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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 7:15:03 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 (17 articles)
COVERING THE COMMUNITIES OF GREENE COUNTY
Tags: education, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
STRETCH OF I-75 CLOSED BETWEEN SAGINAW, FLINT AFTER TANKER TRUCK HAULING ACID OVERTURNS
Tags: us_MI, transportation, fire, injury, acids
CHEMICAL PLANT ON FIRE NEAR ISTANBUL
Tags: Turkey, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HOW WILL TEXAS EXPLOSION IMPACT CHEMICAL SECURITY LAWS?
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
AT LEAST 2 INJURED IN DOWNTOWN MOSCOW EXPLOSION - REPORTS Ñ RT NEWS
Tags: Russia, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
HOW DEEP DID SAFETY CHECKS AT WEST FERTILIZER GO?
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
HAZMAT CREW CALLED TO RPI AFTER SUICIDE-BY-CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NY, education, release, death, unknown_chemical
PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY: HAZMAT RESPONDS
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
LUFKIN FIRE DEPARTMENT HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHLORINE SPILL
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, chlorine, pool_chemicals
DEXTER: MAN DIES FROM EXPLOSION AT WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, ANOTHER MAN IN STABLE CONDITION
Tags: us_MI, industrial, explosion, death, methane
CHEMICAL SPILLS ONTO COLUMBIA ROADWAY
Tags: us_MO, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
2 HOSPITALIZED IN FREON EXPLOSION AT RICHMOND GROCERY STORE
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, freon
P-LAB EXPLOSION IN BASEMENT
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab
CSB RELEASES INTERIM REPORT ON CHEVRON REFINERY FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, petroleum
FIRE AT GAS STORAGE SITE
Tags: us_WY, industrial, explosion, response, methane
JASCO FIRE IN FAIRPORT STARTS WITH CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
GRAVELLY BEACH CUT OFF BY CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, ammonia
---------------------------------------------
COVERING THE COMMUNITIES OF GREENE COUNTY
http://xeniagazette.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=179906
Tags: education, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
BEAVERCREEK Ñ A milk jug containing an unknown liquid caused the evacuation of Beavercreek High School Monday afternoon.
The milk jug was found at approximately 1:15 p.m. in an upstairs hallway, according to Beavercreek Police Capt. Jeff Fiorita.
BHS School Resource Officer Dave Majercak inspected the jug and felt it was suspicious, so, according to protocol, the Beavercreek police and fire departments were both called, and the students were evacuated, according to Fiorita.
According to school officials, students were evacuated as if they were participating in a fire drill, but instead directed to the football stadium, where they were told about the suspicious package.
After further investigation, the Dayton Bomb Squad was brought in and, after they were able to "make the liquid safe" and that it was not volatile, Fiorita said, the Dayton Regional HAZMAT Team was also brought in.
---------------------------------------------
STRETCH OF I-75 CLOSED BETWEEN SAGINAW, FLINT AFTER TANKER TRUCK HAULING ACID OVERTURNS
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/feaea8494c454be9b8cabba60e56c340/MI--Freeway-Closed-Tanker
Tags: us_MI, transportation, fire, injury, acids
BIRCH RUN TOWNSHIP, Michigan Ñ A tanker truck hauling acrylic acid overturned while its driver tried to avoid hitting a fire truck stopped for an earlier car fire, shutting down a stretch of Interstate 75, prompting area evacuations and sending four firefighters to a hospital for evaluation, authorities said.
Authorities were on the scene around 5:30 p.m. Sunday when the tanker flipped while trying to avoid the fire truck on northbound I-75 in Saginaw County's Birch Run Township, about 70 miles northwest of Detroit, state police and fire officials said.
"The driver stated that he observed the fire truck in the roadway, but felt he was unable to stop before striking the fire truck, so he attempted to swerve off the roadway to the right in an attempt to miss the fire truck," state police said in a statement.
The tanker leaked some acid, the Birch Run Township fire department said, and the driver and firefighters were taken to a hospital for evaluation because they were exposed to the chemical. All were released from the hospital Sunday.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL PLANT ON FIRE NEAR ISTANBUL
http://en.trend.az/news/incident/2142750.html
Tags: Turkey, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
The fire occurred on Tuesday at a chemical factory in the Turkish town of Gebze (Kocaeli province), near Istanbul; firefighters are trying to eliminate the fire, Anadolu reported.
According to preliminary data, the fire broke out at a chemical factory Erkay Kimya for yet unknown reasons. No casualties and no injuries were reported.
Fire area is 5,000 square meters.
Local firefighters have arrived to eliminate the ire. They were later joined by firefighters, who arrived from other parts of the province and Istanbul.
---------------------------------------------
HOW WILL TEXAS EXPLOSION IMPACT CHEMICAL SECURITY LAWS?
http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/how-will-texas-explosion-impact-chemical-security-laws-20130423?page=1
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
WASHINGTON -- The fertilizer plant explosion that leveled homes and killed at least 14 people last week in West, Texas, demonstrates the need for tougher chemical security laws, some Democrats say. Whether such proposals will have any legs on Capitol Hill remains uncertain.
Industry officials are already taking exception to calls for heightened regulations, and not all Democrats are convinced such rules are necessarily the appropriate solution. Many key lawmakers are holding out for more information while the cause of the blast remains under investigation.
Proponents of stricter rules have noted that the Homeland Security Department was not regulating the West Fertilizer site under its Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Standards program even though the facility held sufficient quantities of dangerous chemicals to trigger coverage.
---------------------------------------------
AT LEAST 2 INJURED IN DOWNTOWN MOSCOW EXPLOSION - REPORTS Ñ RT NEWS
http://rt.com/news/arbat-moscow-blast-center-257/
Tags: Russia, public, explosion, injury, chlorine
At least two people were injured after a metal container exploded in Moscow's central Novy Arbat street, a popular tourist spot, news agencies said.
"The blast ripped through a metal container near Novy Arbat Street, 7, in Moscow's center," a law enforcement source told Itar-Tass news agency. The explosion occurred next to a building that houses an Asian restaurant and the offices of several Orthodox Church-linked organizations.
Police are investigating the blast, which took place in the middle of one of the city's main avenues, in a district full of tourist attractions. The site of the blast has been cordoned off.
The Moscow department of the Russian Interior Ministry has denied that an explosive device was the cause of the Tuesday explosion.
"One of the workers had a metal tank filled with a chemical substance, which exploded. As a result, two people sustained chemical burns," the department spokesperson told Itar-Tass. The two are now being given medical treatment.
According to LifeNews, the blast was caused by a chlorine-filled container used in maintenance work. The two injured are reported to be workers doing renovation.
---------------------------------------------
HOW DEEP DID SAFETY CHECKS AT WEST FERTILIZER GO?
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/west-explosion/headlines/20130423-how-deep-did-safety-checks-at-west-fertilizer-go.ece
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
Texas' environmental agency knew in 2006 that West Fertilizer Co. was handling 2,400 tons a year of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate in a warehouse near schools, houses and a nursing home, documents show.
The notation in a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permit form apparently raised no concerns, either internally or with other agencies, about explosion risks or the proper management of a chemical already notorious in Texas history for its deadly qualities when heated to extreme temperatures or exposed to shock.
Other agencies that knew about the dangerous stockpile also failed to pose such questions to their peers, records and interviews indicate. The explosion April 17 in the Central Texas town of West killed 14 people, including 10 volunteer firefighters, burned a school and destroyed or damaged buildings over a 35-block area.
How a fire caused the ammonium nitrate to detonate is the focus of federal and state investigations into the explosion.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREW CALLED TO RPI AFTER SUICIDE-BY-CHEMICALS
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Hazmat-crew-called-to-RPI-after-4456592.php
Tags: us_NY, education, release, death, unknown_chemical
An RPI student was found dead in his dorm room Tuesday morning after he used a lethal cocktail of household chemicals to kill himself, police said.
The student, who was not identified, left behind written warnings to anyone who came across his body that they should leave the room because of the potentially dangerous situation, Capt. John Cooney said.
The body was found at 6 a.m. at the Colvin Circle housing complex, Cooney said. Six people who went into the dead student's room and were exposed to the chemicals were sent to Samaritan Hospital as a precaution, but are expected to be fine.
A hazmat team was brought in to decontaminate the scene and several students had to evacuate the building, the school said.
---------------------------------------------
PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY: HAZMAT RESPONDS
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/palm-beach-atlantic-university-hazmat-responds
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A HazMat team was called to a science building at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Tuesday afternoon.
They were dispatched after three security guards entered a room in MacArthur Hall and immediately reported their eyes burning.
Fifty people, including students, were evacuated as a precaution.
Crews checked the room but did not find anything hazardous.
---------------------------------------------
LUFKIN FIRE DEPARTMENT HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHLORINE SPILL
http://www.ktre.com/story/22053376/lufkin-fire-department-hazmat-team-responds-to-chlorine-spill
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, chlorine, pool_chemicals
LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
A HazMat team from the Lufkin Fire Department worked to clean up a chlorine spill at the Live Well Athletic Club after the business's owner accidentally knocked a hole in a 500-gallon tank of pool chemicals Tuesday morning.
According to an LFD battalion chief at the scene, the HazMat team members used a special material to create a temporary plug for the hole in the chlorine tank. The chlorine left in the tank will be transferred to a temporary tank.
Currently, the HazMat team is working to contain the spill. Grady Lowery, Live Well's owner, said the athletic club's swimming pool and any activities in its vicinity will probably be shut down until at least 2:30 or 3 p.m. Tuesday.
---------------------------------------------
DEXTER: MAN DIES FROM EXPLOSION AT WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, ANOTHER MAN IN STABLE CONDITION
http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2013/04/22//news/doc5175a25281240058085617.txt
Tags: us_MI, industrial, explosion, death, methane
Two men were transported to the hospital in critical condition after there was an explosion Monday afternoon while they were working on tanks at the wastewater treatment plant.
Joyce Williams, Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman, said at 4:20 p.m. that one of the men died at the University of Michigan hospital from the injuries he suffered.
The other man has been brought to stable condition, she said.
Dexter Fire Chief Loren Yates said a call came in for the explosion at about 1:39 p.m. at Dexter Utilities Department, 8360 Huron St.
The men were doing some construction at the site and were disassembling a tank where the explosion occurred, he said. Somehow some methane gas ignited as they were cutting steel, he said.
Williams said the men were left two stories up and required rescue when the call came in. They were blown onto the roof of an adjacent building from the explosion, she said.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILLS ONTO COLUMBIA ROADWAY
http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?id=888367#.UXZ3BKIce5I
Tags: us_MO, transportation, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
A privately-owned tractor trailer operating for TransX spilled about 35 gallons of sodium hydroxide at about 7 a.m. Monday in front of Kraft Foods, located on Waco Road off Route B.
The Columbia Fire Department contained the chemical spill quickly, and remained on scene until U.S. Environmental, a company out of Fenton, arrived at 10:51 a.m. to clean it up.
---------------------------------------------
2 HOSPITALIZED IN FREON EXPLOSION AT RICHMOND GROCERY STORE
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/04/22/refrigerator-repairman-injured-in-freon-explosion-at-richmond-grocery-store/
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, freon
RICHMOND (CBS SF) - A refrigerator repairman suffered a serious cut to his hand after a pipe exploded and started leaking Freon gas at a Richmond grocery store Monday afternoon, the Richmond fire chief said.
Fire crews were called to the Foods Co at 1250 Macdonald Ave. around 2:15 p.m. after a minor explosion and Freon leak in a refrigeration unit at the store, fire Chief Michael Banks said.
Freon, a chlorofluorocarbon, is a compound commonly used as a refrigerant. Banks described the odor the gas emits as a musty, oily smell.
---------------------------------------------
P-LAB EXPLOSION IN BASEMENT
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/42407-plab-explosion-basement.html
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, injury, meth_lab
Police have confirmed an explosion at a Mount Maunganui house early this morning that left a 57-year-old with serious burns was caused by a P-lab in the basement of the property.
Residents of 12 houses surrounding the house on Ocean Beach Road were evacuated following the explosion at the house just before 4am.
A section of the road between Girven Road and Concord Avenue previously closed this morning is now open, but the house remains cordoned off while police and a specialist Clan Lab team investigate.
Firefighters rescued a 57-year-old Mount Maunganui man who suffered serious burns to his chest and face from the basement of the house where the P-lab was operating.
He was taken to Tauranga Hospital in a serious condition and was later airlifted to Waikato Hospital.
---------------------------------------------
CSB RELEASES INTERIM REPORT ON CHEVRON REFINERY FIRE
http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2013/04/csb-releases-interim-report-on-chevron-refinery-fire/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response, petroleum
The Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board last week released an interim analysis of the Aug. 6, 2012 refinery fire at a Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif. The fire started when a corroded pipe ruptured in a crude oil processing unit. CSB identified several failures that led to the fire: "Missed opportunities to apply inherently safer technologies, a failure to recognize and correct workplace hazards, and the lack of industrial safeguards," reported C&EN's Jeff Johnson on Friday. CSB's report is available here, and a Chevron internal report is available here.
One notable set of images in the CSB report is on pdf page 11. The set includes four photographs taken from across the Bay that show the initial hydrocarbon vapor cloud that formed when the pipe burst, followed by the black smoke from the fire. Amazingly, no one was killed when the leaking material ignited.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT GAS STORAGE SITE
http://www.sheridanmedia.com/news/fire-gas-storage-site63772
Tags: us_WY, industrial, explosion, response, methane
Firefighters are investigating what ignited a fiery explosion at a natural gas storage site in southwestern Wyoming over the weekend.
Officials say crews allowed a fire to burn out yesterday at a facility 15 miles north of Evanston, near the Utah state line. There were no injuries and fire officials say a faulty pressure valve may be the cause.
---------------------------------------------
JASCO FIRE IN FAIRPORT STARTS WITH CHEMICAL LEAK
http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Jasco-Fire-In-Fairport-Starts-With-Chemical-Leak/YF-QK1XGskC2ALwvoisZlg.cspx
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Fairport, N.Y. - Firefighters were able to put out a fire Sunday night started by a chemical leak.
Just after midnight, Fairport fire crews responded to a basement fire at Jasco Heat Treatment Plant on Turk Hill Road.
Molten salt had been leaking from its heated container and spread to the area around it.
Fire Chief Mike Gropp said crews were able to stop the leak but had to be extremely cautious so the chemicals didn't eat away their equipment.
He said at least one furnace was wrecked by the leaking salt.
---------------------------------------------
GRAVELLY BEACH CUT OFF BY CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-22/gravelly-beach-cut-off-by-chemical-spill/4643342?section=tas
Tags: Australia, public, release, injury, ammonia
Police have reopened the road to Gravelly Beach in northern Tasmania after a chemical spill this morning.
The Fire Service was called to the spill just after eight o'clock (AEST) this morning.
A worker had accidentally cut the pipe of a refrigeration unit at a disused orchard packing shed, causing ammonia to spill out.
The man was taken to the Launceston General hospital and has been treated for exposure to ammonia.
50 homes within 500 metres of the shed were evacuated.
---------------------------------------------
Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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