From: Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2022 06:30:15 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: A7907DCF-54BF-45CE-B432-20C8D23FCBA5**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, August 3, 2022 at 6:30:05 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)

TRUCK HAULING THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF GAS OVERTURNED IN NASHVILLE
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, response, gasoline

UMASS SCIENCE BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL INCIDENT
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

NATICK LABORATORY SAFETY: WHERE DO PROPOSED REGULATIONS STAND?
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental

A YEAR AFTER THE EXPLOSIONS IN CHEMPARK LEVERKUSEN THE DANGER REMAINS
Tags: Germany, industrial, follow-up, environmental, waste

FIRE & POLICE UNITS RESPOND TO THE HOLLAND AQUATIC CENTER FOR CHEMICAL RELEASE
Tags: us_MI, public, release, injury, bleach

RESIDENTS URGED TO AVOID HURON RIVER AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN WATERSHED
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, water_treatment

CHEMICAL SPILL CONTAMINATES DAVAO RIVER AFTER TRUCK MISHAP
Tags: Philippines, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide

PFOA IN RAIN WORLDWIDE EXCEEDS EPA ADVISORY LEVEL
Tags: Sweden, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

HAZMAT SITUATION DECLARED IN WEST PHILADELPHIA AFTER ABOUT 154 PLASTIC MILK JUGS OF GAS FOUND AT ABANDONED HOME ‰?? CBS PHILLY
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, environmental, gasoline, milk

NETHERLANDS EXPLOSION LINKED TO BREAKING BAD-STYLE DRUG LAB
Tags: Netherlands, laboratory, explosion, response, drugs

WINSTON WEAVER COMPANY FINED AFTER MASSIVE FIRE THAT SPARKED EVACUATION, FEARS OF EXPLOSION IN WINSTON-SALEM
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate

WINDALCO MAY FACE FINANCIAL PENALTY FOR DEADLY RIVER POLLUTION
Tags: Jamaica, public, follow-up, environmental, wastes


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TRUCK HAULING THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF GAS OVERTURNED IN NASHVILLE
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/truck-hauling-thousands-of-gallons-of-gas-overturned-in-nashville
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, response, gasoline

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) ‰?? A tanker truck carrying between 4,000 to 8,000 gallons of gasoline overturned Tuesday evening in Nashville after colliding with a tractor-trailer.

Multiple agencies responded to the collision at Whites Creek Pike and Sycamore Creek Road around 6:35 p.m., according to Nashville Fire Department.

Officials for NFD tweeted that the Pleasant View Fire Department, Cooperstown Police Department, Nashville Emergency Operations, Nashville Police Department and Hazmat crews with the Nashville Fire Department all responded to the scene. The crews at the scene grounded the trailer and were preparing to offload the fuel from the overturned truck.

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UMASS SCIENCE BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL INCIDENT
https://www.gazettenet.com/Hazmat-47449212
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

AMHERST ‰?? Firefighters called in a hazardous materials response Monday to a University of Massachusetts building after a fire alarm was pulled in response to a chemical reaction.

‰??The operation went well,‰?? Fire Chief Tim Nelson said Tuesday, noting that no one was hurt.

Nelson said the alarm came in at approximately 5:30 p.m., and that the Fire Department responded to the UMass physical sciences building on North Pleasant Street.

After arriving, the captain on the scene, Capt. Stephen Gaughan, determined that hazmat should be called in, a call that Nelson confirmed was the correct one.

After approximately 20 occupants had left the building or had been evacuated, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts District 4 Regional Hazmat Response Team entered.

‰??It turns out it was a chemical that‰??s water reactive,‰?? Nelson said.

Nelson said the reaction occurred in a container and the team isolated the chemical before determining that there was no threat.

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NATICK LABORATORY SAFETY: WHERE DO PROPOSED REGULATIONS STAND?
https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/2022/08/02/natick-ma-laboratory-safety-where-proposed-regulations-stand/10201913002/
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental

NATICK ‰?? With a bronze BioReady rating from the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and several life sciences companies already in operation, Natick isn‰??t exactly unprepared for new laboratories.

Still, health and safety officials have found room for improvement.

More:Natick's Neiman Marcus may become research and development site. Neighbors have questions

The town is in the process of developing local policies to regulate and permit labs, fueled by debate surrounding a proposal to redevelop the Natick Mall‰??s Neiman Marcus site into a research and development facility.

In May, neighbors raised concerns that the new facility may include a lab, questioning the potential public health impacts.

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A YEAR AFTER THE EXPLOSIONS IN CHEMPARK LEVERKUSEN THE DANGER REMAINS
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/08/02/expl-a02.html
Tags: Germany, industrial, follow-up, environmental, waste

One year ago, on July 27, 2021, one of the German chemical industry‰??s worst industrial accidents in recent history occurred at Chempark Leverkusen, north of Cologne. Seven workers died in the explosion of a tank farm for the disposal of chemical waste. The bodies of two workers killed in the accident were recovered immediately. Five were initially considered missing. The seventh fatality was only discovered several days later.

The bereaved families, the wives and children of the workers who lost their lives, have suffered greatly, exacerbated by the fact that the cause of the accident has still not been fully clarified and responsible parties at the company have not been held accountable.

One woman widowed in the previous year‰??s catastrophe told the Rheinische Post, ‰??I feel a part of me has been amputated.‰?? Her husband was working the early shift the day of the accident. The couple, with a young daughter, had been happy. They had bought a house and had dreams and plans. The disaster at the chemical park operator Correnta plunged them and other families into an abyss.

The question torments those affected as well as workers in the Chempark: how could the disaster have happened, and who is to blame? ‰??I sincerely hope that those responsible are held accountable. Even if it doesn't bring our loved ones back,‰?? the widowed mother told the Rheinische Post. But she is only put off by the company and told that it will still take time. Moreover, her lawyer, she says, had not yet been given access to relevant files.

Chempark, with sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld, is one of the largest chemical parks in Europe. At the end of 2016, around 48,000 people were employed by some 70 companies and service providers located there. These include the Bayer chemical group and many of its spinoffs. Currenta is the company operating the Chempark. The company belonged to Bayer as the Industry Services division until 2007. Bayer held a majority stake in Currenta until three years ago. Then the Australian financial investor Macquarie took over the majority of the company.

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FIRE & POLICE UNITS RESPOND TO THE HOLLAND AQUATIC CENTER FOR CHEMICAL RELEASE
https://whtc.com/2022/08/02/fire-police-units-respond-to-the-holland-aquatic-center-for-chemical-release/
Tags: us_MI, public, release, injury, bleach

HOLLAND, MI (WKZO AM/FM) ‰?? The fire services division was dispatched to the Holland Aquatic Center located at 550 Maple Avenue at 11:57 a.m. on Monday, August 2 for a chemical spill in the building.

Upon arrival, responding units found that the building was being evacuated and at least three people were complaining of some minor respiratory irritation.

These individuals were taken to Holland Hospital.

Firefighters conducted an entry to the building to determine that all occupants were evacuated and to further assess the source of the spill. It was determined that a small amount of sanitizer, identified as sodium hypochlorite, which is a liquid, was being offloaded into a bulk container in the pump room located inside the building.

Authorities believe that a small amount of the product, which is offloaded by pump, became vaporized into the air allowing it to move throughout building.

There was no spill of free liquid in this space.

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RESIDENTS URGED TO AVOID HURON RIVER AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN WATERSHED
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/residents-urged-to-avoid-huron-river-after-chemical-spill-in-watershed
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, water_treatment

FOX 2 - Health and environmental officials are warning of a hexavalent chromium spill in the Huron River watershed Tuesday afternoon, which originated from a company in Wixom.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is recommending all people and pets avoid contact with the Huron River water between North Wixom Road in Oakland County and Kensington Road in Livingston County. This includes Norton Creek downstream of the Wixom Wastewater Treatment Plant (Oakland County), Hubbell Pond (also known as Mill Pond in Oakland County) and Kent Lake (Oakland and Livingston counties).

Residents in Monroe, Oakland, Livingston, Wayne, and Washtenaw counties are being cautioned following a release of hexavalent chromium to the Wixom Sewage Treatment Facility from Tribar Manufacturing in Wixom. The sewer feeds the Wixom wastewater treatment plant, which discharges to the Huron River system.

According to the release EGLE was notified at 3:21 p.m. Monday by Tribar that it had released several thousand gallons of a liquid containing 5% hexavalent chromium into the sewer system.

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CHEMICAL SPILL CONTAMINATES DAVAO RIVER AFTER TRUCK MISHAP
http://davaotoday.com/main/environment/chemical-spill-contaminates-davao-river-after-truck-mishap/
Tags: Philippines, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide

DAVAO CITY, Philippines ‰?? The waters in Davao River and its tributary Suawan River was found by authorities to be contaminated after a trailer truck carrying hazardous chemical fell 50 feet off a cliff in Barangay Suawan in Marilog District late Monday, August 1.

Retired PCol. Alfredo Baluran, chief of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), said the truck contained ‰??caustic soda‰??, a chemical usually used in cleaning bathrooms, during an interview with the Davao City Disaster Radio.

Caustic soda or Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), according to ChemicalSafetyFacts.org, is ‰??a highly versatile substance used in a variety of manufacturing processes. Sodium hydroxide is a co-product of chlorine production.‰??

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PFOA IN RAIN WORLDWIDE EXCEEDS EPA ADVISORY LEVEL
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/PFOA-rain-worldwide-exceeds-EPA/100/i27
Tags: Sweden, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

Rain and snow around the world contain higher concentrations of a toxic, persistent industrial chemical than the US Environmental Protection Agency‰??s advisory level for the substance in drinking water, a new study says (Env. Sci. Technol. 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02765).
Previous studies show that precipitation in urban, rural, and remote areas of Antarctica and Tibet had more than 0.004 part per trillion (ppt or ng/L), which is the EPA‰??s lifetime exposure health advisory level for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
The EPA introduced the PFOA advisory level, which isn‰??t a regulatory limit that US drinking water suppliers must meet, in June. The EPA sets such levels as recommendations for when water utilities should notify customers of contaminants. To set the level for PFOA, the agency relied on data linking exposure to this substance to suppression of people‰??s immune responses to vaccines, cardiovascular harm, and interference with the development of fetuses and babies. The EPA plans to issue mandatory limits, which the Safe Drinking Water Act requires to take into account analytical and economic factors, for PFOA and five other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) later this year.
‰??Based on the latest US guidelines for PFOA in drinking water, rainwater everywhere would be judged unsafe to drink,‰?? says Ian Cousins, an environmental organic chemistry professor at Stockholm University, who led the research.

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HAZMAT SITUATION DECLARED IN WEST PHILADELPHIA AFTER ABOUT 154 PLASTIC MILK JUGS OF GAS FOUND AT ABANDONED HOME ‰?? CBS PHILLY
https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2022/08/02/west-philadelphia-hazmat-gas/
Tags: us_PA, public, discovery, environmental, gasoline, milk

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ‰?? Police are investigating a hazmat situation after more than 100 plastic milk jugs filled with gasoline were found inside an abandoned home in West Philadelphia. First responders were dispatched to an abandoned home on the 100 block of North 59th Street for reports of a strong smell of gas around 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Police say upon arrival, first responders found about 154 one-gallon jugs of gasoline. You can imagine how strong the smell was coming from that house which is what tipped off the police to this potentially dangerous hazmat situation.

First responders went right inside because the house appeared to be partially burned out from a fire and completely vacant.

They say the plastic milk jugs filled with gasoline were found on the living room floor and on the steps.

‰??Very, very bizarre, 154 gallons and plastic milk containers. Clearly hazardous material incident, clearly unsafe in this mainly residential neighborhood,‰?? Chief Insp. Scott Small said.

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NETHERLANDS EXPLOSION LINKED TO BREAKING BAD-STYLE DRUG LAB
https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/world-crime/netherlands-explosion-linked-to-breaking-bad-style-drug-lab/602856500.html
Tags: Netherlands, laboratory, explosion, response, drugs

A huge blaze in a Dutch business park has been linked to an exploding drug lab.
The fire broke out in the village of Beesd, about an hour from Rotterdam, on Thursday and police said that they found remains of a possible drug lab the following day.

At least 150 firefighters and twelve fire engines came together to put out the flames, which were extinguished by 1.30am.


According to De Gelderlander, a boiler that was reportedly used to manufacture ecstasy pills exploded just after 8.30 pm and a huge fire broke out.

As a result, a business premises that housed a contracting company, a billboard printer, and a car parts dealer burned to the ground. The drug lab was located at the front of the building, but it is not yet known whether this space belonged to one of the companies.

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WINSTON WEAVER COMPANY FINED AFTER MASSIVE FIRE THAT SPARKED EVACUATION, FEARS OF EXPLOSION IN WINSTON-SALEM
https://myfox8.com/news/investigations/fertilizer-plant/winston-weaver-company-fined-after-massive-chemical-fire-that-sparked-evacuation-fears-of-explosion/
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) ‰?? Months after a fire and the threat of a chemical explosion forced an evacuation in Winston-Salem, the Winston Weaver Company is facing repercussions from the state Department of Labor.

On July 18, the NCDOL issued penalties for two ‰??serious violations.‰?? The first citation notes that ammonium nitrate storage buildings and structures were not kept dry and ‰??free from water seepage through the roof, walls and floors.‰?? The second says wooden bins the company was using were not made to keep ammonium nitrate from seeping through.

The citation report says both violations were corrected during inspection. Little of the facility remained by the time the fire was finally extinguished.

‰??The partitions dividing the ammonium nitrate storage from other products which could contaminte the ammonium nitrate were not of tight construction,‰?? the citation said.

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WINDALCO MAY FACE FINANCIAL PENALTY FOR DEADLY RIVER POLLUTION
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20220801/windalco-may-face-financial-penalty-deadly-river-pollution
Tags: Jamaica, public, follow-up, environmental, wastes

A day after residents protested against a chemical spill that killed hundreds of fish in the Rio Cobre, de facto Environment Minister Matthew Samuda has threatened to hit bauxite mining company Windalco with financial penalties.

The Government has also established a multi`agency working group to review the nagging plague of effluent discharge into the Rio Cobre and to study development along the river.

Samuda disclosed Sunday that Prime Minister Andrew Holness had given the directive for the working group to be convened.

Acknowledging that the damage was significant, Samuda said one potential solution was a draw-down on the environmental performance bond from Windalco that the Government currently holds through the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA).

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