From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (12 articles)
Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2016 08:02:58 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 4F58F60F-7079-4962-9105-AC551F5E089C**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, June 17, 2016 at 8:02:44 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=DQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=q33o6SNv95ZfcTDQVizGVZFThppf0NZXUUmxZJi-xAs&s=gftCFwaAgG_I9wsrpnaoKBq5_yV7YBj24i3hzAIdbuw&e=

Table of Contents (12 articles)

EU PROPOSES CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING CHEMICALS THAT ALTER HORMONES
Tags: Belgium, industrial, discovery, environmental

CHEMICAL SPILL LEADS TO BRIEF CLOSURE AT HOSPITAL
Tags: us_UT, industrial, release, response, cleaners

FIRE BREAKS OUT IN A CHEMICAL UNIT AT RABALE MIDC, FOUR INJURED
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

METAL RESIDUE REMOVED FROM HOMES, SIDEWALKS AND CARS FOLLOWING MAGNESIUM FIRE IN MAYWOOD
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, metals

CREWS RESPOND TO SULFUR DIOXIDE LEAK
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide

HAZMAT CALLED TO A HOME IN WEST AUSTIN
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

FUNGICIDE PROMPTS HAZMAT INVESTIGATION, STREET CLOSURE IN CORONADO
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, pesticides

FIRE DAMAGES STORAGE ROOM AT NORTH CHICAGO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, fire, response, pharmaceutical

TOXIC CHLORINE LEAK CONTAINED IN FLORENCE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, chlorine

LAB EXPLOSION IN MIDDLETON INJURES 1
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, explosion, injury, pharmaceutical

COUPLE INJURED AFTER POOL MIXTURE REACTS VIOLENTLY
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, pool_chemicals

CHEMICAL IN CREEK KILLING THOUSANDS OF FISH
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, environmental, ammonia


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

EU PROPOSES CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING CHEMICALS THAT ALTER HORMONES
Tags: Belgium, industrial, discovery, environmental

The European Commission last week proposed long-awaited criteria to help regulators determine which chemicals in pesticides and biocidal products such as hand disinfectants are"and are not"endocrine disruptors.
The European Union already has regulations in place to prohibit endocrine-disrupting chemicals in pesticides and biocides. The proposed criteria would be used to determine which chemicals fall under those regulations.
The proposal adopts the World Health Organization"s definition of endocrine disruptors as chemicals that alter hormones in animals and humans. Such chemicals have "a hormonal function, an adverse effect, and a causality between the two," says the commission, which is the EU"s executive branch.
Neither the chemical industry nor endocrinologists are pleased with the proposed criteria.
"We are disappointed that we still do not have a set of scientific criteria that are suitable for the purposes of regulatory decision-making," groups representing the European chemical and pesticide industries say. "Many substances which present no risk to human health or the environment will be identified as endocrine disruptors using this definition," they predict.
In contrast, endocrinologists are calling the criteria too restrictive, saying the proposal would result in few chemicals being identified and regulated as endocrine disruptors.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL LEADS TO BRIEF CLOSURE AT HOSPITAL
Tags: us_UT, industrial, release, response, cleaners

A professional cleaning company quickly contained a small chemical spill inside Moab Regional Hospital's laundry department last week that led to the brief closure of the affected and surrounding areas.
No one was injured during the incident, which was reported at about 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8.
The spill " which involved common cleaning products, including chlorine bleach and an industrial laundry cleaner " occurred as an outside contractor performed routine maintenance on the laundry department's machines.
The hospital immediately closed off the affected and surrounding areas upon discovery of the spill, MRH officials said in a news release about the incident.

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

FIRE BREAKS OUT IN A CHEMICAL UNIT AT RABALE MIDC, FOUR INJURED
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

Summary: NAVI MUMBAI: A fire broke out in a chemical unit at Rabale MIDC on Wednesday night, injuring four persons. "Vashi, Airoli, Rabale and Pawane fire stations took control to contain the fire," said Surendranath Choudhary, fire officer of Pawane TBIA-MIDC fire brigade.The fire was controlled after almost an hour. W-299, along Thane-Belapur Road was gutted and stocks worth crores destroyed in the blaze. "Overheating of the reactor caused the blast," said Prabhakar Ghade, chief fire officer of NMMC fire wing.The blast happened after temperature in the manufacturing process went beyond its permissible limits.Gajanan Industries, located at plot no. The injured employees were rushed to a local hospital.

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

METAL RESIDUE REMOVED FROM HOMES, SIDEWALKS AND CARS FOLLOWING MAGNESIUM FIRE IN MAYWOOD
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, metals

Firefighters are testing homes for health hazards near the site of a massive magnesium-fed blaze that burned for more than a day in a Maywood industrial park.

Firefighters have been washing down homes, sidewalks and cars to ensure residue found nearby does not pose any health risks, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Air quality tests also were conducted inside homes in the affected area near the 3500 block of Fruitland Avenue.

"That is our No. 1 priority," Deputy Fire Chief John Tripp said Wednesday.

The large fire erupted at 2:31 a.m. Tuesday at a plastics facility, then spread into a metal recycling yard. The blaze triggered explosions and hundreds of evacuation orders for businesses and residents in the neighborhood. The fire finally was extinguished around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Plumes of smoke sent fine metal particles into the air and created an odor reported as far away as the San Fernando Valley.

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

CREWS RESPOND TO SULFUR DIOXIDE LEAK
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide

Loveland and Fort Collins fire crews responded to a sulfur dioxide leak Thursday morning at Cardinal CG, 999 N. Van Buren Ave.

The coated glass plant reported a 200-pound cylinder was leaking the potentially toxic gas at 8:36 a.m., according to Loveland fire Battalion Chief Jason Starck.

Two employees were exposed to the sulfur dioxide. They were treated by Thompson Valley EMS crews and released at the scene.

"Mainly (sulfur dioxide) is an irritant," Starck said. "But it can be toxic in high-enough doses. It can cause burning of the skin."

Carie Dann, Loveland deputy fire marshal, said the gas can also cause respiratory issues.

Loveland Fire Rescue Authority evacuated the rest of the building as a safety percaution, as crews were on scene were entering the building in hazmat suits to isolate and fix the leak, Starck said.

The sulfur dioxide is used in the company's process in treating glass.

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

HAZMAT CALLED TO A HOME IN WEST AUSTIN
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

AUSTIN (KXAN) " The Austin Fire Department was working a hazardous material call at a home in west Austin, Thursday.

Officials say the call came in at 6 a.m. at a home at Mesa Drive and Enclave Mesa Circle. A man was reportedly storing a large amount of hazardous chemicals, according to AFD.

Firefighters have not said what chemicals were stored at the home, but they did say it is not something you would normally find in a residential house.

Some of the chemicals were found in unlabeled containers. The Austin Fire Department said at 7:30 p.m. the house was turned back over to the homeowner. Chemicals were inventoried and a cleanup plan has been put in place. There is no public safety hazard, the department said.

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

FUNGICIDE PROMPTS HAZMAT INVESTIGATION, STREET CLOSURE IN CORONADO
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, pesticides

Fungicide was found Wednesday night on the side of a Coronado road, prompting a temporary street closure and hazardous materials probe.

The fungicide was located in "a container that fell off a truck," Sgt. Mark Porter of the Coronado Police Department said.

The container was spotted outside a home at about 8:20 p.m. and the probe was complete at about 10:25 p.m., according to a Heartland Fire and Rescue dispatcher.

The incident prompted the closure of Eighth Street between Alameda Boulevard and J Avenue, but all roads have been reopened since, the dispatcher said.

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

FIRE DAMAGES STORAGE ROOM AT NORTH CHICAGO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, fire, response, pharmaceutical

For the second time in three months a fire started at the AbbVie pharmaceutical research and development facility in North Chicago.

Firefighters responded about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday to a reported fire at the AbbVie Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing facility at 1401 Sheridan Road, North Chicago Fire Chief Dell Urban said.

The fire started in a laboratory and electronics storage room, she said. The blaze was contained to the room, which sustained water damage.

"The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system," Urban said. "Everyone had been evacuated and there were no injuries."

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

TOXIC CHLORINE LEAK CONTAINED IN FLORENCE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, chlorine

FLORENCE " The city of Florence was ordered to shelter in place Wednesday following a toxic chlorine leak.
A 150-gallon chlorine tank sprang a leak Wednesday morning, requiring Florence volunteer firefighters and a hazmat team from Williamson County to respond, according to an official with the Williamson County Sheriff"s Department.
The leak occurred around 10 a.m. near a water treatment well in the 300 block of Farm-to-Market 970.

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

LAB EXPLOSION IN MIDDLETON INJURES 1
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, explosion, injury, pharmaceutical

One person was injured Wednesday in a lab explosion at a business in Middleton.

Firefighters were called at 1:13 p.m. to Pharmaceutical Product Development Corp. at 8551 Research Way on a report of a hydrogen explosion. An official at the scene said it was a lab explosion.

PPD spokesman Randy Buckwalter said the incident involved the release of pressurized helium, a non-toxic, inert, non-flammable gas, isolated section of the building.

The building was briefly evacuated, and all employees returned to work by 2 p.m.

One employee suffered minor burns and he was treated at the scene. He was wearing all required personal protective equipment, Buckwalter said.

There was no damage to the building.

Buckwalter said the "laboratory equipment incident" did not cause an environmental impact and facility operations returned to normal Wednesday.

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

COUPLE INJURED AFTER POOL MIXTURE REACTS VIOLENTLY
Tags: us_IN, public, explosion, response, pool_chemicals

A Center Grove area couple didn"t think anything of mixing two brands of the same chemical to treat the water in their pool.

The result: an explosion that damaged their home and sent both of them to the hospital.

Now both the couple and emergency workers want to warn residents to be extra cautious with the chemicals used to treat and maintain backyard swimming pools.

Just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the couple was preparing chemicals to treat the pool in the kitchen of their Golden Grove Estates home. They had a small amount of one brand left and more supplies in another brand and decided to mix the two because they thought both were the same. When they mixed in water, as a pool maintenance worker had suggested in the past, the mixture exploded, Bargersville Fire Chief Jason Ramey said.

The power of that blast blew their kitchen sink out of the countertop and into the cabinet below and busted out the window above the sink in the home off Saddle Club Road, Ramey said.

They called 911, and both the husband and wife were taken to Community South Hospital to be treated for inhalation of chemicals and chemical burns and damaged hearing from the blast, he said. By Wednesday morning, both had been treated and released from the hospital, he said.

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

CHEMICAL IN CREEK KILLING THOUSANDS OF FISH
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, environmental, ammonia

GREENE COUNTY, Ind. -- A chemical spill in Greene County, Indiana has killed thousands of fish, an official with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday.

The spill began as a traffic crash. A tank of anhydrous ammonia spilled into a residential yard. The fire department evacuated people nearby, but had to spray the chemical to keep everybody safe. That's how the chemical ended up in Lattas Creek.

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

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.