From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (7 articles)
Date: Wed, 22 May 2019 08:04:32 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 23C7A8C6-AA80-43B7-B753-843D8927633D**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 8:04:22 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
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Table of Contents (7 articles)

BEAR REPELLENT SPRAY: WOMAN ACCUSED OF SPRAYING BEAR REPELLENT INSIDE PITT BUILDING
Tags: us_PA, education, release, response, repellent

ALLEVA, GRUBSTAKE AUCTION CO. SENTENCED IN CHEMICAL MISUSE CASE
Tags: us_AK, public, follow-up, environmental, bleach

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN GUJARAT'S VALSAD, 8 FIRE TENDERS AT SPOT
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

OBESITY RISK MAY BE INCREASED BY EXPOSURE TO COMMON ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS
Tags: europe, public, discovery, environmental, plastics

'URINE' SAMPLE THAT FORCED HAMPTON VA EVACUATION TURNS OUT TO BE VINEGAR
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, acetic_acid

FLAMES FLARE UP AT BETHEL INDUSTRIAL PARK AS FIRE OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE
Tags: us_CT, industrial, fire, response, adhesives

DEL MONTE TO PAY $190K EPA SETTLEMENT OVER SANGER PLANT GAS LEAK
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonia


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BEAR REPELLENT SPRAY: WOMAN ACCUSED OF SPRAYING BEAR REPELLENT INSIDE PITT BUILDING
https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/woman-accused-of-spraying-bear-repellent-inside-pitt-building/951126822
Tags: us_PA, education, release, response, repellent

PITTSBURGH - Police have charged a woman they say sprayed bear repellent Monday causing hazmat to respond and evacuations at the University of Pittsburgh.

Police say they found two cans of Grizzly Tough Bear Spray Assault in Mary Siegert‰??s coat.

She claims one of the cans just went off inside the Eureka Building on Forbes Avenue in Oakland.

First responders treated six people who said their eyes, noses and throats were burning.

Sigert is charged with risking a catastrophe.

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ALLEVA, GRUBSTAKE AUCTION CO. SENTENCED IN CHEMICAL MISUSE CASE
https://www.ktva.com/story/40513576/alleva-grubstake-auction-co-sentenced-in-chemical-misuse-case
Tags: us_AK, public, follow-up, environmental, bleach

State prosecutors argue he could have hurt people, but Ron Alleva says he was trying to help. The Anchorage businessman was sentenced Tuesday, after a jury found him guilty of multiple misdemeanor environmental crimes.

In June 2018, Alleva told his employees to sprinkle Zappit, a chlorine bleach powder, on the sidewalk areas along Karluk Street near Bean‰??s CafĚ© and Brother Francis Shelter in downtown Anchorage, an area often occupied with homeless individuals who receive services from both agencies.

Alleva owns Grubstake Auction Company, located along the same block. He has long expressed concern about a problem he says the homeless have created in the area, including trespassing and other crimes. He was also upset over large amounts of garbage, including syringes, used condoms and fecal matter on and around his property.

His effort the clean up the area triggered a hazmat response from the Anchorage Fire Department, and the removal of 1,400 pounds of contaminated soil, according to the Attorney General's Office.

"Alleva's conduct, along with that of Grubstake Auction Co., Inc. and its employees endangered the health and welfare of individuals, putting them at risk of serious physical injury including blindness and even death had the substance been ingested," a previous statement from the attorney general read.

In April, a jury convicted Alleva of reckless endangerment, pollution, unauthorized pesticide distribution and misuse of a pesticide.

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FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN GUJARAT'S VALSAD, 8 FIRE TENDERS AT SPOT
https://zeenews.india.com/india/fire-breaks-out-at-chemical-factory-in-gujarats-valsad-8-fire-tenders-at-spot-2205066.html
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Valsad: A massive fire broke out at a chemical factory in Gujarat's Valsad district late on Tuesday night, news agency ANI reported.

Eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot. An official said that the fire-fighting operations would take time as the fire was massive.

"Fire-fighting operations are underway. It will take time to douse the fire as it is massive," fire official Shivlal Rathore told ANI

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OBESITY RISK MAY BE INCREASED BY EXPOSURE TO COMMON ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/esoe-orm051619.php
Tags: europe, public, discovery, environmental, plastics

Exposure to common every day chemicals, called phthalates, may increase the risk of metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes, according to findings to be presented in Lyon, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019. The study found a correlation between levels of phthalate exposure and markers of impaired liver function, which are indicators of increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. These findings suggest that more actions may need to be taken to reduce people's exposure to these potentially harmful, yet commonly used chemicals.

Pthalates are common additives used in manufacturing to produce plastics and they can be detected in numerous every day items including milk, bottled water, instant coffee, perfume, make up, shampoo, toys and food packaging. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals has previously been implicated in causing serious harm to fertility and development, as well as increased obesity risk in rodents and people. However, no studies have directly investigated how phthalate exposure is associated with obesity and metabolism.

In this study, Professor Milica Medi? Stojanoska, and colleagues from the University of Novi Sad in Serbia, correlated the levels of pthalate absorbed by people with their body weight, type 2 diabetes incidence and markers of impaired liver and metabolic function. Higher exposure to phthalates was associated with increased markers of liver damage, insulin resistance and cholesterol in people with obesity and diabetes.

Prof Stojanoska says, "Although a small association study, these findings suggest that not only do phthalates alter metabolism to increase the risk of obesity and diabetes but that they are also causing toxic damage to the liver."

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'URINE' SAMPLE THAT FORCED HAMPTON VA EVACUATION TURNS OUT TO BE VINEGAR
https://www.dailypress.com/news/hampton/dp-nws-hampton-va-vinegar-20190520-story.html
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, acetic_acid

The source of a smell that caused the Hampton VA Medical Center to evacuate one of its buildings was neither urine nor a dangerous chemical.

It was just vinegar.

Hampton VA spokesman John Rogers said that lab tests determined the common acetic mild acid had been in a urine specimen that had was turned in to the hospital. When a doctor opened it, they were overwhelmed by a pungent chemical smell.


Rogers said he didn‰??t know what kind of vinegar it was and couldn‰??t speculate why it was in a urine specimen container due to patient privacy laws.

‰??We were just praying that it wasn't anything. We weren‰??t sure,‰?? Rogers said. ‰??That‰??s why we have to react the way we did.‰??

The hospital evacuated the first and second floors of building 144, which houses the behavioral health center, around 2:30 p.m.

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FLAMES FLARE UP AT BETHEL INDUSTRIAL PARK AS FIRE OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE
https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Flames-flare-up-at-Bethel-industrial-park-13859992.php
Tags: us_CT, industrial, fire, response, adhesives

BETHEL ‰?? Flames reignited Monday in the same Francis J. Clarke Industrial Park building where more than 100 firefighters had spent most of Sunday battling a raging fire.

The Bethel Volunteer Fire Department arrived just before noon as black smoke wafted from the side of the building at 21 Francis J. Clarke Circle.

The building is home to chemical manufacturer Intersurface Dynamics and adhesive tape company ATP. A blaze on Sunday had left the ATP side gutted and the Intersurface Dynamics side with smoke and water damage, said building owner Walter Wolk.

Firefighters were able to put out the reignited flames in 10 minutes ‰?? much less time than it took to get Sunday‰??s fire under control.

Investigators from the offices of the Bethel and State Fire Marshals are working to determine the cause of the Sunday blaze that left the large industrial building a total loss.

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DEL MONTE TO PAY $190K EPA SETTLEMENT OVER SANGER PLANT GAS LEAK
https://thebusinessjournal.com/del-monte-to-pay-190k-epa-settlement-over-sanger-plant-gas-leak/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has settled with Del Monte Fresh Produce (West Coast‰?? Inc.) for violating federal chemical safety and reporting requirements following an ammonia release at its storage and distribution facility in Sanger.

The company, one of the world‰??s largest fresh produce distributors, is required to pay a $80,000 civil penalty and spend approximately $110,000 to reduce the risk of chemical accidents at its facility.

In December 2016, the EPA inspected the accidental facility after the accidental release of more than 24,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, finding violations of the Clean Air Act‰??s Risk Management Plan regulations, including deficiencies in the plant‰??s hazard assessment, mechanical integrity program, compliance audits and emergency response program.

Inspectors also found that the company failed to immediately notify the National Response Center and the California Office of Emergency Services as soon as it knew of the release, violating the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

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