From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2021 06:28:33 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 66B8F941-F05C-46B7-9FFA-11D4D1614D16**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, September 17, 2021 at 6:28:21 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)

CONTAINER SHIP FIRE IN CONTAINER WITH HAZMAT, ITALY ‰?? MARITIME BULLETIN
Tags: Italy, transportation, fire, response, flammables

VERMILLION HIGH SCHOOL CLOSED AFTER FIRE IN CHEMICAL SUPPLY CLOSET.
Tags: us_SD, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT MUMBAI'S SCRAPYARD, FIRE TENDERS RUSHED
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO ADDRESS PFAS CONTAMINATION
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

FORMOSA TO PAY $2.85 MILLLION IN PENALTIES PLUS FOLLOW NEW SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, plastics

FUEL SPILL SENDS HAZMAT TEAM TO KANSAS CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Tags: us_KS, industrial, release, response, diesel

SEWAGE TRUCK OVERTURNS IN RICHMOND, SPILLS NEARLY 200 GALLONS
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, waste

EXPLOSION INSIDE APARTMENT INJURES ONE WORKER
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical


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CONTAINER SHIP FIRE IN CONTAINER WITH HAZMAT, ITALY ‰?? MARITIME BULLETIN
http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2021/09/17/container-ship-fire-in-container-with-hazmat-italy/
Tags: Italy, transportation, fire, response, flammables

Fire broke out in a container on board of container ship at Catania port, Sicily, Italy, in the evening Sep 16. Container was loaded with yellow phosphate, a flammable substance emitting toxic gases when on fire. Fire was taken under control by firefight and Coast Guard teams, with deployment of tug or tugs. Container reportedly, was offloaded. Understood accident is related to container ship LUEBECK, currently docked at Catania. Photo

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VERMILLION HIGH SCHOOL CLOSED AFTER FIRE IN CHEMICAL SUPPLY CLOSET.
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2021/09/16/vermillion-south-dakota-high-school-closed-after-fire/8365657002/
Tags: us_SD, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Vermillion High School is closed for the day Thursday after an early morning fire was reported in a chemical supply closet, according to the Vermillion Fire Department.

The Vermillion Fire EMS responded to a fire alarm activation at about 6:30 a.m., Matthew Callahan, Vermillion Fire Chief, wrote in an email. Right after the call was made, a school custodian noticed smoke in the hallway and called 911.

The fire department found a small fire in the chemistry room's storage area and quickly put it out, according to Callahan. The storage room and classroom suffered extensive smoke damage, while some of the hallways and other classrooms suffered minor damage.

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FIRE BREAKS OUT AT MUMBAI'S SCRAPYARD, FIRE TENDERS RUSHED
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/271179360/fire-breaks-out-at-mumbai-scrapyard-fire-tenders-rushed
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 17 (ANI): A fire broke out at a scrapyard in the Mankhurd area of Mumbai in the early hours of Friday.

As many as six fire tenders were pressed into action.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier on September 11, a fire broke out in a chemical factory at Boisar Tarapur industrial area of Palghar district of Maharashtra.

In another unfortunate incident this month, one person died and four workers were injured in a fire following an explosion at Jakharia Fabric Ltd in Maharashtra's Boisar. (ANI)

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WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO ADDRESS PFAS CONTAMINATION
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/need-know-address-PFAS-contamination/99/i34
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

growing number of communities around the world are discovering that they have a problem with exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). To help manage PFAS contamination, researchers affiliated with the Global PFAS Science Panel have called out key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c03386).
The biggest question concerns the quantity of PFAS produced and where they are used. This information is key to understand the extent of pollution and identify undiscovered hot spots, says University of Pittsburgh toxicologist Carla Ng.
Ng and her collaborators in 2019 proposed a way to limit further PFAS pollution by restricting their use to essential applications. Governments around the world have embraced this regulatory approach, but it will be difficult for them to control PFAS this way with only piecemeal knowledge of PFAS uses, Ng says.
The researchers also found that analytical tools for measuring PFAS need to become cheaper and more accessible to help water utilities monitor PFAS in drinking water and regulators limit PFAS emission from factories.
Ng says communities with PFAS pollution need help to make sense of the implications to people‰??s health and to identify the best way to handle contaminated material. Because of limitations in existing disposal technologies, the researchers suggest that storing contaminated material in safe, confined facilities might be the best short-term solution.
And everyone must talk about who should foot the bills. ‰??Essentially, every company still treats environmental contamination as an externality,‰?? Ng says. ‰??In that sense, I think the system is really broken.‰??

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FORMOSA TO PAY $2.85 MILLLION IN PENALTIES PLUS FOLLOW NEW SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Formosa-pay-285-milllion-penalties/99/i34
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum, plastics

Formosa Plastics has agreed to pay $2.85 million in civil penalties and to correct alleged Clean Air Act violations at its petrochemical manufacturing facility in Point Comfort, Texas, the US Department of Justice announced Sept. 13.
The DOJ alleges 20 violations of the law, particularly risk management requirements that are designed to eliminate releases of hazardous air pollutants. A string of accidents from 2013 to 2016 injured some 40 workers, the DOJ notes. Their injuries included second- and third-degree burns and chlorine inhalation, requiring hospitalization. The incidents also caused property damage and release of extremely hazardous substances, such as hydrochloric acid.
Under the agreement, Formosa must update its accident response and personal protection plans to prevent employee injury, conduct a third-party audit of its risk management practices and perform recommended corrective actions, and develop performance indicators to evaluate future compliance. In addition, the company agreed to assess its equipment and implement a mechanical integrity reporting program. The DOJ estimates the cost of these improvements to be at least $1.4 million.
Formosa did not respond by C&EN‰??s deadline to a request for comment.
Several of the new provisions, particularly the third-party audit and corrective actions, would have been required by a bill passed late in Barack Obama‰??s administration but were rescinded by President Donald J. Trump. However, the risk management regulation was among several that President Joe Biden announced would be reviewed during his administration.
Formosa, a Taiwanese chemical manufacturer with several US facilities, has been responsible for US accidents stretching back to at least 2004, when the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board investigated the company after two incidents, one of which killed five workers at an Illinois plant.
Despite the problems, the company announced several years ago a plan to construct a $9.4 billion chemical complex in St. James Parish, Louisiana. This facility is opposed by many residents of the parish, which is a low-income, mostly Black community.

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FUEL SPILL SENDS HAZMAT TEAM TO KANSAS CHOCOLATE FACTORY
https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/fuel-spill-sends-hazmat-team-to-topeka-chocolate-factory/
Tags: us_KS, industrial, release, response, diesel

TOPEKA (KSNT) ‰?? A Tuesday night fuel spill at a Topeka chocolate factory had firefighters and a hazmat team move in to get it under control.

The Mars Factory at 100 SW Mars Blvd. saw 80 gallons of diesel spill from a crushed fuel tank on a refrigerator trailer. When the Topeka Fire Department‰??s hazmat team and three fire engines arrived, it said Mars staff had already contained the spill. The department‰??s crew helped Mars staff control and monitor the spill while a tow truck moved the refrigerator trailer to stop more fuel from spilling.

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SEWAGE TRUCK OVERTURNS IN RICHMOND, SPILLS NEARLY 200 GALLONS
https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/sewage-truck-overturns-in-richmond-spills-nearly-200-gallons/
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, waste

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) ‰??A sewage truck flipped over spilling nearly 200 gallons of waste in the roadway Wednesday afternoon in Richmond.

The Richmond Fire Department responded to 470 Tredegar Street for a report of a traffic collision at 1:18 p.m. on Sept. 15. When crews arrived they found a sewage truck had overturned, but the driver was not injured.

The department said about 200 gallons of sewage spilled onto the roadway, which has pathways to the James River. The fire department‰??s hazmat team worked to contain the spill until cleanup crews arrived.

Man allegedly defecates in grocery store freezer, woman accidentally puts hand in it while reaching for pizza rolls
The incident was marked under control at 2:58 p.m.

RFD said they have notified the Environmental Protection Agency, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Health, and the City of Richmond Wastewater Treatment.

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EXPLOSION INSIDE APARTMENT INJURES ONE WORKER
https://www.kztv10.com/news/local-news/explosion-inside-apartment-injures-two-workers
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas ‰?? One man is recovering after they were injured following an explosion inside a southside apartment complex.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Chandlers Mill apartment complex near Airline and Holly Road.

A firefighter said two workers inside the apartment were putting down flooring but had no ventilation, doing tile work inside a bathroom. They said the workers sparked a chemical and it exploded.

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