From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (10 articles)
Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2014 07:44:34 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 14E01610-7268-44B6-BF3C-E39E0A55A086**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

Table of Contents (10 articles)

1 DEAD, 12 MISSING IN CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, explosives

IRRITANT INSIDE CITRUS HEIGHTS CLASSROOM SENDS 2 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_CA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical, irritant

CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSES 7-HOUR SHELTER IN PLACE
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, gas_cylinders, HCl

HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SPILL AT ODOT IN W. COLUMBUS
Tags: us_OH, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

WOMAN KILLED, 7 HURT IN NJ BLAST AFTER GAS LEAK
Tags: us_NJ, public, explosion, death, natural_gas

MORE THAN 100 EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN CARSON
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, other_chemical

FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL REACTION
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, carbon_monoxide, resin

REFRIGERATOR BLAST SETS OFF ALARM IN CHEMICAL LAB AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA (3/5/14 9:38 AM)
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL SPILL ALERT AT GLENROTHES FACTORY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide, sulfuric_acid

CHEMICAL REACTION CAUSED FATAL FIREWORKS BLAST
Tags: us_AZ, transportation, explosion, death, fireworks


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1 DEAD, 12 MISSING IN CHINA CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST

Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, explosives

BEIJING (AP) ? An explosion Friday at a chemicals plant in northern China killed one person and left 12 others missing, authorities said.
Thirteen people were on a floor that produced emulsion explosives at the plant run by Kailuan Group in the city of Tangshan when the morning blast occurred, the government of Hebei province said in a statement. One person was confirmed to be dead, and authorities were searching for the 12 others.
The brief statement gave no cause for the explosion.
Workplace safety is a major issue in China. A shoe factory fire in the eastern city of Wenling in January killed 16 people, prompting a broad government campaign that shut down many of the city's shoe factories to ensure compliance of safety rules.

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IRRITANT INSIDE CITRUS HEIGHTS CLASSROOM SENDS 2 TO HOSPITAL

Tags: us_CA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical, irritant

CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. (KCRA) ?Two students were taken to an area hospital after an unknown irritant disrupted a classroom at a Citrus Heights middle school Thursday afternoon.

Sacramento Metro Fire crews responded to the hazardous materials situation at Sylvan Middle School on Auburn Boulevard and cleared the classroom of 23 students and two adults.

Firefighters and Citrus Heights police were called to Sylvan Middle School on reports of possible injuries. Two students exposed to the irritant were under observation at the hospital for nausea, sneezing and running eyes.

No serious injuries were reported.

Students at the school were dismissed early to their parents or guardians around 1 p.m. The school was not evacuated along with the affected classroom.

Sacramento Metro Fire crews said on Twitter that they treated the incident as a Level 2 hazardous situation. They also tested the area's toxicity levels.

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CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSES 7-HOUR SHELTER IN PLACE

Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, gas_cylinders, HCl

HOUSTON -
Hazmat crews finished cleaning up a chemical leak in east Houston early Wednesday morning.

A tanker truck started leaking the chemical around 9 p.m. Tuesday night at the Con-Way Freight Distribution Center on Gazin and Old Clinton Road.

Houston fire investigators said a cylinder carrying anhydrous hydrogen chloride ruptured inside a tanker truck.

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HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SPILL AT ODOT IN W. COLUMBUS

Tags: us_OH, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

COLUMBUS (Ken Hines) -- HAZMAT crews have downgraded a Wednesday morning chemical spill at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to a minor incident.

The small hydrochloric acid spill occurred in a second-floor laboratory at the W. Broad Street facility at approximately 8:30 a.m., leading to a large, immediate response from the Columbus Division of Fire.

Medics examined an employee whose clothing was splattered with the chemical -- which is used to test asphalt -- and determined that no injury had occurred.

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WOMAN KILLED, 7 HURT IN NJ BLAST AFTER GAS LEAK

Tags: us_NJ, public, explosion, death, natural_gas

EWING, N.J. (AP) - A gas leak and subsequent explosion destroyed at least 10 houses and damaged dozens of others at a suburban town house development Tuesday, killing a woman and injuring seven workers, authorities said.

The body was not discovered until late in the day, on a car near the site of the explosion, after authorities had thought the neighborhood had escaped the blast without any deaths. Lt. Ron Lunetta said officials were not able to identify the victim and will await an autopsy for positive ID and cause of death. He added that no one else was believed to be missing.

It also was not clear Tuesday night if the woman who was killed was inside or outside a residence when the explosion occurred.

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MORE THAN 100 EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN CARSON

Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, other_chemical

CARSON (CBSLA.com) ? A chemical spill in Carson Tuesday forced the evacuations of more than 100 people.
Los Angeles County Fire spokesperson Scott Miller says a 55-gallon drum in the back of a big rig spilled 5-10 gallons of a type of benzyl chloride inside the trailer.
Two HazMat task forces responded to the scene at 20000 South Santa Fe Avenue Tuesday afternoon.
Firefighters were working to remove the undamaged drums and to put the damaged barrel into another barrel. Some crew members had to be decontaminated after handling the spill.

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FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL REACTION

Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, carbon_monoxide, resin

The Huntington Beach Fire Department responded to a chemical reaction at a paint manufacturing business Wednesday after two chemicals were improperly mixed, authorities said.

Firefighters monitored the venting of the mixture in the 15000 block of Commerce Lane at about 4 p.m. and evacuated the surrounding businesses as a precaution, fire Capt. Bob Culhane said.

Authorities identified the two chemicals as a resin and triethylamine, which when combined produced heat, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

The container where the substances were "mixed in error," Culhane said, was taken outside. The fire captain added that the fire crew monitored the reaction and allowed it to "run its course."

No injuries were reported.

Huntington Beach police posted on its Facebook page that the reaction is expected to dissipate by 9 p.m.

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REFRIGERATOR BLAST SETS OFF ALARM IN CHEMICAL LAB AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA (3/5/14 9:38 AM)

Tags: us_FL, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

TAMPA, Florida ? A refrigerator door blew off and hit an inner pane of a double-paned window in a chemical lab at the University of South Florida.

No one was injured in the blast, which set off a fire alarm about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Tampa Fire Rescue's hazardous materials team responded to the campus and determined that no one was inside the building. They also found that no hazardous chemicals spilled.

Officials say the building did not catch on fire. A fire marshal's investigator is trying to find out what caused the blast.

The building will remain closed until the investigation is complete and university officials determine it is safe for students and faculty.

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CHEMICAL SPILL ALERT AT GLENROTHES FACTORY

Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide, sulfuric_acid

A Glenrothes factory was at the centre of a chemical spill on Wednesday morning.

There was a small leak of sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide at Semefab?s plant on Eastfield industrial estate in Woodside.

The company manufactures semi-conductors. The fire service was initially alerted to the incident when the firm?s fire alarm was activated.

One crew from Glenrothes went to investigate but when they got there they asked for a second unit to attend.

Then the firefighters requested the decontamination team from Methil as it became clear chemicals had been involved.

Fire crews donned decontamination gear and breathing apparatus sets but the incident was being handled by the workforce itself.

One crew is still there and has been laying down absorbent pads to soak up the spill.

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CHEMICAL REACTION CAUSED FATAL FIREWORKS BLAST

Tags: us_AZ, transportation, explosion, death, fireworks

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz.?Authorities in Lake Havasu City say a chemical reaction between fireworks and mixing compounds being transported in a car caused an explosion that fatally injured a California man.
Lake Havasu City Fire Marshal Chip Shilosky says the explosion occurred as 59-year-old Randy Feldman of Menlo Park and another man were driving on State Route 95 in Lake Havasu City on Feb. 12.

Feldman was severely burned by a secondary explosion of fireworks in the car's trunk, and he died Feb. 27 at a hospital in Las Vegas.

According to the Today's News-Herald (http://bit.ly/1lyLStK">http://bit.ly/1lyLStK), Feldman was in Lake Havasu City for a Western Pyrotechnics Association event.

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