From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (14 articles)
Date: Wed, 19 May 2021 06:14:17 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 991D6E28-27A6-43E6-A15D-2E4C409DEF29**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 6:14:02 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 (14 articles)

CHICOPEE FIRE OFFICIALS RESPONDING TO HAZMAT SITUATION
Tags: us_ma, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

DELAWARE COUNTY SUES CHEMICAL MAKERS OVER PFAS CONTAMINATION AT THREE FIRE FACILITIES
Tags: us_pa, public, discovery, environmental, toxics

PART OF FAITH HOME ROAD IN CERES CLOSED FOLLOWING POOL CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_ca, transportation, release, response, pool_chemicals

SIERRA VISTA POLICE: MAN ARRESTED FOLLOWING ALLEGED EXPLOSION
Tags: us_az, public, explosion, response, illegal, bombs

PD: 6 OFFICERS, 4 OTHERS HOSPITALIZED AFTER EXPOSURE TO UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE
Tags: us_AZ, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical, pepper_spray

GAS LEAK CALALA: HAZMAT AND TAMWORTH FIRE AND RESCUE NSW TEAMS DECANT 4000L FLAMMABLE GAS TANK AT TAMWORTH AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE EVACUATED
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

'TRAGIC ACCIDENT': 2 BADLY BURNED AFTER GASOLINE POURED ONTO FIRE PIT IN LINCOLN BACKYARD
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, injury, gasoline

PEOPLE REPORTING MULTIPLE GUNSHOTS FORCED 2 FULTON SCHOOLS INTO LOCKDOWN. IT WAS A FALSE ALARM.
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, pool_chemicals

SAFE SCALE-UP OF AN N-BROMOSUCCINIMIDE INVOLVED BROMINATION REACTION
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

LONG BRANCH POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH RUNNING METH LAB IN HIS HOME
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, clandestine_lab, illegal

SEMI FIRE ON I-15 FORCES ALL-DAY-LONG HAZMAT CLEANUP
Tags: us_UT, transportation, fire, response, flammables, grease

EVACUATIONS ORDERED AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT IN SIBLEY, IOWA
Tags: us_IA, transportation, fire, response, ammonium_nitrate

BILL THAT WOULD LIMIT OHIO FIREFIGHTERS‰?? USE OF FOAM CONTAINING ‰??FOREVER CHEMICALS‰?? AWAITING HOUSE VOTE
Tags: us_OH, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

HOW SHOULD CHEMICAL MIXTURES BE REGULATED?
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, environmental, pharmaceutical


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CHICOPEE FIRE OFFICIALS RESPONDING TO HAZMAT SITUATION
https://www.westernmassnews.com/news/chicopee-fire-officials-responding-to-hazmat-situation/article_cbaf412e-b84c-11eb-b724-7b96937ccd07.html
Tags: us_ma, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical

CHICOPEE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Chicopee Fire crews responded to a hazmat situation Tuesday night.

According to Chicopee Fire Officials, crews responded to a logistics factory on New Lombard Road around 10 p.m.

The responded to a small spill and no injuries are reported at this time.

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

DELAWARE COUNTY SUES CHEMICAL MAKERS OVER PFAS CONTAMINATION AT THREE FIRE FACILITIES
https://www.inquirer.com/science/climate/pfas-delaware-county-upper-darby-20210518.html
Tags: us_pa, public, discovery, environmental, toxics

The Delaware County District Attorney‰??s Office has filed a civil complaint against dozens of chemical manufacturers for what it says is the companies‰?? role in contaminating local fire facilities with PFAS, known as ‰??forever chemicals,‰?? with some levels thousands of times in excess of federal guidelines.

The Primos-Secane-Westbrook Park Fire Company in Upper Darby, the Haverford Township Firefighting Training Center, and Delaware County Emergency Services Training Center all either had groundwater, wastewater, soil, or sediment polluted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), according to the suit.

The lawsuit, filed in Common Pleas Court, and announced by District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, seeks unspecified damages for remediation, removal, and disposal of water or soil. It also seeks damages related to diminished property value. It alleges the sites were contaminated by two compounds within the PFAS family of chemicals: PFOA and PFOS.

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

PART OF FAITH HOME ROAD IN CERES CLOSED FOLLOWING POOL CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article251512608.html
Tags: us_ca, transportation, release, response, pool_chemicals

A mile of roadway on Faith Home Road in Ceres is expected to be closed for ‰??several hours‰?? Tuesday after a truck crashed and spilled pool chemicals, the Ceres Fire Department said.

Hazardous materials teams from Ceres and Modesto responded Tuesday after the truck was involved in a single-vehicle crash on Faith Home between Hatch Road and Whitmore Avenue, Ceres battalion chief Jeff Serpa said. He said the Ceres Police Department is investigating how the incident occurred but could not provide further details.

The driver was uninjured, but the pool chemicals in the truck, including chlorine and muriatic acid, spilled onto the roadway, Serpa said.

Read more here: https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article251512608.html#storylink=cpy">https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article251512608.html#storylink=cpy

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

SIERRA VISTA POLICE: MAN ARRESTED FOLLOWING ALLEGED EXPLOSION
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/sierra-vista-police-man-arrested-following-alleged-explosion
Tags: us_az, public, explosion, response, illegal, bombs

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) ‰?? The Sierra Vista Police Department made an arrest following an alleged explosion.

On May 17, 35-year-old James Jaggers III of Sierra Vista was taken into custody after officers and state explosive experts discovered suspected remains of an explosive device, and chemical compounds and hazardous explosive materials in his home, according to the department.

Prior to Jaggers' being taken into custody, police received reports of an explosion with debris in the roadway in the 200 block of Coronado Lane, where officers found pieces of what was suspected to be a broken bowling ball in the roadway and in adjacent property, and majority of the debris remaining in Jagger's yard.

According to the department, when Jaggers was asked about the debris, he claimed he had mixed compounds.

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

PD: 6 OFFICERS, 4 OTHERS HOSPITALIZED AFTER EXPOSURE TO UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE
https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/pd-6-officers-4-others-hospitalized-after-exposed-to-unknown-substance-near-40th-street-and-camelback
Tags: us_AZ, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical, pepper_spray

PHOENIX ‰?? Phoenix police say six officers and four other people were transported to the hospital after being sprayed with pepper spray and an "unknown substance" Monday evening.

The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. at the Capri on Camelback apartment complex near 40th Street and Camelback Road.

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

GAS LEAK CALALA: HAZMAT AND TAMWORTH FIRE AND RESCUE NSW TEAMS DECANT 4000L FLAMMABLE GAS TANK AT TAMWORTH AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE EVACUATED
https://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/7257841/faulty-4000l-gas-tank-unable-to-be-fixed-as-hazmat-moves-to-plan-b/
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

AFTER the plan to reseal the faulty valve on a 4000L leaking gas tank failed, firefighters had to move to Plan B.

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

'TRAGIC ACCIDENT': 2 BADLY BURNED AFTER GASOLINE POURED ONTO FIRE PIT IN LINCOLN BACKYARD
https://fox40.com/news/local-news/tragic-accident-2-badly-burned-after-gasoline-poured-onto-fire-pit-in-lincoln-backyard/
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, injury, gasoline

LINCOLN, Calif. (KTXL) ‰?? Lincoln officials say two young men were badly burned in a ‰??tragic accident‰?? early Sunday morning when gasoline was poured onto a fire.

Around 1:50 a.m., first responders were called to a backyard in the Lincoln Crossing neighborhood, according to the Lincoln Professional Firefighters Facebook page.

The Lincoln Fire Department says emergency personnel found four people in the backyard who had been burned. Two had significant burn injuries and had to be taken to the burn unit at UC Davis Medical Center, according to the department‰??s Facebook page.

First responders treated the other two at the scene.

According to the fire department, gasoline had been poured onto flames in a fire pit, causing ‰??a violent chemical chain reaction.‰??

Fire officials say it does not appear that alcohol was involved in the incident.

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

PEOPLE REPORTING MULTIPLE GUNSHOTS FORCED 2 FULTON SCHOOLS INTO LOCKDOWN. IT WAS A FALSE ALARM.
https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2021/05/people-reporting-multiple-gun-shots-yelling-forced-2-fulton-schools-into-lockdown.html
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, pool_chemicals

Fulton, N.Y. ‰?? People reporting gun fire near a Fulton school caused officers from three police agencies to rush to the schools today.

Fairgrieve Elementary School and the Fourth Street School went into lockdown this morning, according to the Fulton Police Department.

The first dispatches earlier today reported multiple shots fired with people yelling near Fairgrieve, police said. That drew a large police presence from the Fulton police, State police and Oswego County Sheriff‰??s Office.

Fulton police said the noises which were reported as gunshots were a chemical reaction of pool chemicals.

Officers on scene reported the chemicals continued to react producing sounds similar to small-caliber gun fire, police said.

Police said a pool chlorinator explosion was reported at a nearby residence, injuring a person working on the pool.

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

SAFE SCALE-UP OF AN N-BROMOSUCCINIMIDE INVOLVED BROMINATION REACTION
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.1c00074
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

A hazardous side reaction between N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) was identified during the thermal safety analysis toward a bromination process. A delay reaction owing to a preferred free-radical initiation was observed. The progress of the side reaction and influence of NBS concentration on the reaction heat were studied by means of different calorimeters. The heat flow of the desired reaction was measured by the reaction calorimeter (RC1), indicating the bromination could be controlled under a semibatch mode with appropriate feeding program of NBS. On the basis of these investigations, two consecutive brominating processes with 106 kg starting material were safely scaled up in the pilot plant with expected yields.

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

LONG BRANCH POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH RUNNING METH LAB IN HIS HOME
http://thelinknews.net/2021/05/16/long-branch-police-officer-charged-with-running-meth-lab-in-his-home/
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, clandestine_lab, illegal

FREEHOLD ‰?? A 19-year veteran police officer of the Long Branch Police Department has been suspended without pay after he was arrested and charged today with various offenses related to manufacturing and maintaining a methamphetamine laboratory at his home, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Christopher Walls, 50, of West End Avenue in the city, is charged with first degree maintaining or operating a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) production facility, second degree possession of a firearm during the course of a CDS offense, second degree risking widespread injury, second degree endangering the welfare of a child, third degree manufacturing CDS (methamphetamine), and third degree possession of CDS (methamphetamine).

‰??Thanks to the swift action of our office, the Long Branch Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police, a very serious risk to public safety has been averted. The collaborative efforts of our agencies dismantled a very dangerous situation. It is particularly distressing that this hazard was caused by a sworn law enforcement officer.‰?? Gramiccioni said.

After learning of the details involving Walls, Acting Long Branch Police Chief Frank Rizzuto immediately suspended him without pay.

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

SEMI FIRE ON I-15 FORCES ALL-DAY-LONG HAZMAT CLEANUP
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/semi-fire-on-i-15-forces-all-day-long-hazmat-cleanup
Tags: us_UT, transportation, fire, response, flammables, grease

MILLARD COUNTY, Utah ‰?? Hazardous materials (hazmat) crews were on the side of I-15 all day Sunday after a semitrailer caught fire near Kanosh.

Around 4:30 a.m., the truck was heading northbound near milepost 142 when it caught fire.

There was no shoulder available due to freeway construction, so the driver stopped in the right lane and got out. He escaped with no injuries.

The fire spread to the trailer, which was deemed a total loss, but local firefighters prevented it from spreading to the grass.

However, that was just the beginning.

Utah Department of Transportation and hazmat workers responded to perform field tests on the truck's contents. They found that it was hauling silicone grease, which is flammable and difficult to clean.

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

EVACUATIONS ORDERED AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT IN SIBLEY, IOWA
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2021/05/16/hazmat-team-called-after-train-derailment-sibley-iowa/5121973001/
Tags: us_IA, transportation, fire, response, ammonium_nitrate

A train derailed in the far northwest Iowa town of Sibley Sunday afternoon, causing authorities to order evacuations in the area.

Aerial video of the scene shows tens of train cars piled up with flames and a large plume of black smoke rising up from the front of the pileup. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Sibley, a town of about 3,000 people in Osceola County, is roughly 200 miles northwest of Des Moines.

The N'West Iowa REVIEW reported that the derailment happened around 2 p.m., and a 5-mile radius was evacuated due to concern about ammonium nitrate being transported by the trains.

The derailment happened on a Union Pacific railroad, according to information from the Iowa Department of Transportation website.

Union Pacific spokeswoman Robynn Tysver told the Associated Press that about 47 railcars came off the tracks during the derailment, but the train crew was not injured. She said the railroad is working with local authorities and the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

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

BILL THAT WOULD LIMIT OHIO FIREFIGHTERS‰?? USE OF FOAM CONTAINING ‰??FOREVER CHEMICALS‰?? AWAITING HOUSE VOTE
https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/bill-that-would-limit-ohio-firefighters-use-of-foam-containing-forever-chemicals-awaiting-house-vote/CEL3J6EPKBBRJAGUFUCTIFGVSI/
Tags: us_OH, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

A bill that would outlaw the use of firefighting foam that contains a group of harmful chemicals was voted out of committee, and is awaiting a floor vote in the Ohio House of Representatives.


It‰??s not clear when House Bill 158 will go to the House floor, and its sponsor, State Rep. Brian Baldridge, R-Winchester, has not gotten confirmation that it‰??s been selected for the upcoming session calendar, his office said.

HB158 proposes that Ohio fire departments be required to find an alternative to firefighter foam containing the group of contaminants known as PFAS. The legislation also proposes that fire departments be limited to using PFAS-based firefighter foam only for testing if the facility at which it‰??s being used has a way to contain the chemical and prevent it from going into the environment.

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

HOW SHOULD CHEMICAL MIXTURES BE REGULATED?
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/how-should-chemical-mixtures-be-regulated/4013604.article
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, discovery, environmental, pharmaceutical

The natural environment ‰?? our air, water and soil ‰?? hosts an ever-changing cocktail of synthetic compounds originating from a wide variety of sources. Wildlife is constantly exposed to these coincidental chemical mixtures, as are humans. We are also continuously exposed to a concoction of chemicals in our indoor environments too ‰?? from chemicals leaching out of carpets, furnishings and household objects, to those coming from foods, as well as cleaning and personal care products.

This has been known for a long time. It‰??s also well established that exposure to chemical mixtures can cause harm ‰?? to the environment and human health ‰?? even if all the individual chemical components in the mixture are present at concentrations that would be safe if they were met alone.

This isn‰??t a huge surprise ‰?? mixture effects, as they‰??re called, are a well-known issue in pharmaceuticals. The sedative effects of some painkillers and antihistamines, for example, add together to create a larger sedative effect that each one alone. And some antibiotics render the contraceptive pill less effective.

But while the medical and pharmaceutical industries are expected to be very aware of potential issues with drug‰??drug interactions in patients, the chemical industry is largely not. The majority of regulative frameworks set safe exposure levels for chemicals with the assumption that the chemicals are released into a pristine location (in either the body or the environment) where no other chemicals are present. But this is not the case. Regulations may well cover intentional mixtures of chemicals, such as those in detergent or paint formulations, but not those that occur coincidentally after their intended use.

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