From: DCHAS Secretary <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (6 articles)
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2017 07:55:38 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 9F99B884-CD5D-4353-B4C7-16872461241D**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, January 9, 2017 at 7:55:23 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 (6 articles)

AS CHINESE MANUFACTURING BOOMS, RESIDENTS CHOKE
Tags: China, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical

BIG OX EMPLOYEE RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER SUSTAINING MINOR CHEMICAL BURNS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

UPDATE: INTERSTATE 90 REOPENS AFTER FATAL CRASH SHUTS DOWN HIGHWAY BETWEEN JANESVILLE AND BELOIT
Tags: us_WI, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical

JOINT BASE: TWO PRIVATE WELLS IN OCEAN COUNTY TAINTED BY PFOS, PFOA
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

MIRAMAR LANDFILL EVACUATED WHILE HAZMAT INVESTIGATES CANISTER
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, gas_cylinders

CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION WELL UNDERWAY AT PUEBLO DEPOT
Tags: us_CO, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical


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

AS CHINESE MANUFACTURING BOOMS, RESIDENTS CHOKE
Tags: China, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical

Bucking a general slowdown in economic growth, China posted its best manufacturing performance in four years last month. However, worsening air pollution in many Chinese cities could cause authorities to clamp down on the chemical plants and other factories that are contributing to this strong performance.
....'Production expanded at the fastest pace in nearly six years, supported by a solid increase in total new work,' Caixin said.
Caixin was unable to decide if the Chinese economy, slowing for the past three years, is accelerating again. Whereas the economy grew at annual rates exceeding 10% for most of the past 20 years, the Asian Development Bank estimates that China expanded at 6.6% in 2016, a rate lower than India's.
The manufacturing resurgence could be threatened by dangerously high levels of air pollution in northern China. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which is equipped to measure outdoor air quality, reports that its Air Quality Index repeatedly exceeded 400 last week, a level it considers 'hazardous.' Northern China has been shrouded in dangerous smog for most of this winter.

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

BIG OX EMPLOYEE RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER SUSTAINING MINOR CHEMICAL BURNS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

SOUTH SIOUX CITY ' Emergency responders were called to the Big Ox Energy plant in South Sioux City shortly before 2 p.m. after two employees were exposed to unidentified chemicals.

One employee sustained minor chemical burns and was rushed to a local medical center where the person is still being treated, according to Kevin Bradley, a spokesman for Big Ox. The second employee also was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but has since been released.

"Like any kind of industrial accident or incident ' as the case may be ' we certainly will be working with OSHA on this and we'll report as we are required as so on and we'll work cooperatively with them," Bradley said.

Big Ox is in the midst of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation that began in October after someone on site was hospitalized due to an exposure to hydrogen sulfide.

Additionally, another employee was injured in December after being exposed to hydrogen sulfide, which can cause death after prolonged exposure, according to OSHA.


Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas produced by bacterial breakdown of organic material. It's typically associated with a rotten egg smell and can occur at plants like Big Ox, which converts organic waste into methane gas.

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

UPDATE: INTERSTATE 90 REOPENS AFTER FATAL CRASH SHUTS DOWN HIGHWAY BETWEEN JANESVILLE AND BELOIT
Tags: us_WI, transportation, fire, response, unknown_chemical

BELOIT'Chief Tim Huffman and the other members of the Town of Turtle Fire Department confronted an inferno on Interstate 90/39 early Saturday morning.

They didn't know at first that the fire was just part of the story, which included a traffic death and fears that the burning truck's chemical cargo could explode.

Authorities soon decided to shut down the major cross-country route in both directions for more than seven hours as they dealt with it.

'It was cold. Everything froze to the ground (from the fire hoses' water). The ditch was on fire ‰?| everything was on fire,' including the pavement and the median, Huffman recalled.

Flames shot into the air, illuminating the scene almost like daylight, Huffman said.

The semitrailer truck's fuel tank must have ruptured, the fire chief said.

With so much fire and smoke, firefighters at first didn't see the Toyota Camry.

The truck was burning because it had collided, almost head-on, with the car, which was headed north in the southbound lanes, the Rock County Sheriff's Office reported.

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

JOINT BASE: TWO PRIVATE WELLS IN OCEAN COUNTY TAINTED BY PFOS, PFOA
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

MANCHESTER ' Preliminary information released Friday by Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst indicates that two private wells in this Ocean County town contain levels of an unregulated contaminant found in firefighting foam that's above the federal drinking water health advisory.

The Air Force announced in early December that it authorized the sampling of private wells for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), commonly used for decades in firefighting foam on the joint base. Hundreds of residential wells closer to the installation's boundary in New Hanover, Pemberton Township and portions of Manchester, Jackson and Lakehurst in Ocean County were marked for testing.

To date, base officials identified only two private wells in Manchester, which abuts the Lakehurst section of the base, that contain levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water health advisory of 70 parts per trillion.

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

MIRAMAR LANDFILL EVACUATED WHILE HAZMAT INVESTIGATES CANISTER
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, response, gas_cylinders

Miramar Landfill was evacuated Saturday after a potentially hazardous canister was discovered, according to authorities.

A San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) hazardous response team responded to the landfill on Convoy Street and Copley Park Place shortly after 11 a.m., according to Capt. Joe Amador.

A high-pressure air cylinder container in deteriorating condition was discovered, prompting first responders to clear the area, Amador said. The San Diego County Hazardous Materials response team and an SDFD Hazmat unit were still on the scene

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

CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION WELL UNDERWAY AT PUEBLO DEPOT
Tags: us_CO, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

Every year around this time, we get together to talk about the progress made at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, or PCAPP, located on the grounds of the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, about 17 miles east of Pueblo.

This year's column is a great one to write because 2016 was a historic year for the Pueblo Chemical Depot. It is the year that we completed the first Explosive Destruction System (EDS) campaign, and initiated PCAPP operations on Sept. 7, 2016.

A total of 560 munitions and containers were destroyed during the first EDS campaign. As of right now, 8,474 mustard agent-filled munitions have been destroyed in the plant; currently in a phase called 'Pilot Testing.'

Pilot Testing is a period of time in which we operate the plant in accordance with all the procedures, trained workforce, and protocols, before we go fully into the operations phase. It is during Pilot Testing that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) records data on our munitions processing, including the taking of air samples. They, and other regulatory agencies, are monitoring us to be sure the plant is operating as it was designed.

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

---
This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

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.