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Previous by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] C&EN Safety Zone blog: [New post] Flammables cabinets: Metal or wood? Date: Monday, February 23, 2015 11:52:48 AM Author: William Munsey <MunseyW**At_Symbol_Here**BRCC.EDU> |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (16 articles) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 14:19:25 -0500 Author: Monona Rossol |
Interesting article on the Chemical Safety Headlines list "WHEN CHEMICALS BECAME WEAPONDS OF WAR'.
http://chemicalweapons.cenmag.org/when-chemicals-became-weapons-of-war/
This paragraph was copied/pasted from the article; it describes a suggestion for an old-school approach on public PPE training.
Eric
Even a decade after the end of WWI, the pro-chemical-weapons lobby was still going strong. One chemist, Harry Holmes, argued in both the New York Times and Scientific American that the public would be less afraid of chemical warfare if it could be demonstrated scientifically that defense against attack was an easy matter. ‰??He suggested that tear gas be dropped on a small [American] city to test the effectiveness of gas defense training,‰?? Ede says. ‰??Holmes found no volunteers to undertake his experiment, and such suggestions did little to reassure the public as to the humanity of the supporters of the Chemical Warfare Service.‰??
Eric Clark, MS, CHMM, CCHO
Safety Officer, Public Health Scientist III
Los Angeles County Public Health Laboratory
-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2015 3:45 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (16 articles)
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, February 23, 2015 at 6:44:10 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 (16 articles)
WHEN CHEMICALS BECAME WEAPONS OF WAR
Tags: Belgium, other, discovery, death, chlorine, gas_cylinders
WCBD-TV: NEWS, WEATHER, AND SPORTS FOR CHARLESTON, SC
Tags: us_SC, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
SIX IN HOSPITAL AFTER VIC CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
STATEHOUSE BEAT: REACTION TO OIL TRAIN EXPLOSION DIFFERENT FROM FREEDOM LEAK
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, response
HARSH CHEMICAL ODOR IN SKAGIT COUNTY COMING FROM SHELL REFINERY, SHERIFF‰??S OFFICE SAYS
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
FDNY ON SCENE OF CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
UNIVERSITY ROUND UP
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
BELLINGHAM: WORKERS OK AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE AT BELLINGHAM COLD STORAGE TENANT
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine_dioxide
EXXONMOBIL IDENTIFIES MYSTERY "DUST" RELEASED FROM REFINERY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, dust, metals
POTENTIAL GAS LEAK PROMPTS CLOSURE OF METRO ATLANTA HIGHWAY
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, gasoline
VIDEO: WINNIPEG COMPANY SETTLES OVER 2012 RACING FUEL EXPLOSION
Tags: Canada, transportation, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
GAS VAPOR EYED AS FACTOR IN WEST VIRGINIA OIL TRAIN FIREBALL ‰?? NATION ‰?? BANGOR DAILY NEWS ‰?? BDN MAINE
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, response, petroleum
BOUDIN BAKERY ON SF‰??S FISHERMAN‰??S WHARF EVACUATED FOR WHAT ENDED UP BEING PEPPER SPRAY
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pepper_spray
WINNEMUCCA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, STAFF DECONTAMINATED AFT
Tags: us_NV, education, release, injury, mercury
CHEMICAL SPILL AT BRURIAH OPENS NEW SECURITY PERSPECTIVES
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, cleaners, sulfuric_acid
CHS REBUILDING WAREHOUSE AFTER FIRE
Tags: us_SD, industrial, follow-up, environmental, pesticides
---------------------------------------------
WHEN CHEMICALS BECAME WEAPONS OF WAR
Tags: Belgium, other, discovery, death, chlorine, gas_cylinders
Nobody expected the first chlorine gas attack on April 22, 1915, to be quite so successful, including Fritz Haber, the weapon‰??s main advocate. The German scientist had proposed using chlorine gas on Allied troops, overseen its development as a weapon, and gone to the front lines himself to supervise placement of 5,730 gas cylinders along a 4-mile stretch of road near the trenches outside the Belgian town of Ypres.
And then Haber waited at the front lines for weeks, until the prevailing wind turned northwest. This capricious breeze was the weapon‰??s weakness: It needed to blow the chlorine gas from the cylinders buried on the German side, across no-man‰??s-land, and into the Allies‰?? trenches.
Haber had fought his own battle to just get the opportunity to try out the gas. Most of the German High Command was skeptical of poison gas as a weapon. ‰??They saw the first chlorine attack as an experiment at best, and at worst, a kind of stunt,‰?? says Andrew Ede, a science historian at the University of Alberta. Six months into the war, Haber had managed to convince only one commander on the Western Front to try out chlorine gas. After this chlorine attack killed more than 1,100 soldiers and injured many more, the lack of support changed dramatically.
The first large-scale use of chemical weapons that day in 1915 ignited a chemical arms race among the warring parties. By the end of World War I, scientists working for both sides had evaluated some 3,000 different chemicals for use as possible weapons; around 50 of these poisons were actually tried out on the battlefield, says Joseph Gal, a historian of chemistry at the University of Colorado, Denver.
---------------------------------------------
WCBD-TV: NEWS, WEATHER, AND SPORTS FOR CHARLESTON, SC
Tags: us_SC, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
Saturday evening police with the North Charleston Police Department were dispatched to Trident Hospital for a hazmat situation.
The call came into the dispatch center at 8:40 Saturday. According to a spokesman for the NCPD, officials with Dorchester County Sheriff's Office warned there may be people traveling to the hospital with a meth lab inside the car.
Crews blocked a portion of an Emergency Room parking lot for several hours Saturday.
Fire and Police located the vehicle and confirmed an active mobile meth lab.
Two people were taken in to custody. The scene was turned over to Hazmat officials.
---------------------------------------------
SIX IN HOSPITAL AFTER VIC CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, other_chemical
Six people have been taken to hospital and 1000 students evacuated after a chemical spill at a Melbourne school.
A fault in the ventilation system of a science room at Lyndale Secondary College prompted the school to move everyone to the gym, the Country Fire Authority says.
The incident involved a potassium iodide mixture in the classroom, which was secured and contained by CFA crews.
A dozen people were treated by paramedics and Ambulance Victoria says six were taken to hospital in stable conditions.
---------------------------------------------
STATEHOUSE BEAT: REACTION TO OIL TRAIN EXPLOSION DIFFERENT FROM FREEDOM LEAK
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, response
Two legislative sessions. Two local crises. Two very different reactions.
It‰??s natural to compare and contrast the Legislature‰??s reaction to Monday‰??s oil train derailment with the Jan. 9, 2014 Freedom Industries chemical leak.
In 2014, of course, the Legislature jumped into action, beginning with a joint House-Senate committee that started its own investigation of the incident days after the leak, and from there, the water crisis dominated the regular session, culminating with passage of the state Water Resources Protection Act (SB373), regulating above-ground storage tanks, by the end of the session. (Subject to bills pending this session to gut those regulations.)
By comparison, the Legislature‰??s reaction to the ‰??bomb train‰?? derailment, explosion and fires has been comparatively muted. In the Senate, Sens. Bill Laird, D-Fayette, and Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, referred to the incident in floor speeches, focusing primarily on how it shows how vulnerable the state‰??s water supplies are to chemical contamination. In the House, Delegate Kayla Kessinger, R-Fayette, praised the efforts of the first responders, but did not otherwise offer commentary on the incident.
House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, told me the Legislature would be working with the Tomblin administration to determine if any legislative response is necessary, while Senate Transportation Chairman Chris Walters, R-Putnam, said he believes the Legislature needs to conduct an overall review of transportation of hazardous materials through the state. (Never did hear back from Senate President Bill Cole, R-Mercer, or Senate spokeswoman Jacque Bland on the matter.)
---------------------------------------------
HARSH CHEMICAL ODOR IN SKAGIT COUNTY COMING FROM SHELL REFINERY, SHERIFF‰??S OFFICE SAYS
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
ANACORTES, Wash. ‰?? The Skagit County Sheriff‰??s Office said Friday the Shell Puget Sound Refinery in Anacortes is the source of the harsh chemical smell that the public has complained about in the area.
The sheriff‰??s office said the refinery has a flare that is out of service for maintenance, and that is causing the odor. The flare is now capped, the sheriff‰??s office said, but the odor is lingering.
No injuries have been reported.
The sheriff‰??s office said the refinery is taking air samples and says there is no danger to the public.
The refinery has not returned calls about the situation.
---------------------------------------------
FDNY ON SCENE OF CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
UPPER EAST SIDE (PIX11) ‰?? The FDNY is on the scene of a chemical explosion inside a room at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Officials say the explosion and resulting fire happened inside a cancer research lab. The fire has since been extinguished. The explosion was not in the main hospital building and did not affect hospital operations or patients.
Three employees were in the room at the time but are uninjured.
---------------------------------------------
UNIVERSITY ROUND UP
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Tests are being undertaken at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich to ensure there is ‰??no leakage‰?? of chemicals after a laboratory fire.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the campus building when firefighters were called to the third floor blaze at about 10:30am.
The fire service is now working with UEA staff to establish what chemicals were in the laboratory.
Twelve engines were dispatched to the incident. Nobody was injured.
Roy Harold, from Norfolk Fire and Rescue, said: ‰??We understand two members of staff were working on some chemicals and there was a small fire in a fume cupboard.
‰??We‰??ve now sealed the area off but we‰??ve got breathing apparatus crews taking gas monitoring equipment to check there is no leakage of chemicals from the lab.‰??
---------------------------------------------
BELLINGHAM: WORKERS OK AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE AT BELLINGHAM COLD STORAGE TENANT
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine_dioxide
BELLINGHAM ‰?? Paramedics treated nearly a dozen people for potential respiratory problems after workers discovered a possible chemical leak at the Bellingham Cold Storage facility, according to Bellingham Assistant Fire Chief Rob Kintzele.
Paramedics and firefighters responded to the hazardous materials call at Trident Seafoods, which leases space from Bellingham Cold Storage, 2825 Roeder Ave., shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 20.
Employees at Trident Seafoods discovered too much chlorine dioxide was infused into water, Kintzele said. The process of infusing chlorine dioxide into water is routinely for sanitizing surfaces at the facility, he said.
Paramedics checked roughly 10 people for respiratory problems. Nobody was taken to the hospital by ambulance or had any serious health problems, Kintzele said.
Chlorine dioxide is a gas or liquid similar to chlorine and nitric acid. It can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and repeated exposure can cause chronic bronchitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
---------------------------------------------
EXXONMOBIL IDENTIFIES MYSTERY "DUST" RELEASED FROM REFINERY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, dust, metals
The powdery substance that fell from the sky onto Torrance after Wednesday's explosion in the ExxonMobil Refinery was from a chemical catalyst used in the plant, and "may cause irritation," according to a statement released by the oil company.
"The material is not expected to be hazardous to people or animals under the conditions it was released," stated ExxonMobil. "However, it may cause irritation to the skin, eyes, and throat."
Industry analysts agree the explosion at the Torrance ExxonMobil Refinery has put upward pressure on gasoline prices--as much as 30 cents a gallon in the next wee. Patrick Healy reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2015. (Published Thursday, Feb 19, 2015)
Some witnesses as far as three miles from the refinery had described "ash" coming down and sticking to cars. "Fine light dust" is the phrase ExxonMobil used.
"The material is a catalyst used in our process and is primarily composed of some metal oxides and amorphous silica," ExxonMobil stated. "We sent the material for testing and our preliminary results are consistent with the results from an independent test conducted at the request of the Torrance Fire Department."
The company announced it has established a "claims hotline," reachable at 844-631-2539.
---------------------------------------------
POTENTIAL GAS LEAK PROMPTS CLOSURE OF METRO ATLANTA HIGHWAY
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, gasoline
NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) ‰?? Gwinnett County fire officials are investigating a suspected gas leak in Norcross.
Fire officials said in a statement Thursday afternoon that county officials reported a fuel-like odor wafting from a sewer manhole on Buford Highway near Langford Road. Officials say a hazardous materials crew found high concentrations of gasoline vapors in front of a nearby gas station.
Fire officials say the hazmat crew is working with county and state officials to locate the source of the vapor. Authorities say it's unclear whether the nearby gas station may have contributed to the concentration of gas vapors.
Buford Highway is closed while authorities investigate the source of the vapors. No evacuations or injuries have been reported.
---------------------------------------------
VIDEO: WINNIPEG COMPANY SETTLES OVER 2012 RACING FUEL EXPLOSION
Tags: Canada, transportation, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
Winnipeg-based racing fuel manufacturer Speedway International has reached an agreement to pay $30,000 to cover costs resulting from the 2012 explosion of a rail car that stored combustible chemicals.
Nobody was injured in the October 2012 spontaneous combustion, which according to local reports, caused widespread evacuations and an estimated $15 million in damage.
The fuel facility was razed in the fire, which the defence called ‰??an act of God,‰?? and ‰??accidental‰??.
A judge has agreed that the company will pay almost $5,000 in fines ‰?? along with $25,000 to cover firefighting costs.
---------------------------------------------
GAS VAPOR EYED AS FACTOR IN WEST VIRGINIA OIL TRAIN FIREBALL ‰?? NATION ‰?? BANGOR DAILY NEWS ‰?? BDN MAINE
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, response, petroleum
WASHINGTON ‰?? Federal investigators will examine whether pressurized gas played a role in the massive blast that followed the derailment of a train carrying crude oil through West Virginia this week, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Thursday.
Questioning the possible role of gas vapors in the West Virginia fire broadens the debate over how to ensure public safety at a time when drastically larger volumes of crude oil are being shipped by rail and roll through cities and towns.
At least two dozen oil tankers jumped a CSX Corp. track about 30 miles south of the state capital, Charleston, on Monday, touching off a fireball that sent flames hundreds of feet into the sky.
The U.S. Transportation Department said it has an investigator at the site to take samples of crude once the wreckage stops burning.
‰??We will measure vapor pressure in the tank cars that derailed in West Virginia,‰?? department spokeswoman Suzanne Emmerling said.
Some experts say the nature of the explosion, which saw a dense cloud of smoke and flame soaring upwards, could be explained by the presence of highly pressurized gas trapped in crude oil moving in the rail cars.
---------------------------------------------
BOUDIN BAKERY ON SF‰??S FISHERMAN‰??S WHARF EVACUATED FOR WHAT ENDED UP BEING PEPPER SPRAY
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pepper_spray
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)‰?? The San Francisco Fire Department evacuated Boudin Bakery in response to what they thought was a possible hazardous materials situation at Fisherman‰??s Wharf Friday morning, but turned out to be pepper spray.
San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said it happened around at 10:20 a.m. at the restaurant on Jefferson Street.
She said people were coughing in the Bakery, so crews decided to evacuate it.
‰??Somebody actually discharged pepper spray in the establishment.‰?? Talmadge said. It wasn‰??t clear who discharged the substance, but 11 people were treated on scene and refused transport to the hospital.
When it initially occurred, a hazmat team brought in CGI monitors to see if anything registered, according to Talmadge.
---------------------------------------------
WINNEMUCCA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, STAFF DECONTAMINATED AFT
Tags: us_NV, education, release, injury, mercury
Winnemucca Junior High School students are in the process of being decontaminated after a student brought a salt shaker filled with mercury to school Thursday morning.
Emergency responders were initially dispatched on the report of a mercury spill. They subsequently learned the container of mercury was passed around among some of the students and may have been spilled in some locations.
Having consulted with HAZMAT experts, and facing the possibility the students may have carried the mercury on their hands and clothes throughout the school, the decision was made to decontaminate all the students. As part of that process, the shoes of all the students were collected and will be destroyed.
The decontamination process was conducted by Humboldt General Hospital - EMS, who are responsible for HAZMAT responses in Humboldt County, along with the fire departments.
The student who brought the mercury to school and the 10-15 students who may have had contact with the mercury were transported to Humboldt General Hospital as a precaution.
Emergency responders subsequently learned the container of mercury may also have been passed around on the bus with students from three other schools. Those schools (Lowry High School, Winnemucca Grammar School, and French Ford Middle School) were instructed to shelter-in-place until cleared. The schools were ultimately cleared and the students were allowed to go home.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL AT BRURIAH OPENS NEW SECURITY PERSPECTIVES
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, cleaners, sulfuric_acid
Elizabeth‰??The JEC‰??s Bruriah High School for Girls was evacuated last Thursday when a maintenance worker accidentally spilled sulfuric acid/drain cleaner in his workroom. As ambulances and fire crews filled the street in front of the school, the students were evacuated to the JEC‰??s shul, Adath Israel, one block away, where they spent a few hours waiting for the spill to be cleaned up and the area to be declared safe.
‰??Who would have thought that spilling some liquid drain opener would lead to the evacuation of an entire school building? But the reality of what happened at Bruriah has been the catalyst for an overview of many of our procedures, from cataloging and disposing of cleaning products to the uses of such substances in intentional ways to harm people,‰?? said Rabbi Eliyahu Teitz, Associate Dean of Bruriah High School.
Some girls broke out in a kumsitz (sing along‰??the literal translation from the Yiddish means ‰??come and sit‰??). Then someone came in and said whoever doesn‰??t feel good should go to the nurse.
‰??My head was hurting, and they told us that whoever has asthma should go. Hatzalah came to treat about 30 girls. They went down to get evaluated and some of them went to the hospital and then the buses came.‰??
---------------------------------------------
CHS REBUILDING WAREHOUSE AFTER FIRE
Tags: us_SD, industrial, follow-up, environmental, pesticides
Mitchell's CHS Farmers Alliance plans to start rebuilding its chemical storage warehouse in the next couple of weeks.
The former warehouse burned in an early-morning November fire that blanketed the town in a putrid smell. CHS General Manager Jim Morken said Thursday the estimated losses from the fire will total more than $2 million.
He explained the warehouse will be built on the same site as the previous building. The same foundation will be used.
"We'll be using the same design for this building, but it will be 4 feet longer and 4 feet wider, so the poles to support the building can be outside the existing concrete," Morken said.
When the building burned, the containers inside melted. The chemicals -- mostly crop herbicide -- leaked onto the concrete pad and were held in by a 6-inch high berm designed to hold in the chemicals from leaking out.
"We were very glad that berm worked the way it was designed to," Morken said.
Morken said there was about 25,000 gallons of chemicals that spilled from containers during the fire.
Mitchell Fire Marshal Marius Laursen complimented CHS on the design of the building.
---------------------------------------------
Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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