Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, August 26, 2022 at 6:32:26 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
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Table of Contents (10 articles)
CREWS WORK QUICKLY TO MITIGATE CHEMICAL SPILL IN LODI
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, cleaners, corrosives
UPDATE: SEVERAL PEOPLE TREATED FOLLOWING A CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS ONE TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, irritant, water_treatment
WEST VIRGINIA TURNPIKE SHUT DOWN FOLLOWING HAZMAT TRUCK CRASH
Tags: us_WV, transportation, release, response, amines
EPA UPDATES POLICY FOR ASSESSING RISKS OF NEW CHEMICALS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
EPA SHOULD CHECK FOR MORE CHEMICALS IN DRINKING WATER, ADVISERS SAY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
MICH. CHEMICAL SPILL FUELS PUSH FOR EPA 'HAMMER'
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, environmental
WHAT'S HAPPENING ON HARDSCRABBLE ROAD THAT'S BACKING UP TRAFFIC?
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, natural_gas
FIRE CREWS CLEAN CHEMICAL SPILL AT PALMERSTON NORTH HOSPITAL
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, response, HCl
FIREFIGHTERS' PROTECTIVE GEAR MAY CONTAIN CHEMICALS LINKED TO CANCER
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
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CREWS WORK QUICKLY TO MITIGATE CHEMICAL SPILL IN LODI
https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/crews-work-quickly-to-mitigate-chemical-spill-in-lodi/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, cleaners, corrosives
LODI – Authorities say no hazardous material got into the city's drainage system after a spill in Lodi Thursday morning.
Lodi Fire says their crews responded to the 2300 block of Maggio Circle for a Hazmat situation.
At the scene, crews discovered that a "mild corrosive cleaner" had spilled out of a machine.
About 60-75 gallons of cleaner was spilled.
First responders were able to mitigate the leak and environmental health workers took over. Officials say no product got into Lodi's drainage system.
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UPDATE: SEVERAL PEOPLE TREATED FOLLOWING A CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.mywabashvalley.com/top-news/chemical-spill-reported-at-perdue-farms/
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
WASHINGTON, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Update: At around 2:40 p.m. crews were dispatched to Perdue Farms in Washington, Indiana for a chemical spill.
According to a statement from Perdue Farms, a pallet being transported on a forklift tipped over causing a chemical spill outside of the facility.
The building, which included about 350 employees, was evacuated while onsite safety and environmental teams responded to contain and clean the spill.
Seven associates were treated onsite by the facility’s wellness team for headache and shortness of breath, one person was transported to a nearby health facility but has been discharged.
There is currently no environmental impact according to the company.
Local first responders also were on scene but production resumed an hour later.
The full original statement can be found below:
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CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS ONE TO HOSPITAL
https://www.washtimesherald.com/news/chemical-spill-sends-one-to-hospital/article_0f2d768a-24b9-11ed-9c7e-5b20171d8395.html
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, irritant, water_treatment
Chemical spill sends one to hospital
A chemical spill at a Washington industrial site sent one person to the hospital. The Washington City Fire Department was called to the Perdue plant on Washington’s west side to deal with a spill.
Washington Fire Chief Steve Walden says that fire fighters arrived to find a 250 gallon container leaking.
“We are not certain on how the spill happened,” said Walden. “We washed the leaking chemical down a drain at the site. That drain goes to Perdue’s own waste water treatment plant. That water will be completely treated before it goes into the city’s system.”
Authorities identified the chemical as peracetic acid.
“It is a feed grade chemical that is used to kill bacteria,” said Walden. “In the air it is also an irritant.”
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WEST VIRGINIA TURNPIKE SHUT DOWN FOLLOWING HAZMAT TRUCK CRASH
https://cdllife.com/2022/west-virginia-turnpike-shut-down-following-hazmat-truck-crash/
Tags: us_WV, transportation, release, response, amines
The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is asking drivers to seek alternate routes after an early morning crash involving a truck carrying hazardous chemicals.
The crash occurred just after midnight on Thursday, August 25, in the northbound lane of the West Virginia Turnpike on the Skitter Creek Bridge, north of Pax.
WVDOT says that a truck driving hauling hazmat lost control, jackknifed, and crashed across the barrier wall.
The truck came to a stop blocking the northbound and southbound lanes of the Turnpike.
The chemical the truck was hauling has been identified as an amines solution, which has reportedly spilled into the nearby Paint Creek.
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EPA UPDATES POLICY FOR ASSESSING RISKS OF NEW CHEMICALS
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/EPA-updates-policy-assessing-risks/100/i30
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Chemical manufacturers will need to consider all potential exposures before new chemicals can enter the market, even when the risks are expected to be low, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced Aug. 22.
The updated policy replaces one established in the 1990s that let companies ignore potential exposures when chemicals are released into air or water below certain thresholds. The EPA’s justification at that time was that it needed to focus limited resources on exposures with the greatest risk to human health and the environment.
The agency now claims that advances in computational modeling have made it easier to calculate all potential exposures. Removing the exposure thresholds will also better protect overburdened and vulnerable communities, such as those near industrial facilities and landfills, the EPA says.
The announcement surprised chemical manufacturers and law firms that serve the industry. “There had been signals that EPA was taking this approach on a case-by-case basis, but to our knowledge, EPA did not solicit broader engagement with stakeholders to vet the issue,” the law firm Bergeson & Campbell says in a commentary published Aug. 22. The EPA also did not provide any peer-reviewed scientific justification for the change, the firm says.
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EPA SHOULD CHECK FOR MORE CHEMICALS IN DRINKING WATER, ADVISERS SAY
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/EPA-should-check-chemicals-drinking/100/i30
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
The US Environmental Protection Agency should add more industrial chemicals to its draft list of candidates for drinking-water monitoring, according to the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB).
The recommendation came after the board reviewed the EPA’s 2021 draft list of chemicals and biological materials that are candidates for future regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
That draft list includes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In an Aug. 19 report to EPA administrator Michael Regan, the board recommends that the agency expand its definition of PFAS “to capture all relevant fluorinated compounds and degradates in commercial use or entering the environment” so that such chemicals are included in the final version of the list.
Bisphenol A, an estrogen-mimicking substance, is on the draft list. The SAB suggests that the agency also add bisphenols F and S—chemical cousins to and substitutes for bisphenol A—to the final list. The EPA should consider including bisphenols AF, B, D, and E as well, the report says.
Organophosphate esters as a group should be added to the final list, the report says. The EPA’s draft includes two of these molecules, tributyl phosphate and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate. Listing organophosphate esters as a group would “encourage additional research to elucidate the full impact” of these substances on children’s health, the report says.
In the future, the EPA should consider antimicrobials, antimicrobial-resistance genes, microplastics, and nanoparticles as candidates for monitoring, the SAB says.
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MICH. CHEMICAL SPILL FUELS PUSH FOR EPA 'HAMMER'
https://www.eenews.net/articles/mich-chemical-spill-fuels-push-for-epa-hammer/
Tags: us_MI, public, follow-up, environmental
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The recent spill of toxic chemicals into a popular Michigan river and critical source of drinking water is fueling a push for EPA to intervene — both to secure answers about what happened and to potentially use its enforcement muscle.
“EPA can’t come in unless the state invites them,” Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said today after touring the city of Ann Arbor’s water treatment plant. “The state doesn’t have a strong ability to investigate criminal liability, but the federal government does.”
Dingell was joined by a number of city and state officials, as well as EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore and Liesl Clark, head of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE.
The congresswoman was referring to the state’s ongoing investigation of Tribar Technologies Inc.’s recent spill of toxic hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, into the Huron River, which is a source of drinking water for Ann Arbor.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING ON HARDSCRABBLE ROAD THAT'S BACKING UP TRAFFIC?
https://www.wltx.com/article/traffic/natural-gas-line-cut-on-hardscrabble-road-in-ne-richland-county/101-01f346dd-1f78-430a-8a9f-aa100c4cc1c9
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, natural_gas
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hardscrabble Road in northeast Richland County has reopened after a gas line leak blocked traffic along a stretch of the road for several hours.
Columbia Fire said Tuesday morning a natural gas line had been cut on Hardscrabble Road, temporarily closing a portion of the road between Clemson and North Brickyard Roads in northeast Richland County.
As of 12:45 p.m., Columbia Fire reported all emergency response teams have left the scene as the gas has been contained. The roadway is now open for traffic.
Dominion Energy crews have secured the leak and are finishing final repairs.
Earlier, residents in the area had been asked to shelter in place. Columbia Fire reports no evacuations are necessary and no nearby schools have been affected by the incident.
"At approximately 8 a.m., Dominion Energy crews responded to Hard Scrabble Road and Mann Road, where a third-party contractor performing excavation work in the area damaged one of our natural gas lines," Dominion said in a statement. "Safety is our highest priority. Crews are on-site and will remain until all repairs are complete."
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FIRE CREWS CLEAN CHEMICAL SPILL AT PALMERSTON NORTH HOSPITAL
https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/300670691/fire-crews-clean-chemical-spill-at-palmerston-north-hospital
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, response, HCl
A small chemical spill at Palmerston North Hospital has been contained by fire crews.
In a statement, MidCentral general manager Neil Wanden said a “small chemical leak” was detected at the hospital early Thursday morning.
The chemical was hydrochloric acid, which was used for general maintenance after being diluted, but had potentially corrosive and irritant properties if not handled properly.
Wanden said Fire and Emergency NZ was called and rescue services were dispatched to the scene.
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FIREFIGHTERS' PROTECTIVE GEAR MAY CONTAIN CHEMICALS LINKED TO CANCER
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/firefighter-gear-may-contain-chemicals-linked-cancer-rcna44511
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
A firefighters union and a chiefs association are both warning members that the protective gear firefighters wear poses a health risk because it can contain PFAS, synthetic chemicals associated with issues such as an increased risk of liver and kidney cancer.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are often referred to as "forever chemicals" because they’re nearly impossible to destroy. They’re able to resist stains, grease and water, so are used to make products such as workout clothing, raincoats and firefighters' turnout gear, which is designed to block both moisture and heat.
In addition to certain cancers, PFAS have also been linked to risks of low birth weight, high cholesterol and thyroid disease.
So on Tuesday, the International Association of Fire Fighters, or IAFF, and the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association advised firefighters to wear turnout gear only when absolutely necessary, in order to reduce their exposure to the chemicals.
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