From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (9 articles)
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2015 08:02:01 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 097AF5B4-5E21-4CB3-B5CF-25811277E766**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, March 6, 2015 at 8:01:50 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 (9 articles)

U OF M'S KOLTHOFF HALL REOPENS AFTER EVACUATION
Tags: us_MN, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

KAISER EMPLOYEE TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, formaldehyde, methanol

UPDATE: TRAIN ON FIRE NEAR GALENA
Tags: us_IL, transportation, fire, response, petroleum, propane

EXPLOSION TAKES PLACE DURING EXPERIMENT, ONE TEACHER INJURED IN WESTERN TURKEY
Tags: Turkey, laboratory, explosion, injury, sodium

BOMB DISPOSAL EXPERTS CALLED TO MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, response, acetone, peroxide

UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL CHEMISTRY LAB EXPLOSION SEES RESEARCHER INJURED
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

CLEVELAND HOLIDAY INN HOTEL WORKERS TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER MIXING POOL CHEMICALS
Tags: us_OH, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

CHEMICAL FIRE AT VANCOUVER'S PORT PROMPTS EVACUATION, HEALTH WARNINGS
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, cleaners

TWO TYPES OF ACID FOUND IN VACANT APARTMENT |MYFOXLUBBOCK.COM
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, response, hydrochloric_acid, sulfuric_acid


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

U OF M'S KOLTHOFF HALL REOPENS AFTER EVACUATION
Tags: us_MN, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

MINNEAPOLIS - A building on the U of M campus is open again after it was shut down and evacuated Thursday morning due to reports of a strong chemical odor.

The U of M issued an alert after someone reported that odor on the 6th floor of Kolthoff Hall, 225 Pleasant Street Southeast. Crews from the Minneapolis Fire Department and the U of M Police Department responded to the scene to investigate and try to locate the source of the odor.

Students and staff were advised to stay away from the scene. Smith Hall, which is adjacent to Holthoff Hall, was evacuated as well.

First responders measured negative readings on all monitors, and the buildings were reopened shortly after 8:30 a.m. A Minneapolis Fire official tells KARE 11 that it appears a building ventilation fan was turned off, a class was burning sugar water in a pressurized classroom and someone opened the door, letting fumes escape.

Kolthoff Hall is listed on the U of M website as a science building that houses labs and classrooms.

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

KAISER EMPLOYEE TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, formaldehyde, methanol

A male employee at Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center was treated at the hospital's emergency Thursday evening after accidentally spilling a chemical onto the floor and himself, authorities said.

The Orange County Fire Authority received a call at 6:30 p.m. about the spillage in the pathology lab where the employee worked, Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

The employee spilled the liquid chemical, Formalin, on himself and immediately showered and sought treatment in the emergency room. The chemical is a formaldehyde solution that contains a small amount of methanol. It's used for preservation of specimens in a lab setting. Contact with it can cause skin burns and blistering.

The hospital called a private hazardous materials team to clean up the spill. The Orange County Health Care Agency and California Division of Occupational Safety and Health were notified by the hospital.

The employee was listed in moderate condition, Concialdi said. CalOSHA is investigating the incident, he said.

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

UPDATE: TRAIN ON FIRE NEAR GALENA
Tags: us_IL, transportation, fire, response, petroleum, propane

JO DAVIESS COUNTY -- Several fire crews and a Hazardous Material Team are on the scene of a train derailment southwest of Galena.

It happened late Thursday afternoon. So far there have been no reports of injuries or evacuations in this remote area near Ferry Landing. A huge cloud of smoke could be seen over Northwest Illinois.

The fire has driven rescue crews back at least a mile from the site. Crews from East Dubuque and Southern Wisconsin have been called in to assist crews from the Galena and JoDaviess County area.

More details as our crew on the scene has them.

t least six cars of a train carrying crude oil are on their sides and one is on fire near Galena Junction.

UPDATE -- Two cars involved in the train derailment are still burning. City officials say they have never had a disaster of this magnitude in their area. A spokesman from BNSF says they do not know where the train was traveling to when it derailed. It forced city officials to ask residents to evacuate within a mile radius of the derailment, because it happened near a propane tank. Firefighters from Wisconsin and Iowa responded to the derailment, but since the cars contained crude oil, all they can do is monitor the fire since it's too dangerous to try putting it out.

No injuries have been reported at this time.

The BNSF hazmat team will be investigating throughout the night and should have an update Friday morning.

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

EXPLOSION TAKES PLACE DURING EXPERIMENT, ONE TEACHER INJURED IN WESTERN TURKEY
Tags: Turkey, laboratory, explosion, injury, sodium

One teacher was injured at an explosion when sodium reacted accidentally at chemistry lesson in the western province of Yalova on Wednesday.

Reportedly, teacher named Mustafa Keskiner was informing students on the experiment and sodium reacted with water, leading to an explosion at laboratory of the school. Several parts on Keskiner‰??s body were burned after the incident. Fire brigade was dispatched to the scene and put off the fire. Some of the students were affected by smoke. Teacher was taken to a nearby hospital with an ambulance.

Laboratory was closed after the incident due to security precautions. Students said they were scared a lot by the explosion.

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

BOMB DISPOSAL EXPERTS CALLED TO MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, response, acetone, peroxide

Bomb disposal experts were called to a university campus after a student's experiment went wrong, creating a chemical that is 'highly volatile' and at risk of causing a huge explosion.

Students had to be evacuated and emergency services called after concerns were raised about a sample of a acetone peroxide - a highly dangerous chemical often used in improvised attacks by terrorists - being accidentally turned into an explosive form at a Manchester University laboratory.

The incident came just hours after a student was injured after a chemical explosion at a Liverpool University lab, which was so forceful it blew off the doors and broke windows.

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

UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL CHEMISTRY LAB EXPLOSION SEES RESEARCHER INJURED
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

A researcher was injured after an explosion in a chemistry laboratory at the University of Liverpool.

Paramedics and fire crews, including the specialist HazMat team, were called to the chemistry building on Oxford Street at around 8.50am following the incident on the fourth floor.

Eyewitnesses reported several windows were blown out in the blast, which involved a chemical at the site, and the area outside was cordoned off.

The man who was injured, a post-graduate researcher, was given first aid at the scene by paramedics.

He is believed to have suffered burns to his hands and face, while two other people thought to have been in the laboratory at the time of the explosion were uninjured.

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

CLEVELAND HOLIDAY INN HOTEL WORKERS TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER MIXING POOL CHEMICALS
Tags: us_OH, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

CLEVELAND - Two Holiday Inn hotel workers were transported to a local hospital after mixing the wrong pool chemicals this morning.

According to Cleveland Fire Lt. Larry Gray, the workers mixed two acids and a chemical cloud formed in the pool area.

Another employee noticed the two workers and drove them to Fairview Hospital. The condition of the workers is believed to be non-life threatening.

The Cleveland Fire Department arrived on scene to the Holiday Inn near Cleveland Hopkins Airport and cleared the scene.

The chemical cloud was contained to the pool area.

There were no other employees or hotel guests effected.

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

CHEMICAL FIRE AT VANCOUVER'S PORT PROMPTS EVACUATION, HEALTH WARNINGS
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, cleaners

VANCOUVER -- A chemical fire at a Vancouver container terminal led to a partial evacuation of Canada's largest port for several hours Wednesday afternoon, as a cloud of white smoke drifting over the city prompted health warnings and road closures.
About 65 firefighters, including crews from two fire boats and hazardous materials teams, battled the blaze at one point, surrounding the flames even from above with three pieces of aerial equipment that were 33-metres tall, said Ron Coulson of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services.
A large cloud of white smoke could be seen lifting off a collection of multicoloured shipping containers. Streams of water blasted from fire hoses into the smoke, which obscured any sign of the fire itself.
The city's health authority confirmed the fire involved a substance called trichloroisocyanuric acid, which can be harmful if inhaled in large quantities and can cause eye irritation.
A listing on a federal government website says trichloroisocyanuric acid is used in dry household bleaches, dishwashing compounds, swimming pool disinfectant and other cleaning agents.
"There are no injuries at this time," said Coulson. "As this is a defensive fire, our firefighters are taking all precautions to stay out of the smoke plume and wear all the respiratory equipment that we have at our disposal."

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

TWO TYPES OF ACID FOUND IN VACANT APARTMENT |MYFOXLUBBOCK.COM
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, response, hydrochloric_acid, sulfuric_acid

Two containers of chemicals found in a vacant apartment unit led to an evacuation of a building near Lubbock High School, Tuesday.

The Hazmat team responding to the 2100 block of 18th Street, discovered a sealed 30-gallon container of sulfuric acid and a sealed 30-gallon container of hydrochloric acid.

Lubbock Fire Rescue reported no leaks were detected.

Residents in three apartment units were evacuated until a private company could remove and dispose of the containers.

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


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

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.