From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (9 articles)
Date: Wed, 23 May 2018 07:45:46 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 9804A612-F7ED-40F4-BA91-0D839A205A16**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 7:45:34 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

Table of Contents (9 articles)

FLOYDS KNOBS CREEK CLEAR AFTER MONDAY CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_IN, public, release, environmental, oxygen

COVENTRY FIRE: HAZMAT INCIDENT TUESDAY ON 3M ROAD
Tags: us_RI, public, release, response, other_chemical

CHEMICAL-PLANT EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE AS EPA PURSUES WEAKER SAFETY RULES
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental

WOOD COUNTY STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF SAFETY
Tags: us_WV, education, discovery, environmental

EPA GEARS UP FOR CONTROLLING POLY- AND PERFLUOROCHEMICAL POLLUTION
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

5 SICKENED BY CHEMISTRY CLASS MISHAP AT SCHOOL IN MORENO VALLEY ‰?? PRESS ENTERPRISE ‰?? KEEP HEALTH CARE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, ammonia, chlorine

MIDTOWN INTERSECTION OPEN AFTER GAS LINE BREAK
Tags: us_OK, public, release, response, natural_gas

HAWAII VOLCANO: TOXIC STEAM CLOUD 'LAZE' IS THE LATEST THREAT FROM KILAUEA
Tags: us_HI, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid, sulfuric_acid

CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD, OSHA INVESTIGATE KURARAY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, injury, flammables


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FLOYDS KNOBS CREEK CLEAR AFTER MONDAY CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.newsandtribune.com/news/floyds-knobs-creek-clear-after-monday-chemical-spill/article_a7a91f70-5dd7-11e8-ad21-67966ce33e62.html
Tags: us_IN, public, release, environmental, oxygen

FLOYDS KNOBS ‰?? A chemical spill into a Floyd County creek has been cleaned up and no longer poses a danger to humans or animals, officials say.

Monday around 1:30 p.m., Floyd County Emergency Management was notified of a potential chemical situation in Yellow Fork Creek, along Buck Creek Road off of U.S. 150, after a person driving by noticed the water had a dark blue hue.

State and local health officials began an investigation into the incident, which involved a chemical portable and holding tank deodorizer that was discharged into a storm drain that feeds into the creek, according to a news release from Floyd County Emergency Management. Some fish were killed due to the chemical removing oxygen from the water.

Emergency director Kent Barrow said crews put up a temporary dam upstream from where the spill was, then from about 5 to 11:30 p.m. and pumped the water out until it was clear.

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COVENTRY FIRE: HAZMAT INCIDENT TUESDAY ON 3M ROAD
https://patch.com/rhode-island/coventry/coventry-fire-hazmat-incident-tuesday-3m-road
Tags: us_RI, public, release, response, other_chemical

COVENTRY, RI ‰?? A chemical leak in a house on 3M Road on Tuesday forced the residents to evacuate. No one was hurt, and crews from the Coventry Fire Department responded to deal with the hazardous materials. According to fire Chief Frank Brown, the source of the problem was a paint primer with a volatile chemical ingredient. The primer had been spilled in the basement. Chief Brown said National Grid was called to kill power to the house, which is uninhabitable until the spill is cleaned up. The building inspector has been notified, he said.

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CHEMICAL-PLANT EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE AS EPA PURSUES WEAKER SAFETY RULES
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20180522/NEWS06/912321429/Chemical-plant-explosions-continue-as-EPA-pursues-weaker-safety-rules
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental

A new proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would gut an effort to improve the safety of chemical facilities launched under the Obama administration even as incidents at these facilities continue to occur, according to some experts.

In the latest incident, a fire at the Pasadena, Texas, facility of Houston-based chemical company Kuraray America Inc. injured 21 workers on Saturday. Preliminary findings indicate a pressure safety valve released ethylene, causing a flash fire in one of its process units, according to a company statement on Saturday. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is deploying a four-person investigative team to the scene, the agency said in a statement on Monday.

On Thursday, the EPA issued a proposed rule that would rescind changes to the agency‰??s Risk Management Program proposed by the Obama administration in January 2017, including requirements for third-party audits and incident investigations at chemical facilities regulated by the agency.

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WOOD COUNTY STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF SAFETY
http://www.thenewscenter.tv/content/news/Wood-County-students-learn-about-different-aspects-of-safety-483384191.html
Tags: us_WV, education, discovery, environmental

MINERAL WELLS, W. Va. (WTAP) - The Wood County Farm Bureau hosted its annual safety day at the Wood County 4H camp Tuesday.

The two-day event welcomes seven schools throughout the county. Students learn about typical issues like fire and electrical safety, as well as other practical issues like internet, lawn motor and household chemical safety.

"It's great for us. The kids learn different aspects of safety," teacher Don Stansberry said. "They go through farm safety and lawn motor safety. You know, things the kids usually are around, nothing exotic but something they deal with everyday."

"Our goal is for the children to walk out of here with a better knowledge about safety," event coordinator Janet Wigal said, "something they can take with them throughout their life."

The event has been teaching students safety for over 20 years.

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EPA GEARS UP FOR CONTROLLING POLY- AND PERFLUOROCHEMICAL POLLUTION
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/EPA-gears-controlling-polyperfluorochemical-pollution/96/i22
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

The U.S. EPA is moving on several fronts to control four poly- and perfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFASs) that contaminate or threaten to taint drinking water in at least 20 states across the nation. Some of these efforts will to take years to complete.
Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced a four-pronged plan to address PFASs on May 22 at a meeting with representatives of states and tribes, other federal agencies, and industry groups, along with congressional aides and a sprinkling of environmental and community activists. No academic scientists, who have done much work on identifying PFAS contamination and the toxicity of these substances, were present at the meeting.
In a first step, EPA will evaluate the need to set a legally enforceable drinking water limit for two substances formerly widely used but no longer manufactured in the U.S., perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), Pruitt said. These two substances, which are each linked to health problems, contaminate drinking water across the U.S. EPA in 2016 established a nonbinding advisory level of 70 ppt for the compounds, individually or combined. PFOA and PFOS pollution stems from decades of industrial activity, including chemical manufacturing and the disposal of waste tainted with the substances. It is also found near military sites where fire-fighting foams containing these chemicals have been and continue to be used.

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5 SICKENED BY CHEMISTRY CLASS MISHAP AT SCHOOL IN MORENO VALLEY ‰?? PRESS ENTERPRISE ‰?? KEEP HEALTH CARE
https://keephealthcare.org/5-sickened-by-chemistry-class-mishap-at-school-in-moreno-valley-press-enterprise.html
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, injury, ammonia, chlorine

Four students and a teacher in a chemistry class at Valley View High in Moreno Valley were sickened Tuesday, May 15, when the mixing of incompatible chemicals produced a cloud of gas.

The teacher and three students suffered nausea; another student was treated at a hospital for a headache.

The discharge of a hazardous material was reported Thursday by the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health as required by state law.

The accident happened as students in Room 152 were cleaning up an experiment that involved determining the pH levels of household chemical liquids, the report said. The students mixed drain cleaner, bleach and ammonia. This produced what was believed to be a cloud of chlorine gas.

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MIDTOWN INTERSECTION OPEN AFTER GAS LINE BREAK
https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/midtown-intersection-closed-after-gas-line-break
Tags: us_OK, public, release, response, natural_gas

TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa Police have reopened a stretch of South Lewis Avenue under the Broken Arrow Expressway, after a gas line break overnight.

Hazmat crews responded to the area around 2am. They secured the area while Oklahoma Natural Gas workers arrived.

Crews made repairs and had South Lewis between 13th & 15th streets opened by 6am. The on-ramp from Lewis to the Broken Arrow Expressway is also open.

Officials say city crews repairing a water line break accidentally ruptured the gas line.

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HAWAII VOLCANO: TOXIC STEAM CLOUD 'LAZE' IS THE LATEST THREAT FROM KILAUEA
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/21/hawaii-volcano-kilauea-laze-latest-threat/628397002/
Tags: us_HI, public, release, response, hydrochloric_acid, sulfuric_acid

First it was lava, then acid rain and vog. Now, residents near Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano confronted a new threat Monday: laze, a toxic cloud mashup of lava and haze.

Laze forms when hot, 2,000-degree lava hits the cooler sea water. It's a hydrochloric acid steam cloud that billows into the air, along with fine particles of glass.

"Lava entering the ocean causes a chemical reaction and can result in small explosions, sending tiny particles of hydrochloric acid and volcanic glass in the air," said Jessica Johnson, a geophysicist at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

The acid in the plume is about as corrosive as diluted battery acid, scientists say. Laze can cause irritations of the skin, eyes and lungs, and those suffering from asthma or emphysema may be particularly vulnerable.

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CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD, OSHA INVESTIGATE KURARAY EXPLOSION
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Chemical-Safety-Board-OSHA-investigate-Kuraray-12932477.php
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, injury, flammables

The Chemical Safety Board and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the cause of a chemical explosion that injured 21 workers at the Kuraray America Eval plant in Pasadena.

The explosion occurred Saturday morning when part of the plant‰??s production system leaked ethylene, a highly flammable gas used to make many types of plastics. The release caused an explosion and a flash fire that sent 21 workers to the hospital with burns and other injuries. Eighteen have since been released.

Two Houston personal injury law firms are representing some of the workers in suits against the company.

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