From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (20 articles)
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 07:37:15 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: F9080469-7AAE-4F32-9E06-C4EA47141E33**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, December 1, 2014 at 7:36:46 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 (20 articles)

CHEMICAL BLAST KILLS 2, 1 INJURED
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical

WARRANT REVEALS NEW DETAILS INTO BYU SOAP OR METH OPERATION
Tags: us_UT, public, fire, response, cleaners, illegal

23,000 POUNDS OF TOXIC CHEMICAL LED TO 4 DEATHS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, pesticides, thiols

MADHYA PRADESH: GAS LEAK AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN RAISEN DISTRICT, 39 PEOPLE AFFECTED
Tags: India, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

ULHASNAGAR RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF POISONOUS CHEMICAL IN VALDHUNI RIVER
Tags: India, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

1 INJURED, OTHERS SEEN FLEEING AFTER HASH OIL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CO, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, illegal

HOMES EVACUATED IN WELSHPOOL CHEMICAL SCARE
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, injury, ammonia

SAN DIEGO MAN INDICTED FOR HASH-OIL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, butane, drugs, illegal

‰??3-MILE PLUME OF TOXIC SMOKE‰??: VC SHERIFF DECLARES EMERGENCY IN WAKE OF SCWW BLASTS, FIRES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury, waste

LATEX FACTORY CLOSES BRIEFLY OVER GAS LEAK
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, response, chlorine

HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO INDIAN WELLS COUNTRY CLUB
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, cleaners

DOW CHEMICAL REFUSES BHOPAL RESPONSIBILITY THREE DECADES LATER
Tags: India, public, follow-up, death, ag_chems, pesticides

LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED FOR SANTA PAULA EXPLOSION, FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury, peroxide, sulfuric_acid, waste

STUDENTS TREATED AFTER SPILL IN BURGMANN ANGLICAN SCHOOL SCIENCE LABORATORY
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, injury, sulfuric_acid

CONSEQUENCES OF POOR GLOVE CHOICE
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental, methylene_chloride, plastics

FIRE AT BURLINGTON TWP. INDUSTRIAL PLANT CAUSES CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_PA, industrial, fire, response, dust, toxics

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIX STORE EVACUATED DUE TO PEPPER SPRAY
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, pepper_spray, tear_gas

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH: RICHMOND NEWS, CRIME & POLITICS
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical

DUKE ENERGY LEAK DEEMED NOT DANGEROUS
Tags: us_OH, public, release, environmental, other_chemical

GELZINIS: FIREFIGHTERS BLAME ILLNESSES, CANCER ON BLAZE
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical


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

CHEMICAL BLAST KILLS 2, 1 INJURED
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical

Karimnagar: Two persons died on the spot and another sustained severe injuries in an explosion caused by outdated chemicals that are used to prepare decorative idols, on Sunday morning. The condition of the injured is critical.

Karimnagar III town in-charge inspector V. Madhavi said that the outdated cobalt exploded when one Patnam Srinivas Kumar was trying to dilute it with water. at the Housing Board Colony, on the outskirts of the city.

This was the method prescribed by the manufacturer to dispose of the cobalt chemical. Srinivas Kumar sustained severe injuries.

Two persons, Nagarjuna Kumar and Ramakrishna Reddy, who were watching the chemical reaction, died in the incident.

Source said the proportion of water and chemical was probably not right and the cobalt exploded. Samples of the chemical were collected and would be sent to forensic science lab in Hyderabad for analyses, she added.

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

WARRANT REVEALS NEW DETAILS INTO BYU SOAP OR METH OPERATION
Tags: us_UT, public, fire, response, cleaners, illegal

PROVO ‰?? Drain cleaner, lighter fluid, acetone, denatured alcohol and various empty blister packs of items containing pseudoephedrine were some of the items collected by investigators looking into whether a BYU student was making soap or methamphetamine, according to a newly released search warrant.

Bryce Cazier, 21, was charged Nov. 10 in 4th District Court with having precursors or equipment for a clandestine laboratory, a first-degree felony.

Provo police, the Utah Major Crimes Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Agency believe Cazier, a BYU student studying Spanish who is also a returned missionary, had a meth lab set up inside his room at the Riviera Apartments, 1505 N. Canyon Road, next to the BYU campus.

His attorney, however, says Cazier has legitimate hobbies that include making his own products, like soap, using herbal extracts.

The alleged lab was discovered by Cazier's roommates following a small fire inside his room. After the fire, Cazier left for Salt Lake City with two duffel bags of undisclosed items, according to police.

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

23,000 POUNDS OF TOXIC CHEMICAL LED TO 4 DEATHS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, pesticides, thiols

LA PORTE - Chemical manufacturer DuPont has reported that about 23,000 pounds of a flammable toxic chemical escaped in the building where four of its workers died two weeks ago at a Houston-area plant.

DuPont disclosed in a news release the quantity of the methyl mercaptan that led to the deaths Nov. 15.

The commission was closed on Friday, and a spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Medical examiners say the foul-smelling chemical, used in production of pesticides, caused the asphyxiation deaths of the four workers.

Officials have said a faulty valve may be responsible for the fatal chemical release at the DuPont plant along the Houston Ship Channel in La Porte. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is continuing its investigation.

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

MADHYA PRADESH: GAS LEAK AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN RAISEN DISTRICT, 39 PEOPLE AFFECTED
Tags: India, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

Raisen: In a tragic incident, the leakage of chlorine gas at a chemical plant in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district affected 39 people on Saturday evening.
29 people have been admitted to a hospital in Raisen district and three of them have been referred to Bhopal.
The investigation is on to detect the cause of the gas leak.

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

ULHASNAGAR RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF POISONOUS CHEMICAL IN VALDHUNI RIVER
Tags: India, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

ULHASNAGAR: More than 100 people living near Valdhuni river in Ulhasnagar complained of chemical reaction after some company relased dangerous poisonous chemical in river on Saturday wee hour.

The residents of OT section, Hira Ghat, Samrat Ashok Nagar and CHM college complaining of breathing and uneasiness problem later got hospitalised in nearby civic and different private hospitals. Following to the incident a team of MPCB (Maharashtra Pollution Control Board) officials also rushed on spot to findout the exact reason behined incident.

If sources to be beliveve than so far more than 100 people are taking treatment in different hospital but all are in stable condition.

"The number of patients were increasing in government run Central hospital and other civic run hospital in city due to which we requested private hospitals to get admit such patients and treat them at very low cost" said Jyoti Kalani, MLA from Ulhasnagar.

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

1 INJURED, OTHERS SEEN FLEEING AFTER HASH OIL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CO, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, illegal

COMMERCE CITY - A man was injured in a hash oil explosion at a Commerce City housing complex Friday evening.

It happened near Hanson Elementary School in the 7300 block of Oneida Drive just before 5:30 p.m.

Fire officials say the explosion was caused by the manufacturing of hash oil within one of the rooms. The explosion damaged the room it was in, but did not appear to affect the other units in the complex.

The remaining units in the housing complex were evacuated for the night. Officials will inspect the units to verify that the integrity of the building was not compromised.

Witnesses told investigators that immediately following the explosion people were seen leaving the area. Criminal charges for this incident will be determined at a later time.

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

HOMES EVACUATED IN WELSHPOOL CHEMICAL SCARE
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, injury, ammonia

Dozens of workers were evacuated and three people were hospitalised at a Welshpool business this morning after an ammonia leak was reported.

At 5.30am emergency services were notified of a gas leak at RCR Engineering on Planet Street.

As firefighters dressed in fully-body chemical suits worked to isolate the leak, the company's 60 workers were told not to enter the site.

RCR Engineering operations manager Greg Harris said there were five workers inside at the time the leak was found, but they were a significant distance from the leak.

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

SAN DIEGO MAN INDICTED FOR HASH-OIL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, butane, drugs, illegal

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A San Diego man is charged in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday with various drug and weapons counts, including endangering human life while illegally manufacturing hashish oil, in connection with an explosion at a marijuana dispensary that he operated.

Steve Elar Mora, 34, made his first appearance in U.S. District Court today and was ordered held pending a detention hearing scheduled for Monday.

According to court records, the explosion occurred due to an illicit "butane honey oil" lab operating at the marijuana dispensary. Also called "wax," hash oil is an extremely potent form of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects.

It is made by dissolving marijuana using dangerous substances such as butane -- or lighter fluid -- and selling the resulting residue to users at more than twice the price of other high quality marijuana products.

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

‰??3-MILE PLUME OF TOXIC SMOKE‰??: VC SHERIFF DECLARES EMERGENCY IN WAKE OF SCWW BLASTS, FIRES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury, waste

BREAKING NEWS: Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean has declared a local emergency in the November 18 chemical explosions and fires that occurred at Santa Clara Waste Water in an unincorporated area of Santa Paula.

The explosions on Mission Rock Road left dozens injured and is still the scene of sample gathering as officials from county, state and federal agencies try to discover just what ignited ‰?? and why.

In his written report to the Board, Dean notes that after the initial explosion of a vacuum truck ‰?? which occurred at 3:45 a.m. ‰?? the ‰??incident evolved into a disaster,‰?? by about 8:30 a.m. ‰??when additional materials began to burn and explode, which resulted in a three-mile plume of toxic smoke.‰??

The second explosion caused the closure of Highway 126 from Wells Road to Peck Road for hours and caused an evacuation of those within one mile of the facility; those within three miles of the evacuation perimeter were asked to shelter in place including Todd Road Jail just west of the blast where vents were closed and air-conditioning shut off.

The incident threatened to overwhelm Ventura County Medical Center where the Emergency Room had to be closed due to the fumes carried by those near the blast that affected even medical workers. Decontamination tents already placed for possible Ebola patients were utilized as more and more people sought treatment for breathing problems, itchy eyes, coughing and sore throats. Two workers present at the scene of first explosion were hospitalized.

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

LATEX FACTORY CLOSES BRIEFLY OVER GAS LEAK
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, response, chlorine

TAIPING: A latex factory in Kamunting near here was shut down temporarily yesterday when workers detected a hazardous gas leakage.

Perak Fire and Rescue Department assistant director Hasrin
Hasbi said its Kamunting fire
station had received a call at 10.34am.

He said a team of firemen who rushed to the scene determined that the leaking gas was chlorine UN1017.

Chlorine UN1017 appears as amber in liquid form and green-yellow in gas form and has a pungent odour.

According to safety data information, UN1017 could prove ‰??very toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed.‰??

Classified as dangerous, the chemical may cause burns of eyes, skin and mucous membranes.

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

HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO INDIAN WELLS COUNTRY CLUB
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, cleaners

A Hazmat team responded to the Indian Wells Country Club Friday morning after fumes from household cleaners caused several people to become sick.

Officials said three people were treated at the scene and one person was taken to the hospital. They became ill from fumes caused by an incompatible mix of household cleaners, according to Cal Fire's release.

The Riverside County Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team responded to the scene. Nobody else was harmed by the fumes.

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

DOW CHEMICAL REFUSES BHOPAL RESPONSIBILITY THREE DECADES LATER
Tags: India, public, follow-up, death, ag_chems, pesticides

It's been 30 years since the Bhopal disaster, but the U.S. company responsible for it has still not made adequate amends.

On Dec. 3, 1984, a gas leak at a pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide, a U.S. multinational, in the central Indian city of Bhopal caused the deaths of several thousand residents within a matter of days. Over the past three decades, more than 20,000 people have lost their lives. Hundreds of thousands of Bhopal residents have experienced health problems.

Dow Chemical, which has purchased Union Carbide, refuses to be held liable, however. It claims that Union Carbide did all it could, and that Dow is not responsible because it didn't own the company at the time of the disaster. But in buying up Union Carbide, Dow Chemical assumed all of Union Carbide's liabilities, as well as its assets.

Union Carbide grudgingly paid out $470 million to the victims, a woefully insufficient amount. The company's CEO at the time, Warren Anderson, was arrested during a visit to India and charged with manslaughter in the days following the accident. He was released on bail and died on the lam just a couple of months ago. The U.S. government wasn't willing to apprehend or extradite him.

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

LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED FOR SANTA PAULA EXPLOSION, FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury, peroxide, sulfuric_acid, waste

VENTURA, Calif. - Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean on Wednesday declared a local emergency regarding this month‰??s explosion and fires near Santa Paula.

Next week, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors will be asked to ratify the action, a move that would allow the county to seek reimbursement for its costs from state disaster relief funds.

Close to 50 people were treated at local hospitals after a vacuum truck exploded about 3:45 a.m. Nov. 18 at Santa Clara Waste Water Co., leaking chemicals and starting fires at 815 Mission Rock Road.

About 1,000 gallons of a chemical mixture that contained sulfuric acid and an organic peroxide spilled and burned after the rear of the truck exploded. When it dried, the substance spontaneously ignited, sparking small fires. A plume of chemical smoke drifted over the area.

In the days after the explosion, an area within a half-mile of the site was evacuated. The evacuation was lifted Sunday.

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

STUDENTS TREATED AFTER SPILL IN BURGMANN ANGLICAN SCHOOL SCIENCE LABORATORY
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, injury, sulfuric_acid

In an "unusual" case, 13 students have been taken to hospital, some for minor burns, after being exposed to sulphuric acid during a small explosion in the science laboratory at the Burgmann Anglican School.

Firefighters and ACT intensive care paramedics treated the teacher and students from the rest of the class of 22 at the school on Valley Avenue, Gungahlin, following the incident on Friday morning.

Students were looking on as a teacher conducted an experiment involving sugar and sulfuric acid inside a cabinet when the glass container holding the acid exploded.

Students were taken to the showers, as the emergency services were called.

Deputy Principal John Foulcher said the students had been taken to hospital to be treated for minor burns, which resulted from the explosion, not from the acid, and others had been transported as a precautionary measure.

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

CONSEQUENCES OF POOR GLOVE CHOICE
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental, methylene_chloride, plastics

Via C&EN‰??s Chemistry in Pictures, shown here is what happened when ‰??dichloromethane carried 3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole through a researcher‰??s nitrile gloves. The compound polymerized onto the person‰??s fingers, forming poly-3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole, a blue-black conductive polymer of unknown toxicity.‰?? Check a glove compatibility chart before you experiment! The photo was taken by Kristof HegedÌ1Ú4s of labphoto.tumblr.com.

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

FIRE AT BURLINGTON TWP. INDUSTRIAL PLANT CAUSES CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_PA, industrial, fire, response, dust, toxics

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP ‰?? A Tuesday afternoon fire at an industrial plant on Elbo Lane caused the release of a nontoxic chemical into the air, police said.
The fire at American Custom Drying was reported at 1:15 p.m. inside an industrial dryer. The dryers are used to turn liquid chemicals into resins and powders for industrial purposes.

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

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIX STORE EVACUATED DUE TO PEPPER SPRAY
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, pepper_spray, tear_gas

MIAMI-DADE, Fla. -
A Publix store in west Miami-Dade was evacuated because of pepper spray that was set off, authorities said.

The incident happened Wednesday at the Publix store at 87th Avenue and Flagler Street.

A customer had left behind the pepper spray. A worker picked up it up and somehow set it off. The store was evacuated and the mace was cleaned up.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said several people complained about feeling sick. One person was treated for difficulty breathing.

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

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH: RICHMOND NEWS, CRIME & POLITICS
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, environmental, other_chemical

A chemical spill at Honeywell International Inc.‰??s plant in Hopewell apparently caused the deaths of hundreds of fish, a spokesman for the state‰??s environmental agency said Wednesday.
‰??We can‰??t say conclusively, but there does appear to be a connection,‰?? said Bill Hayden of the Department of Environmental Quality.
About 5,500 pounds of a chemical called ammonium carbonate, which was dissolved in water, spilled at the plant, Hayden said. Honeywell officials said the spill occurred Monday night.
While most of the spill was contained in a treatment lagoon, about 600 pounds of the chemical flowed into Gravelly Run, a stream that eventually leads to the James River, Hayden said.
Several hundred fish, mainly blue catfish, were found dead in the stream Tuesday.
Ammonium carbonate is used to produce caprolactam, the Hopewell plant‰??s main product, Honeywell said. Caprolactam is used to make nylon.

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

DUKE ENERGY LEAK DEEMED NOT DANGEROUS
Tags: us_OH, public, release, environmental, other_chemical

Environmental Protection Agency and hazardous materials officials responded to Duke Energy's Clermont County power station Monday night for the report of a chemical leak.

But the leak turned out to be water, according to Duke Energy Spokesperson Sally Thelen.

"It was something we thought could be an issue, but it ended up being condensation from a storage container," Thelen said.

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

GELZINIS: FIREFIGHTERS BLAME ILLNESSES, CANCER ON BLAZE
Tags: us_MA, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

All three men, who worked at
Engine 39, Ladder 18, on D Street in South Boston, traced the decline in their health to a raging fire, fed by mineral oil, inside a huge power plant, formerly owned by Edison, at the edge of Southie.

‰??At first, we thought a plane had flown into the plant,‰?? said Foscaldo, ‰??because it was just a year after 9/11. It was surreal inside there. It was fire that wouldn‰??t go out, fed by oil that kept these six-story turbines moving.‰??

The shower of oil that rained down on them flooded their respirators and broke the seals on their face masks. ‰??I must have spent two hours inside there with my mask off,‰?? Foscaldo recalled. ‰??I just couldn‰??t keep it on.‰??

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

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.