From: CHAS imap account <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (13 articles)
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2021 06:53:41 -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
Monday, January 25, 2021 at 6:52:38 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 (13 articles)

2 ARRESTED AFTER FIRE BREAKS OUT AT SITE OF SALT LAKE CITY CLANDESTINE LABORATORY
Tags: us_UT, public, explosion, response, illegal, clandestine_lab

1 DEAD, 1 HOSPITALIZED AFTER GAS LEAK AT ORLANDO APARTMENT COMPLEX
Tags: us_FL, public, release, death, carbon_monoxide

BOMB SQUAD DETONATES HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL FOUND NEAR FALMOUTH HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, explosion, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive

CCDI CRITICIZES FORMALISM, CORRUPTION IN HOTEL COLLAPSE, CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical

SAN JOSE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAZMAT TEAM RESPOND TO AMMONIA SPILL
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

WHY FIRE AT SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA'S PUNE PLANT HAS SENT JITTERS ACROSS VACCINE INDUSTRY
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death

THREE DIE AFTER INHALING GAS AT SEWAGE PLANT IN PANTAI DALAM
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical

HOUSTON FAMILY HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHRISTMAS TAMALE TRADITION CAUSES CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide

CHEMICAL REACTION WHILE UNBLOCKING TOILET CAUSES BREATHING PROBLEMS
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, bleach

OWNER CLAIMS BLAST AT ICE FACTORY WAS CAUSED BY BOMB
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, follow-up, response, ammonia, bomb

POLICE NOT RULING OUT TERRORISM AS MOTIVE BEHIND ICE FACTORY BLAST
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

TRUCK CARRYING CORROSIVE CHEMICALS OVERTURNS IN DOWNTOWN ST. JOHN‰??S
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, corrosives

CRODA‰??S CHEMICAL PLANT ON THE DELAWARE RIVER FAILS A POLLUTION TEST, CASTING DOUBT ON ITS REBUILDING EFFORT
Tags: us_DE, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ethylene_oxide


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2 ARRESTED AFTER FIRE BREAKS OUT AT SITE OF SALT LAKE CITY CLANDESTINE LABORATORY
https://gephardtdaily.com/local/2-arrested-after-fire-breaks-out-at-site-of-salt-lake-city-clandestine-laboratory/
Tags: us_UT, public, explosion, response, illegal, clandestine_lab

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 24, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) ‰?? A man and a woman have been arrested after a fire broke out at the site of a clandestine laboratory in Salt Lake City.

A probable cause statement from the 3rd District Court of Salt Lake City said Ryan Joseph Cahouet, 25, and Brianna Westre, 21 were taken into custody.

Cahouet and Westre are facing charges of:

Operation of a clandestine laboratory, a first-degree felony
Controlled substance schedule I or II, a second-degree felony
Possession of a controlled substance, marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
The probable cause statements for both say 911 was called for a fire in an apartment after a refrigerator exploded and caught fire early Saturday evening.

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

/1 DEAD, 1 HOSPITALIZED AFTER GAS LEAK AT ORLANDO APARTMENT COMPLEX
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/01/23/1-dead-1-hospitalized-after-fire-at-orlando-apartment-complex/
Tags: us_FL, public, release, death, carbon_monoxide

One person has died and another was hospitalized after a gas leak at the Jackson Court Apartments on Saturday, according to the Orlando Fire Department.

Police said Saturday‰??s hazmat situation was discovered after a wellness check when gas was burning on the stove inside of a unit here for hours.

After elevated carbon monoxide readings, 36 units were evacuated, authorities said.

The Orlando Police Department said the leak was caused from a burner on a stove that was left on high for more than 24 hours.

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/BOMB SQUAD DETONATES HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL FOUND NEAR FALMOUTH HOSPITAL
https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2021/01/23/bomb-squad-detonates-hazardous-chemical-found-near-falmouth-hospital/6686269002/
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, explosion, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive

FALMOUTH ‰?? A hazardous chemical was detonated after being discovered near Falmouth Hospital on Friday.

Falmouth firefighters were called at 1:30 p.m. to meet with the state bomb squad at a parking lot near the hospital, Falmouth Fire Department Deputy Chief Chad Absten, said.

A Joint Hazard Incident Response Team, which includes state HazMat technicians and state police bomb technicians, responded when "some old picric acid" was found, Public Information Officer Jennifer Mieth wrote in an email.

The hazardous material was taken to the town leaf dump where it was detonated, Absten said.

"The bomb squad did end up countercharging the picric acid safely," Mieth wrote. "It can be very unstable when it gets old."

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

/CCDI CRITICIZES FORMALISM, CORRUPTION IN HOTEL COLLAPSE, CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1213712.shtml
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) criticized some government bodies and individual officials for engaging in formalism, bureaucracy, malpractice and corruption while disclosing details of the investigation into the collapse of a hotel used as a COVID-19 quarantine center in East China's Fujian Province last year and the explosion at a chemical plant in East China's Jiangsu Province in 2019.

Investigation details revealed in a TV series broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV) since Thursday exposed the problems in relevant organs in the collapse of an illegally constructed building used as a COVID-19 quarantine center in Quanzhou, East China's Fujian Province on March 7, 2020, which caused 29 deaths, and the deadly explosion that struck a chemical plant in Xiangshui county, Jiangsu Province on March 21, 2019, which killed 78.

These problems show that official malpractice could inflict damages to people's lives, health and property safety, and corruption is the biggest source of pollution in the political ecosystem, the CCDI pointed out.

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

/SAN JOSE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAZMAT TEAM RESPOND TO AMMONIA SPILL
https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-fire-department-hazmat-team-respond-to-ammonia-spill
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose Fire Department says a hazardous materials team has contained an ammonia spill Friday and that the leak is under control.

The fire department had asked residents who could smell gas odor in the air to remain inside, and to shelter-in-place with windows and doors closed.

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/WHY FIRE AT SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA'S PUNE PLANT HAS SENT JITTERS ACROSS VACCINE INDUSTRY
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/why-fire-at-serum-institute-of-indias-pune-plant-has-sent-jitters-across-vaccine-industry-6385391.html
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death

Even as the investigation is underway to find out the reasons for the breakout of fire on January 21 at Serum Institute of India (SII) vaccine factory in Pune that killed at least five people and gutted equipment worth hundreds of crores of rupees, experts and industry executives have expressed shock and called the fire incident of this scale "unusual".

The fire broke out at a building that makes Rotavirus and BCG vaccines, near the company's existing production plant at Manjri, a Pune suburb, where vaccine manufacturing equipment was being installed for the upcoming production of non-COVID vaccines.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tweeted that an "electrical fault" caused the fire at the plant.

To be sure, SII is the largest vaccine maker in the world by volume, with a strong track record of regulatory and quality compliance and industrial safety.

....

Gill explains that unlike the pharmaceutical industry, especially bulk drug units that have chemical reactors involving risky chemical reactions that are prone to fire accidents, vaccine facilities have bioreactors to grow microorganisms and are generally safe from a fire standpoint. But they also have tanks that hold solvents and buffers.

"The inflammable thing that vaccine manufacturing uses is ethanol (alcohol), and the manufacturers are trying to limit or eliminate the use of it," Gill said.

Ethanol is used as a solvent in certain vaccines like Haemophilus influenzae type B HIB, for precipitation of DNA (or washing) in vaccine manufacturing.

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

/THREE DIE AFTER INHALING GAS AT SEWAGE PLANT IN PANTAI DALAM
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/12/25/three-die-after-inhaling-gas-at-sewage-plant-in-pantai-dalam/1934932
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 ‰?? Three men died after inhaling gas while cleaning a sewage plant in Jalan Pantai Permai 1, Pantai Dalam, here, today.

The two locals and a Bangladeshi were employees of a cleaning contractor.

The Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM) operations centre in a statement said the incident was reported at 2.41pm on six male cleaning workers having respiratory problems due to inhaling gas in the sewage plant.

Two of them managed to save themselves before firemen arrived, while the other four victims were still in the plant, according to the statement.

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

/HOUSTON FAMILY HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHRISTMAS TAMALE TRADITION CAUSES CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/12/25/houston-family-hospitalized-after-christmas-tamale-tradition-causes-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide

At approximately 4:48 a.m. Friday, fire crews were dispatched to an apartment complex in the 3900 block of Hollister Road in reference to a hazmat incident. Once on scene, firefighters located seven members of a family, four adults and three children, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. One of the adults was reported unconscious at the scene.

The victims were transported to an area hospital for treatment.

The family‰??s neighbor said the family had cooked tamales on a barbecue pit outside their apartment. When they were done cooking, the family brought the pit inside their apartment while the ashes were still smoking.

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/CHEMICAL REACTION WHILE UNBLOCKING TOILET CAUSES BREATHING PROBLEMS
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/18970258.chemical-reaction-unblocking-toilet-causes-breathing-problems/
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, bleach

A WOMAN suffered breathing problems while unblocking a toilet after a chemical reaction between two substances caused fumes.

Humberside Fire & Rescue Service said crews were called on Christmas Eve to Station Lane in Holme Upon Spalding Moor after a mixture of toilet unblocking chemicals and bleach caused a chemical reaction.

"The female occupier suffered breathing problems due to the fumes," it said. "Casualty taken to hospital by ambulance for precautionary check up. Remainder of household unaffected."

It said the crews wore breathing apparatus and used a fan, and the toilet was flushed to clear the chemicals.

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

/OWNER CLAIMS BLAST AT ICE FACTORY WAS CAUSED BY BOMB
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2277442/owner-claims-blast-at-ice-factory-was-caused-by-bomb
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, follow-up, response, ammonia, bomb

KARACHI:
As the authorities continue to suspect ammonia gas leak as the probable cause of the blast in an ice factory in New Karachi Industrial Area on Tuesday, the factory's owner has claimed that the explosion was a result of a bomb attack.
In a video statement issued on Friday, the factory owner, Moin Qadri, who had been staying in Britain for the past four months, said the explosion was a consequence of a "malicious act".
"It was a bomb blast," he insisted, suggesting that either someone threw the explosive device in the factory or it was planted on a car parked outside the factory.
Refuting earlier theories of the blast having occurred following a boiler exploding inside the factory, Qadri maintained that there were no boilers at the unit.

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

/POLICE NOT RULING OUT TERRORISM AS MOTIVE BEHIND ICE FACTORY BLAST
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/763862-police-not-ruling-out-terrorism-as-motive-behind-ice-factory-blast
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

There has been no significant progress in the investigation of the New Karachi ice factory explosion, which claimed the lives of 10 people, despite the passage of two days, with police investigators and bomb disposal squad personnel finding it difficult to determine the actual cause of the blast.

A case has been registered against the factory management at the New Karachi Industrial Area Police Station on behalf of the state, and murder and negligence charges have been included under sections 322, 427, 285, 286 and 337A/34.

SHO Younus Khattak said the factory management had been booked in the case as it had been learnt that the explosion could have occurred due to negligence on its part.

The owner of the factory is currently abroad and has been contacted. However, the police are investigating if he was running the factory from abroad or some contractor was incharge of the property.

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/TRUCK CARRYING CORROSIVE CHEMICALS OVERTURNS IN DOWNTOWN ST. JOHN‰??S
https://vocm.com/2020/12/24/113201/
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, corrosives

A flatbed truck with chemical tanks overturned on Water Street East and Cochrane Street at around 8:00 this morning.

The truck attempted a left hand turn onto Water street from Cochrane Street when the flatbed tipped. The incident occurred near Hill O‰?? Chips at the Harvey‰??s Pier.

Water Street was closed down for some time.

Fire crews say a corrosive chemical spilled, causing an odour in the area. The spill was contained before it entered the nearby storm drain.

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/CRODA‰??S CHEMICAL PLANT ON THE DELAWARE RIVER FAILS A POLLUTION TEST, CASTING DOUBT ON ITS REBUILDING EFFORT
https://www.inquirer.com/business/croda-delaware-memorial-bridge-pollution-chemicals-osha-dupont-20201224.html
Tags: us_DE, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ethylene_oxide

More than two years after a leak of explosive, cancer-causing ethylene oxide (EO) shut the twin Delaware Memorial Bridge spans on Thanksgiving weekend, Delaware officials say they will let the U.K.-based Croda chemical company briefly restart its Atlas Point EO production unit on the west bank of the Delaware River next month, to test whether it‰??s still leaking.
But the long-term future of the unit, a hopeful investment in the Delaware River‰??s aging chemical industry, remains in doubt, with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control still mulling what it called ‰??a path forward‰?? for safe operation.
The plant, with 230 workers, continues to operate. Its ethylene oxide unit was cleared to reopen last winter after Croda replaced gaskets like the one it blamed for the leak, and agreed to pay $246,000 to Delaware for state construction, maintenance and safety violations. The company also agreed to pay $262,548 to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for federal violations, and $150,000 to the Delaware River & Bay Authority for lost toll revenues when its bridges were closed as a precaution after the accident on Nov. 25, 2018. State officials said more than a ton of ethylene oxide was leaked, about four times the plant‰??s annual permitted discharge.
But in September the Croda unit failed an emissions test ‰?? state officials found scrubbers weren‰??t taking out ethylene oxide as expected, and that some of the gas was going out the top of a 110-foot smokestack from a source that Croda had not identified in its permit application.

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