Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, November 25, 2022 at 7:45:29 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 (10 articles)
FIRE CREWS SAVE ST MARYS RECYCLING PLANT – THE WESTERN WEEKENDER
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, waste
TOXIC WHANGāREI HARBOUR CHEMICAL SPILL WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, follow-up, environmental, illegal, petroleum
SUSPECTED ALAMO METH LAB BUSTED AFTER EXPLOSION NEXT TO FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, illegal, meth_lab
FIRE DESTROYS HARRISON POOL STORE; CHEMICAL FUMES FORCE PARTIAL EVACUATION
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, response, pool_chemicals
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO SPILL AT LOCKHEED
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid
SHROPSHIRE: THREE TREATED AFTER ANOTHER OSWESTRY CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
WATCH EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN CHINA DAMAGES BUILDINGS LOCATED 1KM AWAY
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
EIGHT HOSPITALIZED IN CHEMICAL WORKPLACE INCIDENT; ONE IN CRITICAL CONDITION
Tags: Netherlands, industrial, release, injury, phosphorus_trichloride
REPORT: WELDING SPARKED CENTRAL CHINA FIRE THAT KILLED 38
Tags: China, industrial, fire, death, unknown_chemical
WHY CONSTRUCTION SAFETY LEADER IS FOCUSED ON DEI INITIATIVES
Tags: Canada, other, discovery, environmental
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FIRE CREWS SAVE ST MARYS RECYCLING PLANT – THE WESTERN WEEKENDER
https://westernweekender.com.au/2022/11/fire-crews-save-st-marys-recycling-plant/
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, response, waste
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have extinguished a fire which threatened to destroy a chemical recycling plant in St Marys overnight.
More than 50 firefighters and 12 FRNSW trucks attacked the blaze, which broke out on Christie Street in St Marys just before 9pm on Thursday, November 24.
A 30 cubic metre hook bin and stacks of bulk containers, holding chemical waste, were engulfed in flames.
The fire began to spread towards the storage warehouse, with six LPG-powered forklifts parked on the other side of the wall closest to the fire.
FRNSW crews battled for more than an hour to bring the blaze under control, stopping it from reaching the building and the hazardous chemicals inside.
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TOXIC WHANGāREI HARBOUR CHEMICAL SPILL WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/toxic-whangarei-harbour-chemical-spill-wont-happen-again-channel-infrastructure/LWZUUBCRU5BQ5NKWA6U7VRG4BY/
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, follow-up, environmental, illegal, petroleum
The Northland company fined $169,000 after toxic firefighting foam used at the former Marsden Pt Oil Refinery leaked into Whangārei Harbour says it no longer uses the banned foam and the situation won’t happen again.
Channel Infrastructure, the company that replaced Refining NZ when the refinery closed this year, received the fine when it was sentenced in the Whangārei Court on charges of discharging contaminants, in breach of the Resource Management Act.
The firefighting foam that had been banned from use in training exercises was used multiple times at Marsden Point Oil Refinery, with foam ending up in Whangārei Harbour.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) laid seven charges against the company, formerly the New Zealand Refining Company Limited, under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act and a further seven charges under the RMA.
Channel Infrastructure entered guilty pleas to all 14 charges, which relate to the prohibited use and unauthorised discharge of firefighting foam containing per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on seven separate occasions in May and June 2021.
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SUSPECTED ALAMO METH LAB BUSTED AFTER EXPLOSION NEXT TO FIRE DEPARTMENT
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/23/suspected-almost-meth-lab-busted-after-explosion-next-to-fire-department/
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, illegal, meth_lab
ALAMO — This affluent, typically quiet community became the subject of a criminal investigation of “Breaking Bad” proportions after police discovered a suspected meth lab operating right next door to a fire station, according to authorities.
It all started around 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, when a rental property on the 1000 block of Stone Valley Road burst into flames. The responding firefighters did not have to travel far; the property was right next door to San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District Station 32.
After dealing with the fire, emergency responders called in hazmat and police investigators, who seized three barrels full of suspected methamphetamine or precursor chemicals. They also seized various equipment believed to be involved in the manufacturing of the drug.
The news site News 24-680 reported that neighboring homes were “rocked” by the blast and that traffic on Stone Valley Road was shut down while the hazmat team was there.
Police say three people were seen frantically fleeing the area immediately after the blast, including two men who drove off in a Dodge Ram pickup truck, and one other who left on foot.
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FIRE DESTROYS HARRISON POOL STORE; CHEMICAL FUMES FORCE PARTIAL EVACUATION
https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/fire-guts-country-pools-spas-in-harrison/
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, response, pool_chemicals
Fire crews from all over the Alle-Kiski Valley and beyond battled a four-alarm fire Tuesday at a swimming pool supply store in Harrison that forced the evacuation of some elderly people within a half-mile radius of the scene.
Harrison Hills Fire Chief James Bartolovich said there were concerns about chemical exposure coming from Country Pools & Spas, particularly chlorine fumes and forms of acid. Clouds of smoke covered large swaths of the sky.
There was someone working at the business at the time of the fire, Bartolovich said. That person escaped without injury.
Police at the scene said several firefighters were taken to a hospital after breathing in the chemicals as they fought the fire. Bartolovich was able to confirm at least one firefighter was transported from the scene due to inhalation issues.
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HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO SPILL AT LOCKHEED
https://www.avpress.com/news/hazmat-team-responds-to-spill-at-lockheed/article_189e087e-6ae6-11ed-b3a2-4b7e9e9c43be.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, nitric_acid
PALMDALE — Los Angeles County Fire Department Hazardous Material teams were called to Lockheed Martin’s facility in Palmdale, adjacent Air Force Plant 42, on Monday, for a chemical spill, Department officials said.
Fire Department squads arrived at about 12:40 p.m., at 1011 Lockheed Way, and the hazardous materials team arrived about 10 minutes later, officials said.
The building was evacuated, but no injuries were reported.
The spill was described as a mostly static situation that did not escalate.
A fire department spokesman did not have any information on the type of chemical spilled, but published reports said it was nitric acid. It’s also not clear how much was spilled.
The incident was cleared about seven hours later, according to fire officials.
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SHROPSHIRE: THREE TREATED AFTER ANOTHER OSWESTRY CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk/news/23144114.shropshire-firefighters-cleaning-another-oswestry-chemical-spill/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
AROUND three people have been treated for injuries after a chemical spill on the Oswestry Industrial Estate on Wednesday, according to eye-witnesses.
Shropshire firefighters are currently cleaning up another spill in the town, less than 24 hours after Mile End Roundabout was brought to a halt for a similar incident.
The incident is reported to have happened close to the junction near Munchies Diner and P&B Tyres, on the estate, and firefighters are completing the clean-up job.
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WATCH EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL FACTORY IN CHINA DAMAGES BUILDINGS LOCATED 1KM AWAY
https://news.abplive.com/news/world/watch-explosion-at-chemical-factory-in-china-damages-buildings-located-1km-away-1565229
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A day after a fire broke out in a factory in Anyang in central China’s Henan province that killed at least 38 people, a strong explosion was reported from a chemical factory that damaged buildings located 1km away from the site, reported South China Morning Post, citing local reports.
The video shared on the micro-blogging site Twitter by the portal on Wednesday, November 23, opens with an explosion at the factory and smoke billowing from the plant. It then goes on to show the damage caused to nearby buildings. One can see the window of an apartment shattered and the ceilings collapsed, including the walls. Employees of a pharmacy shop located near the factory were also seen rushing out in panic after hearing the explosion.
The fire has, however, been put out according to the government officials. There has bee no report on the number of casualties so far due to the explosion, reported the South China Morning Post.
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EIGHT HOSPITALIZED IN CHEMICAL WORKPLACE INCIDENT; ONE IN CRITICAL CONDITION
https://nltimes.nl/2022/11/23/eight-hospitalized-chemical-workplace-incident-one-critical-condition
Tags: Netherlands, industrial, release, injury, phosphorus_trichloride
Eight people became unwell on Wednesday due to a toxic substance released during work at the Moerdijk industrial estate in Noord-Brabant. They have all been taken to a hospital, one with severe injuries. The Midden- en West-Brabant Security Region initially reported five injuries but later adjusted that.
The incident was first reported to emergency services at 8:51 a.m. Multiple ambulances, the fire department, the police, and two trauma teams by helicopter responded to the scene.
The toxic substance was released during work on a storage tank belonging to the company GCA. Employees of the adjacent company, Stolthaven, were also affected by the leak. The security region doesn’t yet know what went wrong.
It concerns phosphorus trichloride - a colorless, fuming liquid used in making pesticides, among other things. Phosphorus trichloride can affect the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract, and those who inhale it can suffer from pulmonary edema. In the worst case, people could die from exposure.
The safety region could not yet say whether the substance was supposed to be in the GCA tank. The situation has now stabilized.
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REPORT: WELDING SPARKED CENTRAL CHINA FIRE THAT KILLED 38
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2022-11-21/fire-kills-38-at-industrial-wholesaler-in-central-china
Tags: China, industrial, fire, death, unknown_chemical
BEIJING (AP) — Investigators said that sparks from welding work appears to have been the cause of a fire that killed 38 people at a company dealing in chemicals and other industrial goods in central China’s Henan province.
Two other people were injured in the blaze that tore through the building in the city of Anyang starting at about 4:30 p.m. Monday. It took firefighters about 3 1/2 hours to bring the flames under control, the Wenfang district government said.
One or more welders operating in violation of safety rules appear to have let loose sparks that ignited cotton fabric in the building, according to officials cited by the official Xinhua News Agency. The investigation was ongoing, with company managers and local government officials being questioned, Xinhua said.
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WHY CONSTRUCTION SAFETY LEADER IS FOCUSED ON DEI INITIATIVES
https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/leadership-and-culture/why-construction-safety-leader-is-focused-on-dei-initiatives/428500
Tags: Canada, other, discovery, environmental
As we head towards 2023, Steve Thrasher is focusing on the challenges ahead for the construction industry, and the HSE director at the Plan Group is focusing on leveraging diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to tackle safety issues.
Thrasher says as a company they have emerged from the global Pandemic with a heightened awareness of how mental health can impact physical safety on the job. “We always really looked at the physical types of things that could harm someone,” says Thrasher, “but COVID really brought to the forefront, the mental stressors that can lead to actual accidents happening.”
A shortage of skilled-trades workers is one of the biggest hurdles facing the construction industry and it will continue to be a problem in the years to come. That’s why Thrasher says it’s important to have a strong safety culture, “and be able to really ensure that it's a shared vision and a shared responsibility, so people feel like they can come work in a safe environment.”
All three levels of government have made promoting careers in the skilled-trades a priority. Part of the process of finding, attracting, and keeping workers at an organization is outreach, and that’s an area Thrasher says his team has been focused on.
“One thing we're trying to do is really look into sort of the inclusion and belonging, diversity piece, as well as the community piece, like working with different organizations within the community to maybe give access to people who maybe didn't always have the chance to potentially get into a trade.”
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