From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (8 articles)
Date: February 22, 2013 7:47:13 AM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, February 22, 2013 7:46:12 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 (8 articles)

CHINESE GOV'T PRIORITIZES CHEMICAL POLLUTION CONTROL
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN :: TOWNE BUILDING CHEMICAL SPILL FORCES EVACUATION
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

MAYOR FIRED OVER MISHANDLING CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

DEP SEEKS NEW FINES, PLAN FOR W.VA. CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid, sodium_hydroxide

FACTORY AT LYTTON NEAR PORT OF BRISBANE EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid

COLUMBIA, SC: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BUILDING CLEARED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

2 CHEMICAL TANKERS COLLIDED IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
Tags: us_TX, transportation, discovery, response, other_chemical

EVACUATIONS LIFTED AFTER POLICE REMOVE EXPLOSIVE DEVICES, PIPE BOMBS FROM AURORA HOME; 1 ARRESTED
Tags: us_CO, public, fire, response, bomb, fireworks


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CHINESE GOV'T PRIORITIZES CHEMICAL POLLUTION CONTROL
http://english.cri.cn/6909/2013/02/21/2702s749858.htm
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental

The government has issued a list of chemicals and industries where chemical pollution prevention and control efforts will be prioritized in the period up until 2015.

The list, issued on Thursday, is part of government efforts to control chemical environmental risks.

Issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the document lists 58 chemicals that will see prioritized exposure and emission control via upgraded registration, assessment and supervision efforts.

Petroleum, coking and nuclear fuel processing and the manufacturing of chemical ingredients and products, pharmaceuticals and chemical fibers, as well as the smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metal, are key areas to be targeted. The textile and coal chemical industries were also included on the list.

The document warns that China faces a grave situation in terms of chemical pollution control, citing inadequate pollution risk control by enterprises, a lack of systematic policies to restrain the making and use of highly toxic and dangerous chemicals and authorities' insufficient pollution monitoring and supervision capabilities.

China has seen a string of chemical pollution accidents, leading to polluted drinking water and higher rates of cancer in some areas, the document says.

It says some toxic and harmful chemicals that have already been banned or restrained in developed countries are still in mass production and use in China.

Chemicals with high environmental risks have seen production transfer from other countries to China, it says.

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THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN :: TOWNE BUILDING CHEMICAL SPILL FORCES EVACUATION
http://www.thedp.com/article/2013/02/towne-building-chemical-spill-forces-evacuation
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

The Towne building Ñ located in the Engineering Quad Ñ was evacuated at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday due to an accidental chemical spill.

The spill, which occurred in a lab on the building's first floor, was cleaned up by Penn's Environmental Health and Radiation Safety, according to the Division of Public Safety.

The building is now safe for occupancy, according to an email that Building Administrator Kilian Feeney sent to all Engineering students.

The Philadelphia Fire Department's Hazmat Unit also responded. However, EHRS handled much of the response before the PFD even arrived, according to a PFD spokesperson.

The evacuation was due to a "strong chemical odor" from the spill, according to DPS. By the time PFD inspected the building, the fumes had dissipated.

Students and faculty were alerted to the evacuation by a fire alarm. However, some people failed to heed the evacuation order, according to Feeney's email.

This is the second incident that Hazmat teams have responded to on campus in the past two weeks. The other occurred early on the morning of Feb. 8 at Vagelos Labs.

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MAYOR FIRED OVER MISHANDLING CHEMICAL LEAK
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/8138732.html
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

Thirty-eight people have been held accountable for a chemical leak that contaminated a river in North China's Shanxi province in December, a working group responsible for addressing the incident said Wednesday.

An investigation by the working group showed that Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group caused the serious contamination and the Changzhi city government should also be blamed for failing to respond quickly to the emergency and not informing the downstream areas of the imminent health threats.

Changzhi Mayor Zhang Bao was removed from his post. The director of the work safety department in the city, Yang Fujin, was also sacked. Seven other officials were disciplined, including a deputy mayor and the environmental protection chief in the city. Twenty-four corporate executives received warnings, or demotion and removal from their posts.

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DEP SEEKS NEW FINES, PLAN FOR W.VA. CHEMICAL PLANT
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/science/article/DEP-seeks-new-fines-plan-for-W-Va-chemical-plant-4299322.php
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid, sodium_hydroxide

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) Ñ West Virginia regulators are seeking nearly $250,000 in new water pollution fines against the owner of a Northern Panhandle chemical plant.

The Department of Environmental Protection says the former PPG plant in Natrium has made progress since the parties reached a corrective-action plan in 2010. But it says the plant has struggled to consistently meet pollution limits for various chemicals.

The plant manufactures chlorine, caustic soda, muriatic acid and calcium hypochlorite. It was sold in January in a $2.5 billion deal Pittsburgh-based PPG made with Georgia Gulf.

In 2010, a judge ordered PPG to pay the state more than $1.3 million for polluting the Ohio River.

The new proposed agreement focuses on long-term plans to reduce the levels of chemicals called BHC-Alpha, BHC-Beta and BHC-Gamma.

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FACTORY AT LYTTON NEAR PORT OF BRISBANE EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/factory-at-lytton-near-port-of-brisbane-evacuated-after-chemical-spill/story-e6freoof-1226583454116
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid

A FACTORY at Lytton has been evacuated after a chemical spill this morning.

Emergency services were called to the factory about 10.45am after 700 litres of nitric acid spilled on the work site on Osprey Drive near the Port of Brisbane.

Inhalation of nitric acid fumes can cause chemical pneumonia, unconsciousness and in extreme cases, death.

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COLUMBIA, SC: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BUILDING CLEARED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
http://www.thestate.com/2013/02/20/2641208/gas-leak-reported-on-the-university.html
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

COLUMBIA, SC Ñ After being shut down most of the afternoon, an engineering building on the University of South Carolina's campus was been deemed safe for occupancy Wednesday afternoon.

The building, the College of Engineering and Information Technology at 300 S. Main St., was cleared by a hazardous materials team after a chemical leak inside one of the building's laboratories sprung about 1 p.m. Columbia-Richland Fire Department crews, Richland County EMS and USC's police and health and safety crews responded to the building.

Crews were unable to determine the type of chemical leaking in the building, said Columbia-Richland Fire Department spokesman Brick Lewis. There is still a chemical odor in and around the building Wednesday evening, but Lewis said the building is safe.

All streets have been reopened around the building.

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2 CHEMICAL TANKERS COLLIDED IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
http://www.businessinsider.com/2-chemical-tankers-collided-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-2013-2
Tags: us_TX, transportation, discovery, response, other_chemical

Two chemical tankers collided early this morning in the Gulf of Mexico, about 70 miles south of Galveston, the Coast Guard is reporting.
Around 4:30 a.m., the 385-foot Chem Sea and 557-foot Bow Kiso collided while both were en route to Houston.
No significant damage resulted. A fuel leak in the engine room of the Bow Kiso was patched, and the crew pumped the remaining fuel into an auxiliary tank.

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EVACUATIONS LIFTED AFTER POLICE REMOVE EXPLOSIVE DEVICES, PIPE BOMBS FROM AURORA HOME; 1 ARRESTED
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/bomb-squad-at-home-in-aurora-early-tuesday-morning
Tags: us_CO, public, fire, response, bomb, fireworks

AURORA, Colo. - Aurora police allowed evacuated neighbors to return home Tuesday night after authorities removed several explosive devices and bomb-making materials from a house and shed.
....
The explosive devices and bomb-making materials were found by firefighters responding to a small fire in the basement of the home around 10:30 p.m. Monday.

The responding fire crew found fireworks, bomb-making materials and possible explosive devices so the Arapahoe County bomb squad was called in. Police said the bomb squad found pipe bombs in a shed behind the house.

Aurora police spokeswoman Sgt. Cassidee Carlson described the two pipe bombs as "pretty powerful devices" and said bomb techs had informed her they "could have possibly totally demolished the suspect's house and possibly damaged other houses."

"If his house would've went up, mine probably would've went up with it. And of course nobody wants that, so it's definitely scary," neighbor Donn Daniels said.

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