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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (8 articles)
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2015 07:41:47 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 43F0BED9-24EF-4B58-A063-AFD862BB4D7D**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 7:41:31 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (8 articles)
NO INJURIES IN CHEMICAL FIRE OFF INDIANA 57
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, response, carbon_dioxide
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT IN EAST HAMPTON
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid, pool_chemicals
UCF POLICE FIND SUSPICIOUS CHEMICALS AT KNIGHTS CIRCLE
Tags: us_FL, education, discovery, response, bomb
ESTONIA CHEMICAL PLANT CATCHES FIRE
Tags: Ukraine, industrial, fire, death, acids, metals, toxics
WEST-INSPIRED FERTILIZER STORAGE BILL SIGNED INTO LAW
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate, flammables, nitrogen
DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATED BY ADAMS COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE; WATER RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides, runoff
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response, ag_chems
TWO PEOPLE TREATED AT SCENE OF SMALL HAZMAT SPILL
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, ag_chems
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NO INJURIES IN CHEMICAL FIRE OFF INDIANA 57
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, response, carbon_dioxide
Firefighters put out a chemical fire at a Vanderburgh County business on Indiana 57 at about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The fire at American Custom Extrusion was reported at 1:45 p.m., about four miles northeast of Evansville Regional Airport. The fire occurred inside the exhaust ducts of American Custom, where it was contained, firefighters said. It did not spread to the interior of the building. Arriving crews found the building full of smoke. The fire took about an hour to put out.
All employees were evacuated and no one was injured. Tim Robards, owner of American Custom Extrusion, said there was minimal damage to the building and that the facility would be operational again late Tuesday afternoon. The business is located at 14020 Indiana 57.
Firefighters were unable to use water to extinguish the fire because of compounds used and present in the ducts, officials said. Instead, chemical extinguishers and carbon dioxide were used to put out the fire.
"This is a relatively rare incident," Captain Nathan Stoermer said. "The exterior heat with how hot and humid it is compounded the issue."
Indiana 57 was shut down for about an hour due to the incident.
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FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT INCIDENT IN EAST HAMPTON
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid, pool_chemicals
Update, 3:30 p.m.: A case of pool chemicals fell off the back of a truck, calling out the East Hampton Fire Department's hazmat team on Tuesday afternoon.
Ken Wessberg, the first assistant fire chief, said about half a gallon of muriatic acid, used to clean the lining of pools, spilled onto the road at the intersection of Cedar Street and Stephen Hand's Path. He and Gerry Turza, the second assistant chief, responded to the call.
"The road started smoking," Chief Wessberg said, adding that he called the fire marshal, who said the hazmat team could use water on the chemicals. Firefighters hosed down the road.
The case likely fell off a pool company's truck, but no one claimed the chemicals, Chief Wessberg said. The situation took about 20 minutes to remedy. "Everything is fine," he said.
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UCF POLICE FIND SUSPICIOUS CHEMICALS AT KNIGHTS CIRCLE
Tags: us_FL, education, discovery, response, bomb
Reports of a suspicious package sent area police officers to Knights Circle apartments, where they found bottles filled with foil and acid ‰?? a chemical mixture that causes containers to pressurize and explode.
Around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, UCF Police officers received a call from a Knights Circle maintenance worker who was doing a routine clean-up in the parking lot, according to a UCF PD news release.
The worker found a Powerade bottle filled with pressurized liquid at the parking lot between buildings 12 and 13.
Officers responded on scene and found three more bottles nearby.
Police knocked on the apartment doors and asked students to evacuate buildings 12 and 13. About a half hour later, a UCF Alert was sent out the community, warning students to stay clear of the area. Officers from the UCF Police Department and Orange County Sheriff's Office roped off the area surrounding buildings 12 and 13. The local fire department and bomb techs were also on the scene.
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ESTONIA CHEMICAL PLANT CATCHES FIRE
Tags: Ukraine, industrial, fire, death, acids, metals, toxics
A fire broke out at an Estonian plant producing rare metals on June 9, sending potentially toxic chemicals into the air.
That's according to the national Rescue Service Department.
Local residents were urged to stay indoors and keep all windows closed after the Silmet complex caught ablaze near the town of Sillam̀?e.
"There are chemicals in there. It is unclear yet whether an explosion can occur due to high temperature combustion. Rescuers suggest there may be some acids in the building but this information is unconfirmed," - said a spokesperson of Rescue Service Department, Helen Tammets.
The fire has destroyed the roof of one of the plant facilities, preventing firefighters from tackling the flames from inside the building. Chemical contamination and the spread of toxic smoke remains a threat.
Rescuers arrived with special equipment and doctors at the scene, but so far it is unknown whether people were trapped in the burning building.
Earlier today a similar tragedy hit Ukraine's capital - a powerful explosion killed a number of firemen as they fought to control a blazing fuel depot which had burned through the night outside of Kyiv.
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WEST-INSPIRED FERTILIZER STORAGE BILL SIGNED INTO LAW
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate, flammables, nitrogen
A fertilizer safety bill inspired by the 2013 West explosion that killed 15 people is now law and should ensure that no more ammonium nitrate facilities explode, said its author, state Rep. Kyle Kacal, R-College Station.
Kacal, whose district includes West, stood with West Mayor Tommy Muska on Monday as Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 942.
‰??We‰??re going to make this state safer,‰?? he said. ‰??I hope there‰??s not another fire at one of these facilities ‰?? we cannot prevent those ‰?? but a fire should not be catastrophic.‰??
The bill requires ammonium nitrate dealers to allow state fire marshal inspections, to maintain a 30-foot distance between the fertilizer and flammable materials and to report their storage quantities to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rather than the Department of State Health Services.
A fire at the West Fertilizer Co. dealership on April 17, 2013, detonated 30 tons of the granulated nitrogen fertilizer, leading to an explosion that wrecked whole neighborhoods and killed 15 people, mostly firefighters.
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DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATED BY ADAMS COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE; WATER RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE
Tags: us_PA, public, fire, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides, runoff
Thousands of Adams County residents on Tuesday remained under mandatory water restrictions one day after a fire destroyed a fertilizer plant and led to the contamination of one of the main water sources in the region.
Approximately 4,500 New Oxford residents continued to get their water from York County after public safety officials detected contaminants in the south branch of the Conewago Creek in the aftermath of the Monday fire that destroyed the Miller Chemical and Fertilizer Corp., in Conewago Township just outside Hanover.
Officials are closely monitoring another tributary after they found traces of herbicides, pesticides and other substances consistent with possible contamination.
Officials shut down the main intake for water for New Oxford early on Monday in advance of a possible contamination from the runoff of the water used to battle the blaze.
John Repetz, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, explained that as a result, water samples showed no negative impact to the water supply for the borough.
The contamination continued to work its way through the creek on Tuesday, however, but the intake remained shut down. Residents do not have access to that water.
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FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response, ag_chems
HANOVER ‰?? Firefighters attacked a blaze later Monday at a central Pennsylvania chemical plant after letting it burn for hours.
Officials said crews were knocking down remaining exterior walls and pouring water on the flames at Miller Chemical and Fertilizer plant in Conewago, Adams County.
They constructed a retention pool to recycle hose water and minimize environmental impact.
The blaze broke out at about 3:30 a.m. Monday and burned into the afternoon. No injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation.
Officials said the smoke is not considered toxic. Nearby residents were asked to shelter in place as a precaution. Officials were monitoring air quality.
People at the scene reported a nasty smell and burning eyes. Several containers were heard exploding.
Miller Chemical said it manufactures nonhazardous crop protection and nutritional agrochemicals.
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TWO PEOPLE TREATED AT SCENE OF SMALL HAZMAT SPILL
Tags: us_IL, public, release, injury, ag_chems
Oak Lawn firefighters and police quickly dealt with a hazmat spill on Monday afternoon when a hose became detached from a liquid fertilizer tank and accidentally sprayed the occupants of a passing car.
Div. Chief Randy Palmer, of the Oak Lawn Police Department, said that a TruGreen fertilizer was parked on the street serving a client in the 10200 block of 52nd Avenue when the hose broke loose and sprayed two Buicks driving by with their windows open.
The 80-year-old occupants of one of the Buicks were treated on the scene and released by paramedics. TruGreen personnel arrived on the scene and helped clean up the mess with absorbents.
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