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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 (12 articles)
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2017 07:39:23 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: FC7CFD52-2666-47D4-B48C-D09424F208C7**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, January 27, 2017 at 7:39:13 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 (12 articles)
SENTINELSOURCE.COM: THE KEENE SENTINEL LOCAL NEWS
Tags: us_NH, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
'CULTURE OF SECRECY' SURROUNDS TRANSPORTATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Tags: Canada, transportation, discovery, environmental
U.S. PIPELINE REGULATOR ISSUES RULE TO SPEED UP NOTIFICATION TIME
Tags: us_MI, transportation, follow-up, response, petroleum
BREAKING: MURRIETA: FIRE AT MURRIETA MESA HS PROMPTS LARGE RESPONSE, EVACUATION OF SCHOOL
Tags: us_CA, education, fire, response, fire_extinguisher
WACKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION SUPPORTS PROCESS SAFETY EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Tags: us_MI, industrial, discovery, environmental
LAOS PASSES CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT LAW
Tags: Laos, public, discovery, response, ag_chems
SENATORS URGE FASTER EPA STUDY OF CHEMICAL IN LI WATER SUPPLY
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
NORWALK REFLECTOR: FIREFIGHTERS PHONED FOR FLAMING FORKLIFT AT FACTORY
Tags: us_WA, industrial, fire, response, fire_extinguisher, propane
TRAFFIC ALERT: HAZMAT SPILL ON I-64 NEAR FT. EUSTIS
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems
TARGET REVAMPS CHEMICAL USE POLICY, ASKS SUPPLIERS TO LIST INGREDIENTS
Tags: public, discovery, response
U.S. CHEMICAL INDUSTRY BODY CALLS FOR REFORM OF WHO CANCER AGENCY
Tags: France, public, discovery, response
SAMSUNG: FLAWS LED TO NOTE 7 FIRES
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, response, batteries, flammables
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SENTINELSOURCE.COM: THE KEENE SENTINEL LOCAL NEWS
Tags: us_NH, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
Fire crews are still trying to determine what's caused an odor smelled throughout downtown Keene this morning.
Southwestern N.H. District Fire Mutual Aid began receiving reports at about 9:30 a.m. of an electrical odor downtown. The first report came from RE/MAX, at 117 West St.
Jessica Benner, a RE/MAX manager, described an acrid smell similar to an electrical burn. Benner said the RE/MAX employees assumed it was a problem with their rooftop electrical units, and evacuated the building.
'We were convinced one of the units was on fire,' she recalled. But after an HVAC inspection with an assist from the Keene Fire Department, the units were found to be operating normally, Benner added.
Soon after, the odor was reported at the fire station and Mutual Aid headquarters, both on Vernon Street; the police station on Marlboro Street; the Cheshire County Courthouse on Winter Street; other businesses and residences along Marlboro and Water streets; and Route 101, according to scanner reports.
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'CULTURE OF SECRECY' SURROUNDS TRANSPORTATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Tags: Canada, transportation, discovery, environmental
A culture of secrecy exists among major rail carriers and the federal government regarding the transportation of hazardous materials, despite widespread demand for greater transparency.
'There have been incremental changes along the way, but railways largely set the rules for themselves,' said Mark Winfield, York University professor and rail safety expert.
With the public bearing the risk of any potential disaster, that's a huge problem, he noted.
That risk was never more evident than the 1979 Mississauga train derailment, where a CP Rail train skidded off the tracks on Mavis Road, causing the release of deadly chlorine gas, and forcing the evacuation of 250,000 residents.
Emergency responders determined there were hazardous materials on the train after the derailment occurred, but the cars were piled on top of each other and the identification placards were not visible.
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U.S. PIPELINE REGULATOR ISSUES RULE TO SPEED UP NOTIFICATION TIME
Tags: us_MI, transportation, follow-up, response, petroleum
The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently issued a rule to improve pipeline operational safety, including a requirement for faster notification following a spill.
The rule says the operator must electronically or telephonically report notice of an accident or incident within one hour of confirmation, PHMSA said in a statement.
There have been growing concerns regarding the safety of pipelines transporting hazardous liquids, after activists spent months protesting plans to route the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, saying the project poses a threat to water resources and sacred Native American sites.
PHMSA's rule also includes provisions for operator qualification, cost recovery and other pipeline safety changes and will become effective 60 days from the date of its publication in the Federal Register. It is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 23, 2017.
PHMSA said the rule also amends drug and alcohol testing requirements. It now requires drug testing of employees after an accident and will allow exemption only when there is sufficient information that establishes the employees had no role in the accident.
The proposed changes come after incidents such as in 2010 when an Enbridge Energy Partners pipeline spill near Michigan's Kalamazoo River leaked crude oil for about 17 hours before it was confirmed by control room operators.
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BREAKING: MURRIETA: FIRE AT MURRIETA MESA HS PROMPTS LARGE RESPONSE, EVACUATION OF SCHOOL
Tags: us_CA, education, fire, response, fire_extinguisher
MURRIETA ' A water bottle that a student tossed onto a light fixture in a interior hallway at Murrieta Mesa High School started a small fire that forced the emergency evacuation of the school Thursday, Jan. 26. The school is located at 24801 Monroe Avenue in Murrieta.
The fire, that was reported around 11 a.m., prompted four engine companies, one truck company, a battalion chief, and a fire marshal to respond to the high school.
Murrieta police officials and school resource officers also responded to the reported emergency to assist with student evacuations as well as traffic and crowd control.
While firefighters and other emergency first responders were rushing to the school, a teacher ' who has not yet been identified ' managed to extinguish the fire before it could grow out of control.
'A quick-acting school teacher used a 10 pound dry-chemical fire extinguisher to extinguish a burning plastic water bottle,' a fire official explained in a social media press release after the fire.
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WACKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION SUPPORTS PROCESS SAFETY EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Tags: us_MI, industrial, discovery, environmental
NEW YORK and ADRIAN, Mich., Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WACKER Chemical Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Wacker Chemie AG, is affirming its commitment to safe chemical industry practices and the education of the future workforce through a collaboration with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and its Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS).
WACKER has made a multi-year commitment in support of AIChE's global Undergraduate Process Safety Learning Initiative. The initiative seeks to ensure that chemical engineering students acquire a working knowledge of process safety principles ' an area of instruction underdeveloped in most chemical engineering curricula. AIChE is also creating new e-learning materials for the SAChE (Safety and Chemical Engineering Education) Certificate Program ' which will be part of a dynamic curriculum that makes incorporating process safety into chemical engineering instruction easy and engaging.
As part of WACKER's partnership commitment, the company will host a CCPS Faculty Process Safety Training Workshop at WACKER's Charleston, Tennessee, facility in July 2017.
The Undergraduate Process Safety Learning Initiative is a component of the AIChE's Foundation's "Doing a World of Good" campaign, which focuses on projects that bring chemical engineering expertise to bear for the good of society.
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LAOS PASSES CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT LAW
Tags: Laos, public, discovery, response, ag_chems
The Laos National Assembly has approved a law on the management of chemical substances. It was passed in a session that ended on 21 November.
The final text did come under criticism in the assembly. Almost all members who spoke in the debate expressed concerns that, as drafted, it would not stop the unregulated use of dangerous substances.
Some members said the law needed stricter measures to prohibit chemical use, in particular, the use of herbicides and pesticides which is widespread in Laos.
Assembly member for Xieng Khuang province, Vilaysouk Phimmasone, said it will permit the use of most categories of chemicals rather than limiting their proliferation.
Mr Vilaysouk suggested that companies should not be allowed to use chemicals in the three most dangerous categories ' where the law currently specifies government approval is required ' unless in a project where the government is involved.
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SENATORS URGE FASTER EPA STUDY OF CHEMICAL IN LI WATER SUPPLY
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
New York's two U.S. senators are pressuring federal environmental officials to speed up a health study examining the risks from exposure to 1,4-dioxane ' a man-made chemical and possible carcinogen found throughout Long Island's drinking water supplies.
On Thursday, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, sent a letter to acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Catherine McCabe, asking for faster efforts to evaluate the health risks and to provide assistance to affected Long Island communities.
Newsday earlier this month reported that 1,4-dioxane had been found in 71 percent of water districts sampled on Long Island at a level that poses a one-in-a-million cancer risk after prolonged exposure.
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NORWALK REFLECTOR: FIREFIGHTERS PHONED FOR FLAMING FORKLIFT AT FACTORY
Tags: us_WA, industrial, fire, response, fire_extinguisher, propane
BELLEVUE ' The Bellevue Fire Department received a call at 7:01 a.m. on Monday from Magretech employees regarding a flaming forklift.
'Crews stated they believed a hydraulic hose broke,' wrote firefighter Brian Ackerman in a report. Employees said sparks from the factory likely ignited oil on the forklift.
When Bellevue firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire was already out, having been handled by Magretech employees with three chemical fire extinguishers.
The ground around the vehicle was covered in oil, which was cleaned up using Oil-Dri.
The Magretech crew seemed to handle the fire quite capably themselves, as Ackerman notes in his report.
'Employees had removed a propane tank prior to arrival (and) crews were beginning to work on dismantling the crane device,' he wrote.
---------------------------------------------
TRAFFIC ALERT: HAZMAT SPILL ON I-64 NEAR FT. EUSTIS
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems
FORT EUSTIS, Va. (WVEC) -- Authorities are working to learn the cause of a hazmat spill that led to the closure of westbound Interstate 64 on Wednesday.
We're told the incident happened at mile marker 250, near Fort Eustis. Investigators say the dump truck involved was carrying ammonia sulfate fertilizer.
State Police say the hazmat is not the result of an accident, and are only calling it "an incident." No injuries are reported.
VDOT tweeted that all lanes were back open as of 4 p.m., but motorists could still expect delays in the area.
---------------------------------------------
TARGET REVAMPS CHEMICAL USE POLICY, ASKS SUPPLIERS TO LIST INGREDIENTS
Tags: public, discovery, response
Target Corp. said it would introduce a policy aimed at removing many harmful chemicals used in its personal care, beauty and textiles products, and the retailer would ensure suppliers disclose ingredients in all products it sells by 2020.
The retailer also said it would invest $5 million in green chemistry, which involves the reduction or elimination of hazardous substances in chemicals, over the next five years.
The company said it is seeking to remove perfluorinated chemicals and potentially carcinogenic flame retardants from its textile products by 2022, having already moved to abolish more than a 1,000 chemicals from some of its products in 2015.
The chemical strategy will include all Target-owned and national brand products and operations, Chief Sustainability Officer Jennifer Silberman said.
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U.S. CHEMICAL INDUSTRY BODY CALLS FOR REFORM OF WHO CANCER AGENCY
Tags: France, public, discovery, response
The American Chemistry Council industry body called on Wednesday for World Health Organization's cancer agency to reform, accusing it of "dubious and misleading" work in classifying potential carcinogens.
Launching what it called a campaign for accuracy in public health research, the ACC, which represents U.S. chemical companies, said the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) evaluations "have a significant impact on U.S. public policy" and should be based on "transparent, thorough assessment of the best available science".
No one at IARC - a France-based semi-autonomous agency of the WHO - responded to Reuters' phone calls and emails asking for comment on the ACC's criticisms.
As part of its work on cancer research, IARC publishes evaluations - known as monographs - on whether certain chemicals, lifestyles and activities may cause cancer.
Its assessments of whether such things as coffee, mobile phones, processed meat and the weedkiller glyphosate cause cancer have caused particular controversy in recent years.
---------------------------------------------
SAMSUNG: FLAWS LED TO NOTE 7 FIRES
Tags: Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, response, batteries, flammables
Samsung's investigation into the batteries of its Galaxy Note 7 phones has uncovered several manufacturing defects that likely contributed to the rash of phone fires customers experienced after the phone's launch last year.
Billions of batteries are used every day without incident, but when batteries do catch fire, common causes include a short circuit across the battery separator, a porous polyethylene film which is supposed to prevent battery electrodes from touching. Batteries can also overcharge or experience a chemical breakdown of their flammable carbonate-based electrolytes.
At a press conference on Monday at its Seoul headquarters, Samsung disclosed results of analysis by two independent investigators: the testing firm Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the engineering consulting firm Exponent. The firms tested batteries made by two batteries suppliers, dubbed in their presentations as 'Company A' and Company B'. The suppliers are believed to be Samsung SDI and Amperex Technology.
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