From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (10 articles)
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2018 07:44:22 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: FADCA7C5-32F0-4CAE-A75D-ECDD2BA083A1**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, June 25, 2018 at 7:44:06 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 (10 articles)

UPDATE: PLANT REMAINS CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAKS
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

TOXIC CHEMICAL PFAS FOUND IN LIVESTOCK NO CAUSE FOR ALARM, VICTORIA'S CHIEF VET SAYS
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, toxics

FISH PRESERVED IN TOXIC CHEMICAL IN PALAKKAD! KERALA STATE FOOD SAFETY DEPARTMENT SEIZES 6,000 KG POISONOUS SEA FOOD
Tags: India, public, discovery, response, formaldehyde

HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS REMOVED FROM TANKER AFTER BECOMING UNSTABLE ‰?? MI NEWS 26 & MI TV 12
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide

BATTERY-OPERATED BOAT CATCHES FIRE ‰?? TWICE IN 2 DAYS ‰?? AT DANA POINT HARBOR ‰?? ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, batteries

MAN, RESPONDERS DECONTAMINATED AFTER POSSIBLE EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDE
Tags: us_IN, public, release, injury, pesticides

MALAYSIAN CEO'S DEATH REPORTEDLY CAUSED BY EXPLODING PHONE
Tags: Malaysia, public, explosion, death, batteries

1 INJURED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN ROCKVILLE CENTRE
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

EXPLOSION, FIRE SENDS 2 MEN TO LOCAL HOSPITAL WITH BURNS
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, injury, solvent

U.S. REPORT PROPOSES LOWER SAFE LEVEL FOR PERFLUOROCHEMICAL EXPOSURE•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ
Tags: public, discovery, environmental


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

UPDATE: PLANT REMAINS CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAKS
http://www.salemnews.com/news/update-plant-remains-closed-after-chemical-leaks/article_fba14bde-7826-11e8-be92-bb8e55f34029.html
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

SALEM ‰?? The Thermal Circuits manufacturing plant on Technology Way will be closed Monday after it was evacuated twice Sunday due to what officials believe to both be chlorine leaks.

The latest leak, which was reported at 9:17 p.m. Sunday, caused a number of workers to be taken to area hospitals, 18 of them who had been admitted by 10 p.m.

No serious injuries had been reported as of 11 p.m., according to fire Capt. Richard Thomas, a spokesman for the department.

Hazmat teams, firefighters and police were called to the plant, at 1 Technology Way, after reports of multiple people overcome by gas.

At one point, Salem fire Deputy Chief Alan Dionne described the scene as "mass hysteria", as workers flooded out of the building.

The plant, he said, employed roughly 1,000 people, with about 450 to 500 people per 12-hour shift.

The building was evacuated. Medical personnel were directed to check all those streaming out of the building to be checked for inhalation problems. Decontamination units were set up at Salem Hospital, where Dionne said 15 workers were taken. But authorities don‰??t know for sure how many people were treated ‰?? fire officials learned throughout the night that workers were getting themselves to area hospitals.

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

TOXIC CHEMICAL PFAS FOUND IN LIVESTOCK NO CAUSE FOR ALARM, VICTORIA'S CHIEF VET SAYS
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-24/pfas-in-livestock-no-cause-for-alarm-victoria-chief-vet-says/9904320
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, toxics

Victoria's chief veterinary officer Dr Charles Milne has downplayed concerns about the discovery of toxic chemicals in livestock near Esso's gas plant in Gippsland.

The Department of Agriculture confirmed 45 cattle and 45 sheep, from three properties in Longford, tested positive for elevated levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

The chemicals were once used in firefighting foam across Australia, including at Esso's Longford gas plant.

There have been similar issues at the nearby East Sale RAAF base.

But Dr Milne said there was no cause for alarm.

"A number of food safety agencies around the world have examined this in detail, including [Food Standards Australia New Zealand] (FSANZ), and concluded the levels that we see in our livestock, the public health risk is negligible," Dr Milne said.

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

FISH PRESERVED IN TOXIC CHEMICAL IN PALAKKAD! KERALA STATE FOOD SAFETY DEPARTMENT SEIZES 6,000 KG POISONOUS SEA FOOD
https://www.latestly.com/india/information/fish-preserved-in-toxic-chemical-in-palakkad-kerala-state-food-safety-department-seizes-6000-kg-poisonous-sea-food-231180.html
Tags: India, public, discovery, response, formaldehyde

Palakkad, June 24: In a major breakthrough, the State Food Safety Department officials seized at least 6,000 kg of fish preserved in toxic formalin at a check post in Kerala‰??s Palakkad on Saturday. Formalin is a carcinogenic substance used to preserve bodies and can cause serious ailments like cancer. According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the fish, mainly prawns, came from Andhra Pradesh and was meant for a fish processing unit in Kochi.

The raid was carried out as part of the 'Operation Sagar Rani,' a drive launched to ensure safety and hygiene at fish handling and distribution centres. In the tests conducted at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology in Kochi 63.9 mg of formalin found in a kilogram of fish.

Last week, officials also seized around 14,000 kg of fish containing Formalin from the state. According to the report, the seized fishes were then sent back to the originating place so that they could be destroyed. Health expert Dr Mathew Thomas told Hindustan Times, ‰??Formalin poses serious health hazards. Once inside the body, it triggers a metabolic process and produces toxins. While cooking, its toxicity never gets spoiled.‰??

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

HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS REMOVED FROM TANKER AFTER BECOMING UNSTABLE ‰?? MI NEWS 26 & MI TV 12
http://www.minews26.com/content/hazardous-chemicals-removed-from-tanker-after-becoming-unstable/
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide

Crews worked hours to remove hazardous chemicals from a truck in Leelanau County.
At around 11:43 Thursday morning, the Elmwood Township Fire Department responded to Northwest Oil Express on South West Bay Shore Dr.
Once on scene, firefighters found a tanker that was over-pressurized and was venting.
According to the Leelanau County Emergency Management, the tanker was carrying Sodium Hydroxide which began to react with the aluminum of the tank.
Firefighters began dousing the tank with water to cool it off while HAZMAT crews moved the chemicals to steel barrels.
Nearby businesses had to be evacuated as the tanker was cleared, but have since reopened.

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

BATTERY-OPERATED BOAT CATCHES FIRE ‰?? TWICE IN 2 DAYS ‰?? AT DANA POINT HARBOR ‰?? ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/06/22/battery-operated-boat-catches-fire-twice-in-2-days-at-dana-point-harbor/
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, batteries

Just days ago at the San Diego Boat Show, the sleek, bright red boat was touted as having an electric engine so quiet it would be perfect for the Coast Guard to creep up on suspicious watercraft.

The vessel, with ‰??Ferrari‰?? prominently displayed on the side, was brought to Dana Point to showcase its 660 horsepower electric engine that reaches up to 40 knots, nearly silent when traveling under 5 knots.

Then it caught on fire.

The boat went up in flames at the Dana Point Harbor on Wednesday evening, and ignited again on Thursday. On Friday, a hazmat team was on site cleaning it up.

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

MAN, RESPONDERS DECONTAMINATED AFTER POSSIBLE EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDE
http://www.wishtv.com/news/local-news/man-responders-decontaminated-after-possible-exposure-to-pesticide/1257377807
Tags: us_IN, public, release, injury, pesticides

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) -- Hazmat crews tended to a man and eight emergency responders after authorities say exposure to a possible pesticide caused a reaction.

A 49-year-old man showed up to a family practice center located in the 9000 block of East 17th Street, near Post Road, complaining that he couldn't breathe after working with tomatoes.

Eight members of the emergency response team from Indianapolis Fire Department responded and "developed brief symptoms" from interacting with the man.

Hazmat crews used a hose to decontaminate the man at the scene; he was taken to Community East Hospital and is expected to be fine.

Emergency crews exposed to the man were also treated and released by hazmat at the scene.

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

MALAYSIAN CEO'S DEATH REPORTEDLY CAUSED BY EXPLODING PHONE
https://gizmodo.com/malaysian-ceos-death-reportedly-caused-by-exploding-pho-1827014746
Tags: Malaysia, public, explosion, death, batteries

Nazrin Hassan, the CEO of a Malaysian venture capital fund, died after one of his cellphones reportedly caught fire while it was charging in his bedroom. Conflicting reports have attributed his cause of death to blunt force trauma and smoke inhalation, but authorities say that they need more time to investigate exactly what happened.

Hassan was the Group CEO of the Cradle Fund, a VC that claims to have helped fund over 700 Malaysian tech startups. In a press release dated June 15, the Cradle Fund confirmed Hassan‰??s death saying ‰??the post mortem report concluded the cause of death as being complication of blast injuries attributable to an exploding hand phone that was being charged next to him.‰??

That account echoes a social media message from Hassan‰??s brother-in-law that was circulated in local reports about the incident. According to The Malaysian Insight, the brother-in-law claims that one of Hassan‰??s phones overheated and exploded causing an object to hit him in the back of the head. ‰??He had two phones, one Blackberry and a Huawei. We don‰??t know which one exploded. Who would have thought such an innocuous routine procedure is the reason three young kids will grow up without their father by their side,‰?? the brother-in-law reportedly wrote. Previously, however, a police spokeperson told Malaysia‰??s Star newspaper that the cause of death was ‰??smoke inhalation and the body being burnt.‰??

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

1 INJURED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN ROCKVILLE CENTRE
https://pix11.com/2018/06/22/1-injured-following-chemical-explosion-in-rockville-centre/
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY ‰?? One person was injured by a chemical explosion at a Rockville Centre hotel Friday, police said.

There was a chemical reaction of some type at the Ramada on Sunrise Highway around noon, officials said. One person was injured after coming in contact with the chemicals.

It was not immediately clear how bad the injury was.

No identifying information was available for the victim.

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

EXPLOSION, FIRE SENDS 2 MEN TO LOCAL HOSPITAL WITH BURNS
http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Explosion-fire-reported-in-local-neighborhood-2-burned-486280631.html
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, injury, solvent

WACO, Texas (KWTX) Two men who suffered 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns in an explosion and fire at a house in which they were working were taken to a Waco hospital early Friday afternoon.

The two men, who are both in their 30s, were using lacquer thinner on a hardwood floor when the chemical stripper exploded and ignited, a fire official said.

First responders received the call at around 12:45 p.m. Friday at 639 Baker Lane, which is on the edge of Waco‰??s Cameron Park.

Both men were taken to Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center.

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

U.S. REPORT PROPOSES LOWER SAFE LEVEL FOR PERFLUOROCHEMICAL EXPOSURE•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ•ÈÀ
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/US-report-proposes-lower-safe/96/i26
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

federal report once suppressed by the U.S. military and EPA proposes safe daily levels of consumption for two perfluorochemicals that are one-tenth those of EPA.
The draft toxicity analysis, released June 20 by the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), would set a minimal risk level of 3 Ì? 10‰??6 mg of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) per kilogram of body weight per day and of 2 Ì? 10‰??6 mg/kg/day for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). Formerly widely used but no longer manufactured domestically, these chemicals taint drinking water sources at scores of sites across the U.S. and, increasingly, in other countries.
ATSDR‰??s minimal risk levels estimate daily human exposure to a substance that is likely to be without appreciable risk of health effects other than cancer. The agency uses these levels to identify contaminants and potential health effects at hazardous waste siteså-‰??but not for regulatory purposes, the draft report cautions.

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

---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

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.