From: CHAS imap account <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2021 06:43:30 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, January 22, 2021 at 6:42:58 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 (8 articles)

500-GALLON CHEMICAL SPILL PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE ON AIRLINE HIGHWAY
Tags: us_LA, public, release, response, maleic_anhydride

WICHITA FALLS FIRE FIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT LEAK AT VITRO GLASS
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, gas_cylinders, sulfur_dioxide

ENVIRONMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE: ADVANCING THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CHEMICAL EXPOSURES IMPACT BRAIN HEALTH AND DISEASE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, toxics

WHY THE MASSIVE FIRE IN KERALA‰??S EDAYAR IS A WAKE UP CALL FOR AUTHORITIES
Tags: india, fire, industrial, follow-up, environment

SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER LIFTED FOR CARTHAGE, WEST CARTHAGE RESIDENTS
Tags: us_ny, fire, industrial, response, unknown_chemical

BIDEN CALLS FOR REVIEW OF RECENT EPA ACTIONS
Tags: us, pubic, discovery, enviromental

HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS UP NITRIC ACID SPILL IN STERLING
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid

FIREFIGHTERS CALLED TO FUMIGANT LEAK ABOARD SHIP AT PORT TARANAKI
Tags: New_Zealand, transportation, release, response, pesticides


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500-GALLON CHEMICAL SPILL PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE ON AIRLINE HIGHWAY
https://www.wafb.com/2021/01/21/gallon-chemical-spill-prompts-hazmat-response-airline-highway/
Tags: us_LA, public, release, response, maleic_anhydride

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Fire officials in Baton Rouge say 500 gallons of Maleic Anhydride spilled at the Quala Wash facility on Airline Highway,
Evacuation orders and shelter in place orders were given to residents of a nearby mobile home. A 150-foot perimeter was also set up around the facilty.
Air monitors have not detected the chemical in the air outside of the facility.

---------------------------------------------

/WICHITA FALLS FIRE FIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT LEAK AT VITRO GLASS
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2021/01/21/wichita-falls-fire-fighters-respond-hazmat-leak-vitro-glass/6665533002/
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, gas_cylinders, sulfur_dioxide

Fire fighters responded to a report of a possible hazardous material situation shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday at Vitro Architectural Glass, 7400 North Central Freeway.

Responders on scene determined there was a leak in a cylinder of sulphur dioxide.

The situation was considered a Level 2 hazmat situation.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, a Level 2 incident involves ‰??hazardous materials that is beyond the capabilities of the first responders on the scene and could be beyond the capabilities of the public sector responders having jurisdiction.‰??

As of 6:30 p.m., hazmat crews were putting on protective suits to try to clean up the spill.

A preliminary report stated there was a small leak in the sulfur dioxide cylinder.

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/ENVIRONMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE: ADVANCING THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CHEMICAL EXPOSURES IMPACT BRAIN HEALTH AND DISEASE: PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25937/environmental-neuroscience-advancing-the-understanding-of-how-chemical-exposures-impact?goal=0_96101de015-a4c0e771a3-107700749&mc_cid=a4c0e771a3&mc_eid=4dd0c354af
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, toxics

Humans are potentially exposed to more than 80,000 toxic chemicals in the environment, yet their impacts on brain health and disease are not well understood. The sheer number of these chemicals has overwhelmed the ability to determine their individual toxicity, much less potential interactive effects. Early life exposures to chemicals can have permanent consequences for neurodevelopment and for neurodegeneration in later life. Toxic effects resulting from chemical exposure can interact with other risk factors such as prenatal stress, and persistence of some chemicals in the brain over time may result in cumulative toxicity. Because neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders - such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and Parkinson's disease - cannot be fully explained by genetic risk factors alone, understanding the role of individual environmental chemical exposures is critical.

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/WHY THE MASSIVE FIRE IN KERALA‰??S EDAYAR IS A WAKE UP CALL FOR AUTHORITIES
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/why-massive-fire-kerala-s-edayar-wake-call-authorities-141858
Tags: india, fire, industrial, follow-up, environment

A pungent smell, like a mixture of rotten garbage and strong chemicals, pierces the nostrils of anyone who walks across the Pathalam regulator-cum-bridge. The bridge connects Ernakulam‰??s Eloor and the Edayar industrial belt, which is home to over 300 factories. This is where, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, two factories were completely burned down in a massive fire. The fire is said to have started in one factory, suspectedly due to lightning, and spread to the other. In a tightly-packed spot where numerous factories, including those storing highly inflammable substances, are located, workers and local residents say that it was by sheer luck that the incident was not as disastrous as it could have been. Though no one got injured in the fire, the incident has pointed fingers to a lax in crucial safety measures in the region and the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, which could pave way for larger disasters in the future.

When the fire broke out on Sunday midnight, Sajith* was awake in his room in a neighbouring factory complex. He heard a loud bang, like a blast, and saw massive flames over one side of the Orion Chemicals factory right next door. A petrified Sajith immediately woke up two of his other sleeping colleagues and rushed to the factory that was on fire.

‰??Three workers had been sleeping inside that factory; we rushed to the spot to bring them out. Very soon, the whole factory was on fire, with cans that stored the chemical solvents exploding,‰?? recalls Sajith.

Very soon, the chemical solvents that had been stored in the factory, located on a sloping plot of land, spread to outside the compound and extended the reach of the fire. The rubber products-manufacturer Sreekovil Industries, located just opposite to Orion Chemicals, soon caught fire too and was completely gutted. The fire also spread to two other properties, partially damaging them.

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/SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER LIFTED FOR CARTHAGE, WEST CARTHAGE RESIDENTS
https://www.nny360.com/communitynews/healthmatters/shelter-in-place-order-for-carthage-west-carthage-residents-due-to-chemical-fire-rescinded/article_cf1b3275-31eb-533f-b748-17fc38d7d785.html
Tags: us_ny, fire, industrial, response, unknown_chemical

CARTHAGE ‰?? The ‰??shelter in place‰?? order for village residents within a mile of the old Tannery Island mill off Brown Street was rescinded on Wednesday after being in effect for about 24 hours.

A fire involving a still-unknown liquid chemical was called in to the Carthage Fire Department at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday.

With a chemical smell in the air around the village, the shelter in place order was a precaution until it could be determined if the fumes from the burning chemical were toxic. Although samples of the chemical were taken by the DEC for analysis, Carthage Fire Chief Brian J. Draper said they are still waiting for results.

‰??This is definitely not something that all parties involved really have been involved with before. This is kind of a different one,‰?? Chief Draper said.

Without knowing the exact chemical involved in the fire, first responders have been monitoring the blaze to ensure it didn‰??t spread but the chief said they have been primarily focused on ensuring the smoke billowing over the village wasn‰??t toxic to the residents.

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/BIDEN CALLS FOR REVIEW OF RECENT EPA ACTIONS
https://cen.acs.org/policy/regulation/Biden-calls-review-recent-EPA/99/web/2021/01
Tags: us, pubic, discovery, enviromental

President Joe Biden is ordering a sweeping review of Trump administration regulations, including more than a dozen Environmental Protection Agency actions directly affecting commercial chemicals and the chemical industry.
On his first day in office Jan. 20, Biden planned to issue an executive order aimed at ensuring public health and environmental protections and bolstering science to address climate change, according to a press release issued by his team early that day. The planned order requires federal agencies to review regulations in light of these goals.
The Biden team distributed a list of specific regulations the president wants scrutinized, although reviews aren‰??t limited to just them. The president‰??s list includes a number of controversial Trump EPA safety decisions on commercial chemicals and pesticides. Another regulation under review affects the science the EPA relies on as it crafts pollution control requirements. One more diminished requirements to protect communities and workers from industrial chemical accidents. The US chemical industry‰??s main lobbying group, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), supported many of these actions.
The Biden administration will take a close look at the EPA‰??s procedures for evaluating chemical risks under 2016 revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Environmental groups sued the agency in 2017 for narrowing the set of uses that it considers in its evaluations and for limiting the time period for requesting toxicity data from manufacturers. A federal appeals court ruled partly in favor of the groups in 2019.
Biden‰??s team will also investigate the EPA‰??s move to fast-track decisions on whether to regulate five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals under TSCA: flame retardants decabromodiphenyl ether and tris(4-isopropylphenyl) phosphate; pentachlorothio-phenol, which softens rubber; 2,4,6-tris(tert-butyl)phenol, an additive in fuels or lubricants; and hexachlorobutadiene, which is used as a solvent and to make rubber and lubricants

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/HAZMAT TEAM CLEANS UP NITRIC ACID SPILL IN STERLING
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/22/metro/hazmat-team-cleans-up-nitric-acid-spill-sterling/?event=event12
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid

A hazmat team was contacted after nitric acid was found leaking from a truck unit in Sterling Tuesday morning, fire officials said.

Shortly after 9 a.m., firefighters and officers responded to a report of a hazardous materials spill at Rafferty Aluminum & Steel on Spratt Technology Way, according to a statement from the Sterling Fire Department.

Upon arrival, crews found a box-style trailer truck unit leaking nitric acid, the statement said. Crews contained the spill and contacted the Massachusetts Hazmat Team, initiating a tier 2 response.

Two neighboring businesses were evacuated as a precaution, fire officials said. As of 1:20 p.m., crews remained on scene cleaning up the spill.

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/FIREFIGHTERS CALLED TO FUMIGANT LEAK ABOARD SHIP AT PORT TARANAKI
https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/123798678/firefighters-called-to-fumigant-leak-aboard-ship-at-port-taranaki
Tags: New_Zealand, transportation, release, response, pesticides

An investigation has been launched after firefighters were called to a potentially explosive chemical leak on board a ship docked at Port Taranaki.

Emergency services were called about 2.10am, with two fire engines from the New Plymouth brigade and one from New Plymouth West responding, when crew aboard logging ship the Luenho raised concerns about the smell of fumigant aluminium phosphide.

New Plymouth fire brigade senior station officer Jason Crowe confirmed firefighters were initially called after ‰??high levels‰?? of a fumigant gas were detected aboard the ship.

Crowe said firefighters liaised with the ship‰??s captain and port security. They remained at the scene for about half an hour but didn‰??t need to board the vessel.

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Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Membership Chair
American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Health and Safety
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

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