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: December 7, 2012 7:12:25 AM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <C1AEC964-94D0-45B6-BEC0-8ECFA3220DC1**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, December 7, 2012 7:12:12 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 (10 articles)

LAKEPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORTS ON INCIDENT THAT LED TO THURSDAY HAZMAT SPILL
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

CHEMISTRY HOMEWORK PUTS SEMINOLE HIGH ON LOCKDOWN, DEPUTIES SAY
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, follow-up, response, mercury, sodium

BUENOS AIRES COVERED IN TOXIC CLOUD FROM CHEMICAL FIRE -- SHANGHAI DAILY
Tags: Argentina, public, fire, response, pesticides

CHEMICAL SPILL SLOWS NEW JERSEY TRAIN CRASH PROBE
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, follow-up, injury, other_chemical

WORKER INJURED IN HAZMAT INCIDENT AT VALERO PLANT IN MEMPHIS DIES; 3 OTHERS INJURED
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, hydrofluoric_acid, propane

DOLE PLANT EXPLOSION IN CENTRAL VALLEY RELEASES AMMONIA [UPDATED]
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, ammonia

ARREST MADE IN HOUMA WALMART EXPLOSION
Tags: us_LA, public, follow-up, response, chlorine, illegal

SCIENCE LAB MISHAP SICKENS 17 PEOPLE AT HUDSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical

CALTECH ACID SPILL RESULTS IN HOSPITAL VISIT FOR LAB EMPLOYEE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid

UPDATE: ROADS REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide


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LAKEPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORTS ON INCIDENT THAT LED TO THURSDAY HAZMAT SPILL
http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28373:lakeport-police-department-reports-on-incident-that-led-to-thursday-hazmat-spill&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

LAKEPORT, Calif. - The Lakeport Police Department issued a report on a hazmat spill that necessitated the closure of a portion of 11th Street late Thursday morning.

The incident occurred shortly before noon, as Lake County News has reported.

Lt. Jason Ferguson said that at approximately 11:46 a.m. Lakeport Police officers and Lakeport Fire Department personnel responded to the area of 11th and Pool streets on a report of a trailer, carrying chemicals, leaking and spilling onto the street.

Officers arrived and immediately closed 11th Street from North Street to Pool Street to divert traffic as fire personnel attended to the hazmat spill, Ferguson said.

He said officers contacted 60-year-old James Govern of Lower Lake and learned that he was driving his Ford Ranger westbound on 11th Street when the trailer - which was carrying chlorine and muriatic acid containers - began to fishtail due to the trailer becoming disconnected from the truck.

The trailer struck a telephone pole and flipped onto its side, spilling approximately one half gallon each of chlorine and muriatic acid onto 11th Street, Ferguson reported.

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CHEMISTRY HOMEWORK PUTS SEMINOLE HIGH ON LOCKDOWN, DEPUTIES SAY
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/chemistry-homework-puts-seminole-high-on-lockdown-deputies-say/1264539
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, follow-up, response, mercury, sodium

SEMINOLE Ñ It started as a simple chemistry assignment.

Students were to bring to class an item representing an element of the periodic table. Some brought aluminum foil, salt and water.

But some brought sodium, lithium and even mercury.

As a precaution, a teacher called the principal, who called authorities.

Within minutes, fully equipped hazmat investigators and firefighters bore down on the building. School officials rummaged through the bookbags and lockers of the 125 students assigned the project.

Some 2,200 students were locked down in first-period classes.

"It's almost stupid," said sophomore Kyle Salvaggio.

In the end, about 10 projects Ñ "anything that could potentially be dangerous" Ñ were taken from students, said Pinellas Schools spokeswoman Melanie Marquez.

The mercury came in thermometers, Marquez said, but it was unclear what the lithium and sodium were brought in.

She said calling authorities was a cautious reaction.

The incident will be reviewed by school principal Walter Weller, who did not return a call for comment.

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BUENOS AIRES COVERED IN TOXIC CLOUD FROM CHEMICAL FIRE -- SHANGHAI DAILY
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.asp?id=112095
Tags: Argentina, public, fire, response, pesticides

BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- A pesticide container that caught fire in the port area of Argentina's capital Buenos Aires blanketed the city in a toxic cloud of smoke Thursday, local Civil Defense Chief Daniel Russo said.

Authorities warned residents to stay indoors to avoid breathing the fumes from the container, which may have contained trash as well as chemical compounds.

Russo said until the strong smell dissipated, officials recommended people remain "inside their houses and apartments, with the doors and windows closed."

The smoke could cause "larger problems, such as eye irritations, " Russo added.

Due to the thickness of the cloud, subway lines and rail services in Buenos Aries were suspended to keep people away from the neighborhoods of Retiro, Recoleta, Constitucion and the financial square, where the fumes were strongest.

Authorities also canceled water transportation services between Buenos Aires and Uruguay's capital Montevideo, and flights from the local Metropolitano Airport, as a preventive measure.

Argentina's Security and Justice Minister Sergio Berni said the toxic cloud was from a burning agricultural pesticide that was stored in a container at the port's Terminal 4, and the situation had been brought under control.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL SLOWS NEW JERSEY TRAIN CRASH PROBE
http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i50/Chemical-Spill-Slows-New-Jersey.html
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, follow-up, injury, other_chemical

An old New Jersey railroad bridge is a factor federal authorities are investigating as they search for the cause of a Nov. 30 train derailment and subsequent chemical leak that sent dozens of people to a local hospital. The accident, in the town of Paulsboro, also prompted the evacuation of some 500 residents, although no one was seriously injured. Investigators are working slowly because of concerns about the levels of the chemical in the air.
At a news conference last week, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Deborah A. P. Hersman said the inquiry is focusing on both the train and the bridge, which partially collapsed in the accident. The bridge was built in 1873 and reconstructed after it buckled in August 2009, derailing 16 railroad cars of coal.
Since the November accident, NTSB officials have been interviewing witnesses and examining inspection records to learn why a Conrail freight train hauling vinyl chloride derailed and dumped four tank cars into Mantua Creek, which empties into the Delaware River near Philadelphia.

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WORKER INJURED IN HAZMAT INCIDENT AT VALERO PLANT IN MEMPHIS DIES; 3 OTHERS INJURED
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/4f68613693804a05b6144b8c1f294abb/TN--Refinery-Hazmat
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, hydrofluoric_acid, propane

MEMPHIS, Tennessee Ñ An oil refinery worker exposed to propane and acid at a Valero plant in Memphis died on Monday, officials said.

He was the second Valero worker to die this year from an on-the-job injury. A man died from injuries suffered in a March fire at the refinery, which has been cited for violations related to the safe handling and control of hazardous energy and chemicals, officials said.

Firefighters on Monday morning found two workers injured when a sight glass on a pump unit ruptured, exposing them to a mixture of propane and hydrofluoric acid, said Memphis Fire Department spokesman Wayne Cooke.

Two firefighters also were exposed to the substance, he said. The pump was located at the plant's alkylation unit, Valero Energy Corp. spokesman Bill Day said in a statement.

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

DOLE PLANT EXPLOSION IN CENTRAL VALLEY RELEASES AMMONIA [UPDATED]
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/12/dole-plant-explosion-in-atwater-releases-100-gallons-of-ammonia.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, ammonia

An explosion Tuesday evening at the Dole processing plant just outside of Atwater, Calif., released about 100 gallons of ammonia into the air, officials said.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded to the Central Valley food packaging plant at 6:40 pm. No Dole employees were exposed to or injured by the gas leak, said CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

As a precaution, Merced County sheriff's deputies evacuated several surrounding neighborhoods and set up an evacuation shelter. There are no reported injuries.

Local Hazmat officers, along with Dole's Hazmat team, are also at the scene. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

[Updated, 10:06 p.m. Dec. 4: The ammonia leak has been stopped and many of the nearby residents that were evacuated have been allowed to return home, authorities said.

About 25 residents said they felt unsafe returning home, taking overnight vouchers for hotels provided by the Red Cross, said CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

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ARREST MADE IN HOUMA WALMART EXPLOSION
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20121204/HURBLOG/121209878/-1/opinion?Title=Arrest-made-in-Houma-Walmart-explosion
Tags: us_LA, public, follow-up, response, chlorine, illegal

A man accused of causing a Houma Walmart explosion confessed and was arrested, deputies said.

Chad Allen Anderson, 37, was arrested Tuesday morning and is charged with intentionally lighting something on fire Sunday afternoon, causing a chemical reaction that sent out a thick cloud of smoke in the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard store, Terrebonne deputies said. No one was injured.

"Anderson admitted to intentionally mixing the toxic chemicals but claimed the explosion was an accident," sheriff's Capt. Dawn Foret said. Detectives said he may have mixed chlorine and Drano.

Everyone in the Walmart had to be evacuated. The explosion damaged shelves, the floor and nearby products. Foret said she does not know how much the damage will cost but said it is will be more than $500.

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SCIENCE LAB MISHAP SICKENS 17 PEOPLE AT HUDSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/04/science-lab-mishap-sickens-17-people-at-hudson-valley-high-school/
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical

FORT MONTGOMERY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) Ñ A chemical mishap in a high school science lab Tuesday sent more than two dozen people to hospitals to be checked out, and forced the evacuation of the school for the rest of the day.

The Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery School District announced on its Web site Tuesday that around 9:40 a.m. at O'Neill High School in Fort Montgomery, 27 grams of ammonium chloride were placed in distilled water, and allowed to dissolve in the fume hood on a hot plate during a teacher-led demonstration.

The hot plate was supposed to be turned off, but it was inadvertently left on, and the water and chemicals evaporated into a "billowing fog," the school district said.

The local fire department responded to the scene, and exhaust fans were placed in the lab to clear the area. Everyone was evacuated from the school.

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CALTECH ACID SPILL RESULTS IN HOSPITAL VISIT FOR LAB EMPLOYEE
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/breakingnews/ci_22122508/caltech-acid-spill-results-hospital-visit-lab-employee
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid

A minor hydrochloric acid spill at a Caltech laboratory Monday afternoon prompted a lab worker to be taken to a local hospital for treatment, fire officials said.

It was not known Tuesday the extent of the worker's injuries but Caltech and fire department officials said they believed he had been released.

Caltech spokesman Lawren Markle said it was "a few drops" of the acid that had apparently gotten on the worker's arm between his gloves and lab coat. The area was washed right away and the worker elected to go to the hospital for treatment, Markle said.

"Anytime you come in contact with a chemical, further evaluation in a hospital is highly recommended," said Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman with the Pasadena Fire Department.

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

UPDATE: ROADS REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/chemical-spill-shuts-down-th-streets#.UL88LuRi548
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - UPDATE: Vigo County Hazmat Crews have informed News 10 that the Sodium Hydroxide spill has been cleaned up, and the roads are opened once again.

A tanker carrying the chemical had a leak in the storage container, which broke open further and spilled onto the streets.

Hazmat Crews were able to clean up with mess without further incident.

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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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