From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 08:01:34 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 3537AC0A-80A0-4AAF-830B-D31030586144**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


**At_Symbol_Here**ACSDCHAS and **At_Symbol_Here**LabSustain tweets and Chemical Safety Headlines
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
Tweets available on our ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety (DCHAS) Facebook Page
Tagged Article summaries are available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

labsustain RT **At_Symbol_Here**DowChemical: #GreenChemistry ? Making that fresh coat of #paint safer via Jim Jones **At_Symbol_Here**epa http://t.co/TJYqw8NIEg

labsustain RT **At_Symbol_Here**climasphere: .**At_Symbol_Here**NASciences' webcast of the public briefing of Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: http://t.co/jSN4sKL5jb

acsdchas UBC: A systematic review regarding effective Joint Health and Safety Committees http://t.co/WW8yfEQRYF

acsdchas JChemEd: Improving the Practical Education of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering Majors in Chinese Universities http://t.co/mGdz4rtsF1

acsdchas J Chem Ed: Review of Chemistry of High-Energy Materials, 2nd Edition http://t.co/HxLCtPrd7S

acsdchas Univ of Copenhagen Research funding has become prone to bubble formation" http://t.co/QawDByZ3pu


Table of Contents (8 articles)

U.S. FERTILIZER EXPLOSIONS BRING SCRUTINY OF RETAILERS
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate

N.Y. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICIALS FINED $33K FOLLOWING BLAZE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables

NIOSH SCIENCE BLOG ? CONTROLLING EXPOSURES TO WORKERS WHO MAKE OR USE NANOMATERIALS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, nanotech

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA VIDEO SHOWS OFF ITS SAFETY CULTURE
Tags: us_MN, laboratory, follow-up, response

CHEMICAL SPILL IN MID WEST UNDER CONTROL
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

HAZMAT SPILL IN MONROVIA QUARANTINES NEARLY 200 PEOPLE, BUSINESSES EVACUATED
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL ER EVACUATED AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

ONE PERSON INJURED IN OIL REFINERY EXPLOSION NEAR FALLON
Tags: us_NV, industrial, explosion, injury, petroleum


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U.S. FERTILIZER EXPLOSIONS BRING SCRUTINY OF RETAILERS
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/12/10/3366758/us-fertilizer-explosions-bring.html
Tags: industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate

Fertilizer retailers in the United States should expect more scrutiny from the federal government in the wake of the April explosion that killed 15 people and injured hundreds in West, Texas, an expert said Tuesday.

David Weeks, a senior partner at Risk Management & Engineering Ltd. of Garland, Texas, spoke to a couple of hundred people at the Far West Agribusiness Association conference at the Pasco Red Lion.

Weeks expects the end of a current exemption where retailers -- unlike fertilizer manufacturers -- do not have to have a safety management plan to cover an unexpected release of chemicals, he said.

Another potential change is adding ammonium nitrate to the list of extremely hazardous substances, even though fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate typically does not explode, he said.

After the April explosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration

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N.Y. CHEMICAL PLANT OFFICIALS FINED $33K FOLLOWING BLAZE
http://www.firehouse.com/news/11271427/ny-chemical-plant-officials-fined-33k-following-blaze
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables

Dec. 10--COHOES -- A chemical plant destroyed in a spectacular blaze last year has been fined $33,000 by the state for bypassing pollution control equipment just weeks earlier to illegally vent highly flammable chemical gas directly into the air.

Investigators from the state Department of Environmental Conservation found the problem at Shelter Enterprises in September 2012, about two weeks before much of the Saratoga Street plant was left in ruins from a huge overnight fire. The damage was so extreme that investigators could not determine how the fire started.

However, during production that month the plant emitted pentane gas directly into the air because pollution control equipment was not working, DEC inspectors found. In addition to being very flammable, pentane can cause nerve damage and lung problems when inhaled.

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NIOSH SCIENCE BLOG ? CONTROLLING EXPOSURES TO WORKERS WHO MAKE OR USE NANOMATERIALS
http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2013/12/09/nano-exp/
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, nanotech

Engineered nanomaterials are materials that are intentionally produced and have at least one primary dimension less than 100 nanometers (nm). Nanomaterials have properties different from those of larger particles of the same material, making them unique and desirable for specific product applications. The consumer products market currently has more than 1,000 nanomaterial-containing products including makeup, sunscreen, food storage products, appliances, clothing, electronics, computers, sporting goods, and coatings [WWICS 2011].
It is difficult to estimate how many workers are involved in this field. By one estimate, there are 400,000 workers worldwide in the field of nanotechnology, with an estimated 150,000 of those in the United States [Roco et al. 2010]. The National Science Foundation has estimated that approximately 6 million workers will be employed in nanotechnology industries worldwide by 2020.

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UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA VIDEO SHOWS OFF ITS SAFETY CULTURE
http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2013/12/the-university-of-minnesota-shows-off-its-safety-culture/
Tags: us_MN, laboratory, follow-up, response

From the **At_Symbol_Here**cenmag SafetyZone Blog:
The University of Minnesota chemistry department released a new promotional video last week. The department sets a pretty high standard for showing proper personal protective equipment. I spy only one person who is obviously in a wet lab without eye protection.

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CHEMICAL SPILL IN MID WEST UNDER CONTROL
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/12/10/12/50/chemical-spill-in-wa-s-mid-west-region
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

A chemical spill at a facility between Kalbarri and Northampton in Western Australia's mid west region has been contained.

Thousands of litres of hydrochloric acid spilled from a tank at BASF's Hutt Lagoon site at Yallabatharra on Tuesday morning, with the operator blaming it on a faulty valve while the Department of Fire and Emergency Services attributed it to a ruptured pipe.
"Any content leaked from the tank has been fully captured by the containment bund," BASF said in a statement.

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HAZMAT SPILL IN MONROVIA QUARANTINES NEARLY 200 PEOPLE, BUSINESSES EVACUATED
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/general-news/20131209/hazmat-spill-in-monrovia-quarantines-nearly-200-people-businesses-evacuated
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

MONROVIA >> Exposure to a gas created by the mixture of three unknown chemicals led to the quarantine of nearly 200 people from two industrial businesses on Railroad Avenue.

Firefighters from across the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County responded to the hazmat situation early Monday morning after employees reportedly became sick from the fumes, according to Monrovia Fire Chief Chris Donovan.

?Three separate chemicals had been unintentionally mixed and that created the hazardous material,? Donovan said. It remains unknown what the chemicals were.

The department quarantined 193 employees, from Vinyl Technology and Air Logistics Corp., where the fumes originated. Of those, 50 received complained of headaches or nausea and nine went to the hospital, Donovan said.

The fumes originated at Air Logistics Corp, which mixes chemicals as part of its manufacturing processes, but Donovan was unsure what the company makes.

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ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL ER EVACUATED AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S3239625.shtml?cat=300
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

AMSTERDAM - HazMat and hospital officials now know, but are not publicly saying, what substance caused the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital to be evacuated Monday.

They say the incident began around 2 PM Monday when a female patient, who had consumed the substance, came to the emergency room for treatment. She had brought a sample of the substance with her, which caused strong fumes and triggered the hazardous materials incident.

State and local responders brought fans to remove the air from the emergency room, and ER patients were moved to other areas of the hospital to receive treatment. The hospital diverted incoming ambulances, but did accept walk-in patients during the incident.

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ONE PERSON INJURED IN OIL REFINERY EXPLOSION NEAR FALLON
http://www.mynews4.com/mostpopular/story/One-person-injured-in-oil-refinery-explosion-near/XmYBbCNKJ0ex1rjixn3Fow.cspx
Tags: us_NV, industrial, explosion, injury, petroleum

FALLON, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) - There was an explosion at the Bango Refining oil refinery near Fallon injuring one person Monday morning. The injured man has only been identified as 24-years-old. He was hit with hot oil and asphalt, receiving burns over 58 percent of his body. Jerry McCullough with Banner Churchill Community Hospital tells News 4 the injured person was transferred to the UC-Davis Burn Center.

Plant Manager Ron Bell tells News 4 everything is under investigation at this time and it is unknown what initially caused the explosion. It is also unclear exactly what exploded. Deputies tell News 4 the explosion happened when workers tried to thaw a frozen pipe using a weed burner.

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