NEW
BEDFORD =97 Keith Middle School is closed today after a smoky fire broke
out Monday night in a first-floor science prep room, where hazmat crews
earlier in the day had cleaned out an acid wash tank which had filled
with chemicals several weeks ago.
"It appears that there
(were) some chemicals involved in the fire," Fire Chief Brian Faria
said. "Smoke was going on three floors of the
building."
At press time, the chemicals had not been
identified.
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A
controlled burn-off at a chemical plant in eastern Sydney is causing
panic, with emergency services receiving more than 50 calls from alarmed
residents.
The flame from the Qenos plant at Port Botany can be
seen across the city and a number of people have reported fires in
different locations.
The New South Fire Brigade has sent out 14 fire trucks
to seven separate locations based on information given by
callers.
But the Fire Brigade says the large flame is causing
an optical illusion and people should not be alarmed.
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Preparations are underway to send the first of four
shipments of hazardous chemical waste from Sydney to Denmark this
month.
A deal between Australia and
the Danish government means the 3,000-tonne shipment of waste will be
disposed of at an incineration site in the south of
Denmark.
In total, 16,000 tonnes of
high-risk waste, or hexachlorobenzene, will be shipped from the Orica
site at Botany in Sydney.
The waste
was created by the production of plastics and solvents.
It is the chemical material dug up from the old Orica
site and the contaminated packaging and protective gear that must be
destroyed safely.
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Ten months after two research scientists were killed
in an accidental fire caused due to reaction of chemicals in a
laboratory at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Trombay, the BARC
officials have decided to stop storage of chemicals in the lab and to
reduce the intake of interns as they are =93more prone to
accidents=94.
The move comes after a committee, appointed by the
BARC to probe the cause of the fire, made recommendations in this regard
in its report, submitted last month.
Acting on the
recommendations, the BARC officials have stopped chemicals=92 storage in
the lab and started the process of scientifically disposing of all the
old chemicals stored in the lab. Moreover, the BARC has also reduced the
intake of interns on its campus, because, according to officials, they
are amateur and are more prone to accidents.
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VICTORVILLE =95 Authorities evacuated some areas of Victor
Valley College Monday morning after leaking gas from the welding class
was discovered, San Bernardino County Fire officials
said.
Several engines and a hazardous materials unit were
called out at about 10:30 a.m., Capt. Tracy Carlton
said.
The fire department stood by as the leaking acetylene
cylinder was allowed to vent off, Carlton said. Depending on what a
chemical may be, the best procedure may be to allow the chemical to vent
safely into the atmosphere while monitoring it and keeping everyone else
away from the location.
No one was hurt in the incident and the normal class
schedule resumed after about two hours, officials said.
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HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) - An afternoon chemical incident
at Holyoke Community College is now under control.
Holyoke
Fire Department Spokesman Lt. Tom Paquin told 22News there was an open
container of the chemical formamide .
According
to Lt. Paquin, the chemical's odor made a couple of people feel sick.
Lt. Paquin told 22News that a building was evacuated and fans were
brought in to air the building out. Lt. Paquin says no one was
hurt.
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An investigation has been launched after three men
were taken to hospital following an explosion in a chemical laboratory
in Royston.
The victims were working at
international technology company Johnson Matthey PLC when a glass vessel
shattered during testing at the catalyst, chemical and refining
department just after 11am yesterday.
They were taken to Addenbrooke=92s Hospital in
Cambridge with injuries caused by the flying glass.
Ambulance crews from Letchworth and Royston attended
the scene along with three fire engines from Royston and Baldock and a
team from Hertfordshire Police.
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The Keith
Junior High School in New Bedford will be closed Tuesday, after a
hazardous material situation at the building on Monday
night.
Hazardous materials crews, firefighters and police
reported to a smoky fire at the school shortly after 7
p.m.
Fire officials said a small fire broke out in a
closet located in a science classroom in the school. There
were no students in the building at the time of the fire, and it was
quickly extiguished.
Officials said heavy smoke spread throughout the
school and some firefighters were exposed to a chemical-like
smell. Hazardous Materials crews entered the school shortly after 11
p.m. to remove the unknown chemicals.
Mayor
Scott Lang tells NBC 10 while school was not in session Monday, crews
were inside cleaning tanks in a classroom with acid wash. The
smoky fire may be a direct result of a chemical reaction from the
cleaning that took place earlier in the day.
Investigators are looking into whether an environmental
cleaning company washing out some tanks where chemicals were dumped
after experiments might have accidentally caused the
situation.
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HAMPTON--
Firefighters put out a fire at a business in Hampton Monday
night.
The fire broke out around
7:30pm at Teledyne Hastings Technologies in the 800 block of Newcombe
Avenue.
Hazmat crews were also there
because of an unusual glow and sound during the fire. According to the
company's website, Teledyne Technologies manufactures vacuum and
gas mass flow Instruments.
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DEARBORN --Fordson High
School was evacuated for the school day on Wednesday after a chemical
reaction near the pool caused a foul smell throughout the
building.
The building was to reopen at 2 p.m. Wednesday for
after school activities and parent-teacher conferences, said David
Mustonen, Dearborn Public Schools communications
coordinator.
About 7:45 Wednesday morning, shortly after classes
began, students and staff noticed a foul smell throughout the building,
Mustonen said. The building was evacuated as a precaution, and the fire
department was called to investigate.
The
problem was traced to the pool area where too much chlorine had been
added to the muriatic acid also used in the pool=92s filtering
system.
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Seven homes on Canyon Rim Drive, off American River
Canyon Drive, were evacuated for a little over an hour Sunday night
after residents complained of a strong chemical odor.
Regional fire dispatch got a call at 7:34 p.m. from a
resident of the 100 block of Canyon Rim Drive complaining of a strong
odor.
The Folsom Fire Department
responded and their sensors detected a hazardous substance, according to
officials. When three firefighters reported feeling lightheaded, fire
officials called out three ambulances, a truck company and three fire
engines.
"This was an unusual
response primarily because of the way our crews were impacted," said
Dennis Wycoff, a battalion chief with the Folsom Fire
Department.
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A FIRE broke out at about 10.40am at a chemical
company in Gul Lane in Tuas on Monday.
Thick,
black smoke could be seen billowing from the building of Isochem
International, which makes aerosols and industrial
cleaners.
A man was taken to hospital for a 'burning sensation'
on both arms, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force
(SCDF).
SCDF officers took 45 minutes to bring the fire under
control and conducted a search to make sure that no one was trapped in
the building.
