evacuated fellow workers and sheltered the primates in place. The safety systems include an air flow ventilation system that prevented the leaked chlorine gas in the hallway from entering any of the rooms occupied by the primates. No one was injured.

us_or  laboratory  chlorine  releases  response  

=E2=9C=AD Chemical fire clears crowded Sunshine Plaza 

A busy Sunshine Coast shopping complex was evacuated yesterday after the chemical acetone ignited inside a beauty and day spa. 

Thousands of customers and staff at Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore were told to leave about 1pm after a fire broke out in one of the treatment rooms of Pure Indulgence, on the upper floor of the plaza. 

The fire was contained to the one room, which suffered smoke and fire damage.

australia  retail  fire  solvent  

=E2=9C=AD Radio New Zealand : News : Regional : Chemical spill contained at building near airport 

Fire crews have contained a chemical spill at a helicopter maintenance company near Auckland. 

Two staff at Airwork New Zealand at Ardmore Airport were evacuated and the site was cordoned off on Thursday morning. 

About 300 litres of chromic acid was found to have leaked. 

The Fire Service says the chemical has now been neutralised and absorbed, and the building has been ventilated.

nz  spill  releases  chromic_acid  response  industrial  

=E2=9C=AD Adams Plating fire cleanup may close Rosemary Street for up to 2 weeks | lansingstatejournal.com | Lansing State Journal 

LANSING TWP. -- Crews continue to clean up contaminated water today following a Monday fire that destroyed Adams Plating Co. at 521 Rosemary St. in Lansing Township. 

The business, which was used primarily for chrome, copper and nickel electroplating, housed hazardous chemicals including hexavalent chromium. 

Preliminary testing shows that chromium trioxide, a type of hexavalent chromium, was the most prevalent chemical found in the water. The chemical is not in high enough concentrations to be a direct contact threat, said Jeff Lippert, federal on-scene coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

The chemical can cause respiratory problems and lead to an increased risk of lung cancer if inhaled in very high concentrations.

us_mi  fire  followup  cleanup  

=E2=9C=AD Container of liquid-filled vials found in safe believed to - Local News - WRGB CBS 6 Albany 

ALBANY -- Police say a man brought into their headquarters Wednesday morning a plastic container containing what was originally thought to be a possibly hazardous substance. 

The man said his son found the container of liquid-filled ampoules inside a safe he'd opened this morning, and was afraid it may be hazardous, according to public safety spokesperson Det. James Miller. The Albany Fire Department haz-mat team responded and removed the ampoules, and State Police took them afterward. 

Investigators believe at this time the liquid may be phosgene, a chemical gas used in World War I, as well as to safeguard safes.

us_ny  discovery  response  phosgene  

=E2=9C=AD Report: Mass. Blast Not the Fault of Gas Company - ABC News 

State fire investigators have concluded that a fatal explosion at a condominium project last summer was not the result of the delivery of odorless propane gas from a Westfield, Mass., distributor, as initially thought. 

The report from Fire Marshal Stephen Coan's office into the July explosion in Norfolk instead pointed to another possible cause =E2=80=94 a phenomenon known as "odorant fade." 

That can occur when the chemical that gives propane its distinctive "rotten eggs" smell fades over time. Odorant fade can occur in new tanks or tanks that have run dry and are only partially filled. 

The 1,000-gallon tank at the condominium construction site had only 200 gallons of propane in it at the time of the explosion, which killed an electrician and injured three others workers and two firefighters. Workers said they did not smell gas before the blast.

us_ma  followup  deaths  explosion  

=E2=9C=AD Memorial for fallen firefighter 

Steven "Peanut=" Koeser was killed while fighting a dumpster fire in Calumet County on December 29, 2009. Officials say water and foam the department was using to put out the fire caused a chemical reaction with products in the dumpster. There was an explosion and Koeser was tossed approximately 60 feet. 

"It still doesn=E2=80=99t seem real, it feels like it just happened yesterday," said Kelly Wallesh, the mother of Koeser's 5-year-old daughter Lexus.

us_wi  explosion  deaths  followup  

=E2=9C=AD Jos explosion not a bomb 

The Commissioner of Police for the Plateau State Command, Abdulramman Akano, has refuted reports of last night=E2=80=99s bomb explosion in Barkin Ladi. At around 11.30pm yesterday, an explosion which was thought to be a bomb rocked Barkin Ladi, a town on the outskirts of Jos. Initial reports suggested that a person, thought to be the carrier of the bomb had died in the explosion before he could reach his target. Mr. Akano, however insists journalists got it wrong. According to him the explosion took place in a laboratory in a secondary school when a chemistry teacher at the Islamic Orientation Secondary School was conducting an experiment with his students. 

He said the teacher, Abubakar Musa, did not die, but was hurt and is being treated in a hospital. The commissioner also said the explosion occurred at around 4 in the afternoon rather than late at night as reported by media outlets. 

Details of happenings in Jos remain very sketchy as movement is still patchy. Residents remain apprehensive and there is very little in the way of public transport, forcing even those who want to move around to stay indoors.

nigeria  laboratory  unknown_source  explosion  injuries