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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 7:25:47 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 (16 articles)
POSSIBLE CO POISONING HOSPITALIZES MOTHER, 2 DAUGHTERS
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
DAYTON HAZMAT RESPONSE THE RESULT OF LANGUAGE BARRIER
Tags: us_OH, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
200 GALLONS OF FUEL SPILLS INTO RESERVOIR IN CLARK
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, other_chemical
UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER‰??S CANCER CENTER EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT INCIDENT ‰?? CBS SACRAMENTO
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
SPILL OF ‰??HIGHLY ACIDIC‰?? CHEMICAL FORCES OVERNIGHT EMERGENCY CLEAN UP
Tags: us_MN, industrial, release, response, acids
LARAMIE RECREATION CENTER EVACUATED AFTER CHLORINE SPILL
Tags: us_WY, public, release, response, chlorine
LONGAN FARMER KILLED IN BLAST AFTER LEAVING CHEMICALS IN HOT SUN
Tags: Thailand, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical
FATAL FIRE IN CHAWKBAZAR ORIGINATED FROM CHEMICAL STORED IN WAHED MANSION: IEB PROBE
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables
AICHE LAUNCHES CENTER FOR HYDROGEN SAFETY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hydrogen
EPA: LAKE, PORTER COUNTIES RECORD HIGHEST NUMBER OF TOXIC RELEASES SINCE 2003
Tags: us_IL, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
HOME FORMALDEHYDE METERS SOLD IN CHINA FAIL TESTS
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, formaldehyde
US EPA DELAYED, DROPPED CHEMICAL RISK ASSESSMENTS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
EWG: GAO REPORT CONFIRMS TRUMP EPA SLOW-WALKING CHEMICAL SAFETY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
BUSY ROAD IN DOWNTOWN DULUTH RE-OPENED FOLLOWING SHUTDOWN DUE TO GAS LEAK
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, natural_gas
CHEMICAL SPILL ON SHATTUCK STREET PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE FROM BOSTON FIRE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, solvent
RELOCATION OF CHEMICAL WAREHOUSES A TOUGH TASK INDEED
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
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POSSIBLE CO POISONING HOSPITALIZES MOTHER, 2 DAUGHTERS
http://westchester.news12.com/story/40072354/co-leak-suspected-as-3-found-unconscious
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
AIRMONT -
A possible carbon monoxide poisoning at a home in Airmont left three people hospitalized.
Ramapo police say a mother and her two daughters were found unconscious inside a home on Bolger Lane.
They say they received a 911 call from the father after he returned to the house just before 11 a.m. and discovered his family.
Officials say the victims are a 54-year-old woman, a 16-year-old and 14-year-old. They were all rushed to Westchester Medical Center.
Officials say the noxious odor is believed to be carbon monoxide, but they are not sure from where it originated. It also remains unclear if the home had any carbon monoxide detectors.
There is no word on the condition of the three people found unconscious inside the home. Officials say they did rescue two dogs inside.
---------------------------------------------
DAYTON HAZMAT RESPONSE THE RESULT OF LANGUAGE BARRIER
https://www.whio.com/news/local/language-barrier-prompts-hazmat-response-dayton-home/vO8U0I60cqNAMvp0dTalrK/
Tags: us_OH, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
DAYTON ‰?? A language barrier resulted in a hazmat crew responding to a Wyoming Street home after a man reported that his brother was sick Monday night.
‰??There was an extensive language barrier with this patient so it was hard to get a lot of good information,‰?? Dayton Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Lykins said. ‰??There was some thought that there may have been some recent international travel and as a result, crews notified the Dayton Regional Hazmat unit.‰??
The patient, a 19-year-old man, was isolated and taken to a hospital for treatment.
Public Health Dayton and Montgomery County has since told the department that there‰??s no reason for neighbors or anyone in the area to be concerned, said Lykins.
‰??The language barrier drove a lot of this,‰?? he said. ‰??[Crews were] unable to get really clear information about the nature of this illness, the nature of any recent travel or international travel.‰??
While Lykins wasn‰??t sure about the nature of the illness, he confirmed that crews thought the patient had been to Africa recently.
Though it‰??s uncommon for a hazmat unit to respond to an EMS call, Lykins said crews did the right thing.
‰??It‰??s one of those things where you get one chance to get it right,‰?? he said. ‰??I‰??m very proud of our crews, they did an exceptional job.‰??
In a typical hazmat case, crews first try to identify the threat and gather information, Lykins explained.
---------------------------------------------
200 GALLONS OF FUEL SPILLS INTO RESERVOIR IN CLARK
https://patch.com/new-jersey/clark/clark-gas-station-tank-spills-200-gallons-fuel-reservoir
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, other_chemical
CLARK, NJ ‰?? Up to 200 gallons of fuel spilled into the Middlesex Reservoir after a Clark gas station tank was overfilled on Saturday, Clark Fire Chief Frank J. Cerasa said.
At 2:58 p.m. on March 2, Clark firefighters were called out for a report of a gas leak and odor of gas on Kathryn Street near the reservoir. Firefighters found fuel leaking into the reservoir from the storm drain system, Cerasa said.
The leak was traced back to the Delta gas station on Westfield Avenue, which appeared to have had a tank overfilled. The spill entered the sewer system and started down the street eventually going into the reservoir, Cerasa said.
---------------------------------------------
UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER‰??S CANCER CENTER EVACUATED DUE TO HAZMAT INCIDENT ‰?? CBS SACRAMENTO
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2019/03/05/uc-davis-med-center/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, liquid_nitrogen
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ‰?? Sacramento firefighters are assessing a hazmat incident at the UC Davis Medical Center at 45th and X Street.
The building has been evacuated after a 60-gallon container of liquid nitrogen leaked at the medical center‰??s cancer center, according to Sacramento Fire‰??s public information officer.
Officials declared this as a level 2 hazmat and are still on the scene determining the best method to dispose of the container.
---------------------------------------------
SPILL OF ‰??HIGHLY ACIDIC‰?? CHEMICAL FORCES OVERNIGHT EMERGENCY CLEAN UP
https://myfox47.com/2019/03/05/spill-of-highly-acidic-chemical-forces-overnight-emergency-clean-up/
Tags: us_MN, industrial, release, response, acids
ROCHESTER (FOX47) ‰?? An accident early Tuesday morning at a Northwest Rochester plant has emergency crews cleaning up a chemical spill.
Rochester Fire crews responded to the Kerry facility located at 2402 7th St. NW around 2:30 a.m. According to a Kerry employee on site, the spill involved a highly acidic chemical with a pH of one. It‰??s reportedly a chemical they have on site.
The spill occurred outside the building in a courtyard, but was contained. The FOX47 crew on scene reports no one was hurt, and that there is no danger to the public.
The incident is under investigation.
---------------------------------------------
LARAMIE RECREATION CENTER EVACUATED AFTER CHLORINE SPILL
https://www.laramieboomerang.com/news/local_news/laramie-recreation-center-evacuated-after-chlorine-spill/article_ce2d1b31-6165-5513-b59a-733dae24b50a.html
Tags: us_WY, public, release, response, chlorine
The Laramie Community Recreation Center was evacuated Tuesday morning after a chemical spill.
Assistant City Manager Todd Feezer said chlorine was spilled after a staff member accidentally mixed a small amount of acid into the chlorine tanks during a chemical transfer, causing an ‰??unfortunate combination of chemicals.‰?? The evacuation was to allow for the spill to be cleaned and the chlorine fumes to dissipate.
‰??We‰??re very grateful that we didn‰??t have any dangerous exposure to staff or participants or residents of this community,‰?? Feezer said.
Chlorine gas can be dangerous if inhaled. The Laramie Fire Department responded to the scene as both LFD and as a hazmat team through Wyoming Regional Emergency Response Team No. 3. The responders used air quality monitors to test the amount of the toxic chlorine gas still in the Recreation Center‰??s air.
---------------------------------------------
LONGAN FARMER KILLED IN BLAST AFTER LEAVING CHEMICALS IN HOT SUN
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30365255
Tags: Thailand, industrial, explosion, death, other_chemical
A 30-year-old man was killed in an explosion in Chantaburi province on Tuesday afternoon, in an accident suspected of being caused by him leaving two chemical compounds ‰?? potassium chlorate and sodium chlorate ‰?? out in the hot sun pending mixing them with water for spraying on longan trees.
Following the report of a fatal blast at 12.40am, Ban Plaeng precinct superintendent Pol Colonel Chatchawan Tosopon led officials to inspect the scene, a two-storey wooden house in Tambon Ban Plaeng, in the province‰??s Pong Nam Ron district. They found the body of Supraiwan Srisawat, torn apart by the impact of the explosion. The blast also damaged several nearby houses and two pickup trucks that were parked at the scene. Police found several more sacks of the chemical compounds at the deceased man‰??s garage.
The police investigation initially found that Supraiwan had been mixing the two chemicals during hot weather, prior to spraying longan trees in order to boost growth. Officers therefore suspect a chemical reaction caused by high heat led to the explosion.
---------------------------------------------
FATAL FIRE IN CHAWKBAZAR ORIGINATED FROM CHEMICAL STORED IN WAHED MANSION: IEB PROBE
https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2019/03/06/fatal-fire-in-chawkbazar-originated-from-chemical-stored-in-wahed-mansion-ieb-probe
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, follow-up, environmental, flammables
The devastating fire in Old Dhaka‰??s Chawkbazar started at Wahed Mansion used for storing chemical, not by gas cylinder of any vehicle or restaurant, The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh or IEB has concluded after an investigation.
‰??We are 100 percent sure that the fire originated from chemical, nothing else,‰?? IEB General Secretary Khandker Manjur Morhsed told bdnews24.com on Tuesday.
‰??If the fire had started from something else, it would have spread from below. But there was no transformer or cylinder blast. Everything was alright,‰?? he added, disputing previous claims by building owners of the congested area and a government minister.
The four-storey building which suffered most damage in the fire has two sections ‰?? Wahed Manzil and Wahed Mansion.
The ground floor of the Mansion housed around a dozen shops while the first floor was used as warehouses of high pressure deodorant canisters and raw plastic granules. Different families lived in the rest of the building.
Fire service officials also found a huge amount of highly combustible materials stashed in the basement of Wahed Manzil. The fire crews shivered to imagine what would have happened had the fire reached the basement of the building.
The IEB report blamed the storage of flammables on the first floor of the building for the monstrosity of the fire.
---------------------------------------------
AICHE LAUNCHES CENTER FOR HYDROGEN SAFETY
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/03/05/1748319/0/en/AIChE-Launches-Center-for-Hydrogen-Safety.html
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hydrogen
New York, NY, March 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) announces the Center for Hydrogen Safety. This new Center promotes the safe handling and use of hydrogen across industrial and consumer applications in the global energy transition.
The Center for Hydrogen Safety (www.aiche.org/CHS) will provide international partner organizations with innovative tools and resources that address both traditional uses of hydrogen and hydrogen‰??s growing use as a fuel source around the globe. The new Center builds upon the technical expertise embodied by AIChE, its Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), and partnering organizations ‰?? whose members and stakeholders have innovated and documented industrial safety best-practices and techniques over many decades of practice and research.
The Center for Hydrogen Safety will receive its official launch on Tuesday, April 2, during the 2019 AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress Process Safety in New Orleans, Louisiana.
‰??This global, nonprofit Center identifies and enables information sharing on the safe use of hydrogen ‰?? as a sustainable energy carrier, in commercial and industrial applications, and in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies,‰?? says Nick Barilo, Director of the Center. ‰??It will facilitate access to hydrogen safety experts; develop comprehensive safety guidance, outreach and education materials; and provide a forum to partner on world-wide technical solutions.‰??
---------------------------------------------
EPA: LAKE, PORTER COUNTIES RECORD HIGHEST NUMBER OF TOXIC RELEASES SINCE 2003
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-lake-porter-epa-data-st-0306-story.html
Tags: us_IL, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
Despite a national decline in the number of toxic releases, Lake and Porter counties saw the highest number of incidents in more than a decade.
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday released its 2017 Toxics Release Inventory national analysis, which collects information on chemicals released into the air, water or soil. The EPA said that the United States saw an overall decline in toxic releases, but the data showed that Lake and Porter counties saw their largest amounts on-site releases of toxins since 2003.
The EPA said the increase in the amount of releases into the ground can be attributed to on-site disposal of materials.
Since 2003, the data showed water releases have declined 70 percent since 2003, the EPA said, and air releases have dropped 25 percent.
‰??The United States continues to make significant environmental progress,‰?? said EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp. Stepp added that the trend comes as the country‰??s economy continues to grow.
---------------------------------------------
HOME FORMALDEHYDE METERS SOLD IN CHINA FAIL TESTS
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/home-formaldehyde-meters-sold-in-china-fail-tests/3010187.article
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, formaldehyde
Handheld formaldehyde meters designed to monitor indoor concentrations of the chemical are unreliable, an analysis by Chinese authorities has concluded. The Shanghai Institute of Measurement and Testing Technology surveyed 41 meters sold online and determined that none of them deliver accurate readings.
Formaldehyde ‰?? a colourless, flammable gas with a strong odour ‰?? can irritate the skin, eyes, nose and throat, and high levels of exposure may cause some types of cancers. The chemical can be released from indoor sources such as the resins found in composite wood products.
‰??When tested in a laboratory, the devices ‰?? which claim to measure the density of organic pollutants in a room ‰?? provided highly erroneous readings,‰?? the South China Morning Post reports. The meters surveyed are bestselling models priced at under 1000 yuan (å£113) and made by firms in various Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
The researchers from the government agency placed the meters in six 30m2 environments with differing temperature, humidity and formaldehyde levels. All of the devices tested gave average reading errors of more than 15%. ‰??Some of the meters gave a zero reading in all six environments, while others showed a higher number in the less polluted rooms than for those where air quality was worse,‰?? the paper said.
---------------------------------------------
US EPA DELAYED, DROPPED CHEMICAL RISK ASSESSMENTS
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/US-EPA-delayed-dropped-chemical/97/i10
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Top officials at the US Environmental Protection Agency have halted evaluations of the human health risks of nine chemicals, including formaldehyde, a March 4 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes.
This comes after the EPA postponed the release of many chemical assessments for nearly six months last year, says the GAO, the nonpartisan, investigative arm of Congress. The delay occurred while EPA leaders reevaluated the priorities of the agency‰??s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program. IRIS assessments are used by the EPA to set contaminant cleanup levels for water, air, and soil, as well as by state and local governments.
In May, the IRIS program was working on 22 chemical assessments, according to the GAO. By December, the number dwindled to 13, and the agency reassigned several staffers to work part-time on risk assessments required under 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). That law governs the manufacture of commercial chemicals.
From June to December 2018, the EPA asked its program and regional offices to choose which chemicals the IRIS program should continue working on. The agency received responses from the Office of Water and the Office of Land and Emergency Management for 11 chemicals: arsenic (inorganic), chromium (VI), mercury salts, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (for noncancer effects), perfluorononanoic acid, perfluorobutanoic acid, perfluorohexanoic acid, perfluorohexane sulfonate, perfluorodecanoic acid, and vanadium and its compounds. EPA announced in December that IRIS would focus on those 11 chemicals, plus two others‰??ethyl tertiary butyl ether and tert-butyl alcohol. EPA‰??s Office of Air and Radiation did not indicate it needed IRIS assessments for any chemical.
---------------------------------------------
EWG: GAO REPORT CONFIRMS TRUMP EPA SLOW-WALKING CHEMICAL SAFETY
https://www.ewg.org/release/ewg-gao-report-confirms-trump-epa-slow-walking-chemical-safety
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
WASHINGTON ‰?? Under the direction of top political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency, career scientists were told to ‰??limit‰?? chemical safety assessments, according to a report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.
The GAO audit was requested by Senator Tom Carper (Del.), the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Carper asked GAO to investigate how EPA is implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act and its Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, program.
According to the GAO investigation, in June 2018, the office of then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt ‰??told IRIS officials that they could not release any IRIS-associated documentation‰?? without formal permission from top political leadership from the chemicals safety division at EPA. By October, the same career staff were informed they must cut back on the number of chemical safety assessments.
---------------------------------------------
BUSY ROAD IN DOWNTOWN DULUTH RE-OPENED FOLLOWING SHUTDOWN DUE TO GAS LEAK
https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/gas-leak-shuts-down-busy-road-in-downtown-duluth-causes/article_9d8f07b4-3ebb-11e9-a5a7-430d7ee5ead3.html
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, natural_gas
The Duluth Police Department has re-opened a road in the downtown area that was closed due to a gas leak Monday afternoon.
Officials blocked Ga. Highway 120, also known as Duluth Highway, between Claiborne Drive and Orchard Ridge Circle due to the leak.
Officials said a 2-inch plastic line was hit and a ‰??hot zone‰?? was established.
"Our HAZMAT team responded and opened up nearby man-hole covers and monitored the storm drains and nearby structures," Gwinnett fire public information officer Donald Strother said.
Gwinnett County Public Schools spokesman Bernard Watson said the gas leak had an impact on afternoon transportation from B.B. Harris Elementary School.
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CHEMICAL SPILL ON SHATTUCK STREET PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE FROM BOSTON FIRE
https://www.boston25news.com/news/chemical-spill-on-shattuck-street-prompts-hazmat-response-from-boston-fire/927396573
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, solvent
BOSTON - Boston Fire has responded to reports of a chemical spill at 20 Shattuck Street in the city, according to a tweet from the department. The announcement came at 4:43 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
The spill is considered to be a small chemical solvent spill on the buildings 10th floor. Boston Fire did characterize the event as Level 2 Hazmat and evacuated the floor along with the 11th and ninth for precautionary reasons.
Currently, there are not any injuries or exposures, according to Boston Fire.
---------------------------------------------
RELOCATION OF CHEMICAL WAREHOUSES A TOUGH TASK INDEED
http://m.thedailynewnation.com/news/208123/relocation-of-chemical-warehouses--a-tough-task-indeed
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
A taskforce comprising officials of 14 government agencies was forced to suspend their operation in the face of angry protests from local traders in Bakshibazar, on the second day of the month-long crackdown. The drive resumed after around two hours following direct intervention of Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon. Another taskforce, however, carried out its work in Shaheednagar area without hindrance. The scenario was all the same yesterday.
On Monday, the Mayor announced that a month-long crackdown would be launched against warehouses of "dangerous chemicals", and utility lines of 21 such establishments in Shaheednagar and Islambagh were snapped on Thursday. Some 30 to 40 traders along with their staff started chanting slogans against the drive and alleged that they did not get enough time to shift their warehouses and factories. A director of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry who led the protest said the taskforce was taking action against the factories and warehouses which do not store 29 "dangerous chemicals" listed by the authorities.
After the chemical-fed fire in Nimtoli claimed 124 lives in 2010, the government took up four projects to relocate four types of industries -- chemical, plastic, printing and light electronics -- from this part of the capital. Around nine years down the line, the implementation of those projects still remains at the preliminary stage mainly due to problems associated with land acquisition and bureaucratic tangles.
Ì? Against this backdrop, the Industries Ministry selected two temporary sites in the capital and Tongi to relocate chemical warehouses and factories from Old Dhaka. Industries Secretary has said they would start relocation within the next 15 days. There are some 4,000 chemical warehouses and factories in the Old Town, posing serious fire risk to people of the heavily congested area.
It remains to be seen whether the government can force almost 4000 warehouses and factories to move within the next 15 days. Logistically it seems an insurmountable task. Also the major problem remains whether the government can convince all of them to move within a suitable timeframe. If it doesn't we are back to the same situation where the citizens of densely populated Old Dhaka are at risk.
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