From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (12 articles)
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2016 08:09:50 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: CF6D87CF-E277-4AA4-9445-D4331F1F4FB0**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at 8:09:33 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 (12 articles)

UPDATED: BRAINTREE RECYCLING CENTRE CLOSED DUE TO FIRE (FROM BRAINTREE AND WITHAM TIMES)
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, batteries, waste

FIRE CREWS EVACUATE AKRON BUSINESS AFTER 'HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RELEASE'
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO LEAK AT EAST HUNTINGDON SITE
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL GAS FILLS LAB AT BUSINESS IN SPARTANBURG CO.
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

TWO ARRESTED AFTER KEIGHLEY 'EXPLOSIVE' CHEMICAL FIND
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, response

'NO HARM TO RESIDENTS' IN PALMER TOWNSHIP CHEMICAL SPILL (PHOTOS)
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, pesticides

EAST LANSING LOOKING INTO WATER PLANT CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ferric_chloride, water_treatment

WESTMORELAND CO. BUSINESS, COLLEGE EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, flammables

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION BLAMED FOR VESSEL FIRE IN WEST SEATTLE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical

EU AUTHORITIES NEED TO INVEST IN SUBSTITUTION EXPERTISE
Tags: Belgium, public, discovery, environmental

WARWICK UNIVERSITY BLOCKED DRAIN SPARKS MAJOR CHEMICAL EMERGENCY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical

CHEMICAL LEVELS SPIKE IN CREEK THAT WAS SITE OF CARBURETOR CLEANER LEAK
Tags: us_GA, public, follow-up, environmental, cleaners


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

UPDATED: BRAINTREE RECYCLING CENTRE CLOSED DUE TO FIRE (FROM BRAINTREE AND WITHAM TIMES)
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, batteries, waste

A RECYCLING centre has had to close for the day after a fire broke out in one of the bins.

The Veolia recycling centre on Springwood Industrial Estate in Braintree has been closed since this morning.

Workers said at least one of the bins was alight.

Cars were being turned away as the gates were kept shut and residents with rubbish were told it would be closed for the rest of the day.

A Hazmat officer from Essex Fire and Rescue Service, who deals with hazardous materials, thought a lithium battery had been put in a general waste bin.

Whilst the fire service was putting out the fire, the water had reacted with the battery in a strange way.

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

FIRE CREWS EVACUATE AKRON BUSINESS AFTER 'HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RELEASE'
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron business was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after an unknown, possibly hazardous gas was released into the air.

The GOJO Industries, Inc. building on the 500 block of South Main Street was evacuated about 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to an Akron Fire Department news release. Officials say there was a "hazardous materials release... of unknown gas."

GOJO Industries, Inc., which is headquartered in Akron, is an international business that invented Purell hand sanitizer.

Fire crews and the city's HazMat team are investigating the cause of the gas release. No injuries have been reported.

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

HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO LEAK AT EAST HUNTINGDON SITE
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

The Westmoreland County Hazardous Materials Response Team is reporting hazmat units are responding to a leak of an unspecified liquid from a tank at the DNP Imagingcomm America Corp. in East Huntingdon.

The leak from the a tank inside the DNP building, located at 1001 Technology Dr. near State Route 119, was reported shortly after 1 p.m., and was still active nearly an hour later, according to the county hazmat alert, with 150 to 200 gallons of an unspecified hazardous liquid ‰??on the floor.‰??

According to the hazmat alert, the air monitor at the spill site showed a ‰??10 LEL‰?? ‰?? lower explosive level. A reading of 10 or more is cause for concern, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which considers 10 percent of any LEL to be a ‰??hazardous atmosphere.‰??

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.Neither the Westmoreland hazmat office nor DNP responded to phone calls and email requests for comment.

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

CHEMICAL GAS FILLS LAB AT BUSINESS IN SPARTANBURG CO.
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

SPARTANBURG, SC (WSPA) ‰?? Firefighters were called a business for a hazmat call on Tradd Street in Spartanburg County.

Firefighters say hydrochloric acid let off gas in the building and the ventilation fan stopped working.

It is believed to have happened in a lab at Alfred H Knight North America just west of Spartanburg.

Firefighters say there is no threat to the public and there have been no reported injuries.

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

TWO ARRESTED AFTER KEIGHLEY 'EXPLOSIVE' CHEMICAL FIND
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, response

The man, aged 48, and female 29, were suspected of keeping potentially risky chemicals at their home in Parkwood Street, on Sunday.

"Potentially explosive material was discovered during searches at a residential address in Keighley yesterday and the Army's bomb disposal unit attended from Catterick".

Two people were arrested after "potentially explosive" chemicals were found at a house in West Yorkshire, police have said.

"Searches at the property in Keighley are still underway and enquiries are ongoing".

It prompted the evacuation of nearby homes, with residents only being allowed to return in the early hours this morning.

An Army bomb disposal unit from Catterick carried out a controlled explosion and "potentially risky material" was removed, police said.

The spokeswoman said the arrets were "intelligence led" and were not in response to a particular threat.

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

'NO HARM TO RESIDENTS' IN PALMER TOWNSHIP CHEMICAL SPILL (PHOTOS)
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, pesticides

Responders from Northampton and Lehigh counties cleared a chemical spill Tuesday that resulted from an improperly sealed cap atop a tanker truck, officials said.

It was reported about 4:40 p.m. in the area of Hackett Avenue and Park Road in Palmer Township. Authorities closed that stretch of Hackett Avenue and temporarily evacuated some homes, while asking other nearby residents to remain in their homes, township fire Assistant Chief Jim Alercia said.

Hazardous-materials experts from Lehigh County Special Operations had replaced the cap as of about 7:50 p.m, ending the shelter-in-place order and road closure, he said.

"Any material that had spilled on the roadway evaporated and was no harm to residents," Alercia wrote in a text message to lehighvalleylive.com.


Chemical spill prompts evacuations in Palmer Township
The spill was from a truck labeled as carrying a corrosive substance.

The Schneider tanker was placarded corrosive, with a classification code of 3267. Federal standards for a spill of such liquids call for safety precautions including requiring responders to wear protective breathing apparatus and an isolation zone of at least 150 feet.

Alercia said the liquid was identified as Topguard. A chemical sold by that name is used as a fungicide.

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

EAST LANSING LOOKING INTO WATER PLANT CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ferric_chloride, water_treatment

EAST LANSING ‰?? Officials from the city‰??s wastewater treatment plant trying to determine the severity of a 600-gallon chemical spill last month.

Ferric chloride, a chemical used to remove phosphorus in the wastewater treatment process, spilled from an above-ground supply line that broke on the morning of Aug. 27, said Scott House, the city‰??s public works director. The plant is tucked away from homes between a set of railroad tracks and the busy Trowbridge Road exit ramp off U.S. 127.

The spill posed no threat to residents, and an emergency response contractor, Flint-based Youngs Environmental, had the spill under control within two hours, House said Tuesday. Removal of contaminated soil is to begin Wednesday.

‰??We‰??re going to do some soil removal, further soil tests and we‰??re also working on some permanent repairs to the piping system,‰?? he said.

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

WESTMORELAND CO. BUSINESS, COLLEGE EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, flammables

ALVERTON, Pa. (KDKA/AP) ‰?? Authorities say a Westmoreland County business and a nearby community college were evacuated Tuesday due to a chemical spill, but no injuries were reported.

Officials with the county said the leak at DNP Imagingcomm America Corp., a printing company, in East Huntingdon Township was reported just before 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Employees of businesses in the the sprawling technology center were told to evacuate around 12:50 p.m

Officials say a large chemical tank apparently ruptured.

‰??I just got outside. I didn‰??t know it was a chemical leak until actually we got out,‰?? said Pam Hall, one of the evacuated employees.

The company released this statement on the incident: ‰??At approximately 12:45 p.m., there was a spill of flammable liquids from the overflow of an above ground storage tank located inside of our facility. For the safety of our employees, and others at the site, all team members were evacuated. There were no injuries or other property damage at the site. All material is fully contained inside of our process area, and we are working with the site and local authorities on the safe and proper cleanup and removal of the material.‰??

First responders from across Westmoreland County arrived on scene, all in an effort to stop the leaking chemical, which was apparently flammable. Some 200 gallons of the product had spilled.

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

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION BLAMED FOR VESSEL FIRE IN WEST SEATTLE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical

WEST SEATTLE ‰?? A barge carrying shipping containers ignited into flames Monday afternoon. Half of Seattle‰??s fire department responded to the vessel fire on the Duwamish River around 3:30pm. The blaze was said to be fully contained by 7:00pm.

Firefighters said the containers contained garbage, petroleum, old propane tanks and diesel fuel. They believe the fire started in one of the garbage containers aboard the barge. They told Q13 News spontaneous combustion of garbage is the cause of the fire, which was then fueled by tires on the barge.

A hazmat team was called to the scene. The Coast Guard assisted in putting the fire out and protecting the chemicals from going into the Duwamish River.

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

EU AUTHORITIES NEED TO INVEST IN SUBSTITUTION EXPERTISE
Tags: Belgium, public, discovery, environmental

Echa and EU member state authorities have been told they need to "significantly grow" their staff capacity to be able to fully support the substitution of harmful substances with safer alternatives.

The recommendation is one of ten in a report by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production commissioned by Echa.

Based on a survey of member states, the report ‰?? Improving the identification, evaluation, adoption and development of safer alternatives ‰?? found that of those responding (around half of EU countries), the main obstacles to substitution are:

lack of information on alternatives; along with
lack of relevant expertise and resources in companies.
And it cites the ability to conduct technical feasibility and performance assessments s the main challenge for member states' alternatives assessment work.

To resolve the issue of limited expertise, the report says Echa should establish a dedicated group of staff with expertise in:

chemical hazard evaluation;
chemistry;
technical assessment; and
economic analysis.

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

WARWICK UNIVERSITY BLOCKED DRAIN SPARKS MAJOR CHEMICAL EMERGENCY
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical

A stinky drain sparked a major chemical alert at Warwick University today.

Students and staff were evacuated after people reported a noxious smell coming from a chemical engineering lab.

Firefighters wearing Hazmat - hazardous material - suits arrived just before 11am and set up special decontamination equipment.

Checks revealed the source of the problem to be a blocked drain, and not a chemical spillage.

A university spokesman said: ‰??As a precaution, when that smell was detected, the building was evacuated.

‰??The fire brigade were called, they came and had a very thorough look round.‰??

He added: ‰??Everyone believes that it is just a normal smell from a drain which is possibly partially blocked.

‰??It is nothing to do with the science conducted in that building.‰??

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

CHEMICAL LEVELS SPIKE IN CREEK THAT WAS SITE OF CARBURETOR CLEANER LEAK
Tags: us_GA, public, follow-up, environmental, cleaners

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Results show potentially dangerous chemical levels increasing after the state declared the chemical spill cleanup in a Cobb County creek complete.

New numbers show chemical levels nearly have doubled within the last week -- measured in parts per billion.

The Chattahoochee River Keeper took samples after carburetor cleaner turned a creek behind homes in Smyrna chalk white.

The river keeper told Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant that the numbers should wave a red flag.

Diamant said the creek affected by the August spill still has a very obvious chemical smell.

Investigators will now have to figure out if the original spill site is the source of these new elevated chemical levels.

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