Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, October 31, 2022 at 6:51:59 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 (8 articles)
EVACUATION ORDERS LIFTED FOR RESIDENTS DISPLACED BY SAN JACINTO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
PFAS FIREFIGHTING CHEMICAL FOUND IN DRINKING WATER AT AVALON AIRPORT FIRE STATION
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO ANAHEIM MARRIOTT FOR FENTANYL REMOVAL
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, clandestine_lab
PYROTECHNICS FACTORY EXPLOSION EVACUATIONS IN SOMERSET
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, fireworks
EVACUATIONS CONTINUE IN SAN JACINTO FROM STRONG POOL CHEMICAL SMELL
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
FIRE INJURIES PROMPT CSB TO PUSH AGAIN ON CLASSROOM CHEMICAL SAFETY
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, follow-up, injury, methanol
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WATER IN OUR RIVERS AND LAKES REACHES RECORD LOWS?
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT AT CEDAR RAPIDS WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment
---------------------------------------------
EVACUATION ORDERS LIFTED FOR RESIDENTS DISPLACED BY SAN JACINTO CHEMICAL SPILL
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/evacuation-orders-lifted-for-san-jacinto-chemical-spill-but-residents-still-encouraged-to-stay-away/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
Evacuation orders were lifted Sunday morning for residents in a San Jacinto neighborhood that were told to leave after chemicals were found leaking from a storage container.
The chemical spill was first reported around 2:15 a.m. Saturday on the 800 block of Shaver Street.
According to Cal Fire, responding firefighters located pool chemicals leaking from a large shipping container.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for residents in the immediate vicinity of the spill. Additional evacuation warnings were issued to residents in the broader area.
Those warnings and orders remained in place through the night, but the mandatory orders were lifted around 9 a.m. Sunday.
The evacuation warnings remained in place and residents were encouraged to take extra care if and when returning to their homes.
By 12:45 p.m. Sunday, all warnings and orders were lifted
Cal Fire said equipment would be in the area for the duration of the cleanup.
---------------------------------------------
PFAS FIREFIGHTING CHEMICAL FOUND IN DRINKING WATER AT AVALON AIRPORT FIRE STATION
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-31/pfas-firefighting-chemical-in-drinking-water-at-avalon-airport/101595740
Tags: Australia, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
The fire station at Avalon Airport has been closed after unsafe levels of PFAS were found in the drinking water.
Key points:
Dozens of firefighters and air traffic controllers are being tested after PFAS was found in their drinking water at Avalon
An investigation is underway into how the chemical entered the drinking water supply
Avalon Airport says the chemical has not been found in the water at the passenger terminal
The union representing aviation firefighters said the firefighting chemical was also detected in the water supply at the air traffic tower south-west of Melbourne.
Airservices Australia, which operates firefighting and air traffic services at the airport, confirmed it had closed the fire station while a new water supply was set up and a deep clean was undertaken.
"Our highest priority is protecting the health and wellbeing of our teams," a spokesperson said.
"Airservices' 30 aviation rescue firefighters and two air traffic controllers stationed at Avalon have been offered expert health advice and free blood testing."
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO ANAHEIM MARRIOTT FOR FENTANYL REMOVAL
https://onscene.tv/hazmat-team-responds-to-anaheim-marriott-for-fentanyl-removal-anaheim/
Tags: us_CA, public, discovery, response, clandestine_lab
10.27.2022 | 8:06 PM | ANAHEIM – Detectives with Huntington Beach Police Department, Major Crimes Task Force followed a vehicle into the parking structure of the Anaheim Marriott where they took him into custody.
When they took him into custody, a bag of Fentanyl was found.
Police immediately closed the entire 3rd floor of the parking structure as a precaution.
A Hazmat team from Anaheim Fire and Rescue has responded to the scene.
A team from The Orange County Health Department is also on scene.
That area of the parking structure will be closed until they clear it, guests with their car parked in this area will not be able to access their vehicles for several hours.
---------------------------------------------
PYROTECHNICS FACTORY EXPLOSION EVACUATIONS IN SOMERSET
https://www.bolnews.com/world/2022/10/pyrotechnics-factory-explosion-evacuations-in-somerset/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, explosion, response, fireworks
Following explosions at a pyrotechnics plant, a 600-meter cordon was established, and homes of inhabitants were evacuated.
Following many reports, fire departments were dispatched to the Event Horizon location in Ashcott just after 23:00 BST on Friday.
The explosions reportedly started inside a shipping container that had been wrecked by pyrotechnics, according to Devon and Somerset Fire Service.
On Saturday morning, crews were still present to check the situation.
Firefighters from eleven stations were dispatched, and when they arrived, a succession of massive explosions prompted the personnel to retire to a safe distance.
Due to the size of the exclusion zone, a police drone was employed to survey the area because one of the affected containers was believed to contain around one tons of pyrotechnics.
---------------------------------------------
EVACUATIONS CONTINUE IN SAN JACINTO FROM STRONG POOL CHEMICAL SMELL
https://abc7.com/chemical-leak-san-jacinto-chemicals-shipping-container/12395870/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pool_chemicals
SAN JACINTO, Calif. (CNS) -- Residents of a San Jacinto neighborhood remained under evacuation orders and warnings tonight as firefighters and hazardous materials experts evaluate a leak of pool chemicals from a shipping container that emitted a strong smell.
At 6:30 p.m., the Riverside County Fire Department tweeted: "Firefighters and the HAZMAT team are continuing to mitigate the incident. The HAZMAT team has made entry to the container and are assessing the removal of the chemicals. All evacuation orders and warnings remain in place.''
WATCH NOW ABC7 Los Angeles 24x7 Streaming channel
At 2:21 a.m., a strong chemical odor was reported in the 800 block of Shaver Street, fire officials reported. Firefighters located pool chemicals leaking from a large shipping container. A hazardous materials team and cleanup crews were sent to the scene.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE INJURIES PROMPT CSB TO PUSH AGAIN ON CLASSROOM CHEMICAL SAFETY
https://cen.acs.org/safety/lab-safety/Fire-injuries-prompt-CSB-push/100/i38
Tags: us_VA, laboratory, follow-up, injury, methanol
Three students and a teacher were treated for burns after a chemistry lab fire Oct. 12 at Dinwiddie High School in Virginia. One of the students was hospitalized for 2 weeks. The incident involved a classroom demonstration using methanol, according to the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), which is again promoting its classroom safety guidance.
The fire was far from the first caused by methanol in school science classes. Typically, such fires stem from demonstrations that involve burning a flammable liquid, usually methanol, according to the CSB. In some cases, after a demonstration has started, methanol from bulk containers is poured directly onto flames, then a flashback into the container ignites the rest of the fuel. The resulting fire can injure people as far as 4.5 m away.
When three serious accidents occurred over 8 weeks in 2014, the CSB issued a safety bulletin.
The bulletin provides four key lessons: do not use bulk containers of flammable chemicals when small quantities are sufficient; implement strict safety controls when handling hazardous chemicals; conduct a comprehensive hazard review of demonstration protocols; and provide a safety barrier between the demonstration and audience.
While demonstrations involving flammable chemicals can be important teaching tools, “they must be done safely,” CSB interim head Steve Owens says in a statement. “We urge school administrators and teachers to review and follow the CSB’s safety lessons for these kinds of demonstrations so that no one is harmed by these preventable accidents.”
---------------------------------------------
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WATER IN OUR RIVERS AND LAKES REACHES RECORD LOWS?
https://cen.acs.org/environment/climate-change/happens-water-rivers-lakes-reaches/100/i38
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
On April 22, chemist Andreas Fath jumped into the Danube River in Ulm, Germany. The water was just 11 °C, and Fath was wearing two full-body wet suits to protect himself from the cold. It was the official start of a journey that would take the next 8 weeks as Fath swam over 2,700 km along the river before arriving at the Black Sea.
Fath, a professor at Furtwangen University and an experienced long-distance swimmer, wasn’t just looking for a physical challenge. Every day he stuck passive-sampling membranes to his legs to absorb persistent organic pollutants in the water. On a boat that traveled with him, scientists sampled the water to gather temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, and other measures of water chemistry and quality.
Fath hoped his swim, and the outreach activities he conducted along the way, would draw people to learn more about the waterways running through their cities and encourage better protection of an important water source in Europe. He also hoped to measure just how many pollutants were in the river’s waters and at what levels.
Fath’s swim ended on June 17, the beginning of Europe’s summer, which was to become the hottest on record. While his swim brought attention to the Danube, European heat waves soon brought more focus to Europe’s rivers. Across the continent, water levels dropped, stalling shipping, and hundreds of metric tons of fish died.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT AT CEDAR RAPIDS WATER TREATMENT PLANT
https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/firefighters-respond-to-hazmat-incident-at-cedar-rapids-water-treatment-plant
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, chlorine, water_treatment
Cedar Rapids — Cedar Rapids Fire Department responded to what it's calling a minor HAZMAT incident at the water treatment plant.
According to a post on the fire department's Facebook page Friday, crews were called to the scene around 9:15 a.m. for a reported HAZMAT event involving a possible chlorine leak in a water treatment area.
After that, a team of trained CRFD responders identified the source of the chlorine leak and got it under control.
The plant was back up and running safely shortly after the incident, and CRFD reports this was a minor leak.
Officials say the water supply never came into contact with any contaminants.
Cedar Rapids police and paramedics were on hand to help in case of any injuries, but none were reported.
---------------------------------------------
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter @acsdchas