Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 6:13:29 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 (9 articles)
PITTSFIELD CHIPOTLE EVACUATED FOR HAZMAT LEAK
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, carbon_dioxide, hvac_chemicals
BURLINGTON BEACH STILL CLOSED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_VT, public, follow-up, response, styrene
CHEMICAL PLANT OWNER TO PAY MORE THAN $180M FOR POLLUTION
Tags: us_ME, industrial, release, environmental, mercury
PES REFINERY EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION SAYS EPA SHOULD SCRUTINIZE DEADLY CHEMICAL HYDROFLOURIC ACID
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, gasoline, hydrofluoric_acid
OREGON RETIREMENT HOME FIRE THAT KILLED 1 WAS HUMAN CAUSED
Tags: us_OR, public, follow-up, death, oxygen
EXPLOSION IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY INJURES TWO EMPLOYEES
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
SAFETY INFORMATION IN JOURNAL ARTICLES PART 1: THE NECESSITY OF COMMUNICATION
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
THREE FAINT IN GAS LEAK INCIDENT AT FAST FOOD OUTLET
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
UPDATE: CHILD IN CRITICAL CONDITION FOLLOWING HAZMAT INCIDENT AT CAPE COD YMCA – BOSTON 25 NEWS
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, injury, pool_chemicals
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PITTSFIELD CHIPOTLE EVACUATED FOR HAZMAT LEAK
https://www.news10.com/news/berkshire-county/pittsfield-chipotle-evacuated-for-hazmat-leak/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, carbon_dioxide, hvac_chemicals
PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) — A carbon dioxide leak forced the evacuation of Chipotle on Hubbard Avenue in Pittsfield Tuesday afternoon. Around 2:14 p.m., fire crews were sent to the restaurant for a possible refrigerant leak and found a liquid CO2 tank inside with frozen lines and off-gassing because of over-pressurization, according to Deputy Chief Neil Myers of the Pittsfield Fire Department.
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All employees had evacuated the building and the company responsible for the CO2 system, as well as the Pittsfield-based state hazardous materials team were asked to respond. The company had reportedly filled the system a few hours before the incident and found a small leak in the pressure relief hose outside of the restaurant when they came back.
The business was open at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported to staff or customer
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BURLINGTON BEACH STILL CLOSED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.wcax.com/2022/10/11/burlington-beach-still-closed-following-chemical-spill/
Tags: us_VT, public, follow-up, response, styrene
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Burlington’s Leddy Beach remains closed 19 days after a chemical spill into a nearby tributary that connects to Lake Champlain.
At the time, the city said the beach was closed out of an abundance of caution while they waited on test results.
Those results were originally expected the week after the spill, but the city is still waiting.
The water resources team says once the results come back, they can determine whether the beach can be reopened or if additional work is needed.
The spill into that tributary was 50 gallons of condensate that contained 1 gallon of styrene, a like carcinogen.
The city maintains the ongoing closure is strictly out of an abundance of caution.
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CHEMICAL PLANT OWNER TO PAY MORE THAN $180M FOR POLLUTION
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Chemical-plant-owner-to-pay-more-than-180M-for-17502115.php
Tags: us_ME, industrial, release, environmental, mercury
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The owner of a former chemical plant that dumped mercury into the Penobscot River must pay at least $187 million to remove the contamination in a resolution to a decades-long legal battle.
A federal judge on Tuesday approved the settlement calling for Mallinckrodt U.S. LLC to pay for remediation of mercury released by the now defunct HoltraChem plant in Orrington.
The plant discharged six to 12 metric tons of mercury from 1967 until the early 1970s, according to a previous court-ordered study. Environmental groups have longed pushed for the remediation of the river.
“It’s long past time for Mallinckrodt to make it right, and this ruling will go a long way toward restoring the Penobscot, so people can go back to fishing, eating lobster, and enjoying this river," Jesse Graham, co-director of Maine People’s Alliance, said in a statement.
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PES REFINERY EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION SAYS EPA SHOULD SCRUTINIZE DEADLY CHEMICAL HYDROFLOURIC ACID
https://whyy.org/articles/pes-refinery-explosion-investigation-epa-chemical-safety-board-hydroflouric-acid/
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, gasoline, hydrofluoric_acid
The Chemical Safety Board says refineries need to strengthen safeguards surrounding the use of hydroflouric acid, and the EPA should take steps to improve oversight. The recommendations are part of a final report on the investigation into the June 2019 explosion and fire at Philadelphia Energy Solutions in southwest Philadelphia.
One of the most dangerous aspects of the incident was the release of more than 5,000 pounds of hydroflouric acid (HF) into the air. Nobody was injured by the chemical release. But it’s one of the most deadly industrial chemicals in use, and swallowing just a small amount of it or getting small splashes on the skin can be fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Integral to the creation of high-octane gasoline, it is used as a catalyst and is combined with highly flammable hydrocarbons at 46 alkylation units in the United States, including three other refineries in the Philadelphia region.
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OREGON RETIREMENT HOME FIRE THAT KILLED 1 WAS HUMAN CAUSED
https://www.modbee.com/news/business/article267139406.html
Tags: us_OR, public, follow-up, death, oxygen
An explosion and fire last week at the Columbia Hills Retirement Center in St. Helens, Oregon, that killed one person was a human-caused accident.
Columbia River Fire & Rescue officials said the explosion was caused by oxygen tanks stored in the apartment where the fire started at about 12:30 a.m. Oct. 5.
Linda Newman, 74, died in the fire. Her son, Adam King of Kelso, Washington, told KATU his mother was the life of the party, who liked to sing and dance, and was a “kick in the pants.”
St. Helens Police officers responded to the fire and rescued several residents from the building by pulling them through windows.
Firefighters found Newman unconscious in the hallway of the building where the fire started. They got her out of the building and despite efforts to revive her, she died at the scene, authorities said.
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EXPLOSION IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY INJURES TWO EMPLOYEES
https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/explosion-schuylkill-county/523-481b27d9-db52-4e01-9a2f-5ae1ed9ff32e
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. — Two people were injured after an explosion in Porter Township Monday.
It happened as employees of Maine Drilling and Blasting were disposing of boxes that previously contained boosters used in the blasting process.
Two employees were injured and several vehicles were damaged.
Officials are investigating what led to the explosion in Schuylkill County.
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SAFETY INFORMATION IN JOURNAL ARTICLES PART 1: THE NECESSITY OF COMMUNICATION
https://axial.acs.org/2022/10/10/safety-information-in-journal-articles-part-1-the-necessity-of-communication/
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
Safety is a core value of the American Chemical Society and an integral part of the overall research process. In this three-part series, we review the importance of disclosing safety information in journal articles; provide tips and best practices for authors to formulate a well-written safety summary statement; and share additional resources that will help authors prepare for potential safety risks associated with their research and effectively communicate them with the scientific community.
The Hazard of Insufficient Safety Reporting
The importance of safety in the research laboratory is widely recognized, including maintaining awareness of potential hazards and associated risks. But what about when it comes to effectively communicating these hazards and risks1 as authors prepare their research for submission to a scientific journal?
When submitting a manuscript to an ACS journal, authors are expected to disclose potential safety hazards and other relevant information. These reporting requirements came into force in 2017,2 driven in part by a review of author guidelines across more than 720 chemistry journals—which found that only 8% mentioned safety information requirements for authors.3
The ACS Divisions of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS) and Chemical Information (CINF) along with the Committee of Chemical Safety (CCS) also conducted a survey of chemical safety in academia around the same time, and they found while most researchers were somewhat familiar with formal, industrial-level safety management processes, they rarely used them in their daily work—and few consistently shared them in their publications.4 Perhaps unsurprising, then, that a decade ago 46% of scientists had experienced some sort of injury in the lab and 30% had witnessed at least one major incident requiring medical attention.5
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THREE FAINT IN GAS LEAK INCIDENT AT FAST FOOD OUTLET
https://www.thesundaily.my/local/three-faint-in-gas-leak-incident-at-fast-food-outlet-XD9948132
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
KUALA LUMPUR: Two fast food outlet workers and a Health Ministry (KKM) officer were rushed to the hospital when they fainted due to a gas leak at the restaurant in Jalan Pandan here, today.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Norazam Khamis said in a statement that firefighters from the Pandan Fire and Rescue Station and Hazardous Materials Unit (Hazmat) teams from the Shah Alam and Tun Razak Fire Stations were deployed to the scene following a distress call at 9.55 am.
He said the KKM officer entered the restaurant to help the two female restaurant workers who had fainted.
The victims were brought to the Ampang Hospital for further treatment, he said, adding that the restaurant is closed pending an investigation.
Meanwhile, Ampang Jaya police chief ACP Mohamad Farouk Eshak said the fainting spell was caused by the air ventilation fan not being activated while the restaurant workers were frying chicken, resulting in smoke and fumes from a gas leak not being expelled through the exhaust fan of the kitchen.
“The content of carbon monoxide that exceeded the content of oxygen caused the three victims to inhale smoke and gas until they passed out,“ he said in a statement today.
He said all the victims who received treatment at the Ampang Hospital were in stable condition and the case was classified as ‘Refer to Other Agencies’, namely to the Hazardous Materials Special Team (Hazmat). - Bernama
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UPDATE: CHILD IN CRITICAL CONDITION FOLLOWING HAZMAT INCIDENT AT CAPE COD YMCA – BOSTON 25 NEWS
https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/update-child-critical-condition-following-hazmat-incident-cape-cod-ymca/ZEVCVV3CUZEARK7L6ZJF66JHQA/
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, injury, pool_chemicals
WEST BARNSTABLE, Mass. — A child is in critical condition following a hazmat incident that took place at a Cape Cod YMCA, Friday, Boston 25 News has learned.
“Barnstable Police were notified at 2:30 PM of a suspected chemical reaction in the pool area that led to seven children experiencing symptoms of illness, including coughing and vomiting,” a release issued by the Massachusetts State Police reads.
The seven children were taken to Cape Cod Hospital by the West Barnstable Fire Department. Their ages range “from 6 to 10 years” according to state police.
Seven children taken to hospital following hazmat incident at Cape YMCA
Two of the children were later flown to Boston area hospitals by medical helicopter. One of the children is a 10-year-old girl, the other is a 9-year-old girl, according to state police.
As of Saturday, “one child from [the] Cape Y remained critical but stable, and is expected to survive,” according to Dave Procopio, a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson.
“A State Hazmat team responded to support West Barnstable FD and other agencies with an accidental mixture of pool chemicals,” according to spokesperson for the State Fire Marshal’s office.
The YMCA Cape Cod announced that they will continue to keep their pool closed “out of an abundance of caution,” in a statement on their Facebook page.
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