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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 (19 articles)
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2016 07:33:11 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 84302B8F-3219-4671-A124-ECBA54356F12**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, July 15, 2016 at 7:32:50 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=DQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=GN8foVmiTnrx6-eS6BgL7njVsTxFwUDbPSrPrmZZaKU&s=oW6XVFz305QMOGknvMsTV4K0msPgFZogYjA0zYzdAig&e=
Table of Contents (19 articles)
WIRELESS BADGES SENSE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
SPENCER LAB FIRE
Tags: us_DE, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEVRON REFINERY FIRE PROMPTS STATE TO PROPOSE TOUGHER RULES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
EXPLODING FIRE CONSUMES OIL FIELD IN SAN JUAN BASIN; CAUSE UNKNOWN
Tags: us_NM, public, explosion, response, other_chemical
MODERN WORKERS SUFFER CHEMICAL BURNS WHILE COLLECTING GARBAGE IN LEWISTON
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, waste
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL REOPENS AFTER BENZENE SPILL
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, benzene
LASIK SURGERY NEAR BRIDGEPORT VILLAGE EVACUATED
Tags: us_OR, public, release, injury, fluorine
WESTFORD CHEMICAL REACTION PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, other_chemical
CENTRAL PARK EXPLOSIVE CONTAINED 'UNSTABLE' CHEMICAL: REPORT
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, response, bomb
ALL OR NOTHING IS A BETTER STRATEGY FOR KEEPING DRINKING WATER LEAD LEVELS LOW
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
PEDESTRIAN HIT BY CAR ON FERNTREE GULLY ROAD, CHEMICAL SPILL ON CALDER FREEWAY
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
RESIDENTS EVACUATED AS CORK SCHOOL IS BADLY DAMAGED IN FIRE
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED INTO LYNDEN FOR SMELL
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, irritant
2 PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE AT WILLIAM AND MARY'S ZABLE STADIUM
Tags: us_VA, education, release, injury, chlorine
CARBON MONOXIDE LEVELS SPIKE; APARTMENTS EVACUATED
Tags: us_NE, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
PERRIS: MEN WHO PASSED OUT AT STORAGE FACILITY REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS; CAUSE UNKNOWN
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
ONE PERSON TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER GENENTECH HAZMAT SPILL
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, response, pharmaceutical
CREWS FINISH LEAK-REPAIR WORK AT DOWNTOWN BUSINESS
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, release, response, ammonia
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT RECYCLING PLANT IN MISSISSAUGA
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, waste
---------------------------------------------
WIRELESS BADGES SENSE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, response, other_chemical
A new wireless hazard badge detects certain dangerous compounds at parts-per-billion levels and warns people of their exposure to these chemicals via smartphone. The inexpensive, battery-free device could find use in chemistry labs and in military settings.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology chemists Timothy M. Swager, Rong Zhu, and Joseph M. Azzarelli developed the device by modifying commercially available near-field communication tags, smart chips that can communicate with cell phones. They added a chemiresistor, made of single-walled carbon nanotubes immersed in an ionic liquid, to the tags (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201604431).
When electrophilic molecules that are chemical warfare simulants hit the ionic liquid coating the conductive nanotubes, the molecules become hydrolyzed, Swager explains. The associated change in resistance in the tag can be detected via a mobile phone. In tests with the nerve agent simulant diethyl chlorophosphate, the MIT researchers showed they were able to detect various levels of exposure to the chemical‰??from low to moderate to hazardous‰??over time.
‰??Today‰??s cell phones employ more than a dozen sensors for various functions, including detecting light, magnetic field, temperature, acceleration, pressure, and sound waves. But they are all physical sensors,‰?? notes N. J. Tao, director of the Center for Bioelectronics & Biosensors at Arizona State University. ‰??Low-cost and miniaturized chemical sensors, like the one demonstrated by the Swager group, have a huge potential to expand mobile devices beyond tracking of our heart rate or how many steps we walk.‰??
---------------------------------------------
SPENCER LAB FIRE
Tags: us_DE, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
The University of Delaware's Spencer Laboratory is closed until further notice following a second floor custodial closet fire on Thursday afternoon, July 14.
The building was evacuated safely and then closed, according to UD officials.
The fire was extinguished with minimal damage, officials said, however, there is approximately one inch of water in the vicinity of the fire that must be removed.
Academy Street, which was closed briefly from Delaware Avenue to Lovett Avenue, has reopened to traffic.
---------------------------------------------
CHEVRON REFINERY FIRE PROMPTS STATE TO PROPOSE TOUGHER RULES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
California oil refineries may soon see tighter safety controls under state regulations proposed Thursday, four years after a leaky pipe triggered a fire at Chevron‰??s Richmond plant and sent 15,000 people to the hospital.
The new rules are an effort to make the state‰??s 18 refineries safer for workers and neighboring communities by introducing employee workplace standards and added checks intended to prevent chemical leaks.
The regulations, jointly announced by the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Governor‰??s Office of Emergency Services and the state Department of Industrial Relations, are the work of a group of government, business and community leaders convened after the August 2012 Richmond fire.
The proposed rules will be circulated for at least 45 days before the state agencies move to approve them.
‰??These regulations will make refineries safer neighbors and employers,‰?? CalEPA Secretary Matthew Rodriquez said in a prepared statement.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLODING FIRE CONSUMES OIL FIELD IN SAN JUAN BASIN; CAUSE UNKNOWN
Tags: us_NM, public, explosion, response, other_chemical
A fire that consumed storage tanks at an oil field in New Mexico is slowly burning out, and a WPX Energy spokesperson has apologized to dozens of Navajo Nation citizens who had to evacuate their homes.
‰??We‰??re deeply sorry for the lives interrupted,‰?? said WPX Energy spokesperson Kelly Swan, after 55 homes had to be evacuated. ‰??The Navajo Nation is an important stakeholder.‰??
The fire broke out in a series of explosions on Monday, July 11 at 10:15 pm at WPX Energy‰??s West Lybrook six-well-pad unit, a five-acre oil production site on Highway 550 near Nageezi, New Mexico, in San Juan County.
As of 7:30 a.m. on July 14 the fire, which WPX officials had hoped would burn itself out in a matter of hours, was ongoing, according to San Juan County spokesperson Michele Truby-Tillen.
---------------------------------------------
MODERN WORKERS SUFFER CHEMICAL BURNS WHILE COLLECTING GARBAGE IN LEWISTON
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, waste
LEWISTON -- Two workers from Modern Disposal suffered apparent chemical burns while picking up garbage Thursday afternoon in Lewiston.
The workers were collecting trash along Lower River Road near Joseph Davis State Park. After placing some trash in the rear of a garbage truck, the workers attempted to compact the debris, according to a Lewiston police official.
As the compacting machinery began to close down on the garbage, it smashed what was described as a "blue bottle" and a liquid sprayed out of the bottle. The workers were hit by the spray and began to feel a burning sensation on their skin.
A Hazmat team from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station was called out and washed down the workers and decontaminated them before they were taken to a hospital for treatment.
It was unclear what the workers were sprayed with Thursday night. Attempts to contact the Niagara County Fire Coordinator's office were unsuccessful.
---------------------------------------------
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL REOPENS AFTER BENZENE SPILL
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, benzene
HOUSTON - The Houston Ship Channel has reopened after a benzene spill Thursday afternoon.
Coast Guard crews and a Hazmat team from Harris County worked to clean up about 500 gallons of benzene spilled from a tanker.
The leak was secured but a small portion of the benzene entered the water, according to the Coast Guard.
---------------------------------------------
LASIK SURGERY NEAR BRIDGEPORT VILLAGE EVACUATED
Tags: us_OR, public, release, injury, fluorine
TIGARD, Ore. (KOIN) ‰?? An employee at a Lasik eye surgery clinic at Bridgeport Village was exposed to potentially harmful gassed used in Lasik surgery on July 14.
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue‰??s HazMat team arrived within minutes of the exposure and treated one person for minor symptoms related to fluorine and helium gas. That person was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The HazMat team evaluated the building to make sure the leak was contained and found no other signs of gas in the building. The confirmed an employee had been able to shut off the valve before evacuating.
---------------------------------------------
WESTFORD CHEMICAL REACTION PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, other_chemical
WESTFORD -- The Westford Fire Department and state's hazmat team responded to a chemical reaction at 73 Hildreth St. around 1:25 p.m. Thursday.
Officials responded to an accidental mixture of Iron Out, a solution used to remove rust, and Pot Perm Plus, which is used for sludge pots for wells, according to Fire Captain David O'Keefe.
"They got mixed up and caused a vapor cloud inside the house," O'Keefe said.
There was one fire engine and one ambulance on scene, but there were no reported injuries. O'Keefe also said there were two or three hazmat trucks from the state on the scene. Firefighters from other departments, including Haverhill and Bedford were also on scene.
Officials were on the scene for about five hours.
---------------------------------------------
CENTRAL PARK EXPLOSIVE CONTAINED 'UNSTABLE' CHEMICAL: REPORT
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, response, bomb
Police have identified one of the chemicals in the explosive device which claimed an 18-year-old's lower leg on July 3, according to a CNN report.
The chemical, referred to as TATP or acetone peroxide, was discovered in tests done by the NYPD, a police source told the TV network. The homemade explosive was placed in a plastic bag and exploded when stepped on by an 18-year-old tourist from Fairfax, Virginia.
The NYPD released a statement late Thursday saying only that the substances were easily obtainable chemicals from a hardware store.
Police at the time said they did not believe the explosion to be terrorist-related, and again reiterated that on Thursday.
---------------------------------------------
ALL OR NOTHING IS A BETTER STRATEGY FOR KEEPING DRINKING WATER LEAD LEVELS LOW
Tags: Canada, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
Getting rid of lead pipes in drinking water systems seems like a logical way to combat concerns over lead in household water. But in some cases doing something may be worse than doing nothing at all. A study including 61 Canadian homes where only portions of lead pipes were replaced found that lead levels in the water more than doubled immediately following this change (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b01912). Lead levels remained elevated for six months, indicating that partial replacement does not reduce household lead exposure, the researchers say.
Once commonly used in North America, lead water pipes were banned in the United States and Canada in the mid-1970s and 1980s. Today, an estimated 7% of people in the U.S. have at least some lead pipe in the system that carries water from the main distribution line to where it enters the house. Water lead levels correlate with lead in residents‰?? blood and are linked to learning difficulties, slowed growth, and other health and behavioral problems in young children.
To reduce lead exposure, municipal water utilities replace the lead pipe with copper pipe, but in many places they are only allowed to carry out a partial replacement, removing the lead pipe between the main water line and a homeowner‰??s property boundary. After such a partial service line replacement, new copper pipe connects to lead pipe that crosses the property to where it enters the house.
---------------------------------------------
PEDESTRIAN HIT BY CAR ON FERNTREE GULLY ROAD, CHEMICAL SPILL ON CALDER FREEWAY
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
CFA crews are still cleaning up a major chemical spill which closed down the northbound lanes of the Calder Freeway.
The spill started on the freeway north of Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges about five hours ago when a tanker rolled and started spewing 20,000 litres of hydrochloric acid onto the road.
Both northbound lanes of the Calder Freeway are still closed and people are being advised to avoid the area.
---------------------------------------------
RESIDENTS EVACUATED AS CORK SCHOOL IS BADLY DAMAGED IN FIRE
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Emergency services spent several hours overnight battling a fire at the Patrician Academy in Fair Street, Mallow that broke out shortly after 3.30am.
Five units of cork city and county fire services attended at the scene with fire crews travelling from the city, Charleville, Kanturk and Mallow stations in a bid to get the fire under control.
The main damage was to an extension to the school, which was built 20 years ago.
The extension consisted of three science laboratories with a tiered demonstration room, two drawing rooms, a building construction room, a geography laboratory with a weather satellite link and four classrooms.
Residents living close to the fire were evacuated from their homes.
Fair Street remained closed for much on Wednesday morning but has subsequently reopened.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT TEAM CALLED INTO LYNDEN FOR SMELL
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, irritant
LYNDEN ‰?? A seven-hour incident that included the Whatcom Unified Emergency Response‰??s hazmat unit ‰?? and a robot ‰?? started with a smell on Tuesday afternoon.
‰??‰??Robert Spinner, Lynden Fire Department assistant chief, said two women came to the fire station at about 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday to report a chemical smell at the K Mini Storage & Mall, 413 19th St. That complaint, which the two women said was an irritant to their respiratory systems and skin, initiated a Lynden Fire Department response to the facility and closure of a section of 19th Street.
‰??‰??Spinner said that as Lynden Fire responded, the county‰??s hazardous materials unit was alerted. After Lynden‰??s search of the units in the second building yielded nothing, the hazmat team assembled for its own search.
‰??‰??A robot was used to check units.
‰??‰??‰??Once they go in, they have some very sensitive equipment to detect organic and chemical,‰?? Spinner said. ‰??Their devices didn‰??t pick up anything. There was nothing.‰??
---------------------------------------------
2 PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE AT WILLIAM AND MARY'S ZABLE STADIUM
Tags: us_VA, education, release, injury, chlorine
Two people are in the hospital Wednesday due to chemical exposure from a broken pipe at William and Mary's Zable Stadium, officials said.
The people, a construction worker and first responder, were taken to the hospital as a precaution after they were exposed to chlorine, said William and Mary spokeswoman Suzanne Seurattan.
The Williamsburg Fire Department received reports of the broken pipe at 3:15 p.m., said Eric Stone, a spokesman for the fire department.
The Williamsburg Fire Department, York County Fire Department, the William and Mary Police Department and the Newport News Hazmat team responded to the scene.
The incident is still under investigation, although the surrounding area is safe and the situation is under control, Stone said.
---------------------------------------------
CARBON MONOXIDE LEVELS SPIKE; APARTMENTS EVACUATED
Tags: us_NE, public, release, injury, carbon_monoxide
Lincoln Fire and Rescue responded to a carbon monoxide detector going off at 4901 Wilshire Blvd., and decided to evacuate the building.
Some residents were displaced for the night as LFR and Black Hills Gas crews tried to locate what caused carbon monoxide levels to spike.
A Hazmat Level 2 emergency was declared after carbon monoxide levels of 500 parts per million were detected on an upper floor apartment of one of the three buildings in the complex.
Anything over 50 parts per million is considered to be hazardous.
A Hazmat Level 2 indicates the possibility of a medical emergency, Battalion Chief Jim Bopp said.
---------------------------------------------
PERRIS: MEN WHO PASSED OUT AT STORAGE FACILITY REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS; CAUSE UNKNOWN
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
What caused two people to fall unconscious at a storage facility in Perris on Tuesday remained a mystery a day later.
The men were awake and coherent Wednesday, according to a manager at the facility who had talked to one of their co-workers.
Brice Campbell, a manager at Daytona RV and Boat Storage at 24194 Daytona Cove in Perris, said three workers from a company that rents space at the facility were getting ready to work on a truck in one of the units sometime before 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Two of the men went to a different unit to get tools, while the third man left to get some water. When that person returned about 20 minutes later, he found his two colleagues unconscious in the storage unit with the tools. He alerted employees of the storage facility, Campbell said.
---------------------------------------------
ONE PERSON TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER GENENTECH HAZMAT SPILL
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, release, response, pharmaceutical
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)‰?? One person has been taken to the hospital after a small hazardous materials spill at pharmaceutical company Genentech in South San Francisco Wednesday morning, according to Genentech.
Paramedics arrived on scene at 11:15 a.m. to help emergency crews at Genentech take one person affected by the incident to the hospital.
The South San Francisco Fire Department says the spill is now contained.
No injuries were reported, and it is not a threat to public safety, according to fire officials.
The department is not saying what spilled because it is a product made by Genentech.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS FINISH LEAK-REPAIR WORK AT DOWNTOWN BUSINESS
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, release, response, ammonia
Work to halt an ammonia leak at Mooresville Ice Cream Co. was completed early Wednesday evening.
The retail store and ice cream manufacturing plant had been closed since Tuesday night as emergency personnel worked to get the dangerous ammonia levels down safely for repairmen to enter and fix the leak.
A call about the ammonia leak was made to the Mooresville Police Department about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday night, according to Assistant Fire Chief Shane LaCount.
LaCount said firefighters arrived on scene and determined there were high levels of ammonia on their monitors in which a hazmat team immediately responded.
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HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT RECYCLING PLANT IN MISSISSAUGA
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, waste
Several roads were closed for hours and residents were told to stay inside after emergency crews responded to a chemical incident at a recycling plant in Mississauga overnight.
Firefighters were called to the Clean Harbors plant on Avonhead Road around 11:30 p.m. and discovered smoke drifting in the air.
It appeared there was a chemical reaction inside the plant but officials say no fire was detected.
Peel police say there were no reports of any injuries, however first responders were told to wear masks if they were out of their vehicles.
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