From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2021 07:22:51 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 3E192A79-488B-4244-B635-257E57B12D3C**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at 7:22:37 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 (12 articles)

STATE BROWNFIELD GRANT TO HELP PAY FOR REMOVAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AT WHITE MILL PROJECT IN DANVILLE
Tags: us_VA, industrial, discovery, environmental, paints

AMMONIA LEAK IN WYOMING CONTAINED, NO INJURIES
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ammonia

FIRE REPORTED AT SHINTECH PVC MANUFACTURING COMPLEX
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL UPCYCLING
Tags: Netherlands, public, follow-up, environmental, plastics, waste

INVENTORY FINDS MORE THAN 10,000 CHEMICALS USED IN PLASTICS MANUFACTURE
Tags: Europe, laboratory, discovery, environmental, plastics

DELTA-8-THC CRAZE CONCERNS CHEMISTS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

FRENCH AUTHORITIES ACCUSED OF ‰??GRAVE NEGLIGENCE‰?? OVER NOTRE DAME LEAD DUST
Tags: France, public, follow-up, environmental, lead_dust

HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO YARMOUTH FOR MERCURY SPILL
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, mercury

MOTHER SHIELDS YOUNG DAUGHTER AS U-HAUL FULL OF FIREWORKS EXPLODES ON RESIDENTIAL STREET
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, fireworks

CONSUMING VEGETABLE AFTER A CHEMICAL FIRE?
Tags: us_IL, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics

PRITZKER ISSUES DISASTER PROCLAMATION IN RESPONSE TO MORRIS INDUSTRIAL FIRE ‰?? NBC CHICAGO
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, environmental, batteries

INFERNO AT BANG PHLI FACTORY
Tags: Thailand, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical


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STATE BROWNFIELD GRANT TO HELP PAY FOR REMOVAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AT WHITE MILL PROJECT IN DANVILLE
https://godanriver.com/news/local/state-brownfield-grant-to-help-pay-for-removal-of-hazardous-materials-at-white-mill-project/article_4e8b2530-de87-11eb-8a37-c7d773de2846.html
Tags: us_VA, industrial, discovery, environmental, paints

multimillion-dollar project to remove lead-based paint from the White Mill building will get a $500,000 boost from the state.

Getting rid of toxic substances will cost roughly $3.5 million and is one of the first steps in the redevelopment of this historic building that is scheduled to begin this fall, Danville Economic Development Director Corrie T. Bobe said.

Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday announced the grant from the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Development Assistance Fund.

Bobe said about 500,000 square feet of surface area will be blasted to remove lead-based paint. The Danville Industrial Development Authority and Madison, Wisconsin-based The Alexander Company would provide the remaining $3 million .

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AMMONIA LEAK IN WYOMING CONTAINED, NO INJURIES
https://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/ammonia-leak-in-wyoming/
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ammonia

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) ‰?? An anhydrous ammonia leak in Wyoming drew hazmat crews to a company and prompted warnings for neighbors before being contained Tuesday morning.

The leak was discovered around 10 a.m. in the 500 block of 32nd Street SE at Roger B. Chaffee Memorial Boulevard, the Wyoming Department of Public Safety said in a release.

Employees at State Heat Treating Company, which performs chemical treatments on metals for the automotive, furniture, medical and military industries, said they noticed the leak and quickly called 911.

About 300 to 500 gallons of vaporized ammonia escaped from one of the company‰??s tanks, Wyoming DPS Lt. Eric Wiler said. Hazmat crews responded to deal with the colorless, compressed, corrosive gas and managed to close the tank valve.

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FIRE REPORTED AT SHINTECH PVC MANUFACTURING COMPLEX
https://www.powderbulksolids.com/chemical/fire-reported-shintech-pvc-manufacturing-complex
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

A lighting strike is being eyed as the cause of a small fire that broke out Friday evening at the Shintech polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing complex in Plaquemine, LA, several local news organizations reported.

‰??A lightning strike caused a transformer fire at Shintech‰??s facility in Plaquemine. Onesite emergency teams are responding to the fire, which is isolated to one area of the facility,‰?? Danny Cedotal, vice president of manufacturing for Shintech told television news station WAFB.

The company said it is shutting down production units at the Louisiana site to gauge how weather will impact the facility. Tropical Storm Elsa has led to rainstorms and high winds along the Gulf Coast.

No injuries were documented during the incident, according to The Baton Rouge Advocate.

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CHEMICAL UPCYCLING
https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/chemical-upcycling/4013886.article
Tags: Netherlands, public, follow-up, environmental, plastics, waste

Economics is central to invigorating the transition to a circular economy for plastic

Gary Anderson designed the recycling mobius loop logo in response to a competition held in 1970 by the Container Corporation of America. Contestants were asked to design a simple symbol for recycled paper. These days that symbol is everywhere. And these days, our domestic recycling bin is nearly always full ‰?? yet I find it hard to believe that it was only in July 2009 that my hometown expanded its kerbside recycling collection service to include cans and plastic bottles. Putting plastic in your recycling bin, however, does not guarantee that it gets recycled effectively.

Sorting mixed streams of plastic waste efficiently and accurately is an onerous but essential step for most recycling methods. The technology employed to sort this mish-mash of household refuse has now become surprisingly sophisticated. Hayley Bennett‰??s recent feature on ferrofluids revealed how a company in the Netherlands is using magnetic nanoparticles suspended in ferrofluids as part of a density-based sorting process. Sorting matters, because the higher the homogeneity of the waste stream the higher the chance of the polymers retaining their value when they are recycled.

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INVENTORY FINDS MORE THAN 10,000 CHEMICALS USED IN PLASTICS MANUFACTURE
https://cen.acs.org/environment/Inventory-finds-10000-chemicals-used/99/i25
Tags: Europe, laboratory, discovery, environmental, plastics

More than 10,000 additives, processing aids, and monomers are used to make plastics, with about 2,400 identified as potentially hazardous, according to the results of a comprehensive study cataloging publicly known chemicals used in plastics manufacture (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c00976). The findings point to a long, tough road to close gaps in chemical regulations and improve plastic waste management, the study authors say.
Plastics are perhaps the most diverse class of synthetic materials, coming in every color, level of transparency, and stiffness. This range of properties is thanks to the sheer number of ingredients, such as pigments, fillers, or plasticizers, that can be combined with polymers.
While researching plastics recycling as part of her graduate studies, Helene Wiesinger of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, realized that the large number of substances that go into plastics‰??and the little that is known about them‰??poses a big problem for plastic waste management. For instance, hazardous additives appropriate for one type of product, such as flame retardants in electronic casings, may wind up inside recycled material and eventually in products where they become inappropriate, such as toys. A report on the problems with plastics recycling and incineration published last week by International Pellet Watch, a program monitoring marine plastic pollution, and the International Pollutants Elimination Network, a global coalition of health and environmental advocacy groups, shared some of Wiesinger‰??s concerns.

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DELTA-8-THC CRAZE CONCERNS CHEMISTS
https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/natural-products/Delta-8-THC-craze-concerns-chemists/99/i31
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

Move over cannabidiol (CBD). The popularity of another cannabinoid, ‰??8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC), is on the rise. Found in gummies, vape cartridges, tinctures, and other products, delta-8-THC is popping up in gas stations, convenience stores, tobacco shops, and cannabis dispensaries throughout the US and beyond‰??often with no age restrictions.

Unlike CBD, delta-8-THC produces euphoric effects that are similar to but milder than those of delta-9-THC, the well-known psychoactive compound in cannabis. Delta-8-THC is an isomer of delta-9-THC. The only difference between the two molecules is the location of a double bond between two carbons.

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FRENCH AUTHORITIES ACCUSED OF ‰??GRAVE NEGLIGENCE‰?? OVER NOTRE DAME LEAD DUST
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/06/french-authorities-accused-of-grave-negligence-over-notre-dame-lead-dust?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Tags: France, public, follow-up, environmental, lead_dust

French and Paris authorities are facing further legal action over worrying lead levels around Notre Dame Cathedral in the wake of the devastating fire two years ago.

Lawyers for a branch of one of the country‰??s most powerful unions, which has joined forced with a health association and local residents, will submit a legal case on Tuesday for ‰??endangering life ‰?| by persons unknown‰??.

The plaintiffs accuse the authorities of ‰??grave negligence‰??, which they say exposed city dwellers, particularly children and those working to restore the cathedral, to dangerous levels of toxic lead dust.

Notre Dame was severely damaged by fire in April 2019, which melted the roof and spire and sent an estimated 460 tonnes of lead into the air. After the conflagration, lead levels reached up to 500,000 microgrammes per sq metre (ĺµg/m2) in the courtyard outside the edifice and up to 20,000 ĺµg/m2 in the surrounding residential and tourist areas, many times higher than the 5,000 ĺµg/m2 recommended by Paris‰??s public health authorities.

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HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO YARMOUTH FOR MERCURY SPILL
https://www.capecod.com/cape-wide-news/hazmat-crews-called-to-yarmouth-for-mercury-spill/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, mercury

YARMOUTH ‰?? State Hazardous Material technicians were called to Yarmouth shortly after noon Monday. A light bulb containing mercury reportedly broke prompting the response to Hunter‰??s Circle. No injuries were reported.

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MOTHER SHIELDS YOUNG DAUGHTER AS U-HAUL FULL OF FIREWORKS EXPLODES ON RESIDENTIAL STREET
https://www.newsweek.com/mother-shields-young-daughter-u-haul-full-fireworks-explodes-residential-street-1606951
Tags: us_OH, public, fire, response, fireworks

At least three people were injured after a moving van carrying fireworks caught fire in an Ohio neighborhood on the Fourth of July.

The chaotic scene‰??bright bursts of fireworks punctuated with loud booms as people ran for cover screaming‰??was caught on video by neighbors and posted to social media Sunday. Bystanders likened the ordeal to being in a "war zone." In one video, a woman can be seen shielding a crying little girl on the porch as bright sparks fly by and people race down the street.

WTOL reported that the woman, identified later as Val McKee, said the ordeal was frightening.

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CONSUMING VEGETABLE AFTER A CHEMICAL FIRE?
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-news/2021-07-05/consuming-vegetable-after-a-chemical-fire
Tags: us_IL, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics

Residents within the ChemTool evacuation zone are concerned about eating vegetables from their gardens.

The latest guidance from the Winnebago County Health Department and the University of Illinois Extension recommends thoroughly washing and rinsing any vegetables grown outside before eating them.

The Winnebago County Health Department adds via a tipsheet available on the website that ‰??Leafy vegetables can be soaked in a 10% vinegar solution to lift soil particles from produce."

Sonya Lunder is a toxics policy advisor for the Sierra Club, and she says ultimately residents will have to follow their gut.

‰??So, you know, while washing your vegetables is always good advice, and for many people who are living out of the way, it might be perfectly safe,‰?? said Lunder. ‰??I would be more cautious for people who are in the zone where there was thick smoke or who have ash falling.‰??

Lunder encourages residents to practice more caution than usual when it comes to any potential voluntary exposure to a mixture of industrial chemicals.

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PRITZKER ISSUES DISASTER PROCLAMATION IN RESPONSE TO MORRIS INDUSTRIAL FIRE ‰?? NBC CHICAGO
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/pritzker-issues-disaster-proclamation-in-response-to-morris-industrial-fire/2547737/
Tags: us_IL, industrial, follow-up, environmental, batteries

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for Grundy County Monday after a massive fire at an industrial building housing hundreds of thousands of pounds of lithium ion batteries released plumes of smoke and poisonous fumes into the air.

The disaster proclamation grants officials the ability to expedite state resources, personnel and equipment, as well as allows for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to provide additional aid.

‰??Protecting the health and safety of every resident in Illinois is a top priority for my administration and this disaster proclamation will allow us to provide the full scale of support and tools needed for Grundy County,‰?? Pritzker said.

Residents were able to return to their homes once again after 4 p.m. Friday, officials said during an update earlier that day.

The order was put in place by the Grundy County IL Emergency Management Agency, which ordered anyone in the 900 blocks of Benton, Douglas or Armstrong streets as well as those who live on East Street to evacuate their residence.

Residents who were ordered to evacuate were "not eligible to return home," a spokeswoman for the Will County Emergency Management Agency said early Wednesday, noting that a shelter had been established for residents and pets.

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INFERNO AT BANG PHLI FACTORY
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2143843/inferno-at-bang-phli-factory
Tags: Thailand, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

A massive blaze at a factory producing plastic foam and pellets in Samut Prakan's Bang Phli district has prompted calls for immediate action to prevent carcinogenic and other hazardous materials left behind by the blaze from further damaging the environment and communities around the factory.

As of press time on Monday, a rescue worker was killed and at least 39 people -- including 12 other rescue workers -- were injured following the blast and subsequent inferno at Ming Dih Chemical Co factory complex.

The victim was identified as Kornsith Laophan, 18, who was killed as he and other volunteers were fleeing from a burning chemical storage site. He stumbled and was consumed by the fire, authorities said.

The effort to extinguish the chemical fire -- which is still ongoing -- sent thick black smoke into the sky above Bang Phli district throughout the day yesterday, which was visible from many parts of the capital.

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