From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (17 articles)
Date: November 2, 2012 7:07:37 AM EDT
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <C6900B87-F068-4115-B22F-644632106B88**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, November 2, 2012 7:07:12 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 (17 articles)

HAZMAT TEAM CALLED FOR AMMONIA SPILL AT COCA-COLA PLANT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

CARDIFF-NEWPORT RAIL LINES REOPEN AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, discovery, response, ethanol

WHANGANUI GAS LEAK CRITICALLY INJURES TWO
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, hydrogen_sulfide

EXPLOSION INQUIRY WILL TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS
Tags: us_MN, public, follow-up, injury, bomb

DOW CHEMICAL TEAMS UP WITH UNIVERSITIES ON LABORATORY SAFETY
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, response

SUNOCO TO PAY $117,000 TO SETTLE HAZMAT COMPLAINT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, waste

CHEMICAL SCARE CAUSES WALMART EVACUATION
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

SLIDELL METH LAB EXPLOSION SENDS PERSON TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_LA, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab

HAZMAT CREWS CONTAIN CHEMICAL SPILL AT ROLLS ROYCE PLANT
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, acids

DEER PARK CHEMICAL PLANT EVACUATES AFTER FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, paints

FIRE ERUPTS AT KY. CHEMICAL TRAIN DERAILMENT SITE
Tags: us_KY, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical

MALFUNCTION IN LAB EQUIPMENT CAUSES FIRE AT UW
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, fire, response, carbon_dioxide, fire_extinguisher

HAZMAT SPILL SHUTS DOWN BARTLETT INDUSTRIAL PARK
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, acids

WORKERS EVACUATED AFTER EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL FIRM LUBRIZOL, IN HAZELWOOD, DERBYSHIRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

HELL FIRE REVISITS COUNTRY ON EID DAYS
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, injury, gasoline

FIRE AT DOMBIVLI PLANT
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, paints

FIRE REPORTED AT BP TEXAS CITY REFINERY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum


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HAZMAT TEAM CALLED FOR AMMONIA SPILL AT COCA-COLA PLANT
http://needham.patch.com/articles/hazmat-team-called-for-ammonia-spill-at-coca-cola-plant
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

Employees at the Coca-Cola plant in Needham Heights were evacuated Wednesday evening after there was an ammonia leak in the building's compressor room.

Needham Police and Fire responded to a call at the plant, located at 9 B St., at around 6:55 p.m. on Oct. 31. A HAZMAT team and the Needham Board of Health were also called in. All employees at the plant were evacuated as a precaution.

"After conducting several tests of the building, the HAZMAT team determined there were no traces of ammonia in the air, and all employees were then allowed to return," Needham Police Lt. Chris Baker said in an email.

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

CARDIFF-NEWPORT RAIL LINES REOPEN AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-20175140
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, discovery, response, ethanol

Train lines between Cardiff and Newport have reopened after services were stopped following a chemical incident near tracks at Rumney.

British Transport Police said a gas container at the Wentloog Freightliner Depot overfilled with ethanol, and there were fears it could explode.

The depot was cordoned off and passengers were warned of "extensive delays" with rail services suspended.

First Great Western (FGW) says lines have been now reopened.

Following the incident, FGW said the lines were closed at the request of the fire service.

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

WHANGANUI GAS LEAK CRITICALLY INJURES TWO
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7900171/Whanganui-chemical-spill-injures-20
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, injury, hydrogen_sulfide

Emergency services have taken 21 people to hospital after a gas leak at a tanning plant, Whanganui health board says.

A hydrogen sulphide leak at the Tasman Tanning factory on Tod St was reported just before 5pm.

Whanganui District Health Board spokeswoman Sue Campion said two critically ill men, aged 51 and 52, had been transferred from Wanganui Hospital to Wellington Hospital in a stable condition.

The two men, both workers at the factory, were found unconscious after inhaling toxic gas fumes. Hydrogen sulphide can severely affect the lungs and breathing.

A further 19 people were brought to Wanganui Hospital for assessment. Seventeen had been discharged while two were being kept under observation overnight, Campion said.

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

EXPLOSION INQUIRY WILL TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS
http://www.albertleatribune.com/2012/11/01/explosion-inquiry-will-take-several-weeks/
Tags: us_MN, public, follow-up, injury, bomb

It may be several more weeks until the investigation is completed into last month's explosion in a home on Albert Lea Lake, Freeborn County Sheriff Bob Kindler said Tuesday.

The Oct. 21 explosion severely injured 48-year-old Ronald Rofshus. He suffered an amputated left hand, an injured left ear, an injured left eye and chemical and heat burns plus debris wounds to 20 percent of his body, according to a statement from the family.

On Wednesday, Rofshus was listed in satisfactory condition at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

Kindler said the Sheriff's Office is waiting to get reports back from the agencies involved in the investigation, including the Bloomington Bomb Squad, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Bomb squad technicians used a robot on Oct. 22 to remove several containers of components used to make explosive devices from Rofshus's home at 18115 Pelican Road.

Rofshus was reportedly making an explosive device when the blast occurred the day before.

Kindler has stated he is not sure whether anything illegal took place as there are components used in manufacturing explosive devices that are legal.

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

DOW CHEMICAL TEAMS UP WITH UNIVERSITIES ON LABORATORY SAFETY
http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i44/Dow-Chemical-Teams-Universities-Laboratory.html
Tags: laboratory, follow-up, response

IN ACTION
A video by Dow discusses the safety programs and shows scenes from the university groups' visits to Dow's site in Midland, Mich.
Credit: Dow Chemical
Industrial researchers run their labs with much more attention to safety than do academic researchers, or so holds conventional wisdom. Dow Chemical is now tackling that disparity head-on in a pilot safety collaboration with chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science departments at the University of Minnesota (UMN), Pennsylvania State University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Part of Dow's mission is to support research at universities, both to develop new technologies and to ensure a strong workforce pipeline, William F. Banholzer, Dow's chief technology officer, said in an April 30 statement announcing the program with UMN. To that end, the pilot safety program "leverages our strength in laboratory safety, which is a continuing challenge for universities everywhere," Banholzer said. A Dow analysis of 2010 Occupational Safety & Health Administration injury and illness data shows that colleges, professional schools, and universities had 2.2 injuries per 100 workers that year. Dow had only 0.33 injuries. (The numbers are not specific to research laboratories.)

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

SUNOCO TO PAY $117,000 TO SETTLE HAZMAT COMPLAINT
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57540503/sunoco-to-pay-$117000-to-settle-hazmat-complaint/
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, waste

PHILADELPHIA Ñ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Sunoco Inc. is paying a $117,000 fine to settle alleged violations of hazardous waste storage regulations at one of its former plants in northeast Philadelphia.

The EPA said it cited Sunoco for violating a federal law governing the storage and disposal of hazardous waste. The alleged violations were discovered during an inspection in September 2010.

Sunoco sold the facility in July 2011.

The alleged violations related to storage of phenol sludge, a leaking lead-acid battery and light bulbs containing hazardous material.

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

CHEMICAL SCARE CAUSES WALMART EVACUATION
http://www.click2houston.com/news/Chemical-scare-causes-Walmart-evacuation/-/1735978/17219982/-/kx9jp7z/-/index.html
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

CLEVELAND, Texas -
Investigators are searching for the person responsible for mixing chemicals inside a Walmart and prompting a store-wide evacuation.

It happened Sunday night when police said someone mixed chemicals in a plastic container. Emergency workers evacuated the store and Hazmat removed the container. One employee was taken to the hospital because she had a hard time breathing. She was later treated and released.

"Odors tended to be more of a toxic type smell that was causing some of the people, as well as the employees, to become ill," said Cleveland Police Chief Darrel Broussard. "This occurred late at night where the store did not have the volume of people inside. But it could be something that someone is trying to stage for the response of law enforcement or emergency personnel. It's important that the person be identified if possible."

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

SLIDELL METH LAB EXPLOSION SENDS PERSON TO HOSPITAL
http://www.wwltv.com/news/Slidell-meth-lab-explosion-sends-person-to-hospital-176702381.html
Tags: us_LA, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab

SLIDELL, La. -- St. Tammany deputies are investigating an explosion at a meth lab in Slidell that sent one person to the hospital.
The explosion happened around 5 p.m. at the Sandpiper Apartment Complex in the 4700 block of Pontchartrain Drive.
The meth lab was reportedly located inside one of the apartments. Hazmat crews were on the scene for several hours.
Nearby residents were evacuated during the cleanup, but we're told they have been allowed to return to their homes.

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

HAZMAT CREWS CONTAIN CHEMICAL SPILL AT ROLLS ROYCE PLANT
http://www.wbiw.com/state/archives/2012/11/hazmat_crews_contain_chemical.php
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, acids

(INDIANAPOLIS) - A chemical spill was reported at the Rolls Royce plant on Indianapolis' west side early Thursday.
Hazmat crews were called to the 2000 block of South Tibbs Avenue just after midnight on reports of an acid spill.
Officials said the spill happened when three types of acid were mistakenly mixed in an aluminum drum.
The building was evacuated, the spill was contained and no injuries were reported, officials said.

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

DEER PARK CHEMICAL PLANT EVACUATES AFTER FIRE
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Deer-Park-chemical-plant-evacuates-after-fire-3990879.php
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, paints

A fire at a Deer Park chemical plant early Monday prompted the evacuation of about 30 employees, but the blaze was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported, a company official said.

The alarm was pulled about 11 a.m. when a scaffold ignited at Dow Chemical Plant in the 1900 block of Tidal Road near Old Battleground Road, Dow spokeswoman Tracie Copeland said.

"We're not sure how that happened, but we're going to investigate it," she said.

Copeland said that the scaffolding was being used for routine maintenance at the HT2 unit of the plant, which produces specialty chemicals used in a variety of products that include paints, detergents, adhesives, automobile coatings, floor care products and personal care items.

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

FIRE ERUPTS AT KY. CHEMICAL TRAIN DERAILMENT SITE
http://www.ctpost.com/news/us/article/Fire-erupts-at-Ky-chemical-train-derailment-site-3997255.php
Tags: us_KY, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Ñ Flames from a derailed train car sent people rushing out of neighborhoods and an entire town near Louisville on Wednesday while firefighters tried to douse the chemical blaze that left three workers badly burned.
....
The blaze broke out while workers were using a cutting torch or welder to separate two of the cars that derailed Monday evening, said Lt. Col. Rick Harrison, assistant chief with the suburban Buechel Fire Department.

"Sparks ignited the vapor from the chemical itself," Harrison said.

Flames and thick, black smoke spewed out between two train cars while fire hoses shot almost 2,000 gallons of water a minute at the blaze. Officials cut off access to the derailment site and the nearby communities.

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

MALFUNCTION IN LAB EQUIPMENT CAUSES FIRE AT UW
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/crime_and_courts/malfunction-in-lab-equipment-causes-fire-at-uw/article_d832e470-2299-11e2-bb15-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, fire, response, carbon_dioxide, fire_extinguisher

A malfunctioning piece of equipment in a laboratory on the UW-Madison campus caused a fire Monday that forced the evacuation of the building but no injuries, authorities reported.

The fire was reported at 10:52 a.m. in the Service Memorial Institute, 470 N. Charter St., according to UW-Madison Police Sgt. Aaron Chapin.

The fire caused about $1,500 in damage to the equipment, and was confined to the one room in the building.

The building's alarms went off and occupants evacuated safely.

"A researcher was heating up some oil when the equipment malfunctioned and the oil ignited," Chapin told Madison.com.

Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth said the researcher was performing an evaporation experiment when the temperature control on the equipment failed, bringing the liquid to flash point and igniting.

"The researcher first used a CO2 extinguisher and dry chemical extinguisher to put out the fire but neither worked, so he put water on the liquid, creating a minor flash that dispersed the liquid so the fire went out," Wirth said.

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

HAZMAT SPILL SHUTS DOWN BARTLETT INDUSTRIAL PARK
http://couriernews.suntimes.com/news/16054238-418/hazmat-spill-in-bartlett.html
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, acids

BARTLETT Ñ Access to part of an industrial park in the southwest corner of Bartlett remained shut off Tuesday afternoon as technicians from several area fire departments worked to control a hazardous-materials spill.

A Bartlett Fire Protection District spokesman said the spill, believed to be some kind of acid, occurred at about 11:50 a.m. in a factory at 1540 Hecht Drive. Hecht Drive is north of Stearns Road, west of Munger Road and south of West Bartlett Road.

The threat of dangerous fumes caused firefighters to clear the area and bring in trained hazardous-materials teams with acid-proof suits from other fire departments to contain the danger.

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

WORKERS EVACUATED AFTER EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL FIRM LUBRIZOL, IN HAZELWOOD, DERBYSHIRE
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Workers-evacuated-explosion-chemical-firm/story-17199480-detail/story.html
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

MORE than 300 staff and contractors had to be evacuated from the site of a chemical firm following an explosion.

More than 20 firefighters were called to Lubrizol, in Hazelwood, yesterday at noon. The company carries out research and development work to improve the performance of motor oil.

Workers were left outside the building for more than an hour while crews, including the firm's own firefighters, battled the blaze.

A fire investigation was due to take place last night but the seat of the fire was thought to be in the server room.

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

HELL FIRE REVISITS COUNTRY ON EID DAYS
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/30-Oct-2012/hell-fire-revisits-country-on-eid-days
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, fire, injury, gasoline

PESHAWAR/KARACHI - The happiness of Eid was spoiled for dozens of families affected by two fierce factory infernos in Peshawar and Karachi, renewing for the nation the bitter memories of those over 300 people who lost their lives in last month's tragic fires at Lahore and Karachi factories.
At least 14 workers at a Peshawar chipboard factory sustained severe burns as the facility caught fire on Monday, while a fierce fire broking out at a Karachi chemical factory was brought under control the same day after 30 hours of hectic efforts.
Police said the fire at Peshawar factory erupted when workers were cleaning the machines with petrol. Ten workers burnt in the fire were shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex and after receiving initial treatment they were shifted to the Khyber Teaching Hospital. Three workers were said to be in critical condition at the hospital.

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

FIRE AT DOMBIVLI PLANT
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Fire-at-Dombivli-plant/articleshow/17026679.cms
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, paints

Thane: A major incident was averted due to prompt action of the fire department, as major fire broke out in oil paint manufacturing unitnamed Narco Chemical situated near residential areas in Dombivli east on Tuesday early morning.

Nearly 40 fire engines from Kalyan, Dombivli, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar, Thane and Navi Mumbai rushed to douse a fire at a chemical company in Dombivli (E) early on Tuesday. TNncaught fire at around 1.15 am on Tuesday.According to Manpada police officials, th reason behind fire is still to ascertain but fire took place late night when no one was inside theNarco Chemical company and only a security guard was posted outside factory who first noticed fire took place inside factory andimmediately informed to fire department and police officials.After getting call fire brigade officials immediately from Dombivli MIDC reached on spot to control fire but as fire was big as theyrequired additional fire machines from other fire department and subsequently they called fire machines from neighboring areas.

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

FIRE REPORTED AT BP TEXAS CITY REFINERY
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/19955893/2012/10/30/fire-reported-at-bp-texas-city-refinery
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

TEXAS CITY, Texas -
Less than two weeks after a chemical leak was reported at the BP Texas City Refinery, emergency management officials reported a fire at the facility on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire was extinguished at 3:05 p.m., according to a statement released Tuesday by a BP representative. Crews will remain at the refinery to prevent any fire flare-ups.

Bruce Clawson, spokesman for the Texas City Office of Emergency Management, tells FOX 26 News that the oil fire originated from one of the units in the plant.

The fire, reported on Tuesday afternoon, left large plumes of smoke wafting into the atmosphere and caused Texas City OEM to declare Level 2 emergency status.

Clawson says OEM officials are monitoring the situation closely and that there is no impact to the Texas City community.

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Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society

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