From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2020 07:50:06 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: C7E93078-220A-4709-A78D-41A3E64813E1**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, June 5, 2020 at 7:49:51 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 (12 articles)

ROANOKE, SALEM CREWS CALLED TO HELP WITH HAZMAT SPILL IN CARROLL COUNTY
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, resin

GUJARAT: EIGHT KILLED IN CHEMICAL FACTORY BLAST, SEVERAL INJURED
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

SHERIFF: EXPLOSIVES, CHEMICALS FOUND IN TAZEWELL COUNTY HOUSE, FBI ASSISTING IN INVESTIGATION
Tags: us_VA, public, discovery, injury, explosives

PREVIOUSLY UNIDENTIFIED CHEMICALS DISCOVERED ACROSS S. JERSEY, LINKED TO PLANT THAT USED PFAS
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

LITHIUM-ION BATTERY FIRE DAMAGES SUITE IN NANAIMO ‰?? NANAIMO NEWS BULLETIN
Tags: Canada, public, fire, response, batteries

FIRE IN VACANT BUILDING TURNS INTO HAZMAT SITUATION IN EASTON
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT SPILL CLOSES OFF SEVENTH STREET ‰?? THE NEWKIRK HERALD JOURNAL
Tags: us_OK, public, release, response, other_chemical

FACTBOX: WHAT U.S. POLICE ARE SHOOTING AT PROTESTERS
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, pepper_spray, tear_gas

BURNING OFF? DON'T TOSS ANY OLD WASTE ONTO FIRE, SAYS EPA
Tags: Australia, public, fire, environmental, waste

CLARK COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT SAYS NO ONE INJURED DURING HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, ag_chems

OXYGEN TANK EXPLOSION SPILLS WHITE SUBSTANCE IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO
Tags: Canada, public, explosion, response, dust, compressed_gas

INDUSTRIAL CHEMIST ALESSANDRO AGOSTI SAYS QUALITY PRODUCTS COME FROM CONTROLLED, SAFE PROCESSES
Tags: Italy, industrial, discovery, environmental, pharmaceutical


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ROANOKE, SALEM CREWS CALLED TO HELP WITH HAZMAT SPILL IN CARROLL COUNTY
https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2020/06/05/roanoke-salem-crews-called-to-help-with-hazmat-spill-in-carroll-county/
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, resin

CARROLL COUNTY, Va. ‰?? Crews from Roanoke and Salem are heading home after they were called to help with a hazmat spill that resulted from a tractor-trailer crash in Carroll County.

Authorities say crews were dispatched to mile marker 13 on I-77 just before midnight Thursday after a tractor-trailer started leaking hazardous chemicals after a crash.

Around 25 gallons out of a 55-gallon drum of chemical resin had leaked, according to Roanoke Fire-EMS.

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GUJARAT: EIGHT KILLED IN CHEMICAL FACTORY BLAST, SEVERAL INJURED
https://thelogicalindian.com/news/blast-in-chemical-factory-kills-eight-people-several-injuries-reported-21492
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

A blast, followed by a massive fire in the storage tank of a chemical plant in Dahej, in Gujarat's Bharuch district took eight lives and injured more than 50 people on Wednesday.

Ten fire trucks came to control the blaze that engulfed the entire factory. Nearly 4,800 people in villages near to the plant have been evacuated and taken to safer areas as a precautionary measure, fearing leakage of the poisonous chemicals, a district official informed the media.

Videos of the fire went viral on social media. The plant belongs to chemical major Yashashvi Rasayan Pvt Ltd, which produces over 15 chemicals for industrial use.

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SHERIFF: EXPLOSIVES, CHEMICALS FOUND IN TAZEWELL COUNTY HOUSE, FBI ASSISTING IN INVESTIGATION
https://www.bdtonline.com/news/sheriff-explosives-chemicals-found-in-tazewell-county-house-fbi-assisting-in-investigation/article_5d2981e0-a68e-11ea-b987-175906fd1bd5.html
Tags: us_VA, public, discovery, injury, explosives

RICHLANDS,Va. ‰?? A call about an accident led to explosives being found in a home and a neighborhood being evacuated while specialists with several law enforcement agencies removed the explosive materials.

The incident began Tuesday evening during a medical call on Holy Road just outside the town of Richlands, Major Harold Heatley, chief deputy of the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office, said Thursday.

"Tuesday night we had a call of an accident where a man had hurt his hand and possibly cut off some fingers, and in the investigation what we found out was that this man had some chemicals and explosive materials in his house," Sheriff Brian Hieatt said later. "So we contacted some special agents with the Virginia State Police, and then they started coordinating the investigation with FBI specialists."

Investigators are working to determine what types of chemicals and explosive materials are in the house, Hieatt stated.

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PREVIOUSLY UNIDENTIFIED CHEMICALS DISCOVERED ACROSS S. JERSEY, LINKED TO PLANT THAT USED PFAS
https://www.inquirer.com/science/climate/new-jersey-pfas-chemicals-solvay-plant-dep-20200604.html
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

A team of scientists report in a new study that they have found a recently identified group of chemical compounds, likely used as a substitutes for highly-toxic PFAS, in soil samples taken across New Jersey.

It‰??s not yet known whether the new compounds, called ClPFPECAs, are toxic to humans or dangerous to the environment. However, it is believed they were used to replace some forms of PFAS, a group of chemical compounds used in the production of non-stick cookware, fire resistant furniture, and firefighting foam.

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LITHIUM-ION BATTERY FIRE DAMAGES SUITE IN NANAIMO ‰?? NANAIMO NEWS BULLETIN
https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/news/lithium-ion-battery-fire-damages-suite-in-nanaimo/
Tags: Canada, public, fire, response, batteries

There were no injuries, but one man was displaced from a suite in Nanaimo after a lithium-ion polymer battery burst into flame while it was being charged.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue responded to a report of a fire in a living room in the downstairs suite of a home on Kamp Place in Harewood shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The occupant was not home at when the fire broke out, but arrived to see smoke coming from the apartment and sounded the alarm, said Alan Millbank, Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire prevention officer.

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FIRE IN VACANT BUILDING TURNS INTO HAZMAT SITUATION IN EASTON
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/fire-in-vacant-building-turns-into-hazmat-situation-in-easton/article_4616b3dc-a644-11ea-9b74-bb5dba5b048e.html
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

EASTON, Pa. - A fire and hazmat situation shut down part of Route 611 in Easton.

Fire was reported late Wednesday night in a vacant building in the 200 block of Route 611, officials said.

Responding firefighters found chemicals inside, and the incident turned into a hazmat situation, police said.

Crews shut down the road and the Department of Environmental Protection responded to the scene.

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HAZMAT SPILL CLOSES OFF SEVENTH STREET ‰?? THE NEWKIRK HERALD JOURNAL
https://www.newkirkherald.com/2020/06/03/hazmat-spill-closes-off-seventh-street/
Tags: us_OK, public, release, response, other_chemical

NEWKIRK ‰?? Seventh Street and Pine was temporarily closed off Friday afternoon, May 29, after an electrical transformer fell off a truck, leaking a hazardous chemical onto the street.

The Newkirk Fire Department received the call about 1 p.m. and arrived on the scene to find the spill on the street, and with the help of the Newkirk Police Department (NPS) and Kay County Sheriff‰??s Office (KCSO), soon had the scene blockaded to keep traffic away from the spill.

The spill contained polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB, a toxic substance used in the oil inside older electrical transformers. Electrical crews had replaced the transformer at the rodeo arena, and were transporting it on a truck when it fell off, causing the leak. The chemical is highly toxic to the environment.

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FACTBOX: WHAT U.S. POLICE ARE SHOOTING AT PROTESTERS
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/03/us/03reuters-minneapolis-police-weapons-factbox.html
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, pepper_spray, tear_gas

(Reuters) - Police across the United States are using a variety of weapons on protesters as demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd intensify. Often described as ‰??non-lethal,‰?? these weapons include tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets. They have sometimes seriously injured protesters.

TEAR GAS:

Tear gas has been widely and frequently used by police to disperse protesters. CS or CN gas are chemical compound powders that spray from canisters. They produce a burning sensation in the eyes and mouth that incapacitates.

PEPPER SPRAY AND PEPPER BALLS

Police have shot protesters with pepper spray both from handheld devices and projectiles. While pepper spray is chemically distinct from tear gas, it produces similar effects: burning and watering of the eyes and skin.

Police have also fired pepper balls, small projectiles containing chemical irritants. Such projectiles can contain PAVA spray, an irritant similar to pepper spray, as well as CS gas. The balls can be shot from launchers or modified paintball guns.

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BURNING OFF? DON'T TOSS ANY OLD WASTE ONTO FIRE, SAYS EPA
https://www.miragenews.com/burning-off-don-t-toss-any-old-waste-onto-fire-says-epa/
Tags: Australia, public, fire, environmental, waste

With landholders making use of cooler weather to get some burning done, Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is warning that the mistake of tossing waste into the flames when burning off can be costly for farmers and the environment.

EPA South West Regional Manager Carolyn Francis says many waste items turn toxic the moment they go into the fire.

‰??Farm waste items like silage wrap, chemical containers and old tyres don‰??t burn properly, but it will produce toxic smoke, and can send residue into waterways and create chemical contamination that persists in the soil. Send it to landfill or a recycling facility,‰?? Ms Francis said.

Silage wrap, some chemical containers and tyres can be recycled into building and fencing materials and floor matting. There‰??s information on waste disposal and recycling at sustainability.vic.gov.au or on your local council website.

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CLARK COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT SAYS NO ONE INJURED DURING HAZMAT RESPONSE
https://www.wsaw.com/fox/content/news/Hazmat-incident-closes-portion-of-Highway-13-near-Unity-570953001.html
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, ag_chems

UNITY, Wis. (WSAW) -- The Clark County Sheriff‰??s Department says they responded to the report of incident involving bulk dry fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate Tuesday morning at ProVision Partners in Unity.

It was reported around 7:30 a.m. As a precaution, residents in the village were notified to evacuate the area.

The caller reported hearing a noise and observing smoke coming from the top of an elevator being used to offload bulk, dry fertilizer from a railroad car and into a semi-trailer.

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OXYGEN TANK EXPLOSION SPILLS WHITE SUBSTANCE IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO
https://www.cp24.com/news/police-investigating-oxygen-tank-explosion-in-downtown-toronto-1.4965811
Tags: Canada, public, explosion, response, dust, compressed_gas

Police are investigating an oxygen tank rupture at College Street and Elizabeth Street.

Officials say they received a call about a possible chemical spill just before 2:30 p.m.

White smoke could be seen coming from a large 13,000 gallon oxygen tank.

A powder substance spilled from the tank onto the ground in the surrounding area.

Toronto fire officials tell CP24 they believe the substance is non-toxic perlite that is used to insulate oxygen tanks.

‰??There‰??s an insolation material called perlite that released," said District Fire Chief Bill Bygrave. "It‰??s not toxic but it is an irritant. So it released up into the air, it‰??s like a powder. And we had to wet it down.‰??

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INDUSTRIAL CHEMIST ALESSANDRO AGOSTI SAYS QUALITY PRODUCTS COME FROM CONTROLLED, SAFE PROCESSES
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Industrial-chemist-Alessandro-Agosti-says/98/i22
Tags: Italy, industrial, discovery, environmental, pharmaceutical

Integrating process safety values into organic chemical manufacturing guides Alessandro Agosti‰??s work each day. He is the head of process safety and reaction scale-up at Olon, an Italy-based manufacturer of pharmaceutical chemicals.

Olon‰??s chemists, engineers, and process safety experts help pharmaceutical companies bridge the gap from research and development to manufacturing. Agosti is an organic chemist by training and his role is to determine how pharmaceutical companies can smoothly and safely transition to plant-scale production of new chemicals.

Efficiency, high-quality products, and safe manufacturing methods go together, he says. An unsafe process is wasteful and expensive, a maxim he stresses as he scales up production for client companies.

‰??If you love organic chemistry, this is a dream job,‰?? he says. ‰??Studying reactions is never boring. They are always changing and there are always surprises, and some can become quite weird when you examine the details,‰?? he says. In one recent case, for example, simply modifying the order in which chemicals were added to a reactor minimized impurities and drastically increased stability.

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