Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2011 07:57:44 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety"

Subject: Chemical Safety Headlines from Google

http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

* Gasoline spill in Tuscon
TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - Hazmat crews were called in to help clean up a gasoline s
pill at an industrial facility on the south side Wednesday night. 

It happened at Holly Energy near Ajo and Alvernon, where firefighters say a t
ank holding 672,000 gallons of unleaded fuel started leaking. As of 10:30pm W
ednesday night, crews estimated 200-300 gallons of gasoline leaked out of th
e tank. 

Hazmat crews used foam to suppress some of the fumes from the spill, but the
y were still looking for the source of the leak late Wednesday. 

Crews anticipated working all through the night to pump out the remaining ga
soline from the damaged tank. 

Firefighters evacuated two nearby businesses that had graveyard shifts. Kind
er Morgan shut its fuel yard down, and a towing company sent its employees h
ome. 

There are no reports of any injuries. 

us_az  industrial  release  response  petroleum  

=E2=9C=AD Two hospitalized after 'strange smell' sickens employees 
An unusual odor inside a Kent building sickened five people this morning, bu
t the city=E2=80=99s Hazmat team was unable to find anything out of the ordi
nary. 

Several employees of the business, which is located in the 6300 block of S. 1
99th Place, were examined by members of the Kent Fire Department after compl
aining of an odd smell just before 11 a.m. 

Five employees reported feeling ill, and two were sent to the hospital as a p
recaution. 

A Hazmat team evacuated the building and took air samples. The samples didn=E2
=80=99t show anything unusual and employees were allowed back in the buildin
g at noon. An outside company was also brought in to examine the building=E2
=80=99s ventilation system. 

According to a Kent Fire Department news release, the affected business work
s with plastic films and adhesives.
us_wa  industrial  exposure  response  unknown_chemical  

=E2=9C=AD WHDH-TV - Hazmat crews in Medford after delivery truck scare 
MEDFORD, Mass. -- Hazardous materials crews were called to Medford after a s
care in a delivery truck on Thursday night. 

Crews were not exactly sure what chemical it was that they were dealing with
, but crews are focusing their attention on a FedEx truck. 

The driver of that truck was on the interstate when all of a sudden he felt i
ll. He became nauseous and light headed, causing him to pull over in a Medfo
rd parking lot, where he then called police. 

Police, fire and paramedics arrived on scene. They immediately transported t
he driver to the hospital and brought in hazmat teams. 

"We don=E2=80=99t know. It could be a solvent, it could be paint; a m
ixture of something in that nature. It made the individual quite sick and we
 did transport him to the hospital,=" said one official. 

Emergency crews then crawled all over a delivery truck searching for somethi
ng that made the driver sick in Medford. 

Crews removed a box from the truck, put it in a hazardous materials containe
r, and took it for more testing.
us_ma  transportation  exposure  injuries  unknown_chemical  

=E2=9C=AD HF spill in China 
Toxic acid leaks from E China chemical company 
istockAnalyst.com (press release) 
Local police, fire fighters and environmental protection personnel have 
rushed to the site to control and clean up the leak. The cause of the 
leakage has not been found yet. Hydrogen fluoride is a chemical compound 
used mainly for industrial purposes, ...
china  industrial  release  response  hydroflouric_acid  

=E2=9C=AD Small chemical spill cleaned up - ObserverToday.com | News, Sports
, Jobs, Community Information - Dunkirk | The Observer 
The Dunkirk Fire Department, the Chautauqua County Hazardous Materials Team a
nd the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation were all call
ed to Dunkirk Specialty Steel on Brigham Road Wednesday afternoon to control
 and clean up a small chemical spill. 

"It was nothing serious, so I have no comment," Dunkirk Specialty Steel Plan
t Manager Rich Pincoski said. 

"They had a malfunction of one of their systems that they caught fairly quic
kly," Dunkirk Fire Chief Keith Ahlstrom said. "Specialty Steel notified the f
ire department, we notified the HazMat team, Specialty Steel had notified th
e DEC. We had contained most of it to one certain area. They were able to st
op the flow and they hired a company to come in and pump it out and take it a
way." 

According to Ahlstrom, the chemicals involved were a combination of hydrochl
oric and sulfuric acid which is used in Specialty Steel's pickling process. T
he chemical spill did make its way out of the building and into a nearby cre
ek, but Ahlstrom said that both the DEC and the City of Dunkirk took reading
s downstream of the spill and only trace amounts of the chemicals were detec
ted. 

"It wasn't a great amount and it was highly diluted by the run off and the s
now and the rain and everything else," Ahlstrom said. "Nothing showed anythi
ng more than a trace." 

The fire department was at the scene for around two hours, securing the scen
e and waiting for the HazMat team and the DEC representative, both of which c
ame from out of town.
us_ny  industrial  release  response  acids  

=E2=9C=AD Faulty tank valve caused chemical spill at Nuneaton factory - Cove
ntry News - News - Coventry Telegraph 
A FAULTY tank valve was the cause of a major chemical spill at a Nuneaton fa
ctory. 

Fire crews were alerted when nitric acid poured out at Technic UK, on the At
tleborough Industrial Estate. 

One worker suffered minor burns in the incident, which led to all neighbouri
ng units being evacuated. 

The alarm was sounded at 9.30am on Tuesday and the whole cul-de-sac around L
iberty Way was cordoned off for several hours because of the danger of escap
ing fumes. 

Gareth Davies, technical sales manager at the firm, said: "A valve o
n a mixing tank blew out. It was a complete accident and is something that h
as never happened before. 

"We managed to contain the chemical within the unit but needed to call in th
e fire brigade. 

"The man who was operating the tank was slightly burned on one arm a
nd went to hospital for treatment. A specialist contractor was brought in to
 take away the spilled chemical.="
uk  industrial  release  injuries  nitric_acid  

=E2=9C=AD Blaze at Jajmau factory: Fireman lands in hospital 
A fireman was injured while dousing a blaze in a chemical storehouse in Jajm
au industrial area on Wednesday afternoon. 

The employees had a narrow escape as materials worth several lakhs of rupees
 were gutted in the fire that began at Bihari Chemical Store and soon spread
 to the adjoining Anik Tannery. 

Employees of the chemical store claimed that a short circuit caused the fire
, but district authorities said the cause was yet to be ascertained. 

Shiv Singh, the fireman who started suffocating in the fumes emitted by the c
hemicals, was admitted in the intensive care unit of Ursula Horsman Memorial
 Hospital. His condition has been declared to be stable.
india  fire  industrial  injuries  

=E2=9C=AD Dyeing factory fire kills 8 
Eight people died early yesterday when a raging fire swept through five room
s of a roof-top shed of a garment-dyeing factory.

Deputy Commissioner Mohibul Haque of Dhaka said the fire intensified after i
t came in contact with dyeing chemicals stored in the shed of the four-store
y Sonargaon Fancy Printing and Dyeing Ltd at Shyampur of Kadamtoli.
Bangladesh  industrial  fire  death  solvents  

=E2=9C=AD Bromine Gas Leakage in Tamil Nadu 
a chemical factory =E2=80=98Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Limited=E2=80=99 at S
PICOT Industrial Estate, Tamil Nadu has lead to the hospitalization of more t
han 120 people. Fire broke out at the stores of the factory where chemical b
romine and hydrochloric acid had been stocked, leading to poisonous fumes em
anating from the unit on Monday night. Fire brigade personnel neutralized th
e gas using carbonated water.
India  industrial  fire  injuries  bromine  

=E2=9C=AD Suspicious package forces evacuation 20/20 Eyecare Centers 

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- HazMat teams evacuated the 20/20 Eyecare Centers at 8
06 Regal Drive this afternoon after fumes from a "suspicious package" affect
ed two employees.
HazMat units, Huntsville Fire & Rescue and the HEMSI ambulance service respo
nded to the call between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m. HazMat set up a decontamination u
nit to treat two employees who came in contact with the packages, according t
o Steve Oliver, District Chief for Huntsville Fire & Rescue.
The employees were cleaned and taken to Huntsville Hospital for evaluation a
nd treatment.
According to an employee, Jared Pittenger, the package smelled like kerosene
. Pittenger said it gave him a headache and he felt lightheaded but he refus
ed treatment. The two employees were complaining of nausea and headaches.
It appeared as if something had spilled onto the package, perhaps in the del
ivery truck that delivered it earlier today. The package contained frames an
d frame cases and the contents were not disturbed.
Initial tests on the package by Huntsville Fire & Rescue failed to register o
n instruments, officials said.
us_al  exposure  industrial  injuries  petroleum  

=E2=9C=AD Man Hurt In Otay Mesa Gas Tank Explosion - San Diego News Story - K
GTV San Diego 
SAN DIEGO -- The owner of an Otay Mesa business was injured Wednesday after a
 gas tank he was working near exploded and sparked a small fire. 
According to Maurice Luque of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, crews re
ceived a report of an employee at a business in the 7100 block of Otay Mesa R
oad who was burned in what was initially considered a chemical explosion. Th
e incident happened shortly before 10 a.m. 
Luque told 10News the unidentified man was doing welding work on a gas saddl
e tank when one of the tanks exploded, causing a small fire and burning the m
an on the arm.
us_ca  explosion  industrial  injuries  petroleum  

=E2=9C=AD Major fire at chemical godown - The Times of India 

KANPUR: Property and goods worth over Rs 1 crore were gutted in a major fire
 which broke out in a chemical godown located inside a tannery in Jajmau, he
re on Wednesday. The fire resulted in chaos in Galla Godam area of Jajmau as
 flames were visible even as far as 2 km away from the factory. 

It took 24 fire tenders, including that of Air Force and Ordinance factory, t
o douse the flames, with the fire having spread to adjacent lanes. A series o
f blasts inside the godown made difficult the task of fire department person
nel and it was only after over four hours that the fire was doused. 

Earlier, fire broke out in the chemical godown of Bihari Tannery at 3.30pm. A
 large quantity of extremely combustible chemicals, including formic acid an
d citric acid, were stored here, a fire department official told TOI. The fi
re was first spotted by tannery employees and after their efforts to control
 it proved futile, they alerted the fire control room. Fire spread swiftly i
n the vicinity after acid spilled on roads. Fearing that fire may engulf the
 nearby houses and factories, fire officials and police evacuated several
India  industrial  fire  response  solvent  

=E2=9C=AD LA County's HazMat team cleans up some 250 gallons of oil in Param
ount - LA Daily News 
PARAMOUNT - An estimated 250-gallon oil spill from a tanker truck at Paramou
nt Petroleum Corp. today prompted a cleanup by the Los Angeles County Fire D
epartment's Health Hazardous Materials Division, authorities said. 
Oil was reported leaking from the tanker onto asphalt at about 3:15 a.m. in t
he 14700 block of Downey Avenue, near Contreras Street and Paramount High Sc
hool, county fire department Supervisor Ray Dong said. No injuries were repo
rted. 

The cause of the spill was unknown, Dong said.
us_ca  transportation  release  response  petroleum  

=E2=9C=AD HazMat Incident at VCU Medical Center Building - wtvr 
Richmond HazMat crews investigate a fire at a VCU Medical Center building do
wntown. 

Just after 3:15 am, firefighters were called to the 1200 block of E. Marshal
l Street to the Medical Sciences building for a fire alarm. 

When fire crews arrived they found a piece of equipment that was labeled "ra
dioactive" smoking. Eight people were quarantined for possible radiation exp
osure. 

HazMat crews determined that there were not any heightened radioactive level
s, and the material inside the machine was not released.
us_va  fire  hospital  response  radiation  

=E2=9C=AD Hazmat Crew Attempts To Extinguish Chemical Fire - Kansas City New
s Story - KMBC Kansas City 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas City, Mo., hazmat crew has been called to 3101 G
ardner Ave. to help extinguish a chemical fire. 
The Kansas City Fire Department said an epoxy is burning in a several-thousa
nd-gallon container outside a building at 3101 Gardner Ave. 
The Fire Department said it is a "low burning" fire and no one is at risk. 

A hazmat crew is using dry ice to extinguish the fire. 

us_mo  industrial  fire  response  epoxys  

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