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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] ACS National Awards: Committee Suggestions Date: Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 7:31:23 PM Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, October 28, 2016 at 7:59:42 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 (10 articles)
CHLORINE GAS RELEASED IN KANSAS DISTILLERY CHEMICAL MIX-UP
Tags: us_KS, transportation, release, injury, bleach, chlorine, sulfuric_acid
TWO PEOPLE RECOVERING FOLLOWING HAZMAT SITUATION IN DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON
Tags: us_sc, public, release, injury, cleaning_chemicals
SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER LIFTED AFTER CHEMICAL LIME SPILL
Tags: us_oh, transportation, release, response, dust
BASF: BLAST AT GERMAN CHEMICAL PLANT LIKELY CAUSED BY ERROR
Tags: germany, follow-up, industrial, enviromental, petroleum
SAMSUNG ISN‰??T THE ONLY ONE WITH LITHIUM ION BATTERY PROBLEMS. JUST ASK NASA
Tags: us_ca, explosion, laboratory, response, batteries
THOUSANDS OF SWANSEA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS EVACUATED AFTER ‰??DISCOVERY OF VOLATILE CHEMICALS‰??
Tags: uk, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
NO INJURIES REPORTED IN CHEMICAL SPILL AT K-STATE BIO-LAB
Tags: us_KS, laboratory, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
CHEMICALS IGNITED AS SHREWSBURY HOUSE WAS TORN DOWN
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical, waste
ANN ARBOR AREA CHEMICAL CONCERNS RESURFACE
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
TEACHER, STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT ST. JOHN'S CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_KA, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical
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CHLORINE GAS RELEASED IN KANSAS DISTILLERY CHEMICAL MIX-UP
Tags: us_KS, transportation, release, injury, bleach, chlorine, sulfuric_acid
An accident at a distillery in Atchison, Kan., that released a cloud of chlorine gas was apparently caused by a chemical safety textbook example of what not to do: mixing sulfuric acid with sodium hypochlorite.
The U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board is probing the incident and is expected to make a final determination of the cause.
The accident occurred on Oct. 21 at MGP, which describes itself as a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits and specialty wheat proteins and starches. It produces alcohol used for vodkas, gins, bourbons, and whiskeys. The company employs approximately 270 people.
A supplier was delivering sulfuric acid to the facility, explains Trey Cocking, Atchison city manager, ‰??and instead of putting the acid into the sulfuric acid tank, it went into the sodium hypochlorite tank. That led to a reaction.‰?? When sodium hypochlorite is mixed with acid, chlorine gas is produced.
Residents near the distillery began to smell a strong odor of chlorine and a thick fog emanated from the plant, sweeping over the town of 11,000, according to news accounts. Those living north of the plant in the area of the plume were told to shelter in place. At one point, authorities considered evacuating the entire city. More than 135 people complained of burning lungs and difficulty in breathing and were treated at area hospitals, Cocking says. Only one person was admitted and has been released, he adds.
Three company employees plus the truck driver delivering the acid required medical attention. In addition, 27 city employees have sought medical attention, including police, fire, and public works city staff.
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TWO PEOPLE RECOVERING FOLLOWING HAZMAT SITUATION IN DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON
Tags: us_sc, public, release, injury, cleaning_chemicals
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) ‰?? Two employees of a downtown Charleston business are recovering following a hazmat situation Thursday evening.
hazmat-situation-charlestonCharleston Fire and Haz-Mat crew responded to Walgreens at King and Calhoun Streets on October 27.
Two employees were working in the store and mixed multiple cleaning chemicals and then started to feel ill, according to the Charleston Fire Department. We‰??re told the store was evacuated and medics transported both victims to a local hospital.
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SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER LIFTED AFTER CHEMICAL LIME SPILL
Tags: us_oh, transportation, release, response, dust
WEST CHESTER ‰?? Officials in a Cincinnati-area township have lifted a shelter-in-place order after a chemical lime spill.
West Chester Township officials say 60,000 pounds of lime spilled shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday at Superior Environmental Solutions.
The spill created a dust cloud and township officials advised residents to stay indoors because lime can cause skin and eye irritation and respiratory problems. Officials also recommended that people in the area shut their doors and windows and turn off their heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Some nearby businesses were evacuated as a precaution.
Firefighters used water on the lime to turn it into steam and the scene was cleared several hours later.
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BASF: BLAST AT GERMAN CHEMICAL PLANT LIKELY CAUSED BY ERROR
Tags: germany, follow-up, industrial, enviromental, petroleum
BERLIN (AP) ‰?? Chemical giant BASF says a deadly explosion at its plant in southwest Germany last week was likely caused by a contractor cutting the wrong pipeline.
Two firefighters and a sailor on a nearby boat died, and dozens of people were injured in the Oct. 17 explosion at the site in Ludwigshafen.
Shortly before the blast, workers had been carrying out scheduled maintenance on an empty pipeline connecting storage tanks to an area where liquids are unloaded from ships on the Rhine river.
BASF board member Margret Suckale said Thursday that investigators found a cut in a nearby pipeline carrying flammable gas.
She said the gas may have been ignited by sparks, causing a fire and then the explosion.
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SAMSUNG ISN‰??T THE ONLY ONE WITH LITHIUM ION BATTERY PROBLEMS. JUST ASK NASA
Tags: us_ca, explosion, laboratory, response, batteries
ON JUNE 14, 2016, four researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were preparing to ship a waist-high, ape-like robot named RoboSimian off-site. They had built the bot to rescue people from dangerous situations that human rescuers can‰??t hack. The scientists swapped one lithium-ion battery for a fresh one, then left for lunch to let the new power supply charge.
Left alone in the lab, RoboSimian‰??s battery did what such batteries famously do: went boom. Plumes of smoke vented from the robot‰??s exposed torso, followed by a burst of flame. Fire filled the room, then stabilized at the size of a toxic campfire. Gather round the burning bionic monkey, everybody. (Don‰??t.)
Exploding lithium-ion batteries are not new news. Last year‰??s hottest Christmas present, the hoverboard, was a bit too hot. You can‰??t take an e-cigarette on a plane because it might combust in the cargo hold. And if you have a Samsung Galaxy Note 7‰?|well‰?|better luck in your next phone pick.
But the magnitude of RoboSimian itself‰??and that of other lithium-powered NASA projects‰??set its battery fire apart. ‰??In general, a single lithium ion cell is dangerous, but it can‰??t cause a gigantic explosion,‰?? says Jay Whitacre, a Carnegie Mellon professor of materials science and engineering who used to do battery science at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Cell phones typically have a single cell; RoboSimian had 96. If you‰??ve seen what a Samsung device can do to your hand, imagine what this robot could have done to the rest of you.
And because NASA builds lithium-loaded vehicles that also go to space‰??sometimes, someday taking people up there‰??this fire may feel like cause for concern. The huge sets of cells that live inside robots, spacecraft, and robotic spacecraft? ‰??That‰??s a lot of energy that‰??s released very quickly, and it can be fatal,‰?? says Whitacre. ‰??The more you put in one place, the more you have to look at it.‰??
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THOUSANDS OF SWANSEA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS EVACUATED AFTER ‰??DISCOVERY OF VOLATILE CHEMICALS‰??
Tags: uk, laboratory, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
THOUSANDS of students were evacuated from Swansea University today after the discovery of ‰??volatile chemicals‰?? inside a laboratory building.
Emergency services are at the university where a number of buildings have been evacuated due to the potential hazard.
Thousands of students were evacuated from Swansea University today ALAMY
1
Thousands of students were evacuated from Swansea University today
Cops were called to the university at about 1.30pm today and a cordon was put up around a number of buildings at the college of science due to concerns about the storage of chemicals.
A lecturer told South Wales Evening Post: ‰??I teach in the building next door but we‰??ve all been evacuated.
‰??There were loads of students in lectures and doing practicals when they were evacuated but it was calm.‰??
---------------------------------------------
NO INJURIES REPORTED IN CHEMICAL SPILL AT K-STATE BIO-LAB
Tags: us_KS, laboratory, release, response, sodium_hydroxide
A chemical spill at biocontainment facility in Manhattan gave Kansas State University employees a brief scare Tuesday.
The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. when a container of potassium hydroxide was spilled in a lab at the university‰??s Biosecurity Research Institute, located on campus inside Pat Roberts Hall.
K-State associate vice president of communications and marketing Steve Longback says the Manhattan Fire Department was called to the scene to make sure the chemical did not pose a threat to anyone inside the building.
‰??It was determined by the fire department that the spill was contained inside a room designed to contain the chemical,‰?? Longback said.
Fire crews were only on the scene for about 30 minutes.
Longback says there were no students present in the room and no injuries were reported.
Potassium hydroxide, also known as caustic potash or lye, is an odorless chemical base used primarily in industrial processes such as petroleum refining and the making of cleaning products.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICALS IGNITED AS SHREWSBURY HOUSE WAS TORN DOWN
Tags: us_MA, public, fire, injury, unknown_chemical, waste
SHREWSBURY ‰?? Hazmat crews are cleaning a residential area where unknown chemicals ignited Tuesday.
Fire Chief James Vuona said several ‰??unmarked jars of unknown chemicals‰?? ignited while a house at 393 Oak St. was in being torn down and carted away in Dumpsters.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, the Fire Department received a call about a spill of a potentially hazardous substance. Fire and police units immediately cordoned off the area and directed traffic.
Chief Vuona said ‰??low-level amounts of chemicals‰?? ignited, and the incident was deemed a Tier 1 hazmat situation, which is the lowest level of contamination and risk to the public.
The State Hazmat Team with Hazmat Unit 1 and New England Disposal Technologies Inc. were still on the scene Wednesday, conducting and monitoring the cleanup, Chief Vuona said.
As of Wednesday, the chemicals have not been identified.
‰??We‰??ve had Hazmat team yesterday (Tuesday), and they are back today (Wednesday),‰?? Chief Vuona said. ‰??The Fire Department has maintained a presence onsite for the last 24-hours or so. And they are in the process of working with the DEP and NEDT, the cleanup company, to get the problem resolved.‰??
Medical personnel treated the reporting party at the scene for breathing difficulty and throat irritation. No other injuries were reported, and no one was taken to the hospital.
---------------------------------------------
ANN ARBOR AREA CHEMICAL CONCERNS RESURFACE
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Ann Arbor ‰?? A dangerous chemical plume that has been on the move for decades in aquifers beneath Ann Arbor and Scio Township continues to reach into new areas, prompting renewed concerns about efforts to contain it.
Suspected carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane was recently detected in shallow groundwater near Ann Arbor‰??s Waterworks Park and Slauson Middle School on the city‰??s west side. That‰??s more than two miles from the former site of Gelman Sciences Inc. and its follower, Pall Life Sciences, where the original contamination is believed to have occurred.
On Monday, the Ann Arbor city council unanimously approved a resolution calling for expedited and more intense efforts to clean up the contamination.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, stepped into the fray this week as well, firing off a letter to EPA Director Gina McCarthy that raises questions about the agency‰??s oversight of the situation. Under terms of a consent agreement, Pall Life Sciences is conducting remediation work under supervision by Michigan‰??s Department of Environmental Quality.
---------------------------------------------
TEACHER, STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT ST. JOHN'S CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_KA, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical
BELOIT ‰?? A teacher and a number of students were taken to a local hospital Wednesday morning following a chemical explosion outside of St. John‰??s Catholic High School, in Beloit.
A ‰??faulty flask‰?? may have contributed to a reaction that caused teacher and administrator Joe Holdren and some students to receive cuts and burns when an acid was mixed with regular table sugar, according to Holdren.
‰??This is a great way to show chemical reactions. We‰??ve done this experiment several times and never had any incidents,‰?? Holdren said. ‰??A flask overheated. That‰??s what blew up.‰??
There are 12 students in the class. He wouldn‰??t say how many were taken to Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems, in Beloit, for treatment.
Nick Compagnone, superintendent of schools within the Salina Catholic Diocese, said he was informed late Wednesday morning about the explosion.
Holdren and students were taken by private vehicle to the hospital as a ‰??precautionary step,‰?? he said, ‰??to be checked for minor burns and cuts.‰??
The explosion was not reported to law enforcement or the EMS service in Beloit.
All were back at school by lunchtime, Holdren said, and were back in class Wednesday afternoon.
Word of the incident made it to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, and Sarah Jenkins, communications director, who alerted the Journal of the incident.
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