From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (11 articles)
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2018 07:45:21 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 923693AD-D2D2-415B-BDB0-025CB37F1580**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


It appears that the headlines I sent yesterday didn't get distributed to the list, so I'll try again today to see if there's a systematic reason for this.

- Ralph

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 7:44:30 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 (11 articles)

MADISON HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS AFTER MAN OPENS BAG OF FENTANYL
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, fentanyl

INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR SECURING SMALLER GAS BOTTLES
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, discovery, response, waste

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT SEAM FAILURE WHILE ON SUPPLIED AIR
Tags: us_ID, industrial, discovery, response, radiation

SYDNEY SWIMMING POOL HAZMAT INCIDENT: 9 CHILDREN AFFECTED BY FUMES IN PICTON
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

BOMB SQUAD CALLED IN TO DETONATE EXPLOSIVE IN HAZLETON
Tags: us_pa, public, discovery, response, picric_acid

WATCH THE EXPLOSION THAT TRIGGERED A HUGE POLICE RESPONSE IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE VILLAGE
Tags: uk, public, explosion, response, thermite

EXPLOSION AT CHEMCHINA‰??S HEBEI PLANT CAUSED BY GAS LEAK
Tags: china, explosion, industrial, follow-up, vinyl_chloride

NEW THERMAL RUNAWAY RISK ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR TWO STEP SYNTHESIS REACTIONS
Tags: china, laboratory, discovery, other_chemical, enviromental

DRY DRAIN BROUGHT HAZMAT TO DREW UNIVERSITY
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical

FIRE IN BIOHAZARD BUILDING AT MONASH UNIVERSITY
Tags: Australia, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

HIGH LEVELS OF TOXIC MERCURY FOUND IN HOME OF SUSPECTED POISON VICTIMS: FDNY
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, illegal, mercury


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MADISON HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS AFTER MAN OPENS BAG OF FENTANYL
https://wkow.com/news/top-stories/2018/12/03/madison-hazmat-team-responds-after-man-opens-bag-of-fentanyl/
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, fentanyl

TOWN OF MADISON (WKOW) ‰?? Police and fire personnel responded to an apartment in the town of Madison after a man opened a bag of fentanyl.

The Madison Fire Department Hazardous Incident Team responded to the 1900 block of Sherman Avenue Monday afternoon after a report of someone who opened a bag of fentanyl because he was trying to destroy it.

A police sergeant tells 27 News the incident was mostly contained to that person‰??s apartment and there is no danger to other apartments in the building.

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INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR SECURING SMALLER GAS BOTTLES
https://opexshare.doe.gov/lesson.cfm/2018/11/27/24673/Innovative-Solution-for-Securing-Smaller-Gas-Bottles
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, discovery, response, waste

Jefferson Lab requires all gas bottles to be secured at all times, regardless of content or pressure. The standard pick-up rack does not accommodate smaller gas bottles, which have traditionally been secured to the rack with bungee cords or chains. This is not an optimal solution as this method promotes damage to the valve connection. An innovative design, using scrap material, solved the potential safety hazard of empty small gas bottles, found unsecured while awaiting pick-up.
Download Article

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PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT SEAM FAILURE WHILE ON SUPPLIED AIR
https://opexshare.doe.gov/lesson.cfm/2018/11/30/24705/Personal-Protective-Equipment-Seam-Failure-While-On-Supplied-Air
Tags: us_ID, industrial, discovery, response, radiation

At the Materials and Fuels Complex two personnel were performing work in the Hot Fuels Examination Facility Hot Repair Area. The area is posted as a high contamination area, high radiation area and an airborne radioactivity area. Workers were performing part of an evolution that required them to squat down and team lift an 80 lb. item into a waste box. The workers were in a double set of anti-contamination suits and were on supplied air wearing airline hoods with required belts. When one of the workers squatted down, the compression of air in the anticontamination suit caused an over-pressurization in the lower half and an audible pop could be heard as the seam split. The operator notified the Health Physics Technician and exited the hot repair area. Upon doffing, the operator was surveyed for contamination and no contamination was detected.
Download Article

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SYDNEY SWIMMING POOL HAZMAT INCIDENT: 9 CHILDREN AFFECTED BY FUMES IN PICTON
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/children-treated-for-breathing-difficulties-after-pool-chemical-spill/news-story/0415748d57354f94d22781d3e5f14f75
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

Children have been hospitalised after being exposed to fumes from a chemical spill at a Sydney pool.
Nine children under six years of age and two adults were treated by paramedics for breathing difficulties following the incident at the Wollondilly Leisure Centre about 10.30am.
One child was taken to Campbelltown Hospital in a serious condition while three other children and two adults were hospitalised in a stable condition.
Several NSW Ambulance crews were called to the pool on Argyle Street in Picton where it was believed an incorrect chemical mixture led to the fumes being released.
Some people were also breaking out in skin rashes.
Paramedics have arranged for observation of those who have pre-existing respiratory issues.

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

BOMB SQUAD CALLED IN TO DETONATE EXPLOSIVE IN HAZLETON
https://wnep.com/2018/11/30/bomb-squad-called-in-to-detonate-explosive-in-hazleton/
Tags: us_pa, public, discovery, response, picric_acid

HAZLETON, Pa. -- A bomb squad was called to Hazleton Friday morning to detonate an explosive found in an old medical kit.

City firefighters say they got two calls this morning about picric acid, an old chemical that was used for medical purposes.

Hazleton firefighters say small packages of picric acid were found in two homes in the city earlier in the day.

The acid was once used as an antiseptic for coal miners, but once it crystalizes, it becomes explosive.

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

WATCH THE EXPLOSION THAT TRIGGERED A HUGE POLICE RESPONSE IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE VILLAGE
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/video-explosion-science-experiment-girton-15489199
Tags: uk, public, explosion, response, thermite

This video purportedly shows the explosion that sparked a four-day long police presence in a Cambridgeshire village.

Villagers in Girton reported hearing a loud bang which shook their windows last week.

It sparked a huge police response and the arrest of a 51-year-old man on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act, the man has since been released under investigation.

The recent scare in Girton was sparked when the 51-year-old science tutor carried out a chemistry experiment in his garden which went wrong, his family claim.

Neighbours reported hearing a 'humongous' bang, and the following Tuesday (November 27) police wearing gas masks and chemical experts swooped on St Vincent's Close in the village of Girton, Cambridge and some residents were hastily evacuated from their homes.

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EXPLOSION AT CHEMCHINA‰??S HEBEI PLANT CAUSED BY GAS LEAK
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2018/11/30/510674.htm
Tags: china, explosion, industrial, follow-up, vinyl_chloride

A gas leak at a plant owned by a ChemChina subsidiary caused a blast that killed 23 people and injured 22 this week in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, ChemChina said in a statement on Friday.

PVC producer Hebei Shenghua Chemical Industry Co suffered a leak of vinyl chloride, which caught fire and caused a chain explosion that burned trucks and buildings, ChemChina said.

In the statement posted on its website, ChemChina apologized for the accident and said it reflected serious problems in its safety management systems.

Police have detained 15 people related to the company in connection with the blast, the Zhangjiakou government said in a statement posted on its official Wechat, a messaging platform in China.

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

NEW THERMAL RUNAWAY RISK ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR TWO STEP SYNTHESIS REACTIONS
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.8b00266
Tags: china, laboratory, discovery, other_chemical, enviromental

In this study, in order to assess thermal runaway risk of two step synthesis reactions, two new risk assessment methods were proposed by combining the new assessment procedure with the risk matrix and the Stoessel criticality diagram. The thermal runaway risks of the tert-butyl peroxybenzoate (TBPB) synthesis process and the tert-butyl peracetate (TBPA) synthesis process, and the influence of the use of the pure target products on the assessment results were also studied by the new methods. The results showed that the new methods could obtain more accurate assessment results of two step synthesis reactions. Some measures should be taken to reduce the thermal runaway risks of the two synthesis processes. Furthermore, the use of the pure target products in the new methods would exaggerate the thermal runaway risks of the two step synthesis reactions.

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DRY DRAIN BROUGHT HAZMAT TO DREW UNIVERSITY
https://patch.com/new-jersey/madison/dry-drain-brought-hazmat-drew-university
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical

MADISON, NJ - A chemical smell from a dry drain in a science lab at Drew University is what brought in several sets of first responders to investigate on Thursday afternoon.

According Morris County Director Office of Emergency Management Jeffrey S. Paul said hazmat units were called to Drew University's Madison campus to investigate the report of a chemical or gasoline related odor.

The Madison Police Department and Madison Fire Department along with the Whippany Fire Departments Hazardous Materials Team were on site and the Whippany Fire Chief coordinated with the Morris County Hazardous Materials Team while they investigated the source of the odor, Paul said.

The smell was reported in the hall of the sciences building and first responders eventually the source was determined to be a dried out floor drain, Paul said.

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FIRE IN BIOHAZARD BUILDING AT MONASH UNIVERSITY
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/fire-in-biohazard-building-at-monash-university/news-story/1dc2c1e9a3da1f9b1ce09490f7056e06
Tags: Australia, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

A fire threatened to destroy biological material at Monash University‰??s Clayton campus last night.

Specialist fire crews were called to the biohazard blaze about 7.30pm.

The fire threatened to reach hazardous materials but was quickly doused by the sprinkler system.

It was contained to one building.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade trucks arrived within three minutes.

There were 20 firefighters at the scene and the incident was declared under control within 40 minutes.

Crews had hazmat equipment and breathing apparatuses but they were not needed as the fire was put out by the sprinklers.

An MFB spokesman said the large volume of water from the sprinklers flooded three floors of the building and posed a risk to a substation below the building.

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HIGH LEVELS OF TOXIC MERCURY FOUND IN HOME OF SUSPECTED POISON VICTIMS: FDNY
https://nypost.com/2018/11/29/high-levels-of-toxic-mercury-found-in-home-of-suspected-poison-victims-fdny/
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, response, illegal, mercury

The Queens air-conditioning-company owner accused of trying to poison a family with mercury loaded so much of the toxic metal into their AC unit that levels in the air soared to more than 60 times the regulated standards, an FDNY lieutenant testified Wednesday.

Lt. John Cassidy of the FDNY‰??s HAZMAT unit testified in Queens Criminal Court Wednesday that when he tested the air inside the Jamaica Estates home in 2015, he found mercury levels to be over 60 micrograms-per-meter-cubed in every room in the house.

The Centers for Disease Control has advised that anything over one microgram-per-meter cubed is unsafe.

After finding ‰??multiple small beads‰?? of mercury inside the unit‰??s intake vent, Cassidy advised the family to stay away from the house until the Department of Health gave them clearance to return.

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