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Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 19:16:27 -0400
Reply-To: List Moderator <esf**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: List Moderator <esf**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: Re: Lab Fatality in French School
From: "Steve"
Date: April 6, 2006 7:02:16 PM EDT (CA)
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] Lab Fatality in French School
Be careful with French--it doesn't machine translate well.
The parquet floor of the city (le parquet de la ville) is, better
translated
as "The city prosecutor's office." The ethylene bottle was in fact a
cylinder of compressed ethylene gas.
More details from various articles found at:
http://fr.fc.yahoo.com/a/alsace.html
L'accident a provoqué le décès d'un professeur de 40 ans, Dominique
Burget,
qui travaillait au 1er étage du bâtiment, au dessus du local où était
stocké
l'éthylène. (D. Burget, a professor for 40 years, who worked on the 1st
floor below the ethylene stock room, was killed.)
Le directeur de l'école de chimie, Serge Neunlist, a indiqué que
l'éthylène
y était utilisé pour les synthèses de molécule. "C'est un gaz qui se
trouve
dans les bouteilles à l'état comprimé et qui est explosif lorsqu'il y
a une
fuite, s'il est mélangé à l'air", a-t-il expliqué. (Serge Neunlist, the
director of the College of Chemistry, indicated that ethylene was used
(there) for molecular synthesis. "It is a compressed gas, kept in
cylinders,
which is explosive if it leaks and mixes with air". He explained.)
Le procureur a toutefois estimé qu'il était encore "prématuré" de se
prononcer définitivement sur les causes de l'accident. (The Prosecutor
(District Attorney) says that it is still premature to make a definitive
conclusion about the cause of the accident.) Translator's Note: Don't
they
always say it is too early to tell?
There's more--not much more, mind you. There is no indication of the
ignition source or the storage conditions. There was no indication of
when
the cylinders were last inspected or if these cylinders were steel,
aluminum
or fiberglass. These are the details we all need to be able to drive the
point home that schools aren't granted a natural immunity from the risks
that industry-recognized hazards present. I'm never going to get over
people
who argue that "We are exempt from (name your regulation) because we
don't
fall under OSHA."
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