From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (15 articles)
Date: February 29, 2012 7:59:25 AM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <097ED980-9597-4E73-A12E-EE07464FE6F6**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 7:59:09 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

Table of Contents (15 articles)

DEADLY 'LEVEL 4' CHEMICAL DUG UP ON FARM
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, injury, chloropicrin

CHEMICAL FIRE IN SCHOOL RULED ACCIDENTAL
Tags: us_PA, education, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

THIRTEEN KILLED IN CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical

CHIMNEY FALL CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CT, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

BLUE GLUE SPILLS ONTO MAULDIN ROAD, AFFECTS TRAFFIC
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, environmental, other_chemical

CHEMICAL FIRE CLOSES SECONDARY SCHOOL
Tags: Canada, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

MAN CRITICAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN WIRRAL
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

STURGIS FIRE HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS UP AFTER EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, drugs

CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST KILLS 13
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

SEMISSOURIAN.COM: LOCAL NEWS: BLACK SMOKE LEADS OFFICER TO POPLAR BLUFF METH LAB (02/27/12)
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, response, meth_lab

METH LAB BUSTS SOAR ACROSS N.C.
Tags: us_NC, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab

MAN TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHLORINE EXPOSURE IN WESTMINSTER
Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

TINDERBOX FIRE SINGES SAFE PLEDGE
Tags: India, public, fire, response, fire_extinguisher

COMPLAINTS OF BAD SMELL LEAD RCMP TO DRUG LAB
Tags: Canada, laboratory, discovery, response, drugs

LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK AT REDDITCH ENGINEERING COMPANY (FROM REDDITCH ADVERTISER)
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, liquid_nitrogen


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DEADLY 'LEVEL 4' CHEMICAL DUG UP ON FARM
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6496633/Deadly-chemical-dug-up-on-farm
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, injury, chloropicrin

ire crews and the regional council were called to a Branxholme farm yesterday after a drum containing a chemical once used in warfare was punctured by a digger.

Fire Service Invercargill senior station officer Alan Goldsworthy said the New Zealand Army would be coming to clear the site of contamination today.

Fire crews from Invercargill and Wallacetown had joined a Hazmat appliance on the farm at 2pm yesterday wearing level 4, fully protected suits to approach the chemicals, after they were informed of the incident by Environment Southland.

Mr Goldsworthy said level 4 suits were used when chemicals were giving off a gas or a vapour.

Environment Southland compliance manager Mark Hunter said at least five drums containing chloropicrin had been found buried on the property on Monday.

A digger had punctured one of the drums and a person had been taken to hospital suffering the effects of exposure to the chemical, Mr Hunter said.

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

CHEMICAL FIRE IN SCHOOL RULED ACCIDENTAL
http://www.berksmontnews.com/articles/2012/02/28/hamburg_area_item/news/doc4f47e31f40b49078968825.txt
Tags: us_PA, education, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

A chemical fire in a locked, vacant science room at Hamburg Area High School on Feb. 23 was ruled accidental following an investigation the next day.

At 4:21 p.m., Hamburg Fire Company was dispatched to the school for an automatic fire alarm. When Hamburg Fire Chief Troy Hatt arrived on the scene, he found a fire in a science room and heavy smoke coming off the roof.

Trooper Michael Yeity, a state police fire marshal who conducted the investigation along with Hatt and Hamburg Police, said the cause of the fire was the chemical reaction of several chemicals contained in a cardboard box on a counter in the room.

"We're not sure exactly what happened and probably will never know how it started," said Superintendent Steven Keifer. "There was an investigation done by state police and there's no conclusive evidence there, either."

"We're not sure if a container failed or if things got bumped over, but there was actually a chemical reaction in the room that caused the fire," said Hatt.

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

THIRTEEN KILLED IN CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/thirteen-killed-in-china-chemical-plant-blast-541481.html
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical

At least 13 people have been killed and 43 injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in northern China.

Officials and state media said the blast flattened a workshop at the Hebei Zhaoxian Kerr Chemical Company on the outskirts of the Hebei provincial capital of Shijiazhuang and shattered windows in surrounding villages.

The state Work Safety Administration said on its website that the explosion happened during the production of a high-energy fuel and propellant, guanidine nitrate.

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

CHIMNEY FALL CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/hartford_cty/chimney-fall-causes-chemical-spill
Tags: us_CT, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

West Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - Hazmat responded to a chemical spill in a West Hartford garage Monday.

West Hartford Fire Department responded to a report of a mixed chemical spill in a garage, around 5 p.m., at 20 Bishop Rd.

Fire officials said a portion of a neighboring chimney which had been damaged fell into the garage at 20 Bishop road.

The chimney damaged the back window of the detached 2 car garage, and knocked some stored chemicals off their shelves and onto the floor, causing damage to some of the containers. This resulted in some mixing of the chemicals on the garage floor.

West Hartford Fire personnel, along with West Hartford Fire Hazardous Materials personnel were able to check for what chemicals had been spilled and mixed. The mixture was found not to be hazardous and was absorbed with material applied by the firefighters.

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BLUE GLUE SPILLS ONTO MAULDIN ROAD, AFFECTS TRAFFIC
http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/17030619/blue-glue-spills-onto-mauldin-road-affects-traffic
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, environmental, other_chemical

MAULDIN, SC (FOX Carolina) -
A blue-colored glue spilled out of a tractor trailer Monday night, affecting traffic on a popular Mauldin road.

Mauldin Fire Chief Russell Sapp said a police officer noticed the liquid coming from the back of the truck, which was traveling on Main Street, and pulled it over in a parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Butler Road. He said that was when the driver discovered a 55 gallon drum of a substance called Adhesin had been knocked over.

Sapp said part of the parking lot of the shopping center and a lane of Butler Road were closed until a crew could clean up the spill. He said the chemical is not hazardous, but it will take several hours to clean up.

Drivers who may have driven through the chemical can call the Mauldin Fire Department on Tuesday for instructions on how to clean it off their car, Sapp said.

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

CHEMICAL FIRE CLOSES SECONDARY SCHOOL
http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/news/Chemical+fire+closes+secondary+school/6220768/story.html
Tags: Canada, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

A chemical fire in the science wing of Hatzic Secondary has closed the Mission school until Wednesday.

The fire department responded to an alarm on Sunday at 9: 30 p.m. that indicated the water sprinklers were activated in the west zone of the school, said Mission Fire Rescue Chief Ian Fitzpatrick.

Fire Hall No. 1 responded with a full crew of 30 firefighters, who found water on the floor and light smoke in the area. No one was in the school at the time.

The accidental fire was very likely started by a chemical reaction, but fortunately the materials were in a chemical safe in a chemical storage room, said Fitzpatrick.

There was limited damage from the water and smoke, but clean-up crews were checking for any hazardous chemicals or residue before the school is re-opened, which may be Wednesday, he said.

"The sprinkler was definitely a factor in keeping the fire down. It did its job, the chemical container did its job."

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

MAN CRITICAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN WIRRAL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-17192152
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

A man has sufferd serious burns to his face in a chemical spill on Merseyside.

The 44-year-old was hurt in the incident at the premises of SAFC in Bromborough in Wirral shortly after 08:00 GMT.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue, Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) all attended the spill, which has been contained.

A joint police and HSE investigation has been launched.

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

STURGIS FIRE HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS UP AFTER EXPLOSION
http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2012/feb/27/sturgis-fire-hazmat-team-cleans-up-after-explosion/
Tags: us_MI, public, explosion, response, drugs

STURGIS (WKZO) -- The Sturgis Fire Department HazMat Team had to be called in after a chemical spill was reported following an explosion at an apartment building in the 1000-block of Cato Lane early Monday. While firefighters evacuated the building, a spill was found in a hallway, and a quick investigation determined that the caustic chemical spilled was use din the production of meth.

After asking a few questions, a 20-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman, both from Sturgis, were arrested and charged with maintaining a drug house. They were taken to the Sturgis City Jail where both posted bond and were released.

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

CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST KILLS 13
http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/international/china-chemical-plant-blast-kills-13-1.63148
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

An explosion ripped through a north China chemical factory Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and injuring 43, the government said of the latest industrial accident to strike the nation.

The impact of the blast, which occurred near Shijiazhuang city, capital of Hebei province, was felt in at least three nearby villages, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Photographs posted on the Internet purportedly of the blast site showed a large crater surrounded by debris. The walls of several work shops that surrounded the site had been destroyed.

The cause of the blast is still under investigation and rescue efforts are ongoing, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.

The casualty toll came from a preliminary report, the administration said, indicating it could rise.

Safety standards are regularly flouted in China, and workplace accidents remain common despite repeated pledges by the government to improve regulations and oversight.

Nearly 50,000 people died in work-related accidents in the first nine months of 2011, the administration said earlier.

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

SEMISSOURIAN.COM: LOCAL NEWS: BLACK SMOKE LEADS OFFICER TO POPLAR BLUFF METH LAB (02/27/12)
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1819974.html
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, response, meth_lab

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Black smoke filling the sky Thursday morning led a police officer to finding not only a fire, but a suspected shake-and-bake methamphetamine lab.
Poplar Bluff police detective Corey Mitchell was driving when he saw black smoke, which he thought was a house fire. He found the source of the smoke to be a fire in the front yard of a garage and approached Nathan Montgomery who was near the fire.

"Whenever I made contact with him, his demeanor instantly changed when he realized I was law enforcement," Mitchell said.

As he was talking to Montgomery, Mitchell said he saw a man and a woman enter a nearby garage and close its doors.

Mitchell said he could smell a chemical odor he associated with the manufacturing of methamphetamine coming from the garage.

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

METH LAB BUSTS SOAR ACROSS N.C.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/27/3049244/meth-lab-busts-soar-in-nc.html
Tags: us_NC, public, follow-up, response, meth_lab

Methamphetamine busts in North Carolina reached a record high last year due to new methods of cooking the drug and more organized efforts to access it, according to state Attorney General Roy Cooper and county sheriffs.

Meth lab busts totaled 344 in 2011 - a 57 percent increase from 2006, when new state laws restricted the purchase of pseudoephedrine, meth's key ingredient.

Cooper said the laws are working because the number of large-scale meth operations is down, but busts have risen with the popularity of the simpler and cheaper "one pot," or "shake and bake" method.

"It has escalated to the point where it accounts for about half of the labs we bust," Cooper said, noting that the state's first one-pot lab bust occurred in 2009.

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

MAN TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHLORINE EXPOSURE IN WESTMINSTER
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20049517
Tags: us_CO, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

A Hazmat unit was called out and one man taken to a hospital this morning after two workers at a Hampton Inn in Westminster were exposed to chlorine.

At 8:25 a.m. a caller reported a man at the hotel in the 5000 block of 88th Place was having difficulty breathing, said Westminster Fire Department spokeswoman Diana Allen.

"When they arrived they saw he had been exposed to chlorine in a pool chemical room," Allen said.

A second man who was also exposed, was treated at the scene.

The chlorine powder wasn't mixed with other chemicals and there was no need to evacuate the hotel.

"It isn't clear how they were exposed," Allen said. "It just looks like chlorine power, we're not sure if they spilled it."

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

TINDERBOX FIRE SINGES SAFE PLEDGE
http://telegraphindia.com/1120227/jsp/jharkhand/story_15183807.jsp
Tags: India, public, fire, response, fire_extinguisher

A storeroom on the first floor of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) caught fire early on Sunday morning once again exposing glaring lapses in the state-run hospital's blaze preparedness.

An unattended mangle of wires led to the short-circuit in the storeroom, which was stocked with inflammable material like broken doors and oxidising agents like bleaching powder, around 6am.

Hospital sources have pegged the loss Ñ in terms of disinfectants, plastic buckets, drums, doors etc. Ñ at Rs 8 lakh.

Though the affected room is right next to the tuberculosis OPD, the early morning incident on a no-rush Sunday prevented a mishap of greater proportions.

The RIMS morning guard who raised the alarm said the corridors had been blurred by dense smoke, a grim reminder of the tragedy at AMRI Hospitals in Calcutta where some 90 patients suffocated to death in December last year.

"I was coming out of the toilet on the ground floor when I noticed smoke on the first floor. Within no time, the corridor in front of me was engulfed by dense smoke. I alerted everyone," he said. "Had it not been Sunday, there would have been a stampede at the OPD," he added.

According to an eyewitness, hospital employees tried to battle the blaze with outdated gear, wasting an hour in the process. A fire tender arrived around 7.30am and doused the fire in half an hour.

"Two guards brought a fire extinguisher from near the director's chamber (200 metres away). But the handheld equipment only aggravated the fire," the witness said.

Fire officials said the same was possible if the chemical in the extinguisher had expired. Further probe revealed that the fire extinguisher used by the guards had expired two years ago and the RIMS management had never bothered to refill the chemical solution.

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

COMPLAINTS OF BAD SMELL LEAD RCMP TO DRUG LAB
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Complaints+smell+lead+RCMP+drug/6213006/story.html
Tags: Canada, laboratory, discovery, response, drugs

Officials began dismantling a crude residential ecstasy lab in Burnaby on the weekend after neighbours' complaints about chemical smells led to a police raid on the operation.

Three people were arrested early Saturday when the RCMP's Burnaby Drug Section and federal officers raided a home in the 100-block of Ellesmere Avenue, in Burnaby's Capitol Hill area.

A specialized cleanup team in haz-mat suits was dismantling the lab, a job that could take up to three days to complete, police said.

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

LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK AT REDDITCH ENGINEERING COMPANY (FROM REDDITCH ADVERTISER)
http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/news/9555702.Liquid_nitrogen_leak_at_Redditch_engineering_company/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, liquid_nitrogen

A ROAD was closed and a cordon put in place after a chemical leak at an engineering company in Lakeside, Redditch.

The incident happened just after 6pm on Sunday night.

Concerned residents living near Samuel Taylor Ltd in Arthur Street had reported the incident, which involved a leak of liquid nitrogen from a large tank at the premises. Two fire crews attended along with a Hazmat (Hazardous Materials) officer, the Incident Response Unit from Droitwich and the Environmental Protection Unit from Stourport. Police also attended.

Station commander Steve Fox from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said: "We arrived to find a large liquid nitrogen tank venting at the base, with the liquefied gas producing a fog or vapour cloud in the cold night air.

"We liaised closely with the owners of the factory as we assessed the level of risk, and set up a road closure and a cordon around the premises as a precautionary measure.

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