From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (9 articles)
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 07:54:44 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: B748E47B-0533-4793-8F13-8963409497C1**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 (9 articles)

RETHINKING HAZMAT AS GRANT FUNDING DRIES UP
Tags: us_FL, public, follow-up, environmental

DURHAM: POLICE INVESTIGATE SMALL EXPLOSION ON BOARD DURHAM BUS
Tags: us_NC, public, explosion, response, bomb

BLASTS BLAMED ON HASH OIL LEAD TO FEDERAL CHARGES
Tags: us_WA, public, follow-up, response, illegal, meth_lab

BLACKFOOT, CLARK FORK RIVERS REOPEN AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MT, transportation, release, environmental, other_chemical

CHEMICAL FIRE TO BURN ITSELF OUT IN WILLISTON
Tags: us_ND, public, fire, response, other_chemical

CHEMICAL DETECTION SHUTS PUBLIC SUPPLY WELL
Tags: us_DE, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics

10 JAILED OVER CHINA?S CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: China, public, explosion, death, flammables, illegal

POLICE: PAIR CHARGED IN METH BLAST TRIED TO DISPOSE CHEMICALS
Tags: us_TN, public, explosion, response, hydrochloric_acid, meth_lab, waste

CHEMICAL SPILL AT ROANOKE CO. PACKING COMPANY FORCES EVACUATION
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid


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RETHINKING HAZMAT AS GRANT FUNDING DRIES UP

Tags: us_FL, public, follow-up, environmental

Marion County Fire Rescue?s hazardous materials crews have responded to reports of a fishy white powder in local government offices three times within the past 18 months, including one incident in June that targeted 11 different locations on the same day.

Ultimately, potential terrorism proved to be an unfunny prank because each time the substance was benign.

While the importance of the high-profile targets in those three cases ? schools, the courthouse, the Sheriff?s Office ? garnered them considerable attention, hazmat responders roll to someone?s perceived emergency more often than many might think.

On average, fire department records show, the county?s hazmat squad deploys about every other day, investigating and mitigating all types of situations ? from industrial spills to petroleum leaks at car wrecks and from crystal meth labs to those mysterious white powders, which in one recent case turned out to be the flour at the bottom of a box of KFC biscuits.

Fire department data also indicate that for 2014 the unit?s volume of calls has already reached roughly the same number as it did in each of the two prior years.

But cutbacks in federal spending have county Fire Rescue officials rethinking and redirecting their hazmat mission, and as that occurs the burden on local taxpayers might get heavier, resources may be shifted from other services, or the county may have to rely on other agencies outside the community for aid, officials say.

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DURHAM: POLICE INVESTIGATE SMALL EXPLOSION ON BOARD DURHAM BUS

Tags: us_NC, public, explosion, response, bomb

DURHAM, N.C. -
Police say a homemade chemical bomb exploded on board a commuter bus Tuesday night, forcing the closure of a portion of West Main Street in Durham.

Police are investigating an explosion on board a Bull City Connector bus around 9:35 p.m.

Police said the bus driver reported that a man got on the bus with a jug. When he got off, the jug exploded.

Police are calling the explosion the result of a "Drano Bomb," which is a homemade chemical bomb.

No one was injured but a passenger sitting near the explosion was treated on the scene for exposure.

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BLASTS BLAMED ON HASH OIL LEAD TO FEDERAL CHARGES

Tags: us_WA, public, follow-up, response, illegal, meth_lab

The chemical process used to make hash oil ? a method so fraught with volatility that police compare it to making methamphetamine ? has come under attack by the U.S. Attorney?s Office.

On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan?s office filed criminal charges against eight people in connection with recent explosions attributed to the manufacture of hash oil in Bellevue, Seattle, Kirkland and Puyallup. One case involved a massive explosion and fire at a Bellevue apartment complex in November that resulted in the death of former Bellevue Mayor Nan Campbell.

While possession and consumption of hash oil are legal, Durkan said its manufacture is not.

?Under state law, there is no legal way to make hash oil right now. Every one of these home systems is a violation of federal law and state law,? Durkan said during a news conference. ?If you?re doing it you should stop.?

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BLACKFOOT, CLARK FORK RIVERS REOPEN AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL

Tags: us_MT, transportation, release, environmental, other_chemical

MISSOULA, Mont. -
The Blackfoot and Clark Fork rivers near Missoula are now reopened after Missoula County health officials determined that the chemicals that spilled from a semitruck wreck into the Blackfoot River east of Bonner Tuesday morning are highly diluted and not hazardous.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks closed a 23-mile stretch of the Clark Fork and 13-mile stretch of the Blackfoot River while crews assessed the spill and potential public safety concerns. Officials found the amount of chemicals spilled was small enough that it quickly dispersed and diluted.

The driver of the truck told the Montana Highway Patrol his right front tire blew as he was rounding a corner at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. The truck ended up on its side.

Missoula Rural Fire Acting Battalion Chief Paul Finlay says the chemicals appeared to be coming from containers of aluminum sulphate and diethanolamine, which are used in making detergents.

Crews placed a boom on the river to contain the spill and worked to plug a drainage pipe that was carrying the spill from the ditch into the river.

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CHEMICAL FIRE TO BURN ITSELF OUT IN WILLISTON

Tags: us_ND, public, fire, response, other_chemical

A fire in east Williston has closed Highway 1804 and forced officials to recommend the evacuation of a half-mile area surrounding Red River Supply in east Williston.

Williams County Emergency Manager Mike Hallesy says the fire broke out about midnight at Red River Supply and firefighters from Williston, Ray, and Epping have been on the scene all night.

Hallesy says chemicals used in fracking are burning - and the decision has been made to let them burn themselves out.

He says pouring water on the scene could just create a hazardous mix of materials that could run into the river.

Hallesy says there were no injuries reported in the fire.

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CHEMICAL DETECTION SHUTS PUBLIC SUPPLY WELL

Tags: us_DE, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics

State health and utility officials are puzzling over detections of toxic chemicals used to make nonstick, non-stain coatings in two Artesian Water supply wells in the New Castle area, findings that prompted a full shutdown of the water sources.

One of the two perfluorinated chemicals involved was detected at up to nine times higher than a provisional level set by the EPA in 2009: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

The Wilmington Manor treatment plant shutdown was the latest in a periodic and costly run of contamination problems for Artesian Water, the state's largest residential supplier, and marked the state's first significant finding for PFOS or PFOA in a water supply.

"I don't think anybody knows the source at this point," said Joseph A. DiNunzio, Artesian's executive vice president. "You never like to see that. We're on the hook for treatment here, entirely. Unfortunately, it becomes part of the cost of water for customers."

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10 JAILED OVER CHINA?S CHEMICAL EXPLOSION

Tags: China, public, explosion, death, flammables, illegal

BEIJING?Chinese authorities on Monday detained 10 people after 43 died in a horrific weekend accident when a van carrying inflammable liquid hit a bus on a motorway, state media said.

Police detained the group as part of an investigation into the ?illegal transportation of hazardous chemicals?, a report by official news agency Xinhua said.

The collision in central Hunan province early Saturday triggered a fire and explosion which destroyed five vehicles, it said.

The death toll was previously reported to be 38.

Another six people were injured in the accident, which involved a double-decker long-distance bus, with capacity for 53 occupants.

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POLICE: PAIR CHARGED IN METH BLAST TRIED TO DISPOSE CHEMICALS

Tags: us_TN, public, explosion, response, hydrochloric_acid, meth_lab, waste

Police say the couple who set fire to their Madison apartment complex with a meth lab explosion on Saturday tried to dispose of the burning chemicals, but only managed to cause more damage.

Kelly Wakefield, 27, and her boyfriend Michael Drury, 22, told Fire Marshal investigators that they were inside the apartment making meth when the fire started.

Police said Wakefield was seen running to a nearby dumpster just before the fire. A burned plastic bottle was found inside with a chemical police believe was hydrochloric acid. A battery casing and aluminum foil were also found in the dumpster.

Wakefield told police she threw the burning items in the dumpster because she did not want anyone to find out that Drury had been living with her, according to her arrest warrant.

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CHEMICAL SPILL AT ROANOKE CO. PACKING COMPANY FORCES EVACUATION

Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

A metal packing company in Roanoke County was evacuated Monday afternoon after a chemical spill.
Crews responded to a call about 2:30 p.m. at Ardagh Group in the 5000 block of Hollins Road regarding a chemical spill, said Roanoke County spokeswoman Jennifer Sexton.
She said a forklift apparently hit a chemical storage tank in a contained room that is fire- and explosive-proof. The tanks hold about 275 gallons, but Sexton said about 85 gallons of hydrochloric acid leaked into the room.
No one was injured, Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Capt. Don Altice said.
The building was evacuated, and Altice said crews determined the area surrounding the facility is not in danger.

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