From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (8 articles)
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2015 07:24:40 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 7:24:06 AM

A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__pinboard.in_u-3Adchas&d=BQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=jU2X0O5wHoGGZNjGHupq9ctJ7W-kuTBTOQCwZHPGwt4&s=t2pV4UP54cepNZa3h9BaUl0ZsY09ssWOD6D3-QjVGLc&e=

Table of Contents (8 articles)

EXXONMOBIL‰??S TORRANCE REFINERY HIT BY ANOTHER EMERGENCY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS LEAK
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid

CHEMICAL LEAK AT SUSSEX BOROUGH WATER PLANT PROMPTS STATE VISIT
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, release, injury, water_treatment

CHEMICALS REMOVED FROM ABANDONED LAB IN MIDLAND
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical, various_chemicals

FAMILIES EVACUATED AFTER WELL BLOWOUT NEAR SEMINOLE
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide

HIGHWAY 103 BETWEEN BARRINGTON AND ARGYLE REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid

FIRE IN TARAPUR PHARMACEUTICAL UNIT, 3 INJURED
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, pharmaceutical

POLICE: PRANK CALL AT MCDONALDS LEADS TO THOUSANDS IN DAMAGES
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, other_chemical

SOIL AT WEST VIRGINIA SITE OF CHEMICAL SPILL TO BE EXCAVATED
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical


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EXXONMOBIL‰??S TORRANCE REFINERY HIT BY ANOTHER EMERGENCY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS LEAK
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid

The largely inoperable ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance was struck by another hazardous materials leak just hours after the state announced it would hold a public meeting in the city aimed at improving safety at such plants.

The leak also came days before a scheduled state hearing on the company‰??s appeal of a $560,000 fine and 19 citations stemming from a February explosion at the refinery.

In addition, Torrance Unified School District trustee Don Lee said Monday night the district needs to re-evaluate its emergency protocols in the event of a chemical accident at ExxonMobil.

Lee, re-elected in November to a third term, made the comments at the school board meeting after City Manager LeRoy Jackson acknowledged to the Daily Breeze last week that the city had secretly reduced the amount of an additive designed to make HF safer over a decade ago, but never informed the community.

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CHEMICAL LEAK AT SUSSEX BOROUGH WATER PLANT PROMPTS STATE VISIT
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, release, injury, water_treatment

State health inspectors will pay a visit to the Sussex Borough Water Treatment Plant in the next few days following a chemical leak Friday morning that sent two workers to the hospital and left the plant's operations manager battling the ill effects of the fumes for several days afterward.
Bob Considine, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, indicated Tuesday that the problem was under control but that the DEP's Bureau of Water Compliance and Enforcement intended in the near future to have a look at the plant, which is located on Route 23 in Wantage approximately three miles south of High Point State Park.
Because the water treatment plant is a public facility, inspectors from the state Office of Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health also are expected to come have a look as well.
Mike Furrey, the plant operations manager, said that before going home Thursday night, workers at the plant had filled two 500-gallon tanks with sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as chlorine bleach, about 30 gallons of which then leaked overnight from one of the tanks and mixed with polyaluminum chloride in an adjacent container.
The leak was later determined to be the result of a defective fitting on one of the chlorine tanks.

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CHEMICALS REMOVED FROM ABANDONED LAB IN MIDLAND
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical, various_chemicals

Hazardous chemicals have been removed from an abandoned laboratory that was discovered during a routine fire inspection last month, the Midland Fire Department reports.

The work was completed Saturday evening, Midland Fire Department Chief Chris Coughlin stated in a media release. The Michigan Departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources retained samples of multiple chemicals during the removal process from the building at 1406 E. Pine St.

The laboratory, abandoned by a tenant, contained a number of both identified and unidentified chemicals, some in a decomposing state. Coughlin previously said the list of chemicals included everything under the sun, in the categories of shock reactives ‰?? meaning they are explosive ‰?? toxics and organic compounds. The problem was discovered on Nov. 19.

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FAMILIES EVACUATED AFTER WELL BLOWOUT NEAR SEMINOLE
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide

SEMINOLE, TX (KCBD) -
Around 160 residents were forced to evacuate Tuesday morning when a well blew out near the intersection of County Road 107-I and County Road 102, just east of Seminole.

It happened around 6:30 a.m. on a Tabula Rasa site in the area. Residents have not been allowed to return as of Tuesday evening.

Wild Well control from Odessa has been called in to try and fix the leak.

The evacuation was necessary because the leak involved hydrogen sulfide, which can be fatal.

Gaines County Sheriff Ronny Pipkin said, "We did evacuate everybody within about a two-mile area. No one is hurt. No one was injured on the well site. There was a pull unit on the well at the time."

The emergency management team in Seminole has opened up the Gaines County Civic Building as a temporary shelter for anyone who was evacuated and doesn't have family in the area.

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HIGHWAY 103 BETWEEN BARRINGTON AND ARGYLE REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, sulfuric_acid

A tractor-trailer truck has spilled sulphuric acid on Highway 103 in Yarmouth County, forcing part of the highway to be closed, according to RCMP.

RCMP Const. Mark Skinner says the incident happened near Exit 31 at Pubnico. It was carrying several barrels of the acid.

Initially, RCMP said the truck had tipped over, but police later said a barrel in an enclosed trailer came loose and leaked.

Crews are now on the scene. The driver was not injured.

A Hazmat team was brought in to clean up the spill. Police say they expect the highway to be reopened around 11 p.m.

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FIRE IN TARAPUR PHARMACEUTICAL UNIT, 3 INJURED
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, pharmaceutical

Om Pharmaceutical Industries, the unit manufacturing bulk drugs and intermediates, located on the reserved Chemical zone of the Boisar MIDC area in the Tarapur Chemical Zone, witnessed a huge fire on Monday after the reactor burst during a process. Three workers, identified as Rahul Rawat, Omkar Vishkwakarma and Jatashankar Shukla sustained injuries. "Initially the trio patients were admitted in the Dhawale Hospital, Palghar, but Vishwakarma and Rawat received serious burn injuries and were later taken to KEM Hospital," said Inspector K Hegaje of Boisar MIDC police station.

"We have registered a case of accidental fire. Officials from the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, (DISH) Vasai rushed to the spot to ascertain the cause of the fire," he added.

The Fire Brigade from the Boisar MIDC Fire Service doused the flames after a three hour fight.

All the workers had to be admitted to Palghar Hospital with the help of auto rickshaws as the ambulances failed to arrive on time, said a worker from the unit. .. . .

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POLICE: PRANK CALL AT MCDONALDS LEADS TO THOUSANDS IN DAMAGES
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, other_chemical

KENNEWICK, Wash. -- A prank call resulted in thousands of dollars in clean up, repairs, and loss of sales Sunday after an employee was tricked into pulling the store's fire alarm.

Kennewick police say employees at the Steptoe McDonalds received a phone call from someone saying they were with the fire department and wanted to test the alarm system from a remote location.

The employee was told to pull the fire alarm to re-set the system. When the employee did that, police say a chemical agent used to put out grease fires was sprayed all over the restaurant, causing the McDonalds to close and incur up to $5,000 in loss of sales costs, clean up and repair costs.

The Kennewick police found through their investigation that a similar call was made a McDonalds on Kennewick Avenue, and the employees at that one hung up on them.

Another call was reported at a McDonalds in Stanfield, Oregon as well where the employees there also activated the alarm.

Kennewick Fire Department advises they will not call a business to conduct fire alarm testing under any circumstance.

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SOIL AT WEST VIRGINIA SITE OF CHEMICAL SPILL TO BE EXCAVATED
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Neighbors might detect the telltale scent of licorice as crews excavate soil contaminated by the 2014 Freedom Industries spill.

The excavation is scheduled to begin Monday at the site, which was the epicenter of a public water crisis for weeks. The spill into the Elk River left hundreds of thousands of residents in Charleston and neighboring counties without access to public water supplies.

Residents detected a licorice scent in their water supply after the spill.

The excavation is expected to remove up to 10,000 tons of soil. The work and sampling is expected to last several months.

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