From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (10 articles)
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 08:06:08 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: D7670A1D-D6C6-4421-B27C-D8B1CA1964BA**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, October 24, 2016 at 8:05:57 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 (10 articles)

1 REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN KANSAS
Tags: us_KS, public, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO JARRELL SCHOOL
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, mercury

DECATUR PLANT WORKER TREATED FOR BURNS
Tags: us_AL, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

GARAGE DEMOLITION RELEASES CAUSTIC CHEMICAL CLOUD IN SAGINAW
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, thionyl_chloride

FIRE PUT OUT IN CARUS CHEMICAL DUST-COLLECTION EQUIPMENT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, dust

AFTER NATURAL GAS EXPLOSION, FIRE OFFICIAL RECOMMENDS YOU CHECK YOUR HOME
Tags: us_KS, public, explosion, injury, methane, natural_gas

LONDON CITY AIRPORT DECLARED SAFE AFTER 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT'
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, release, injury, tear_gas

THE LATEST: 67 SEEK MEDICAL CARE AFTER KANSAS CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_KS, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL BIKE LOCK CAUSES VOMITING TO DETER THIEVES
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

ROAD SEALER IDENTIFIED AS CHEMICAL IN CALTRANS HAZ MAT FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, other_chemical


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1 REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN KANSAS
Tags: us_KS, public, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

ATCHISON ‰?? One person remains hospitalized a few days after a chemical spill sent a noxious chemical cloud over a northeast Kansas town.

The spill occurred Friday morning after two chemicals were inadvertently combined at the MGP Ingredients plant in Atchison. The chemical release created a chemical cloud over sections of Atchison and sparked evacuations.

Officials said dozens of people sought medical treatment Friday, largely for respiratory problems. Most had been treated and released by later Friday.

A spokeswoman for Atchison Hospital said Sunday that one person remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The Kansas City Star reports (http://j.mp/2eX4Pei">http://j.mp/2eX4Pei) that the company said in a statement Saturday that MGP is working with regulatory agencies to ‰??fully understand the cause and mitigate the chance of a similar incident occurring in the future.‰??

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HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO JARRELL SCHOOL
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, mercury

ARRELL ‰?? An old barometer caused a leak inside a science lab at Jarrell Intermediate School on Wednesday. Jarrell ISD school officials said that the Williamson County Hazardous Material Team was called after they learned that the barometer contained mercury.
The material was safely removed. The room was aired out overnight. On Thursday, during another check through the same hallway, HazMat crews found another classroom that had slightly higher levels of mercury in the air. The room was vacated.
Each classroom has self-contained air units, which do not allow air to travel outside the room.
District officials said they will not use any of the rooms until they are given the ‰??all clear‰?? from a remediation company that was hired to assist the district maintenance staff.

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

DECATUR PLANT WORKER TREATED FOR BURNS
Tags: us_AL, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

A Decatur plant worker is being treated for burns after a possible flash fire at Chemtrade Logistics.

Stacy Rose with Decatur Fire and Rescue said they received the call about an explosion at Chemtrade Logistics off Cedar Lake Road around 11:00 a.m. Friday morning.

Rose said a man was working at the chemical plant and received burns. He was flown to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital for treatment.

According to Chemtrade CFO Rohit Bhardwaj, the injured employee has been working in maintenance for about two years. He said the employee was performing maintenance on the outside of one of their reactors when the flash fire occurred.

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

GARAGE DEMOLITION RELEASES CAUSTIC CHEMICAL CLOUD IN SAGINAW
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, thionyl_chloride

SAGINAW, MI ‰?? A caustic chemical cloud was released in a Saginaw neighborhood Friday afternoon, Oct. 21, when workers from Braddock Demolition were removing debris from an abandoned garage they had razed on Webber near Julius in Saginaw.

Jimmy Maul said he was operating a bulldozer when another worker struck the chemical with an excavator, releasing a caustic cloud.

"We didn't know what the stuff was," said Maul. "It smelled like ether and made my throat swell. We poured water on it but that made the cloud worse."

The Saginaw Fire Department was called to investigate the scene. Two firefighters, equipped with breathing equipment, approached the debris with the cloud still wafting into the air and identified the chemical as thionyl chloride from hand writing on its container, fire officials said.

The firefighters placed the chemical into a container and sealed it so it could be safely removed by a company with chemical disposal experience. ERG Environmental Services was called to take it away.

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

FIRE PUT OUT IN CARUS CHEMICAL DUST-COLLECTION EQUIPMENT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, dust

Fire started in a piece of dust-collection equipment in one the two main chemical-process buildings at Carus Chemical in La Salle at about 4:40 p.m. Friday.

The fire went out on its own and firefighters did not have to use any water, said Kegan Pakula, spokesperson for Carus Corp.

‰??There was a small fire in our pilot plant. The fire is out. Everyone is safe and accounted for,‰?? Pakula said.

She said at 5:20 p.m. firefighters still were monitoring for hot spots.

La Salle and Peru firefighters responded, and Utica firefighters manned the La Salle fire station.

Damage to the piece of equipment is being assessed.

The process in the building will not be restarted until everything is checked and OK.

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

AFTER NATURAL GAS EXPLOSION, FIRE OFFICIAL RECOMMENDS YOU CHECK YOUR HOME
Tags: us_KS, public, explosion, injury, methane, natural_gas

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - More than two days after an explosion flattened a woman's home in Lincoln County on Wednesday, she remains in critical condition at a Wichita hospital. The Lincoln County Sheriff's office said Friday a natural gas leak caused the explosion, but fire marshals don't know where the leak came from.


That same Wednesday morning in Portland, OR, A natural gas leak caused a massive explosion that destroyed several businesses, and hurt seven people, including two firefighters.

Eyewitness News asked a local fire marshal how people can prevent natural gas leaks and explosions. The Andover Fire Marshall says there are some steps you can take to help keep your home safe and say you should get it checked by a professional on a regular basis.

"Seasonally, as we come into this cooler season, it's important to get your homes and appliances checked out, especially heating appliances when they've been sitting idle all summer long," said Mike Roosevelt, the Fire Marshall in Andover.

"If people have not been using their gas appliances, when you energize them that first time there's always that potential," he said.

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

LONDON CITY AIRPORT DECLARED SAFE AFTER 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT'
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, release, injury, tear_gas

London City airport was declared safe on Friday after hundreds of passengers had to be evacuated and two were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties in an incident that police suspect was caused by CS gas.

The airport was briefly closed as police and firefighters in protective equipment swept the terminal building of the airport with chemical detectors after several people were taken ill, some of them coughing violently.

"Two complete sweeps of the airport building were carried out jointly by firefighters and police officers ..," the fire brigade said. "No elevated readings were found and the building was ventilated, searched and declared safe."

Later, police said the incident may have been caused by CS gas, used for self-defense and crowd control.

"A search of the airport led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas or spray. Whilst the cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, officers are investigating if it was the result of an accidental discharge of this canister," police said in a statement.

"At this early stage, officers are investigating whether it may have been discarded by a passenger prior to check-in. There have been no arrest and inquiries continue," the statement said.

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

THE LATEST: 67 SEEK MEDICAL CARE AFTER KANSAS CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_KS, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

More than 60 people sought medical attention after a chemical spill at a distilling plant that released a noxious cloud in northeast Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Emergency Management says the cloud occurred Friday morning when two chemicals were mistakenly combined at the MGP Ingredients plant in Atchison. The department says people were allowed back into their homes after the cloud dissipated a few hours later.

Atchison Hospital spokeswoman T.C. Roberts says about 67 people sought care at the hospital's emergency room for upper respiratory discomfort. Roberts says one person remained in intensive care Friday afternoon and two others were admitted to the hospital. She says most of the others were treated and released.

MGP produces premium distilled spirits. It employs about 300 people at the Atchison plant, about 50 miles from Kansas City.

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

CHEMICAL BIKE LOCK CAUSES VOMITING TO DETER THIEVES
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

Have you ever had a bicycle stolen? Well, a new company thinks it has a funky way to combat the crime - by creating a bike lock which spews foul-smelling gas.
The "Skunklock" is a U-shaped steel bicycle lock with a pressurised, stinking gas inside.
The gas escapes in a cloud if someone attempts to cut the lock.
The company claims its "noxious chemical" is so disgusting it "induces vomit in the majority of cases."
Even better, it claims, the gas causes "shortness of breathing" and impaired eyesight.

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

ROAD SEALER IDENTIFIED AS CHEMICAL IN CALTRANS HAZ MAT FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, other_chemical

Two barrels of a chemical used as a sealer to coat bridges are what exploded into a ball of flames at a Caltrans yard in Santa Clarita Thursday, state and county officials told The Signal Friday.

A wind-whipped fire started a one-acre brush fire near Via Princessa in Canyon Country shortly after 11:45 a.m. Thursday, igniting the chemical-laden barrels.

Fire engines racing to the scene rolled through thick black smoke discharging from the scene as the flames about 60 to 100 feet high roared over the lanes of the freeway entrance.

‰??This was a chemical used to coat bridges,‰?? Presierras said. ‰??The fire started with a brush fire, the trajectory of where that fire went ‰?? because of the wind ‰?? went right through that (Caltrans) yard.

The barrels contained a sealer known as KBP204, said Mario Presierras, supervisor of the Health Hazardous Materials unit of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Each of the barrels containing the sealer was large enough to contain 42 gallons.

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