DCHAS-L Archives Jan 14 2011 - Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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YOUNGSTOWN NEWS, CHEMICAL SPILL AT POLAND SEMINARY HIGH SCHOOL, http://www.vindy.com/news/2011/jan/13/chemical-spill-pola nd-seminary-high-school/

POLAND =97 Firefighters responded to a small chemical spill at Poland Seminary High School on Dobbins Road this morning.

Around 8:30 a.m., someone was cleaning and knocked over a bottle of Xylene, a clear, colorless liquid that can be very flammable. Students were asked to leave the classroom where the spill was contained, but the building was not evacuated, said township Police Chief Brian Goodin.

=93It had an odor to it, and as a precaution, they called the fire department,=94 he said. =93It was determined that it was nothing of any major issue. They used big fans to blow the area out, and fortunately it was by one of the main doors.=94

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HYDERABAD: Two heavy vehicles overturned in the city in separate incidents, creating chaos on arterial roads on Thursday.

Motorists suffered a lot as traffic got diverted after heavy vehicles turned turtle on the main roads in Habsiguda and Saifabad on Thursday morning.

At about 5.30 am, a tanker (AP 16 TW 6433) carrying 25 tons of highly inflammable `Toulene' chemical from Kakinada port to Jeedimetla overturned after hitting the retaining wall of the Tarnaka flyover at its entry point. As a result, motorists were forced to take a detour and travel 13 kilometres extra to reach their workplaces.

Immediately after the accident, the driver fled from the spot as the chemical began leaking onto the Uppal main road.

Police were immediately alerted about the incident and after consulting the fire department officials, cops learnt that the material was highly inflammable and immediately blocked the road at Habsiguda and Mettuguda ends and diverted traffic through Nacharam.

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(01-13) 14:51 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Seven San Francisco middle school students were taken to hospitals Thursday after ingesting small amounts of rat poison they found on top of a classroom filing cabinet, thinking the single blue cube was candy, fire officials said.

The Martin Luther King Jr. students, who showed no symptoms other than fear, were transported to three local hospitals, but were not expected to suffer any harmful consequences, said Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge.

Talmadge said one of the students found the small cube and took a little nibble and told classmates it tasted like a cookie.

Six others, boys and girls ranging in age from 10 to 12, then licked or bit pieces of the 1.5-inch cube of poison and either swallowed or spit it out.

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2 ARRESTED; METH LAB FOUND IN NORTH-SIDE HOTEL | NBC 4I, http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/jan/13/15/meth-lab-fou nd-north-side-hotel-ar-361134/

Two people are in custody after hazmat and law enforcement crews found a meth lab inside a hotel on the city's north side.

The raid occurred at the Hawthorn Suites on Zumstein Drive shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday.

According to law enforcement officers, the investigation began after a raid at a home last week led police to the hotel near state Route 161. Police said a meth lab was found inside one of the suites and hazmat crews worked to secure the scene.

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HAZMAT CREWS CALLED FOR DROPPED THERMOMETER - NEWS STORY - WNEM SAGINAW, http://www.wnem.com /news/26477670/detail.html

FLINT, Mich. -- The Genesee County hazmat team responded to an emergency call Thursday morning that ended up involving a dropped thermometer.

Officials said the Flint homeowner dropped the mercury-filled thermometer inside her home in the 2300 block of Ohio Avenue just before 5 a.m.

She called 911, where operators alerted the fire department who then called in the hazmat team in.

Officials said most of the mercury evaporated, but plans are in place to have the health department brought in as a precautionary measure.

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A small fluid spill closed a busy Twin Falls intersection for about two hours Thursday.

The Twin Falls Fire Department was one of multiple agencies that responded to the spill at noon Thursday at the intersection ofPole Line Road and Bridgeview Boulevard.

Battalion Chief Brian Cunningham said several motorists reported a container of fluid blocking the eastbound lane of Pole Line. No witnesses reported seeing the vehicle that dropped it. Cunningham said the container was a 2-gallon weed sprayer containing an unknown fluid that had a vapor cloud coming off it, noticeable even in the rain.

All roads leading to the intersection were closed, except the west-most westbound lane of Pole Line. Cunningham called in a hazardous materials response team from Jerome.

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A boat carrying 2,400 tons of sulfuric acid from the chemical company BASF capsized in Germany's Rhine River at 5 a.m. today, Jan. 13. Rescuers are searching the river for two missing men who are part of the ship's four-man crew.

At this point, "to our knowledge no acid leaked into the river," from the stainless steel double-hulled tanker called the Waldorf, Robert Baack, the chief operating officer for Lehnkering, the company managing the shipping, said in a statement.

The capsize happened, "for as yet unexplained reasons," he noted.

River levels are higher than normal due to recent melting of large quantities of snow that fell over the past month, and the accident occurred at a narrow point in the river which is known to have strong currents, according to AFP, the French press agency.

The boat was carrying the sulfuric acid from Ludwigshafen, in southern Germany to Antwerp, Belgium, says Ursula von Stetten, a BASF spokeswoman.

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HAZMAT CREWS CONTAIN LEAK AT WASHINGTON COUNTY GAS STATION - NEWS STORY - WPXI PITTSBURGH, http://www.wpxi.com /news/26470810/detail.html

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Hazardous materials crews were called to a Washington County gas station on Wednesday after a fuel leak in the parking lot.

Channel 11's Jodine Costanzo reported that a tanker truck had delivered gas to a BP station in South Strabane Township when about 100 gallons of fuel seeped out of an underground holding tank.

Firefighters and Hazmat crews closed off the parking lot and alerted nearby businesses as they cleaned up the mess.

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BENNINGTON, Vt. -- Mace, the company that makes tear gas and pepper spray products, says it will plead guilty to a federal charge of storing hazardous waste at its Vermont plant without a permit and will pay a $100,000 fine.

Mace Security International Inc. announced the intended settlement Monday.

Mace and founder John Goodrich were charged with keeping hazardous waste in buildings at its Bennington plant and in shipping containers outside it. The company says it has spent more than $785,000 cleaning up the site.

Mace tells the Bennington Banner the subsidiary company, Mace Personal Defense Inc., has submitted the plea agreement to the U.S. attorney in Vermont. It must be approved by prosecutors and a federal judge.

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One person was killed and 12 others injured in a mysterious blast at a newly-operational chemical factory in Vapi GIDC early on Wednesday.

The deceased is a factory worker but his identity is yet to be established. Six of the injured include fire brigade personnel, as the site is situated opposite the office of the Vapi GIDC Fire Brigade.

The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals in Vapi where their condition is reported to be critical.

Authorities have approached factory inspectors and Forensic Science Laboratory officials to ascertain the exact cause of the blast.

According to the Fire Brigade, a blast took place in one of the vessels where some chemical process at high temperature and pressure was under progress, at Arson Chemicals in Vapi GIDC, Phase II.

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NEW BLAST NEAR OIL PORT FOS-LAVERA, TRAFFIC NORMAL | ENERGY &AMP; OIL | REUTERS, http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE70B0WX20110112

PARIS/MARSEILLE Jan 12 (Reuters) - Fire fighters reported a blast at a petrochemical site in Fos-Lavera on Wednesday, the second incident in less than a week in the sprawling industrial zone, but traffic at the nearby oil terminal was not affected.

No one was injured in the incident, which occured just before 0400 GMT on the site of petrochemical plant Compagnie Petrochimique de Berre, a unit of U.S. group LyondellBasell (LYB.N: Quote).

The aftermath of the explosion and an ensuing spill of oil products have now been brought under control, rescue teams told Reuters.

A spokeswoman at LyondellBasell said a fire started in a trench on the site of Compagnie Petrochimique de Berre and that an investigation was being carried out to find out what caused the blast.

"We have heard an explosion but this was a fire really. We are still investigating," she said, adding this had not affected LyondellBasell's neighbouring refinery.

"There has been no consequence, no injury, no output interruption and no consequence for the environment."

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LAFD FIRE CAPTAIN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS FOLLOWING BLAST | FIREHOUSE.COM, http://www.firehouse.com/news/top-headlin es/lafd-fire-captain-knocked-unconscious-following-blast

A veteran Los Angeles fire captain was injured after an explosion at a car fire rendered him unconscious on Jan. 9.

Engine 1 responded the fire at 546 West Solano Avenue shortly after 9 p.m. on Jan. 9 near the Arroyo Seco Parkway in Elysian Park, according to a department report.

Read Report

Crews found a 2000 Chevy Impala fully involved and used a 1-and-a-half-inch line to attack the blaze but had problems containing it.

The sedan began leaking fuel, which ignited. It was attacked with a dry chemical extinguisher while the engineer established a 2-and-a-half-inch supply line.

The captain directed both firefighters to establish an additional line for Class B foam application and as they were establishing the line, the captain observed fire in the passenger compartment and attacked the fire with the initial attack line.

The application of water to the fire around the steering column caused a violent explosion, forcing the captain backwards and causing him to hit his head on the pavement.

He was rendered unconscious and was assessed by fellow firefighters.

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CROWN HEIGHTS FACTORY WORKERS FLEE FROM CHEMICAL EXPLOSION - NY1.COM, http://brooklyn.ny1.com/conte nt/top_stories/132093/crown-heights-factory-workers-flee-from-chemical-exp losion

Factory workers in Crown Heights, Brooklyn braved the cold Wednesday, after a chemical explosion forced officials to evacuate their workplace.

Fire officials say someone mixed an acid into tanks of bleach stored inside industrial drums at the Sea Crest Linen Supply company, leading to an explosion just before noon.

Bleach is a commonly used ingredient in the manufacturing of linens.

Several workers were given oxygen at the scene, but no serious injuries were reported.

Some of the roughly 200 employees working at the business, which supplies linens to restaurants and hotels, described a loud explosion before they left the building.

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DUTCHNEWS.NL - VERY HIGH LEVELS OF LEAD FOUND CLOSE TO CHEMICAL FIRE, FARMERS FED UP, http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/01/very_high_le vels_of_lead_found.php

Dangerous concentrations of lead have been found in fields close to the the Moerdijk chemicals packaging company which went up in flames last week.

Chemistry professor Jacob de Boer told television programme Nieuwsuur the amount of lead - up to a thousand times the permited level - is 'extremely worrying'.

Officials have so far maintained there is no danger to human health from soot released in the blaze.

Liable

Nevertheless, on Tuesday Breda mayor Peter van der Velden said the plant may have broken its licencing conditions and could be liable.

Van der Velden was speaking on behalf of the public prosecution department and refused to answer any further questions, news agency ANP said.

A department spokesman told ANP officials had carried out searches of the Chemie-Pack offices, and that revealed possible infringements of the licence.

But he too refused to go into further details.

A spokesman for the company also refused to elaborate on the allegations

Dioxin

Meanwhile, it also emerged on Tuesday that cancer-causing dioxins had been found in the soot which had fallen in a 10-mile radius of the blaze. But the concentrations 'were not unusual' in the winter, Dordrecht mayor Arno Brok was quoted as saying by Nos tv.

A high concentration of dioxin found in grass growing 3 km from the fire was being looked into, he said.

Nevertheless, previous advice not to eat winter vegetables and to keep children and livestock indoors remains in force, Brok said.

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DUTCH CHEMICAL COMPANY "FLAUNTED REGULATIONS" | RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE, http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/dutch-chemical-company-fl ounted-regulations

Chemie-Pack, the Dutch chemical company which burned down last week, apparently repeatedly flaunted environmental and fire safety regulations. The current affairs programme EenVandaag, which has seen inspection reports dating back to 2002, says that despite this it continued to be granted permits.

As early as October 2002 the Public Prosecutor's Office threatened Chemie-Pack with sanctions for contravening fire safety regulations. The company's automatic sprinkler system was not operating properly and the roof was not sufficiently fire-resistant. Between 2007 and 2009 inspectors reported that chemicals were not stored correctly.

Fierce chemical fires broke out at Chemie-Pack's plant in Moerdijk, south of Rotterdam, on Thursday last week. It took firefighters over 30 hours to get the blaze under control.

Professor of Environmental Science Lucas Reijnders, who studied the documents for the TV programme, says the company should have been shut down.

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CHEMICAL SPILL AT ROMSEY SUPERMARKET (FROM DAILY ECHO), http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8785910.Chemical_spill_at_ Hampshire_supermarket/

FIREFIGHTERS cleared up a chemical spillage in a Hampshire supermarket car park in the early hours of today.

A crew from Romsey fire station dressed in protective gear spread granules to absorb dangerous industrial fluids after cordoning off the car park area in Waitrose car park in Alma Road, Romsey, just after midnight.

The fluid was leaking from drums in a parked lorry.

A nail had pierced a 200 litre container causing highly flammable and toxic fluid used in the rubber industry to leak out. The driver raised the alarm.

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