From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (11 articles)
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2022 06:20:29 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: FA5DA373-CABF-46B2-8A8D-77C38D1D5936**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, July 4, 2022 at 6:20:18 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 (11 articles)

HAZMAT SITUATION CAUSED BY CHLORINE SPILL IN OWINGS MILLS
Tags: us_MD, public, release, response, chlorine

EXPLOSION DUE TO WEAKNESS IN HAZARDOUS MATERIAL MANAGEMENT
Tags: Bangladesh, public, follow-up, environmental

TWO PETROL TANKERS CATCH FIRE AT ONCE IN ANAMBRA
Tags: Nigeria, transportation, fire, response, gasoline

UPL AND DURBAN RESIDENTS MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME, 11 MO...
Tags: South_Africa, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics

JAIPUR: FIRE IN CHEMICAL FACTORY; 700 LPG CYLINDERS SHIFTED FROM GODOWN CLOSE BY
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, butane, gas_cylinders, propane

POOL SHORTAGE ROCK CHARLOTTE AREA THIS SUMMER
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, pool_chemicals

CHEMICAL SPILL SITE IN NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN GETS $1.4M IN FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
Tags: us_WI, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical, toxics

CHEMICAL LEAK: VOLUNTARY EVACUATION LIFTED IN WALLER COUNTY AFTER BLEACH LEAK AND FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, bleach

THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
Tags: us_AL, transportation, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical

DUKE STUDY USES SILICONE WRISTBANDS TO TRACK FIREFIGHTERS' EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

US EPA TO IMPOSE ATRAZINE RESTRICTIONS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, pesticides, runoff


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

HAZMAT SITUATION CAUSED BY CHLORINE SPILL IN OWINGS MILLS
https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/hazmat-situation-caused-by-chlorine-spill-in-owings-mills
Tags: us_MD, public, release, response, chlorine

OWINGS MILLS, Md. ' Baltimore County Fire is on the scene of a hazmat situation in Owings Mills.

Hazmat crews and the Maryland Department of the Environment are cleaning up a a liquid chlorine spill in the 10500 block of Red Run Blvd.

According to officials, the spill was caused by a malfunctioning pool pump.

There are no injuries reported and no threat to community at this time.

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

EXPLOSION DUE TO WEAKNESS IN HAZARDOUS MATERIAL MANAGEMENT
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/explosion-due-to-weakness-in-management-of-hazardous-materials
Tags: Bangladesh, public, follow-up, environmental

Weaknesses in the management of hazardous materials, including chemicals, led to the devastating explosion at the BM Depot in Sitakunda, Chattogram. This was revealed in the inquiry committee report of the Chittagong Port Authority.

The report stated that containers with hazardous materials, including chemicals, were stored alongside containers containing garments and other export items. If the hazardous materials had been kept separately, there would not have been so many deaths. Even if these containers had been shifted to safety when the smoke first appeared, the situation wouldn't have gone out of control.

According to the inquiry report, there were matchboxes lying here and there in the depot. The officers in charge of safety and security cannot avoid responsibility. While there were fire extinguishers at the depot, there were no fire hydrants to supply water. There were also no adequately trained people at the depot to extinguish the fire. Had there been trained people, the situation could have been bravely handled.

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

TWO PETROL TANKERS CATCH FIRE AT ONCE IN ANAMBRA
https://247ureports.com/2022/07/two-petrol-tankers-catch-fire-at-once-in-anambra/
Tags: Nigeria, transportation, fire, response, gasoline

Two petrol tankers, on Sunday, caught fire in Amansea, Anambra State.

The Corps Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Command, CC Adeoye Irelewuyi, disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen in Awka.

The statement reads: 'At about 1700hrs of today 03-07-2022, Anambra State Fire Service, Awka, Nigeria received a distress call of fire outbreak in two (2) petrol tankers of 33,000 litres opposite At Anthony's Catholic Church, Amansea.

'Immediately, we deployed our fire truck and Firefighters to the fire scene and fought the fire to standstill with our chemical foam compound and there was no loss of life.

'The avoidable fire outbreak emanated during the trans-loading of the petrol from the faulty tanker to another tanker without the presence of Fire Service to be on standby. The mistake of the pump operator caused the fire outbreak.

'The road is now free for motorists to move on.

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

UPL AND DURBAN RESIDENTS MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME, 11 MO...
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-07-03-upl-and-durban-residents-meet-for-the-first-time-11-months-after-cornubia-chemical-fire/
Tags: South_Africa, public, follow-up, environmental, toxics

Nigh on a year after the Cornubia toxic chemical blaze, the UPL agrochemicals group has held its first face-to-face meeting with local community and business groups in Durban 'to explore how both parties can work together' to address the aftermath of the chemical spill on the human and natural environment.

For eleven months, the Indian-owned chemical giant has engaged with the public mostly via its lawyers, mailbox pamphlets or media statements posted on the company's website ' steadfastly spurning public meetings or direct talks with a 26-member interim 'multi-stakeholder forum' established at the request of the national and provincial environment department heads, Barbara Creecy and Ravi Pillay.

Finally, on June 30, UPL senior company managers and legal representatives sat down with community forum members in Durban, essentially to talk about future talks during a 'frank and cordial exchange of views'.

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

JAIPUR: FIRE IN CHEMICAL FACTORY; 700 LPG CYLINDERS SHIFTED FROM GODOWN CLOSE BY
https://www.firstpost.com/india/jaipur-fire-in-chemical-factory-700-lpg-cylinders-shifted-from-godown-close-by-10865811.html
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, butane, gas_cylinders, propane

Jaipur: A fire broke out in a chemical factory in a densely populated area in Jaipur on Sunday, but it was put out with the help of 15 fire tenders before it could reach a LPG cylinder godown close by, officials said.

Police said the chemical factory is in Brahmpuri area, and as fire started, around 700 cooking gas cylinders were shifted to safety from the godown.

The chemical factory was being operated illegally, chief fire officer Devendra Meena said.

The fire was controlled in time otherwise a major incident could have happened, he said.

The fire has been controlled now, and the matter is being investigated, the police said.

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

POOL SHORTAGE ROCK CHARLOTTE AREA THIS SUMMER
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/pool-supply-shortage-hits-charlotte-area-this-summer/275-2e0f06d0-7140-42c1-93bc-702aaa2d314f
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, pool_chemicals

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ' Many people are heading into the water this holiday weekend.
Whether it's your community or backyard pool the swimming season is still experiencing a chlorine shortage again.
Facing the same problem last year'many pool supply stores put limits on items and shelves were empty.
RELATED: Boating safety tips ahead of Fourth of July holiday
"I was actually looking at pools last weekend, but I was like I guess you'd have to be in a complex," Lashelle Holt told WCNC Charlotte.
Holt doesn't have a personal pool, so she and her daughter are headed to a local splash pad.
This may be for the best because some pool owners are still having trouble securing chlorine tablets.
"It was to the extreme and 2020," Brandon Dockery, Dockery's Pools and Patios owner, said. "At that point, you know, it was really hard to get a lot of stuff."

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

CHEMICAL SPILL SITE IN NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN GETS $1.4M IN FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
https://journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/chemical-spill-site-in-northwestern-wisconsin-gets-1-4m-in-federal-infrastructure-funding/article_21d9ebdc-f977-11ec-827b-0b6a40604a1c.html
Tags: us_WI, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical, toxics

After many years, the cleanup of toxic chemicals in a little town in northern Wisconsin can finally continue.

As part of President Joe Biden's 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $3.5 billion was allotted for the cleanup of backlogged contamination sites. In the first wave of funding, a site in Daniels, Wisconsin ' an unincorporated town near the Minnesota border ' was chosen to receive financial support, the Environmental Protection Agency announced in December.

The Wisconsin Department of Resources announced in May it had received $1.4 million in federal funds. Work is scheduled to start this summer and continue into the winter.

'For more than 100 years, the upper Midwest was the nation's industrial center,' Debra Shore, an EPA Regional Administrator, said in a release. 'But when factories and mills closed they left behind a legacy of toxic sites that are challenging to clean up.'

The Daniels site once housed Penta Wood Products, a wood treatment facility that operated from 1953 to 1992, according to the EPA. The business used a chemical called pentachlorophenol, an industrial wood preservative, to treat posts and telephone poles by dipping them in an open tank. The chemical must now be removed or neutralized, the EPA said.

Penta Wood dumped wastewater into a gully, resulting in soil and groundwater contaminated with pentachlorophenol and arsenic, the EPA said. The DNR first investigated Penta Wood in 1986 and found the contamination.

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

CHEMICAL LEAK: VOLUNTARY EVACUATION LIFTED IN WALLER COUNTY AFTER BLEACH LEAK AND FIRE
https://abc13.com/waller-county-chemical-leak-fire-katy/12012762/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, bleach

KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- County officials lift the voluntary evacuation in Waller County after a chemical leak and fire on Saturday evening.

Authorities responded to a fire at 29738 Goynes Road with a chemical leak at about 4:30 p.m.

Sodium Chlorite, which is bleach, was leaked from an outside tower container and there is no damage to the building.

Officials said there were no employees injured.

At 6:46 p.m. the chemical was contained. Officials said there is no immediate danger to any of the nearby residents and those who evacuated my return home.

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

THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
https://www.birminghamal.gov/bhamready
Tags: us_AL, transportation, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), under a directive from the U.S. Secret Service and Birmingham Police Department, will restrict all hazardous material cargo shipments identified by placard and/or shipping papers on I-59/20 through Downtown Birmingham during The World Games being held July 7-17, 2022.


Learn more about road closures and security perimeters for the World Games 2022
The City of Birmingham has identified secure perimeters and road closures which will be implemented during The World Games 2022, which takes place July 7 ' 17, 2022. The perimeters, coordinated in partnership with the World Games Birmingham Organizing Committee and federal law enforcement, will ensure the level of safety and security essential for a multi-day, multi-location international event. The World Games 2022 events will require a secure boundary and road closures at several venues. These perimeters will restrict non-official vehicular access to certain areas, including: BJCC/Protective Stadium and downtown, Avondale Park, Bessie Estell Park, portions of UAB, 1st Avenue South at Railroad Park, and 8th Avenue West at Legion Field.

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

DUKE STUDY USES SILICONE WRISTBANDS TO TRACK FIREFIGHTERS' EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS
https://www.wfdd.org/story/duke-study-uses-silicone-wristbands-track-firefighters-exposure-chemicals
Tags: us_NC, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

A recent study out of Duke University used silicone wristbands in order to look at firefighters' exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. Of the 134 chemical compounds researchers were testing for, scientists say 71 were found in at least half of the bands that the firefighters wore. WFDD's Bethany Chafin spoke with the study's lead author and exposure scientist Jessica Levasseur about the research.

Interview Highlights

On how the pilot study came about:

The Durham Fire Department contacted the Duke Cancer Institute and we've since been working with the Durham Fire Department to try and better understand what their exposures are. So we know that firefighters experience higher levels of cancer than the rest of the population. And we also know that [in] firefighting, intuitively, people are exposed to different things than they are every day, but we haven't actually quantified what those exposures look like.

And so using the silicone wristbands, we developed a study in conjunction with the firefighters to try to measure what their exposures were at work and at home, and then we further broke it down trying to understand if their exposures differ when they respond to a fire event at work versus when they don't.

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

US EPA TO IMPOSE ATRAZINE RESTRICTIONS
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pesticides/US-EPA-impose-atrazine-restrictions/100/web/2022/07
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, pesticides, runoff

The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new mitigation measures to protect aquatic environments from the widely used herbicide atrazine. If finalized, the measures would reverse a 2020 policy decision implemented by the Trump administration that loosened restrictions for growers near rivers and streams.
Under the EPA's proposal, growers located in watersheds with atrazine concentrations that exceed 3.4 ë1Ú4g/L would have to reduce runoff or reduce their application rates. That level is far lower than the 15 ë1Ú4g/L threshold adopted by the Trump administration.
The EPA determined the 3.4 ë1Ú4g/L level of concern in a 2016 ecological risk assessment. When the concentration is exceeded, atrazine has a 50% chance of negatively impacting aquatic plants.
In addition to the lower threshold, the EPA proposes prohibiting all growers from using atrazine when soils are saturated with water, during rain, or when storms are forecasted within 48 hours. All growers would also be prohibited from aerial spraying of atrazine.

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

---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.