From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (12 articles)
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2014 07:37:39 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 447E9612-7E11-4857-9C3E-7B87542435BC**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, November 3, 2014 at 7:37:23 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

Table of Contents (12 articles)

1 INJURED, HAZMAT CALLED AFTER VISTA FIRE
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

BLEACH CHEMICAL SPILLS IN SOUTH CHARLESTON
Tags: us_WV, transportation, release, response, bleach

TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILL IN WELSHPOOL
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, corrosives

ROAD CLOSED AGAIN AS POLICE INVESTIGATE HAZARDOUS MATERIAL IN OSHKOSH
Tags: us_WI, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

KFVS12 NEWS & WEATHER CAPE GIRARDEAU, CARBONDALE, POPLAR BLUFF
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, radiation, uranium

WIS. RAPIDS ROADS REOPENED FOLLOWING SULFURIC ACID SPILL
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid

ONE INJURED IN WEYERS CAVE INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT
Tags: us_VA, public, explosion, injury, metals

FIREFIGHTERS EXTINGUISH WELLESLEY COLLEGE SCIENCE CENTER FIRE
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, fire, response, fire_extinguisher

'THIS IS HOW WITCHES AND WIZARDS COOK': KIDS LEARN BETTER LIVING THROUGH HALLOWEEN CHEMISTRY
Tags: us_MT, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

STUDENT'S UNATTENDED CHEMICALS EXPLODE INSIDE USC BUILDING
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

40 KIDS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT A MAUSTON MIDDL
Tags: us_WI, education, release, injury, pool_chemicals

UIC COLLEGE PREP CHEMICAL REACTION HOSPITALIZES 2 STUDENTS
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical


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

1 INJURED, HAZMAT CALLED AFTER VISTA FIRE
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Dozens of firefighters and HAZMAT workers responded to a fire in a Vista neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
Crews were called to the 1200 block of Alta Vista Drive around 12:15 p.m. They discovered a storage shed behind a home had caught fire.
‰??We were able to keep the fire to that storage area, although there was some smoke damage to the home as well,‰?? said Deputy Fire Chief Ned Vander Pol with Vista Fire.
Fire officials told NBC 7 the fire started in a ‰??workshop.‰?? HAZMAT workers were called to handle unspecified chemicals found inside the shed.
‰??Due to some resins that were stored in that outbuilding that was on fire, we want to make sure we get them contained the right way,‰?? Vander Pol said.

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

BLEACH CHEMICAL SPILLS IN SOUTH CHARLESTON
Tags: us_WV, transportation, release, response, bleach

A tanker trunk overturned Sunday afternoon in South Charleston, spilling about 50 gallons of a chemical used to make chlorine bleach.

The spill, of a sodium hypochlorite solution, occurred around the intersection of Union Carbide Drive and Hendrickson Drive near 1:45 p.m.

State Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Kelley Gillenwater said none of the chemical solution entered any water source. Ripley-based Haz-Tech Environmental had likely already removed the soil impacted by the spill by Sunday evening, Gillenwater said.

She said the company will likely dump the soil in a landfill. The truck also leaked an estimated 15 gallons of diesel.

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

TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILL IN WELSHPOOL
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, corrosives

There has been a toxic chemical spill at a Masters Dairy in Welshpool.

Fire and Emergency Services Authority say 1,000 litres of a substance called OxySan, which is used for removing mineral deposits on stainless steel, has leaked.

Workers at the Radium Street depot have been evacuated while 13 firefighters in protective gear and respirators mop up the spill.

Russell Jones from DFES said firefighters were in the process of decanting the chemical from the leaking container to another one.

According to The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) OxySan is classified as 'dangerous goods' and can cause burns.

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

ROAD CLOSED AGAIN AS POLICE INVESTIGATE HAZARDOUS MATERIAL IN OSHKOSH
Tags: us_WI, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

OSHKOSH, WI----- The Oshkosh Police Department and the FBI have blocked off a street in Oshkosh where they say they have discovered a potentially hazardous material in a home.

People are being asked to stay away from the 800 block of Frederick Street and the sidewalks are closed as well.

People who live in the area can leave with a vehicle but will only be allowed to walk back to their homes with a police escort.

The street was closed Friday afternoon after the material was discovered. The road was reopened Saturday morning but was closed again Saturday afternoon.

Police aren't saying what that material is but it prompted them to bring in the FBI and the National Guard. Closing the entire block as hazmat crews go in and out of the home asking people to avoid the area.

"Right now it's contained and isolated inside the house so that there is no threat to the public's safety," says Officer Joe Nichols with the Oshkosh Police Department.

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

KFVS12 NEWS & WEATHER CAPE GIRARDEAU, CARBONDALE, POPLAR BLUFF
Tags: us_IL, industrial, release, response, radiation, uranium

METROPOLIS, IL (KFVS/AP) - Honeywell says they are continuing to actively work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and are cooperating with their inspection.

Spokesperson Nina Krauss says the company began clearing out the plant's equipment. She says the company does this following any shutdown.

Honeywell says they are doing a complete an internal investigation and will notify the NRC and other agencies of their plans before resuming normal operations.

Company spokesman Peter Dalpe said this week that no injuries resulted from the leak of uranium hexafluoride Sunday night at Honeywell's site in Metropolis. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was notified.

The plant helps make nuclear fuel.

Honeywell blamed the leak on an equipment failure and maintain sensors never detected any material release.

The leak comes at a time the company and union-backed workers at the Massac County plant are embroiled in a contract dispute. Employees have been locked out of the site since August.

Representatives say the leak is a consequence of the lockout that is currently in place - which keeps employees from performing their jobs

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

WIS. RAPIDS ROADS REOPENED FOLLOWING SULFURIC ACID SPILL
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid

WISCONSIN RAPIDS ‰?? After almost 12 hours of being shut down to traffic, Wisconsin Rapids roads have reopened following a sulfuric acid spill that occurred at 4:03 a.m. Saturday near the roundabout at Second Avenue South and Gaynor Avenue.

The sulfuric acid escaped from a tanker as it was leaving Chemtrade, 311 12th Ave. S., said Captain Chuck Peeters of the Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department. The driver of the truck realized his vehicle was leaking as he reached the roundabout at Second Avenue and Gaynor Avenue. A Hazmat team from Minneapolis was called into address the situation.

Peeters urges anybody who drove through the closed streets between 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. to wash their cars to avoid any kind of damage from the chemical.

The amount of sulfuric acid spilled is unknown, Peeters said, but he said the effects of the spill were minimal. Nobody was hurt and the road suffered no noticeable damage.

Peeters said authorities closed off the storm drains immediately, and no environmental effects stemmed from the spill.

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

ONE INJURED IN WEYERS CAVE INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT
Tags: us_VA, public, explosion, injury, metals

WEYERS CAVE ‰?? An employee at Degesch America Inc. in Weyers Cave was removing the top of a seven gallon metal container when built up pressure caused the top to blow back and injure his arm, according to Weyers Cave Fire Department Chief Doug Wrenn.

The incident, which occurred outside of the chemical storage plant around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday was called in as an explosion.

"I think it scared him," Wrenn said.

Fire departments from Weyers Cave, Grottoes and Bridgewater were called in, as well as an officer from Augusta County Fire and Rescue.

The employee was transported to Augusta Health with minor injuries to the arm where the container top hit him.

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

FIREFIGHTERS EXTINGUISH WELLESLEY COLLEGE SCIENCE CENTER FIRE
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, fire, response, fire_extinguisher

A transformer fire at the Wellesley College Science Center on Thursday afternoon spurred the Wellesley Fire Department into action, with mutual aid provided by the Newton Fire Department.

The fire was was snuffed out quickly using dry chemical extinguishers, according to Wellesley Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Peterson. The building was ventilated of smoke and was closed until power could be rerouted.

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

'THIS IS HOW WITCHES AND WIZARDS COOK': KIDS LEARN BETTER LIVING THROUGH HALLOWEEN CHEMISTRY
Tags: us_MT, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

A Rocky Mountain College associate chemistry professor and three of his students proved on Halloween that anyone can enjoy better living through chemistry ‰?? provided they don‰??t mind being frightened a little.

Gavin Kirton teaches the Chemical Magic class at Rocky, where Gereint Sis, Paige Tanaka and Jessica Hayes make up the entire student body of what Hayes calls ‰??the best elective you can take at Rocky.‰??

Dressed in lab coats and goggles and positioning their tongues firmly in their cheeks, the four put on what they call their ‰??Spook-tacular‰?? Halloween show at the Fortin Center Auditorium on Friday morning.

It‰??s a show Kirton and students have been putting on in the community since 2009.

‰??This is where the magic of Halloween and the science of chemistry intersect,‰?? Sis said.

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

STUDENT'S UNATTENDED CHEMICALS EXPLODE INSIDE USC BUILDING
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

Mixed chemicals left unattended by a student exploded in a building at USC Friday, and although no one was injured and the blast did not cause major damage, hazmat crews were called in to conduct a cleanup.

The USC Department of Public Safety received a call at 4:12 p.m. of a possible gas leak at Stabler Hall, said USC DPS Assistant Chief David Carlisle.

‰??Once officers arrived on scene, it was determined that a chemical explosion had occurred,‰?? he said.

A student had been mixing chemicals and walked away just before the explosion occurred, Carlisle said.

No one was injured, there was no fire and the blast did ‰??no significant property damage,‰?? he said, noting that windows were not broken.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded, along with USC fire safety and environmental health and safety personnel, Carlisle said.

‰??They are going to conduct a non-toxic chemical spill cleanup and the building will remain closed until (it) is complete,‰?? he said.

The type and amount of chemicals involved were not available, Carlisle said.

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

40 KIDS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK AT A MAUSTON MIDDL
Tags: us_WI, education, release, injury, pool_chemicals

MAUSTON (WKOW) -- -
UPDATE: 3:05 p.m. (WXOW) - Approximately 40 students went to a Mauston hospital after a chemical leak at a middle school pool Friday morning.

In a statement from the Mauston School District, a chemical pool systems failure occurred around 10:00 a.m. at Olson Middle School.

All students in the building were moved next door to the high school.

As a precaution, the statement said approximately 40 students were taken to Hess Memorial Hospital for evaluation. Earlier reports said that the children complained of symptoms including headaches and upset stomachs. The district notified the parents immediately of the situation according to the statement.

As of mid-afternoon, Mauston Fire Chief Kim Hale said the hospital was releasing the children.

The remaining students spent the rest of the day at the high school.

Chief Hale told Madison television station WKOW that crews found a chemical container was leaking. The fumes from the chemicals had spread through air ducts to the rest of the building. Crews have cleaned up the chemicals and container said Chief Hale.

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

UIC COLLEGE PREP CHEMICAL REACTION HOSPITALIZES 2 STUDENTS
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two students were injured after a small chemical reaction during lab at UIC College Prep, Chicago police said.

The students were taken to Stroger Hospital with burns to their faces. They are expected to be fine, according to police. A third student had a minor eye irritation, officials said.

The students were mixing chemicals in the chemistry lab to create a green flame when something went wrong and there was an explosion, police said. The same experiment has been done many times in the past without incident, according to the deputy chief of police.

The Chicago Health Department checked the classroom and determined it was safe, but the lab is closed for cleanup.

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


Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society

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