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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 8:45:07 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (9 articles)
EUROPE'S CHEMICAL SAFETY LAW REVIEWED
Tags: Belgium, public, follow-up, environmental
CHEMICAL TANK CLEANING CAUSES ROTTEN ODOR IN DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, other_chemical
VANCOUVER CANADA HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid
NO INJURIES IN DALTON PLANT FIRE (UPDATED 6:50 P.M.)
Tags: us_GA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
AGENCIES ON WATCH FOR CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN YUBA-SUTTER
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental
AUSTRALIA WARNS: STAY AWAY FROM WASHED UP DEADLY CHEMICAL CANISTERS Ñ RT
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, pesticides
CREWS DEAL WITH HAZMAT SITUATION IN DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
2 HURT IN EXPLOSION, FIRE AT CENTRAL PA. BUSINESS
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
CALIF HIGH SCHOOL LAB FIRE INJURES 2 STUDENTS
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
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EUROPE'S CHEMICAL SAFETY LAW REVIEWED
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2013/02/europes-chemical-safety-law-reviewed.html
Tags: Belgium, public, follow-up, environmental
The world's most extensive chemical safety regulation, implemented five years ago in Europe, is working well, according to a review published today by the European Commission.
The law, known as REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals), requires companies that produce or sell chemicals in the European Union (EU) to register toxicity data on the compounds and to outline any new tests needed to clarify their biological effects.
According to the review, the law has improved the available information about chemical substances on the market and upgraded risk management measures implemented by companies, thereby reducing the risks these substances pose to the EU population, the review says.
REACH is also making EU citizens feel safer Ñ 61% of people interviewed in a survey of more than 25,000 said that chemicals are safer now than they were ten years ago.
Janez Potocÿnik, EU commissioner for the environment, said: "This report shows that REACH works. Companies are facing their responsibilities and as a result we have better data about the chemicals they produce and place on the market."
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CHEMICAL TANK CLEANING CAUSES ROTTEN ODOR IN DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/02/05/2372309/chemical-tank-cleaning-causes.html
Tags: us_GA, public, release, response, other_chemical
A rotten smell in the downtown area apparently came from a chemical storage tank at Omega Partners near the Columbus Civic Center, a city official said Tuesday.
Larry Wright, manager of operations at Omega Partners, said workers were cleaning a tank with turpentine.
"It was a little bit more smell today than normal when we were cleaning the tank," he said.
The tank cleaning was complete just after 1 p.m. and the smell should have cleared up, Wright said. He described the smell as a lighter version of what you have at the MeadWestvaco paper mill in Cottonton, Ala.
At least three calls came into the Columbus Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services shortly after downtown residents smelled what was described as rotten eggs or sulfur, said Fire Marshal Ricky Shores.
Workers with the Columbus Water Works detected the smell while at the Water Resources Facility along Lumpkin Boulevard.
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VANCOUVER CANADA HAZMAT RESPONSE
http://www.cknw.com/news/vancouver/story.aspx/story.aspx?ID=1879754
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid
Hazmat teams are closing in on what was to blame for the evacuation of a downtown building Monday afternoon.
Vancouver Fire's Lieutenant Carol Messenger says hazmat members believe the chemical, hydrogen fluoride is likely to blame.
"currently they have entered the building on two occasions to try and determine the source of what was causing headaches - the people in the Shoppers Drug Mart that were feeling nauseous and ill."
Messenger says eight people in the store at the base of the building reported feeling off just before noon -- five were checked out in hospital.
Hazmat found the chemical on the third floor of the building - Messenger says they are working on securing the premises for re-entry.
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NO INJURIES IN DALTON PLANT FIRE (UPDATED 6:50 P.M.)
http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x1303540365/Plant-fire-under-control
Tags: us_GA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
No one was hurt and there was no major damage after a chemical fire erupted at Harcros Chemicals in Dalton Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Whitfield County Fire Chief Carl Collins said responders arrived at around 2 p.m. and left by 4:30 p.m. to put out a fire at 3452 Corporate Drive. The fire involved phosphorus acid and toulene but didn't actually damage the building structure, he said.
Residents within 1,000 feet of the plant were temporarily evacuated as a precaution, and school buses for Valley Point elementary and middle schools and Southeast Whitfield High School were delayed as several roads, including Ga. Highway 41 near the plant, were blocked off.
Collins said firefighters were taking extra precautions at the plant coordinating with the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office to evacuate nearby residents. He said it appeared there was a problem with either moisture getting into the chemicals or the containers not being properly sealed that caused them to spontaneously combust.
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AGENCIES ON WATCH FOR CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN YUBA-SUTTER
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/dangers-123078-describing-potential.html
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental
In describing the potential dangers Ñ everything from a toxic gas cloud to an explosion Ñ state officials last month described thousands of gallons of chemicals at a defunct plating shop in Yuba City as "nasty stuff."
It turns out, nasty stuff is found at dozens of places in Yuba-Sutter, and environmental health departments investigate hundreds of them every year, though few ever become the problem found at Custom Chrome and Bumper.
Sutter County spokesman Chuck Smith said the environmental health department collects annual business plans from 600 businesses, and inspects them every one to three years, or more often depending on circumstances.
While he did not have exact figures available for Yuba County, environmental health manager Tej Maan said Yuba similarly collects plans from businesses with chemicals and inspects them regularly.
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AUSTRALIA WARNS: STAY AWAY FROM WASHED UP DEADLY CHEMICAL CANISTERS Ñ RT
http://rt.com/news/australia-discovery-deadly-chemical-459/
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, pesticides
Australian authorities have issued a warning for all citizens to report and stay away from 20 silver canisters of highly toxic chemical washed up on east coast beaches. Reportedly the deadly substance may have fallen from a passing ship.
The chemical is believed to be aluminum phosphide and is deadly if inhaled or ingested. When the chemical comes into contact with air, it produces highly toxic and flammable gas, which can be fatal if inhaled, AAP reported.
It is often used to fumigate ships, but can also be applied as a pesticide and rabbit poison in Australia.
"This is a highly restricted toxic substance and indeed a very dangerous poison," Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) said in a statement.
"Should any member of the public come across anymore of these canisters, report it immediately. Do not try to inspect, open or transport it and ensure you stand well away from it," FRNSW said in a statement.
At least 20 canisters filled with the highly poisonous toxic have been discovered on the beaches along NSW and Queensland over the past year.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS DEAL WITH HAZMAT SITUATION IN DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER
http://www.globaltvbc.com/crews+deal+with+hazmat+situation+in+downtown+vancouver/6442802241/story.html
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
Approximately a hundred people were evacuated from the Shopper's Drug Mart at Homer and Nelson St. in downtown Vancouver this morning after five people were taken to hospital suffering from breathing problems.
The Vancouver Fire Department was sampling the air from inside the building, and confirmed several chemicals were found, but the nature of the chemicals remains unknown.
---------------------------------------------
2 HURT IN EXPLOSION, FIRE AT CENTRAL PA. BUSINESS
http://www.lockhaven.com/page/content.detail/id/287371/2-hurt-in-explosion--fire-at-central-Pa--business.html?isap=1&nav=5050
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
DILLSBURG, Pa. (AP) Ñ Authorities say one employee and a firefighter are hurt after an explosion and fire at an excavating business in central Pennsylvania.
It happened at R L Livingston Excavating & Paving in Carroll Township around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Officials say an employee suffered a head injury after an explosion in a workshop and a firefighter was hurt after part of a roof collapsed on him.
Fire officials say there were a numbers of tanks that contained an unknown chemical in the workshop. But it wasn't immediately clear what started the fire, which was extinguished in about three hours.
The condition of the injured employee has not been released. Officials say the firefighter wasn't seriously hurt.
---------------------------------------------
CALIF HIGH SCHOOL LAB FIRE INJURES 2 STUDENTS
http://www.mynews4.com/news/state/story/Calif-high-school-lab-fire-injures-2-students/T_WNxAoa8EGqjmMU61C6uQ.cspx
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) Ñ Authorities say two students have been injured after a fire inside a high school in Central California.
Fresno Fire Department spokesman Koby Johns told the Fresno Bee (http://bit.ly/12gcVjV ) on Friday that one student was taken to the hospital after sustaining first-degree burns to his throat from the fire inside a chemistry lab at Clovis North High School.
Johns says a teacher was showing a student an experiment involving two chemicals when the blaze sparked and ignited a backpack. The teacher quickly covered the blaze with a fire blanket before extinguishing it.
Johns says a second student sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
About 3,000 students were evacuated from the school as a precaution.
Kelly Avants, a spokeswoman for Clovis Unified School District, told the Associated Press that students eventually were able to return to school.
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Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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