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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 (14 articles)
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2015 07:30:37 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: E7F38230-17E0-4253-B0DD-884DCA9FBB68**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 7:30:18 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__pinboard.in_u-3Adchas&d=BQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=CVxDDEQSi1M8wwdQzbu0RcV9f2a_1Hfl4fYqypVaMGk&s=67Kg5DHDMX78WzlUxdC_yDbE102lwvAgFeYoY-J_pNU&e=
Table of Contents (14 articles)
UPDATE: MAN DIES AFTER EXPLOSION AT NORTHEAST NEBRASKA RESTAURANT
Tags: us_NE, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
AZ BEGINS 3-YEAR EFFORT TO IMPROVE BIOSAFETY READINESS
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
MOM ISSUES PARTIAL STOP-WORK ORDER TO FIRM INVOLVED IN JURONG LAB FIRE
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, follow-up, death, oxygen
CHEMICAL SPILL SHUTS DOWN A PART OF THE WEST LOOP
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, xylene
BLAST ROCKS CHINESE PORT 2 MONTHS AFTER FATAL EXPLOSIONS
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT CALLED TO ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LEAK IN WALL LAKE
Tags: us_IA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia
HAZMAT SPILL AT THE PORT OF BALTIMORE POSES NO HEALTH HAZARDS
Tags: us_MD, transportation, release, response, cleaners
THIEF STEALS RADIOACTIVE ITEMS FROM LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LAB
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, release, response, radiation
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO POSSIBLE EXPLOSION AT CIRCLE K GAS STATION
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, flammables
WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT FILED AFTER 2014 EXPLOSION AT OMEGA PROTE
Tags: us_MS, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
INSPECTOR URGES CONSEQUENCES FOR PLANT'S CHEMICAL SPILL INTO POTOMAC RIVER
Tags: us_MD, public, release, environmental, water_treatment
CHINA: FIRE STRIKES TIANJIN, 2 MONTHS AFTER FATAL BLAST
Tags: China, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL LEAK AT WATER TREATMENT PLANT INTERRUPTS ACTIVITIES AT WORLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide, water_treatment
THE MYSTERY OF MATTER: SEARCH FOR THE ELEMENTS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
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UPDATE: MAN DIES AFTER EXPLOSION AT NORTHEAST NEBRASKA RESTAURANT
Tags: us_NE, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
Allen, Neb. According to the Dixon County Sheriff's Office, 70 year old Gerald Koch has died after a small chemical explosion. Koch died Sunday from his injuries.
Koch, along with his wife Carol Koch, were cleaning a bathroom at Henry's Pub and Grill in Allen, Nebraska on October 8 when the explosion happened. Allen, Nebraska is in Dixon County, about 2.5 hours north of Lincoln.
Henry's Pub and Grill is owned by the couple's son. They were preparing for the restaurant to open.
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AZ BEGINS 3-YEAR EFFORT TO IMPROVE BIOSAFETY READINESS
Tags: us_AZ, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
PHOENIX (AP) -
Arizona officials are responding to the 2014 Ebola outbreak with a three-year plan to improve the biosafety readiness of the State Public Health Lab and of facilities of other agencies.
The state Department of Health Services says initial work will focus on sharpening skills of the lab's staff so it can improve the lab's operations and use new techniques.
The department says the next stage of the plan will involving sharing newly developed biosafety assessment tools and skills with clinical laboratory partners of the Lab.
The plan concludes with providing assistance to the partners to fill any gaps they detect in their own biosafety risk assessments.
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MOM ISSUES PARTIAL STOP-WORK ORDER TO FIRM INVOLVED IN JURONG LAB FIRE
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, follow-up, death, oxygen
SINGAPORE ‰?? The Ministry of Manpower has issued a stop-work order on production and bottling of hydrocarbons as well as the buying and selling of bottled gases stored at the adjacent area near the lab where a fire broke out yesterday (Oct 12), killing one and injuring seven.
But employees of Leeden National Oxygen working in adjacent buildings which were unaffected have returned to work.
Issuing this update today (Oct 13), the MOM said investigations into the fire are ongoing. Among the seven injured, three remain hospitalised.
The fire broke out on yesterday morning in a laboratory used for the analysing, testing, calibrating and mixing of gases, causing explosions. The company‰??s in-house Company Emergency Response Team responded to the incident first before Singapore Civil Defence Force firefighters arrived.
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CHEMICAL SPILL SHUTS DOWN A PART OF THE WEST LOOP
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, xylene
An 18-wheeler truck spilled about 2,300 gallons of chemicals and caused a major traffic jam along part of the West Loop.
About 5 p.m. Tuesday, the truck lost part of its load along the West Loop at Hempstead.
The spill and the cleanup effort resulted in a total closure of the northbound West Loop at the scene.
Houston Fire Department officials said the truck was hauling xylene, which is sometimes used as a solvent. They said it is not corrosive but could be flammable.
HFD hazardous-materials crews are at the scene. There were no reports of any injuries.
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BLAST ROCKS CHINESE PORT 2 MONTHS AFTER FATAL EXPLOSIONS
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
BEIJING
The port city of Tianjin in northern China was rocked by a warehouse blast, police said Tuesday, two months after massive explosions in the city left 173 people dead or missing.
The blast hit a warehouse for alcohol materials in the city Monday night and started a fire, but no casualties were reported, local police said.
Tianjin had been ordered after the August blasts to perform thorough checks to eliminate workplace hazards, with a special focus on warehouses storing chemicals. The new blast underlines the challenges that China faces in ensuring workplace safety.
Tianjin police said they detained the owner of a chemical company that illegally rented a private warehouse from an area resident to store chemicals. The resident, identified by his family name, Huo, was also detained, police said.
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HAZMAT CALLED TO ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LEAK IN WALL LAKE
Tags: us_IA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia
An anhydrous ammonia leak in Sac County resulted in medical personnel being called to treat a railroad crew member for chemical exposure in Webster County Tuesday night.
Fort Dodge Assistant Fire Chief Lenny Sanders said the leak occurred in Wall Lake. He said someone on a train coming into Webster County from Sac County was apparently exposed to the chemical. The train stopped near Barnum so that the individual could receive treatment.
At about 8:20 p.m., Barnum firefighters and paramedics from Trinity Regional Medical Center were called to a railroad crossing near 201st Street and Hayes Avenue to assist the individual. Those first responders then called for the Region V Hazardous Materials Response Team operated by the Fort Dodge Fire Department.
Emergency personnel determined that the chemical leak was in Wall Lake. The hazardous materials team was on its way there late Tuesday night.
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HAZMAT SPILL AT THE PORT OF BALTIMORE POSES NO HEALTH HAZARDS
Tags: us_MD, transportation, release, response, cleaners
hazmat spill was reported at the Dundalk Marine Terminal Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Richard Scher, a spokesman with the Maryland Port Administration, said a cargo ship was lifting a pallet that included approximately nine plastic jugs filled with a tank cleaning chemical. As it was being lifted, the pallet shifted, spilling some of the cleaning solution.
He said no injuries were reported, and that the incident had no impact port cargo operations.
Fire department land and boat units, the coast guard and the Maryland Department of the Environment were on the scene.
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THIEF STEALS RADIOACTIVE ITEMS FROM LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LAB
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, release, response, radiation
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (KRQE) ‰?? Not a very smart thief, stealing lab tools contaminated with radiation from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Investigators believe a LANL contractor might have done just that, and put the public at risk in what is just the latest problem with theft at the high security lab.
Los Alamos Police are calling the man a ‰??person of interest,‰?? but not a suspect.
Richard Atencio, an employee of Compra Industries, had total access to LANL‰??s Technical Area-54, which is a radioactive waste storage area.
The incident started as a theft, but quickly turned into a full-on HAZMAT situation last month.
According to a search warrant, on September 29, a witness saw a man in a brown shirt throwing things out of the trunk of a Honda Accord into bushes on LANL grounds. The man was tossing the things across the way from TA-54, where items have been reported missing over the past year.
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HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO POSSIBLE EXPLOSION AT CIRCLE K GAS STATION
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, flammables
firefighters responded to a hazmat call at a Circle K gas station near 75th Avenue and Glendale early Tuesday morning.
Crews said a man pumping fuel saw some flames spark up from across the parking lot and a worker also heard some type of explosion.
Hazmat crews were called to the scene and with meters, they checked the readings on some flammable caps. They say it was a mechanical pump that moves the fuel had a shortage in a pump and fumes collected. Some sparks may have ignited. Firefighters say this is a one-time event; there was no leaking or vapor reading -- everything is intact.
---------------------------------------------
WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT FILED AFTER 2014 EXPLOSION AT OMEGA PROTE
Tags: us_MS, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
MOSS POINT, MS (WLOX) -
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the wife of a Jackson County man killed at Omega Protein in Moss Point in 2014.
According to the lawsuit, Katlyn Taylor claims her husband, Jerry Lee Taylor II, was not properly warned about the materials inside a storage tank he was working on top of with Josh Walls. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board reported an explosion blew the lid off of the tank while the two men were doing hot work on the tank.
Hot work is described as any burning, cutting, welding or other operation that is capable of starting fires or explosions.
The tank exploded on July 28, 2014, catapulting Taylor's body 100 feet away where he landed on another storage tank and died from his injuries.
According to the lawsuit, Omega officials at the plant said the material inside the storage tank was thought to be non-hazardous. No combustible gas testing was done on the contents of the tank before the hot work began.
---------------------------------------------
INSPECTOR URGES CONSEQUENCES FOR PLANT'S CHEMICAL SPILL INTO POTOMAC RIVER
Tags: us_MD, public, release, environmental, water_treatment
An inspector is recommending enforcement action against a western Maryland paper mill after a chemical spill tainted the Potomac River earlier this fall.
The inspector's report says that Tennessee-based Verso Corp. violated environmental regulations by failing to prevent the spill of about 9,500 gallons of synthetic latex on Sept. 23.
The spill went through a wastewater treatment plant before reaching the Potomac's North Branch. It discolored the river and prompted at least two downstream West Virginia communities to temporarily close the intakes of their drinking water treatment plants.
Verso didn't immediately respond Monday to a request for comment on the report, which was signed Friday by Maryland Department of the Environment inspector Charles Hatfield.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA: FIRE STRIKES TIANJIN, 2 MONTHS AFTER FATAL BLAST
Tags: China, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A fire consumed a warehouse in the Chinese city of Tianjin late Monday, the state news media reported. While no casualties were reported, the episode took place two months after explosions at a chemical storage depot in another part of the city killed at least 165 people. In a scene reminiscent of that blast on Aug. 12, social media sites in China showed videos of a large fireball lighting up the sky in Tianjin. Firefighters received an alarm at 9:46 p.m. on Monday, responding to a fire in a warehouse storing ammonia and alcohol, the Beijing News reported. The fire was under control by midnight, the newspaper reported, citing a local government announcement. A witness told the newspaper that there had not been a blast, though several other accounts in the Chinese news media described the fire as an explosion. The August explosions at a warehouse that stored hazardous chemicals leveled part of Tianjin‰??s port district and exposed a system of lax enforcement of safety rules a!
nd political cronyism that has accompanied China‰??s rapid industrialization. Monday‰??s fire occurred in the Beichen district, an area far closer to the urban core of Tianjin.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK AT WATER TREATMENT PLANT INTERRUPTS ACTIVITIES AT WORLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, hydrogen_peroxide, water_treatment
A tank leaking hydrogen peroxide at the water treatment plant disturbed activities at nearby Rogene Worley Middle School.
City staff noticed a leak in one of the tanks Monday afternoon, which prompted the school to keep students off the football field and move an activity to another campus‰??s field.
Mansfield Utilities Director Joe Smolinski said at 2:30 p.m. a plant manager noticed a tank leaking while doing a regularly scheduled inspection. He added the chemical spilled right into a special containment area and no one was in danger.
‰??We have containment areas around each of the tanks that are out there at the treatment plant,‰?? he said. ‰??If one of those tanks were to leak or rupture it would capture anything that leaks out of it so none would leak into the environment.‰??
He said the staff followed procedure and notified the fire department and the school. Students were not allowed on the football field, which is adjacent to the tanks, he said.
Fire Chief Barry Bondurant said the normal evacuation radius of a similar leak is 300 feet, not even enough to surpass the water treatment plant‰??s boundaries.
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THE MYSTERY OF MATTER: SEARCH FOR THE ELEMENTS
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements is an exciting series about one of the great adventures in the history of science: the long and continuing quest to understand what the world is made of. Three episodes tell the story of seven of history‰??s most important scientists as they seek to identify, understand and organize the basic building blocks of matter.
The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements shows us not only what these scientific explorers discovered but also how, using actors to reveal the creative process through the scientists‰?? own words and conveying their landmark discoveries through re-enactments shot with replicas of their original lab equipment. Knitting these strands together is host Michael Emerson, a two-time Emmy Award-winning actor.
Meet Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier, whose discovery of oxygen led to the modern science of chemistry, and Humphry Davy, who made electricity a powerful new tool in the search for elements. Watch Dmitri Mendeleev invent the Periodic Table, and see Marie Curie‰??s groundbreaking research on radioactivity crack open a window into the atom. Learn how Harry Moseley‰??s investigation of atomic number redefined the Periodic Table, and how Glenn Seaborg‰??s discovery of plutonium opened up a whole new realm of elements still being explored today.
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