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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (19 articles)
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2020 07:15:17 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 25F44AD7-6832-44CA-933F-24189FB555B1**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, August 21, 2020 at 7:14:58 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 (19 articles)
MANDATORY RESEARCH CESSATION AND INFORMATION ABOUT SECURING RESEARCH MATERIALS
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, environmental, other_chemical
DAKAR PORT IS STORING 2700 TONNES OF AMMONIUM NITRATE
Tags: Senegal, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
REVEALED: CHEMICAL THAT CAUSED HUGE BEIRUT BLAST STORED AT 18 ULSAN FIRMS
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
BEIRUT EFFECT: KOLKATA PORT CAUTIONS STAKEHOLDERS AGAINST STORAGE OF HAZARDOUS CARGO
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
PACKAGING ORGANISATION URGES RESPONSIBLE AMMONIUM NITRATE WAREHOUSING
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, followup, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
LARGE UNDERGROUND EXPLOSION CREATES MA HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, response, carbon_dioxide
HOUSEHOLD CLEANER MIXTURE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN MEDFORD
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, cleaners
ABANDONED BUCKET OF CHLORINE SPARKS HAZMAT CALL NEAR CAL STATE LONG BEACH
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, chlorine
AFR INVESTIGATING HAZMAT INCIDENT AT PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL
Tags: us_NM, public, release, response, epoxy, resin
INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY AFTER BELLAIRE FIRE
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, plastics
OFFICIALS RELEASE CAUSE OF NDSU LAB FIRE
Tags: us_ND, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
RESIDENTS, ONLOOKERS SHARE CONCERN ABOUT GRAND PRAIRIE FIRE, SMOKE TOXICITY ‰?? NBC 5 DALLAS-FORT WORTH
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, plastics
CHEMICAL INCIDENT ON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
OFFICIALS IN ASHLAND RESPOND TO INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION, THREE NEARBY STREETS EVACUATED
Tags: us_MA, public, explosion, response, carbon_dioxide
HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO HARWICH PORT FOR MERCURY SPILL FROM BROKEN THERMOMETER
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, mercury
PRAISE AFTER CHALLENGING WEEK AT NUCLEAR SITE
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
ORICA SAYS HUGE AMMONIUM NITRATE STOCKPILE NO THREAT TO NEWCASTLE AND NOTHING LIKE BEIRUT
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
ALLEGED WEST FOOTSCRAY TOXIC WASTE DUMPER GRAHAM LESLIE WHITE CHARGED WITH ENDANGERING FIREFIGHTERS
Tags: Australia, industrial, follow-up, environmental, illegal, waste
LACK OF PLANNING RISKS EPA‰??S ABILITY TO MEET TSCA DEADLINES
Tags: us_DC, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
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MANDATORY RESEARCH CESSATION AND INFORMATION ABOUT SECURING RESEARCH MATERIALS
https://news.ucsc.edu/2020/08/mandatory-research-cessation.html
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, environmental, other_chemical
Earlier today you received an email from me recommending that non-essential on-campus research operations temporarily cease due to the smoke and potential fire hazard. The situation has worsened and although the evacuation zone still does not include any campus space, it now extends to the entire region west of the Coastal Science Campus, Westside Research Park, and the residential campus and far to the North and an evacuation order for the campus could come at any time. Consequently, and at the direction of the CPEVC, I am now directing that all non-essential research operations at all Santa Cruz locations cease immediately. Please shut down all equipment as you would normally do for winter curtailment, secure chemicals in fire-safe storage, and secure lab notebooks and other irreplaceable items if possible.
As there is a risk that the fire may spread to the campus and there will be too little time to secure our research materials in the event of an evacuation, we have rapidly pulled together arrangements to move essential research materials off campus for a period of time, as follows:
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DAKAR PORT IS STORING 2700 TONNES OF AMMONIUM NITRATE
https://www.smh.com.au/world/africa/another-port-is-storing-2700-tonnes-of-ammonium-nitrate-20200821-p55o06.html
Tags: Senegal, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
Dakar: Officials at the port of Senegal's capital Dakar have requested the removal of about 2700 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored in its complex - the same volume of the chemical that caused Beirut's devastating port explosion.
The unidentified owner of the stockpile has found a warehouse to store the industrial chemical outside the city, according to the general directorate of the port, which sits next to Dakar's densely populated downtown.
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REVEALED: CHEMICAL THAT CAUSED HUGE BEIRUT BLAST STORED AT 18 ULSAN FIRMS
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/08/371_294730.html
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
Ulsan city council has revealed that 18 firms in the Korean port city have ammonium nitrate, the controversial chemical that caused the huge explosion in Beirut earlier this month.
Most of them provide delivery as their main service, according to the city in the country's southeastern region on Wednesday. The firms were approved by the national Chemicals Control Act to have the chemical for business purposes as of March.
The city, however, did not reveal the amount stored because the information is confidential and linked to the anti-terror center under the Prime Minister's office.
Ulsan was second in the country in terms of chemical distribution ‰?? according to data released in 2016 by the National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) under the Ministry of Environment ‰?? with over 1.5 million tons a year (27 percent of the total). South Jeolla Province led the list, recording 33 percent.
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BEIRUT EFFECT: KOLKATA PORT CAUTIONS STAKEHOLDERS AGAINST STORAGE OF HAZARDOUS CARGO
https://www.thestatesman.com/cities/kolkata/beirut-effect-kolkata-port-cautions-stakeholders-storage-hazardous-cargo-1502918641.html
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
The massive explosion from stored ammonium nitrate in Beirut port, which claimed several lives and led to the collapse of the government, has led Indian ports to revisit the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code.
The Kolkata Port, which in the past has witnessed fire incidents in its warehouses due to explosive materials, has issued a strict warning advisory to its stakeholders against the storage of cargo in port‰??s warehouses.
Just ahead of the 75 anniversary of the Hiroshima Nagasaki bombings, a massive explosion of 3.3 magnitudes on the Richter Scale, rocked the capital of Lebanon in its port area and snuffed out hundreds of lives while around 5000 persons were grievously injured.
---------------------------------------------
PACKAGING ORGANISATION URGES RESPONSIBLE AMMONIUM NITRATE WAREHOUSING
https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/packaging-organisation-urges-responsible-ammonium-nitrate-warehousing-2020-08-21/rep_id:4136
Tags: South_Africa, industrial, followup, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
After a cache of ammonium nitrate exploded earlier in August and left great devastation in Beruit, Lebanon, the Responsible Packaging Management Association of Southern Africa (RPMASA) has stressed the importance of correct due procedure when handling ammonium nitrate.
The association warns that what happened in Beruit should be a wake-up call for all chemical manufacturers, importers and storage facilities in South Africa.
"Ammonium nitrate should be treated, handled and stored with the utmost respect, as oxidisers can rapidly react with incompatible materials, including hydrocarbons and organic materials, to produce runaway fires and explosions, the organisation states.
RPMASA technical director Liz Anderson explains that ammonium nitrate is classed as an oxidiser and explosive, while potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate are also classed as oxidisers and components of fertilisers, which have been the cause of various chemical disasters over the years.
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LARGE UNDERGROUND EXPLOSION CREATES MA HAZMAT INCIDENT
https://www.firehouse.com/rescue/hazardous-materials/news/21150920/large-underground-explosion-creates-ma-hazmat-incident
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, response, carbon_dioxide
An explosion beneath a fire equipment company in Ashland that forced multiple people to evacuate their homes Tuesday evening was caused by a carbon dioxide leak, officials said.
Authorities responded around 6:20 p.m. to ‰??numerous 9-1-1 calls‰?? about a large explosion at Kidde Fenwal, a business on Main Street, according to the town‰??s police department.
‰??Firefighters immediately checked for injured workers, began searches of adjacent buildings and conducted air monitoring to avoid a secondary explosion. A Tier-1 Hazardous Materials incident was declared,‰?? the department said in a Facebook post.
Carbon dioxide was leaking from a ruptured supply line at the company, which prompted the blast and subsequent hazmat response, the Ashland Fire Department said.
---------------------------------------------
HOUSEHOLD CLEANER MIXTURE PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE IN MEDFORD
https://patch.com/massachusetts/medford/household-cleaner-mixture-prompts-hazmat-response-medford
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, cleaners
MEDFORD, MA ‰?? Emergency crews responded to a hazmat incident on Mystic Valley Parkway late Tuesday night. A woman's sink had clogged, and she called the fire department for assistance, the firefighters' union said.
Upon entering the apartment, firefighters' eyes started watering, and they smelled a strong odor of chlorine in the air. The department said the woman had initially poured drain cleaner in the sink, following up with various cleaning products when the drain failed to unclog.
This created a "potentially deadly mixture of chloramine gas," the union said.
The building was partially evacuated while hazmat crews cleared the scene. No residents or firefighters were injured.
---------------------------------------------
ABANDONED BUCKET OF CHLORINE SPARKS HAZMAT CALL NEAR CAL STATE LONG BEACH
https://lbpost.com/news/atherton-cal-state-long-beach-hazmat-fire-police
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, chlorine
Someone left a 5-gallon bucket of chlorine outside the fire station near Cal State Long Beach Wednesday morning, sparking a brief street closure so hazmat crews could investigate.
A fire department employee found the bucket outside Fire Station 22 on Atherton Street near Palo Verde Avenue a little before 9:30 a.m., according to authorities.
The LBFD called in a hazmat crew just in case, and after confirming the bucket contained chlorine, health department officials disposed of it, fire department spokesman Brian Fisk said.
Fisk said someone who didn‰??t know what to do with the chlorine probably left it at the fire station.
---------------------------------------------
AFR INVESTIGATING HAZMAT INCIDENT AT PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL
https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/afr-investigating-hazmat-incident-at-presbyterian-hospital/5832998/
Tags: us_NM, public, release, response, epoxy, resin
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- Albuquerque Fire Rescue investigated a hazmat incident at Presbyterian hospital, at Central near I-25, Wednesday afternoon.
According to AFR, they got reports of a strange odor in the hospital lobby. Construction crews said an epoxy resin was "off gassing," causing the odor.
AFR reports that hazmat crews were able to safely create proper ventilation.
Access to the area has been permitted.
---------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY AFTER BELLAIRE FIRE
https://wtov9.com/news/local/investigation-underway-after-bellaire-fire
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, plastics
BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio ‰?? Bricks and debris scattered all across the ground make up all the remains of a property where a fire broke out in Bellaire on Tuesday afternoon.
Caution tape surrounds the property and a portion of the road is closed.
The state fire marshal and the Ohio EPA were on scene Wednesday to investigate and determine a cause.
They met with Bellaire police and fire department members who were on scene all night.
"We may have a hazmat clean-up at this time,‰?? Assistant Fire Chief Tim Bell said. ‰??We're trying to figure out what we got, what we had in the building."
Bell says the air was not safe to breathe in Tuesday as plastics were on fire, but Wednesday it was safe.
The siding of a neighboring home was damaged by the heat.
No one was injured in the blaze.
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS RELEASE CAUSE OF NDSU LAB FIRE
https://www.inforum.com/news/fires/6624893-Officials-release-cause-of-NDSU-lab-fire
Tags: us_ND, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
FARGO ‰?? The Fargo Fire Department has determined the cause of an Aug. 13 laboratory fire in a chemistry building at North Dakota State University.
A fire broke out in a first-floor laboratory at Ladd Hall, 1231 Albrecht Boulevard N., when a solution of chemicals in a combustible container was left unattended on a heating and stirring device, the department said in a news release.
It took firefighters about 20 minutes to extinguish the fire, which caused significant damage to the lab. The fire department reported no injuries.
A damage estimate was not available Wednesday, Aug. 19.
---------------------------------------------
RESIDENTS, ONLOOKERS SHARE CONCERN ABOUT GRAND PRAIRIE FIRE, SMOKE TOXICITY ‰?? NBC 5 DALLAS-FORT WORTH
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/residents-onlookers-share-concern-about-grand-prairie-fire-smoke-toxicity/2428876/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, plastics
Families who live near the site of a large fire burning at a plastic manufacturing facility in Grand Prairie Wednesday were concerned about flames and potentially toxic smoke blowing into their neighborhood.
No injuries have been reported and no evacuations have been ordered but the fire still presented a threat to those living in and around the area.
"It's a health risk," said Alexandria Davey.
Davey lives in a neighborhood north of the plastics plant and watched large plumes of smoke from the fire with concern.
"You've got COVID-19 and now you have the fire. All those chemicals are floating right over this neighborhood," said Davey.
Environmental groups raised alarms that the public does not know what chemicals were in the huge plumes of smoke.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL INCIDENT ON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/chemical-incident-on-industrial-estate-18798313
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
Fire crews were called out to a chemical incident on a Nuneaton industrial estate last night.
Green watch from Nuneaton Fire Station responded to a 999 call at Attleborough Industrial estate at 8pm (August 19).
It was to reports of a strong smell of hydrochloric acid.
They found the smell was coming from a storage container where it is understood the acid had come into contact with water.
Nuneaton Fire Station does have a specialist decontamination unit which can be used in major chemical incidents.
However, a spokesperson for the Newtown Road-based station said they were able to make the container and surrounding area safe without bringing it into use.
---------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS IN ASHLAND RESPOND TO INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION, THREE NEARBY STREETS EVACUATED
https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/officials-ashland-responding-industrial-explosion/5PXF5JNM5RBRFHWYYFJKU5NO2U/
Tags: us_MA, public, explosion, response, carbon_dioxide
ASHLAND, Mass. ‰?? The Ashland fire department was called to Kidde-Fenwal on Main Street Tuesday night for an explosion.
When they arrived just after 6 p.m., they found the carbon dioxide tank had exploded, sending pieces of concrete and debris into the adjacent neighborhood.
‰??There‰??s no reports of injuries miraculously,‰?? said Police Chief Vincent Alfano. ‰??Quite a bit of damage so we‰??re really pleased no one was injured, very fortunate.‰??
Homes nearby had to be evacuated for a few hours as the tank continued to leak chemicals into the air. By 11 P.M. the situation was under control and people could finally return back home.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO HARWICH PORT FOR MERCURY SPILL FROM BROKEN THERMOMETER
https://www.capecod.com/cape-wide-news/hazmat-crews-called-to-harwich-port-for-mercury-spill-from-broken-thermometer/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, mercury
HARWICH PORT ‰?? Hazardous Materials technicians were called to Harwich Port around 9 PM Tuesday. According to reports, a mercury thermometer was broken causing a spill of the hazardous substance. The spill was contained to a sink at an apartment on Harold Street. No injuries were reported.
---------------------------------------------
PRAISE AFTER CHALLENGING WEEK AT NUCLEAR SITE
https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/18658799.praise-challenging-week-nuclear-site/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
Staff at Sellafield have been praised after a difficult week battling storms and chemical concerns.
Staff at the site were faced with challenges when an electrical storm caused power problems early last week, and this was followed by a chemical needing safe disposal.
A bomb disposal squad was called in on Thursday after a chemical posing an explosion hazard was found on the Magnox site.
An Explosive Ordinance Disposal team attended the nuclear sit after a ‰??small amount‰?? of organic peroxide was found during a routine inspection.
Employees have also been praised for the way they handed power problems on Monday and Tuesday.
---------------------------------------------
ORICA SAYS HUGE AMMONIUM NITRATE STOCKPILE NO THREAT TO NEWCASTLE AND NOTHING LIKE BEIRUT
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-19/orica-ammonium-nitrate-facility-in-newcastle-not-beirut/12569624
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
Every day, dozens of trucks loaded with ammonium nitrate are making the one to two-hour journey from Newcastle's port up to the coal mines of the Hunter Valley.
About 85 per cent of the supply comes from Orica's Kooragang Island plant, the equivalent of 30 full semi-trailers leaving its gates a day.
Such is the coal mining industry's enormous appetite for explosives.
"They're a very hungry customer," Orica's general manager, Paul Hastie, said.
We are standing before an enormous pile of ammonium nitrate, somewhere between 6,000 and 12,000 tonnes of the chemical ‰?? up to four times the amount that exploded in Beirut.
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ALLEGED WEST FOOTSCRAY TOXIC WASTE DUMPER GRAHAM LESLIE WHITE CHARGED WITH ENDANGERING FIREFIGHTERS
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/victoria/alleged-toxic-waste-dumper-charged-with-endangering-firefighters-20200819-p55n7v.html
Tags: Australia, industrial, follow-up, environmental, illegal, waste
The man allegedly behind the largest illegal toxic waste dumping operation in the state‰??s history has been charged with endangering the lives of firefighters who tackled the massive industrial blaze that erupted at a West Footscray warehouse in 2018.
Graham Leslie White is facing up to five years in jail for allegedly creating the hazardous circumstances that led to the chemical-fuelled blaze, which spread toxic smoke and debris across the western suburbs and contaminated nearby waterways.
The aftermath of the fire at the West Footscray factory.CREDIT:JOE ARMAO
More than 750 firefighters spent more than two weeks in August and September 2018 extinguishing the fire at the Somerville Road warehouse, which had been secretly packed with containers filled with millions of litres of highly flammable solvents and industrial chemicals and hundreds of asbestos-lined gas cylinders.
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LACK OF PLANNING RISKS EPA‰??S ABILITY TO MEET TSCA DEADLINES
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/oig-concludes-lack-planning-risks-epa-s-ability-to-meet-tsca-deadlines
Tags: us_DC, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics
On August 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‰??s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report entitled Lack of Planning Risks EPA‰??s Ability to Meet Toxic Substances Control Act Deadlines. OIG conducted the audit to determine whether EPA met the deadlines already imposed by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) in 2016, which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and has the staff, resources, and management controls in place to meet future statutory deadlines. The Lautenberg Act required EPA to develop new rules for chemical prioritization for risk evaluation and risk evaluation for existing chemicals and to review all new chemical submissions and make a regulatory determination. OIG found that while EPA met several of its TSCA deadlines, it did not complete all ten required existing chemical risk evaluations by the June 19, 2020, deadline. OIG notes that because of statutory requiremen!
ts, the number of required existing chemical risk evaluations doubled at the end of 2019, ‰??risking the EPA‰??s ability to meet TSCA deadlines.‰??
OIG states that EPA‰??s ability to assess its TSCA workload -- and subsequently estimate the workforce levels necessary to achieve that workload -- ‰??is critically important.‰?? OIG notes that the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has not publicly identified the additional staff and resources it needs to accomplish all mandated TSCA requirements. According to OIG, ‰??OPPT‰??s resource planning is hindered by not complying with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management regulations, which requires developing a workforce plan to manage current and future workforce needs.‰??
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