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Previous by Date: Subject: safety culture in academia & industry Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 08:42:55 -0400 Author: Ralph Stuart |
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Links to details available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas Chemical reaction causes fire at Wichita business - KSN TV, Kansas News and Weather WICHITA, Kansas =E2=80=93 A two-alarm fire at a Wichita business had crews out just before midnight in the 1000 block of S. McLean Blvd. When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke and flames were coming out of the back of the Metal Improvement Company, a metal-working business. Fire crews had to fight the fire from the outside because of the intense heat. The situation was even more dangerous because of explosions coming from inside the building. All the employees got out safely. Firefighters say the fire was the result of an overflow of lubricant coming into contact with other metals. The chemical reaction created the fire. =E2=9C=AD Patients moved in chemical scare - The Irish Times - Tue, Apr 19, 2011 Over 30 patients were temporarily moved from a ward of St Luke=E2=80=99s General Hospital in Co Kilkenny following a chemical scare this afternoon. The incident happened shortly after 1.15pm when a chemical reaction in a bin containing cleaning agents caused alarm over the spreading of fumes. The 31 patients were moved as a precaution after the hospital=E2=80=99s internal emergency plan was enforced and the services of the fire brigade sought. A spokesman for Kilkenny fire brigade said the chemical was contained in a bin in a washroom next to the surgery ward. Fire services were able to remove it from the hospital before treating it outside by pouring copious amounts of water on it. He said the chemical in question was a type of chlorine used for disinfection that had reacted with something else in the bin. =E2=9C=AD Sheffield: Neighbours flee homes after man dies in chemicals drama - Main Section - Yorkshire Post RESIDENTS in Sheffield were evacuated from their homes in a huge emergency operation after a man was found dead beside a quantity of poisonous chemicals. Firefighters, some in boiler suits and gas masks, were sent to a house in Holland Place in the Highfield district yesterday afternoon, as neighbours were ushered from their homes amid contamination fears. Police confirmed the body of a young man, thought to be in his 20s, had been found by his housemates. London Road was cordoned off from its junction with Abbeydale Road to Witney Street, and bus routes were diverted as experts were drafted in to assess the "potentially hazardous=" substance. =E2=9C=AD Fireman recovering after exposure to toxic chemicals On March 16, at 3:45 p.m., two semi trucks collided in front of Fiesta Mart in Chouteau. One of the trucks was carrying battery acid while the other was carrying cleaning chemicals. The combination of the two spills caused a chemical reaction that put off a smokeless fume. When Chouteau Fire Department arrived, Brandon along with fellow firefighter Troy Schopp went around the right side of the wreck to check the scene. Brandon said about 10 minutes later when they went to move the fire truck upwind from the scene, Schopp began to complain that he couldn=E2=80=99t breathe. "I couldn=E2=80=99t catch my breath. It felt like someone was strangling you,=" Schopp said. Schopp was then transported to St. Francis Hospital, in Tulsa where personnel did a chest x-ray and gave him a breathing treatment. Schopp a nurse at Cancer Treatment Center of America, said he was released the same day. us_ok injuries acids exposure injury =E2=9C=AD Chlorine Leak Contained Near Water Canal Plant | wltx.com Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- The chlorine leak reported Monday evening at the Water Canal Plant has been contained, according to fire department officials. Interim Chief Aubrey Jenkins with the Columbia Fire Department said during a 10 p.m. update to News19 that the leak was isolated and contained by haz-mat crews earlier in the night. Jenkins said the plant, which is located in the 300 block of Laurel Street, was operating as normal after the containment. He said the leak was found in or around a pipe that connects to a one-ton cylinder, and workers plan to make a permanent repair Tuesday. =E2=9C=AD Suspected meth lab shuts down Lynchburg street, evacuates tenants | WSLS 10 LYNCHBURG -- A suspected methamphetamine lab in Lynchburg shuts down a busy street and evacuates an apartment building. It happened at a boarding home on Park Avenue today. That's where paramedics responded for a medical call. Police say when they arrived, they found suspicious chemicals in the patients unit. A Hazmat team removed the possible methamphetamine lab. One block on Park Avenue, between Stuart Street and Langhorne Road closed for most of the day to protect the public. Police also evacuated tenants for about eight hours. =E2=9C=AD Maywood officials work to contain oil leak - NorthJersey.com MAYWOOD =E2=80=94 Borough officials on Tuesday were working to contain an oil leak from an underground storage tank, which they say has reached a local brook. Borough Administrator Thomas Richards said he doesn=E2=80=99t know how much oil escaped and how far it has traveled, but said the source is a l,000-gallon heating oil tank located in a private parking lot behind businesses on West Pleasant Avenue. He said the oil tank cap had fallen off, allowing rain water to enter the underground container and the oil to ooze out into a nearby storm water drain. He said rainfall that had seeped into the ground surrounding the container also contributed to the oil leak. =E2=9C=AD HAZMAT situation was suicide by poisonous gas | 9news.com DENVER - The fire department evacuated a highrise apartment building at 16th Street and Glenarm Place after a person who lived on the 11th floor committed suicide using the chemical agent hydrogen sulfide. Phil Champagne with Denver Fire says there was a major discharge of the chemical and the 11th and 12th floors were immediately evacuated. Champagne described the gas as a highly concentrated sewer gas. Two neighbors found the man that committed suicide. The man and woman were taken to Denver Health after they were sprayed down and decontaminated. =E2=9C=AD Oheraldo Goa's complete online news edition :: Zuarinagar-naptha-pipeline-bursts Three labourers were injured and 35 vehicles gutted, when a naphtha pipeline which was damaged burst into flames at Zuari Agro-Chemical Industry Limited (ZACIL), Zuarinagar-Sancoale, on Monday morning. The fire broke out at the entrance gate of Zuari industry, damaging property worth crores of rupees. The fire that broke out at about 11.20 am was brought under control at 4 p.m. The three injured persons are Ramakant Gaonkar (47) from Quepem, Savio D=E2=80=99Costa from Shiroda and Kailash Ram (38) from Bihar. They were rushed to GMC Hospital in Bambolim. Two of the injured were discharged later in the evening. According to fire fighters and emergency service personnel, the incident occurred when a negligent heavy earth mover driver damaged an underground naphtha pipeline while undertaking excavation work. "It generated a spark, due to which traces in the naphtha pipeline burst into huge flames,=" they informed. =E2=9C=AD Chlorine spill contained at Columbia water plant - WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A hazardous materials team has contained a chlorine spill at a Columbia water treatment plant, according to fire officials. Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said the spill happened at the Columbia Canal Waterworks on Laurel Street some time before 3:00pm Monday. No injuries were reported, but Jenkins said the plant was evacuated. Three hazmat workers contained the spill, and Jenkins said the public is not at risk. =E2=9C=AD Garbage Collectors Find Remnants Of Meth Lab Inside Trash Bag - NewsOn6.com - ROGERS COUNTY -- Workers outside Owasso found more than table scraps in the trash Monday morning. Workers were collecting trash near 85th Street North and 161st East Avenue when they noticed one of the bags was steaming. Sheriff's deputies said workers found what looked like the remains of a meth lab. Workers stopped the trash truck and called for help. The Rogers County Sheriff's Office said after several hours, investigators determined it was indeed the remains of a meth lab. =E2=9C=AD Hazmat false alarm elicits full emergency response | Kansan.com Earlier this month a student left a bottle of biodiesel fuel in the parking garage east of Allen Field House. A short time later, the KU Public Safety Office received a report of a "suspicious bottle.=" In less than an hour, firefighters, KU public safety officers and a hazardous materials team had swarmed the parking garage. While it might seem like an overreaction =E2=80=94 particularly for fuel used in a remote control engine =E2=80=94 the incident illustrates precautions KU and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical take when responding to reports of hazardous materials. A hazardous material is anything that can cause physical damage. But usually, in the campus context, it refers to dangerous chemicals. -Mike Russell Director of KU Environmental Health and Safety "We always say, =E2=80=98when in doubt, get out, and call for help,=E2=80=99=" said Mike Russell, director of KU Environmental Health and Safety. =E2=9C=AD Cleaners stricken after toxic blast - The Standard Four contract cleaners are in hospital - with one of them critical - after being overcome by toxic fumes when a mixture of bleach and caustic soda exploded in a Wan Chai alley. The cleaners, a woman and three men, are outsourced workers of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. They were about to clean a back alley next to a restaurant in Jaffe Road when the explosion occurred at about 10am. White fumes with a strong chemical odor spewed out of the bucket containing the mixture. Two bottles of chemicals were next to the bucket and yellow powder was spread on the ground. =E2=9C=AD Fireworks storage called wrong place to start disposal - Hawaii News - Staradvertiser.com Workers killed by an explosion of fireworks at an underground storage facility in Waikele on April 8 should not have been working on them in that bunker, according to a mainland-based fireworks expert who often serves as a consultant for fireworks firms. Five employees of Donaldson Enterprises were killed and another worker injured when aerial fireworks stored in the concrete-lined, tunnel-like structure exploded as they were either in or just outside the bunker, police and fire officials said. Don Holmstrom, lead investigator for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board on the Waikele incident, told the Star-Advertiser on Wednesday that the tunnel was being used not just for storage, but for preparation for demolition at another, unidentified location. Holmstrom told The on Thursday that the workers "were in the process of dismantling some of the pyrotechnic devices that were in the storage area." =E2=9C=AD Chemical spill at kids' playground | Courier Mail A CHEMICAL spill caused panic this morning at a popular child's water playground on Cairns Esplanade. The spill occurred at Muddy's Playground at 9.30am, forcing an emergency response from fire crews, council and an external contractor. Initial reports are of no injuries after an un-named person, thought to be a worker, mixed 4l of bleach with hydrochloric acid. The toxic mix can decay the skin and eyes. Cairns mayor Val Schier said "accidents happen" and no one was harmed. She reassured people the spill had been cleaned up and the playground, dominated by a water fountain that sprays children, will reopen this afternoon. "A mistake had been made mixing chemicals with the water," Cr Schier. australia other release response cleaning_chemicals =E2=9C=AD Crews respond to spill at Marathon Oil - FOX41.com Louisville News Kentucky Indiana News Weather Sports Louisville, KY (WDRB) -- Hazmat and fire crews remain on the scene of a spill at the Marathon Oil facility on Kramers Lane. The 300 gallon spill of gasoline and ethanol happened just after 3:30 a.m. An EAS or Emergency Alert System message went to nearby residents about 4:30 a.m. Residents were warned to "shelter in place," stay indoors with the air conditioners off and windows closed. That warning has now been lifted and residents were given the "all-clear" to leave their homes. Many roads near the Marathon facility remain blocked by emergency vehicles. Kramers Lane is blocked between Beech and Campground Roads. us_ky industrial release response petroleum =E2=9C=AD Hazmat crews, evacuations disrupt St. Pete Florida Palm Sunday church service - Tampa Bay Headlines | Examiner.com On Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011, a St. Petersburg, Florida church was evacuated after people became sick during service. Approximately 2,000 people were evacuated from the St. John Vianney Catholic Church located in St. Pete Beach at approximately 10:30 am. Eight people were transferred from the service to a local hospital where they were treated for symptoms such as fatigue, nausea and dizziness. Hazmat crews arrived on the scene to investigate the cause of the mysterious illness. By late afternoon, it was suspected that a sewer line had backed up causing low levels of methane gas to permeate through the building, though tests are still inconclusive. The church service, led by Father John Blum, was continued in the church=E2=80=99s Parish Hall. By Sunday evening, all had been released from the hospital. No serious injuries were reported and testing is still underway to determine the exact cause of the illness. =E2=9C=AD Man's suicide spurs hazmat scare - The Denver Post The Denver Fire Department hazmat team along with department personnel set up outside of the 1600 Glenarm Place Apartments on Sunday. Authorities said a man on the 12th floor killed himself with a chemical. (Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post ) A man who committed suicide in a downtown luxury high-rise Sunday night also caused a hazardous-material scare with the chemical he used to kill himself, authorities said. The 12th-floor resident in the 1600 Glenarm Place Apartments used hydrogen cyanide, said Denver Fire spokesman Phil Champagne. The residents in the apartment below him saw a liquid dripping through their vents about 7 p.m., he said. The 11th and 12th floors were evacuated immediately, and police were monitoring other floors. No one outside the building was ever at risk, Champagne said. Glenarm Place is a 33-story building with 330 units. Two residents were taken to the hospital, but their conditions were not immediately known. Hydrogen cyanide is a poisonous, flammable liquid used in industrial processes and has a history in chemical warfare. No information about the man was released. He was found dead in his closet, Champagne said. =E2=9C=AD Chemical spill in Surrey has several businesses still closed - News1130 SURREY (NEWS1130) - Dozens of Surrey businesses closed by a fire and chemical spill Monday will have to wait to find out when they can reopen. The spill happened at Precision Plating on 84th Avenue near 130th, in a large warehouse-like complex. Senior Environmental Emergency Response Officer Harold Riedler says the mess entered the storm drain and nearby creek, and includes chromic and sulphuric acids. He says the acids are very toxic to aquatic life, but no fish-kill has been reported. Riedler credits Surrey Fire for quickly responding to the call, blocking storm drains and preventing more chemicals from reaching the sensitive creek. Many shop owners are frustrated, saying they haven't been able to get answers about when they will be able to resume business. Roger Dayal owns an auto repair shop and says that's not the only problem they have because of the spill. "Bylaw officers are down here pointing fingers at everybody. You can't do this now, you can't do that now ... because of this environmental spill". Dayal says he is losing two or three thousand dollars each day his business is closed. =E2=9C=AD South Side business ablaze same day as 23 OSHA citations issued | The Columbus Dispatch Investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire at a South Side chemical-processing business on the same day the company was cited for 23 safety violations. A mix of chemicals exploded in a duct and sparked the fire at Howard Industries Inc. at 1840 Progress Ave. about 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Columbus Division of Fire. Earlier that day, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company, saying that it failed to protect workers from electrical hazards and had other violations, according to an OSHA news release. The citations stemmed from a December inspection. The company faces more than $70,000 in fines, according to OSHA. =E2=9C=AD Ammonia leak shuts down Norfolk streets - WTKR NORFOLK=E2=80=94 "The ammonia will turn into an acid when it gets to moisture, and that's what really causes the problem. And if you get exposed to it, you could get burned from it," said Harry Worley with Norfolk Fire and Rescue. Fire officials say a contractor was fixing ceiling tiles inside AmeriCold Logistics off of Princess Anne Road when he fell from his ladder and hit a valve, releasing ammonia gas into the air. That worker along with another were taken to the hospital but are expected to be ok. =E2=9C=AD HazMat crews called to Charlotte airport for fuel spill - WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC- CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Charlotte Firefighters and HazMat crews were called to the Charlotte-Douglas International airport early Friday morning for a fuel spill. Firefighters said a flight was bound for Charleston, SC, was being refueled when a leak occurred a the gate. HazMat crews were called to the airport to clean up the spill. Charlotte firefighters told WBTV the spill was cleaned up. No one was injured during the incident. us_nc transportation release response petroleum =E2=9C=AD Hazmat crews called to League City park after body found in car | khou.com | khou.com Local News LEAGUE CITY, Texas =E2=80=93 Police and hazmat crews were called to Walter Hall Park Friday afternoon after a body was found in the passenger seat of a parked car. The vehicle was found around noon in a parking lot near the 800 block of Highway 3. Police said there were three notes taped to the outside of the windows. One of the notes said "Hydrogen sulfide gas. Do not attempt entry. One breath can kill, Call hazmat! DANGER." Another had a skull and crossbones graphic with the word "POISON" beneath it. Officers and fire personnel immediately evacuated and closed the park while they waited for a Houston hazmat team to arrive. The identity of the man was not released. =E2=9C=AD Palm Beach County teens used household cleaner to make bombs Three weeks ago, Tequesta Police Lt. Jason Turner heard in a class taught by a New York state fire marshal that young people are now far more likely to commit suicide by inhaling a mix of common household chemicals. On April 9, three teenagers used those same chemicals to create bombs that exploded in local neighborhoods, police say. After learning that the teens discovered how to create the bombs on YouTube, and knowing how easy it is to buy household chemicals, Turner is concerned that bomb-making could morph into an even more serious problem in Palm Beach County. "I looked at the chemical compound they=E2=80=99re using,=" Turner said. "And it just so happened these acid bombs they were making were the same type of chemical that=E2=80=99s being used in a lot of these chemical suicides around the nation and internationally.=" The United States ranks second in the world in the number of chemical suicides, trailing only Japan. =E2=9C=AD Fire destroys 10 18-wheelers at natural gas drilling site | Shreveporttimes | shreveporttimes.com A line of trucks caught fire at a Chesapeake Energy Corporation drilling site in west Shreveport Friday, sending a dark plume of smoke skyward and calling response from multiple fire departments. The fire caused no injuries, no spills or environmental damage and didn't threaten the Greenwood neighborhoods surrounding the site, authorities said. All employees were accounted for by the time the blaze was brought under control. The fire started around 11:30 a.m. when a Cudd Energy Services truck caught fire while working on the Lee 21H-1 natural gas well site near the intersection of Greenwood Road and Rice Road, according to Chesapeake Energy Media Coordinator Katie McCullin. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire spread quickly to the adjacent trucks, and by the end of the day, 10 18-wheelers were engulfed and destroyed. The trucks were carrying hydraulic fracturing fluid, a mixture used in the final stages of the drilling process, according to Shreveport Fire Department Chief Safety Officer Scott Wolverton. =E2=9C=AD Neighbors Evacuated Because Of Fire At Battery Facility - News Story - WSB Atlanta CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Firefighters have finally been able to make entry into a battery recycling facility in Cartersville that caught fire Saturday afternoon. Firefighters and witnesses at the scene said the batteries started exploding from the fire. Emergency crews told Channel 2's George Howell that they began evacuating neighbors in the area because they weren't sure what kind of chemicals were in the batteries. Hazmat crews were also at the scene helping with the situation. Channel 2's Erica Byfield learned from officials at the Cartersville Medical Center, that eight people from the surrounding neighborhood were taken the hospital because of possible exposure. =E2=9C=AD First responders act quickly to assess West Elizabeth chemical spill The release of a hazardous chemical into the sewer system in West Elizabeth resulted in a sanitation plant worker being sent to a local hospital and the evacuation of a house near the plant.The Allegheny County Hazmat Team and Swiftwater Response Team and more than a dozen local first response agencies were called to the banks of the Monongahela River in and around the borough after the chemical was reported at approximately 1:47 p.m. on Friday after exposure to it sickened a plant worker at the West Elizabeth Sanitary Authority treatment plant.?The operator was experiencing eye irritation and nausea,? said Alvin Henderson Jr., acting chief of operations for the county Department of Emergency Services. The worker was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Center by Jefferson Hills Area Ambulance where he was evaluated.The chemical entered the plant through the sewage system. Some of the chemical ? which was identified by Eastman Chemical in West Elizabeth as being a hydrocarbon ? was released into the Monongahela River and some of it remained in the plant?s holding tanks, Henderson said.The amount of the chemical released in the incident is unclear. =E2=9C=AD 2 injured in ammonia leak in Norfolk NORFOLK -- Two people were injured in an ammonia leak at a Norfolk business. Fire and Rescue personnel say they've secured the situation at Americold Logistics in the 3800 block of E. Princess Anne Road as a Level 2 hazard. It was reported around 11:30 a.m. and around 2:39 p.m., a hazmat team had gone into the building and secured the leak. They started to release units from the scene around 6:12 p.m. Capt. Mike Marsala said employees reported a worker on a ladder fell and struck a pipe that leads to tank containing ammonia. It wasn't immediately clear what injuries the workers sustained, but two employees were taken to the hospital. One worker had been released by 1:30 p.m. The other was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.
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