From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (10 articles)
Date: May 16, 2012 8:20:52 AM EDT
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 8:20:15 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
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Table of Contents (10 articles)

THINGS I WON'T WORK WITH: SELENOPHENOL. IN THE PIPELINE:
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, environmental

WASTE CHEMICALS LEFT IN FACTORY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, discovery, environmental, waste

LSB SHUTS ARKANSAS CHEMICAL PLANT AFTER EXPLOSION
Tags: us_AR, industrial, explosion, response, nitric_acid

LIGHTNING SPARKS CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE IN BUCKS
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response

SMOKING DRUM SHUTS DOWN A1A IN HOLLYWOOD MOST OF MONDAY
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, response, waste

PINE BLUFF FAMILY FINDS HOMEMADE BOMB OUTSIDE FRONT DOOR
Tags: us_AR, public, explosion, response, bomb

STEEL PLANT EXPLOSION IN SOUTHERN CHINA KILLS 9, INJURES 6
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

HOME DAMAGED IN HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL BOMB EXPLOSION
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, bomb, cleaners

CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT CSU INJURES PHD STUDENT
Tags: us_CO, laboratory, explosion, injury, fluorine

WYO. FIRE DEPARTMENTS BATTLE OIL WELL FIRE
Tags: us_WY, industrial, fire, response, petroleum


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THINGS I WON'T WORK WITH: SELENOPHENOL. IN THE PIPELINE:
http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2012/05/15/things_i_wont_work_with_selenophenol.php
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, environmental

Things I Won't Work With: Selenophenol
Posted by Derek
This fine reagent was mentioned here (disparagingly) in the comments the other day, and I knew that it was time to add it to the list. I've had some other selenium entries before, and they're all here for the same reason: their unsupportable stenches. Everyone, even people who've never had a chemistry class in their lives, knows that sulfur compounds are stinky, of course, but it's a problem that continues as you move down Group XVI of the periodic table.

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WASTE CHEMICALS LEFT IN FACTORY
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Waste-chemicals-left-factory/story-16095646-detail/story.html
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, discovery, environmental, waste

HARMFUL chemicals including hydrochloric and sulphuric acid were left in an Ammanford factory Ñ creating a high risk for people living nearby.

The Environment Agency Wales (EAW) removed some 500 containers and five chemical lagoons at the former electroplating facility, the exact location of which has not been disclosed.

Kimberley Ekin-Wood, from the EAW, said: "This site posed a high risk to both the local environment and people living in the area so removing the chemicals had to be a priority."

The factory has been empty for several years.

The EAW, alerted by the fire service found the previous landowners had left it full of waste chemicals. These included hydrochloric acid, chromic acid, sulphuric acid and sodium hydroxide.

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LSB SHUTS ARKANSAS CHEMICAL PLANT AFTER EXPLOSION
http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/3029348/Latest-News/LSB-shuts-Arkansas-chemical-plant-after-explosion.html
Tags: us_AR, industrial, explosion, response, nitric_acid

LSB Industries said its El Dorado chemical facility in Arkansas suffered significant damage to the DSN concentrated nitric acid plant and surrounding equipment when a reactor exploded Tuesday morning.

There were no injuries to employees or anyone in the El Dorado community, the company said, adding that it believes there was no environmental release.

LSB is investigating the cause of the event and the extent of the damages, it said.

LSB said it does not have an estimate on the extent of the damages or the repair time. However, the El Dorado facility is out of operation at the present time due to the damage.

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LIGHTNING SPARKS CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE IN BUCKS
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/151671615.html
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response

Lightning appparently ignited a fuel tank at Dow Chemical Co. in Croydon early this morning, touching off a three-alarm blaze that sent a large orange ball of flame into the predawn sky.

Firefighters from around the area rushed to the large plant at Routes 413 and State Road in Bucks County, less than a mile from the Burlington-Bristol bridge. The county's hazardous waste material team was also called to the scene,

The fire erupted at about 4 a.m. A large black plume of smoke extended high into the sky above the orange flames. Firefighters battled the blaze not only with water, but with foam.

Robert Miller, 49, of Linden Street in Bristol, said he was awoken by a large noise and was not sure if it was thunder or something else.

"The minute it stopped" he said, referring to the thunder or explosion, "the fire alarm went off immediately. The sirens went off like crazy - like I've never heard them before."

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SMOKING DRUM SHUTS DOWN A1A IN HOLLYWOOD MOST OF MONDAY
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/smoking-drum-shuts-down-a1a-in-hollywood-most-2355812.html
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, response, waste

HOLLYWOOD Ñ A four-block stretch of A1A in Hollywood reopened Monday night after being closed much of the day while HazMat units and the bomb squad tried to remove a chemical-filled 55-gallon drum that washed ashore over the weekend.

The day-long effort to remove the drum became complicated in the afternoon when the drum broke apart and appeared to detonate, spewing white smoke, Hollywood fire department officials said. The Broward Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad was called.

The mysterious drum was finally carted away for proper disposal before 9 p.m. and the roadway reopened.

What chemical the drum contained is unknown pending test results.

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

PINE BLUFF FAMILY FINDS HOMEMADE BOMB OUTSIDE FRONT DOOR
http://arkansasmatters.com/fulltext?nxd_id=540412
Tags: us_AR, public, explosion, response, bomb

"People drop off a little homemade explosive device in the front yard, yeah it's kind of scary ," she said, flipping through pictures on her camera.

Patsy Brown and her husband woke up to find the remnants of a bottle bomb outside their front door on Mother's Day.

"As you can see here, the water bottle just exploded, and the foil exploded in about a 15-20 foot radius," she said, showing us a melted bottle and foil pellets.

The bomb consists of a plastic bottle filled with an unknown chemical liquid and aluminum foil. The concoction is commonly known as a Works Bomb. It exploded while the family was away from home on Saturday night.

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STEEL PLANT EXPLOSION IN SOUTHERN CHINA KILLS 9, INJURES 6
http://channel6newsonline.com/2012/05/steel-plant-explosion-in-southern-china-kills-9-injures-6/
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

GUANGZHOU, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- A large explosion ripped through a steel plant in southern China on Monday afternoon, killing nine people and injuring several others, state-run media reported.

The explosion occurred at around 3:48 p.m. local time at a plant operated by Shaoguan Steel Co. Ltd. in the municipality of Shaoguan in China's southern province of Guangdong. It happened as workers from China MCC5 Group Corp. were installing facilities at the location.

The state-run Xinhua news agency cited local government officials as saying that eight people died at the scene, while a ninth victim died late on Monday evening. Six workers were injured, including one person who remains seriously injured.

The cause of the explosion remains unknown, but investigations have already been launched.

The rapid economic growth in China, in combination with poor safety measures, frequently result in deadly industrial accidents. In late February, thirteen people were killed and 43 others were injured when a blast ripped through a chemical plant in China's northern Hebei province.

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HOME DAMAGED IN HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL BOMB EXPLOSION
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/wheeler/home-damaged-in-household-chemical-bomb-explosion/article_987fb6ae-91d6-56d9-92b8-f6ed8e18556b.html
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, bomb, cleaners

UNION TOWNSHIP | Authorities said a home in the Shorewood Forest subdivision was damaged Saturday after two household chemical bombs exploded on the lawn.

A 56-year-old woman told Porter County Sheriff's Department investigators that she and her husband were awoken by a "thud" outside their home about 12:30 a.m. in the 400 block of Westchester Circle.

About an hour later, they heard another noise they thought was possibly their cat knocking something off a table. The woman said they looked around the house, didn't see anything abnormal and went back to bed.

That morning, though, they discovered a window facing the front yard was shattered and areas of their lawn had burn marks next to two plastic bottles.

Authorities said they believe one of the bottles was thrown at the window and and it appears both bottles were used to create a bomb-like device using household cleaners.

Officers said the family initially wondered if they had been targeted because of their Muslim faith. On Monday, Sgt. Larry LaFlower, public information officer with the sheriff's department, said investigators found nothing leading them to believe the vandalism was a possible hate crime.

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

CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT CSU INJURES PHD STUDENT
http://www.9news.com/news/article/267981/222/Chemical-explosion-at-CSU-injures-PhD-student
Tags: us_CO, laboratory, explosion, injury, fluorine

FORT COLLINS - A PhD student was injured in an explosion at a lab in the CSU chemistry building this morning while working with fluorine potassium chloride and water, according to Colorado State University spokesman Mike Hooker.

A vial of liquid exploded, and the student was taken to Medical Center of the Rockies for treatment.

"He was cut by the glass from that vial," Hooker said, adding that he hasn't yet confirmed other injuries.

The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m., and the scene was deemed to be safe enough not to stage an evacuation. CSU Environmental Health Services cleaned up the chemicals.

Hooker said he didn't yet know what occurred with the compounds to cause the explosion.

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WYO. FIRE DEPARTMENTS BATTLE OIL WELL FIRE
http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-attack/articles/1286166-Wyo-fire-departments-battle-oil-well-fire/
Tags: us_WY, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

CHEYENNE, Wyo. Ñ A fire with flames 100 to 200 feet high erupted Friday at an oil well east of Cheyenne owned by SM Energy.

The fire at 1781 County Road 136 started in an oil treater containing 20 to 250 gallons of an oil and water mixture, Laramie County Fire District 2 spokesman Lew Simpson said. The treater overflowed and was ignited.

An oil treater removes sediment and water from crude oil before it is transported to refineries.

"It ignited, and it was threatening about 42,000 gallons of other oil fuel stored nearby," Simpson said. "We managed to control it Ñ we shut off the fuel to the fire."

About 60 firefighters responded to the scene from several agencies, including six Laramie County fire districts, the Torrington Fire Department and F.E. Warren Air Force Base. Firefighters from the local Frontier Oil refinery also helped out.

The fire was extinguished in about an hour. No injuries were reported.

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