Links to details available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas<
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SANFORD, Maine (AP) =97 Officials say a small chemical
spill has been cleaned up at a plastic sheet manufacturing plant in
Sanford, Maine.
Fire Lt. Eric Neubert said officials were called at
about 8:30 a.m. Sunday to the Cyro Industries plant on Main
Street.
Neubert said an employee was accidentally sprayed with
a chemical known as methyl methacrylate monomer when it spilled from a
tanker truck that was being unloaded. In all, about 20 gallons of the
chemical spilled.
By the time an emergency response teams arrived, the
worker was taking a shower to clean off. Neubert said the employee,
whose name is not being released, was taken to Goodall Hospital as a
precaution.
Officials say Cyro employees cleaned up the
spill.
-----------------------
TORONTO =97 A Toronto grocery store evacuated after
some staff and customers became ill Saturday should reopen Monday after
being given the all clear, Loblaw said Sunday.
The food
chain said four customers and seven employees were affected by symptoms
that =93include vomiting and to a lesser degree, diarrhea=94 but all
were recovering.
While media reports said the illnesses were caused by
a chemical leak, the chain said tests found no such
evidence.
=93Testing at the store by an environmental company
and the Fire Department has since shown no environmental issues, such as
a chemical leak exist at the store,=94 the chain said in a statement,
adding =93the store has been cleared by the local Fire Department and
relevant authorities as being safe.=94
-----------------------
Many downtown residents and business owners had to
hold their noses Sunday morning after routine maintenance at a south
Macon pulp mill left a foul odor permeating through the
air.
By Sunday afternoon, the
stench still covered parts of downtown as a steady northerly wind
combined with high humidity created perfect conditions for a lingering
odor.
Macon-Bibb Fire Chief Donnie
Mercer would not say the name of the factory that released the chemical
causing the smell, saying he wants to wait until the company has had
time to issue a release to the public. He said the chemical posed no
danger to residents.
=93This
is not a hazard at all. It could cause some people to have eye
irritation, but a lot of that=92s psychological,=94 Mercer
said.
Mercer said he doesn=92t
know how long it will take for the chemical to clear the air, but that a
forecast of evening showers could cause the stench to stick around for a
while.
-----------------------
EMANUEL:
DON'T CLOSE THE BOOK ON FIRE, TRAIL CREEK SPILL || ONLINEATHENS.COM, http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/092610/opi_712126164.shtml
Two
months after the fire and spill at J&J Chemical Co. in Athens, a
sickly sweet odor still hangs in the air along Trail Creek, and an
unnatural turquoise tint still colors the water. Cleanup workers are
laboring to reduce the stubbornly persistent chemical load in the creek.
Concentrations of formaldehyde and other chemicals have mostly
dissipated, but dichlorobenzene levels are still falling only
slowly.
The book isn't closed on
this spill, but those aren't the only reasons why. In addition to the
full remediation of Trail Creek, our community and state still need a
lot of answers about this incident. We all need assurances that
procedures are being examined and adjusted for the "next time" that we
hope doesn't come.
For some,
the key line of questioning revolves around the fire response: In light
of all the potential impacts to air quality, water quality, neighboring
properties, and public safety from any course of action taken during the
fire, is the appropriate response to apply a large volume of water to
this type of chemical fire?
-----------------------
DUCHESNE =97 An unknown amount of crude oil has gotten
past booms set up on the Strawberry River and entered the Duchesne
River, authorities said Saturday.
The paraffin-based black wax
crude, which is produced in the oil fields of the Uintah Basin, is now
affecting about three to four miles along both rivers. It has not been
detected at booms set up near Bridgeland, about 10 miles away from the
spot where it is believed it was dumped in the river Friday, said Mike
Lefler, director of Duchesne County Fire and Emergency
Management.
-----------------------
With nearly 5 million
barrels of BP's crude having gushed into the Gulf of Mexico for months
on end, the summer of 2010 will long be remembered for environmental
catastrophe. News of the oil spill came close on the heels of the Upper
Big Branch coal mine explosion that killed 29 miners in West Virginia --
the nation's worst mining disaster in some four decades. In both cases,
most of us couldn't help but wonder how things have gone so terribly
wrong. How could corporate safeguards have failed so miserably? How
could government regulators have been so feckless? As such questions
linger, along comes "The Polluters," a remarkably timely, extensively
researched and accessible book offering a fresh perspective as we search
for answers.
-----------------------
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WORCESTER =97 Federal environmental officials told
school and health officials this morning that the clean-up of the
Grafton Elementary Street School is going smoothly, addressing the
potentially hazardous mercury that was brought into a classroom by a
student on Tuesday.
=93That's
really good news,=94 said Worcester schools Chief Academic Officer
Jeffrey J. Mulqueen, who was at the school throughout the
morning.
A specialized top-to-bottom cleaning of the building
is ongoing.
A sixth-grade student brought nearly a pint of mercury
to Grafton Street School to show a teacher on Tuesday, and that prompted
an environmental investigation.
Despite the optimistic news
this morning, Mr. Mulqueen said classes on Monday will be held at the
Fanning Building on Chatham Street. He said parents and guardians were
told last night that students would be moved from the Grafton Street
Elementary School to the Fanning Building today and Monday.
=93We are
still planning school there Monday,=94 Mr. Mulqueen said. =93We want to
avoid any confusion.=94
The district bused about 240 students in Grades 3 to 6
away from Grafton Street's Building 2 yesterday as a multi-agency
decontamination effort got under way.
Students
and faculty in the building, plus second-graders who entered Building 2
to have lunch, had until 6 p.m. yesterday to voluntarily have their
urine tested for mercury exposure. Mercury leaves the body quickly, so
testing after a certain window doesn't make sense, Mr. Mulqueen
said.
-----------------------
A
chemical company in Gloucestershire has been fined =A366,000 following
an explosion at its factory in 2006.
The incident at Biolab UK's
site near Cheltenham saw chemicals leak into the River Coln, killing
about 2,500 fish.
In May, the firm admitted at Gloucester Crown Court
failing to take all measures to prevent the accident and failing to
limit the consequences.
At Cirencester Crown Court on Friday, Judge Martin
Picton also ordered the firm to pay =A380,000 in costs.
The fire
broke out at the water and swimming pool treatment company's factory at
Andoversford on 6 September 2006.
-----------------------
Salt River Fire Paramedics rushed on to campus after
two students in the Natural Science building suffered from breathing
complications while working with pure Ethanol on Tuesday Sept.
21.
The three-hour lab, taught
by Professor Anne Healy, had been using pure Ethanol, also known as
ethyl alcohol or drinking alcohol, when the two girls began to feel
nauseous. Classmate, Diane Hannan, said, "they turned red and
blush and couldn't breathe."
arly
speculation, from administration, over the cause of the incident was
possible equipment failure in the air vents. However, according to
Healy an inspection took place after the students were sent home, and
found no problems or malfunctions.
It is still unclear what caused the sudden
complications but Healy believes it was a mixture of the heat and
chemicals in the air. According to Healy, the lab gets warm due to
the use of sterilizers in order to inoculate needles and other supplies
the lab uses.
"I think
(it's) just a combination of a lot of smelly chemicals and it gets warm
in there," said Healy. "Some people just find it really irritating
and unpleasant. So I think that's all it really was=85 weird
chemical odors."
The
two girls began to feel better after paramedics treated them with oxygen
to breathe. Healy ran into one of the students some time later and
said she had been feeling a lot better since the
incident.
-----------------------
A fire during a remodeling project in Hutchinson sends
two people to the hospital. One of them is in critical
condition.
It happened around 1:30 Friday afternoon at an
apartment complex at 105 N. Maple.
Authorities say the pair was
using a chemical to remove glue from the floor when the chemical caught
fire. Investigators say the chemical got too close to a hot water heater
and ignited.
A 32-year-old woman is now at a Wichita hospital with
burns to multiple parts of her body, including her
face.
Doctors are treating the other victim at Promise
Regional Medical Center in Hutchinson with burns to his arms and
legs.
-----------------------
VIDEO:
TWO HURT IN CHEMICAL ALERT AT NEW ABERDEEN SCHOOL - EVENING EXPRESS, h
ttp://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1932354?UserKey=<
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TWO men
were taken to hospital after a major chemical incident at an
under-construction Aberdeen school.
Firefighters wearing
hazardous material suits were called to Aberdeen=92s new Kaimhill School
in Aberdeen.
Grampian Fire and Rescue Service said builders had
created a chemical reaction which led to fumes being
released.
The two victims, thought to be construction workers,
had symptoms including burning throats and headaches.
-----------------------
Patients
were among 80 people evacuated from the Gold Coast Hospital after a
chemical gas leak on Friday.
Firefighters were called to the hospital in Southport
at about 9.45am (AEST) after staff complained of fumes coming from a
fire-proof cabinet.
The chemical vapour is thought to have been xylene, a
solvent used in the printing, rubber, and leather industries, a
spokeswoman for the Department of Community Safety
said.
Level two of the hospital was evacuated of 80 people,
including patients.
Firefighters in splashsuits isolated the spill and
contained it.
Crews monitored air quality before declaring the scene
safe just after noon.
-----------------------
Emergency crews set floating
booms in the Strawberry River on Friday afternoon, after globs of a
mystery petroleum product were seen sticking to the stream banks behind
the Duchesne County Fairgrounds.
Mike Lefler, director of the
County Fire and Emergency management office, said he is =93pretty sure=94
the substance is oil but investigators are still trying to confirm
that.
=93It=92s an ongoing investigation at this point into
what=92s happened,=94 Lefler said. =93We=92re not positive what it
is.=94
Lefler said booms and buoys appear to have contained
the spill. Cleanup begins today. Enviro Care, Inc., an environmental
cleanup company based in North Salt Lake, was called in to assist hazmat
and fire crews from the county, Duchesne City and Myton
City.
The impacted stretch of river runs through backyards
and neighborhoods. Lefler said Friday evening no injuries had been
reported so far. He added that he could see fish jumping in the stream
in front of him as the sticky material gathered on the river=92s
edges.
Some people at the scene were identified as being with
Chevron, but spokesman Dan Johnson said: =93It=92s not our
spill.=94
-----------------------
PHOENIX
-- A quick response by Phoenix Fire Department's Hazmat Unit kept a fuel
spill in one neighborhood from getting too bad Friday afternoon.
However, it did close roads in the area for a few
hours.
A truck carrying 8,500
gallons of unleaded fuel ran over a piece of equipment that had fallen
off another semi and ruptured the tank. About 50 gallons of the fuel
spilled into the street near 51st Avenue and Van Buren
Street.
Crews were able to use piles
of dirt and dikes to keep the fuel from getting into any of the storm
drains in the area. The rest of the fuel was transferred into another
truck.
-----------------------
MEMPHIS,
TN (WMC-TV) - A man was sickened by a product Friday morning, which
then caused four hospital workers to be overcome.
The
62-year-old man came to the Veterans Administration Medical Center about
7:30 a.m. Friday. At the time, he was vomiting and complaining of
nausea and difficulty breathing.
According to VA spokeswoman
Willie Logan, the four employees immediately began feeling nauseous from
an odor coming from the patient.
"We did have two employees
to go home because of overwhelming fumes," Logan said. "We had two
employees to stay here, but they were cleared and have gone back to work
and the patients admitted to the ICU and we are watching the
patient."
The patient was cleaned and put in the intensive care
unit, Logan said. Meanwhile, authorities did not have to evacuate
the hospital, but they had to move some patients around as a
precaution.
"I guess they had some kind of plastic stuff over
him," witness Joy Spee said. "They had him wrapped up. I guess he had a
lot of fumes on him. I guess they didn't want anybody else to get
sick."
A hazardous materials team was sent to the man's home
to find what sickened him.
-----------------------
Portions
of U.S. 20 were closed for approximately 12 hours after a truck carrying
ethanol rolled over east of the Stephenson County Visitors Center
shortly after 3 a.m. Friday.
German Valley Fire Department Captain Randy Miller
said the one-vehicle accident did not result in any serious
injuries.
However, concerns linked to an ethanol leak drew the
attention of numerous local agencies and disrupted traffic throughout
the morning and early afternoon.
The Stephenson County
Sheriff=92s Office first received a call about the incident at 3:08 a.m.
After it became clear the truck was carrying ethanol, members of the
Stephenson County Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) team were dispatched to
the scene.
Local HAZMAT coordinator Scott Townsend said members
of the HAZMAT team discovered minimal leaking when they arrived at the
crash.
=93Once we saw no breach in the tanker and established
that there was very little leaking, we turned the scene back over to the
German Valley Fire District,=94 Townsend said.
-----------------------
Friday
round-up
Jyllian
Kemsley
Yesterday, 7:11
PM
Chemical health and safety
news from the past week. Many incidents found here, plus more and some
regulatory fine announcements.
-----------------------
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