From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (10 articles)
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2019 07:42:20 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 0135B5C2-0E43-4D8F-A29D-E6214A66DDE9**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, October 4, 2019 at 7:42:06 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 (10 articles)

WITH LITTLE FAA DIRECTION, VAPING DEVICES ADD TO FIRE DANGERS ON PLANES
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental, batteries

EMERGENCY PLAN OF ACTION (EPOA) DREF OPERATION Nå¡ MDRMV003
Tags: Maldives, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

GEORGIAN COLLEGE FORCED TO CANCEL SOME CLASSES AFTER FIRE EXTINGUISHER INCIDENT
Tags: Canada, education, release, response, fire_extinguisher

WINDSOR WARNS BRADLEY CRASH COULD LEAD TO MORE PFAS POLLUTION IN FARMINGTON RIVER
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, response, other_chemical

WARSAW RESIDENT ENGULFED IN FLAMES FROM STATIC ELECTRICITY
Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, injury, solvent

EPA FINES LOCAL COMPANY FOR MINOR VIOLATIONS ‰?? THE SUN-GAZETTE NEWSPAPER
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical, illegal

NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS COMPANY IMPROVES CHEMICAL SAFETY AFTER EPA SETTLEMENT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, environmental, pharmaceutical, illegal

ACID-LADEN TANKER OVERTURNS ON NSE NEAR SLIM RIVER
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

PETROL PUMP CATCHES FIRE IN STATE CAPITAL, NOBODY INJURED
Tags: India, public, explosion, response, gasoline

5-YEAR EXTENSION FOR 12 PVT SCHOOLS
Tags: India, laboratory, discovery, environmental


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

WITH LITTLE FAA DIRECTION, VAPING DEVICES ADD TO FIRE DANGERS ON PLANES
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/With-little-FAA-direction-vaping-devices-add-to-14489792.php
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental, batteries

When an e-cigarette battery started smoldering on a flight to Los Angeles, a SkyWest flight attendant threw it in an ice bucket before shoving it into a fire containment bag. In Denver, a carry-on bag with overheating vaping batteries "caught fire on a boarding bridge," and firefighters were called to put it out, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

In March, Southwest Airlines baggage handlers had to pull a smoking suitcase containing e-cigarette batteries from a plane in San Diego. Adjacent bags were damaged, as was the plane, which was temporarily taken out of service, according to the FAA.

E-cigarettes and the rechargeable lithium ion batteries that power them have caused smoke or fire incidents on planes or at airports 30 times in less than three years, according to an FAA database.

But the e-cigarettes are emblematic of a broader problem, data shows. Passengers in the United States bring an estimated 2.3 billion electronic devices on planes each year, and safety experts say federal regulators have struggled to keep up with the deluge, often deferring to airlines to manage potential dangers.

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

EMERGENCY PLAN OF ACTION (EPOA) DREF OPERATION Nå¡ MDRMV003
https://reliefweb.int/report/maldives/maldives-fire-emergency-plan-action-epoa-dref-operation-n-mdrmv003
Tags: Maldives, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

On 20 September 2019, around 19:30, a fire broke out through a residential area of the Maldives capital, MalÌ© city, displacing more than 300 people. The fire happened in the ward or area of Henveiru in MalÌ© city, in Henveiru Thilafushige ‰?? a residential building which also housed a chemical storage on the ground floor.

According to the Maldives National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), over 700 people (450 males and 336 females) were affected, including over 100 migrant workers. The NDMA also stated that varying degrees of damage were sustained to the surrounding buildings, which totals 24. Of the 24 buildings, eight are uninhabitable after the fire and will be completely demolished. Damage assessments are being carried out to determine the extent of loss in the area. Most of the buildings are residential buildings with multiple apartments, contributing to the large number of displaced people.

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

GEORGIAN COLLEGE FORCED TO CANCEL SOME CLASSES AFTER FIRE EXTINGUISHER INCIDENT
https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/georgian-college-forced-to-cancel-some-classes-after-fire-extinguisher-incident-1.4620423
Tags: Canada, education, release, response, fire_extinguisher

Classes are cancelled for some Georgian College students in Barrie so that Building A can undergo a major cleanup.

Police say a 19-year-old has been arrested and charged with mischief over $5,000 after being caught inside the building early Wednesday morning.

The head of security at the college tells CTV News the suspect allegedly entered the facility before 6 a.m. and pulled the fire alarm. He then sprayed fire extinguishers all over the first and second floors.

Georgian College cancelled classes located in Building A for the day to give it a proper cleanup.

According to the Poison Control Centre, the dry chemical used in fire extinguishers can cause mild irritation to the nose, throat and lungs. Sometimes, it may require medical attention.

Wednesday afternoon, Elaine Murray, a spokesperson for Georgian College confirmed that the 19-year-old man from Christian Island is not a student.

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

WINDSOR WARNS BRADLEY CRASH COULD LEAD TO MORE PFAS POLLUTION IN FARMINGTON RIVER
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-windsor-pfas-bradley-plane-crash-20191002-mmsldocd6napjgkbf5hq3m2tj4-story.html
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, response, other_chemical

Windsor town officials warned residents Wednesday that firefighting foam containing the hazardous chemical PFAS that was used to put out a fire at Bradley International Airport could potentially reach the Farmington River.

Local officials are worried the large amounts of chemical foam used to extinguish fires around the wreckage of the crashed World War II bomber could reach sewer lines that would carry the pollutant down to the river.

A massive spill of firefighting foam at Bradley in June sent thousands of gallons of the potentially toxic PFAS chemicals into the Farmington and triggered a major state effort to deal with the ‰??emerging pollutant.‰?? A health warning against eating fish caught in the river continues in effect nearly four months after the huge spill.

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

WARSAW RESIDENT ENGULFED IN FLAMES FROM STATIC ELECTRICITY
http://www.bentoncountyenterprise.com/content/warsaw-resident-engulfed-flames-static-electricity
Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, injury, solvent

Life can change in an instant. No one is more aware of that than local resident J.D. Wilson, who was involved in a chemical flash fire on Tuesday, September 24 at 1:30 PM near Climax Springs. A Warsaw resident and owner of a take-out BBQ restaurant, he was seriously burned while working in a home in Climax Springs on Tuesday, September 24. The football coach for a local youth team, and father of three, was helping to put in a new washer and dryer for a couple, when an explosion occurred. Another man was helping with the job, but was outside of the house during the accident.
‰??Apparently, there was glue on the floor where the washer and dryer were to be placed and J.D. was using paint thinner to clean and dissolve the glue,‰?? said Mitzi Culton, J.D.‰??s mother-in-law and mother of J.D.‰??s wife, Kenzi Culton-Wilson. ‰??He said that he heard the air conditioning click on just before the explosion. The Fire Department determined that the explosion was caused by static electricity.‰??
‰??After I received the call that J.D. was being flown to Columbia, I jumped in the car and headed for the hospital, A nurse from the University of Missouri hospital called me to let me know that J.D. had arrived and was conscious. I was instructed to go directly to the E.R.‰?? said Wilson‰??s wife Kenzi.

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

EPA FINES LOCAL COMPANY FOR MINOR VIOLATIONS ‰?? THE SUN-GAZETTE NEWSPAPER
http://www.thesungazette.com/article/news/2019/10/02/epa-fines-local-company-for-minor-violations/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical, illegal

SAN FRANCISCO ‰?? A local company was fined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week over minor violations of the federal Clean Air Act‰??s chemical safety requirements.

On Sept. 24, the EPA announced settlements with eight industrial facilities in California, including Visalia-based California Dairies, Inc.‰??s facility in Fresno. The agreements were reached under EPA‰??s expedited settlements policy, which is only used in certain circumstances to address minor, easily correctable violations. The companies have corrected the violations and paid fines totaling $18,780. California Dairies, Inc. was fined $3,600.

‰??Ensuring facilities maintain an updated Risk Management Plan is critical,‰?? said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. ‰??These actions ensure that facilities handling dangerous materials are minimizing potential impacts to the environment and the surrounding community.‰??

EPA inspections found the eight companies violated the Clean Air Act‰??s Chemical Accident Prevention regulations by failing to review and update facility Risk Management Plans; failing to design and maintain safe facilities; failing to conduct periodic compliance self-audits; failing to use updated population data in consequence analysis; or failing to post information on hazardous substances for employees.

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

NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS COMPANY IMPROVES CHEMICAL SAFETY AFTER EPA SETTLEMENT
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/newburyport-massachusetts-company-improves-chemical-safety-after-epa-settlement
Tags: us_MA, industrial, discovery, environmental, pharmaceutical, illegal

BOSTON ‰?? A Newburyport, Massachusetts company that makes chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry signed an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make the company safer for employees and the environment. The settlement with Polycarbon Industries (PCI) includes a $50,210 fine and $152,000 in projects that will protect human health and the environment.

To settle charges by EPA that the company violated federal and state hazardous waste laws, PCI of 9 Opportunity Way in Newburyport agreed to buy and operate a system to monitor emissions of hazardous wastes and other gas emissions inside the manufacturing and laboratory areas of its facility. The company will also plant 63 trees in Newburyport as a Supplementary Environmental Project that will reduce air pollution in the Newburyport area.

"PCI will ensure the environment and workers are protected in the future by taking the steps needed to come into compliance," said EPA Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel. "This is important because these violations could have resulted in the release of hazardous wastes to the environment."

In its manufacturing process, PCI generates hazardous wastes such as toluene, methylene chloride, acetone and methanol. The most significant violations were that the company failed to comply with regulations designed to prevent releases of hazardous waste for four hazardous waste tanks and failed to comply with hazardous waste air emission standards for those tanks, as well as associated equipment that came into contact with the waste.

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

ACID-LADEN TANKER OVERTURNS ON NSE NEAR SLIM RIVER
https://www.thesundaily.my/local/acid-laden-tanker-overturns-on-nse-near-slim-river-BN1438425
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

IPOH: A tanker lorry transporting 24.8 tonnes of sulphuric acid skidded and overturned at Km 373 of the North South Expressway (south bound) near Slim River today.

Slim River Fire and Rescue station chief Mohd Fazrul Azuan Norman said the station received a call on the incident at 3.53pm.

‰??The volatility of the acid is 98%. The Hazardous Materials Unit (Hazmat) is conducting the hazard and risk assessment process,‰?? he said in a statement here today.

Mohd Fazrul Azuan said the lorry driver, aged 32, was slightly injured in the incident and was sent to Slim River Hospital for treatment.

Today‰??s accident involving a tanker lorry transporting chemical is the second to occur in Perak in a week.

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

PETROL PUMP CATCHES FIRE IN STATE CAPITAL, NOBODY INJURED
http://www.uniindia.com/petrol-pump-catches-fire-in-state-capital-nobody-injured/east/news/1747002.html
Tags: India, public, explosion, response, gasoline

Patna, Oct 1 (UNI) Panic gripped in and around Nala Road locality in the state capital when the blast took place after a petrol pump caught fire near Dinkar roundabout under Kadamkuan police station area in the state capital today.
Senior police superintendent Garima Malik said that fire tenders struggled hard to douse flames which were leaping out from the petrol pump. She said a blast also took place at the petrol pump following inferno adding Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and other authorities concerned would find out the reason behind the blast. She said nobody was injured in the incident.
Ms Malik said that the reason behind the fire was yet unknown and agencies concerned including forensic science laboratory (FSL) would ascertain the cause fo fire.

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

5-YEAR EXTENSION FOR 12 PVT SCHOOLS
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/5-year-extension-for-12-pvt-schools/841179.html
Tags: India, laboratory, discovery, environmental

In 2018, the school education directorate had decided to tighten the noose around private schools for not fulfilling the requisite criteria/formalities despite serving numerous reminders.
As a result, around 284 private schools operating within Jammu municipal limits were closed for not adhering to three essential criteria ‰?? fire, building and lab chemical safety norms. Of the 284 schools, 161 were in Jammu zone followed by Gandhi Nagar zone (101) and Satwari zone (22). ‰?? TNS

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

---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.