From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (11 articles)
Date: Mon, 31 May 2021 06:17:08 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: A94711CA-B9C9-4BA4-9AE1-06C8E4BE495F**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, May 31, 2021 at 6:16:54 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 (11 articles)

PITTSBURG: FIREFIGHTERS WORKING HAZMAT INCIDENT AFTER RAIL CAR TANKER VALVE BLOWS
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical

LOCALS PROTEST FOR SHIFTING RED CATEGORY INDUSTRIES
Tags: India, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

SRI LANKA TO SUE S'PORE-REGISTERED SHIP OWNERS OVER MARINE POLLUTION
Tags: Singapore, transportation, follow-up, environmental, illegal, nitric_acid

HAZMAT TEAMS CLEAN UP CHLORINE SPILL AT SHRUB OAK POOL
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, chlorine

PESTICIDE FACTORY GUTTED IN UDHAMPUR DISTRICT
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, pesticides

SRI LANKA GRAPPLES WITH PLASTIC WASTE FROM SMOULDERING CONTAINER SHIP
Tags: Sri_Lanka, transportation, release, environmental, waste

CREWS RESPONDING TO GAS LEAK IN BRADENTON, MULTIPLE ROAD CLOSURES REPORTED
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, natural_gas

LEBANON INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE POOL CHEMICALS CAUSED VAPOR CLOUD, YMCA EVACUATION
Tags: us_IN, public, release, response, pool_chemicals

CHEMICAL FACTORY DEVASTATED IN FIRE
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

PRODUCTION AT TESLA'S BERLIN FACTORY COULD BE DELAYED DUE TO MAJOR CHEMICAL SAFETY HAZARDS
Tags: Germany, industrial, discovery, environmental, batteries, flammables, waste

DO SOCIAL CHEMOPHOBIC ATTITUDES INFLUENCE THE OPINIONS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS?
Tags: Spain, education, discovery, environmental


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PITTSBURG: FIREFIGHTERS WORKING HAZMAT INCIDENT AFTER RAIL CAR TANKER VALVE BLOWS
https://eastcountytoday.net/pittsburg-firefighters-working-hazmat-incident-after-rail-car-tanker-valve-blows/
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical

Sunday, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District was dispatched to a report of a tanker valve that blew off a rail car in the area of Rose Ann and N Parkside in the City of Pittsburg. It was unknown of what chemical was shooting out.

As of 7:26 am, CONFIRE firefighters were on scene and requested a perimter to be established between the areas of Rose Ann to Davi and from E 17th St to N Parkside.

Update
Battalion 8 reporting this was normal operation per railroad & hazmat, cancelling response. Breaking down road closures as of 7:45 am.

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LOCALS PROTEST FOR SHIFTING RED CATEGORY INDUSTRIES
https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/locals-protest-for-shifting-red-category-industries/
Tags: India, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

UDHAMPUR, May 30: Panicked over major fire in a chemical factory, locals today protested against operating of about 15 red category units in Battal Ballian Industrial area.
Raising slogans against District Administration and Industries Department the protesting people demanded that the factories spreading pollution should be immediately shifted from Battal Ballian residential area.
They claimed that after the major fire in a chemical factory at Battal Ballian during the intervening night of May 27-28, burst chemical containers were founded in 10 km radius comprising villages like Ballian, Tund, Kharuni, Londna, Thanot, Badali Rakh, Manpa, Rathian East and West Malhar, Sounthan, Satani.
It may be recalled that the District Administration Udhampur had evacuated people safely from the surrounding 10 km area as precautionary measures otherwise there could have been a big mishap.

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SRI LANKA TO SUE S'PORE-REGISTERED SHIP OWNERS OVER MARINE POLLUTION
https://mothership.sg/2021/05/sri-lanka-to-sue-singapore-registered-ship-owners-x-press-feeders/
Tags: Singapore, transportation, follow-up, environmental, illegal, nitric_acid

A Singapore-registered cargo ship was on fire for more than a week off the coast of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.

The carrier MV X-Press Pearl contained 25 tonnes of nitric acid, other chemicals, and plastic raw materials, according to Sri Lanka authorities.

Marine Environment Pollution Authority (MEPA) said on May 30 that it is planning to take legal action against the ship owners, X-Press Feeders, as well as the crew members and insurers.

The police has launched a criminal investigation on the fire and the crew members will be questioned.

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HAZMAT TEAMS CLEAN UP CHLORINE SPILL AT SHRUB OAK POOL
https://www.tapinto.net/sections/government/articles/hazmat-teams-clean-up-chlorine-spill-at-shrub-oak-pool
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, chlorine

SHRUB OAK, N.Y. ‰?? Hazmat teams cleaned up about 1,400 gallons of liquid chlorine on Friday night at the Brian J. Slavin Aquatic Center at Shrub Oak Memorial Town Park after the chemical leaked out of a crack in a storage tank.

According to the town, the spill was contained on site and cleaned up without incident. As a result, the Sunnyside Street swimming pool will open for the 2021 season as scheduled on Saturday, June 5.

Town Supervisor Matt Slater said the leak was discovered by a town Parks Department employee around 4 p.m. Friday, May 28. The leak was ‰??determined to not pose any danger to the surrounding neighborhood,‰?? Slater said in a press release.

‰??The chlorine was contained within the building, and thanks to the quick response by the Westchester County Hazardous Materials unit and the expertise of a crew from Miller Environmental Associates, the liquid was safely pumped into a separate container and the 8-hour cleanup completed by midnight,‰?? Slater said. ‰??They were backed up by the Mohegan Lake Fire Department and the Peekskill EMS in a true team effort.‰??

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PESTICIDE FACTORY GUTTED IN UDHAMPUR DISTRICT
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jalandhar/pesticide-factory-gutted-in-udhampur-district-260108
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, pesticides

A pesticide factory was gutted in fire in the industrial area of Udhampur district, officials said on Friday. No casualty took place.

The fire broke out in Dhanuka chemical factory at Batal-Ballian industrial estate around midnight on Thursday. Eight fire tenders were pressed into service along with the Army and the Air Force.

The fire engulfed the whole factory premises, which is one of the biggest in the Union Territory. It started moving towards a nearby village but timely action prevented its further spread. The operation to douse the blaze went on till 5 am, firemen said.

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SRI LANKA GRAPPLES WITH PLASTIC WASTE FROM SMOULDERING CONTAINER SHIP
https://www.trtworld.com/asia/sri-lanka-grapples-with-plastic-waste-from-smouldering-container-ship-47084
Tags: Sri_Lanka, transportation, release, environmental, waste

Tonnes of plastic pellets from a burning container ship have swamped Sri Lanka's west coast, sparking a ban on fishing as international efforts to salvage the vessel dragged into a ninth day.

The government declared an 80-km coastal area off limits for fishermen fearing contamination with pollutants and plastic waste from the stricken ship.

The ban on Friday included Colombo's seafront too.

"We will compensate the owners of 5,600 boats affected by the ban," fisheries minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, said while adding that seafood currently in the market was safe for consumption.

The country's Roman Catholic church said most of the affected fishermen were their parishioners and urged Colombo to secure compensation from the ship's insurers for the loss of livelihoods.

Environmental hazard

Millions of plastic granules washed up at the holiday resort of Kalutara ‰?? 43 km south of Colombo ‰?? on Friday, a day after similar pollution at Negombo, a tourist and fishing area 40 km north of the capital.

Sri Lankan authorities meanwhile deployed thousands of security personnel in hazmat suits to clean the beaches of plastic waste and other debris from the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl burning since May 20.

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CREWS RESPONDING TO GAS LEAK IN BRADENTON, MULTIPLE ROAD CLOSURES REPORTED
https://www.mysuncoast.com/2021/05/28/crews-responding-gas-leak-bradenton/
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, natural_gas

BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) - Crews are responding to a hazmat situation in Bradenton.
The happened on 44th Avenue just after 2 p.m. According to officials on scene, a crew struck a 4-inch gas line. TECO energy is on scene. Manatee County Sheriff‰??s officials are assisting Southern Manatee Fire with road closures.

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LEBANON INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE POOL CHEMICALS CAUSED VAPOR CLOUD, YMCA EVACUATION
https://cbs4indy.com/news/lebanon-investigators-believe-pool-chemicals-caused-vapor-cloud-ymca-evacuation/
Tags: us_IN, public, release, response, pool_chemicals

LEBANON, Ind.‰??‰??Officials said fire crews responded to the Witham Family YMCA on N. Lebanon Street around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday on a reported incident involving hazardous materials.

When Lebanon fire units arrived on scene, they found ‰??a large chemical vapor cloud outside the building.‰??

Officials said several children were on site attending day camp at the time, and were evacuated with the help of units from Lebanon and Center Township Fire Departments along with Lebanon Police Officers, and Boone County EMS personnel.

Employees of the facility were also evacuated from the YMCA premises. Witham Hospital and Crown Pointe Senior Living Community were told to shelter in place at the time.

The children were taken to a safe area to wait for parents and guardians to arrive. After everyone was accounted for, firefighters entered the building.

Lebanon authorities said firefighters located, contained, and diluted the chemicals involved.

A Hamilton County HazMat response team was requested by the Lebanon Fire Department and was on the scene investigating as of 2:00 p.m. Friday.

Fire officials and investigators said they believe the cause of the vapor cloud was an accidental mixture of pool chemicals.

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CHEMICAL FACTORY DEVASTATED IN FIRE
https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/chemical-factory-devastated-in-fire/
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

UDHAMPUR, May 28: Major fire broke out in a chemical factory at Battal Ballian Industrial area, here late last night triggering a panic wave among people in surroundings.
The fire broke out in the factory of Dhanuka Agritech Limited around 11:45 pm last night and soon engulfed the entire complex. Even as there was no loss of life or injuries to anyone, the industrial unit got completely devastated in the fire.
On the request of district administration, Army and Air Force were roped in for extinguishing the fire, but it took around seven hours to completely control the blazes.
For precautionary measure, District Administration Udhampur had timely evacuated people from surrounding 10 kms area of the industrial unit.

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PRODUCTION AT TESLA'S BERLIN FACTORY COULD BE DELAYED DUE TO MAJOR CHEMICAL SAFETY HAZARDS
https://www.thedrive.com/news/40820/production-at-teslas-berlin-factory-could-be-delayed-due-to-major-chemical-safety-hazards
Tags: Germany, industrial, discovery, environmental, batteries, flammables, waste

Construction of Tesla's new "Giga Berlin" factory in northeastern Germany has been far from straightforward. Hurdles encountered by the electric car giant have included environmental protests, disposal of unexploded World War II ordnance, and even a possible incident of arson reported by Reuters. But at long last, the installation of machinery is nearly complete, and the independent safety inspection performed, and its conclusions are... Ugly.

The factory's premises in GrÌ1Ú4nheide were, according to Business Insider, recently visited by engineering firm MÌ1Ú4ller-BBM, which conducted a safety survey of the facility. In its findings, which Bild reports were recently submitted to the State Environment Agency, reportedly identified more than 40 sources of danger, stemming from issues with waste storage, risk of battery fires, to two potentially lethal problems with chemical storage.

First among these are concerns regarding a container of liquid n-butyl-acetate‰??a flammable solvent sometimes used in nail polish‰??used in Tesla's paint shop. If its container is damaged, inspectors concluded, the chemical could spread unimpeded and rapidly evaporate, reportedly in as little as 10 minutes. Should the resulting vapors reach a source of ignition, they could explode.

"Put simply, this is about the leakage of toxic substances that form a pool," explained plant safety expert Oliver Kalusch to Business Insider. "This evaporates relatively quickly and forms a gas cloud that can explode or lead to fires."

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DO SOCIAL CHEMOPHOBIC ATTITUDES INFLUENCE THE OPINIONS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS?
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01352
Tags: Spain, education, discovery, environmental

For some time now, chemistry has not had a good reputation in society. The population identifies this discipline with industries and pollution, while its positive contributions are usually ignored. This fear of chemistry may affect the opinion of society toward not only science, but also the scientific work itself. To assess the prevalence of this social phenomenon among them, a group of 351 preuniversity students was surveyed and the answers provided were analyzed based on their characteristics (age, sex, and location). The results support the usefulness of the developed questionnaire and show that there already exists a tendency to reject everything ‰??containing chemicals‰?? or that ‰??is not natural‰?? at these ages. An influence of the students‰?? sociocultural environment and years of schooling is noticed concerning the ideas they manifest. In light of this situation, the potential implications for the learning and teaching processes of chemistry are commented on.

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