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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (25 articles)
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2019 07:27:13 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 18BFDFB4-D39F-4CD6-8085-8BB985E093C4**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, April 15, 2019 at 7:26:27 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 (25 articles)
NO INJURIES IN WAREHOUSE FIRE AT MILLIPORE SIGMA IN SHEBOYGAN COUNTY
Tags: us_WI, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
THREE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS INJURED IN TAUNTON CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, injury, hydrogen, arsine
17 MORE DETAINED OVER CHINA BLAST THAT KILLED 78
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical, illegal
OPERATORS EXPOSED TO HALON IN REACTOR CONTROL ROOM
Tags: industrial, fire, response, halon
ASSUMPTIONS MADE ABOUT CHANGES TO EXPERIMENT LEADS TO RUPTURE OF TUBING LINE
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
LEAK EVACUATES NC SHOPPING CENTRE DAYS AFTER FATAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_NC, public, release, response, other_chemical
LEAKING PROPANE TANK TRIGGERS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN DORCHESTER ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, propane
THE LATEST: STATE SUES OVER TEXAS PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death
FIREFIGHTERS CALL FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY REFORM OVER TOXIC CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, discovery, environmental
EPA RACES TO BLOCK GASOLINE LEAKING INTO POPO AGIE
Tags: us_WY, public, follow-up, environmental, gasoline
THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
DELVING INTO CULTURAL FACTORS CAN IMPROVE SAFETY
Tags: Mexico, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
CITY OF DEER PARK SAYS LEVEL OF BENZENE DETECTED IN WATER SUPPLY WASN‰??T DANGEROUS ‰?? HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene
'LEAKING, SMOKING' SULFUR FOUND NEAR HAWTHORNE BALLFIELD: HAZMAT RESPONDS, EVACUATIONS ORDERED
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, sulphur
EPA, LDEQ REMOVING DOZENS OF CHEMICAL DRUMS AFTER SPILL MONDAY
Tags: us_LA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
FIRE FORCES EVACUATIONS AT TUALATIN WAREHOUSE
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, batteries
KEAAU GAS CLOUD SCARE EXPLAINED BY FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_HI, industrial, release, response, propane
OXFORD EXPLOSION WAS CAUSED BY DETONATED FIREWORK, POLICE SAY
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, injury, fireworks, illegal
LAWSUIT: HUNDREDS OF URINE SAMPLES CONTAMINATED IN TRANSIT FOLLOWING ITC FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene
4 DEAD, 2 MISSING IN CHINA ALUMINUM ORE TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: China, transportation, release, death
ITC IMPACT: ANNUAL FESTIVAL CELEBRATING BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO...
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
AFTER DEADLY EXPLOSION IN CHINA, RAW MATERIALS ARE EVEN MORE CHALLENGING
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, paints
BRAZIL SHELVES CHEMICALS BILL ‰??UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE‰??
Tags: Brazil, industrial, discovery, environmental
CHINA'S CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SET FOR MASSIVE CHANGES
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
WHY JURY VERDICTS GET OVERRULED IN US INDUSTRY CANCER TRIALS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, dust, pharmaceutical
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NO INJURIES IN WAREHOUSE FIRE AT MILLIPORE SIGMA IN SHEBOYGAN COUNTY
https://fox6now.com/2019/04/14/no-injuries-in-warehouse-fire-at-millipore-sigma-in-sheboygan-county/
Tags: us_WI, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SHEBOYGAN COUNTY ‰?? Multiple departments were called out to a warehouse fire at Millipore Sigma near County Highway V and County Highway A in the Town of Wilson in Sheboygan County Sunday, April 14.
It happened just after 1 p.m.
The Town of Wilson fire chief said the fire broke out in a storage facility for production chemicals at the plant. It was under control within 30 minutes of the arrival of fire crews.
There were no reported injuries. Damage was very minimal.
The cause was under investigation, but the fire chief noted there was a single point of origin, and said a ‰??combustible solid‰?? was on fire.
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THREE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS INJURED IN TAUNTON CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
https://www.wcvb.com/article/three-industrial-workers-injured-in-chemical-explosion-at-iqe-in-taunton/27140335
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, injury, hydrogen, arsine
TAUNTON, Mass. ‰??
Three industrial workers were injured in a chemical explosion at a plant in the Myles Standish Industrial Park in Taunton, according to the Taunton Fire Department.
Firefighters responded to IQE, located at 200 John Hancock Road, at 12:25 a.m. for a reported explosion inside the plant.
Upon arrival, firefighters found three employees suffering from flash burns on their faces and hands. Firefighters were notified that the explosion could have possibly released hazardous materials into the air.
Firefighters requested a Tier 2 hazardous materials response, which brought in resources, personnel and equipment from around the region.
Officials at the scene determined the explosion involved compressed hydrogen and arsine. The hazmat crew determined that the danger was confined to a piece of equipment used in manufacturing and no materials were released into the environment.
The equipment was undergoing maintenance at the time of the explosion, according to the Taunton Fire Department.
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17 MORE DETAINED OVER CHINA BLAST THAT KILLED 78
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-6922615/17-detained-China-blast-killed-78.html
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical, illegal
Police have detained 17 more suspects connected to a chemical blast in eastern China last month which killed 78 and left hundreds injured, local authorities said Monday.
The explosion in eastern Jiangsu province was one of the worst industrial accidents in the country in recent years and led to the closure of the plant.
Police have taken "criminal coercive measures" against the 17 suspects, said the Yancheng city government on its official Twitter-like Weibo account, bringing the number people rounded up over the blast to 26.
The latest group includes individuals from an unnamed third-party organisation, who are accused of falsifying project evaluations, and Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical company, whose plant was involved in the blast.
The March 21 explosion razed an industrial park and blew out the windows of surrounding homes.
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OPERATORS EXPOSED TO HALON IN REACTOR CONTROL ROOM
https://opexshare.doe.gov/lesson.cfm/2019/4/10/26910/OPERATORS-EXPOSED-TO-HALON-IN-REACTOR-CONTROL-ROOM
Tags: industrial, fire, response, halon
The Advanced Test Reactor was manually shut down due to a fire in a relay cabinet. Reactor control room staff unsuccessfully attempted to put out the fire by de-energizing the cabinet and using a dry chemical fire extinguisher. Control room staff then scrammed the reactor and manually activated the Halon fire suppression system. Reactor control room staff remained in the control room during and following actuation of the Halon fire suppression system to ensure the safe shutdown condition of the reactor.
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ASSUMPTIONS MADE ABOUT CHANGES TO EXPERIMENT LEADS TO RUPTURE OF TUBING LINE
https://opexshare.doe.gov/lesson.cfm/2019/4/9/26915/Assumptions-Made-About-Changes-to-Experiment-Leads-to-Rupture-of-Tubing-Line
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical
A tubing line ruptured on a bench-scale coolant system in the Physical Science Laboratory building at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The tubing contained 250F radiator coolant fluid which sprayed onto a chair, the ceiling and the floor around the system. The spill caused minimal damage to the lab and no one was hurt, but the event was considered a "near-miss" due to the proximity of staff to the uncontrolled hot fluid. After an investigation into the event, it was discovered that work planning and control documentation, including an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) were not in place as requested and the project team was operating outside the approved boundaries and limitations of the experiment.
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LEAK EVACUATES NC SHOPPING CENTRE DAYS AFTER FATAL EXPLOSION
https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/04/13/leak-evacuates-nc-shopping-centre-days-after-fatal-explosion/
Tags: us_NC, public, release, response, other_chemical
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. ‰?? North Carolina authorities say they‰??ve evacuated businesses in a Fayetteville shopping centre because a construction crew struck a gas line.
The gas leak at Cross Pointe Center comes just days after a fatal explosion in Durham, located about 80 miles (130 kilometres) north of Fayetteville. One person was killed in the explosion and fire Wednesday in downtown Durham.
News outlets report that no injuries were reported in Fayetteville, where crews were called to the area around 3:45 p.m. after receiving a report of gas odour. The outlets say the Fayetteville Fire Department reports that firefighters found a construction crew had struck a gas line under the parking lot.
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LEAKING PROPANE TANK TRIGGERS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN DORCHESTER ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
https://whdh.com/news/leaking-propane-tank-triggers-hazmat-response-in-dorchester/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, propane
DORCHESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Hazmat crews were called in after a thousand-gallon propane tank started to leak in Boston on Saturday.
Boston firefighters responding to the tank on Clapp Street around 2:15 p.m. successfully shut down the leak.
---------------------------------------------
THE LATEST: STATE SUES OVER TEXAS PLANT FIRE
https://pressoracle.com/news/2019/04/13/the-newest-state-sues-over-texas-plant-fire.html
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death
The state of Texas has filed a court petition seeking action against a company whose plant caught fire near Houston.
1 employee was killed and 2 were injured badly in the fire in the KMCO chemical plant at Crosby.
The Texas Attorney General‰??s office filed the request on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in state district court in Austin.
Harris County had acquired an injunction against KMCO in 2009 that required the firm to pay $100,000 in civil penalties and also give researchers easy access to this plant and instantaneous notification of releases.
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FIREFIGHTERS CALL FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY REFORM OVER TOXIC CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/111549980/firefighters-call-for-health-and-safety-reform-over-toxic-chemical-exposure
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, discovery, environmental
When Kevin "Blackie" Black used fire foams back in the 1970s, he never suspected it could affect his health.
Back then, aqueous film forming foam - or AFFF as the firefighters called it - was considered the best way to extinguish an aeroplane fire because it coated the fuel and smothered the flames. Now, the foam is recognised as a toxic substance, contaminating airports, land and waterways across the country, and fire crew are banned from using it.
Nearly 50 years since Blackie took a job with the firefighting crew at Base Woodbourne near Blenheim, he is starting to wonder whether the foam's poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have accumulated in his body.
"Ignorance is bliss. I have to say, I've been trying not to think about it. If you dwell on something like that, it's not good."
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EPA RACES TO BLOCK GASOLINE LEAKING INTO POPO AGIE
https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/wyoming/article_93910e63-81b1-5e72-9a80-4a2d2015ff03.html
Tags: us_WY, public, follow-up, environmental, gasoline
An object of heated public debate when it was approved for construction in 2007, a Lander gas station is once again fueling community consternation ‰?? and possibly a calamity for the beloved stretch of river that runs through town.
The Lander Fire Department, responding to reports of a strong gasoline odor, discovered an oily sheen on the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River near its Main Street underpass immediately downstream of a Maverick gas station on April 2, according to EPA reports.
Volunteer firefighters deployed rigid booms to contain the contaminants and maintained a hazardous materials perimeter until a response team from the EPA arrived from Denver on Apr. 4. As a navigable waterway, active threats to the Middle Fork fall under EPA jurisdiction.
---------------------------------------------
THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/the-new-normal/
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
THE previous three articles in this series focussed on understanding and maintaining the basis of safety for our processes ‰?? identifying what could go wrong, establishing measures to prevent or mitigate hazardous events, and maintaining those measures through operational discipline. However, even organisations with strong operational discipline can drift unknowingly into a major process incident. It is important to understand how this can happen in order to try and prevent it.
Imagine that...
Can you imagine a major hazards chemical plant, processing large quantities of toxic chemicals and flammable hydrocarbons, where operators are told to shut down the plant if the wind speed rises above 20 mph? It sounds strange, but I experienced such a situation. How could that have happened? The plant ‰?? originally built in in the 1970s ‰?? was supported in an open steel structure.
Several months before I visited, management had started a programme of re-painting the structure. But preparatory work revealed significant metal loss under the existing paint. Management was concerned but wanted to continue the work without shutting down the plant and removing the inventory. As preparation work continued, more metal loss was revealed, generating more concern. Studies were commissioned with structural engineering consultants, seeking assurance that there was minimal risk of structural failure; these were regularly reviewed, and up-dated as further metal loss was uncovered, until it was shown that the structure could possibly be de-stabilised by strong winds. This led to the introduction of supporting scaffolding in parts of the structure and the decision to stop production in the event of high wind. The re-painting programme was eventually completed, with a few production interruptions, but fortunately without a structural failure event.
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DELVING INTO CULTURAL FACTORS CAN IMPROVE SAFETY
https://www.oedigital.com/news/465024-delving-into-cultural-factors-can-improve-safety
Tags: Mexico, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
Oil and gas organizations have significantly improved safety over the years, and evaluating a company‰??s safety culture can identify areas for further gains. But culture is hard to measure and even more difficult to change.
Over the past 10 years, ABS Group has conducted HSE/process safety culture evaluations involving more than 80 offshore assets in the Middle East, North Sea, North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. After a decade of evaluating data insights into the leading cultural factors that contributed to major offshore incidents, ABS Group formulated a next-generation root cause analysis (RCA) methodology and risk management tool called Cultural Cause Analysis (CCA). CCA supports organizations in knowing which changes in cultural factors have the largest positive impact to prevent future losses.
ABS Group believes CCA will allow organizations to create lasting changes that promote sustainable, outstanding performance in safety leadership. ABS Group‰??s new approach leverages 40 years of incident investigation, RCA and process safety management (PSM) expertise.
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CITY OF DEER PARK SAYS LEVEL OF BENZENE DETECTED IN WATER SUPPLY WASN‰??T DANGEROUS ‰?? HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2019/04/12/329060/city-of-deer-park-says-level-of-benzene-detected-in-water-supply-wasnt-dangerous/
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, benzene
The company testing Deer Park‰??s drinking water supply in the aftermath of the massive fire at a petrochemical facility owned by Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) detected a trace amount of benzene, but the city says the reading was below dangerous levels.
Benzene is a dangerous chemical that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked to cancer.
The City of Deer Park posted the information on Twitter on Thursday saying they had received a notification from Environdyne Laboratories Inc. regarding a benzene detection in drinking water that was recorded on March 31.
Please see the attached update‰?|. pic.twitter.com/Nbz8Z01IDa
‰?? City of Deer Park (**At_Symbol_Here**DEERPARKTXGOV) April 11, 2019
Nicholas Cook, supervisor of the Surface Water Plant, said the sample that tested positive was ‰??at a level approximately five times lower than the drinking water standard.‰??
‰??Although we received reporting of the low-level presence for one day,‰?? Cook said, ‰??all of the results we have received show that our water is ‰??and has been‰?? safe for citizen consumption.‰?? He added he contacted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and confirmed that the trace amount of benzene detected ‰??would not cause short-term or long-term health effects to residents.‰??
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'LEAKING, SMOKING' SULFUR FOUND NEAR HAWTHORNE BALLFIELD: HAZMAT RESPONDS, EVACUATIONS ORDERED
https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/pascackvalley/police-fire/leaking-smoking-sulfur-found-near-hawthorne-ballfield-hazmat-responds-evacuations-ordered/765989/
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, sulphur
What one responder said was "leaking, smoking" sulfur near a Hawthorne ballfield Thursday afternoon forced the evacuations of nearby homes and businesses and brought a hazardous materials unit.
Bystanders said at least one person was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Wagaraw Road was closed from Lafayette to Lincoln avenues with "no entry to the roadway whatsoever," Hawthorne police said, as a Passaic County Hazardous Materials Unit tried to trace the origin of the leak.
A command center was set up at the Wagaraw Road ballfield, which was closed to practices for the rest of the day.
A work crew was digging a trench in the ballfield's auxiliary parking lot when the incident occurred.
Hawthorne police, firefighters and the Volunteer Ambulance Corps, responded, along with the Passaic County Health Department and Sheriff's Office and Valley Hospital EMS.
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EPA, LDEQ REMOVING DOZENS OF CHEMICAL DRUMS AFTER SPILL MONDAY
http://www.wafb.com/2019/04/11/epa-ldeq-removing-dozens-chemical-drums-after-spill-monday/
Tags: us_LA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Choctaw Drive near Kincaid Avenue remains blocked after a chemical spill Monday, April 8.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) says it responded to complaints of a foul odor coming from a property in the area after drums containing an unknown reddish substance spilled while they were being moved.
The spill has since been cleaned up, however, nearly 120 drums were located on the property and are still being moved.
Around noon on Thursday, April 11, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took over to assist with sampling the substance so crews can better determine how to remove it.
Sampling will take around five to ten days.
A team from the Baton Rouge Fire Department is remaining on scene to conduct air quality monitoring as a precaution.
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FIRE FORCES EVACUATIONS AT TUALATIN WAREHOUSE
https://katu.com/news/local/fire-forces-evacuations-at-tualatin-warehouse
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, batteries
TUALATIN, Ore. ‰??
A Tualatin warehouse was evacuated Thursday evening as hazmat crews assessed the scene of a commercial fire.
There were no known injuries at the warehouse on Southwest 115th Avenue.
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue says it thinks lithium batteries may have started the fire.
Firefighters said someone from inside the business told them a new product test on six large lithium-ion batteries was being conducted and the batteries were on fire.
They say sprinklers knocked down most of it before they got there.
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KEAAU GAS CLOUD SCARE EXPLAINED BY FIRE DEPARTMENT
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2019/04/11/keaau-gas-cloud-scare-explained-by-fire-department/
Tags: us_HI, industrial, release, response, propane
(BIVN) ‰?? A dangerous, floating cloud of gas resulted in the temporary closure of Shipman Industrial Park in KeaćČau today, and forced companies operating in the area to shelter in place.
No one was injured by the cloud of propane gas, which was created when a valve was reportedly torn off a Liquefied Petroleum Gas, or LPG, container, fire officials say.
The fire department responded to Kipimana Street, between Melekahiwa Place and Kalapa Place, just after 11 a.m., and found a ‰??large vapor cloud‰?? in area moving with light winds. Traffic was stopped to Shipman Industrial Area, and the source was identified as ‰??a torn off fill valve located at the bottom of a 20‰?? LPG shipping container (24 sq meter/ ~6,300 gallons),‰?? a fire dispatch stated.
The liquid LPG ‰??formed a large ice flow of LPG under the container, which released a large cloud of visible Propane gas,‰?? the fire department said.
The cloud propane cloud, which the fire department says can be highly flammable and is heavier than air, moved over the surrounding area in the variable winds and raining conditions. ‰??Neighboring properties were instructed to shelter in place and extinguish any outside flame/industrial sources, vehicles included,‰?? the dispatch said.
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OXFORD EXPLOSION WAS CAUSED BY DETONATED FIREWORK, POLICE SAY
https://www.journal-news.com/news/police-say-explosive-device-injuring-boys-was-detonated-firework/fEBO8xWn7AndbXzWKP2fYN/
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, injury, fireworks, illegal
Oxford police said the explosive device that injured two boys on March 19 was a detonated pyrotechnic, or firework, similar to one called an aerial salute.
Aerial salutes are fireworks that are designed be launched in the air for a fireworks display. A ground salute is one that functions from a stationary or secured position, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association website.Police said the boys discovered the firework in the alley in the 100 block of East Withrow Street and described it as silver colored and the shape and size of a baseball. One of the boys lost a hand in the explosion.
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LAWSUIT: HUNDREDS OF URINE SAMPLES CONTAMINATED IN TRANSIT FOLLOWING ITC FIRE
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/itc-fire/lawsuit-hundreds-of-urine-samples-contaminated-in-transit-following-itc-fire/285-2117c716-c06f-4a6e-a741-67e6fde93677
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, benzene
DEER PARK, Texas ‰?? Two Deer Park residents have filed a lawsuit against a third-party testing company claiming they contaminated urine samples after mishandling them during transit.
According to a court affidavit, Bruce and Rita Gale sought medical treatment at Community Health First Emergency Center on March 29 after ‰??suffering symptoms consistent with chemical inhalation following the ITC industrial fire.‰??
During the fire at Intercontinental Terminal Co.‰??s Deer Park facility, area residents were ordered to shelter-in-place after action-levels of Benzene were detected by air quality monitors.
The plaintiffs said they submitted urine samples to be sent to a third-party testing facility to be tested for levels of Benzene exposure.
Their suit alleges they were told approximately 80 percent of the 500 urine samples couldn‰??t be tested due to contamination ‰??yielded from LABCORPS mishandling of the samples during transit.‰??
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4 DEAD, 2 MISSING IN CHINA ALUMINUM ORE TRAIN DERAILMENT
https://www.fireengineering.com/ap-news/2019/04/11/4-dead-2-missing-in-china-aluminum-ore-train-derailment.html
Tags: China, transportation, release, death
BEIJING (AP) ‰?? A train carrying aluminum ore derailed in a central Chinese province, killing at least four people, local authorities said Thursday, in the latest in a series of industrial accidents to strike the country.
The city government of Gongy in Henan province said the train crashed into a village home after jumping the tracks around 10 p.m. Wednesday. Two other people were listed as missing, it said.
The 25-car train is owned by a subsidiary of Aluminum Corporation of China and ran on a 22-kilometer (14-mile) track built in the 1950s specially for transporting ore.
TV footage showed tangled cars from the train spread across a forested area.
China experiences frequent industrial accidents despite orders from the central government to improve safety at factories, power plants and mines or risk prosecution. Skirting of safety regulations ‰?? sometimes with the collusion of corrupt local officials ‰?? is generally given as the cause.
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ITC IMPACT: ANNUAL FESTIVAL CELEBRATING BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO...
https://www.click2houston.com/news/itc-impact-annual-festival-celebrating-battle-of-san-jacinto-canceled
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - For the first time in 80 years, the annual San Jacinto Day Celebration at the San Jacinto Monument has been canceled due to safety concerns after a fire at the ITC facility in Deer Park.
As the cleanup continues, worries about chemical contamination have forced the closure of two of the state‰??s most popular tourist attractions during what is usually their busiest time of year.
The celebration has been held April 21 every year since the monument was completed in 1939 to commemorate the battle of San Jacinto that won Texas its independence in 1836.
It‰??s grown to include a weekendlong festival and battle re-enactment, but not this year.
The fire and chemical release at the ITC plant put the monument, as well as the Battleship Texas moored nearby, in the danger zone. The road leading to both remains closed.
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AFTER DEADLY EXPLOSION IN CHINA, RAW MATERIALS ARE EVEN MORE CHALLENGING
https://www.inkworldmagazine.com/contents/view_blog/2019-04-11/after-deadly-explosion-in-china-raw-materials-are-even-more-challenging/
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, paints
The past few years have been extremely challenging in terms of supply of key raw materials for inks and their ingredients. Suppliers in China have been closed temporarily or permanently due to tightening environmental regulations. In 2018, the shuttering of a key intermediate for photoinitiators creates a shortage of TPO and TPO-L, leaving ink companies scrambling to find materials for UV inks and coatings, often having to pay much higher prices for what they could find. As a result, many leading ink manufacturers have looked to diversify their supplier base.
The tragic explosion at Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical in China in March serves as a reminder of the need for tight regulation in China as well as concerns over doing business in the country.
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BRAZIL SHELVES CHEMICALS BILL ‰??UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE‰??
https://chemicalwatch.com/76218/brazil-shelves-chemicals-bill-until-further-notice
Tags: Brazil, industrial, discovery, environmental
Brazil‰??s environment minister has shelved the country‰??s draft chemicals bill, according to a government source.
The bill, which has been sitting with the Civil House since January, was awaiting review by the country‰??s president, Jair Bolsonaro.
However, Mr Bolsonaro, who took office on 1 January, has sent the bill back to his environment Minister Ricardo Salles (pictured), who has shelved it without review, the source says.
All scheduled meetings of the working groups tasked with reviewing and shaping the draft bill for final approval have been cancelled "until further notice". Some Brazilian industry sources say that they have been dropped for the rest of the year.
OECD accession
The source says this "demonstrates that there is no intention to send the proposal back to the presidency, despite being informed about its importance under the OECD membership process".
In 2017, Brazil applied to become a full OECD member country. It has not yet been invited to start the process of accession but if it is, the country will have to show its ability and willingness to implement the OECD council acts related to chemical safety.
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CHINA'S CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SET FOR MASSIVE CHANGES
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1145588.shtml
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
China's chemical industry could see major relocations and closures of plants and industrial parks this year amid a nationwide safety crackdown following a couple of deadly factory blasts in East China.
Experts said that the industry is shifting to a greener, more efficient model, with a focus on developing high added-value materials.
Initial assessments by regulators have revealed that about 30 percent of the country's 676 chemical industry parks have no safety regulation platforms, the Economic Information Daily reported, citing an unidentified official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Two-thirds of the industrial parks lacked proper facilities to handle hazardous waste, and nearly 9 percent of industrial parks lacked proper sewage treatment facilities, according to the report.
The MIIT is reportedly working with other government agencies to set up standards to evaluate chemical industrial parks and conduct a thorough assessment of safety risks, which could result in relocations and even closures.
The chemical sector has been under close regulatory scrutiny after a pair of deadly explosions at chemical plants in East China's Jiangsu Province killed a total of 85 people and injured dozens more in March.
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WHY JURY VERDICTS GET OVERRULED IN US INDUSTRY CANCER TRIALS
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/why-jury-verdicts-get-overruled-in-us-industry-cancer-trials/3010372.article
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, dust, pharmaceutical
Why do guilty verdicts get overruled by judges in trials linking chemical products to cancer?
High-profile lawsuits against large pharmaceutical, personal care and agrochemical companies, whose products are alleged to cause cancer, are a regular fixture in US courtrooms. Johnson and Johnson (J&J) is facing around 13,000 lawsuits relating to its talcum powder products, for example, while Bayer has assumed liability in over 11,000 cases relating to Monsanto‰??s glyphosate herbicide. A few years ago, Takeda and Eli Lilly faced a similar slew of suits over diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone).
The outcomes of these trials appear to follow a familiar pattern. A jury returns a guilty verdict and awards very large damages to plaintiffs, only for the decision to be overruled by a judge, or at least the amount of damages slashed. Experts suggest that this pattern reflects the scientific complexity of the legal cases involved, and they predict that these cases will continue to be primarily appealed rather than settled.
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