| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2015 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Comment period extended Date: Sunday, April 19, 2015 7:10:42 PM Author: Frankie Wood-Black <fwblack**At_Symbol_Here**CABLEONE.NET> |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Electronic devices in teaching lab Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2015 08:49:54 -0400 Author: Jeffrey Lewin |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, April 20, 2015 at 8:01:02 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 (13 articles)
I-70 REOPENS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL TEMPORARILY SHUTS DOWN HIGHWAY
Tags: us_mo, transportation, release, response, ammonia
CHEMICAL SPILL QUICKLY CONTAINED AT PENN STATE
Tags: us_pa, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
THREE FIREFIGHTERS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN WEST PALM BEACH
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, other_chemical
FRESNO PIPELINE EXPLOSION CLOSES HWY. 99, INJURES 11
Tags: us_CA, transportation, explosion, injury, methane, natural_gas
WORKERS WASHING TANK RELEASE CHEMICAL FUMES IN LOOKOUT VALLEY
Tags: us_TN, public, release, injury, other_chemical
U.S. HOUSE WEIGHS IN WITH ITS VERSION OF CHEMICAL REGULATION REFORM
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
TRAILER FLIPS CAUSING FERTILIZER SPILL ON I-84
Tags: us_ID, transportation, release, environmental, ag_chems
THE STRANGE TREND OF MEXICAN THIEVES STEALING RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL BY ACCIDENT
Tags: Mexico, transportation, discovery, environmental, radiation
EXCLUSIVE: LARGO MAN ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY DUMPING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, corrosives, illegal, sodium_hydroxide, waste
PEEKSKILL MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TREATED AFTER CHLORINE SPILL; SCHOOL EVACUATED
Tags: us_NY, education, release, injury, chlorine
FIREFIGHTERS SNUFF OUT GARAGE FIRE IN LUCAS VALLEY
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, petroleum
1 INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT MONROE PLANT
Tags: us_OH, industrial, explosion, injury, other_chemical
WEST PALM BEACH APARTMENTS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
I-70 REOPENS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL TEMPORARILY SHUTS DOWN HIGHWAY
Tags: us_mo, transportation, release, response, ammonia
The Missouri Highway Patrol said Interstate 70 in Warrenton has reopened after the highway was closed for roughly six hours to clean up a chemical spill.
At about 10 a.m., two 1,000-gallon tanks filled with anhydrous ammonia fell off a farm truck and ruptured on eastbound Interstate 70 near exit 193.
Fire crews from Warrenton and Wright City worked alongside Hazmat crews to stop the leak and clean up the spill.
During the closure time, traffic was divert onto side roads.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL QUICKLY CONTAINED AT PENN STATE
Tags: us_pa, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
Firefighters responded to a building on Penn State‰??s campus Sunday morning after a reported chemical spill.
Alpha Fire Company and the Penn State Hazmat team were called to a room at the Millennium Science Building after a small leak of mercaptoethanol was reported, Alpha safety officer Stan Clouser said. The leak was quickly contained, fixed and cleaned up and posed no health or environmental risk, Clouser said.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2015/04/19/4709360_chemical-spill-quickly-contained.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy">http://www.centredaily.com/2015/04/19/4709360_chemical-spill-quickly-contained.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
---------------------------------------------
THREE FIREFIGHTERS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN WEST PALM BEACH
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, other_chemical
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS12) -- Five people, including three firefighters, are in the hospital following a possible chemical spill.
The scene is at a gated apartment complex known as the Palm Club on Green Pine Boulevard, just off North Military Trail.
Firefighters tell CBS12 the call initially came in around 12:30 p.m. as a report of someone having trouble breathing.
The homeowner has been taken to West Palm Hospital in extremely critical condition.
Firefighters believe there may have been a mixup of some household items. A battalion chief told CBS12 crews are testing the chemicals in the home, and one has come back as acid.
The homeowner told firefighters he was cleaning rocks when he started having breathing problems.
The injured firefighters complained of watering eyes, itching and sore throats. They're hospitalized as a precaution.
---------------------------------------------
FRESNO PIPELINE EXPLOSION CLOSES HWY. 99, INJURES 11
Tags: us_CA, transportation, explosion, injury, methane, natural_gas
FRESNO, Calif. (KCRA) ‰??A gas pipeline explosion near Fresno injured 11 people and shut down a section of Highway 99 for several hours Friday afternoon.
The Fresno Fire Department said that the area around the explosion has been secured and investigations will begin throughout the week.
Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said three of the people injured are in critical condition and one is in serious condition. They are at a burn and trauma center in Fresno.
The explosion happened at the Fresno County Sheriff's gun range, where a work crew including county jail inmates using heavy equipment apparently hit a pipe carrying natural gas, said Tony Botti, a spokesman for the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. One of the workers appeared to be in critical condition, he said.
---------------------------------------------
WORKERS WASHING TANK RELEASE CHEMICAL FUMES IN LOOKOUT VALLEY
Tags: us_TN, public, release, injury, other_chemical
Chattanooga firefighters investigated reports of a strange odor in Lookout Valley that triggered burning eyes and respiratory distress in some peopleFriday night.
The firefighters were unable to locate the smell; however, John Schultz, an investigator with the Air Pollution Control Bureau, informed the fire department that he tracked the odor to a local business.
Schultz said employees of the Chattanooga Tank Wash on Pineville Road were cleaning out a tank that contained ethyl acrylate. The chemical fumes went airborne and spread through the area. Schultz said residents called the bureau complaining of burning eyes, respiratory distress and throat irritation. The Chattanooga Fire Department said that no serious injuries requiring emergency medical care were reported.
The company stopped cleaning the tank Friday night, and Schultz saidSaturday's sun and wind were likely to eliminate any remaining odor. Schultz said the bureau may pursue enforcement action against the company, and that the investigation is ongoing.
---------------------------------------------
U.S. HOUSE WEIGHS IN WITH ITS VERSION OF CHEMICAL REGULATION REFORM
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, toxics
The U.S. House of Representatives opened a new front this week in the emerging battle over overhauling the nation‰??s troubled system for regulating toxic chemicals, as lawmakers held their first discussion of a new proposal to revamp the system. The bipartisan House bill, which wouldn‰??t change the existing law as drastically as two bills introduced last month in the Senate, got mixed reviews at a 15 April hearing of a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
At issue is the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which tasks the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the job of assessing and regulating thousands of industrial chemicals. The House's TSCA reform bill, which has drawn bipartisan support as well as some industry backing but measured criticism from environmental groups, aims to make it easier for the EPA to assess risks and give the agency more power to impose restrictions on unacceptably risky chemicals.
The bill ‰??does not attempt to realize the goal of a fully reformed TSCA with assurances that all chemicals in commerce are safe,‰?? said Representative Frank Pallone (D‰??NJ), the top Democrat on the energy and commerce panel, at the hearing. ‰??But it will give EPA tools to reduce risk now, in a package that I think has the potential to become law."
Most stakeholders and lawmakers agree that TSCA, which Congress has not comprehensively updated since lawmakers enacted it in 1976, is broken. Past efforts to update the law have failed, but many observers hope that the tide is finally turning.
---------------------------------------------
TRAILER FLIPS CAUSING FERTILIZER SPILL ON I-84
Tags: us_ID, transportation, release, environmental, ag_chems
Twin Falls, Idaho ( KMVT-TV / KSVT-TV ) Authorities were busy Friday morning on what potentially could have been a very dangerous hazmat situation.
At a little after 9 AM, a driver hailing two pup‰??trailers full of fertilizer lost control of the back trailer, spilling its contents along the I‰??84 ‰??Exit 82‰?? westbound on‰??ramp.
Initially the Idaho State Police called out a hazmat team fearing the worst.
When the team arrived they determined the spill not to be a serious threat.
The drive of the truck was cited for a minor infraction for taking the turn too fast.
The company told ISP they already have a plan to clean up the spill.
---------------------------------------------
THE STRANGE TREND OF MEXICAN THIEVES STEALING RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL BY ACCIDENT
Tags: Mexico, transportation, discovery, environmental, radiation
MEXICO CITY -- It's like a glitch in the Internet, a skipping needle on the vinyl of world news.
The same strange and very specific crime story keeps repeating itself in Mexico: Car thieves steal a load of dangerous radioactive material without knowing what they've taken, setting off a brief public health scare and a scramble to find the goods. For at least the third time in the past year and a half, Mexican authorities late Wednesday were warning that pilfered hazmats were on the loose.
An alert has gone out to five Mexican states after a container of Iridium 192 used in industrial x-rays was stolen from a truck in the southeastern state of Tabasco. If removed from its container, the material could cause burns or other injuries and "is very dangerous to people," Mexico's civil protection agency said in a statement. Extended exposure for hours or days could be fatal.
The theft occurred Monday night in the parking lot of a Soriana -- a Wal-Mart-like retail and grocery store -- in the town of Cardenas, said Alejandro Cortes Carmona, the deputy director of Mexico's nuclear safety commission.
---------------------------------------------
EXCLUSIVE: LARGO MAN ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY DUMPING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, corrosives, illegal, sodium_hydroxide, waste
LARGO --
A man was caught on surveillance video throwing 100 bags of sodium hydroxide into dumpsters behind the Central Park Plaza, creating a hazmat situation, according to Largo police.
Largo police arrested Henry Lu, 46, on a felony charge of litter hazardous waste on Thursday.
According to an arrest report, Lu said he was closing his business called Citralabs located at 500 Seminole Boulevard unit C in Largo and did not have enough money to pay for the proper disposal of his sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, that he used to make spa supplies.
Sodium hydroxide is white solid mostly used as a strong chemical base, is highly corrosive and can cause chemical burns.
Lu loaded up the 50-pound bags into a rental van and transported them to the dumpsters at the strip mall, according to police.
Police said Lu's illegal dumping created a hazmat situation involving the Largo Fire Department, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and SWS Environmental Services. The cost to clean up the approximately 5,000 pounds of sodium hydroxide, a class 8 hazardous material, was $10,000, according to SWS contractors.
---------------------------------------------
PEEKSKILL MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TREATED AFTER CHLORINE SPILL; SCHOOL EVACUATED
Tags: us_NY, education, release, injury, chlorine
PEEKSKILL ‰?? Nineteen students and five teachers were treated at a local hospital for headaches, throat irritation and other complaints after a delivery of liquid chlorine spilled outside the middle school Friday morning.
Students were initially moved to the high school, then dismissed just before noon as crews worked to clean up the mess, caused by a crew delivering the chlorine to the school's pool.
District spokeswoman Laura Belfiore said those treated had all been released as of Friday afternoon and the school had reopened. However, a dance that had been set for Friday evening was canceled. The school's Saturday Academy will take place as scheduled.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS SNUFF OUT GARAGE FIRE IN LUCAS VALLEY
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, petroleum
A blaze that broke out in a garage in Lucas Valley late Thursday night has been linked to the spontaneous combustion of oily rags.
Marinwood, San Rafael and Novato firefighters quickly doused the fire after it erupted around 10 p.m. at 212 Mount Shasta Drive, according to fire officials. Firefighters arrived to find smoke and fire coming from the garage of the one-story home.
San Rafael fire Chief Chris Gray said firefighters made a quick attack, limiting the damage to the garage, exterior wall and fence of the home. The damage is estimated at more than $50,000.
‰??Fortunately the firefighters were able to keep it from spreading into the house,‰?? Gray said.
No one was injured in the incident.
---------------------------------------------
1 INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT MONROE PLANT
Tags: us_OH, industrial, explosion, injury, other_chemical
MONROE ‰?? A worker injured in a chemical explosion at a Reed Road manufacturing plant Friday afternoon was flown by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Multiple medical helicopters and fire and hazardous materials units from Monroe, Middletown and Liberty Twp. responded to Alfrebro LLC, 1055 Reed Road, a flavor manufacturing company.
The Monroe Communications Center received a 911 hangup call about 12:38 p.m. from the plant. When dispatchers called the number back and no one answered, they sent police to investigate. A minute later, dispatchers received automatic commercial fire alarms at the facility and dispatched fire crews to the scene. Additional hazardous materials units assistance was requested from Middletown and Liberty Twp.
Fire Chief John Centers said a worker was injured at the plant while transferring the chemical acetal from one 55-gallon drum into another 55-gallon drum when a chemical reaction created a flash fire and explosion in one of the drums, which ruptured.
Centers did not say the nature of the workers injuries, however Monroe police Lt. Brian Curlis said earlier, ‰??We have some burn injuries. And there are hazardous chemicals at the site.‰??
Centers said the identity of the worker was being withheld until family could be contacted.
Acetal is a raw ingredient used in food flavoring, Centers said.
---------------------------------------------
WEST PALM BEACH APARTMENTS EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
A man was in critical condition and three paramedics and a paramedic student were treated after a chemical spill Friday at Palm Club Apartments in West Palm Beach, according to West Palm Beach Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Kevin Lewis.
Paramedics were called at about 12:30 p.m. Friday to an apartment unit in the 1100 block of Green Pine Boulevard, west of Village Boulevard, for a man who was having difficulty breathing.
‰??When they got there, they opened the door to get to the gentleman having difficulty breathing and they were overcome by a strong chemical vapor,‰?? Lewis said.
The unidentified man was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. The paramedics were also taken for hospital treatment. Two paramedics and the paramedic student were treated and released, while one of the paramedics remained in the hospital Friday evening.
Fire rescue officials are not sure what caused the vapor, but say the resident mixed two chemicals together, causing an explosion. The apartment building was evacuated and sealed with crime scene tape as HazMat teams evaluated the scene.
---------------------------------------------
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