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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] C&EN SafetyZone [New post] Process Safety newsletters Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2015 7:08:14 AM Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 7:19:21 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=sWHptoyLsQULD7fWnJj2FvIVbFI4U9kvus3Ga8Z9Kks&s=rkUMKqOQ1GuQZhEAGvNsYM6tV-5UQZ0fvj-_WQK17mo&e=
Table of Contents (12 articles)
2020 SCIENCE MAKING SENSE OF GENE DRIVES AND GENE EDITING
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
HAZMAT SPILL PROMPTS EVACUATION OF AUBURN BUILDING
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, chlorine, sulfur_dioxide, water_treatment
UPDATE AND PICTURES: 15 EVACUATED AS SMOKE POURS FROM FACTORY FIRE IN ST MARY CRAY (FROM NEWS SHOPPER)
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
STATE JOINS VENTURA COUNTY PROSECUTION THAT BEGAN OVER FLAMING WASTEWATER
Tags: us_CA, transportation, follow-up, environmental, illegal, waste
KWES NEWSWEST 9 / MIDLAND, ODESSA, BIG SPRING, TX: NEWSWEST9.COM |
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, injury, propane
EPA INVESTIGATING EXXONMOBIL FOR UNDERSTATING TORRANCE REFINERY RISK
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
UPDATE: FIRE REPORTED AT STOCKTON UNIVERSITY
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL FIRE IN CARSON CITY CAUSES EVACUATION OF NEARBY BUILDINGS
Tags: us_NV, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
ROADS OPENED AFTER FIRE CREWS CLEAN UP 20,000 GALLON METHANOL SPILL
Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, methanol
GAS LEAK AT CHINA STEEL FACTORY KILLS 10 PEOPLE, HOSPITALIZES 7
Tags: China, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SPILL IN SUMMIT COUNTY
Tags: us_UT, public, release, response, butane, gasoline, propane
CHEMICAL PLANT IN PACE FACES LAWSUIT OVER ODORS
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, ammonia
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2020 SCIENCE MAKING SENSE OF GENE DRIVES AND GENE EDITING
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
Gene editing and gene drives are rapidly emerging as the disruptive technologies du jour. But what are they, what can they do, and why should you care?
Just last week, research was published that took us a step closer to being able to re-engineer whole species by driving specific genes through successive generations ‰?? the species in this case was mosquitoes, and the trait to be engineered was the ability to host malaria-causing parasites.
And this week, The U.S. National Academy of Sciences, together with the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.‰??s Royal Society, are co-hosting an international summit on gene editing in humans ‰?? and especially the ethical and governance issues emerging capabilities raise.
To help make sense of gene drives and the underlying gene editing technologies, there‰??s a new explainer video on Risk Bites. Watch the video here, or read the transcript below.
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HAZMAT SPILL PROMPTS EVACUATION OF AUBURN BUILDING
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, chlorine, sulfur_dioxide, water_treatment
AUBURN, Calif. (KCRA) ‰??Crews are working to clean up a hazardous materials spill in Auburn that prompted the building to be evacuated, Cal Fire said.
The spill, involving chlorine and sulfur dioxide, was reported about 10:30 a.m. at the Placer Waste Water Treatment Plant on Joeger Road, officials said.
The leak appears to be contained to the building.
Joeger Road was also closed off as crews investigate.
About two tons of the material is housed at the facility, but it is unclear how much spilled out, according to Cal Fire.
There does not appear to be a safety concern to the general public, but people are advised to avoid the area.
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UPDATE AND PICTURES: 15 EVACUATED AS SMOKE POURS FROM FACTORY FIRE IN ST MARY CRAY (FROM NEWS SHOPPER)
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Fifteen people were evacuated from a factory in St Mary Cray as thick, black smoke poured out from a fire blazing inside.
Fire crews tackled a blaze at Sun Chemical, in Cray Avenue, which broke out in a laboratory shortly before 10am on Saturday (November 28).
Four fire engines and 20 firefighters from Orpington and Bromley fire stations attended, preventing the fire from spreading to any flammable or combustible chemicals in the building.
The surrounding roads were cordoned off as firefighters fought to extinguish the flames.
No-one was injured in the fire, which is not being treated as suspicious and investigators believe was caused by an accidental, electrical fault.
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STATE JOINS VENTURA COUNTY PROSECUTION THAT BEGAN OVER FLAMING WASTEWATER
Tags: us_CA, transportation, follow-up, environmental, illegal, waste
California‰??s Department of Justice has formally joined the Ventura County District Attorney‰??s Office in the prosecution of a whole slew of folks for their handling of hazardous waste leading up to explosions, fires and a mile-long toxic plume on November 18, 2014, that caused injuries at Santa Clara Waste Water (SCWW).
Santa Clara describes itself as ‰??an environmentally safe and legal means of treating, disposing and recycling of contaminated but non-hazardous waste, thus, preventing the disposal of these untreated wastes, into municipal sewer systems, the water supply, or the ocean.‰?? Waste comes from industrial sites, including chemical toilets and some oil and natural gas operations.
An investigation turned up falsified wastewater lab analyses and other transgressions to disguise dangerous environmental situations. The Ventura County Grand Jury indicted nine people, including CEO William Mitzel, and two corporate entities in August on 71 counts for various criminal offenses. The attorney general‰??s officer summarized the accusations last week thusly:
‰??Conspiracy to dispose of hazardous waste, failure to warn of a serious concealed danger, handling a hazardous waste with a reckless disregard for human life, withholding information regarding a substantial danger to public safety, filing a false or forged instrument, and dissuading a witness.‰??
Until the blast, the facility sent treated wastewater through a 12-mile pipeline to the city of Oxnard's sewage plant. Oxnard put a stop to that.
A nine-month investigation by the district attorney, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Ventura County Environmental Health Department and the Ventura County Fire Department was triggered by a bizarre truck explosion.
A vacuum truck exploded pre-dawn after loading 1,200 gallons of chemicals from at least eight separate containers at the company‰??s facility in Santa Paula. The truck was sitting idly, its toxic chemicals interacting with each other in unpredictable ways, when fumes were noticed wafting over the top. Within seconds, it exploded.
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KWES NEWSWEST 9 / MIDLAND, ODESSA, BIG SPRING, TX: NEWSWEST9.COM |
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, injury, propane
PECOS COUNTY, Texas -
Three men were injured Monday night and rushed to Pecos County Memorial Hospital following an explosion in a hunting cabin, officials said.
Their names and conditions have not been released.
According to Pecos County Sheriff Cliff Harris, the blast shook Hayter Ranch, a hunting lease approximately 35 miles west of Fort Stockton, between 9 and 9:15 p.m.
‰??[The force of the explosion] took the ceiling up and then it came back down, causing a lot of damage," he told NewsWest 9. "There was a lot of stuff that was flying around. Debris [was] going through the ceiling and walls."
The men in the cabin accidentally sparked the violent chemical reaction when they attempted to light a water heater, Harris explained.
"There was a leak from a propane tank... and gas had built up under the [cabin]," he said. "It just blew up."
At least one man injured in the blast appeared to have a broken leg, officials told NewsWest 9.
Harris said one victim was airlifted to the hospital, while the other two were driven by ambulance. The extent of their injuries are unknown.
---------------------------------------------
EPA INVESTIGATING EXXONMOBIL FOR UNDERSTATING TORRANCE REFINERY RISK
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid
The EPA has opened an investigation into whether ExxonMobil understated the possible effects of a worst-case industrial disaster at its Torrance refinery, becoming the latest government agency to probe the company‰??s regulatory compliance in the wake of last February‰??s explosion.
Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Nahal Mogharabi confirmed that the agency is looking at ExxonMobil‰??s compliance with a required Risk Management Plan, although she declined to provide more details.
The Los Angeles News Group has learned that the investigation apparently was prompted by an independent analysis performed by the recently formed grass-roots Torrance Refinery Action Alliance, which includes a member of the ExxonMobil Community Advisory Panel.
The analysis shows that in the late 1990s ExxonMobil, in conjunction with Torrance Fire Department officials and City Manager LeRoy Jackson, secretly approved a reduction in the percentage of an additive intended to make extremely dangerous hydrofluoric acid safer in the event of an accidental release of the chemical.
That potentially lethal chemical, which is known to form a toxic, ground-hugging vapor cloud, was the subject of a protracted legal dispute between the city and ExxonMobil in the 1990s.
The dispute was resolved under court order when ExxonMobil pledged to modify the acid with the use of the additive that supposedly makes HF less likely to form a gas cloud that could travel long distances in the high-density urban neighborhoods surrounding the plant.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: FIRE REPORTED AT STOCKTON UNIVERSITY
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A fire that broke out at Stockton University on Tuesday has been put out, according to First Responder on Twitter.
Atlantic County and state crews were finishing work on the scene early Tuesday afternoon, and an investigation into the cause of the fire was underway.
The fire began in an aquarium in an animal lab in the F Wing, The Press of Atlantic City reports. The lab was evacuated.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRE IN CARSON CITY CAUSES EVACUATION OF NEARBY BUILDINGS
Tags: us_NV, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
PDATE 11:32CARSON CITY, Nev. -- According to an official at the Carson City Fire Department, those within a 1.5 mile radius of PCC Structurals are being urged to shelter in place as a precaution.
This Code Red alert is due to the possibility of a health risk posed by the fumes.
Individuals within this radius are urged to turn off heaters, air conditioners, and close windows.
UPDATE 11:22 a.m.
CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Carson City Fire Chief Bob Schreihans has confirmed that the acid has now been consumed by the fire, and the remainder of the fire is a large industrial fire.
The roof has collapsed, so there are no crews inside the building, according to the fire chief. They are working on putting out the fire from the ladders above, and are spraying 3,000 gallons of water per minute, according to Schreihans.
Reverse 911 calls are being placed to tell neighbors to take shelter.
---------------------------------------------
ROADS OPENED AFTER FIRE CREWS CLEAN UP 20,000 GALLON METHANOL SPILL
Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, methanol
A methanol spill at a storage facility on Front Street shut down the roadway overnight and into Monday morning.
The methanol spill occurred at Colonial Terminals at 1002 South Front St. just after 10 p.m. Sunday, according to Wilmington Fire Department Battalion Chief David Hines.
The spill occurred from an overflow when a valve was mistakenly left open and caused a tank to overfill, Hines said. It was estimated that more than 20,000 gallons of the chemical spilled in the area.
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GAS LEAK AT CHINA STEEL FACTORY KILLS 10 PEOPLE, HOSPITALIZES 7
Tags: China, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical
A gas leak at a steel factory in China‰??s eastern province of Shandong killed 10 people, the Associated Press reported Monday. Authorities were investigating the cause of the incident.
The gas leak occurred at a stainless steel factory in Zouping County late Saturday, county authorities said on their official microblog, according to AP. As per satellite images, the factory was located next to warehouses and residential houses in a village about 40 miles, east of provincial capital of Jinan, AP reported.
A total of 17 people, of which five died on the scene, were affected due to the gas leak. Five others died early Sunday and the remaining people were hospitalized, the officials reportedly said.
China has been hit by fatal work-related accidents in the past. Earlier in November, 21 people were killed after a fire at a coal mine in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. The incident took place at the mine owned by the Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group, where 38 people were working. The cause of incident was not established but reports said that the mine was engulfed in theblaze after an angle belt caught fire.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SPILL IN SUMMIT COUNTY
Tags: us_UT, public, release, response, butane, gasoline, propane
SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (ABC4 Utah) North Summit Fire Department responded to a hazmat situation in Summit County Monday night.
The spill near 3303 Chalk Creek Rd. closed roads in the area.
Summit County Health Department also responded to the spill.
Citation Oil & Gas shut down the pipe line and estimate about 200 barrels of gasoline, butane, and propane leaked in the spill.
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CHEMICAL PLANT IN PACE FACES LAWSUIT OVER ODORS
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, ammonia
PACE, Fla. -
A lawsuit has been filed against a Pace chemical plant related to odors that have been reported around the facility.
The Pensacola News Journal reports over 150 residents have signed on to a potential class-action lawsuit against Taminco.
Miami-based Aronfeld Trial Lawyers filed the suit Nov. 25, saying that the company has failed to maintain the Pace facility and have caused the residents damages..
Particularly potent, fishy-ammonia odors were reported by dozens of residents in December 2014 and into January 2015, from Pace all the way to Pensacola Beach. Dozens of other odor-related complaints have also been reported.
A statement from the company says since acquiring Taminco last year, Eastman Chemical Co. has taken steps to minimize off-site odors and negative impacts to the surrounding community.
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