From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (13 articles)
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 07:52:18 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 5B073BA8-3A17-47B6-8ED4-9EE12F702F6D**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at 7:52:02 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 (13 articles)

LOOK: MAN PUMPS 30 GALLONS OF GAS INTO WRONG PART OF BOAT
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, gasoline

RECOVERY AND CLEANUP CONTINUES AT SITE OF DEADLY JACKSON COUNTY BOAT DOCK FIRE
Tags: us_AL, public, fire, death, unknown_chemical

HEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL IN NASHVILLE DISMISSES EARLY DUE TO CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_TN, education, release, response, ammonia

JURY AWARDS $20 MILLION TO FAMILIES OF MEN KILLED IN RIG EXPLOSION
Tags: us_OK, public, follow-up, environmental

NEIGHBORS VOICE CONCERNS ABOUT CHEMICALS AFTER DEADLY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental

SETTLEMENT FOR 7 INJURED IN 2016 NEDERLAND PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental

HOW SAFE ARE TATTOO INKS?
Tags: Denmark, public, discovery, environmental, amines, metals

ELECTRICAL FAULT CAUSES FIRE AT UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY ENGINEERING BLOCK LAB
Tags: New_Zealand, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

BUCKS COUNTY BOMBER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND ADMIT LAUNCHING HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVES IN 2018
Tags: us_PA, public, follow-up, environmental, explosives, illegal

GOUVERNEUR MAN ACCUSED OF LEAVING METH LABS AT STEWART‰??S, PRICE CHOPPER
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, illegal, meth_lab, waste

DELAWARE CITY REFINERY AGREES TO PAY $70,000 TO SETTLE AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS
Tags: us_DE, industrial, discovery, environmental, hydrogen_sulfide, sulfur_dioxide, illegal

WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT FILED ON BEHALF OF MAN KILLED IN EXPLOSION AT WATSON GRINDING AND MANUFACTURING
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical

BRATTLEBORO BREAKING NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER, TRAFFIC
Tags: us_VT, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical


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LOOK: MAN PUMPS 30 GALLONS OF GAS INTO WRONG PART OF BOAT
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/01/28/Man-pumps-30-gallons-of-gas-into-wrong-part-of-boat/4411580234210/
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, gasoline

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Florida said a hazmat team responded to a gas station where a man filling up his boat confused a fishing pole holder for the gas tank.

Orange County Fire Rescue said the customer at 7-Eleven in Orlando was attempting to fill up his 18-foot boat about 11:35 a.m. Monday when he accidentally pumped 30 gallons of gas directly into the cockpit.

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RECOVERY AND CLEANUP CONTINUES AT SITE OF DEADLY JACKSON COUNTY BOAT DOCK FIRE
https://whnt.com/2020/01/28/recovery-and-cleanup-continues-at-site-of-deadly-jackson-county-boat-dock-fire/
Tags: us_AL, public, fire, death, unknown_chemical

JACKSON COUNTY, Ala. - Work continued Tuesday to clean up and recover boats at the site of a boat dock fire that killed 8 people and destroyed dozens of boats early Monday morning.

Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus said in a briefing Tuesday morning they did not believe the death toll would rise as recovery efforts continued.

Crews were beginning Tuesday to remove four boats that drifted out on the water and sank, Jackson County EMA Director Paul Smith said. The boats pose a navigational hazard and also environmental, due to the fuel that could leak.

Teams also were monitoring the oil and gas that had already leaked from some of the destroyed boats. ADEM has sampled water multiple times and will continue to do so the rest of the week until they're satisfied there's no environmental impact, Smith said.

"It's not going to cause a great concern but anytime you introduce oil or gas or any type of chemical into water it's naturally going to seep into grass and things like that. It could kill aquatic vegetation. They don't expect there to be any human impact or environmental impact."

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HEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL IN NASHVILLE DISMISSES EARLY DUE TO CHEMICAL LEAK
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/28/head-magnet-head-magnet-middle-smiddle-school-dismissed-early-due-chemical-leak-building-near-school/4599581002/
Tags: us_TN, education, release, response, ammonia

Head Magnet Middle School was placed on lockdown Tuesday and students were dismissed early due to a chemical leak in a building near the school, a Nashville Fire Department spokeswoman said.

According to a Metro Nashville dispatcher, the leak was reported about 11:30 a.m.

Kendra Loney, a spokeswoman for the fire department, said a chemical leak at 1900 Warner Street promoted the early dismissal at the school, 1830 Jo Johnston Avenue.

"The building was being demolished and a construction crew was present," Loney said. "Small traces of ammonia were detected and the neighboring school (Head Middle School) was quickly put on temporary lockdown."

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JURY AWARDS $20 MILLION TO FAMILIES OF MEN KILLED IN RIG EXPLOSION
https://kfor.com/2020/01/28/jury-awards-20-million-to-families-of-men-killed-in-rig-explosion/
Tags: us_OK, public, follow-up, environmental

QUINTON, Okla. (KFOR) ‰?? Two years after a deadly rig explosion in Quinton, two families have been awarded millions of dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit.

On January 22, 2018, five men were killed after a rig exploded outside of Quinton.

Authorities say there were 22 workers on the well site, which was being drilled by Houston-based Patterson-UTI Energy, at the time of the explosion.

Officials identified the victims as 35-year-old Josh Ray, 29-year-old Matthew Smith, 26-year-old Cody Risk, 60-year-old Parker Waldridge, and 55-year-old Roger Cunningham.

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NEIGHBORS VOICE CONCERNS ABOUT CHEMICALS AFTER DEADLY EXPLOSION
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/neighbors-voice-concerns-about-chemicals-after-deadly-explosion/285-5b1fc3a9-81d4-4414-8bcf-1e43a18bc17b
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental

HOUSTON ‰?? The owner of Watson Grinding and Manufacturing issued his first statement since the deadly blast last Friday.

"It's heartbreaking to see our neighbors struggle," John Watson said. "Who is at fault and who will pay for damages...cannot be determined at this early stage."

In the meantime, investigators are at the blast site in northwest Houston digging through debris trying to figure out what caused the explosion that killed Frank Flores and Gerardo Castorena.

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SETTLEMENT FOR 7 INJURED IN 2016 NEDERLAND PLANT FIRE
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Settlement-for-7-injured-in-2016-Nederland-plant-15011819.php
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental

Seven workers injured in a 2016 explosion at the Sunoco Logistics plant in Nederland have reached a financial settlement with two Sunoco contractors.

A civil trial scheduled to begin last week in Jefferson County was expected to last for several weeks, but an attorney for the plaintiffs said representatives for Cleveland Integrity Services and Carber Holdings agreed to settle for an undisclosed sum as jury selection was about to begin.

‰??You usually want these kind of cases to resolve because it takes away the risks that can come from a trial, but only if the other parties are being fair with their offers,‰?? attorney Benny Agosto Jr. said. ‰??We had our pretrial motions, went into selection and were staring at the jury panel when the insurance company wanted to talk.‰??

Luis Valencia, Jorge Castro, Jose Estrada, Darwin Lopez, Jose Ramos, Miguel Reynaga and Jose Torres Vera were seeking multimillion-dollar claims against the two companies.

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HOW SAFE ARE TATTOO INKS?
https://chemicalsinourlife.echa.europa.eu/guest-corner/-/asset_publisher/vcrOSpI91ebF/blog/how-safe-are-tattoo-inks-?_cldee=cnN0dWFydGNpaEBtZS5jb20%3d&recipientid=lead-e3a3bbf81ee8e8118107005056952b31-a383a450345243afa49cdbc00207259e&esid=4239e359-6042-ea11-8116-005056b9310e
Tags: Denmark, public, discovery, environmental, amines, metals

The popularity of tattooing is increasing. It has been estimated that 16 % of European citizens will have a tattoo by 2021, which involves over 80 million Europeans. The number would probably be much higher if we took into account various cosmetic tattoos such as microblading and permanent make-up.

In autumn 2019 the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) conducted an enforcement project where we examined the safety of tattoo and permanent make-up inks. We had a total of 20 inks ‰?? six for make-up and 14 for tattoos ‰?? tested for chemical composition. The inks were bought from several Finnish companies, an online store based within the EU and another online store based outside the EU.

Eight of the 20 tested inks contained too high levels of chemicals that may cause skin sensitisation, cancer or be toxic for reproduction: various aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), or heavy metals. Tests detected 4-methyl-m-phenylenediamine, benzo[a]pyrene, cadmium, lead and nickel, for example. The substance concentrations exceeded the maximum concentration limits for inks set in the Council of Europe‰??s recommendation on tattoo and permanent make-up to protect human health. Tukes required the companies to withdraw unsafe tattoo inks from sale.

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ELECTRICAL FAULT CAUSES FIRE AT UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY ENGINEERING BLOCK LAB
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/119088506/fire-at-university-of-canterbury-lab
Tags: New_Zealand, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

An electrical fault is thought to be the cause of a fire at an engineering lab at the University of Canterbury.

Five crews and a command unit truck were called to the university in Ilam, Christchurch, about 10.20am on Tuesday, Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman Lyn Crosson said.

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BUCKS COUNTY BOMBER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND ADMIT LAUNCHING HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVES IN 2018
https://www.inquirer.com/news/david-surman-bucks-county-bombs-pleads-tina-smith-20200127.html
Tags: us_PA, public, follow-up, environmental, explosives, illegal

A chemical company owner who sent residents of upper Bucks County into a panic two summers ago was sentenced to up to two years in jail and a decade on probation on Monday in a plea deal that spared him from state prison.

David Surman Jr., 32, of Quakertown, was the focus of a monthslong FBI-aided manhunt in 2018 after residents in the rural tip of the county complained of mysterious late-night explosions.

He was finally connected to the bombs ‰?? some of which left large craters along country roads ‰?? when a state trooper spotted him and his girlfriend, Tina Smith, fleeing the scene of one explosion.

Surman pleaded guilty Monday to possession and manufacturing of a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy to possessing and manufacturing a weapon of mass destruction. He also pleaded guilty to criminal use of a communication facility and unlawful use of a computer for a large cache of child pornography detectives found on an external hard drive while investigating the bombs.

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GOUVERNEUR MAN ACCUSED OF LEAVING METH LABS AT STEWART‰??S, PRICE CHOPPER
https://www.wwnytv.com/2020/01/27/gouverneur-man-accused-leaving-meth-labs-stewarts-price-chopper/
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, illegal, meth_lab, waste

GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. (WWNY) - A 35 year old Gouverneur man is being held without bail after allegedly leaving one-pot meth labs at two village businesses.

Eric Fuller of 5 Factory Street was arrested Sunday evening.

He was charged with felony counts of unlawful disposal of methamphetamine material, second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine.

According to village police, 2 one-pot meth labs were discovered Sunday at the Stewart's Shops on Main Street. The convenience store was immediately evacuated. (One-pot meth labs are sealed containers filled with chemical ingredients to make methamphetamine. The chemicals can cause an explosions.)

Police said the labs were found on a sink and in a trash container in the store's restroom.

Police were able to identify a possible suspect by checking the store's video surveillance. The video showed the suspect wearing a backpack.

State police located the suspect, later identified as Fuller, walking on Sterling Street. They noticed he no longer had the backpack.

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DELAWARE CITY REFINERY AGREES TO PAY $70,000 TO SETTLE AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2020/01/27/delaware-city-refinery-agrees-pay-70-000-settle-air-pollution-problems/4591487002/
Tags: us_DE, industrial, discovery, environmental, hydrogen_sulfide, sulfur_dioxide, illegal

Delaware environmental regulators announced Monday that the Delaware City Refining Company will pay $70,000 for months of air pollution violations.

That includes a February 2019 fire that shut down Del. 9 and Del. 72 for hours and sent more than 6,000 pounds of "various pollutants" into the air, according to a press release from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

That fire largely included the release of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide into the air, according to DNREC records. Both chemicals are considered poisonous and can cause a slew of health problems if inhaled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT FILED ON BEHALF OF MAN KILLED IN EXPLOSION AT WATSON GRINDING AND MANUFACTURING
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/wrongful-death-suit-filed-on-behalf-of-man-killed-in-explosion-at-watson-grinding-and-manufacturing/285-76be0c30-7fea-4e61-8410-19c2e2ad9b6f
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, other_chemical

HOUSTON ‰?? A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against several companies on behalf of the family of Frank Flores.

Flores was killed in an explosion at an industrial site in northwest Houston. Gerardo Castorena was also killed in the explosion at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing at 4500 Gessner.

The explosion happened around 4:25 a.m. and it was heard and felt across the city.

Flores' family attorneys listed Watson Valve Services, Inc., Watson Grinding and Manufacturing Co., KMHJ, Ltd. and KMHJ Management Company, LLC, on the suit.

A temporary restraining order was also filed against the companies. Lawyers said the site needed to be preserved in order for evidence to be recovered.

Flores is survived by his wife of 26 years and two children.

Houston fire officials said propylene was the chemical involved in the explosion.

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BRATTLEBORO BREAKING NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER, TRAFFIC
https://www.reformer.com/stories/chemical-co-shuts-down-after-violations,595694
Tags: us_VT, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

CAMBRIDGEPORT ‰?? An "under the radar" chemical company whose client list included the Department of Defense has shut down after it ran into serious regulatory problems with both the state of Vermont and the town of Grafton.

Bruce Martin, the regional inspector for the Vermont Division of Fire Safety, said Monday that Matrix Chem Inc., has closed and the chemicals are being cleaned up by Clean Harbors, a regional chemical clean-up firm. The company was facing numerous deadlines to bring its operation into compliance by mid-January after a surprise inspection of the company in late December.

Martin said he would do a third inspection of the company's site, which is inside a large industrial building at 3992 Saxtons River Road, close to the boundary between Rockingham and Grafton. The building, owned by John McKay of Brattleboro, houses several businesses.

Martin said he was reassured that the owner of Matrix Chem, Andrea Linkin-Butler of Londonderry, has hired Clean Harbors, and he has confidence that Clean Harbors will remove the chemicals and clean up the company. He said when he first visited the building in December, there were 30 55-gallon drums on site "still in packaging."

Martin, who is the regional inspector for the Vermont Department of Public Safety's Division of Fire Safety and a key member of the state's hazardous materials response team, said the problem first came to the attention of the town in December, prompting the state's inspection.

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