From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (11 articles)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2015 06:39:21 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, February 13, 2015 at 6:39:09 AM

A membership benefit 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 (11 articles)

THE DAILY IBERIAN: NEWS
Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, liquid_oxygen

DELMAR MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER MIXING HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, bleach, cleaners

HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS FOUND IN DEBRIS OF SPRINGBORO HOUSE FIRE
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

YOUR HOMEPAGE FOR THE LATEST NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS IN THE ARKLAMISS!
Tags: us_LA, public, discovery, response, other_chemical

ATTORNEY: MISCOMMUNICATION BROUGHT PCP-MAKING CHEMICALS TO DOWNT
Tags: us_SC, public, discovery, response, corrosives, drugs, flammables

TOXIC ORANGE CLOUD SPREADS AFTER CHEMICAL BLAST NEAR BARCELONA
Tags: Spain, industrial, explosion, injury, corrosives, nitric_acid

CHEMICAL SPILL EVACUATES PRIVATE SCHOOL IN ELIZABETH
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, response, sulfuric_acid

MAN WHO DISAPPEARED IN TANK OF CHEMICALS RESCUED
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, cleaners

CLAYTON LABORATORY FORCED TO EVACUATE AFTER EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, injury, paints

MAN DEAD AFTER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT DON MILLS APARTMENT
Tags: Canada, public, explosion, death, cleaners

WESTMEAD CHEMICAL BLAZE BATTLE
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical


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THE DAILY IBERIAN: NEWS
Tags: us_LA, transportation, release, response, liquid_oxygen

JEANERETTE ‰?? HAZMAT crews worked into the evening Wednesday removing liquid oxygen spilled onto U.S. 90 near Jeanerette following a collision that morning.
A chemical truck carrying the oxygen was rear-ended around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when driver George Henderson, 51, of Prairieville, stopped for the railroad crossing on U.S. 90 near Louisiana 85, Trooper Brooks David with Louisiana State Police Troop I said.
A Jeanerette Fire Department Ford Explorer responding to the crash also was rear-ended when its driver, Mitchell Dubois, 49, of Jeanerette, slowed down near the scene. David said no occupants from any vehicle sustained more than minor injuries.

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DELMAR MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER MIXING HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, bleach, cleaners

DELMAR ‰?? A warning from fire crews ‰?? don‰??t mix household chemicals without reading directions.
This after a man was overcome with fumes at a home on Van Dyke Lane in Delmar on Thursday.
Police say the man was trying to unclog a drain and mixed Drano, bleach, and a third cleaner together.
He was taken to the hospital after being overcome with fumes, and is expected to remain there overnight.
The home has been ventilated and other family members are able to live there.

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HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS FOUND IN DEBRIS OF SPRINGBORO HOUSE FIRE
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

SPRINGBORO ‰?? Chemicals found in the basement of a house that caught fire earlier this month are the subject of a multi-agency cleanup effort.
The chemicals, typically used in dentistry and dental laboratory settings, were found in the debris of the fire reported around 10:45 a.m. Feb. 4 at 25 Jacamar Court.
‰??These chemicals were impacted by the fire, and therefore require specialized resources to property and safely remove them from the site,‰?? according to a news release issued Thursday by the Clearcreek Fire District.
‰??Environmental assessments conducted thus far show no hazard to the neighborhood and no evidence of chemicals in the air,‰?? the release stated.

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YOUR HOMEPAGE FOR THE LATEST NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS IN THE ARKLAMISS!
Tags: us_LA, public, discovery, response, other_chemical

MINDEN, La. -- The clock is ticking to remove 15-million pounds of dangerous chemicals from north Louisiana.

Members of the community met with the EPA, Friday, to talk about how they can do this safely.

According to the EPA, the M6 propellant stored in Camp Minden is becoming more unstable over time, increasing the risk for another explosion. Residents across north Louisiana expressed their concerns.

"I live here. I breathe the air. I retired here," said Samuel Mims, a Dubberly, La resident. "I spent 30 years in the army and I retired here so I could live in peace."

He disagrees with the idea to burn off the chemicals into the air.

"It just makes a big black thick cloud full of particulants that have to go somewhere," Mims stated.

The EPA created a committee, made up of citizens, elected officials, and scientists. The goal: to find a safe way to dispose of the chemical.

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

ATTORNEY: MISCOMMUNICATION BROUGHT PCP-MAKING CHEMICALS TO DOWNT
Tags: us_SC, public, discovery, response, corrosives, drugs, flammables

A drug case in Orangeburg led to a shutdown of a Columbia street for a hazardous materials call Thursday morning. The Drug Enforcement agency was called to a business on Laurel Street for a report of hazardous materials.

Several businesses were evacuated, according to a spokesman with the Columbia Fire Department.

Spokesman Brick Lewis said the 1400 block of Laurel, which is between Bull and Marion streets, was shut down and three buildings in the area were evacuated. One was under orders to shelter in place.

"Obviously we take this seriously so we're at all precautions," Lewis said. "That's why we closed the street down. We evacuated some of the businesses in the area and sheltered others. It is a very flammable material though so that's why we took these precautions."

The block of Laurel is the home to the workplaces for some well-known attorneys. One of them being defense attorney, former solicitor, and former Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian.

This morning, as he and his staff arrived at work, they found a pile of barrels in the parking lot. The drums were sealed, but it turned out they contained a chemical called Piperidine, AKA "Pipe." It is a highly flammable ingredient used in the making of PCP.


‰??It's a precursor. It's what they use to make PCP. Very volatile, explosive, corrosive. All the bad stuff,‰?? Harpootlian said.

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

TOXIC ORANGE CLOUD SPREADS AFTER CHEMICAL BLAST NEAR BARCELONA
Tags: Spain, industrial, explosion, injury, corrosives, nitric_acid

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Three people were injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in northern Spain on Thursday and authorities advised residents of several small towns near Barcelona to stay indoors as a large toxic cloud spread over the area.

The regional government of Catalonia said in a statement that the blast appeared to have been caused by two chemicals coming into contact during delivery to the plant, owned by Spanish company Simar.

Simar could not immediately be reached for comment.

A thick orange cloud could be seen emanating from the site in Igualada, some 60 km (40 miles) from Barcelona, according to pictures and television footage of the incident, before spreading over residential areas nearby.

Catalan authorities told people to shut their windows and stay inside as a precaution, and cut off some roads in the area as well as a train line.

By 1100 GMT, the confinement order was partially lifted, although emergency services were still advising children and elderly people as well as pregnant woman to stay indoors in six affected towns.

One of the two chemicals involved, nitric acid, was corrosive and toxic, authorities said.

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CHEMICAL SPILL EVACUATES PRIVATE SCHOOL IN ELIZABETH
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, response, sulfuric_acid

ELIZABETH ‰?? The Jewish Educational Center building on North Avenue was evacuated Thursday afternoon after a custodian spilled sulfuric acid in the building, a fire official at the scene said.

No one was contaminated by the spill, but emergency medical technicians were evaluating students as a precaution, Battalion Chief George Chavez said.

No one had presented any symptoms or signs of exposure as of 4:50 p.m., according to county Emergency Services Director Christopher Scaturo.

One adult and 14 minors were taken to the hospital as a precaution, county spokesman Sebastian D'Elia said.

The worker had tried to clean up the chemical spill with water, which "made a bigger mess," Chavez said.

The Union County Hazmat Team was called in to neutralize the spill, which they said was about one quart in size.

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MAN WHO DISAPPEARED IN TANK OF CHEMICALS RESCUED
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, cleaners

ANKENY, Iowa ‰??A worker at an Ankeny business was rescued from a tank of chemicals Thursday.

Rescue crews were called to Chemorse at 1596 Northeast 58th Ave. just after 1 p.m.

Workers told rescue crews that the 28-year-old man was near the tank when he suddenly disappeared and they noticed the liquid in the tank moving.

Several workers lowered a strap into the tank and pulled the man out.

He was alert and conscious when he was taken away in an ambulance after going through a decontamination process. His name and condition have not been released.

Authorities said the tank contained a cleaning solution.

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

CLAYTON LABORATORY FORCED TO EVACUATE AFTER EXPLOSION
Tags: Australia, laboratory, explosion, injury, paints

A chemical explosion in a Melbourne laboratory forced the excavation of almost 150 people and saw two workers treated for nausea on Thursday afternoon.

The blast occurred at about 2.30pm at a Clayton building belonging to PPG Industries, a major producer of paints.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade Commander Bob Lanigan said staff at the second-storey laboratory managed to put out a fire which was sparked by the explosion. But he said the effort also caused them to become overwhelmed by fumes.

The MFB said two of four staff members in the room at the time of the explosion were treated by paramedics for mild nausea, but were unlikely to require hospitalisation.

Initially there were fears three staff members were missing, but there were later found.

Mr Lanigan said there was only minor damage to the building on McNaughton Road.

"It was confined to three kilograms of the product that reacted and really there is no structural damage at all," he said.

"[Our major concern] was about the chemical reaction and the gases than the fire itself."

Just before 5pm, the MFB said the premises would be shortly handed back to management after readings were taken in the laboratory by crews in splash suits.

The cause of the blast is still being investigated, but Mr Lanigan said it was a "chemical reaction that wasn't expected by the people working in the lab".

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

MAN DEAD AFTER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT DON MILLS APARTMENT
Tags: Canada, public, explosion, death, cleaners

A man injured in an apparent chemical explosion at a Don Mills apartment building last night has died, police said Wednesday.

Firefighters were called to the building on St. Dennis Drive, close to Eglinton Avenue East and Don Mills Road, shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday after reports of an explosion on the sixth floor.

The subsequent fire was contained, and one man was transported to hospital with serious burn wounds. He later succumbed to his injuries, police confirmed.

Toronto Fire officials said the burns likely came from a chemical cleaning solution.

Police said it appears the man was renovating the floors of the apartment at the time of the explosion.

The Fire Marshal has taken over the investigation, which is not being treated as a criminal matter, police said.

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

WESTMEAD CHEMICAL BLAZE BATTLE
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Durban - Three days after a blaze started at a Westmead chemical warehouse, firefighters are still battling to put it out.

The eThekwini environmental teams on Tuesday sealed nearby drains to prevent further pollution to a nearby river that continued to foam because of the chemicals spilling into it.

This morning there were dead fish in the Umbilo River that flows behind Currie Crescent in Queensburgh. Resident Adelle Botes went down to have a look and found the fish floating on the surface.

‰??We were not able to reach some of the fish because we were scared to get into the water. Many of the fish were along the embankment. This is heartbreaking. We collected 18 dead fish within 20 minutes. This river leads to the Stainbank Nature Reserve and out to sea. We have fish eagles that will attempt to eat these fish which could be poisonous. We collected the fish and put them into refuse bags to prevent animals from eating them. This has never happened in the 20 years that we had been living here,‰?? she said.

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

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