Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at 6:37:12 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 (9 articles)
BREAKING: STUDENTS EVACUATED FROM MULTIPLE HALLS DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_OR, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
WEST KENTUCKY STAR
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL LEAK AT LOCAL FACTORY REPORTED EARLY TUESDAY
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, injury, chlorine
US TO SPEND $250M ON CLEANUP AT CALIFORNIA’S TOXIC SALTON SEA
Tags: us_CA, public, release, environmental, ag_chems, dust, runoff
TORQUAY GIRLS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN STORAGE ROOM
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, release, response, unknown_chemical
PCFD RESPONDS TO REPORTS OF CHEMICAL SPILL ON PARK AVE.
Tags: us_UT, public, release, injury, cleaners
UARIZONA HEALTH SCIENCES RECEIVES GRANT TO STUDY PFAS MITIGATION IN FIREFIGHTERS' BLOOD
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
SEVERAL VEHICLES LOSE CONTROL IN BIRCHWOOD OIL SPILL
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, release, response, oils
WORKERS’ SUITS OVER DEADLY CHEMICAL EXPLOSION CAN PROCEED
Tags: us_SC, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
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BREAKING: STUDENTS EVACUATED FROM MULTIPLE HALLS DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
https://www.dailyemerald.com/news/breaking-students-evacuated-from-multiple-halls-due-to-chemical-spill/article_d4e1c8ca-7042-11ed-a7b5-0789ac8e9d65.html
Tags: us_OR, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
Eugene police and the Eugene Springfield Fire Department evacuated people in Pacific, Columbia and Lawrence Hall at the University of Oregon for a chemical spill Tuesday around 3:30 p.m., according to police. Onyx Bridge was also evacuated.
Students said they were in class when an alarm rang and they were told to exit the building. Some students still have their belongings stuck inside.
Police taped off the entrance to the walkway leading to Allen and Pacific Hall. The fire department said the buildings will be evacuated for at least the rest of the Tuesday.
According to the fire department, a lab technician dropped a bottle of a chemical, causing it to vaporize. The chemical spilled is a hazardous, denatured protein. According to the fire department, the contaminated building is currently designated as a hazardous material zone.
Police said the incident occurred on the third floor of Pacific Hall.
The technician was de-contaminated and is being transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. She appears to have no injuries at this time, according to the fire department.
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WEST KENTUCKY STAR
https://www.westkentuckystar.com/News/Local-Regional/Chemical-leak-on-Murray-State-campus
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
A small explosion in a chemistry lab was reported on the Murray State University campus Tuesday.
Shawn Touney, the Executive Director of Marketing and Communication at Murray State told West Kentucky Star that MSU Police responded to a report of a chemical leak at the Chemistry Building. Touney said there were three people in the building that were treated and released from a local hospital.
The Chemistry, Biology, and School of Engineering/Engineering and Physics buildings were closed for the remainder of Tuesday. Classes in Gene W. Ray Science Campus buildings will resume as normal on Wednesday, although there will be no lab activities in the Chemistry Building.
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CHEMICAL LEAK AT LOCAL FACTORY REPORTED EARLY TUESDAY
https://www.wcluradio.com/2022/11/29/chemical-leak-at-local-factory-reported-early-tuesday/
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, injury, chlorine
GLASGOW — Fire officials responded to a chemical leak along Prestwick Drive early Tuesday morning.
The chlorine leak happened at Nemak around 2:30 a.m. Fire units responded with a hazmat team. They later discovered a leak from a chlorine tank within the factory.
Once a crew entered the chlorine room, they were met with chlorine vapors and liquid, according to a news release. Firefighters attempted to shut off the tank but were met with resistance from a combination of vapor and liquid. The tank was also frozen, which complicated the matter.
The fire crew entered the room a third time and secured a bracket and tank connection, said Glasgow Chief William Rock. The leak was stopped, and the room was secured. The ventilation system was in operation, but high levels of chlorine were still present inside the plant. Other doors and vents were opened to ventilate the structure.
Glasgow Fire returned care of the facility back to the plant manager. Fire officials said they would monitor and report any findings throughout the day.
Personnel was at the scene for about five hours. One employee at the facility was exposed to chlorine and was examined by EMS. It’s unclear if that person was injured.
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US TO SPEND $250M ON CLEANUP AT CALIFORNIA’S TOXIC SALTON SEA
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/29/us-spend-250m-cleanup-california-toxic-salton-sea?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Tags: us_CA, public, release, environmental, ag_chems, dust, runoff
The US government said on Monday it will spend up to $250m over four years to help mitigate an environmental health disaster that has been brewing in California’s Salton Sea for nearly two decades.
The inland lake, which is fed by agricultural runoff and wastewater, has slowly been shrinking, exposing a powdery shoreline laced with arsenic, selenium and DDT. Dust from the drying lake has wafted into surrounding communities, exacerbating pollution and consequently respiratory conditions in one of California’s poorest and most environmentally burdened regions.
The future of the Salton Sea, and who is financially responsible for it, has also been a key issue in discussions over how to prevent a crisis in the Colorado River.
As farmers in the region – who grow many of the nation’s winter vegetables as well as alfalfa for animal feed – have reduced their water use amid a severe drought in the region, less runoff water has been flowing into the lake, accelerating its decline. Local authorities agreed to oversee further reductions in water drawn from the beleaguered Colorado River, so long as the federal government put up funds to mitigate the effects of even less water flowing into the Salton Sea.
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TORQUAY GIRLS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN STORAGE ROOM
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-11-28/school-evacuated-and-fire-service-called-due-to-chemical-incident
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, release, response, unknown_chemical
An all-girls school in Devon has been evacuated following a chemical spill that led to emergency services being called out.
Fire crews were called to Torquay Girls' Grammar School at around 11am this morning (28 November) after a spill in a storage room.
Three Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service vehicles attended the scene and remain at the site this afternoon. ITV News West Country understands no-one has been injured.
The nature of the chemical spill is still unknown but the storage cupboard where it happened has been closed off to students, according to the fire service.
Statement from the headteacher:
A statement posted on school's Facebook page said: "Staff at TGGS were praised by the local Fire Brigade for their swift and precautionary response today.
"A small chemical reaction took place in a secure, ventilated chemical preparation room. This was promptly spotted by one of the school's trained technical staff. The safety of all students and staff is of paramount importance and as such the decision was swiftly taken to evacuate the building as a precautionary measure.
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PCFD RESPONDS TO REPORTS OF CHEMICAL SPILL ON PARK AVE.
https://townlift.com/2022/11/pcfd-responds-to-reports-of-chemical-spill-on-park-ave/
Tags: us_UT, public, release, injury, cleaners
PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Fire District responded to reports of a chemical spill on Park Avenue on Saturday, November 26.
According to a Facebook post from the PCFD, at around 10 a.m., PCFD Hazmat 33, Truck 36, Ambulance 31, and Ambulance 38 responded to a hazmat call for mixed cleaning chemicals.
Responders found one pedestrian with minor respiratory symptoms who was treated at the scene and released. Hazmat techs checked and ventilated the area and restored everything to normal by that later Saturday afternoon.
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UARIZONA HEALTH SCIENCES RECEIVES GRANT TO STUDY PFAS MITIGATION IN FIREFIGHTERS' BLOOD
https://news.azpm.org/p/newsc/2022/11/28/213908-uarizona-health-sciences-receives-grant-to-study-pfas-mitigation-in-firefighters-blood/
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Researchers at University of Arizona Health Sciences will use a $4 million grant to study a possible treatment for exposure to forever chemicals in firefighters.
The Arizona Board of Regents grant will fund a three-year study that will examine firefighters who have elevated levels of per-and-poly fluoro chemicals, also known as PFAS or forever chemicals, in their blood and get them to donate either blood or plasma on a regular basis.
Professor Jeff Burgess said a similar study was done in Australia, and found that regular donations did decrease PFAS levels.
"The question that we don't know is whether or not reducing those levels will also reduce their risk of the diseases and other health conditions that are associated with elevated PFAS exposure," he said.
Exposure to PFAS and other hazardous materials while firefighting has been classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and Dr. Burgess said firefighters often have two to three times as many PFAS in their blood as the general population.
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SEVERAL VEHICLES LOSE CONTROL IN BIRCHWOOD OIL SPILL
https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/23153513.warrington-police-dispatched-clear-birchwood-oil-spill/
Tags: United_Kingdom, transportation, release, response, oils
POLICE were dispatched to clear up an oil spill between Birchwood and Woolston last week.
The incident took place on Thursday, November 24.
Residents and motorists in the area put out warnings on social media to other drivers in order to urge caution in the area.
Police were dispatched to assist with the incident last week (Image: Cheshire Police)
The oil spillage was first reported on social media at around 5:30pm on Thursday evening.
One resident said on social media: "If you're travelling down Woolston Grange [Avenue] from Woolston to Birchwood, all the roundabouts have a large spillage of chemicals.
"Several vehicles have lost control, including myself, and emergency services are on the way."
The resident continued: "No injuries to anyone, just a few bumped cars, but there are wagons skidding badly into the kerbs, so please drive very slowly as whatever it is is sticking to the wheels."
As the social media post indicated, there were no injuries at the scene, though a number of vehicles lost control and were slightly damaged.
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WORKERS’ SUITS OVER DEADLY CHEMICAL EXPLOSION CAN PROCEED
https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20221128/NEWS08/912353984/Workers%E2%80%99-lawsuits-over-deadly-chemical-explosion-can-proceed-DAK-Americas-LLC-Ke
Tags: us_SC, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that lawsuits filed by the family of a worker killed and two workers who were injured in a chemical accident can proceed, reversing an earlier ruling that barred the lawsuit over exclusive remedy.
In December 2016, Alton Zeigler, Jacob Jackson and Kevin Vann — maintenance employees of DAK Americas LLC — attempted to remove a faulty pump on a chemical production line in Calhoun County, South Carolina, and owned by Eastman Chemical Co., which contracted work with DAK, which then contracted with another maintenance company, Mundy Maintenance Service and Operations LLC.
While attempting to remove a chemical pump without draining it first, the three workers loosened the bolts securing the pump, an explosion erupted in which molten liquid killed Mr. Zeigler and severely burned Mr. Jackson and Mr. Vann.
In April 2017, the two workers and a surviving spouse filed separate personal injury actions against Eastman and Mundy in federal district court, alleging that Eastman’s employees “were negligent in their management of the retained line, and that Mundy’s employees were negligent in their attempt to unclog the drainpipe prior to the explosion,” according to case No. 19-1643, consolidated by the 4th U.S. District Court of Appeals.
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