From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (7 articles)
Date: February 1, 2013 8:19:19 AM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <D76B0F80-935B-4EF5-AA9F-96A420138C2A**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, February 1, 2013 8:18:39 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 (7 articles)

SCIENTISTS DEVELOP NEW METHOD FOR AIRBORNE CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENT DETECTION
Tags: Japan, education, discovery, response, toxics

CAL/OSHA ISSUES $963,200 IN PENALTIES FOR REFINERY FIRE -- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response

CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES FOUNTAINGROVE PARKWAY IN SANTA ROSA
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

ACETYLENE TANKS EXPLODE AT LOUISIANA CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, acetylene

CHEMICAL LEAK CLOSES STREET
Tags: New_Zealand, transportation, release, response, solvent

UAA SCIENCE BUILDING REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_AK, laboratory, release, response, calcium_carbide

HAZMAT TEAM INVESTIGATES AMMONIA LEAK AT ICE MOUNTAIN IN BURTON
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, ammonia


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SCIENTISTS DEVELOP NEW METHOD FOR AIRBORNE CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENT DETECTION
http://www.bioprepwatch.com/weapons_of_bioterrorism/scientists-develop-new-method-for-airborne-chemical-warfare-agent-detection/327322/
Tags: Japan, education, discovery, response, toxics

A team of Japanese researchers recently developed a new method to sensitively and selectively detect airborne chemical warfare agents that could lead to real-time detection to protect against terrorism.

Yasuo Seto, a scientist with Japan's National Institute of Police Science, and his research team developed a method that employs counter-flow introduction atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry. The researchers examined four highly toxic chemical agents using MS, including mustard gas, Lewisite 1, sarin and tabun.

Seto and his team conducted soft ionization using corona discharge to form reactant ions that were then sent against the airflow using an electric field. This process eliminated interfering molecules such as nitrogen oxide and ozone and allowed for the efficient ionization of the target chemical agents.

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CAL/OSHA ISSUES $963,200 IN PENALTIES FOR REFINERY FIRE -- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
http://ohsonline.com/articles/2013/02/01/cal-osha-issues-penalties-for-refinery-fire.aspx?admgarea=news
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response

Cal/OSHA, the California Division of Occupational Safety & Health, has proposed $963,200 in penalties and filed 25 citations against Chevron USA in connection with the Aug. 6, 2012, fire at Chevron's Richmond, Calif. refinery. The citations include 11 willful serious and 12 serious violations, resulting in what the agency's Jan. 30 announcement said are the highest penalties in Cal/OSHA's history.

"Ensuring worker safety is the employer's responsibility," said Christine Baker, director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, parent agency of Cal/OSHA. "Refineries must take the steps needed to prevent incidents like the August Chevron fire. Failure to do so can pose great dangers to workers, surrounding communities, and the environment." Cal/OSHA Chief Ellen Widess said the penalties are the highest allowed under state law. "Our investigators found willful violations in Chevron's response before, during, and after the fire," she said.

The agency's release said the fire occurred when a "severely corroded pipe in Chevron's #4 Crude Unit began leaking. Chevron managers did not shut down the unit but instructed workers to remove insulation, which led to the pipe's rupture and a massive fire. While there were no serious worker injuries, a reported 15,000 residents of surrounding communities sought treatment after breathing emissions from the fire." In addition, Cal/OSHA has ongoing investigations of Chevron's El Segundo refinery in the Los Angeles area and its oilfield in Lost Hills near Bakersfield.

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CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES FOUNTAINGROVE PARKWAY IN SANTA ROSA
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130131/ARTICLES/130139937/1033/news?Title=Driver-sought-in-Fountaingrove-Parkway-spill
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

Pool chemicals spilled out the back of a pickup Thursday morning onto Fountaingrove Parkway, creating a large chemical vapor cloud and forcing police to close a stretch of the major route through Santa Rosa for hours.

Santa Rosa police had not determined who spilled the muriatic acid and powdered chlorine near Thomas Lake Harris Drive during the morning commute.

It created a traffic mess and major delays for drivers, who crowded connecting streets in an attempt to get around the spill.

One woman who drove through the spill soon after it occurred began complaining of nausea and breathing problems after she arrived at work, said Santa Rosa fire Battalion Chief Jack Piccinini. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation.

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ACETYLENE TANKS EXPLODE AT LOUISIANA CHEMICAL PLANT
http://www.hazardexonthenet.net/article/55888/Acetylene-tanks-explode-at-Louisiana-chemical-plant.aspx?AreaID=2
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, acetylene

One person was injured, families were evacuated and US 190 was shut down on January 29 after an explosion and fire at the Air Liquide Specialty Gases facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
There were around 200 emergency officials on the scene handling evacuations, traffic and general safety.


The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said two tanks of acetylene exploded, however, the public relations office for Air Liquide in Houston says the tanks were empty and waiting to be filled with acetylene. One person was taken to the hospital with injuries to their eyes.

West Baton Rouge Parish has declared a state of emergency and a spokesperson from the Sheriff's office said numerous tanks exploded. Officials believe the explosion was caused by a faulty valve on a tank.

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CHEMICAL LEAK CLOSES STREET
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/8243759/Chemical-leak-closes-street
Tags: New_Zealand, transportation, release, response, solvent

A leaking drum of a highly volatile chemical sparked an evacuation of businesses and residences near the New Plymouth railyard yesterday.

Emergency services were called to the Kiwirail freight centre in Smart Rd about 1.50pm.

New Plymouth fire deputy area manager John Nicholls confirmed the chemical had been identified as dimethylamine and was manufactured by Dow Agrosciences.

Dimethylamine is a colourless solvent with a number of industrial applications and a potent odour.

Dow Agrosciences could not be contacted for comment.

Mr Nicholls said the liquid chemical was in drums stacked on pallets in a container on a truck.

"In the container there were 80 200-litre drums and one of the drums was leaking," he said.

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UAA SCIENCE BUILDING REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.ktuu.com/news/uaa-science-building-evacuated-after-chemical-spill-013013,0,481811.story
Tags: us_AK, laboratory, release, response, calcium_carbide

ANCHORAGE, AlaskaŃ
A chemical spill in a science building at the University of Alaska Anchorage Wednesday prompted campus police to temporarily evacuate the facility, with local firefighters responding to the incident as a hazardous-materials call.

UAA officials say a lab worker in the ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, on 3101 Science Cir., knocked some calcium carbide -- which creates a flammable gas when it reacts with water -- into a laboratory drain at about 3:25 p.m.

AFD hazmat crews searched the building with detection equipment after it was evacuated, with students allowed back into the building just after 4:15 p.m. Dispatchers confirmed that fire crews had left the scene, with notes on the call saying the problem had been "mitigated."

University Police Department officials say the building was evacuated at about 3:30 p.m. for safety reasons, with no immediate estimate available on how many people were inside it at the time.

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HAZMAT TEAM INVESTIGATES AMMONIA LEAK AT ICE MOUNTAIN IN BURTON
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2013/01/hazmat_team_investigates_ammon.html
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, ammonia

BURTON, MI - A break in led to an ammonia leak at an out-of-business ice rink in Burton Wednesday.
Genesee County's hazardous materials team was called out to the former Ice Mountain rink at 5371 Daly Farms Drive after police caught a man on the roof during a break-in, the Burton Fire Department said.

Firefighters were called to the facility about 9:20 p.m. on Jan. 30, when police requested an extension ladder. The suspect was caught by police.

When police and firefighters went to go into the rink to make sure no one else was there, they could smell ammonia.

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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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