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Wednesday, September 28, 2011 9:07:05 AM

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Table of Contents (10 articles)

PERU SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, flammables

SMALL CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT UCONN HEALTH CENTER LAB CAUSES MINOR 
INJURIES TO 1 RESEARCHER
Tags: us_CT, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

GAS LEAK IN NW SENDS DOZENS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_DC, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide

MERCURY VAPOR RELEASE IN AUSTRALIA
Tags: Australia, public, release, environmental, mercury

IN BRIEF: CHEMICAL SCARE DISRUPTS ER
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

SEARCH FOR GAS LEAKS CUT SHORT BEFORE BLAST
Tags: us_WA, public, explosion, response, natural_gas

SOOT-COVERED P-COOK FLED FIRE
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab

TWO INJURED IN U.MD. CHEM LAB EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, explosion, injury, acids, waste

NTSB: PG&E STILL UNABLE TO ACCURATELY ASSESS SAFETY OF ITS PIPES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, natural_gas, follow-up

FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL LEAK NEAR BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, toluene

---------------------------------------------

PERU SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICALS

http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x857073/Peru-School-evacuated-due-to-
chemicals
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, flammables

PERU =97 A chemical spill at Peru Middle High School prompted an 
evacuation of the building Tuesday morning.

Interim School Superintendent A. Paul Scott said that during early 
morning classes on Tuesday, a teacher and some students noticed a smell 
emanating from an OSHA-approved flammable cabinet located in a High 
School science lab.

The smell was apparently the result of a chemical spill in the cabinet, 
which was directly vented into a chemical vapor hood, immediately 
removing vapors from the building.

Scott said Tuesday afternoon that he believed the incident had caused no 
harm to students, faculty or staff.

...
The school promptly notified Clinton County Emergency Services, the Peru 
Fire Department, the Department of Health and the Department of 
Environmental Conservation, and Scott said the agencies responded 
quickly.

=93It=92s best to have all agencies involved,=94 he said. =93I 
appreciate very much their assistance throughout the morning and day.=94

In consultation with these agencies, it was decided that the school 
should be evacuated as a precautionary measure, so about 1,000 students 
in grades 6 through 12 were brought to the primary and intermediate 
school campus, where they were picked up by school buses and released 
just before noon.

---------------------------------------------

SMALL CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT UCONN HEALTH CENTER LAB CAUSES MINOR 
INJURIES TO 1 RESEARCHER

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/7e652c99ba02479c892a66d372064f90/CT-
-UConn-Lab-Explosion/
Tags: us_CT, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

FARMINGTON, Conn. =97 University of Connecticut Health Center officials 
say a small chemical explosion in a research building laboratory has 
left one person with minor injuries.

The incident happened at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Cell and Genome 
Sciences Building, which is across the street from the health center's 
main campus in Farmington. The building has been evacuated as a 
precaution and it's not clear when it will reopen.

Health center spokeswoman Maureen McGuire says four people were in the 
lab at the time of the explosion. Three people declined medical 
treatment and the fourth was brought to the health center's hospital.

It's not immediately clear what caused the accident or what chemicals 
were involved.

---------------------------------------------

GAS LEAK IN NW SENDS DOZENS TO HOSPITAL

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/09/potential-carbon-monoxide-leak-poison
s-nw-residents-67128.html
Tags: us_DC, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide

Several dozen people have been affected by a carbon monoxide poisoning 
in Northwest.

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Residents of a building on Harvard Street Northwest started feeling 
flu-like symptoms and passing out. Fire officials evacuated the 45 
residents inside, of whom 43 were transported to a nearby hospital. 
Three of them were in serious condition.

The fire chief says it was crucial to get the residents away from the 
deadly gas as soon as possible.

A high level of carbon monoxide was detected in the building, D.C. Fire 
Department officials say. The building is home to the Second Genesis 
Rehab Facility, a privately owned rehabilitation clinic. Streets in the 
area were blocked while the fire department was on scene.

---------------------------------------------

MERCURY VAPOR RELEASE IN AUSTRALIA

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-28/orica-safety-record-under-fire/30254
80
Tags: Australia, public, release, environmental, mercury

Orica's safety record is being described as a disgrace after yet another 
incident at one of its sites.

For nine hours yesterday morning, mercury vapours exceeded the licensed 
levels at the chemical company's Botany site in Sydney.

The environmental regulator says the risk to health was low, but is 
deeply concerned about Orica's repeated transgressions.

Yesterday's incident was Orica's third mishap in New South Wales in less 
than two months.

First there was a leak of hexavalent chromium at the Kooragang Island 
plant in Newcastle on August 8, then a release of arsenic in the Hunter 
River.

Yesterday the company revealed mercury vapours at its Botany site in 
Sydney's south-east had exceeded the licensed levels from midnight to 
9.00am (AEST).

---------------------------------------------

IN BRIEF: CHEMICAL SCARE DISRUPTS ER

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/28/in-brief-chemical-scare-disru
pts-er/
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

The emergency room at Providence Holy Family Hospital and several 
surrounding streets were closed Tuesday evening as authorities 
investigated a report of a potential chemical spill.

Investigators were unable to detect and confirm any chemical release and 
eventually turned the hospital back over to hospital officials.

Six people were treated at the scene for potential respiratory issues, 
and five others were being held for observation after the 5:13 p.m. 
report that a chemical had been dispersed in the entryway along the 
south side of the hospital=92s emergency room, according to the Spokane 
Fire Department.

Incoming ambulances were diverted to other hospitals while the 
investigation was under way. About 35 to 40 firefighters responded, 
including the department=92s hazardous materials team.

---------------------------------------------

SEARCH FOR GAS LEAKS CUT SHORT BEFORE BLAST

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016332869_gasleak28m.html

Tags: us_WA, public, explosion, response, natural_gas

After a rare electrical problem blew four holes in natural-gas pipes in 
Seattle's Pinehurst neighborhood on Sunday, Puget Sound Energy says, the 
agency went house to house in the neighborhood to check for more leaks. 
Its workers stopped at nightfall, without finding more.

It wasn't until the next day, after a huge explosion and house fire, 
that PSE did a much larger "leak survey" across a 5-square-mile area, 
working into the night. Crews found four more leaks, but say at least 
three are unrelated.

With customers and Seattle residents now rattled Tuesday, PSE defended 
its initial search. Sunday's testing area =97 which stopped just five 
blocks short of the explosion site =97 focused on areas with similar 
pipe, said Martha Monfried, PSE's communications director.

...

The explosion, which rattled windows across North Seattle and sent a 
married couple to the hospital, is under investigation by the Seattle 
Fire Department and state utilities regulators. On Tuesday, David 
Ingham, a 53-year-old Seattle City Light lineman, was released from 
Harborview Medical Center after being treated for burns.

---------------------------------------------

SOOT-COVERED P-COOK FLED FIRE

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/5693537/Police-hunt-soot-covere
d-P-cook
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab

A man was seen leaving an alleged Takapuna P lab with a soot-covered 
face shortly before the home was engulfed by flames.

Police are searching for the man who they believe was injured in the 
chemical explosion that started the fire, though he has not sought any 
medical attention.

The Harley Close unit was almost destroyed by the fire that began about 
8am on Monday.

Detective Sergeant Steve Brewer of North Shore police said he believed 
the occupant of the house was responsible.

"We think he was in the process of doing a cook when the explosion's 
happened or the fire's started," he said.

"There were reports from neighbours of a male rapidly leaving the area 
with what appeared to be soot on his face but he hasn't surfaced at any 
hospital or A and E."

---------------------------------------------

TWO INJURED IN U.MD. CHEM LAB EXPLOSION

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/26/two-injured-umd-chem-lab-e
xplosion/
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, explosion, injury, acids, waste

Two University of Maryland students were injured Monday in the College 
Park campus=92s Chemistry Building when a chemical reaction caused an 
explosion and small fire in the lab where they were working.

The two women were taken to a hospital with first-degree chemical burns 
and minor lacerations but were in good condition, Prince George=92s 
County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said. The explosion occurred 
during an afternoon chemistry class as students were working with nitric 
and sulfuric acid.

=93Typically these are friendly acids that work well together, but when 
they dumped the chemicals into a chemical waste container, that was what 
caused the explosion and fire,=94 Mr. Brady said.

The four-story building was evacuated after the explosion and a small 
fire were reported on the third floor at about 12:30 p.m. University 
employees attempted to extinguish the fire before smoke and vapor drove 
them out of the lab, Mr. Brady said. Firefighters who responded to the 
lab were quickly able to extinguish the fire.

About 11 people were in the lab when the fire broke out, but only the 
two students were injured.

---------------------------------------------

NTSB: PG&E STILL UNABLE TO ACCURATELY ASSESS SAFETY OF ITS PIPES
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18982471
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, natural_gas, follow-up

More than a year after the San Bruno natural gas explosion, PG&E 
still lacks "a large percentage" of the information it needs to 
accurately assess its pipeline risks and hasn't taken needed steps to 
inform the public about its gas lines, according to the National 
Transportation Safety Commission's final report on the 2010 disaster 
released Monday.
The 153-page report went further than earlier NTSB statements by 
including a strong warning about PG&E's limited understanding of 
what other dangers may lurk underground.
Noting that PG&E uses data in a computerized system to gauge the 
risk posed by its pipelines, the agency said it fears the system 
contains "a large percentage of assumed, unknown or
erroneous information for the Line 132" -- the one that erupted in San 
Bruno -- "and likely its other transmission pipelines as well."

---------------------------------------------

FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL LEAK NEAR BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8368638
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, toluene

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Dozens of firefighters and a HazMat crew responded to 
a chemical leak near Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday.

It happened at around 11:15am at Dyna Drill Technology in the 4600 block 
of World Houston Parkway, just south of the big airport. A chemical 
reaction produced thick, light yellow smoke at the facility. The leaking 
chemicals were identified as Toluene, Thixon and Zonyl.

By 3:20pm, the Houston Fire Department had the leak secured. All 
employees were accounted for and workers exiting the plant were 
decontaminated.

---------------------------------------------

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