Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, November 7, 2022 at 6:22:01 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 (13 articles)

SICKNESS AFFECTING 48 AT CHARTER SCHOOL STILL UNEXPLAINED
Tags: us_PA, education, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

WORCESTER FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE IRON PYRITE FIRE INSIDE CITY PLANT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, injury, other_chemical

ROUTE 1 IN CHELSEA REOPENS AFTER CAR HITS AC UNIT, SPILLING ANTIFREEZE
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, hvac_chemicals

LAB THAT CREATED RISKY AVIAN FLU HAD “UNACCEPTABLE” BIOSAFETY PROTOCOLS
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, follow-up, environmental

LAX LEAK: WORKER REMAINS IN COMA AFTER CARBON DIOXIDE INCIDENT AT AIRPORT
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, carbon_dioxide

PHOENIX FD: EXPLOSION AND FIRE DISPLACES PEOPLE FROM APARTMENT
Tags: us_AZ, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT INCIDENT AT SCHOOL SENDS 39 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_PA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO USC FOR REPORTED LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, liquid_nitrogen

DEATH OF MARYLAND MAN FOUND IN HOMEMADE LAB WITH CHEMICALS UNDER INVESTIGATION BY STATE POLICE
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, discovery, death, unknown_chemical

ACID SPILL A REMINDER OF BIGGER FIGHT IN ST. JAMES FOR ACTIVISTS
Tags: us_LA, transportation, follow-up, environmental, hydrochloric_acid

OVERTURNED BIG RIG CAUSES SIG ALERT ON 5 FREEWAY IN BURBANK
Tags: us_CA, transportation, fire, response, batteries, sulfuric_acid

KANAWHA COMMISSION AGREES TO PAY FOR MORE TESTING OF PAINT CREEK, RESIDENTS' WELLS
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

US EPA BROADENS ITS DEFINITION OF PFAS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical


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SICKNESS AFFECTING 48 AT CHARTER SCHOOL STILL UNEXPLAINED
https://www.wfmj.com/story/47636582/sickness-affecting-48-at-charter-school-still-unexplained
Tags: us_PA, education, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

HANOVER, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say they still don't know what caused several dozen children and adults to fall ill at an eastern Pennsylvania school last week, prompting an evacuation.

Chief Scott Van Why of the Hanover Township Volunteer Fire Department told The (Allentown) Morning Call on Sunday that tests of the air turned up nothing to explain what affected 48 children and adults Friday at Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School.

Emergency responders were sent to the school after nearly a dozen people were reported sick in one of the three buildings. Officials said that building, which houses seventh- through twelfth-grade students, was evacuated “out of an abundance of caution,” but normal operations continued at other buildings where younger students are taught.

Susan Mauser, CEO of the Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School, said most of those taken to hospitals for evaluation had been released as of Friday night, LehighValleyLive.com reported.

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WORCESTER FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE IRON PYRITE FIRE INSIDE CITY PLANT
https://www.telegram.com/story/news/fire/2022/11/05/worcester-firefighters-tackle-iron-pyrite-fire-inside-city-plant/69622761007/
Tags: us_MA, industrial, fire, injury, other_chemical

WORCESTER — A container of iron pyrite caught fire Saturday morning inside a plant at Saint-Gobain on New Bond Street, filling the facility with heavy, acrid smoke that sent one employee to the hospital.

Firefighters quickly knocked down the small blaze ignited by the mineral — a water reactive material — after it got wet and started the combustion process, said Acting Deputy Fire Chief Adam Roche.

During the combustion process, Roche said, there was a release of hydrogen cyanide, prompting a Tier 1 hazmat incident that was ultimately canceled.

The building, plant No. 8, was evacuated and several employees and a firefighter underwent decontamination.

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ROUTE 1 IN CHELSEA REOPENS AFTER CAR HITS AC UNIT, SPILLING ANTIFREEZE
https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/11/05/route-1-in-chelsea-reopens-after-car-hits-ac-unit-spilling-antifreeze/
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, hvac_chemicals

Part of Route 1 was shut down in Chelsea for three hours Saturday as crews worked to clean up antifreeze from an air conditioner that fell off a truck and collided with a car, State Police said.

State Police said the truck was transporting the commercial-sized air conditioner unit, when it slipped off the back of the vehicle.

“There are coolant fluids/car parts/AC unit parts covering the road deck,” State Police

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LAB THAT CREATED RISKY AVIAN FLU HAD “UNACCEPTABLE” BIOSAFETY PROTOCOLS
https://theintercept.com/2022/11/01/biosafety-avian-flu/
Tags: us_WI, laboratory, follow-up, environmental

T STARTED WITH a bold idea. “Someone finally convinced me to do something really, really stupid,” virologist Ron Fouchier told Scientific American in 2011. Fouchier, of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, and another scientist, Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, had separately tweaked the H5N1 virus — an influenza that primarily infects birds — in a way that made it spread more easily in ferrets. H5N1 is a prime pandemic candidate, and ferrets are often used as proxies for humans in flu experiments. When word got out that the two scientists were planning to publish papers detailing their experiments, making a blueprint available to the world, the outcry was extreme. The scientists were trying to better understand H5N1 in order to prevent a pandemic, but critics worried that their experiments could instead cause one — or provide would-be bioterrorists with an outbreak manufacturing guide.

The New York Times ran an editorial titled “An Engineered Doomsday.” The backlash was so severe that in 2012, Kawaoka, Fouchier, and other prominent flu scientists voluntarily agreed to pause the transmissibility work. The debacle prompted an overhaul of policies, now being reconsidered in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, governing work with so-called gain-of-function research of concern.

The story is well known. And yet, what happened next has never been reported in its entirety.

Early on, Fouchier told Science that he had created “probably one of the most dangerous viruses you can make.” But after controversy broke out, as the science communicator Peter Sandman has written, Fouchier and his supporters shifted to downplaying the danger. In early 2013, flu scientists ended their voluntary pause, arguing that when the research was done at enhanced biosafety level 3, or BSL3+, the benefits outweighed the risks. Kawaoka, who was normally the more taciturn of the two, hosted journalists in his lab, where he explained his safety procedures. “The influenza virus is sensitive to detergent,” he reportedly said while explaining the process of showering out. “They die.” A biosafety staffer at the University of Wisconsin got up before a university audience to dispel what she called myths about lab oversight. The address was broadcast on local television.

Then, months later, Kawaoka’s lab saw two accidents involving lab-generated flu viruses, just one week apart.

The accidents, a spill and a needle prick, carried a low risk of infection. Flu viruses are typically transferred through respiratory droplets, not skin contact or injection. Nonetheless, in letters obtained by The Intercept, staff at a funding agency accused the university of shirking biosafety precautions that Kawaoka had promised to adopt. They also demanded changes to the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s protocol for accidental lab exposures. Of particular concern was a plan to quarantine all researchers exposed to modified H5N1 at home, even if they were at high risk of infection — an approach that the funding agency administrators found so alarming that they threatened to end the lab’s grant unless the university changed course.

At the center of the debacle was the National Institutes of Health, whose National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had funded both Kawaoka’s and Fouchier’s labs. (Fouchier was a sub-awardee on a grant to a U.S. institution.) The agency oversees biosafety protocols on the same research it funds, and its oversight arm has a reputation for being timid, generally resolving issues through polite dialogue. “We want to be cautious about when we use that stick,” said Jessica Tucker, acting deputy director of NIH’s Office of Science Policy, referring to the threat of termination.

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LAX LEAK: WORKER REMAINS IN COMA AFTER CARBON DIOXIDE INCIDENT AT AIRPORT
https://abc7.com/lax-carbon-dioxide-leak-los-angeles-international-airport-hazmat/12415682/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, carbon_dioxide

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A contract worker is in a medically-induced coma, fighting for his life following an accident at Los Angeles International Airport.

Cris Abraham, 36, was among four people inside a utility room on Monday when carbon dioxide was suddenly released from the fire suppression system, displacing oxygen in the room.

The odorless gas caused the husband and father of two to go into cardiac arrest. Firefighters arrived wearing protective gear, got him to safety and performed CPR. He was hospitalized in critical condition.

Three other people who had been in the room at the time were able to evacuate safely.

It's not clear yet what triggered the discharge of carbon dioxide, as there were no indications of a fire.

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PHOENIX FD: EXPLOSION AND FIRE DISPLACES PEOPLE FROM APARTMENT
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/phoenix-fire-crews-battling-fire-with-hazmat-component
Tags: us_AZ, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

PHOENIX - Officials with the Phoenix Fire Department say about eight people were displaced from their homes as a result of an explosion and fire.

The incident, according to fire officials, happened in the area of 36th Street and Indian School Road. Crews were called to the scene at around 2:00 p.m. The explosion reportedly happened while a man was doing remodelling work in his bathroom. A fire then happened due to the explosion.

Fire crews, according to officials, managed to put out the fire.

"In total 4 units were damaged from the incident," read a portion of a statement released by Phoenix Fire.

One person, identified as an adult man, was taken to a burn unit in stable condition as a result of the explosion. An investigation is underway to determine what happened.

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HAZMAT INCIDENT AT SCHOOL SENDS 39 TO HOSPITAL
https://kesq.com/cnn-regional/2022/11/04/hazmat-incident-at-school-sends-39-to-hospital/
Tags: us_PA, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical

    NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Thirty nine people were sent to the hospital after a hazmat incident at Lehigh Valley Academy Charter School in Northampton County on Friday.

The seventh through 12th grade building was evacuated and school was dismissed early.

When first responders arrived around noon, some staff and students said they didn’t feel well.

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HAZMAT TEAM CALLED TO USC FOR REPORTED LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK
https://news.yahoo.com/hazmat-team-called-usc-reported-030259495.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACIB7XHnQbwrvVi1u8miObTFl5DGyK0avUloOcvT8e-gE7UY6mgD1MUfkFSuFwb8ye6CueafqskPj3v83YQ-DGDPzqTkFgSti25eZGqD1nqgVv6qfo4NZzc8gJQv5K4AyiUCAK5j2YdIestnwmJp2Tz1VS49IyA2ahNrxEKIO_50
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, liquid_nitrogen

LAFD crews and a Hazmat team were called to the USC campus late Friday evening after receiving reports of a liquid nitrogen leak on the second floor of one of the buildings.

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DEATH OF MARYLAND MAN FOUND IN HOMEMADE LAB WITH CHEMICALS UNDER INVESTIGATION BY STATE POLICE
https://dailyvoice.com/maryland/washington/police-fire/death-of-maryland-man-found-in-homemade-lab-with-chemicals-under-investigation-by-state-police/848414/
Tags: us_MD, laboratory, discovery, death, unknown_chemical

The death of a man found dead in Washington County by Maryland State Police troopers surrounded by “an excessive amount of unknown chemicals” in a homemade laboratory is under investigation.

Bradley Ray Roberts, 60, was pronounced dead in his Foxville Road home in Smithsburg on Thursday, Nov. 3 after state police investigators were contacted by his family who had not spoken to him in several days.

According to police, at approximately 11 a.m. on Thursday morning, troopers from the Hagerstown Barrack responded to Roberts’ home in Smithsburg to conduct a welfare check.

Family members from out of the area reported they had not spoken with Roberts for several days and that he had been ill, investigators said.  

Upon their arrival, troopers were able to look into the window of the home and found a man - later identified as Roberts - lying on the floor in front of what appeared to be a homemade laboratory with an excessive amount of unknown chemicals. 

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ACID SPILL A REMINDER OF BIGGER FIGHT IN ST. JAMES FOR ACTIVISTS
https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/for-activists-acid-spill-reminder-of-bigger-fight-in-st-james/289-c4b52b22-b14f-4744-9020-ced2bb8484ab
Tags: us_LA, transportation, follow-up, environmental, hydrochloric_acid

PAULINA, La. — Crews are still working to clean up the estimated 20,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid that spilled from a rail car in St. James Parish Wednesday. The short-term impacts were clear— a low-hanging cloud of caustic vapor, more than a hundred homes evacuated, and the start of a lengthy cleanup effort.
At this point, the long-term impacts are less obvious.
A spokesman with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality says the agency is focusing on cleanup for now and cannot speculate on long-term damage to the environment from the spill. He says the next step will be for crews to neutralize the acid, then the LDEQ will decide how much contaminated dirt to haul away from the site. 
Hydrochloric acid is “aggressive,” according to Tulane Chemistry professor Dr. James Donahue. He says it will “basically kill any plants or animals it comes into significant contact with. Counterintuitively, that will likely make it easier to clean up.

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OVERTURNED BIG RIG CAUSES SIG ALERT ON 5 FREEWAY IN BURBANK
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/overturned-big-rig-causes-sig-alert-on-5-freeway-in-burbank/
Tags: us_CA, transportation, fire, response, batteries, sulfuric_acid

The first four lanes of the northbound side of the 5 Freeway in Burbank are closed after a big rig overturned on Friday afternoon. 

The sig alert is expected to last for a couple hours. The big rig was carrying a container with lithium battery acid, which spilled over after the truck overturned. 

The Burbank Fire Department hazmat team is at the scene of the crash cleaning up the spilled chemical. 

The big rig overturned north of Buena Vista street. At one point the truck did catch fire but by the time Sky9 had gotten over the crash, the fire was already out. 

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KANAWHA COMMISSION AGREES TO PAY FOR MORE TESTING OF PAINT CREEK, RESIDENTS' WELLS
https://wchstv.com/news/local/kanawha-commission-agrees-to-pay-for-additional-paint-creek-testing-residents-wells
Tags: us_WV, transportation, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — Kanawha County commissioners said they have agreed to pay for more testing of Paint Creek and residents' wells as they continue to try to address the aftermath of a chemical spill that happened in late August on the West Virginia Turnpike.

The tractor trailer spilled a chemical into Skitter Creek that flows into Paint Creek. Tests on water samples found no chemical beyond the detection limit of 0.3% for more than a dozen hand-dug and shallow wells in the Paint Creek area.

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department and Fayette Health Department said previously the water sample test results “do not reflect the overall safety of the wells that were sampled. They only indicate that the chemical spilled was not detected above that level in the wells that were tested.”

On Thursday, the Kanawha Commission said in a news release that Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper met with West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Cabinet Secretary Harold Ward to go over the next steps regarding fixing the issues at Paint Creek.

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US EPA BROADENS ITS DEFINITION OF PFAS
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/US-EPA-broadens-definition-PFAS/100/web/2022/11
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

The US Environmental Protection Agency is expanding its definition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—at least for flagging contaminants for possible regulation in drinking water.
In the past, the agency used a limited definition of PFAS: “Chemicals with at least two adjacent carbon atoms, where one carbon is fully fluorinated and the other is at least partially fluorinated.”An EPA Safe Drinking Water Act decision unveiled Nov. 2 broadens this definition to include fluorocarbons with highly branched carbon chains and some fluoroethers.
The decision adds PFAS as a group to the agency’s list of substances that are candidates for regulation in drinking water. This means commerical PFAS, their byproducts, and their environmental transformation products will come under EPA scrutiny if they are detected in drinking water and meet the new definition. The agency previously listed only individual PFAS as candidates for such regulation.
This change is “an important first step towards identifying additional PFAS that may require regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” the agency says in a statement. Listing the chemicals as a group on the candidates list doesn’t necessarily mean the agency will regulate PFAS as a category under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the decision says.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals widely used for water and stain resistance, fighting fires, and their ability to withstand harsh conditions. They are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they resist breakdown. Some are known to be toxic, but most have not been tested extensively, if at all.

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