From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 08:17:52 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 25E10C63-4F77-4633-B62D-6590247B31D6**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

acsdchas RT **At_Symbol_Here**ehsdirector: "TransCanada natural gas pipeline explodes near Winnipeg." #energy #safety #ohs http://t.co/zlCNjZiIdF

cornelllabsafe Cornell University Reactives Chemical Workshop, February 7; learn how to plan for with high hazard chemicals safely. http://t.co/AudMm9IqFk

acsdchas ACS Webinar: Tragic Chemical Accidents: Tales, Investigations, and Lessons Learned http://t.co/3BtnvmtG0Q

labsustain ACS GCI has 2 student awards to support interest in green chemistry and engineering. Applications due on Feb 1, 2014 http://t.co/AhQUAQCTZv

cornelllabsafe "How Much Do Electric Drive Vehicles Matter to Future U.S. Emissions?" Found at http://t.co/wAcyC3N5uh http://t.co/wh2W1Un4q5

labsustain C&EN: Sayonara, Polystyrene: Cities ban containers made with the plastic foam http://t.co/OKFKemzDIc http://t.co/Asm3J5fgum

acsdchas RT **At_Symbol_Here**CHMMNews: Company knew from start of second chemical leak ? Columbus Dispatch http://t.co/gmozCdsUtQ #HazMat

cornelllabsafe Who should conduct laboratory inspections? http://t.co/0aL7iKcoNv

labsustain ES&T: Vehicle Engines Produce Exhaust Nanoparticles When Braking http://t.co/nd1LI8Bqiz

labsustain ES&T: Integraion of Risk and Sustainability in Regulatory Decision Making http://t.co/oQXYszRWQk http://t.co/Ym9RlRpWuR

chemsafetyboard **At_Symbol_Here**chemsafetyboard chair and Richmond CA mayor: Refinery fire shows need for new rules - http://t.co/RDtShGTX3F via **At_Symbol_Here**SFGate

labsustain C&EN: U.K. Approves Fracking Prime Minister supports natural-gas-extraction method, big oil company already invested http://t.co/c14wNIK1Y2

labsustain C&EN: Making Fuel While Cleaning Up Arsenic http://t.co/wbikQwCIPI http://t.co/tVE7dDkbMt


Table of Contents (8 articles)

CSB RETREAT ON REFINERY REFORM
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury

BUDGET CUTS SLOW CHEMICAL LEAK PROBE
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical

THE INTELLIGENCER / WHEELING NEWS-REGISTER
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response

W.VA. GOV ORDERS COMPANY AT CENTER OF CHEMICAL SPILL TO GET RID OF STORAGE TANKS
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical

INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION IN BELGIUM KILLS 2
Tags: Belgium, industrial, explosion, death, acids

CHEMICAL OWNER PACKS UP, MOVES
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL EXPOSURE SENDS FOUR DEPUTIES TO THE HOSPITAL
Tags: us_AL, public, release, injury, suicide

VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN DEADLY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_AR, transportation, explosion, death, metals, propane


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CSB RETREAT ON REFINERY REFORM
http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i4/Retreat-Refinery-Reform.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury

By a divided vote, the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) nixed a staff recommendation for an overhaul of California refinery regulations. As a consequence, California?s potential to be a test bed for a new approach to refinery safety regulations is postponed, if not dashed.
The vote by board members Beth Rosenberg and Mark Griffon opposed that of CSB Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso and the views of most community members at a crowded, nearly five-hour hearing in Richmond, Calif., on Jan. 15.
The recommendation sprang from CSB?s investigation of an August 2012 accident involving a ruptured pipe at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, which sent 15,000 residents to area hospitals. CSB?s accident report noted that the accident?s cause was a result of a ?patchwork? of inadequate U.S. refinery regulations and urged a sweeping change in those regulations (C&EN, Dec. 23, 2013, page 7).

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BUDGET CUTS SLOW CHEMICAL LEAK PROBE
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401260066
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state and federal agencies that have been responding to the Elk River chemical leak all have one thing in common: They have had their budgets cut in the last few years.

And people connected with those agencies say, perhaps not surprisingly, that the cuts have hurt their ability to prevent and respond to situations like the water crisis in West Virginia.

The federal Chemical Safety Board is conducting a long-term investigation into what went wrong at Freedom Industries' site on the Elk, and what can be done to prevent future incidents.

The CSB has 41 employees, about half of whom are investigators. Its investigation in Charleston is expected to take about a year. The agency's budget -- about $10.5 million -- has been essentially flat for the last five years, although after the leak its 2014 funding was increased by $500,000, following a request by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives previously passed a broad spending bill that would have cut the CSB's funding by 25 percent, to about $8 million per year.

Rafael Moure-Eraso, the CSB's chairman, said that his agency had also lost $450,000 in 2013 due to the automatic federal budget cuts known as sequestration. He said that funding issues have slowed down and hampered his agency's investigations.

"Oh very much so. We have three active investigative teams, so in order for Mr. Banks to be here with his team, he has to stop the work on the particular investigation he was running," Moure-Eraso said.

Lead investigator Johnnie Banks had to leave his investigation of an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, to come to the Kanawha Valley.

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THE INTELLIGENCER / WHEELING NEWS-REGISTER
http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/595083/Chemical-Storage-Rules-Needed-Soon.html?nav=511
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response

A bill aimed at preventing chemical spills like the disastrous one earlier this year in Kanawha County is moving through the West Virginia Legislature with lightning speed.

That is appropriate. Mountain State residents were right to be upset upon learning neither state nor federal agencies monitor chemical storage tanks such as the one that leaked, contaminating water used by about 300,000 customers.

Some lawmakers worry the proposed new law will be an unnecessary burden on chemical businesses and public water systems. They, too, are right to consider that aspect of the bill.

Still, something needs to be done quickly to reassure West Virginians our water is safe from being tainted by hazardous chemicals. Lawmakers should enact the bill - with a "sunset" provision requiring it be reevaluated later this year.

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W.VA. GOV ORDERS COMPANY AT CENTER OF CHEMICAL SPILL TO GET RID OF STORAGE TANKS
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/01/chemical_spill_west_virginia.html
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical

CHARLESTON, W.Va. ? West Virginia's governor on Saturday ordered the company at the center of a chemical spill that tainted the state capital's water supply to remove all above-ground storage tanks from the Charleston operation.

A statement released by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's office said Freedom Industries must start the dismantling process by March 15.

The Jan. 9 spill of a chemical used to clean coal at Freedom Industries contaminated the water supply for 300,000 West Virginians, some of whom couldn't use their tap water for a week.

The order to dismantle and properly dispose of the tanks also includes associated piping and machinery. The facility currently has 17 tanks. The governor's statement said crude MCHM leaked from one of three now-empty tanks containing the chemical at the plant.

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

INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION IN BELGIUM KILLS 2
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13921103000679
Tags: Belgium, industrial, explosion, death, acids

TEHRAN (FNA)- Two people died in an explosion Thursday at a factory belonging to Belgian metal manufacturer Umicore, the company confirmed.

The accident occurred at Umicore's site in Olen, 50 kilometers Northeast of Brussels, Voice of Russia reported.

The two people were working in a silo in which acid fluids were stored, a spokesman said, adding, "For unknown reasons, there was an explosion and the silo collapsed".

Umicore is a Belgian-based global materials technology group, with a background in mining.

It employs more than 1,000 people in Olen, where it handles cobalt, nickel and germanium and houses a global research department, according to the company website.

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CHEMICAL OWNER PACKS UP, MOVES
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20140124/ENVIRONMENT/301240058/Chemical-owner-packs-up-moves?nclick_check=1
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

Thousands of gallons of potentially dangerous chemicals have been moved from a grassy 10-acre lot in West Melbourne,where they lingered for almost three years with uncertain risks to nearby residents.

Wayne Dickinson,ensnaredin an ongoing battle with environmental regulators, moved his trailers, drums and heavy equipment from John Rodes Boulevard, where a friend had let him store them, to a heavy industrial area off Korbin Avenue in Rockledge, just west of U.S. 1 and north of Viera Boulevard.

But the costs that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has accrued on the case remain an uncertain cloud over Dickinson, his friend Mike Smith and the military ? the original user of the chemicals.

?The threat to residents has been mitigated,? said Chris Russell, of EPA?s emergency response and removal branch.

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CHEMICAL EXPOSURE SENDS FOUR DEPUTIES TO THE HOSPITAL
http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/chemical-exposure-sends-four-deputies-to-the-hospital/article_4abcd926-857a-11e3-b47d-001a4bcf6878.html
Tags: us_AL, public, release, injury, suicide

MONROVIA, Ala. (WAAY) - Four Madison county deputies were treated for chemical exposure Friday. Huntsville fire and rescue says deputies found a dead body in a car on County Lake road in Gurley at 12:30 Friday. There were also chemicals in the car, which made 2 deputies sick.
The investigation then sent deputies to a home in the 300 block of Lofton Road in the Monrovia area. They also found chemicals in the basement of that home that made 2 other officer?s sick. All four deputies were treated and released from Huntsville Hospital. The investigation continues, but deputies believe it was a suicide.

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VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN DEADLY EXPLOSION
http://5newsonline.com/2014/01/24/explosion-at-a-plant-in-johnson-county/
Tags: us_AR, transportation, explosion, death, metals, propane

A 33-year-old Clarksville man identified as Daniel Rice was killed in an explosion in Johnson County on Friday (Jan. 24), according to the Johnson County Sheriff?s Office.
The explosion happened about 7:30 a.m. at Quick Transports Inc., an oil field tanker company, authorities said.
Rice was working to thaw a tanker when it exploded at the trucking company, according to a news release from the sheriff?s office. He was hit by a metal hatch plate blown off the back of the truck.
Using a propane torch, workers had been loosening ball values on the back of the tanker truck at the time, the release states.
The company is in Knoxville, Ark., just off Interstate 40.
Two other hatches were blown off the top of the tanker. While other people were near the explosion site, no one else was hurt, according to the release.

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