Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 6:17:04 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 (15 articles)
FIRE BURNS 73 VEHICLES AT PUMPKIN PATCH, TEXAS OFFICIALS SAY
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, response, other_chemical
I-75, EAGLES LANDING PARKWAY BLOCKED DUE TO OVERTURNED TRACTOR TRAILER, CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid
MULTIPLE FIRE CREWS CONTAIN LARGE CHEMICAL FIRE IN VERDIGRIS
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, calcium_carbonate, runoff
HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS 3 MOLECULAR TESTING LABS WORKERS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, injury, chlorine
MAN KILLED IN CHEMICAL DRUM EXPLOSION IN CUMILLA
Tags: Bangladesh, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
BUSINESSES EVACUATE AFTER AMMONIA LEAK IN SOUTH PHOENIX
Tags: us_AL, industrial, release, response, ammonia
RUPTURED BOTTLES IN TRUCK CAUSE CHEMICAL SPILL IN SANTA ROSA THAT CLOSED ROAD
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, cleaners
4 PERSONNEL OF MADURAI FIRE STATION SUFFER INJURIES DURING WORK IN TIRUMANGALAM
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, solvent
WESTLAKE UNDER SHELTER-IN-PLACE AFTER FIRE AT SASOL
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
MAJOR FIRE GUTS CHEMICAL FACTORY IN MANESAR
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, gas_cylinders
CONTAMINATED COUGH SYRUP LINKED TO 66 CHILD DEATHS IN THE GAMBIA
Tags: Gambia, public, discovery, death, ethylene_glycol, illegal, pharmaceutical
BIOSAFETY LABS THAT HANDLE DANGEROUS PATHOGENS MULTIPLY WORLDWIDE DESPITE SAFETY CONCERNS: REPORT
Tags: India, laboratory, discovery, environmental
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
Tags: us_MO, education, discovery, environmental, oils, paints, petroleum
HIGH LEVELS OF TOXIC CHEMICAL FOUND IN CLOTHING FROM BRANDS LIKE NIKE, PINK
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
PAINT CREEK RESIDENTS: WATER STILL FOAMS 2 MONTHS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
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FIRE BURNS 73 VEHICLES AT PUMPKIN PATCH, TEXAS OFFICIALS SAY
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article267394742.html
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, response, other_chemical
A massive fire broke out at a pumpkin patch in Texas, filling the air with explosions and thick black smoke as flames engulfed over 70 vehicles, officials told news outlets.
Videos shared to social media show families running to safety on Saturday, Oct. 15, many with young children and infants, even as others make their way toward the smoldering parking lot — perhaps in an effort to save their car, truck or SUV.
“It looked like something out of a war zone,” John Bessick told TV station KXXV.
The veteran was visiting the farm’s fall attraction when the fire began and helped others escape the area amid the chaos and explosions.
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I-75, EAGLES LANDING PARKWAY BLOCKED DUE TO OVERTURNED TRACTOR TRAILER, CHEMICAL LEAK
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/eagles-landing-parkway-blocked-due-overturned-tractor-trailer-leak
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. - Stockbridge police announced on Sunday that Eagles Landing Parkway was blocked in both directions from Rock Quarry to the I-75 southbound ramp due to an overturned tractor trailer leaking chemicals.
Exit 224 on I-75 northbound was also blocked as police assessed the accident.
Officers said the tractor trailer was going eastbound on Eagles Landing Parkway and attempting to turn left when the automotive tipped over.
The local fire department also responded to the scene and found that the vehicle was leaking dihydrogen hexafluorotitanate, hydrofluoric acid, and hexafluorozirconic acid.
They were able to contain the leak, but had to wait for HEPACO Environmental Emergency Services to clean it up.
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MULTIPLE FIRE CREWS CONTAIN LARGE CHEMICAL FIRE IN VERDIGRIS
https://www.news9.com/story/634c9addd7acc47ced00ecb9/industrial-building-in-port-of-catoosa-catches-fire-authorities-on-scene
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, calcium_carbonate, runoff
Fire crews were out at the scene of a galvanizing plant that caught fire in Verdigris Sunday evening.
The call came in around 6 p.m. Sunday as a structural fire, but turned into a hazmat situation quickly because of the chemicals inside the plant.
Several agencies responded to this fire, including Verdigris, Catoosa, Claremore, Limestone, and Tulsa, as well as HAZMAT teams.
The fire happened at the Valmont Utility galvanizing plant in Verdigris, and firefighters say no one was injured.
This fire has been challenging for firefighters because of the chemicals inside the plant.
Fire crews were worried about the chemicals getting in the water runoff if they put too much water on the fire.
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HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS 3 MOLECULAR TESTING LABS WORKERS TO HOSPITAL
https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/oct/15/hazmat-incident-sends-3-molecular-testing-labs-workers-to-hospital/
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, release, injury, chlorine
Three workers were transported to a hospital Saturday following a hazardous-materials incident at Molecular Testing Labs, 14401 S.E. First St., according to the Vancouver Fire Department.
After a chlorine gas spill at the company, bleach was used in an attempt to clean up the mess. The chemical reaction between the two led to off-gassing. The building was evacuated, but four employees showed symptoms of exposure, including red eyes.
Three employees were taken to the hospital, according to Raymond Egan, a captain and public information officer for the fire department. The building was being ventilated and is expected to return to normal.
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MAN KILLED IN CHEMICAL DRUM EXPLOSION IN CUMILLA
https://www.risingbd.com/english/country/news/90282
Tags: Bangladesh, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical
A rickshaw puller died when a chemical drum exploded in Madrasa Gate area under manoharganj upazila of Cumilla.
The deceased was known as Mohammad Rubel, 28, son of Osman Goni, hailed from Bhaupur village of the upazila on Saturday (October 15).
Local sources said, the victim tried to open the mouth of an old chemical drum on the roof of the building with an iron device, which caused a sudden explosion. Rubel died on the spot. Meanwhile, two other people also received injuries.
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BUSINESSES EVACUATE AFTER AMMONIA LEAK IN SOUTH PHOENIX
https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/ammonia-leak-road-closures-evacuations-south-phoenix-reddy-ice-october/75-3114d8a6-08a1-484b-b05e-8a03735c49ff
Tags: us_AL, industrial, release, response, ammonia
PHOENIX — A chemical spill at a Reddy Ice facility in south Phoenix led to evacuations and road closures Saturday morning, Phoenix police said.
According to reports, nearby businesses in the area were evacuated, and the roads were closed for several blocks.
Police later confirmed that it was an ammonia leak that led to the closures. No injuries were reported.
The Phoenix Fire Department stepped in to handle cleanup while police closed down the area. Crews have been working to close off the leak and are already seeing lower readings on their meters, a fire department spokesman said.
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RUPTURED BOTTLES IN TRUCK CAUSE CHEMICAL SPILL IN SANTA ROSA THAT CLOSED ROAD
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/ruptured-bottles-in-truck-cause-chemical-spill-in-santa-rosa-that-closed-ro/
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, cleaners
A Santa Rosa Fire Department Hazmat Team spent six hours Friday working to mitigate a chemical spill from a truck parked outside a company that specializes in dishwashing and laundry systems.
The incident happened at about 2:50 p.m. outside Auto-Chlor at 27 Maxwell Court when numerous pallets containing 1-gallon and 2 1/2-gallon bottles of chemicals shifted and fell over inside a semitruck during transport, causing bottles to rupture, spill and emit a cloud of toxic gas, Battalion Chief Matthew Gloeckner said in a news release.
Upon arrival, responding fire units found the truck’s rear doors open and liquid leaking out the back.
The truck’s driver and an Auto-Chlor representative said the truck arrived for delivery, and when they opened the back of the truck there was a cloud of gas and a hissing sound.
The department initiated a full hazmat response and closed traffic for hours on Maxwell Court. Team members deployed a drone to fly inside the trailer to determine the problem. Then, wearing chemical protective suits with self-contained breathing apparatuses, team members went inside. They found 15 bottles had toppled over and spilled, Gloeckner said.
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4 PERSONNEL OF MADURAI FIRE STATION SUFFER INJURIES DURING WORK IN TIRUMANGALAM
https://www.dtnext.in/tamilnadu/2022/10/15/four-fire-personnel-suffer-injuries-during-work-in-tirumangalam
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, solvent
MADURAI: Four personnel belonging to Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services Department attached to Madurai Station suffered minor burns to their bodies on Saturday evening while attempting to extinguish fire that broke out from a chemical storage godown at Kappalur near Thirumangalam in Madurai district.
Madurai District Fire Officer S. Vinoth and Additional DFO Pandi rushed to the spot and inspected.
The cause behind the fire accident is yet to be known, sources said. Fire broke out accidentally at around 4 p.m., and as soon as receiving the ‘fire call’, four tenders comprising brigades from stations including Thirumangalam, Kalligudi, Madurai and Tallakulam stepped up efforts to put out the fire in the godown, which stocked barrels of thinner, Thirumangalam SFO Jeyarani said.
The injured are Madurai SFO KP Balamurugan and three others including Balamurugan, Leading Fireman, Karthik and Kalyan-Firemen.
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WESTLAKE UNDER SHELTER-IN-PLACE AFTER FIRE AT SASOL
https://www.klfy.com/top-stories-news/westlake-under-shelter-in-place-after-fire-at-sasol-chemical-complex/
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
WESTLAKE, La. (KLFY) – The city of Westlake is under a shelter-in-place after a fire at Sasol’s Lake Charles complex.
According to the Westlake Police Department (WPD), the roads in the area are shut down and authorities urge everyone to stay away from Houston River Rd. and Myrtle Springs Rd.
“Early this afternoon, Sasol had a fire at its Lake Charles Chemical Complex Ziegler alcohol unit. Our on-site emergency response team responded swiftly, and the fire is contained. Our primary concern is the safety of our employees and the community. All Sasol employees are accounted for with no reported injuries associated with the fire. There were no off-site impacts and no call to action for the nearby community. Sasol notified all appropriate local officials and regulators accordingly. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident. The Ziegler alcohol facility manufactures specialty alcohols used in consumer care products as well as other applications.”
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MAJOR FIRE GUTS CHEMICAL FACTORY IN MANESAR
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/gurugram-news/major-fire-guts-chemical-factory-in-manesar-101665857774808.html
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, response, gas_cylinders
A major fire broke out at a chemical manufacturing factory in Binola, Manesar, early on Saturday morning. Firefighters said that no one was injured in the incident as the factory was still closed. A few security guards who were on duty first alerted the police and the fire department. Officials suspect that a short circuit caused the fire.
At least 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot from the IMT Manesar, Sector 29, Udyog Vihar, Bhim Nagar, Sector 37, Maruti Vihar and Pataudi fire stations, owing to the severity of the fire. Gulshan Kalra, deputy director, fire department (Gurugram), said that the rear end of the factory collapsed due to the fire but officers managed to save the front section. “It took at least six hours to bring the flames completely under control,” he said.
Fire officials said that they received the information about the fire at 4.57am. Only three tenders were sent to the spot initially, but other fire stations were soon alerted to send their tenders. Foam-based fire tenders had to be used as there were several types of chemicals and gas cylinders kept inside the factory, officials added. Several explosions also took place due to metallic containers containing chemicals and gas cylinders which were stored in the factory.
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CONTAMINATED COUGH SYRUP LINKED TO 66 CHILD DEATHS IN THE GAMBIA
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/contaminated-cough-syrup-linked-to-66-child-deaths-in-the-gambia/4016373.article
Tags: Gambia, public, discovery, death, ethylene_glycol, illegal, pharmaceutical
Indian generics firm Maiden Pharmaceuticals has been implicated in the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia, West Africa.
On 5 October, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a special alert focusing on four substandard cough syrups: Promethazine oral solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup, all manufactured by Maiden, which is based in the north Indian state of Haryana. These products are ‘potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children’ in The Gambia, the report states. ‘WHO recommends all countries detect and remove these products from circulation to prevent further harm to patients,’ director general Tedros Ghebreyesus stated.
Toxic ethylene glycol and dietheylene glycol were discovered in samples taken from the implicated cough syrups, which are often used to treat children
According to the WHO, at the end of July 2022, the Gambian government received information about an increase in acute kidney injuries among young children from Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, the country’s main hospital. By 30 September, 78 cases had been reported including 66 deaths. About 72% of these cases were under two years old, reported from six out of the country’s seven health regions.
The link with cough syrups was discovered after samples of medicines used by the children were sent to labs in Senegal and Ghana – since The Gambia has no such facilities. Testing identified toxic contaminants diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. The government began recalling the products from 2 October and has banned further sales. A door-to-door search aims to recover those already distributed and the police are investigating. More than 16,000 products have been located and confiscated for destruction. The Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has stated that his country will go to the bottom of this tragedy and is negotiating with the World Bank to create testing facilities.
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BIOSAFETY LABS THAT HANDLE DANGEROUS PATHOGENS MULTIPLY WORLDWIDE DESPITE SAFETY CONCERNS: REPORT
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/biosafety-labs-handle-dangerous-pathogens-multiply-worldwide-despite
Tags: India, laboratory, discovery, environmental
The COVID-19 pandemic has kicked off a wave of planned biosafety laboratories that handle dangerous pathogens worldwide, especially in India, the Philippines and Singapore, according to Nature.
Over 40 labs are in development at the levels of BSL-3, which allow scientists to "safely work with potentially lethal and inhalable pathogens in a contained environment," and BSL-4, which handle pathogens so dangerous they must be physically separated from the rest of the building and require a "dedicated air supply."
Scientists are cheering and worrying about the plans, which could lead to improved drugs for infectious diseases that plague developing countries such as Kyasanur forest disease but are also "super expensive" to maintain, Nature said.
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WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
https://source.wustl.edu/2022/10/life-and-death-decisions/
Tags: us_MO, education, discovery, environmental, oils, paints, petroleum
On the first day of “Engineering Ethics and Sustainability,” Sandra Matteucci tells her engineering students: “I’m going to make a bold prediction: The hardest decisions you will make in your career are going to be ethical.”
During the semester, her students examine the ethical failures in cases such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and a chemical company poisoning ground water, to name just two examples.
“The challenge with teaching ethics is that there’s an abundance of material,” says Matteucci, senior lecturer and director of the Engineering Communication Center in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. “I think it’s really valuable to look at historic cases because we can go back and digest what exactly went wrong and what the long-term ramifications were.”
When faced with pressure to cut costs or rush projects, engineers must balance competing concerns to make the best decisions and convince others to act. The failure to meet this challenge can be devastating. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, tests before the explosion showed that the cement used to seal the oil well was unstable, yet nothing was done to fix it, and other safety issues were ignored. Eleven people died in the explosion, which also resulted in the worst marine oil spill in history. In another example, the chemical company DuPont was accused of letting dangerous chemicals poison a West Virginia town’s water supply, which is the suspected cause of many illnesses and deaths. The chemicals in question led to the ban of nonstick coatings that contain PFOA, referred to as a “forever chemical.”
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HIGH LEVELS OF TOXIC CHEMICAL FOUND IN CLOTHING FROM BRANDS LIKE NIKE, PINK
https://kdvr.com/news/study-finds-high-levels-of-toxic-chemical-in-clothing-from-such-brands-as-nike-pink/
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
OAKLAND, Calif. (WTAJ) – The Center for Environmental Health sent legal notices to 11 brands manufacturing sports bras and athletic shirts after a study found they have high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) based on standards set in California.
The California-based watchdog group found that in the clothing, there is up to 22 times the safe limit of BPA, the chemical used to make plastic for food packaging, baby bottles and other goods.
The group described BPA as “a well-studied hormone-disrupting chemical.”
The following name brands face legal notices:
Sports bras:
Athleta
PINK
Asics
The North Face
Brooks
All in Motion
Nike
FILA
Athletic shirts:
The North Face
Brooks
Mizuno
Athleta
New Balance
Reebok
“People are exposed to BPA through ingestion (e.g., from eating food or drinking water from containers that have leached BPA) or by absorption through skin (e.g., from handling receipt paper),” Illegal Toxic Threats Program Director at CEH Kaya Allan Sugerman said. “Studies have shown that BPA can be absorbed through skin and end up in the bloodstream after handling receipt paper for seconds or a few minutes at a time. Sports bras and athletic shirts are worn for hours at a time, and you are meant to sweat in them, so it is concerning to be finding such high levels of BPA in our clothing.”
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PAINT CREEK RESIDENTS: WATER STILL FOAMS 2 MONTHS AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/paint-creek-residents-water-still-foams-2-months-after-chemical-spill/
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – More than two months after a tractor-trailer crashed and caused a chemical spill, people are still dealing with the fallout and are afraid to use their water.
The Kanawha County Commissioners said the chemical was not detected in the water after a recent round of testing, but residents said they’re still seeing the water foam after it rains.
Water testing continues for Paint Creek chemical spill from crash
Shay Couch, President of the Paint Creek Watershed Association, said the creek just needs to be cleaned.
“Whatever you got to keep it every time it rains from leaking back into our stream because the foam comes back every time it rains just like the day of the accident the foam is everywhere,” Couch said.
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