Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, August 8, 2022 at 6:28:42 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
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Table of Contents (9 articles)

MULTIPLE AGENCIES RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT VITRO GLASS PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, natural_gas

FIRE BRIGADE: FIVE INJURED BY CHLORINE GAS ACCIDENT IN THE DORMAGEN CHEMICAL PARK
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

FIRE BREAKS OUT IN CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE IN ISPATNAGAR
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

NORTHAMPTON CHEMICAL COMPANY LEAK PROMPTS ITS IMMEDIATE CLOSURE UNTIL PROBLEMS FIXED
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, formaldehyde

ANN ARBOR CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES LAWSUIT OVER HURON RIVER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

MULTIPLE PEOPLE SICKENED DURING HAZMAT SITUATION AT READING, PENNSYLVANIA YMCA INDOOR POOL
Tags: us_PA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

EPA IDENTIFIES ELEVATED CANCER RISK DUE TO CHEMICAL IN LAKEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, environmental, ethylene_oxide

MADISON CO. FIRE COORDINATOR DETAILS FRIDAY MORNING EXPLOSION
Tags: us_MS, industrial, explosion, death, petroleum, waste

REPORT TAKES AIM AT EPA, WFU, AND LOCAL OFFICIALS OVER WEAVER FIRE RESPONSE
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate, irritant


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MULTIPLE AGENCIES RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT VITRO GLASS PLANT
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/08/07/multiple-agencies-respond-to-hazmat-situation-at-vitro-glass-plant/65394725007/
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, injury, natural_gas

The Wichita Falls Fire Department, Sheppard Air Force Base Fire Department, Wichita County Sheriff's Office deputies and several ambulances responded Sunday afternoon to a hazardous materials situation at the Vitro Architectural Glass plant on Central Freeway. The incident was updated to a structure fire, according to the WFFD Facebook page.

According to a statement released from Vitro, a leak from a furnace allowed molten glass to escape and ignite material under the furnace. Six plant employees were taken to the hospital for treatment.

The release noted the incident did not involve the leakage of natural gas, but molten glass used in the glass making process.

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FIRE BRIGADE: FIVE INJURED BY CHLORINE GAS ACCIDENT IN THE DORMAGEN CHEMICAL PARK
https://california18.com/fire-brigade-five-injured-by-chlorine-gas-accident-in-the-dormagen-chemical-park/6097272022/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

Dormagen.
Chlorine gas escaped in the Dormagen chemical park on Saturday night. Five employees were injured. The fire brigade warned via the "Nina" app.

Five employees were slightly injured in an accident at the Dormagen chemical park on Saturday night. As the Cologne police announced, chlorine gas had escaped due to a line defect in a production plant. The injured were treated as outpatients in hospital for respiratory irritation.

As a precaution, the fire brigade asked residents in the neighboring Cologne district of Worringen to keep windows and doors closed at night, among other things, via the "Nina" warning app.

However, measurements by the fire brigade showed that the incident had no impact outside the factory premises, said the police spokesman. The fire department gave the all-clear on Saturday morning.

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FIRE BREAKS OUT IN CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE IN ISPATNAGAR
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/fire-breaks-out-in-chemical-warehouse-in-ispatnagar/articleshow/93383137.cms
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

KANPUR: A major fire broke out in a chemical warehouse in Panki's Ispatnagar area, on Friday.
Panic prevailed in the area and the situation became quite frightening when chemical drums dumped inside the warehouse exploded one after the other.
During this, fire also engulfed a tanker containing chemicals parked inside the warehouse premises.
On being informed, several fire tenders were pressed into service. After a massive exercise, the firemen managed to bring the fire under control. Fire personnel informed that the fire is suspected to have originated following a short circuit in the electric panel installed in the store room of the warehouse. On coming across thick smoke and leaping flames at the warehouse, the local immediately informed the police and fire department about the incident.

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NORTHAMPTON CHEMICAL COMPANY LEAK PROMPTS ITS IMMEDIATE CLOSURE UNTIL PROBLEMS FIXED
https://www.masslive.com/news/2022/08/northampton-chemical-company-leak-prompts-its-immediate-closure-until-problems-fixed.html
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, formaldehyde

NORTHAMPTON - Fire and police, as well as state regulators, responded Saturday morning to what was described as a "major water leak" at BI-QEM chemical company, which prompted its closure.

A faulty sprinkler system caused damage to the facility and machinery at the plant at 238 Nonotuck St., according to city officials.

"At no time was there any danger to the public from the water leak," said Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra in a statement."BI-QEM=E2=80™s local management was on-site and cooperative."

The cease and desist order "prohibits factory operations of any kind until all identified corrective actions have been taken."

The Republican left a telephone message Saturday with the plant manager.

In addition to the municipal fire and building and police departments, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection responded to the BI-QEM problem Saturday.

In March, the BI-QEM chemical company failed to report right away to the state DEP and municipal Fire Department a 100-gallon spill of formaldehyde that occurred at the facility outside.

The officials said at the time that no action was taken to clean it until the next morning - after the problem was reported by a resident.

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ANN ARBOR CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES LAWSUIT OVER HURON RIVER CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.wemu.org/wemu-news/2022-08-06/ann-arbor-city-council-authorizes-lawsuit-over-huron-river-chemical-spill
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

Legal action has been authorized by the Ann Arbor City Council against Wixom-based Tribar Manufacturing. This is the company that is responsible for dumping about 10,000 gallons of hexavalent chromium solution, a known carcinogen, into the Huron River.

There was unanimous support at Thursday's city council meeting to authorize the Ann Arbor Attorney's office to file a lawsuit. Mayor Christopher Taylor said during the meeting that while the city does not have regulatory authority, they do have the power to bring aggressive action in court.

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MULTIPLE PEOPLE SICKENED DURING HAZMAT SITUATION AT READING, PENNSYLVANIA YMCA INDOOR POOL
https://6abc.com/hazmat-situation-reading-ymca-indoor-pool-children-sickened/12102688/
Tags: us_PA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals

READING, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A hazmat situation forced an evacuation at a Reading, Pennsylvania YMCA on Friday afternoon.

Officials said a mixture of chemicals in the area of the Y's indoor swimming pool created a gas that caused various reactions among people inside the building, including mucus, irritation, and rash.

"What we found when we got here, from the hazmat side, was a chemical reaction going on in the sub-room below the pool, where they mix the pool chemicals to keep the pool water safe for folks to swim in," said Dep. Chief Tom Kemery, Reading Fire Department.

Between 10 and 20 people, including some children, experienced a reaction.

Officials said they were evaluated at the city's nearby ambulance station.

Some were transported to the hospital for further treatment, officials said.

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EPA IDENTIFIES ELEVATED CANCER RISK DUE TO CHEMICAL IN LAKEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/epa-identifies-elevated-cancer-risk-due-to-chemical-in-lakewood-neighborhood
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, environmental, ethylene_oxide

LAKEWOOD, Colo. - Scientists with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified an elevated cancer risk in an area of Lakewood due to a nearby company that emits ethylene oxide into the air.

Terumo BCT Sterilization Service, Inc., located at W. Collins Avenue and Simms Street in Lakewood, is a medical device manufacturing company that uses ethylene oxide to sterilize its equipment and materials, according to the EPA. It began operations in 2000.

Ethylene oxide is a flammable, colorless gas that is used to make antifreeze, plastics, detergents, and adhesives, and to sterilize devices, according to the EPA. The Food and Drug Administration reports that about 50% of sterile medical devices are treated with ethylene oxide. It is a human carcinogen and constant exposure over many years increases the risk of cancers of the white blood cells, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, and lymphocytic leukemia, plus breast cancer in women, according to the EPA. Ethylene oxide is also produced naturally in the body when metabolizing ethylene, which is easily lost through exhalation, the EPA said.

The scientists and analysts with the EPA, in an effort to understand the impacts of ethylene oxide emissions from Terumo BCT Sterilization Service, Inc. and the cancer risks to its neighbors, completed a risk assessment on the singular chemical.

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MADISON CO. FIRE COORDINATOR DETAILS FRIDAY MORNING EXPLOSION
https://www.wdam.com/2022/07/29/six-people-airlifted-hospital-after-madison-co-explosion/
Tags: us_MS, industrial, explosion, death, petroleum, waste

MADISON CO., Miss. (WLBT) - At least six people were injured after suffering severe burns following a Friday morning oil explosion in Madison County.

The incident happened on Virlilia Road near Jubilee Road at the Salt Water Disposal Site.

Madison County Fire Coordinator Minor Norman said the victims suffered burns on at least 50 percent of their bodies, with one person being burned from head to toe. Two people were airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for treatment.

"There was a huge fireball and they were caught up in it," he said. "Some were critical."

The explosion occurred before 8 a.m. Madison County Sheriff's Department received a call into dispatch around 7:50.

"It was one of the victims of the explosion making the call," Norman said. "The fire was put under control at 9:02."

Norman said the cause of the explosion was still under investigation.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality was going out to the site to access the situation.

"We're not sure what caused it. There were four storage tank facilities, to hold products from oil wells. They [the workers] were in the process of changing out two tanks with new fiberglass tanks. They were getting ready to go into service when the older tank exploded," Norman said.

"You had some type of petroleum product in it. Because it was a huge fireball, it severely burned six workers."

The workers were airlifted to seek medical treatment, Madison County spokesman Heath Hall said.

Minor said the explosion occurred in the Kearney Park Fire Department=E2=80™s response area, but the Gluckstadt Fire Department was the first on the scene.

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REPORT TAKES AIM AT EPA, WFU, AND LOCAL OFFICIALS OVER WEAVER FIRE RESPONSE
https://www.wfdd.org/story/report-takes-aim-epa-wfu-and-local-officials-over-weaver-fire-response
Tags: us_NC, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate, irritant

A recent study claims local officials and environmental agencies downplayed hazardous air conditions during the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant fire - and more should have been done to alert the public. Some of the highest levels of fine particulate matter during the incident were measured at Wake Forest University.

In the first days of the fire at the Winston Weaver Company, the focus was on the amount of ammonium nitrate at the site and on preventing an explosion. Emergency officials let the fire burn to keep first responders out of harm's way. A heavy blanket of smoke could be seen throughout the city as the smoldering fire released a mix of pollutants into the air.

The Environmental Protection Agency set up monitors around the perimeter of the fire several hours after it began. During a press conference on February 2, 2022, Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo touched on air quality and made recommendations that included avoiding exercising outside.

"The products of combustion we still classify those generally as just irritants. We would expect people to be exposed to them," said Mayo.

But the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League says air quality was much worse than what was shared with the public.

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