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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety"
Subject: Chemical Safety Headlines From Google (7 articles)
Date: Jul 15, 2011 12:35 UTC
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Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google
Monday, July 18, 2011 8:15:01 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 (14 articles)
POOL-CHEMICAL SPILL IN PORTLAND MET BY HAZMAT TEAMS
Tags: us_OR, industrial, release, response, pool_chemicals
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES HIGHWAY
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, environmental, pesticides
NORTHPORT RESIDENTS EVACUATED DUE TO FUEL TRUCK ACCIDENT
Tags: us_ME, transportation, release, response, gasoline
AMMONIA LEAK SCARE AT OLD SASKATOON DAIRY PLANT
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
ACID SPILL ON I-44 =AB CBS ST. LOUIS
Tags: us_MO, transportation, release, injury, sulfuric_acid
MAN GETS TRIP TO HOSPITAL AFTER SPILLING MERCURY WHILE CLEANING CLOSTER
HOME
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, injury, mercury
POSSIBLE METH LAB BUSTED AT LOCAL MOTEL
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
HAZMAT CLEAN-UP CONTINUES ON I-70 IN GREENFIELD
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
CO EXPOSURE IN INDUSTRIAL SETTING
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
AURORA APARTMENTS EVACUATED AFTER SUSPECTED CHEMICAL SUICIDE
Tags: us_CO, public, release, response, suicide
3 TREATED FOR EXPOSURE TO MIXTURE OF POOL CHEMICALS
Tags: us_PA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
OSU STUDENT GETS OUT JUST IN TIME
Tags: us_OR, education, explosion, injury, batteries
VILLAGE EVACUATION STOOD DOWN AFTER 'CHEMICAL' EXPLOSION AT FIRE-RAVAGED
MILL
Tags: United, Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, gas_cylinders
UC CENTER FOR LABORATORY SAFETY
Tags: laboratory, release, response, follow-up
---------------------------------------------
POOL-CHEMICAL SPILL IN PORTLAND MET BY HAZMAT TEAMS
http://www.pressherald.com/news/pool-chemical-spill-in-portland-met-by-haz
-mat-response-_2011-07-18.html
Tags: us_OR, industrial, release, response, pool_chemicals
Dozens of firefighters, many wearing fully enclosed hazardous materials
suits, swarmed the Namco facility on Larrabee Road Sunday after 50 to 60
gallons of toxic pool chemicals spilled.
Workers discovered the spill in a storeroom at about 9:40 a.m. A stack
of 5-gallon containers of sodium hypochlorite, a pool treating chemical,
had toppled, many of them rupturing and leaking their contents, said
Public Safety Director Michael Pardue.
The handful of employees in the business evacuated the building, as did
workers in the nearby Sherwin Williams paint store and Advance Auto
Parts. Nobody was hurt.
The first entry teams, wearing green, Class B hazmat suits, assessed the
spill and made sure the chemicals were not reacting with other
substances in the warehouse, said Pardue.
Namco, a pool supply company, had technical information about the
chemical. In high concentrations it can release a toxic vapor and the
liquid is harmful to touch. The company also had neutralizer on site to
clean it up, fire officials said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES HIGHWAY
http://www.wwmt.com/news/-1393462--.html
Tags: us_MI, transportation, release, environmental, pesticides
VAN BUREN COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Hazmat crews are working to
clean up a pesticide spill on M-51, just south of I-94.
Deputies say the spill happened around 4 a.m. Friday when a semi hit a
tractor and about 400 gallons of pesticide leaked out.
No one was injured in the crash and officials say the leak does not pose
a public health threat.
Traffic is being detoured right now on 64th Ave. and it could take
several hours to get this cleaned up.
---------------------------------------------
NORTHPORT RESIDENTS EVACUATED DUE TO FUEL TRUCK ACCIDENT
http://knox.villagesoup.com/news/story/northport-residents-evacuated-due-t
o-fuel-truck-accident/422466
Tags: us_ME, transportation, release, response, gasoline
NORTHPORT =97 Route 1 was re-opened to traffic Friday afternoon after
police and emergency crews cleaned up the scene of a fuel truck rollover
that prompted police to evacuate nearby residents.
Maine State Police Lieutenant David Tripp reported that Route 1, which
had been closed to traffic since the accident occurred just before 8:30
a.m., was re-opened at about 3:20 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Tripp explained that traffic was being re-routed
onto the Perkins Road, through the Woods Road and back over to Rocky
Road because the fuel truck, which was registered to Thompson=92s Oil
out of Waldo, was loaded with 4,250 gallons of gasoline at the time of
the accident. Residents were evacuated as a precaution, Tripp said.
---------------------------------------------
AMMONIA LEAK SCARE AT OLD SASKATOON DAIRY PLANT
http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/Ammonia+leak+scare+Saskatoon+dairy+plant/510
9178/story.html
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
A man suffered minor injuries Thursday evening after an ammonia leak
scare at an old Saskatoon dairy plant in the Caswell Hill neighbourhood.
Hazmat teams were called to the scene at the corner of 23rd Street West
and Avenue F North around 8:50 p.m. to investigate a report of an
ammonia leak.
Workers there were dismantling old storage tanks for removal when one
worker cut a steel line that once supplied ammonia to a tank.
He was taken to hospital by a co-worker suffering from minor inhalation
and eye irritation from ammonia residue.
---------------------------------------------
ACID SPILL ON I-44 =AB CBS ST. LOUIS
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/15/acid-spill-on-i-44/
Tags: us_MO, transportation, release, injury, sulfuric_acid
SULLIVAN, MO (KMOX) - West bound I-44 was closed for most of Friday
night while a Hazmat team cleaned up an acid spill in the Sullivan area.
A truck carrying sulfuric acid was leaking and pulled over by Sullivan
police.
One officer suffered breathing problems and was taken to a hospital, but
police tell KMOX he has been taken off of a breathing apparatus and is
doing well.
---------------------------------------------
MAN GETS TRIP TO HOSPITAL AFTER SPILLING MERCURY WHILE CLEANING CLOSTER
HOME
http://www.northjersey.com/topstories/closter/Man_gets_trip_to_hospital_af
ter_spilling_mercury_while_cleaning_Closter_home.html
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, injury, mercury
CLOSTER -- A man cleaning out a Chestnut Street home spilled liquid
mercury on his hand and was hospitalized Saturday, police said.
David Russell was cleaning out the home where an elderly relative
had lived until dying recently. Around 11:30 a.m, he came upon a
container filled with mercury, police said.
Russell spilled the mercury on his arm, and became concerned that
the liquid metal might poison him. He called police, which in turn sent
a Hazardous Materials Unit to the home.
The hazmat team tested the mercury and cleaned up the spill. This
grade of mercury did not appear to be particularly dangerous, police
said, but Russell was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in water,
soil and air. It is often present in fish and animals, and in high
doses, can be dangerous. Children and unborn fetuses are particularly
susceptible to Mercury poisoning.
Mercury is often used in such household items as thermometers,
batteries and lightbulbs.
Symptoms of Mercury poisoning include skin rashes, tremors, and
headaches.
---------------------------------------------
POSSIBLE METH LAB BUSTED AT LOCAL MOTEL
http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2011-07-16/Hazmat-crews-called-to-No
rth-Fort-Myers-motel
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla.- Hazmat crews were called in to safely remove
what they are calling a meth lab at the Motel 6.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, undercover deputies went
to the motel to bust a known drug dealer. But the man in the motel room
wasn't the one they were looking for.
They did find plenty of meth-making materials, but since no drugs were
cooked up, the suspect was allowed to go free.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CLEAN-UP CONTINUES ON I-70 IN GREENFIELD
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/north_central/hazmat-clean-up-continu
es-on-i-70-in-greenfield
Tags: us_IN, transportation, release, response, unknown_chemical
GREENFIELD, Ind. (WISH) - Hazmat crews were on the scene of a spill on
I-70 westbound near at mile marker 102 in Greenfield.
Shortly after 12 o=92clock Saturday afternoon, two semis collided. At
least one of the semis was carrying hazardous materials that spilled.
Indiana State Police say that stretch of road where the spill happened
didn=92t reopen until 7:20 Saturday evening.
No injuries have been reported.
---------------------------------------------
CO EXPOSURE IN INDUSTRIAL SETTING
http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1458235
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
Four people have been transported to hospital after inhaling carbon
monoxide in an industrial building in East Vancouver near Commercial
Drive and Pandora Street.
Their condition is not believed to be serious but fire officials are
having trouble pinning down the source.
WorkSafeBC has been called in to investigate further.
The call originally came in around 2pm Saturday as a potential freon gas
leak.
Once on scene HAZMAT crews didn't find any freon, but did detect high
levels of carbon monoxide.
---------------------------------------------
AURORA APARTMENTS EVACUATED AFTER SUSPECTED CHEMICAL SUICIDE
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18493504
Tags: us_CO, public, release, response, suicide
AURORA =97 A suspected chemical suicide forced the evacuation of an
apartment complex, one of a small but growing number of such cases
nationwide.
Residents from 36 units at the Chelsea Park Village apartments had to
leave their homes overnight during the investigation and cleanup.
All were allowed home by 4 p.m. Saturday.
Police and firefighters were called to 12079 E. Archer Place about 4
p.m. Friday, Fire Capt. Allen Robnett said.
When they arrived, they found a note taped to a bathroom door saying
hazardous materials had been used and to call 911. The building was
evacuated, and when the hazardous materials team entered the apartment,
members found the body of a woman in the sealed bathroom, Robnett
---------------------------------------------
3 TREATED FOR EXPOSURE TO MIXTURE OF POOL CHEMICALS
http://citizensvoice.com/news/3-treated-for-exposure-to-mixture-of-pool-ch
emicals-1.1176286#axzz1SNMFzHen
Tags: us_PA, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
A combination of swimming pool cleaning chemicals poured into a bucket
in a West Hazleton home Saturday afternoon created a chemical vapor
reaction that sent at least three people to a hospital for treatment.
West Hazleton fire Lt. Shawn Evans said a woman and her 13-year-old
daughter were inside the home at 202 W. Green St. when two "pop" noises
came from the bucket and vapors started filling the home, harming both
of them.
The woman's husband, who is a trained firefighter, was outside at the
time with their two 13-year-old sons and ran inside to save his wife and
daughter. Evans said once he got them outside, one of the boys grabbed a
garden hose and sprayed the three of them with water to decontaminate
them while firefighters and ambulances were en route, Evans said.
---------------------------------------------
OSU STUDENT GETS OUT JUST IN TIME
http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_87f9d783-b2ec-5fec-b722-3
cff8b585194.html
Tags: us_OR, education, explosion, injury, batteries
Nick Sitts was driving a solar vehicle north along 15th Street toward
the formation area of the da Vinci Days parade shortly after 11 a.m.
Saturday when he heard a pop.
Moments later there was an explosion, and soon the $100,000 vehicle was
engulfed in flames.
Sitts got out just in time - right after he heard that initial pop, said
Hai Yue Han, co-captain of the Oregon State University Solar Vehicle
Team, which constructed the vehicle from 2008 to 2010.
"If it had been a few moments later, he may have not made it out alive,"
Han said.
Sitts' sister, Danielle, also a member of the team, was in an escort car
ahead of solar vehicle when the explosion occurred. She looked back and
saw smoke.
"I was more scared than I'd every been in my life," she said. "My
brother was in a car that was on fire."
Sitts' wife, Elizabeth, was in a trail vehicle with their
soon-to-be-1-year-old baby Penelope and two others sisters of Nick,
Nicole and Cheyenne Sitts. Elizabeth helped pull her husband away from
the burning vehicle, Danielle said.
Sitts had first- and second-degree burns to his arms and face and some
singed hair. "He looked like he had a bad sunburn, she said. "He lost a
shoe; it disintegrated."
Sitts, 23, a junior chemical engineering major from Scappoose, was
treated at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. He was released
mid-afternoon Saturday and was resting at home in Corvallis. His parents
arrived from the Portland area to assist him.
"He seemed to be in very good spirits considering the accident and
injuries he suffered," said Steve Clark, OSU vice president of OSU
relations.
Han believes the explosion was caused by a short in one of the battery
cells. Each of the 28 battery packs contains 20 small cylindrical
lithium-ion battery cells - a total of 568.
Some of the battery cells landed in the OSU parking lot on the east side
of 15th. The explosion occurred about 50 yards south of the Kerr
Administration Building.
---------------------------------------------
VILLAGE EVACUATION STOOD DOWN AFTER 'CHEMICAL' EXPLOSION AT FIRE-RAVAGED
MILL
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/262571-chemical-safety-concerns-after-
blaze-tears-through-animal-feed-mill-in-fife/
Tags: United, Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, gas_cylinders
Explosions rocked the mill outisde Cupar, after it was engulfed by
flames on Friday morning.
...
One section of the mill in Cupar contained highly explosive chemicals,
including an acetyline cylinder and 10,000l of fuel, firefighters have
discovered. The roof of the building partially collapsed in the fire.
Fife Fire and Rescue Service received a call about the fire at the ABN
Mill in the town at around 10.40am on Friday.
Ten engines from local fire stations, as well as an elevated platform,
attended and around 80 firefighters battled to put out the flames in the
Damside area of Cupar.
Although the flames were extinguished at around 1pm, firefighters
remained at the site for several hours to assess and cool down the
highly explosive materials on site.
The mill also contains 3000l of acid, while a 30,000l oil tanker nearby
is being cooled after the blaze broke out.
---------------------------------------------
UC CENTER FOR LABORATORY SAFETY
http://www.cls.ucla.edu/
Tags: laboratory, release, response, follow-up
The UC Center for Laboratory Safety (Center) has been created to improve
the practice of laboratory safety through the performance of scientific
research and implementation of best safety practices in the laboratory.
The Center will operate under the oversight of the UC Center for
Laboratory Safety Advisory Board with technical support from the UCLA
Office of Environment, Health and Safety and the UCLA School of Public
Health - Department of Environmental Health Sciences.
---------------------------------------------