Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (16 articles)
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 07:12:04 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 74748DAA-36DF-4B0F-A489-D794F8ED3646**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, April 18, 2016 at 7:11:51 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=CwIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=2DLY14toFTHcdaL2wVDxZ9mrM2-Pl9xUXPSm3eowin4&s=-UUtoWONpKWCXQOuyKh4_Vpa7IDHa8kuHXhI2oqHZXc&e=
Table of Contents (16 articles)
A SIMPLE WAY TO TRACK YOUR EVERYDAY EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS
Tags: us_OR, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
LESSONS LEARNED DATABASE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, injury, other_chemical
NEARLY 500 STUDENTS FALL ILL AT "TOXIC SCHOOL" BUILT NEAR FORMER CHEMICAL PLANTS IN CHINA
Tags: China, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
UPDATE: GAS TANKER TRUCK CRASHES IN NEWARK
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
CONTRADICTORY REPORTS BY COPS, FSL ON DEONAR FIRE
Tags: India, laboratory, follow-up, response, metals, waste
COFFEE WORKERS' CONCERNS BREW OVER CHEMICAL'S LINK TO LUNG DISEASE
Tags: us_WI, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
FIRE AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN SAUDI ARABIA KILLS 12, INJURES 11
Tags: Saudi_Arabia, industrial, fire, death, petroleum
OF ITARSI BLAST VICTIM SUCCUMBS IN MUMBAI
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
TEENAGE BOY BLINDED BY AN EXPLODING E-CIGARETTE VAPORIZER
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, batteries
2 OHIO MEN INDICTED ON WEAPONS CHARGES AFTER BOMB BLOWS OFF HANDS OF SUSPECT
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, injury, bomb, illegal
HOW WE PREVENT ANOTHER WEST AMMONIUM NITRATE EXPLOSION: Q&A WITH U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate
PROVIDENCE FIRE CAPTAIN SPEAKS OUT FOR FIRST TIME SINCE EATON STREET FIRE
Tags: us_RI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, cyanide
HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP FIRE CHIEF: CHEMICAL SOAKED RAGS CAUSED FIRE AT HOFFMAN FARMS
Tags: us_MI, public, fire, response, other_chemical
SUSPECTS INDICTED FOR EAST SIDE CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, response, bomb, illegal
EXPLOSION, SMALL FIRES, CHEMICAL SPILL AT RICHLAND PLANT
Tags: us_ms, explosion, industrial, response, unknown_chemical
FIRE IN LABORATORY CAUSES EVACUATION OF BUILDING ON U-M CAMPUS
Tags: us_mi, fire, laboratory, response, unknown_chemical
---------------------------------------------
A SIMPLE WAY TO TRACK YOUR EVERYDAY EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS
Tags: us_OR, laboratory, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
For one week, 92 preschool-aged children in Oregon sported colorful silicone wristbands provided by researchers from Oregon State University. The children"s parents then returned the bands, which the researchers analyzed to determine whether the youngsters had been exposed to flame retardants. The scientists were surprised to find that the kids were exposed to many polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), chemicals that are no longer produced in the U.S., as well as to organophosphate flame retardants, which are widely used as substitutes for PBDEs.
The results from that wristband study (Environ. Res. 2016, DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.02.034) remain qualitative"they tell parents whether their child has been exposed to a particular chemical but don"t provide information regarding the amount of exposure. The researchers, led by environmental chemist Kim Anderson, are now working on ways to extract quantitative exposure data from the bands.
The work by Anderson"s team is one of several projects evaluating the effectiveness of silicone wristbands to record exposure to organic chemicals in air, water, and personal care products. Interest in using the bands as personal exposure monitors has been growing since Anderson"s team described the technology in a 2014 Environmental Science & Technology study (DOI: 10.1021/es405022f). Increasing demand for the wristbands recently led Anderson to cofound MyExposome, a company that hopes to put the tool into the hands of the public.
---------------------------------------------
LESSONS LEARNED DATABASE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, discovery, injury, other_chemical
Analysis: In October 2015, a small pressure reaction vessel over-pressurized causing damage to the vessel, the furnace and fume hood. The pressure reaction vessel itself did not have a pressure relief value, so the equipment was not appropriate for the task. The furnace used to heat the vessel was known to be faulty and to heat up beyond defined set points. Despite knowing about the faulty condition, the furnace was used.
In a second event in December 2015, a worker lowering an incubator lid that weighed around 40 pounds lost grip and injured a finger when the lid came crashing down. The rate of closure was normally controlled by two spring pistons on either side of the lid. One of these pistons had failed, and the second piston was not strong enough to slow the rate of closure. This was another known condition, and while a request had been placed to fix the faulty piston, the hazards had not been reassessed and no additional controls were in place.
Recommended Actions: In order to prevent similar incidents:
1. Actively perform ISM and work planning by making sure the tools, machines and equipment are appropriate for the task.
2. Check laboratory equipment prior to starting work, and make sure it is in good condition and functioning properly.
3. Immediately report any equipment, machine or tool failures, deviations from normal operations, or other deficiencies to the Activity Lead or other responsible persons.
4. Decommission defective equipment immediately until it is repaired, if the failure or deficiency may affect its safe operation.
---------------------------------------------
NEARLY 500 STUDENTS FALL ILL AT "TOXIC SCHOOL" BUILT NEAR FORMER CHEMICAL PLANTS IN CHINA
Tags: China, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
The headlines were chilling: hundreds of students sickened, some diagnosed with cancer. In eastern China, a classroom tragedy is playing on the twin anxieties of parents across the nation: pollution and education.
Nearly 500 students at a school campus constructed near the former site of several chemical plants in east China"s Jiangsu province have come down with health problems ranging from bronchitis to eczema to " in some cases " lymphoma and leukemia, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday.
China"s education system is fiercely competitive, and the school where students were sickened, the Changzhou Foreign Languages School, is one of the better ones in the area. Chinese Internet users reeled over the news, with the social media hashtag #pollutedschool attracting nearly 26 million views in under a day.
According to CCTV, at the end of last year, shortly after the school"s new site was occupied, students started to display strange symptoms. Parents grew suspicious that the school"s water and air were polluted, the casualty of three chemical plants that previously had been located nearby.
"When we would talk, we realized that pretty much every child had this happening to them," one father told the broadcaster. "As well, we would smell this stinky duck-egg scent in the air and we knew it was something about the environment." Worried, some parents transferred their students elsewhere.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: GAS TANKER TRUCK CRASHES IN NEWARK
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
NEWARK, CA - An intersection in Newark that was closed this morning due to a gasoline spill has reopened, Alameda County Fire officials said.
The intersection at Newark and Cedar boulevards was closed for nearly two hours, after a gasoline tanker crashed into a fire hydrant causing gas to spill onto the roadway around 6:30 a.m., according to police.
A hazmat team responded to the scene and the spill has since been cleaned.
---------------------------------------------
CONTRADICTORY REPORTS BY COPS, FSL ON DEONAR FIRE
Tags: India, laboratory, follow-up, response, metals, waste
A report by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina has stated the cause of the fires at Deonar dumping ground as "accidental", even as nine scrap dealers were arrested for their connection with starting the fires. Stark differences between the scientific findings behind the cause of fire and action by police officials have left many loopholes in the Deonar fire case. There were two major fires, in January and March, and a few minor ones at the dumping ground.
The Shivaji Nagar police station, which had two offences registered with them, arrested nine people on Friday night. The nine accused are scrap dealers and residents of slums behind the dumping ground, who had allegedly set fire to the garbage dumped so as to procure metal from it. Those arrested on Friday have been identified as Shamin Khan, Hussain Sheikh, Jai Prakash Yadav, Alibaba Sheikh, Sohel Shaikh, Shoaib Sheikh, Umar Ghani Khan, Rajesh Mahadik and Mohammed Shaikh.
"The accused would send ragpickers", most of them minors and teenagers, into the dumping ground with instructions to scour for objects like watches, keyboards, remotes and anything that classifies as e-waste.
These ragpickers would burn the plastic coating of these objects so that they melt and the inner wires could be collected," said Sangramsingh Nishandar, DCP, Eastern Zone. He added that these wires fetch the scrap dealers good money and they would routinely do this. "On March 20, the day of the fire, the children sent inside by the scrap dealers set up their fire at a location which had high intensity of methane or some combustible substance and this led to the fire spreading across the ground," he added.
---------------------------------------------
COFFEE WORKERS' CONCERNS BREW OVER CHEMICAL'S LINK TO LUNG DISEASE
Tags: us_WI, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Step into Mike Moon's Madison, Wis., coffee roasting plant and the aroma of beans " from Brazil to Laos " immediately washes over you.
Moon says he aims to run an efficient and safe plant " and that starts the minute beans spill out of the roaster. He points to a cooling can that is "designed to draw air from the room over the beans and exhausts that air out of the facility. So it is really grabbing a lot of all of the gases coming off the coffee," he explains.
Why are these gases so worrisome? Because they contain a chemical called diacetyl " a natural byproduct of the coffee roasting process that, in large concentrations, can infiltrate the lungs and cause a severe form of lung disease.
You might remember hearing about diacetyl several years ago, when a synthetic version of the chemical, which is used to give a buttery flavor to certain snack foods, was implicated in causing severe lung problems among workers at a microwave popcorn facility.
Now it looks like that chemical could affect the coffee world as well. People at home grinding or brewing up a pot need not worry, but the chemical could pose a danger to people working in commercial coffee roasting plants.
The issue first caught the attention of investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention back in 2012.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN SAUDI ARABIA KILLS 12, INJURES 11
Tags: Saudi_Arabia, industrial, fire, death, petroleum
Saudi Arabia's state-run news agency says a fire at a chemical plant in the kingdom's east has killed 12 people and injured 11.
The Saudi Press Agency said the fire in al-Jubail happened around 11:40 a.m. Saturday at the Jubail United Petrochemical Co. The news agency quoted the company as saying the fire began during maintenance at the plant.
The company also said the fire caused thick black smoke, which contributed to the death of the contractors working on the maintenance at the plant.
A telephone number for the plant could not be immediately found Saturday night.
The website for SABIC, a chemical conglomerate based in Riyadh, says the firm holds a 75-percent stake in al-Jubail United Petrochemical Co. SABIC did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
---------------------------------------------
OF ITARSI BLAST VICTIM SUCCUMBS IN MUMBAI
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
Bhopal: A 55-year-old man, who was injured in a blast at the government ordnance factory (OF), Itarsi, in Hoshangabad district on April 10, succumbed to burns during treatment at National Burns Centre, Mumbai, on Saturday.The middle-aged man, V C Majumdar, chemical process worker (CPW) at the OFI, was one among five workers who sustained burns in the blast. While four of them were shifted to Bhopal, Majumdar was airlifted to Mumbai on the next day. The explosion had taken place in building No.
812 of the factory. Actual cause of explosion has not been ascertained yet, said an officer. An inquiry is underway, he said.There was a similar blast at OF, Itarsi in 2013, where three people sustained grievous injuries.
---------------------------------------------
TEENAGE BOY BLINDED BY AN EXPLODING E-CIGARETTE VAPORIZER
Tags: us_NY, public, explosion, injury, batteries
A teenage boy has suffered from severe injuries after an e-cigarette vaporizer blew up in his face. CBS New York reported that the 14-year-old remained hospitalized for five days and even after discharge, suffers from permanent injuries. His attorney said that an exploding e-cigarette or vape pen have maimed and blinded him.
Leor Domatov said that he was shocked to see bleeding out of his nose. He added that he was hanging out with friends at the Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Brooklyn when they visited a kiosk known as Plaza Vapes.
Domatov added, "The guy was showing me different products of the vaporizers. He connected one of the vaporizers to the battery at the store. When he gave it to me to hold, it exploded in my hands and my face".
Now, Domatov has to wear sunglasses as the explosion sent shrapnel flying to into his eyes. He mentioned that his can't see anything presently from his left eye because he has got a cut across his cornea, and is left with a little bit of vision in his right eye.
Initially, Domatov wasn"t able to make out what has happened to him and soon realized that he was bleeding. He added that he noticed red spots on the floor from his blood.
---------------------------------------------
2 OHIO MEN INDICTED ON WEAPONS CHARGES AFTER BOMB BLOWS OFF HANDS OF SUSPECT
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, injury, bomb, illegal
COLUMBUS, Ohio " Two Ohio men who are alleged members of anti-government group have been indicted after a chemical bomb detonated in one of the men's hands, authorities say.
Alphonso Mobley Jr., 26, and Roberto Innis, 21, were charged Friday in Columbus with aggravated arson and criminal use, possession and illegal assembly of a chemical weapon.
Mobley was hospitalized after his hands were blown off when the bomb exploded inside a vacant Columbus home April 5, authorities said. Innis wasn't hurt.
Mobley told a doctor at the hospital that he was mixing chemicals when the explosion occurred, authorities said.
A court document said the men planned to use the bomb while robbing a bank or an armored car, the Columbus Dispatch has reported. A Columbus fire department spokesman said the men were members of Sovereign Citizens, an anti-government group.
---------------------------------------------
HOW WE PREVENT ANOTHER WEST AMMONIUM NITRATE EXPLOSION: Q&A WITH U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate
In January, the Tribune-Herald published the U.S. Chemical Safety Board"s findings and recommendations regarding storage of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate after a 2å1Ú2-year study of the fire at and explosion of the West Fertilizer Company. The blast left 15 people dead (12 of them first responders) and more than 260 injured; it destroyed or seriously damaged homes, schools and a nursing home " more than 150 buildings in all " in West, population 2,800. Before the board"s formal report to the public (but after privately reporting to family members of the dead), Trib opinion editor Bill Whitaker and veteran staff writer J.B. Smith sat down to discuss the findings with Chemical Safety Board Chairwoman Vanessa Sutherland and lead investigator Johnnie Banks. They discussed the importance of construction materials in facilities housing ammonium nitrate; how the tragedy of West influenced Texas firefighters in a potentially deadly ammonium nitrate fire a year later; and w!
hether the fertilizer industry is doing enough to stress safety.
---------------------------------------------
PROVIDENCE FIRE CAPTAIN SPEAKS OUT FOR FIRST TIME SINCE EATON STREET FIRE
Tags: us_RI, industrial, follow-up, environmental, cyanide
Capt. Joseph Fontaine credits a minor knee injury for saving his life. He tweaked it while fighting the Eaton Street fire in Providence.
Fontaine kept fighting, though, until it was extinguished. But his chief told him to get his sore knee checked at the hospital.
While in the emergency room at Roger Williams Hospital, Fontaine lost consciousness. He fell into a coma, and was in critical condition.
"I was in the right place at the right time," Fontaine told NBC 10 News at his home in Chepachet on Friday.
He was suffering from the effects of overexposure to cyanide, which is a toxic chemical that can be deadly in large amounts. Fontaine's wife, Debbie, received a call from another firefighter telling her that her husband was not breathing.
"It's the call you never want to get," Debbie Fontaine said.
Fontaine is recovering now, fueled by a strict lung therapy regiment and large doses of prednisone.
"I've been through a lot of stuff, but nothing like this," he said.
Several other firefighters also suffered cyanide poisoning while battling the blaze.
The City of Providence opted not to purchase individual cyanide detectors for each firefighter to wear. Fontaine said firefighters are aware that they are being exposed to cyanide and most departments have crews that measure cyanide levels, however, the Providence Fire Department does not. The effects of overexposure are delayed, like in Fontaine's case, so it's hard to tell if you've breathed in too much until it could be too late.
Despite the threat of cyanide and other inherent dangers, Fontaine said that wasn't going to stop him, or his brothers and sisters on the department, from continuing to fight.
"I've got thirty one and a half years. That's what we do -- protect the community," Fontaine said. "They're going to have to force me off the job."
Fontaine received get well letters from Gov. Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island congressmen, as well as former Providence mayor Joe Paolino.
---------------------------------------------
HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP FIRE CHIEF: CHEMICAL SOAKED RAGS CAUSED FIRE AT HOFFMAN FARMS
Tags: us_MI, public, fire, response, other_chemical
A pile of stain-soaked rags that spontaneously combusted in a renovated farm house caused a Thursday fire on the property of Oakland County Commissioner Bob Hoffman, according to Highland Township Fire Chief Dick Cole.
"The rags were left near a wall, and they ignited by themselves," said Cole.
The fire, called in at 8:44 a.m. Thursday, April 14, completely gutted a building on Hoffman Farms, which is in the 2500 block of Rose Center Road. It took about three hours to extinguish.
The building, which was connected to a horse-riding arena and horse stables, was in the process of being converted into a wine-tasting area, Hoffman said.
The fact that the fire destroyed the building "is just sickening," said Hoffman, who called the project a "labor of love."
The county commissioner was planning on opening the room in June, but is unsure whether that deadline will still be met after flames tore through the building on his 299-acre farm.
---------------------------------------------
SUSPECTS INDICTED FOR EAST SIDE CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, response, bomb, illegal
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)"The Franklin County Grand Jury has indicted two men in connection with a house explosion on the east side of Columbus on April 5.
Alphonso Mobley and Roberto Innis are suspected of using chemicals inside the home to build homemade explosive devices.
Both defendants have been indicted for one count of aggravated arson with specification (F1); one count of criminal use of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapon or explosive with specification (F2); one count of criminal possession of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapon or explosive with specification (F3); one count of illegal assembly or possession of chemicals or substances for the manufacture of a chemical weapon, biological weapon, radiological or nuclear weapon or explosive device with specification (F4); and one count of illegally manufacturing or possessing explosives with specification (F2).
Mobley was also indicted for one count of having weapons while under disability (F3) as he was under indictment for breaking and entering at the time of this offense.
"If convicted for these charges, they each face a potential sentence in excess of 36 years in prison, with Mobley facing an additional 3 years for possessing a firearm while under indictment for another felony offense," said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O"Brien.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION, SMALL FIRES, CHEMICAL SPILL AT RICHLAND PLANT
Tags: us_ms, explosion, industrial, response, unknown_chemical
Authorities say an explosion at a cardboard box manufacturing plant in Richland triggered a chemical spill, but no injuries were reported.
Richland Fire Department spokesman Rob Martin said workers safely evacuated the International Paper facility after the explosion early Thursday.
Ernie Shirley of the state Department of Environmental Quality said the explosion damaged tanks that spilled a hazardous chemical into the plant's parking lot. Shirley said workers contained the spill before it could spread beyond the parking lot. The state agency was monitoring a company contractor's cleanup work.
Martin said firefighters extinguished small "spot fires" that flared up after the blast, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. Martin said dust from a broken hose apparently triggered the explosion.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE IN LABORATORY CAUSES EVACUATION OF BUILDING ON U-M CAMPUS
Tags: us_mi, fire, laboratory, response, unknown_chemical
Students and faculty were evacuated from the Samuel T. Dana building Thursday morning after a drying oven inside a laboratory caught fire.
The fire, which was responded to around 9:15 a.m., was caused when the oven overheated and the contents inside ignited.
The building, which houses the School of Natural Resources at 440 Church St., was evacuated for about 45 minutes, University of Michigan Police spokeswoman Diane Brown said.
---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post