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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, July 3, 2020 at 6:25:11 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)
HOUSE EXPLOSION THAT KILLED 1 WAS SPARKED BY HOMEMADE FIREWORKS, POLICE SAY
Tags: us_KY, public, explosion, death, fireworks
CHEMICAL LEAK PROMPTS HAZMAT TEAM RESPONSE
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, phosphoric_acid
FUEL TANKER ACCIDENT SHUTS DOWN MOUNTAIN PASS IN COLORADO
Tags: us_CO, transportation, release, response
LONGTIME JACKSON LAB SCIENTIST KNOWN FOR URGING CLEANUP OF NY TOXIC DUMP DIES AT 81
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, waste
PROTECTIVE GEAR COULD EXPOSE FIREFIGHTERS TO PFAS
Tags: us_IN, laboratory, discovery, environmental, toxics
MT. CARMEL RESIDENTS EVACUATED DUE TO PROPANE LEAK
Tags: us_TN, public, release, response, propane
DRONES SPRAY CHEMICALS TO DRIVE AWAY LOCUSTS IN AGRA, WILDLIFE ACTIVISTS FUME AT ‰??POISON BAIT‰??
Tags: India, public, release, environmental, ag_chems
CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT WHITMAN HOME SENDS 1 TO HOSPITAL ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
Tags: us_MA, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, pool_chemicals
VISAKHAPATNAM: FATAL ACCIDENTS AT PHARMA CITY RAISE SAFETY CONCERNS
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, environmental, drugs
EPA PUBLISHES FINAL RISK EVALUATION FOR METHYLENE CHLORIDE
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, environmental, methylene_chloride
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HOUSE EXPLOSION THAT KILLED 1 WAS SPARKED BY HOMEMADE FIREWORKS, POLICE SAY
https://www.wdrb.com/news/house-explosion-that-killed-1-was-sparked-by-homemade-fireworks-police-say/article_f75c4178-bc76-11ea-8cd5-9f61baa3b21a.html
Tags: us_KY, public, explosion, death, fireworks
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A house explosion in Elizabethtown that left one person dead and five others injured was apparently sparked by homemade fireworks, according to police.
It happened around 10 p.m. Wednesday at a home on New Glendale Road. Investigators said someone was trying to make fireworks in the home when there was an explosion. Seven people were inside. Five were injured, and one person died.
"And I would very much discourage anyone from trying to make their own fireworks because it was a terrible outcome last night," Ward said.
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CHEMICAL LEAK PROMPTS HAZMAT TEAM RESPONSE
https://benitolink.com/chemical-leak-prompts-hazmat-team-response/
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, phosphoric_acid
The Hollister Fire Department, Hollister Police Department, San Benito County Office of Emergency Services and the San Benito/Monterey HAZMAT team responded on July 1 to a toxic chemical leak on the 400 block of Haydon Street in Hollister.
Hollister Fire Chief Bob Martin Del Campo said three people lived in the home where the leak occurred, and all are reported to be unharmed.
The compound found was closely related to white phosphorus also known as phosphoric acid. A chemical that is used in agriculture as a pesticide and fertilizer.
‰??We were told the house was built in the early 1900‰??s among fruit orchards,‰?? Martin Del Campo said. He added perhaps the chemical leaked into the ground from old storage units.
The chemical is believed to have been ignited by the ambient oxygen. Phosphoric acid is one of the few chemicals that will react to ambient conditions.
When the fire department responded to the fire around 11 a.m. it was unclear what had started the fire. Martin Del Campo said a fence builder that was working in the area received a second degree chemical burn when he touched a smouldering ember. He was transported to the hospital by one of the residents.
‰??The residents showed us where it had caught fire earlier that day,‰?? Martin Del Campo said on June 2. ‰??At this time as the wind picked up. A white smoke began to emerge and started to spark and flame. Since there was no fuel causing the burn, it was then determined that HAZMAT needed to be brought in.‰??
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FUEL TANKER ACCIDENT SHUTS DOWN MOUNTAIN PASS IN COLORADO
https://www.outtherecolorado.com/news/fuel-tanker-accident-shuts-down-mountain-pass-in-colorado/article_7d13cb1e-bbb5-11ea-b23f-6b638a7b6205.html
Tags: us_CO, transportation, release, response
One of Colorado's mountain passes has been shut down following a vehicle accident that resulted in injuries.
At roughly 10 AM, Colorado State Patrol released news about a fuel tanker that had rolled over on Highway 6, also known as Loveland Pass. An extended closure is expected. The report also included that injuries had occurred.
Weather conditions were clear, with most of the pass in the 30-40s at the time of the accident.
Summit County Fire is on the scene.
When Loveland Pass closes down, this typically directs all HAZMAT vehicles to Eisenhower Tunnel, which is then shut down hourly to allow them to move through without other vehicles. This can cause delays.
Loveland Pass is a steep mountain pass in Colorado that connects the I-70 corridor with Summit County, providing access to Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort. It reaches an elevation of 11,991 feet above sea level and is prone to adverse weather conditions.
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LONGTIME JACKSON LAB SCIENTIST KNOWN FOR URGING CLEANUP OF NY TOXIC DUMP DIES AT 81
https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/01/news/hancock/longtime-jackson-lab-scientist-known-for-urging-cleanup-of-ny-toxic-dump-dies-at-81/
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, waste
Beverly Paigen, a longtime scientist at The Jackson Laboratory whose research into a toxic waste site in New York has been credited with spurring the creation of the federal Superfund program, died last week at the age of 81.
She died a few months after her husband Ken Paigen, also a longtime Jackson Lab researcher and head of the lab throughout the 1990s, who passed away in February at the age of 92.
A Chicago native, Beverly Paigen‰??s biomedical research career started in Buffalo in the late 1960s, where she held research positions at Roswell Park Memorial Institute ‰?? where her future husband also worked ‰?? and at Rachel Carson College at SUNY Buffalo, according to her obituary.
In the late 1970s, while in Buffalo, Paigen studied the impact of the Love Canal toxic waste site on the surrounding community of Niagara Falls, New York, and became a vocal advocate for cleaning the site up.
‰??With great courage and at personal and professional sacrifice, Bev spoke out about the human suffering at Love Canal [and] as a result of her scientific work and moral convictions, the entire affected community received relocation benefits,‰?? her family wrote in her obituary. ‰??Her work served as a catalyst for the [Environmental Protection Agency‰??s] Superfund program, which cleans up the nation‰??s worst hazardous waste sites.‰??
Paigen was harshly critical of New York state officials‰?? response to the environmental disaster at Love Canal, claiming that the state tried to suppress panic when she began reporting ailments she had found among residents there. She said her professional travel was restricted and that she was barred from applying for grants, according to a 1989 article in The Atlantic on Love Canal.
---------------------------------------------
PROTECTIVE GEAR COULD EXPOSE FIREFIGHTERS TO PFAS
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/Protective-gear-expose-firefighters-PFAS/98/i26
Tags: us_IN, laboratory, discovery, environmental, toxics
Firefighters face dangers beyond the blaze itself. Their work subjects them to carcinogens from burning materials, as well as toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from flame-suppressing foams. A new study finds that firefighters can also be exposed to PFAS over time through another source: their protective clothing (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00410).
Firefighters suffer from disproportionately high rates of cancer, including types that have been linked to PFAS exposure such as testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mesothelioma, and non-Hodgkin‰??s lymphoma. The clothing worn by firefighters, known as turnout gear, is made with fluoropolymer textiles and treated with PFAS for water resistance so that the material does not become soaked and heavy during use.
Graham F. Peaslee, a chemical physicist at the University of Notre Dame, began the study in 2017 when he was contacted by Diane Cotter. Her husband, a 28-year veteran of the Worcester (Massachusetts) Fire Department, had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Cotter had examined her husband‰??s gear and found that, while it appeared outwardly intact, there was serious fabric decay on the inside. Cotter wondered whether the uniform could be shedding toxic chemicals and asked Peaslee to take a look.
Peaslee uses nuclear techniques like particle-induced gamma-ray emission spectroscopy to measure the levels of fluorine in various consumer goods‰??from fast food wrappers to underwear. Based on fluorine levels, he can gauge the amount of PFAS present.
Cotter helped Peaslee collect more than 30 used and unused sets of turnout gear. Each set is made of an insulating cloth thermal layer with a moisture barrier at its center. The gear is coated on the outside with a water-resistant shell. Peaslee‰??s team found that the shell averaged just over 2% fluorine by weight, while the moisture barrier averaged more than 30% fluorine. Turnout gear, he says, contains ‰??the most highly fluorinated textiles I‰??ve ever seen.‰??
---------------------------------------------
MT. CARMEL RESIDENTS EVACUATED DUE TO PROPANE LEAK
https://wcyb.com/news/local/mt-carmel-residents-evacuated-due-to-propane-leak
Tags: us_TN, public, release, response, propane
According to Mount Carmel Fire Chief, Jason Byington, multiple people were evacuated from their homes after a propane leak in a residential area.
Officials say they received a call about the leak at 8:43 p.m. Tuesday night.
It happened on Elm Street in Mt. Carmel.
Officials told residents to evacuate their homes as a precaution.
---------------------------------------------
DRONES SPRAY CHEMICALS TO DRIVE AWAY LOCUSTS IN AGRA, WILDLIFE ACTIVISTS FUME AT ‰??POISON BAIT‰??
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/drones-spray-chemicals-to-drive-away-locusts-in-agra-wildlife-activists-fume-at-poison-bait/articleshow/76717246.cms
Tags: India, public, release, environmental, ag_chems
AGRA/DEHRADUN: An army of drones, fire brigade vehicles and tractors equipped with potent pesticides were used by the Agra administration to kill locusts swarms that had swooped on fields on Monday night.
According to officials of the Agra agriculture department, 60% of the insects were killed in the overnight operation. S N Singh, deputy director of the agriculture department, told TOI that four drones, five fire brigade vehicles and 10 tractors were pressed into service to spray two types of government-approved pesticides ‰?? Lambda-cyhalothrin and Chloropyrifos.
In May, after locust attacks were recorded in some parts of the country, the Centre had allowed conditional use of drones for spraying pesticides. But wildlife experts are fuming.
Experts TOI spoke to said locusts killed by chemical poisoning were ‰??poison bait‰?? and would be consumed by birds and frogs, potentially harming several other species, and also affecting soil quality. Akash Kumar Verma, an IFS officer from Uttarakhand, who tweeted the concerns on Tuesday, told TOI, ‰??Killing locusts by spraying poison will turn them into ‰??poison baits‰?? to be consumed by birds and by frogs and toads in the monsoon.‰??
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT WHITMAN HOME SENDS 1 TO HOSPITAL ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
https://whdh.com/news/chemical-explosion-at-whitman-home-sends-1-to-hospital/
Tags: us_MA, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical, pool_chemicals
WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH) - Emergency crews blocked the entrance to a Whitman neighborhood Tuesday night after a chemical explosion rocked the area.
The explosion on Hilltop Road resulted from a mixture of two different brands of pool shock and the blast sent one homeowner to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries around 7:45 p.m., according to the Whitman Fire Department.
Megan Hennessy who recently moved into the home with her 29-year-old boyfriend said he mixed a bag that was leftover from the previous residents with a new bag of chemicals.
‰??He used two different brands,‰?? Hennessy said while sitting in a car parked outside the home with the couple‰??s dog in her lap. ‰??When he mixed it in the bucket it was fine but when he dumped all the water out after putting it in the pool, it started to smoke and bubble.‰??
Moments later, what was leftover in the bucket exploded.
‰??When he stepped back, it had one large explosion which blew the bucket in the air and once it hit the ground it had three more smaller explosions,‰?? she explained.
---------------------------------------------
VISAKHAPATNAM: FATAL ACCIDENTS AT PHARMA CITY RAISE SAFETY CONCERNS
https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/fatal-accidents-at-pharma-city-raise-safety-concerns-631091
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, environmental, drugs
Visakhapatnam: Accidents continue to recur at Jawaharlal Nehru Parawada Pharma City in Visakhapatnam.
The gas leak incident at Sainor Life Sciences Private Limited is another one in a series of mishaps that happened in the past decade.
Blame it on human negligence or lack of safety measures, mishaps at pharma units continue to happen in the City of Destiny.
But every time a mishap happens, a committee will be constituted to investigate into the reasons behind the accident. However, nothing concrete would come out later until the incident would be long forgotten.
For the last eight years, over 40 had lost their lives in about 30 accidents that occurred at pharma city and hundreds were hospitalised.
The Pharm companies, including Azico Biophore, Glochem Industries, Vishnu Chemicals, Vimal Drugs along with Sainor Life Sciences Private Limited recorded a total of 20 deaths earlier. While repeated accidents occurred in some pharma companies claiming lives, in 2015, two were charred to death and four were injured in a reactor blast at the same Sainor Life Sciences Private Limited.
---------------------------------------------
EPA PUBLISHES FINAL RISK EVALUATION FOR METHYLENE CHLORIDE
https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20046-epa-publishes-final-risk-evaluation-for-methylene-chloride
Tags: us_WA, public, discovery, environmental, methylene_chloride
Washington ‰?? Methylene chloride poses ‰??unreasonable risk‰?? to workers under certain conditions, according to a final risk evaluation recently released by the Environmental Protection Agency, which now is compelled to propose within one year regulatory action to mitigate the chemical‰??s hazards.
Frequently used for bathtub refinishing, methylene chloride is among the first 10 chemicals under evaluation for potential health and environmental risks under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. In 2014, EPA found that exposure to the chemical may cause cancer, harm to the central nervous system and toxicity to the liver, among other adverse health effects.
The final evaluation, published June 19, is the first to be released for the 10 chemicals. Announced via a notice published in the June 24 Federal Register, the document states methylene chloride poses unreasonable risk to workers involved in numerous operations, including:
Plastic and rubber manufacturing
Electrical equipment, appliance and component manufacturing
Oil and gas drilling, extraction and support activities
Adhesive/caulk removal
Cold pipe insulation
Aerosol and non-aerosol degreasing and cleaning
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