From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2021 06:39:31 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 6E3AC33B-9505-4AA0-AD6E-DF541B85535B**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, June 14, 2021 at 6:39:18 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)

TRUCK SPILLS COOKING OIL ON SOUTH AVENUE IN WESTFIELD
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, oils

LORRY DRIVER SUFFERS BURNS AFTER GAS LEAK IN HKL
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, injury, oxygen

INDONESIA'S PERTAMINA EXTINGUISHES FIRE AT CILACAP REFINERY, SUPPLIES UNAFFECTED
Tags: Indonesia, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

X-PRESS PEARL DISASTER OFFERS LESSONS FOR MOVING CHEMICALS ON INDIA‰??S WATERWAYS
Tags: India, transportation, follow-up, environmental, ethanol, nitric_acid, plastics, sodium_hydroxide

GAS EXPLOSION IN CENTRAL CHINA KILLS AT LEAST 12
Tags: China, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN CHICOPEE
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, HCl

PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT FIRE PROMPTS LARGE EMERGENCY RESPONSE, CHEMICAL SCARE ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, pharmaceutical

8 DEAD, 3 INJURED IN CHINA FACTORY'S CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: China, industrial, release, death, toxics


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TRUCK SPILLS COOKING OIL ON SOUTH AVENUE IN WESTFIELD
https://www.rlsmedia.com/article/truck-spills-cooking-oil-south-avenue-westfield
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, oils

Union County Emergency responders and Westfield Police joined efforts in clearing a massive cooking oil spill on South Avenue Sunday morning.
In a preliminary investigation, police were called to the vicinity of South Avenue and Caciolla for reports of a fuel spill before 10:30 a.m.

Upon arrival, police learned that a small-private- tanker truck used to collect cooking oil sprung a leak that reportedly began near the intersection of Central and South avenues then spread the substance up to the Westfield Plaza.

The Union Hazmat Department arrived at the scene for the cleanup and sanding of about three blocks on South Avenue.

The driver of the truck told RLS Media a component inside the tank broke off, causing the massive leak.

About 50 gallons of cooking oil was found leaked on the ground behind the Westfield Plaza.

South Avenue was closed for several blocks, in both directions, causing heavy delays in the area including moderate backups on North Avenue.

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LORRY DRIVER SUFFERS BURNS AFTER GAS LEAK IN HKL
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/06/14/lorry-driver-suffers-burns-after-gas-leak-in-hkl/1981968
Tags: Malaysia, transportation, release, injury, oxygen

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 ‰?? A lorry driver suffered burns on his left hand following an oxygen gas leak incident at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) engineering block here, at 6pm yesterday.


A spokesman for the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department‰??s Operations Centre said 17 firefighters from the Titiwangsa Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) and Jalan Tun Razak BBP rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call.

‰??Upon arrival at the location at 6.13pm, it was found that there was an oxygen gas leak outside the HKL engineering block and a cloud of white smoke filled the scene.

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INDONESIA'S PERTAMINA EXTINGUISHES FIRE AT CILACAP REFINERY, SUPPLIES UNAFFECTED
https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2021/06/14/10651575/indonesia-s-pertamina-extinguishes-fire-at-cilacap-refinery-supplies-unaffected
Tags: Indonesia, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Indonesia's state energy firm Pertamina on Sunday said that it has extinguished the fire that broke out in a storage tank area at its refinery in Cilacap, and that supplies were not impacted.

The fire broke out late on Friday in tank area 39, the company said in a statement. There were no injuries reported.

"This incident from the start had no impact on refinery operations or distribution of fuel and LPG. Everything is safe," said Djoko Priyono, the president director of Pertamina International Refinery.

The fire "did not cause any problems for consumers, both the general public and consumers from the petrochemical industry," he added.

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X-PRESS PEARL DISASTER OFFERS LESSONS FOR MOVING CHEMICALS ON INDIA‰??S WATERWAYS
https://www.newsclick.in/X-press-pearl-dsaster-lessons-moving-chemicals-india-waterways
Tags: India, transportation, follow-up, environmental, ethanol, nitric_acid, plastics, sodium_hydroxide

MV X-Press Pearl, the blazing cargo ship stranded in the Laccadive Sea off the coast of western Sri Lanka, is sinking. Authorities had been trying to tow the ship further into the sea to prevent pollution near the coast, but the damage is already done ‰?? both at the coast and in the sea.

With dead animals washing ashore and fish consuming the micro-plastics, the scale of the disaster and its ramifications for the environment, human health and livelihoods dependent on fishing are set to be widespread

The ship, laden with 25 metric tonnes of Nitric acid, was on its way to Singapore from Hazira port in Gujarat when it caught fire. A possible explanation is that there was an acid leak which caught fire when it rained since the chemical reacts with water. Nitric acid is also toxic when it burns. So, there are fears of air pollution too.

Other cargo included chemicals like ethanol, caustic soda, plastic pellets and about 300 tonnes of oil. All such items now litter Sri Lanka‰??s beaches and manifest as pollution in the Indian Ocean.

‰??Initially, the assessment was that the disaster could be contained. But there was an explosion and our beaches started getting polluted,‰?? said Muditha Katuwawala, Coordinator, The Pearl Protectors, a youth-led marine conservation organisation based in Sri Lanka. Katuwawala also noted that people who touched the debris and who went into the polluted waters have developed skin rashes.

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GAS EXPLOSION IN CENTRAL CHINA KILLS AT LEAST 12
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/gas-explosion-in-northern-china-kills-at-least-11/
Tags: China, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

BEIJING (AP) ‰?? At least 12 people were killed and 39 seriously injured Sunday after a gas line explosion tore through a residential neighborhood in central China.

Responders to the early morning blast in the city of Shiyan in Hubei province sent more than 150 people to the hospital, according to officials quoted by state media.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

Stall keepers and customers buying breakfast and fresh vegetables at a food market were the majority of victims when the explosion hit shortly after 6 a.m., according to the reports. The blast struck a two-story building built in the early 1990s, which includes pharmacies, restaurants and other businesses. More than 900 people were evacuated from the area.

Images showed rescuers climbing over broken concrete slabs to reach those trapped inside.

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HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN CHICOPEE
https://spectrumnews1.com/ma/worcester/news/2021/06/11/hazmat-crew-responds-to-chemical-spill-in-chicopee
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, HCl

CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Chicopee Fire Department and Hazmat crews responded to a call for a chemical spill of hydrochloric acid on Friday morning.

The incident happened at Tsubaki Automotive Division on Lonczak Street.

A Tusbaki employee was treated at a hospital and is expected to be okay. The company said because of their emergency protocols, they were able to keep the spill contained and shut the valve off immediately.

A spokesperson tells Spectrum News 1 the hydrochloric acid was contained in a holding tank. It wasn‰??t released into the waste water treatment plant and there is no danger to the public.

The spill is expected to be cleaned up within 24 hours and the incident is still under investigation.

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PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT FIRE PROMPTS LARGE EMERGENCY RESPONSE, CHEMICAL SCARE ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
https://whdh.com/news/pharmaceutical-plant-fire-prompts-large-emergency-response-chemical-scare/
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, response, pharmaceutical

NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - A fire that ignited within a pharmaceutical plant in Newburyport Friday prompted a chemical scare and a large emergency response.

Firefighters were called to the PCI Synthesis/Seqens plant located at 9 Opportunity Way around 5:30 p.m. and upon their arrival found heavy smoke coming from a number of roof vents and declared it to be a chemical fire, according to a release issued by the department.

The fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes.

Due to the chemicals stored and used in the building, a Tier 1 Hazmat incident was declared. The specialists determined there was not threat to the public.


The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection responded to the scene.

No injureis were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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8 DEAD, 3 INJURED IN CHINA FACTORY'S CHEMICAL LEAK
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/8-dead-3-injured-in-china-factorys-chemical-leak/2021/06/12/b2b1b568-cb47-11eb-8708-64991f2acf28_story.html
Tags: China, industrial, release, death, toxics

BEIJING ‰?? Eight people died and three others were injured when a toxic chemical leaked Saturday at a plant in the southwestern Chinese city of Guiyang, authorities said.
The leak happened as workers were unloading a shipment of methyl formate from a vehicle at a chemical handling facility. An investigation is underway, according to the China National Emergency Broadcasting.
Methyl formate is used in a variety of chemical processes and as an insecticide. It can cause skin irritation and may be toxic if ingested or inhaled.
The Chinese economy‰??s emphasis on chemicals and heavy industry has led to frequent deadly accidents, often traced to weak adherence to safety standards and corruption among enforcement bodies. Those responsible are often handed harsh punishments, but high demand and the desire for profits often trump such concerns.

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