From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2014 09:45:33 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 59159B2F-496D-4863-8385-D5F73A5C5B1C**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


**At_Symbol_Here**ACSDCHAS and **At_Symbol_Here**LabSustain tweets and Chemical Safety Headlines
Links to the headlines below can be found at the http://www.dchas.org/newsflash

Table of Contents (12 articles)

BOMB SQUAD CALLED AFTER SUSPICIOUS BOTTLES FOUND AT SCHOOL IN MONROE
Tags: us_OH, education, discovery, response, hydrochloric_acid

CHEMICAL REACTION STARTS HUGE FIRE AT FACTORY IN GROBY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, nitric_acid

FEDERAL PLAN FOR B.C. OIL SPILL RELIES ON USING BANNED CHEMICALS
Tags: Canada, transportation, discovery, environmental, illegal, oils

FREEDOM INDUSTRIES SET TO BEGIN DEMOLITION OF CHEMICAL STORAGE T
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical

CHLORINE LEAK POSES CONCERNS; LAFAYETTE SAFETY WORKERS PRESS FOR SOLUTION
Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, chlorine

HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SPILL FORCES CLOSURE OF CATALINA HIGHWAY AT HOUGHTON
Tags: us_AZ, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

CHEMICAL EXPLOSION SOUTH OF BOONVILLE SENDS MAN TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

REACTIVE MATERIAL RELEASE IN NUCLEAR WASTE FACILITY POSSIBLY CAUSED BY REACTIONS IN DRUMS
Tags: us_NM, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid, radiation, waste

OLD RODENT-KILLING CHEMICAL SHUTS DOWN ALLENTOWN STREETS
Tags: us_PA, public, release, injury, sodium_cyanide

DARLINGTON A&E REOPENS CHEMICAL BURNS CASES FORCE CLOSURE
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

SOUTH MPLS. DRY CLEANER LEAKING CHEMICALS NEAR DAY-CARE CENTER
Tags: us_MN, public, release, response, pce

CHEMICAL SPILL LEADS TO MOTORCYCLE CRASH, CLOSES INTERSTATE 40-85 EXIT
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, cleaners


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BOMB SQUAD CALLED AFTER SUSPICIOUS BOTTLES FOUND AT SCHOOL IN MONROE

Tags: us_OH, education, discovery, response, hydrochloric_acid

MONROE, Ohio ?A bomb squad was called to the old Lemon Monroe High School after a man walking his dog found several suspicious bottles in the parking lot Sunday.

Police first thought the bottles could be "drano bombs" that had not fully exploded.

Officials said after the bomb quad arrived and deployed a mini-bot to get up close, they discovered the bottles contained hydrochloric acid, which the hazmat team disposed of.

The fire department cleaned the area where the acid was spilled on the asphalt.

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CHEMICAL REACTION STARTS HUGE FIRE AT FACTORY IN GROBY

Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, nitric_acid

A chemical reaction has sparked a huge fire at a factory in Groby.

The blaze at GE Druck in Fir Tree Lane began at about 6am today casting large clouds of acrid smoke across the village.

Residents living within 200 metres of the factory, which makes specialist measurement equipment, have been advised to stay indoors and keep their windows closed.
....
A fire service spokesman has confirmed a chemical reaction started the fire and that 12 fire crews are currently trying to contain it.

Firefighters and Druck staff wearing breathing equipment entered a two storey building at the factory at about 6.30am and discovered a five litre spillage of nitric acid.

By 8.39am a chemical reaction began causing a fire which spread rapidly through the building.

The site was evacuated.

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FEDERAL PLAN FOR B.C. OIL SPILL RELIES ON USING BANNED CHEMICALS

Tags: Canada, transportation, discovery, environmental, illegal, oils

The federal government?s backup plan in the event of a catastrophic oil spill in British Columbia?s waters relies on using chemical dispersants that are currently banned from marine use by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak says her province is not prepared to sign off on the federal oil-tanker safety plan rolled out last month as part of an effort to address concerns about marine environmental safety in advance of Ottawa?s Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline decision.

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FREEDOM INDUSTRIES SET TO BEGIN DEMOLITION OF CHEMICAL STORAGE T

Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical

CHARLESTON, WV -
Contracting crews are set to begin demolition at Freedom Industries, the site where crude MCHM leaked into the Elk River January 9 tainting the water supply for hundreds of thousands of West Virginians.

Work is scheduled to begin Tuesday, June 10. It will include dismantling and removing all piping, machinery and storage tanks. However, Freedom Industries? building, which includes the office and garage, will remain in tact. The company plans on selling the site after demolition and environmental remediation are completed.

Those living near the spill site said it is a relief the tanks are being torn down. Although the chemical smell no longer lingers in the air, the site of the tanks constantly reminds them of bad memories.

?Will the water ever be the same again?? said Elliot Letart, who lives yards away from Freedom. ?Really, that?s all you think about when you hear that name.?

It remains unknown how much the demolition and remediation will cost the company. Freedom budgeted $160,000 but that cost could increase. The final bill will remain unknown until the job is done.

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CHLORINE LEAK POSES CONCERNS; LAFAYETTE SAFETY WORKERS PRESS FOR SOLUTION

Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, chlorine

Lafayette firefighters expected to remain on duty late Friday night or early Saturday morning as a Lake Charles company worked to transfer chlorine gas from one faulty tanker to two replacements.

Chlorine gas escaped from a valve on an Axiall Corp. rail car Thursday afternoon. Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan said first-responders were called to the 1300 block of Walker Road at 4:14 p.m. after LUS workers nearby complained of a strange smell. When firefighters arrived, Trahan said, some employees stated that they were feeling nauseous and smelled chemicals.

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HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SPILL FORCES CLOSURE OF CATALINA HIGHWAY AT HOUGHTON

Tags: us_AZ, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

A hazardous chemical spill in the road led to the closure of the intersection of Catalina Highway and Houghton Road on Saturday.

Rural/Metro Fire crews were sent to the scene at about 11 a.m. and determined it was a spill of muriatic acid, which is used in industrial applications and as a pool chemical. They blocked off the intersection and shut down the road along with Pima County Sheriff's Department personnel.

A hazardous materials team donned protective gear and applied soda ash to the acid to raise the pH, then removed the bulk of the soda ash in buckets from the road for disposal. The Pima County Offices of Emergency Management and Department of Transportation were notified to further mitigate the spill and assess the condition of the road, Rural/Metro said in a news release.

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CHEMICAL EXPLOSION SOUTH OF BOONVILLE SENDS MAN TO HOSPITAL

Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

BOONVILLE, Mo. -
A chemical explosion inside a home on Speed Drive south of Boonville Saturday night sent one man to the hospital.

The victim was transported to University Hospital by a Staff for Life helicopter. Officials said the man had serious injuries to the face.

Fire crews on the scene said the explosion was from a homemade device. Right now, crews are working to determine what kind of chemicals were involved.

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REACTIVE MATERIAL RELEASE IN NUCLEAR WASTE FACILITY POSSIBLY CAUSED BY REACTIONS IN DRUMS

Tags: us_NM, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid, radiation, waste

Is this the radioactive version of mixing nitric acid and organic waste?
On Feb. 14, radioactive material leaked from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear waste repository in New Mexico. Reports about the incident appear to be pointing a finger at a reactive mixture of nitrate salts and organic material in the waste drum involved?and more may have the same problem.

There are some details of the incident in a Department of Energy ?Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Nitrate Salt Bearing Waste Container Isolation Plan? dated May 30:

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OLD RODENT-KILLING CHEMICAL SHUTS DOWN ALLENTOWN STREETS

Tags: us_PA, public, release, injury, sodium_cyanide

A container of decades-old chemicals shut down several streets and almost kept a teen from his prom today in Allentown.

A resident of the 700 block of Godfrey Street was working in his garage when he started coughing and called 911, fire Capt. John Christopher said. The man, who is a former animal control officer, said it was a chemical that was used to kill groundhogs.

When officials researched what kind was used to kill vermin decades ago, they learned it could be sodium cyanide, Christopher said. Officers responding to the scare over 30-year-old chemicals shut down the area as a precaution.

Jamie Allen was frantic to pick up her son's tux before Dieruff High School's prom later today. They needed to get the tux from his grandmother's house on East Green Street and pick up his date to head over to prom in Fogelsville.

The ill resident remained in his garage until he was decontaminated; three police officers, including two who responded to the house, and a firefighter were also decontaminated. Christopher said they were all taken to an area hospital as a precaution, but the homeowner, who has lung cancer, was still coughing.

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DARLINGTON A&E REOPENS CHEMICAL BURNS CASES FORCE CLOSURE

Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

Darlington A&E reopens chemical burns cases force closure
An accident and emergency unit has reopened after two patients needing treatment for chemical burns forced its closure for about two hours.

The recycling workers were decontaminated by staff at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The unit was only accepting life-threatening cases following the "chemical incident", officials said.

The men have been discharged and are fit and well, it was confirmed.

The patients arrived at the hospital at about 10:45 BST, following an incident near McMullen Road.

They suffered skin irritation and breathing difficulties, the hospital said.

Initially it was believed there were three patients, but police confirmed one of the three people who came to the hospital was not affected by the incident.

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SOUTH MPLS. DRY CLEANER LEAKING CHEMICALS NEAR DAY-CARE CENTER

Tags: us_MN, public, release, response, pce

A south Minneapolis dry cleaner leaking hazardous chemicals into a strip mall that includes a day-care center is under scrutiny from regulators threatening to take action if the contamination isn?t stopped.

State regulators this spring found that the air in several businesses at the mall at 47th Street and Hiawatha Avenue S. contained high levels of perchloroethylene, known as perc, after initially discovering it in the underlying soil. An attempt to suck the gas from the soil failed to mitigate the problem, revealing that the machines in U.S. Cleaners were polluting the air.

Perc has historically been used for dry cleaning but is being phased out because of the adverse health effects. The city?s Health Department learned of the problem a week ago and encouraged the owner to properly seal the store and the equipment, which it may shut down if the problem can?t be fixed.

?We don?t want children exposed,? said the city?s environmental health director, Dan Huff, adding that officials are pleased with the owner?s response. ?We want to minimize their exposure as much as possible.?

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CHEMICAL SPILL LEADS TO MOTORCYCLE CRASH, CLOSES INTERSTATE 40-85 EXIT

Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, cleaners

ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. ?A Triad interstate exit was closed Friday morning after a chemical spill from a truck led to a motorcycle crash, emergency officials said.

The spill was reported around 7:30 a.m. at the Interstate 40-85 exit to Trollingwood-Hawfields Road near Mebane. The off-ramps and on-ramps in both directions may not reopen until 3 p.m. Friday, NCDOT officials said.

The section of Trollingwood-Hawfields Road passing over I-40/85 was also closed.

The chemical, believed to be a cleaning agent, leaked from a container that fell off a truck, emergency officials said.

A motorcycle drove through the chemical and slipped, emergency officials said. The motorcycle rider was checked out at the scene and determined to be OK.

The road won't reopen until chemical testing is completed, emergency officials said.

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