From: Ralph Stuart <rstuartcih**At_Symbol_Here**me.com>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (6 articles)
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2018 08:09:10 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 75F3B320-C2E8-49C5-AB68-1FD018932DBF**At_Symbol_Here**me.com


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Table of Contents (6 articles)

FIRE, HAZMAT CREWS ON SCENE OF AMMONIA LEAK AT NEW HAVEN BAKERY
Tags: us_CT, public, release, response, ammonia

CHINA RESTRICTS IMPORTS OF PLASTIC TRASH
Tags: China, public, discovery, environmental, plastics, waste

EIGHT DISPLACED AFTER HOME HEATING OIL ACCIDENT IN MATTAPAN
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, oils

ALABAMA SITE OFF EPA SUPERFUND LIST 52 YEARS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_AL, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene

CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT UPENN BUILDING
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL LEAK CONTAINED IN EDGEMERE, 1 HOSPITALIZED: OFFICIALS
Tags: us_MD, industrial, release, injury, ammonia


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FIRE, HAZMAT CREWS ON SCENE OF AMMONIA LEAK AT NEW HAVEN BAKERY
http://wtnh.com/2018/01/07/hazmat-crews-respond-to-ammonia-leak-at-new-haven-bakery/
Tags: us_CT, public, release, response, ammonia

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) " Hazmat crews are on the scene of an ammonia leak at a local bakery in New Haven.

According to the New Haven Fire Department, crews responded to a bakery on Grand Avenue late Sunday afternoon.

The cause of the leak is not known at this time.

No injuries have been reported.

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CHINA RESTRICTS IMPORTS OF PLASTIC TRASH
https://cen.acs.org/articles/96/i2/China-restricts-imports-plastic-trash.html
Tags: China, public, discovery, environmental, plastics, waste

A Chinese government policy aimed at curbing imports of postconsumer plastic waste went into effect Jan. 1, leaving recyclers in the U.S. and elsewhere without a market for much of their plastic waste and causing material to pile up.
U.S. localities, particularly on the West Coast, have for many years shipped plastics collected in recycling programs to China. Low wages make China an ideal place for the labor-intensive sorting of plastic waste.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. International Trade Commission, China imported 776,000 metric tons of reclaimed plastic and 13 million metric tons of recycled paper from the U.S. in 2016. The total value was $2.3 billion.
China officially notified the World Trade Organization last summer that it would restrict the import of 24 types of waste. It explained that dirty and hazardous substances mixed with plastic and other waste pose a risk to health and the environment.
"This is going to be a huge shock," says Douglas Woodring, the Hong Kong-based managing director of Ocean Recovery Alliance, a group that advocates for improved management of waste plastic. "Not many governments are currently equipped to deal with the huge backup this will create in their waste handling systems."

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EIGHT DISPLACED AFTER HOME HEATING OIL ACCIDENT IN MATTAPAN
https://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Eight-Displaced-After-Home-Heating-Oil-Accident-in-Mattapan-468222673.html
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, oils

Eight people were displaced after a home heating oil spill in Mattapan, according to the Boston Police Department.
The department responded at 4:25 p.m. to a two-family home at 16 Tennis Road in Mattapan for a hazmat situation in the basement. An oil delivery truck was filling a 275 gallon tank when it ruptured, spilling an estimated 170 gallons of oil. There were no injuries.
Seven adults and one child are currently displaced, staying with family and friends. The Boston Fire Department hazmat tech will supervise the operation to clean up.

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ALABAMA SITE OFF EPA SUPERFUND LIST 52 YEARS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/alabama_site_off_superfund.html
Tags: us_AL, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene

A chemical spill site near the north Baldwin County community of Perdido has been officially removed from a list of the country's most polluted places more than 50 years after a train derailment contaminated the local groundwater with benzene.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week it has deleted the Perdido Groundwater Contamination Site from its Superfund National Priorities List, signaling that "no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment," according to the EPA announcement.

According to EPA progress reports, all monitoring wells at the site have showed benzene levels at less than 5 micrograms per liter of water for five consecutive years, as required in the cleanup plan, paving the way for the site to be removed from the list.

Disaster in slow-motion

The site had been on the Superfund list since 1983, but the derailment that caused the pollution occurred in 1965.

It's an event that most anybody who was around at the time would remember, with 21 cars derailing in the midst of the unincorporated community and -- two days later -- sparking an explosion that destroyed three houses and a handful of sheds, sent flames soaring over the trees and ignited a fire that burned for 24 hours.

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CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT UPENN BUILDING
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/video/category/spoken-word-kywtv/3787996-crews-respond-to-hazmat-situation-at-upenn-building/
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

Crews Respond To HAZMAT Situation At UPenn Building

Only a video report is available at this time at the link above

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CHEMICAL LEAK CONTAINED IN EDGEMERE, 1 HOSPITALIZED: OFFICIALS
https://patch.com/maryland/dundalk/hazmat-crews-called-edgemere
Tags: us_MD, industrial, release, injury, ammonia

DUNDALK, MD " One person was hospitalized after a chemical leak in the Edgemere area Friday afternoon, according to Baltimore County public safety officials. The exposure occurred at a yeast plant, authorities reported.

Baltimore County fire officials said they were called to the 8200 block of Beachwood Road at 4:16 p.m. to investigate a hazardous materials leak. Ammonia had escaped from an exterior valve at American Yeast Sales, a plant that produces yeast.

The building was evacuated, and fire crews said they were monitoring the air in neighborhoods adjacent to the facility and across the Back River.

One person who worked at the facility was exposed and evaluated by medics for an injury that was not believed to be life-threatening, according to officials.

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