From: "Stuart, Ralph" <Ralph.Stuart**At_Symbol_Here**KEENE.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (3 articles)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2021 11:43:34 +0000
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 405A30B8-31DD-4E69-87B4-2D3C13BDA21F**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, January 8, 2021 at 6:41:43 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 (3 articles)

EXPLOSION IN SHIPPING CONTAINER SERVES AS SAFETY REMINDER
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, propane

CHEMICAL IDENTITIES COULD REMAIN SECRET UNDER US EPA RULE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

CONTROLLED EXPLOSION CARRIED OUT AT ELLESMERE PORT SCHOOL
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, discovery, response, waste


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EXPLOSION IN SHIPPING CONTAINER SERVES AS SAFETY REMINDER
http://oaklandcounty115.com/2021/01/07/explosion-in-shipping-container-serves-as-safety-reminder/
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, propane

Ferndale, MI ‰?? Homes and businesses near 8 Mile and Livernois in Ferndale shook as the thunderous sound of an explosion inside a shipping container pierced the otherwise quiet evening of Jan. 2, 2021.

The explosion had enough force to buckle out the walls and roof of the 4,000 lb, thick-steel-walled container, leaving it with a ballooned out appearance. The force also blew out windows of Olive Labs, a laboratory currently specializing in COVID-19 testing.

The container was one of several placed on the site without the owner having gotten a permit. And the cause of the explosion was because a contracted worker had set up a propane space heater in the enclosed space to help dry glue on insulation panels he was adding to the inside walls.

‰??It was not a good decision,‰?? said Ferndale Fire Marshall Dennis Barr who was tasked with investigating the explosion. ‰??First off, you shouldn‰??t use propane space heaters in enclosed spaces, and you should never leave space heaters unattended,‰?? he said.

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CHEMICAL IDENTITIES COULD REMAIN SECRET UNDER US EPA RULE
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/Chemical-identities-remain-secret-under/99/i2
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

In one of several last-minute moves before the Trump administration ends, the US Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule Jan. 5 that gives chemical companies a second chance to justify why the identities of certain chemicals should be shielded from the public and competitors.
Environmental groups were taken aback by the rule, which the EPA did not propose in draft form or open for public comments. The Environmental Defense Fund, in particular, has long advocated for people‰??s right to know what chemicals they are being exposed to.
The EPA‰??s initial rule gave manufacturers until October 2018 to report chemicals that they made or imported into the US during a 10-year period ending June 21, 2016. Under 2016 revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act, companies have to substantiate why the identities of those chemicals should remain confidential business information (CBI) and provide structurally descriptive generic names for each. In May 2020, the EPA posted a list of 2,812 chemicals that would lose their CBI status.
In response to that list, the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers in the US, argued that making such information public would financially harm many companies. The group claimed that companies mistakenly invalidated legitimate CBI claims because of confusion over who has authority to substantiate claims.
The new rule is intended to clear up that confusion, the EPA says. The agency will reopen the reporting period 30 days after publishing the rule in the Federal Register. Manufacturers will then have 60 days to resubmit their responses.

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CONTROLLED EXPLOSION CARRIED OUT AT ELLESMERE PORT SCHOOL
https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/18991154.controlled-explosion-carried-ellesmere-port-school/
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, discovery, response, waste

BOMB disposal experts have carried out a controlled explosion at an Ellesmere Port secondary school following the discovery of a hazardous substance.

Police were called to Ellesmere Port Church of England College on Whitby Road yesterday afternoon (January 5).

The substance was not considered suspicious but as a precautionary measure it was decided by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal to carry out a controlled explosion on the school field this morning.

Officers assisted the unit with the safe disposal of the chemical.

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Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Environmental Safety Manager
Keene State College
603 358-2859

ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu

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