From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (20 articles)
Date: March 14, 2012 7:48:51 AM EDT
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 7:48:34 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 (20 articles)

ARMY TEAM MAKES UNSTABLE CHEMICAL SAFE ON MALAHIDE ROAD • THEJOURNAL.IE
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive

OIL SPILL LED TO FACTORY BLAST THAT KILLED 25|NATION|CHINADAILY.COM.CN
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, oils

COMMERCIAL BLOCK CLEARED IN OAKLAND PARK TO DEAL WITH SMALL SPILL
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, peroxide

OHIO MAGNESIUM FIRE CLOSES SCHOOLS
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, response, magnesium

A SPICY PACKAGE KEEPS RONDOUT VALLEY STUDENTS IN SCHOOL
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, other_chemical

HAZMAT RESPONDS TO CALDWELL COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Tags: us_NC, public, release, response, mercury

SOURCE OF ODOR AT AQUA OHIO PLANT IDENTIFIED
Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, ammonia

FOUR TEENS CHARGED IN EXPLOSIONS, FIRES IN LIVERMORE FALLS, RUMFORD
Tags: us_ME, public, explosion, response, bomb, illegal

I-20 RAMP TO COLUMBIA SHUTDOWN DUE TO OVERTURNED TANKER
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, response, corrosives, flammables

DEPOT: MALFUNCTION, TINY LEAK CONTAINED
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, response, mustard_gas

EXPLOSION INJURES 3 CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AT CRACKER BARREL IN ASHEVILLE
Tags: us_NC, industrial, explosion, injury, flammables

MAN DIES FROM INJURIES FROM VALERO OIL REFINERY FIRE
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death

TWO SERIOUSLY INJURED IN FIRE ON COMMODORE
Tags: us_WA, industrial, explosion, response, fuel

EAST TEXAS PETROLEUM BUSINESS DESTROYED BY FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

METH LAB SUSPECTED IN FIRE
Tags: us_FL, public, fire, response, meth_lab

VISALIA HAZMAT LEAK FORCES EVACUATION
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, cyanide, waste

KYMA NEWS 11... YUMA, AZ/EL CENTRO, CA
Tags: us_CA, transportation, discovery, response, toxics

PROMPT RESPONSE CONTAINS FIRE
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, response, fire_extinguisher, plastics

FOLLOW-UP: FIRE CREWS IN DESPERATE FIGHT TO KEEP CAMPUS BLAZE CONTAINED
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

LOS OSOS MAN SETS OFF EXPLOSION MAKING HASH OIL THURSDAY
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, butane, drugs, illegal


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ARMY TEAM MAKES UNSTABLE CHEMICAL SAFE ON MALAHIDE ROAD • THEJOURNAL.IE
http://www.thejournal.ie/army-team-makes-unstable-chemical-safe-in-malahide-383543-Mar2012/
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive

AN ARMY BOMB disposal team was deployed to the Malahide Road at Dublin 17 earlier today after an unstable chemical was discovered at a laboratory.
The team arrived on the scene at Teagasc on the Malahide Road at about 4pm. The unstable chemical, called Picric Acid, had been found during a routine audit of the lab.
It was removed to waste ground and a controlled explosion was carried out to make the substance safe.

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OIL SPILL LED TO FACTORY BLAST THAT KILLED 25|NATION|CHINADAILY.COM.CN
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-03/14/content_14827613.htm
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, oils

Poor facilities, lax management and under-qualified workers may all have played a role in the chemical factory blast in Hebei province that killed 25 people and injured 46, according to a preliminary investigation.
The investigation's findings, released by the State Administration of Work Safety on its website on Tuesday afternoon, said that 25 people were killed in the accident and four were still missing, a sharp increase from the 17 casualties announced on Feb 29. There were no updates to the list of injured, which remains at 46 people. On Feb 28, a blast ripped through the Keeper Chemical Factory in Zhaoxian county, Hebei province, razing the three-story building. The explosion also seriously damaged other buildings at the site and shattered the windows of houses up to two kilometers away.
The investigation found that a heat transfer oil spill under one of the three chemical reactors inside the factory caused a fire that heated the ammonium nitrate and guanidine nitrate in the reactor. Both compounds are used to make explosives and explode at high temperatures.
This caused one reactor to explode, triggering a second, massively destructive blast in the plant.

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COMMERCIAL BLOCK CLEARED IN OAKLAND PARK TO DEAL WITH SMALL SPILL
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Commercial-Block-Cleared-in-Oakland-Park-To-Deal-With-Small-Spill-142515915.html
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, peroxide

An aerial shot of the spill site.

The 1100 block of NE 45th Street in Oakland Park was closed off Tuesday afternoon after a business reported a small spill of "carbamide peroxide," but the chemical was successfully cooled by applying carbon dioxide and dry ice, officials said.

A business near the intersection of NE 12th Terrace reported that less than one gallon was spilled, and Oakland Park Fire Rescue set up a Hazmat scene at 1:16 p.m., aided by Sunrise and BSO firefighters, according to Oakland Park Fire Chief Donald Widing.

Widing said the warehouse where the spill occurred will remain secured "for an undetermined period," as a private chemical spill contractor is brought in to handle it.

Widing said the undisclosed business owner will be charged for the hazmat response, and that his department and the Department of Environmental Protection will continue to investigate.

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

OHIO MAGNESIUM FIRE CLOSES SCHOOLS
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/ohio-magnesium-fire-closes-schools-1.272935
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, response, magnesium

BELLEVUE, OHIO: Schools are closed in a northern Ohio city where a fire at a magnesium plant has officials warning residents to stay indoors to avoid possible respiratory problems.

The Morning Journal in Lorain reports a firefighter tells the newspaper trailers holding magnesium caught fire Tuesday morning at MagReTech Inc. in Bellevue.

As a precaution, police are asking people to stay inside with windows closed and heating or cooling systems turned off.

The company refines and recycles of magnesium and supplies magnesium alloys for die-casting.

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A SPICY PACKAGE KEEPS RONDOUT VALLEY STUDENTS IN SCHOOL
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120312/NEWS/120319942/-1/SITEMAP
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, other_chemical

KYSERIKE Ñ You've heard of three-alarm vindaloo chicken?
A package containing some "very potent" Indian spices caused alarms to go off at the Rondout middle and high schools when the driver of a FedEx delivery truck had a reaction to a broken package containing the spices while making a delivery at the campus Monday morning.
Both schools kept students from going outside while a county hazmat team, emergency responders and firefighters assessed the situation. The incident was reported at about 10:15 a.m.; the all-clear signal was given about two hours later, according to Undersheriff Frank Faluotico.
The fumes from the package apparently triggered what Faluotico called a "medical condition" in the driver. She was treated at the scene, he said.
Faluotico said that, if nothing else, the incident provided a good opportunity for emergency training.

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

HAZMAT RESPONDS TO CALDWELL COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
http://www.wbtv.com/story/17136749/hazmat-responds-to-caldwell-county-sheriffs-office
Tags: us_NC, public, release, response, mercury

CALDWELL COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - A hazardous materials team responded to the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office Monday morning, after what appears to be a mercury spill.

A deputy responded to a call about a suspicious bag on the side of Dry Ponds Road. The caller thought the bag might contain drug paraphernalia.

It turned out to be an abandoned diaper bag. The deputy took it back to the training room at the Sheriff's Office, opened it and started to look inside. Nestled inside with clothes and other items was what appeared to be about an ounce of mercury.

Mercury is known to be toxic, so when it spilled onto the floor, the room was quickly cordoned off and HAZMAT was called.

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

SOURCE OF ODOR AT AQUA OHIO PLANT IDENTIFIED
http://www.wytv.com/content/news/local/story/Source-of-Odor-at-Aqua-Ohio-Plant-Identified/aKhHbSmRF02U7G_1ELslAg.cspx
Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, ammonia

he source of an odor coming from the Aqua Ohio plant off of state Route 170 has been identified.

Poland Township police officers, along with crews from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District and HazMat were dispatched to the facility around 11 p.m. Sunday after receiving reports about a smell.

Officials said the smell was the result of a three-gallon leak of double concentrated ammonia. That's the equivalent of approximately five to six gallons of household strength ammonia.

The leak did go into a containment tank, however, officials said the area was thoroughly checked and the spill was diluted with 1,000 gallons of water. They added that no one or the water supply was ever in any danger.

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

FOUR TEENS CHARGED IN EXPLOSIONS, FIRES IN LIVERMORE FALLS, RUMFORD
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/2012/03/13/four-teens-charged-explosions-fires-livermore-fall/1167246
Tags: us_ME, public, explosion, response, bomb, illegal

Four teenage boys Ñ two from Livermore Falls and two from Rumford Ñ are charged with setting off six soda bottle bombs and igniting two fires in their respective towns over the weekend, officials said Monday.

The State Fire Marshal's Office charged the Livermore Falls boys, ages 14 and 15, with criminal use of explosives. They are accused of making six devices that blew up in the Baldwin, Church, Pleasant, Knapp and Green streets area, Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

During the investigation, the boys were identified and came to the Livermore Falls Police Station with their parents Sunday for questioning, state investigator Ken MacMaster of the Office of the State Fire Marshall said Monday.

The pair admitted to making the bombs, he said. The contents in the bottles created a chemical reaction that caused them to explode, MacMaster said. No one was hurt and no property was damaged but the potential was there, because they added BB's, he said.

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

I-20 RAMP TO COLUMBIA SHUTDOWN DUE TO OVERTURNED TANKER
http://www2.scnow.com/news/pee-dee/2012/mar/12/9/i-20-ramp-columbia-shutdown-due-overturned-tanker-ar-3396995/
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, response, corrosives, flammables

LORENCE, S.C. --
The ramp to I-20 toward Columbia, exit 160-B on I-95 southbound in Florence, was shut down at about 1 p.m. Monday because of an overturned tanker, according to Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins with the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Collins said the West Florence Fire Department assessed the chemical situation with the tanker. The Florence County Hazmat team also was called to the scene, according to the fire department. The fire department said the liquid is highly flammable and corrosive material. Vapors from the chemical can form and the chemical is explosive when mixed with air.

Emergency crews were pushed a half-mile back from the accident, and the driver was taken to a local hospital.

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

DEPOT: MALFUNCTION, TINY LEAK CONTAINED
http://richmondregister.com/localnews/x1690516132/Depot-Malfunction-tiny-leak-contained
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, response, mustard_gas

RICHMOND Ñ A low-level leak of mustard agent was detected in a storage igloo, and unfiltered process water used to wash explosives out old conventional munitions made its way to the Blue Grass Army Depot's general waste-water treatment plant.

Depot officials reported both incidents Monday, saying they believe no toxins were released into the general environment. Local and state environmental immediately were notified, they said.

A mobile monitoring lab detected low levels of mustard agent vapor in a chemical weapons igloo containing 155-mm projectiles Monday morning, according to Sheryl Lowell, spokesperson for the chemical weapons activity at the depot.

"The extremely low level of mustard agent vapor in the interior atmosphere of the igloo was discovered during routine weekly monitoring," she said. "The leak poses no danger or risk to the citizens of Madison or surrounding counties."

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

EXPLOSION INJURES 3 CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AT CRACKER BARREL IN ASHEVILLE
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120309/NEWS/303090056/Explosion-injures-3-at-restaurant
Tags: us_NC, industrial, explosion, injury, flammables

ASHEVILLE Ñ An explosion and subsequent small fire injured three construction workers and damaged a restaurant's kitchen.

The incident happened around 3:50 a.m. Thursday at Cracker Barrel, 5 Crowell Road. Investigators believe flammable vapors from remodeling accumulated in an interior wall cavity and were ignited by a worker using an adjacent electrical outlet, causing the explosion.

Construction workers extinguished the fire before the Fire Department arrived. The explosion caused significant damage to a wall and adjacent kitchen equipment.

The three workers were transported to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries and were later released. The construction work did not have a valid building permit from the city, according to the Fire Department.

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

MAN DIES FROM INJURIES FROM VALERO OIL REFINERY FIRE
http://news.tradingcharts.com/futures/4/1/175108514.html
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death

Mar 10, 2012 -- One of the three men who was hurt in a flash fire earlier this week at the Valero Memphis Refinery died this afternoon.

Nicholas Cuevas, who worked for the Texas-based JV Industrial Companies Ltd. doing maintenance work for Valero, died just after 1 p.m. at the Regional Medical Center.

Cuevas, who was as a mechanical craftsman, had burns over 90 percent of his body.

Cuevas's brother, Daniel, along with another man whose name was not available were also hurt. One had burns on 60 to 70 percent of his body. The second man suffered burns on 30 percent of his body.

Both are still being treated at The Med. Their conditions, however, have not been released. The men's ages are 26, 33 and 35.

The flash fire happened around 3 p.m. Tuesday when the three men were working on a flare platform venting gases. Flares are the torch-like towers topped by fire at the refinery that act as safety devices where pressurized gases can be routed and consumed when necessary.

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

TWO SERIOUSLY INJURED IN FIRE ON COMMODORE
http://www.magnoliavoice.com/2012/03/11/2-men-seriously-injured-in-fire-on-commodore/
Tags: us_WA, industrial, explosion, response, fuel

Two welders were severely burned in a fuel tank explosion earlier this morning in the 3100 block of West Commodore Way. Fire crews rushed to the scene at about 11:30 a.m., and upon arrival found the fire had been extinguished by two other dry dock workers. Kyle Moore of the Seattle Fire Department said the employees used dry chemical fire extinguishers to put out the flames. The two had been working on a dry-docked 46-foot metal dredging boat when two nearby 80-gallon fuel tanks caught fire and exploded. Moore said the force of the explosion was enough to propel one of the tanks over a fence, and completely destroy the other tank.

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

EAST TEXAS PETROLEUM BUSINESS DESTROYED BY FIRE
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20120312/NEWS01/120319969
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

MINEOLA Ñ Fire investigators are working to discover what caused a long-time Mineola business to burn to the ground Sunday night.

Crews from Mineola, Quitman, Hainesville and Lindale fire departments were called to Pearce Petroleum Products, 302 S. Johnson St., behind Mineola's train museum, shortly before 8 p.m., Mineola Fire Department spokesman Steve Finley said.

Business owners were inside on the company grounds when the fire broke out and called emergency responders, he said. Finley said in the initial 911 calls, some reports of an explosion were made.

The fire was largely extinguished about an hour after it started, and Finely said an independent hazardous materials team was called in. A large amount of a petroleum product had poured out onto the company grounds and into storm drains, Finley said.

"We have some hazardous material response equipment within the department," he said, adding that the area and size of the spill was too large for just the fire departments to handle.
Finley said no injuries were reported in the fire.

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

METH LAB SUSPECTED IN FIRE
http://www.pnj.com/article/20120310/NEWS01/203100315/Meth-lab-suspected-fire?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE
Tags: us_FL, public, fire, response, meth_lab

Investigators are looking for suspects connected to a methamphetamine lab that may have caused the fire on Garcon Point that closed a section of Interstate 10 earlier this week.

Agents from the Florida Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement scoured the scene of the fire's origin and found evidence linked to the one-pot Ñ or "shake and bake" Ñ method of making meth, said Joe Zwierzchowski, wildfire mitigation specialist with the Florida Forest Service.

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

VISALIA HAZMAT LEAK FORCES EVACUATION
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8575873
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, cyanide, waste

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A potassium cyanide leak forced an evacuation in the South Valley Saturday morning.

It happened in Visalia at the household hazardous waste collection site on Cain near Goshen just after 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Visalia Fire Department says the leak happened while workers were preparing a container for packing.

The fire department responded with its hazmat team, and the area was evacuated for several hours while the leak was contained.

No one was injured, and the evacuation was lifted before 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.

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

KYMA NEWS 11... YUMA, AZ/EL CENTRO, CA
http://www.kyma.com/slp.php?idN=6428&cat=Local%20News
Tags: us_CA, transportation, discovery, response, toxics

(Westmoreland, CA) -- Part of State Route 86 north of Brawley remains closed Friday evening, as of 4:30 pm (PST), as crews continue cleaning-up a crash involving dangerous chemicals.

The California Highway Patrol says at 6:30 Friday morning, a big rig and pick-up truck collided.

The northbound lane near Allen Road was closed because of toxic chemicals inside the big rig.

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

PROMPT RESPONSE CONTAINS FIRE
http://www.newspressnow.com/news/30643846/detail.html
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, response, fire_extinguisher, plastics

Prompt response and training paid off for firefighters Friday responding to a fire at St. Joseph Plastics on Fifth Avenue.
Plastic was burning in a specialized machine at the north St. Joseph plant, said Russell Moore, a battalion chief with the St. Joseph Fire Department.
"We turned the corner on Fifth Avenue and there was a huge cloud over St. Joseph Plastics," said Rick Caton, captain of Engine 12.
The engine, located just two blocks away, was first on the scene.
Because of the chemical compounds in plastics, firefighters couldn't use water and their large pressurized hoses.
For this type of fire, dry chemicals were the way to gain control, Mr. Moore said. At that point, water could have exacerbated the problem, he said.

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FOLLOW-UP: FIRE CREWS IN DESPERATE FIGHT TO KEEP CAMPUS BLAZE CONTAINED
http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/8880-fire-crews-in-desperate-fight-to-keep-campus-blaze-contained
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

Holes in the floor of James Weir large enough for people to fall through and flames stretching a full 30 metres along each side of the building were just a few of the lasting sights of last month's blaze at Strathclyde University.

The campus blaze tore through the six-storey structure on Montrose Street for almost five hours before being extinguished with the building now, only four weeks on, back to the slimmest semblance of normality.

In an exclusive interview with The Journal a week on from the fire, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Deputy Assistant Chief Officer, Jim Doyle, who was in command of the incident, revealed the situation threatened to spiral out of control as crisis levels were raised and more firefighters called in to keep a handle on the blaze.

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LOS OSOS MAN SETS OFF EXPLOSION MAKING HASH OIL THURSDAY
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/03/09/1982907/los-osos-man-sets-off-explosion.html
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, butane, drugs, illegal

A 55-year-old Los Osos resident was arrested on Thursday evening after an apparent attempt to convert some marijuana into hash oil in his kitchen went terribly wrong.
John Russell Odom remained in San Luis Obispo County Jail this afternoon on suspicion of manufacturing or converting a controlled substance through a chemical extraction process, a felony. Bail was set at $500,000.
Cmdr. Aaron Nix said sheriff's deputies received a call about 7:50 p.m. Thursday after a loud explosion was heard by neighbors in the 2100 block of Ferrell Ave.
Deputies soon learned that Odom had been trying to convert some marijuana into hash oil, also called honey oil, in a process that involves butane. He did so inside his apartment with the windows closed, Nix said.
The lack of ventilation likely led to an explosion, blowing the glass sliding door near Odom's kitchen off its frame.
Odom received some burns to his legs in the explosion, but no one else was present or injured. He was taken to a local hospital, treated and then released to sheriff's deputies, who placed him under arrest, Nix said.

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