From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (13 articles)
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2019 08:20:24 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: F31E4AB4-0F87-41E2-83E7-F3AABC9459E5**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, March 8, 2019 at 8:20:11 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 (13 articles)

30 HOSPITALISED AFTER SNIFFING CHEMICAL FROM RIVER
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, injury, waste

CARROLL COUNTY ROAD REMAINS CLOSED AS TANKER CONTINUES TO BURN FOLLOWING EXPLOSION
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

UP IN FLAMES -- GAS PUMP CATCHES FIRE IN BROCKTON CRASH
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, response, other_chemical

UPDATED: PERSON CRITICALLY INJURED IN REPORTED INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT AT MSPCA IN CENTERVILLE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, hvac_chemicals

FEDERAL AGENCIES MIGHT BE ABOUT LOSE THEIR DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, environmental

SC LAWMAKERS PROPOSE BILL TO SUPPORT FIREFIGHTERS WITH CANCER
Tags: us_SC, public, discovery, environmental

FIRE IGNITED BY PILE OF OILY RAGS DAMAGES HOUSE IN MIDDLETON
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, response, petroleum

CREWS RESPOND TO CHLORINE LEAK AT WPAFB WATER PLANT
Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment

AIR POLLUTION FRUSTRATION SPILLS OUT AT HEALTH BOARD MEETING
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide

EXXONMOBIL RESPONDS TO SETTLEMENT WITH GOVERNMENT STEMMING FROM 2013 FATAL FIRE IN BMT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical

SIX PASIR GUDANG STUDENTS IN HOSPITAL AFTER SUSPECTED METHANE LEAK
Tags: Malaysia, education, release, injury, methane

AN O.C. MOTEL ROOM EXPLODED. POLICE THINK IT MAY HAVE BEEN A DRUG LAB
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, clandestine_lab

SCIENCE COMMUNITY RALLIES ROUND TO HELP ST ANDREWS TEAMS HIT BY FIRE
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical


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30 HOSPITALISED AFTER SNIFFING CHEMICAL FROM RIVER
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/132091/30-hospitalised-after-sniffing-chemical-from-river/
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, injury, waste

JOHOR BAHRU: The number of victims, who were believed to have sniffed the chemical which was dumped into the KimKim River, have gone up to 30 people, to date.
State Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman Dr Sahruddin Jamal said that, of the total, 21 victims had been taken to the Sultan Ismail Hospital, six to the Pasir Gudang Health Clinic and three more were treated at the Penawar Hospital.
He said that all were reported to be in stable conditions.
‰??Two victims at the Sultan Ismail Hospital are provided with breathing assistance (intubate) to prevent a worse situation as the breathing conduits can be blocked after breathing in the chemical,‰??‰?? he said.

He also said samples of the pollution at the river had already been taken by Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Unit (Hazmat), Fire and Rescue Department and the Department of Environment Thursday morning to be analysed.

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

CARROLL COUNTY ROAD REMAINS CLOSED AS TANKER CONTINUES TO BURN FOLLOWING EXPLOSION
https://fox8.com/2019/03/08/carroll-county-road-remains-closed-as-tanker-continues-to-burn-following-explosion/
Tags: us_OH, transportation, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

CARROLLTON, Ohio ‰?? A road in Carroll County remained closed early Friday following a tanker truck explosion Thursday evening.

According to the Carrollton Fire Department, State Route 332 south of Carrollton remains closed. The department said the truck was still burning as of 3:30 a.m. Friday.

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

UP IN FLAMES -- GAS PUMP CATCHES FIRE IN BROCKTON CRASH
https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20190307/up-in-flames----gas-pump-catches-fire-in-brockton-crash
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, response, other_chemical

A gas pump at a North Montello Street gas station burst into flames when a vehicle crashed into it late Wednesday night.

BROCKTON ‰?? The vehicle pulls into the gas station parking lot and slowly drives past the pump.

It then begins to reverse to get closer, but, suddenly, the gas pump is knocked over and it bursts into flames.

The incident occurred just minutes before midnight Wednesday at the AL Prime Energy gas station at 570 North Montello St. Police and firefighters responded to the gas station at 11:59 p.m. for a report of a crash that had caused a fire.

When first responders arrived, the vehicle was no longer at the pump, which had been knocked down, but the pump was engulfed by flames.

Previous
2/2HIDE CAPTION
A Subaru Impreza backed into a gas pump, knocking it down and causing it to burst into flames, at the AL Prime Energy gas station on North Montello Street in Brockton, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (Courtesy of Brockton Fire Dept.)
1/2HIDE CAPTION
A Subaru Impreza backed into a gas pump, knocking it down and causing it to burst into flames, at the AL Prime Energy gas station on North Montello Street in Brockton, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (Courtesy of Brockton Fire Dept.)
2/2HIDE CAPTION
A Subaru Impreza backed into a gas pump, knocking it down and causing it to burst into flames, at the AL Prime Energy gas station on North Montello Street in Brockton, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (Courtesy of Brockton Fire Dept.)
1/2HIDE CAPTION
A Subaru Impreza backed into a gas pump, knocking it down and causing it to burst into flames, at the AL Prime Energy gas station on North Montello Street in Brockton, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (Courtesy of Brockton Fire Dept.)
2/2HIDE CAPTION
A Subaru Impreza backed into a gas pump, knocking it down and causing it to burst into flames, at the AL Prime Energy gas station on North Montello Street in Brockton, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (Courtesy of Brockton Fire Dept.)
Next

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UPDATED: PERSON CRITICALLY INJURED IN REPORTED INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT AT MSPCA IN CENTERVILLE
https://www.capecod.com/cape-wide-news/person-critically-injured-in-reported-industrial-accident-at-mspca-in-centerville/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, hvac_chemicals

CENTERVILLE ‰?? A person was critically injured in what was termed an industrial accident at the Mass Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) on Falmouth Road (Route 28) in Centerville around 8 AM.
In a statement, the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills (COMM) fire department reported that they ‰??received a call for an unresponsive person at the above address. COMM FD Car 321, Car 323, Ambulance 324 arrived on location. Staff from the MSPCA were administering CPR to the patient. Advanced Life Support was initiated. Ambulance 326 and the Barnstable Police Department arrived on scene. The patient was transported to Cape Cod Hospital. Information on the chemical used in the system was gathered and speedi-dry was placed in the area to assist with clean-up.
The below agencies were notified and called to the scene to investigate the accident and the cause:
Barnstable County Sheriffs Department, Town of Barnstable Inspectors (gas, plumbing, health and building,) Department of Fire Services Boiler Inspection Division, and OSHA.‰??
Barnstable Police tell the Cape Cod Broadcasting Newscenter that an employee of a HVAC company was working on the system at the shelter when he was exposed to a chemical. The unidentified Dennis man called a fellow employee for help, who found the victim unresponsive a short time later. The man was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis and was admitted to the ICU. No further information was available about his condition.

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

FEDERAL AGENCIES MIGHT BE ABOUT LOSE THEIR DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY
https://dailycaller.com/2019/03/07/occupational-safety-health-decisions/
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, environmental

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) might be the latest independent federal agency to lose its decision-making authority after two board members depart by the end of April.

The OSHRC is responsible for hearing appeals to federal workplace safety violations. Chairwoman Heather MacDougall said she plans to exit the agency in less than a month. Commissioner Cynthia Attwood is due to leave the board at the end of April when her term expires, Bloomberg Law reports.

....
Two other independent agencies are already operating without quorums in 2019. The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which hears federal employees‰?? appeals of pay cuts, furloughs, firings and other matters, lost its last sitting board member March 1 when his term ended, Federal News Network reports.

....
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is also set to lose its quorum as its three remaining board members near the end of their terms. Manuel Ehrlich is term-limited in December 2018 and Rick Engler in February 2020. Kristen Kulinowski, who also serves as the board‰??s interim executive, is set to leave the agency in August 2020.

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

SC LAWMAKERS PROPOSE BILL TO SUPPORT FIREFIGHTERS WITH CANCER
https://www.wbtw.com/news/grand-strand/sc-lawmakers-propose-bill-to-support-firefighters-with-cancer/1831546609
Tags: us_SC, public, discovery, environmental

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW)- South Carolina law makers are proposing legislation that will support firefighters diagnosed with cancer. The bill will make this an occupational disease so they can receive workers compensation.

Firefighters say this legislation is a huge step. Studies show firefighters are twice as likely to develop cancer, and more aggressive types of cancer. They're also diagnosed at an earlier age, like Charlie Nash.

"I was a 42-year-old fit firefighter who worked out everyday. In a month and a half I felt like an 85-year-old male. I couldn't shower myself, I couldn't dress myself," said Charlie Nash.

Nash has been a firefighter going on 28 years and even during 9/11. He was diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer in August 2015.

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

FIRE IGNITED BY PILE OF OILY RAGS DAMAGES HOUSE IN MIDDLETON
https://topsfield.wickedlocal.com/news/20190306/fire-ignited-by-pile-of-oily-rags-damages-house-in-middleton
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, response, petroleum

Firefighters were dispatched to the home around 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 5 after a neighbor working from home smelled plastic burning, looked out the window and saw the house on fire.

A fire ignited by oily rags and empty cans of stain and urethane could have burned a house down in Middleton yesterday. But a neighbor happened to be home and noticed the fire.

Middleton Fire Chief Tom Martinuk said his department was dispatched to the home around 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 5 after a neighbor working from home smelled plastic burning, looked out the window and saw the house on fire. When first responders arrived, they found a pile of rags and empty cans of stain and urethane outside the house had ignited. The fire had melted the siding on the house.

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

CREWS RESPOND TO CHLORINE LEAK AT WPAFB WATER PLANT
https://www.whio.com/news/local/crews-respond-chlorine-leak-wpafb-water-plant/9hs1452Pu0uffIvQjShjON/
Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE ‰?? People in two Wright-Patterson Air Force Base facilities were forced to shelter in place Wednesday due to a chemical leak.

At 12:15 p.m., the Wright-Patt Fire Department responded to an alarm in building 855, a water treatment facility in Area A of the base, spokeswoman Marie Vanover said via email. There, first responders found a 150-pound cylinder of chlorine leaking and immediately cordoned off the surrounding area.

Exposure to high concentrations of chlorine can cause blurred vision, blisters, coughing, nausea and vomiting, among other symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

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

AIR POLLUTION FRUSTRATION SPILLS OUT AT HEALTH BOARD MEETING
https://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2019/03/06/Air-pollution-frustration-spills-out-at-Health-Board/stories/201903060172
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide

Clairton resident David Meckel carried his frustration in a glass jar to the Allegheny County Board of Health‰??s meeting Downtown on Wednesday.

There he pulled it out, along with a sooty cloth he uses to filter air coming into his bedroom window.

‰??We‰??re under chemical attack,‰?? said Mr. Meckel, referring to high concentrations of sulfur dioxide, airborne particles and hazardous air pollutants emitted by U.S. Steel‰??s three Mon Valley facilities since a fire Dec. 24 destroyed desulfurization equipment at the Clairton Coke Works.

‰??Since January I‰??ve got a chronic ‰??coke cough,‰??‰?? he said. ‰??It‰??ll gag you in 10 minutes if you stand outside. They need to shut the coke works down now. We‰??re suffering.‰??

Mr. Meckel‰??s frustration was shared by other other Mon Valley residents and environmental advocates, who called for the health department to take a tougher stance against U.S. Steel‰??s Clairton coking plant and its Irvin and Edgar Thomson steel mills, all of which are emitting coke oven gases at levels much higher than allowed by their permits.

Following a handful of sulfur dioxide exceedances after the fire, the health department issued an enforcement order Feb. 28, requiring drastic emissions reductions from the three facilities. But significant sulfur dioxide releases continue and the company has appealed the order, further delaying any eventual implementation.

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

EXXONMOBIL RESPONDS TO SETTLEMENT WITH GOVERNMENT STEMMING FROM 2013 FATAL FIRE IN BMT
https://kfdm.com/news/local/exxonmobil-responds-to-settlement-with-government-stemming-from-2013-fatal-fire-in-beaumon
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical

BEAUMONT ‰?? ExxonMobil response:

We have worked diligently to implement findings from three separate investigations conducted by our internal team, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the EPA, including improvements to our risk management program and timeliness of all inspections.

ExxonMobil promotes an integrated approach to safety that combines the ongoing identification of safe work practices with emerging technology and employee-driven management programs.

ExxonMobil has signed a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concerning various actions related to Clean Air Act enforcement and EPA‰??s risk management program following the 2013 Beaumont refinery fire.
As part of the settlement, ExxonMobil has agreed to pay a penalty of $610,000, conduct an audit of opening process equipment work and inspection verification at certain units in the Beaumont refinery, and purchase an incident command vehicle for the Beaumont Fire Department.
The incident command vehicle is part of a supplemental environmental project associated with the settlement of an enforcement action, United States of America v. ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, taken on behalf of the EPA under the Clean Air Act.
In 2014, the ExxonMobil Beaumont refinery implemented the Loss Prevention System safety program to prevent or reduce losses using behavior-based tools and proven management techniques to ensure safe employee and contractor work processes

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

SIX PASIR GUDANG STUDENTS IN HOSPITAL AFTER SUSPECTED METHANE LEAK
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/03/07/six-pasir-gudang-students-in-hospital-after-suspected-methane-leak/1730025
Tags: Malaysia, education, release, injury, methane

JOHOR BARU, March 7 ‰?? A total of six students were hospitalised today after they were believed to have inhaled methane fumes from a chemical spill near the river of their school compound in Taman Pasir Putih, Pasir Gudang.

The teenage victims, five male and one female students, were from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Taman Pasir Putih and Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Taman Pasir Putih.

According to the initial Johor Fire and Rescue Department report, one male student was reported to have fainted, while the remainder had bouts of vomiting.

The source of the methane fumes were believed to be from the nearby river where the two school‰??s were located.

Johor Fire and Rescue operations commander Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said the department received an emergency call at about 5am.

He said four teams, with a hazardous material (Hazmat) team, assisted by the Pasir Gudang fire station rushed to the location immediately after receiving the distress call.

‰??The cause was from gas believed to be chemicals that was emitted from the river near SMK and SK Taman Pasir Putih.

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

AN O.C. MOTEL ROOM EXPLODED. POLICE THINK IT MAY HAVE BEEN A DRUG LAB
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-buena-park-motel-explosion-20190306-story.html
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, clandestine_lab

Authorities are investigating whether a Buena Park motel room was being used as a drug lab after an explosion early Wednesday forced guests to evacuate.
The blast was reported shortly after midnight at the Motel 6 at 7051 Valley View St., according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Nothing was burning when crews arrived, but video from the scene showed smoke seeping into the hallway.
Buena Park police are investigating whether the space was being used as a drug lab, according to fire officials. Police could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Caesar Hernandez told reporters at the scene that he was inside his room at the motel with his wife and children when he heard a loud bang, followed by a crashing sound that he thought may have been someone falling down the stairs.
When he looked into the hallway, he saw a naked woman and two men. Hernandez said it appeared the blast had sent the woman through a window. One of the men handed the woman a towel and they ran away, he said.

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

SCIENCE COMMUNITY RALLIES ROUND TO HELP ST ANDREWS TEAMS HIT BY FIRE
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/science-community-rallies-round-to-help-st-andrews-teams-hit-by-fire/3010193.article
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical

Research teams at the University of St Andrews that have had their work disrupted by a fire have been moved by offers of help from colleagues in the UK and around the world. Last month‰??s fire at the biomedical sciences building displaced research groups and put many labs out of action. However, researchers are hopeful that most of the equipment and lab supplies were left undamaged and can eventually be recovered.

The fire broke out on the afternoon of 10 February and was attended by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Efforts to extinguish it involved eight vehicles and over 30 firefighters. As a result of fire and water damage the university expects the biomedical sciences building to be out of action for at least a year.

Russell Morris, head of chemistry at St Andrews, tells Chemistry World that investigators now know the fire started during a routine glass cleaning procedure, though they are not sure what the exact source of ignition was and may ‰??never be able to say‰??. In the fire‰??s immediate aftermath, members of the university‰??s staff re-entered the building to save precious biological samples from rapidly thawing freezers. Although damage from the blaze itself was limited to a few rooms, the huge amount of water required to put it out has left the building waterlogged and unusable. Those affected have now been taking stock and assessing the damage.

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


Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

Membership chair
American Chemical Society
Division of Chemical Health and Safety

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