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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] LETTER: Beware of flammable chemical in wood stain, shed caught fire Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at 4:12:11 AM Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> |
Next by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Flammables Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2017 19:16:48 +1000 Author: Paul Dover |
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at 4:15:19 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 (17 articles)
LETTER: BEWARE OF FLAMMABLE CHEMICAL IN WOOD STAIN, SHED CAUGHT FIRE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, follow-up, environmental
COUNTY EYES BAN ON EXPLODING TARGETS AFTER SAWMILL FIRE
Tags: us_AZ, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES SELAH CREEK REST AREA ON INTERSTATE 82
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, corrosives
TRUMP'S EPA CUTS LESS SEVERE UNDER HOUSE PLAN; CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD FUNDING RESTORED
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
EMBRACING THE BUMPY ROAD TO CHEMICAL SAFETY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
FIRE AT UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SHIPMENT ERROR PROMPTS FIRING OF LAB WORKER
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, environmental, radiation, illegal
UPDATE: ‰??BENIGN BUT PROBABLY NASTY‰?? FUMES AT LEESBURG AIR TRAFFIC CENTER CAUSES HUNDREDS OF DELAYS
Tags: us_VA, public, release, injury, adhesives
DRIVE STARTS TO AVOID CHEMICAL MISHAPS
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, follow-up, environmental
12 HOSPITALIZED AFTER FALLING ILL AT WATERPARK
Tags: us_MS, public, release, injury, chlorine
CRASH CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL ON HWY 83, SOUTH OF STAPLETON
Tags: us_NE, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
CHEMICAL FIRE IGNITES IN CHROME PLANT NEAR KINGSTON
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, response, metals
DEMOLITION STARTS ON DEADLY CAMBRIA CORN MILL EXPLOSION SITE
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, death, ethanol
THREE TREATED AT SCENE AFTER YEOVIL CAR CRASH CAUSES 'SIGNIFICANT GAS LEAK' AND LARGE CORDON
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, natural_gas
FIRE CREWS STAMP OUT ‰??RARE‰?? SULPHUR BLAZE IN WYOMING
Tags: us_WY, industrial, fire, response, waste
CHEMICAL INCIDENT SPARKS EVACUATIONS IN NORTH ADELAIDE
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
SCIENTISTS ARE GOOD FOR MORE THAN R&D
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
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LETTER: BEWARE OF FLAMMABLE CHEMICAL IN WOOD STAIN, SHED CAUGHT FIRE
Tags: us_WA, transportation, follow-up, environmental
Last month, our shed burned down, taking with it at least one of our large stately cedar trees. The cause? A chemical ingredient (penofin) in the stain being used on our house.
It turns out that penofin self-combusts in the presence of air, so when our contractor placed one small brush, one empty can and a small rag just outside the shed, eight hours later the fire began. If one reads the very small print about this ingredient (found in several wood stains), the manufacturer details that all tools and containers used to apply the stain are to be placed in a tub of water for a week to avoid combustion.
When I talked with the fire inspector, he informed me that four recent fires he had written investigation reports on had penofin as the cause. When I asked why on earth would such a product be available, he replied that because it is an epoxy (rather than a resin), it does a better job of protecting structures from the elements. Once the product is applied and dry, self-combustion will not happen. We were evidently about 20 minutes away from losing our house and starting a major forest fire on the north end.
The purpose of this communication is to warn residents about the perils of using products with this ingredient and to urge users to follow the instructions carefully. The other fact I have discovered is that not all manufacturers state that penofin is an ingredient in their product, rather placing it under the category ‰??proprietary ingredients.‰??
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COUNTY EYES BAN ON EXPLODING TARGETS AFTER SAWMILL FIRE
Tags: us_AZ, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
The exploding targets implicated in the 46,000-acre Sawmill Fire, as well as in other recent incidents locally, may soon be illegal to use or sell in Pima County.
That‰??s according to the text of a proposed ordinance the county supervisors will likely consider soon. On Tuesday, the board unanimously directed staff to publicly advertise the ordinance for 15 days before it‰??s considered for adoption, as required by law.
As currently written, the ordinance would make it unlawful to ‰??sell, offer, or expose for sale, explode or possess any exploding target, or any chemical or material intended to be used as an exploding target.‰??
Violation of the ordinance would be a Class 1 misdemeanor, and violators who cause ‰??economic loss to any person‰?? may be liable for ‰??restitution to be paid by the defendant to any person who suffered‰?? that loss.
In the Sawmill Fire, an off-duty Border Patrol agent admitted to starting the blaze near Madera Canyon after igniting Tannerite, an explosive powder commonly used in target shooting. The fire cost roughly $8.2 million to contain, according to a May 5 report from the National Interagency Coordination Center, the last to reference the incident.
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CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES SELAH CREEK REST AREA ON INTERSTATE 82
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, response, corrosives
SELAH ‰?? The westbound Selah Creek rest area north of Selah on Interstate 82 was closed Tuesday as crews worked to clean up a hazardous material spill.
A bladder-like container of ammonium bisulfite was punctured and began leaking from a truck trailer shortly before noon Tuesday, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Sodium bisulfite is a corrosive chemical that is used in agriculture and photographic processing.
State Department of Ecology officials were on the scene, and a private contractor was cleaning up the foul-smelling material, said Ecology spokeswoman Sandy Howard.
The plan was for crews to pressure wash the pavement and then vacuum up the material, Howard said.
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TRUMP'S EPA CUTS LESS SEVERE UNDER HOUSE PLAN; CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD FUNDING RESTORED
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental
The severe cuts to the federal Environmental Protection Agency called for by President Donald Trump would be avoided and a federal board that investigates chemical industry accidents would not be eliminated under a House bill released Tuesday.
The Appropriations Committee would cut the EPA's budget by $528 million instead of the $2.6 billion requested by the Trump Administration. It would also maintain the $11 million budget of the Chemical Safety Board, which was founded following the 1995 Napp Technologies explosion in Lodi that killed five workers
But advocates said the EPA cuts and language in the bill supporting Trump's rollback of Obama-era clean water rules will still hurt New Jersey's environment.
"The cuts are less devastating than they could have been, but they are problematic," said David Pringle, of Clean Water Action. "We still need to hear from the Senate and Trump on this. So if this is the high water mark, we're going to be drowning."
The spending plan is largely the work of Appropriations Chairman Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Morris County, who has come under criticism for his voting record on environmental legislation especially in recent years.
---------------------------------------------
EMBRACING THE BUMPY ROAD TO CHEMICAL SAFETY
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Not everything about the federal government is seized by partisan gridlock. A major new program directed by the Environmental Protection Agency remains on course, cheering both environmentalists and industry executives. The program, which strengthens federal regulation of thousands of widely used chemicals, met its June deadline for deciding how to assess those chemicals. Now it needs enough money from Congress to keep going.
The initiative is the product of a law, enacted a year ago, named for the former Democratic senator who championed it, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. It was designed to replace a confusing patchwork of state regulations and retailer restrictions on chemicals. For the first time in decades, the EPA will decide which chemicals are safe and which are toxic in order to provide confidence and clarity to the American consumer. Ten chemicals have been teed up to get the process started.
The program has its detractors, of course, and implementation will take years; some 10,000 chemicals used by both consumers and industry are destined for examination. But even President Trump, who has proposed to cut EPA funding deeply, wants to increase funding for the office in charge of managing the program.
A lot of work needs to be done to restore trust in the U.S.‰??s chemical management system. While some states like California keep close tabs on chemical safety, others are essentially hands off. At the federal level, a former statute was so weak that the EPA couldn‰??t limit the use of a single chemical on the market for more than 30 years.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AT UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
Firefighters took three hours to put out the blaze which caused only minor damage
20 firefighters put out a blaze at the chemistry department of the University of St Andrews, UK, in the early hours of 6 July.
University security staff raised the alarm at 2am, reporting a fire on the roof of the four-storey chemistry building. Fire crews found the blaze came from a mechanical extraction system.
Although it took almost three hours to extinguish the fire, it caused only light damage. ‰??No staff or students were injured,‰?? adds Emma Shea, the university‰??s deputy director of corporate communications. The university is now working with the local fire service to confirm the fire‰??s cause.
---------------------------------------------
SHIPMENT ERROR PROMPTS FIRING OF LAB WORKER
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, environmental, radiation, illegal
Los Alamos National Laboratory has fired at least one employee and taken disciplinary action against other workers as a result of weapons-grade plutonium being shipped by aircraft in violation of federal regulations.
On June 16, the lab shipped 100 grams of plutonium by FedEx air instead of by ground to two other laboratories in the nation‰??s nuclear weapons network of facilities. Air shipments of plutonium pose a greater threat of radioactive release because of air pressure, the possibility of a crash that would be severe enough to cause a release and other factors. The shipments didn‰??t result in a radioactive release, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
‰??All of those involved from the individual contributor level up the management chain have been held accountable through actions that include terminations, suspensions and compensation consequences,‰?? lab spokesman Matt Nerzig said Monday. ‰??Furthermore, we are transferring the responsibility for fissile nuclear material shipments to a different organization within the laboratory.‰??
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: ‰??BENIGN BUT PROBABLY NASTY‰?? FUMES AT LEESBURG AIR TRAFFIC CENTER CAUSES HUNDREDS OF DELAYS
Tags: us_VA, public, release, injury, adhesives
An evacuation at the Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control center in Leesburg delayed hundreds of flights across the region's three major airports Monday night.
Loudoun County Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Laura Rinehart said the facility was evacuated around 6:30 p.m. after several people inside complained of fumes. The fire and rescue squad conducted a hazardous materials inspection and turned the building back over to the FAA shortly after 9 p.m.
The fumes initially started due to roof work. According to Rinehart, adhesive chemical fumes wafted into the heating and air system. Rinehart said the chemical fumes were "benign but probably nasty."
‰??Fumes from construction work permeated the control room at the Washington Center, which handles high altitude flights over the area. We are actively working to fully ventilate the facility. Controllers are handling a reduced number of flights safely,‰?? FAA officials said in an initial statement.
Rinehart said 51 people were evaluated after the evacuation and one woman was sent to Inova Hospital in Lansdowne as a precaution.
---------------------------------------------
DRIVE STARTS TO AVOID CHEMICAL MISHAPS
Tags: Pakistan, industrial, follow-up, environmental
LAHORE: Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA) has launched a sustainable move to ensure implementation on Responsible Care (RC) program in the chemical, oil and gas industry, to avoid tragic accidents like the one that killed above 200 people in Ahmedpur Sharqia, a statement said on Monday.
‰??Establishment of relevant basic infrastructure under the RC initiative has led PCMA to be inducted into the international community of chemicals associations, federations, and councils, but a lot needs to be done‰?? Abrar Ahmad, vice chairman PCMA, told a workshop organised by the association.
Highlighting the importance of responsible care, Abrar stressed that the manufacturer‰??s responsibility did not end at the production stage of the sensitive chemical substances like oil, gas, petrol, etc. ‰??The producers need to adopt precautionary measures from the manufacturing to the delivery point.
---------------------------------------------
12 HOSPITALIZED AFTER FALLING ILL AT WATERPARK
Tags: us_MS, public, release, injury, chlorine
GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -
A relaxing day at Gulf Island Waterpark in Gulfport changed quickly Monday when park goers began smelling a strong odor in one of the park's attractions. By the end of the day, two dozen guests complained of issues primarily with their breathing. Some even had to be hospitalized.
Emergency personnel worked fast evaluating the affected guests.
"They said a chlorine pipe bust, but my eyes had been burning before they mentioned the pipe bust. I went to the first aid they told me all they could do is flush my eyes out with water," said Joshua Joseph.
As many as 12 people were taken to the hospital.
"They had a lot of little kids in there coughing and choking. People got breathing masks on, oxygen tanks," said Joseph.
The problem all stemmed from a private contractor working on a valve at the back of the park.
"He turned on and off the system, which created a chemical push of chlorine all at one burst. And that aerates into the water or bubbles. That's what gets into the air and people breathed in both times," said Gulf Islands Waterpark General Manager Mark Moore.
An excessive amount of chlorine poured into a small section of the lazy river. Park guests were the first to realize the problem smelling a strong stench.
---------------------------------------------
CRASH CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL ON HWY 83, SOUTH OF STAPLETON
Tags: us_NE, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
Highway 83, mile marker 101 A crash on Highway 83, south of Stapleton by mile marker 101 sent three people to the hospital with minor injuries.
It happened right before 5:00 Monday evening.
Multiple fire crews and the North Platte Hazmat Response team were all on scene. Highway 83 was temporarily closed, and traffic was redirected to Cattle Grower's Road. The highway opened back up around 9:00 p.m. once clean-up efforts were finished.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said a car with a single male driver heading southbound crossed the center line, and struck another car with two occupants heading northbound.
All three people were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A semi carrying hydrochloric acid hit a ditch to avoid the other two cars, resulting in a spill on the highway.
The driver of the semi was not injured.
It is not known at this time whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL FIRE IGNITES IN CHROME PLANT NEAR KINGSTON
Tags: us_IL, industrial, explosion, response, metals
KINGSTON ‰?? It took 15 emergency response agencies about an hour to contain a structure fire Monday morning at a chrome plating plant north of Kingston, Belvidere Fire Chief Al Hyser said.
....
Residents from a few nearby homes were evacuated because of chemicals released in the smoke, but the rest of the neighbors were advised they could stay put, Hyser said.
"The wind [direction] was to our advantage, so we felt that things were OK," he said.
Hyser said the cause of the fire was unknown Monday afternoon.
Robin Slack, who lives across the street from the plant, said she called 911 after hearing three loud booms.
"I didn't see much of anything, other than when I looked out my window after I confirmed that my house wasn't falling down," Slack said. "It was yellow and green smoke coming out the top."
U.S. Chrome general manager David Crowley said the business was demolishing old chromium tanks that were set to be replaced when some of the material adhered to them caught fire. Crowley said the noises residents heard might have been from a propane tank exploding.
"Fortunately, [the fire was] on the very south end of the plant, which is primarily a metal structure, so there wasn't a lot of fuel around the fire source," Crowley said.
Hyser said there is no concern of chemical runoff after the fire, and the state emergency response center and Environmental Protection Agency have been notified.
---------------------------------------------
DEMOLITION STARTS ON DEADLY CAMBRIA CORN MILL EXPLOSION SITE
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, death, ethanol
Demolition began Monday at a corn mill plant that exploded, killing five employees.
The Didion Milling company says demolition could take at least a week as crews have to take the building down piece by piece.
Once demolition is complete, the company's president says they will first focus on resuming ethanol production and then they will rebuild.
"It's best for everyone involved if that just comes down and you start clean," said Riley Didion, the president of the company.
The explosion took place May 31 but the cause is still being investigated. OSHA and the Chemical Safety Board are on-site compiling interviews and reviewing data. They have six months to complete the investigation.
Five employees died and several others were injured.
Those killed were Carlos Nunez, Angel Reyes, Robert Goodenow, Pawel Tordoff and Duelle Block.
---------------------------------------------
THREE TREATED AT SCENE AFTER YEOVIL CAR CRASH CAUSES 'SIGNIFICANT GAS LEAK' AND LARGE CORDON
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, natural_gas
The fire service has described a gas leak in Yeovil as ‰??significant‰?? after a large area was cordoned off following a car crash on Sunday (July 9) evening.
A car crash on the mini-roundabout where Larkhill Road meets Thorne Lane at around 7.30pm led to a car hitting a gas pipe and filling the area with a strong smell of gas, and three people were treated at the scene.
Police closed Vagg Lane, and parts of Thorne Lane and Larkhill Road in the town, with fire crews, ambulance crews, Western Power, and a hazardous materials and environmental protection advisor in attendance.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE CREWS STAMP OUT ‰??RARE‰?? SULPHUR BLAZE IN WYOMING
Tags: us_WY, industrial, fire, response, waste
Fire and hazmat crews have donned protective suits to extinguish a rare and toxic sulphur fire in the western US state of Wyoming.
The blaze erupted when a sulphur mound caught fire at a recycling plant in the city of Worland on Friday.
Hypnotic video uploaded by Worland Volunteer Fire Department shows mini ‰??firenadoes‰?? swirling through the air as crews worked to safely stamp out the flames.
‰??This is a type of fire that is not common but needs to be addressed and dealt with safely and quickly,‰?? Worland Volunteer Fire Department said.
Burning sulphur creates sulphur dioxide, a hazardous gas with a strong odour, which can turn into a sulphurous acid with the addition of water.
Local fire crews said the fire was burning in a ‰??bowl shape‰??, allowing all runoff to be collected in the fire area.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL INCIDENT SPARKS EVACUATIONS IN NORTH ADELAIDE
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, other_chemical
A chemical incident has caused chaos in north Adelaide, evacuating three businesses and sending home dozens of staff.
Fire crews were called to Cavan Road at Dry Creek about 1:30 today after an alarm was activated at Redox supply company.
After noticing a strong smell coming from a chemical storage area, subsequent testing confirmed a crate containing 850kg of Xanthate was overheating.
"This is quite a nasty chemical ...The toxic gasses that were released would have been fatal," Metropolitan Fire Service Commander Stuart Dawes said.
The temperature of the crate continued to rise as firefighters in hazmat suits rushed to remove it from the warehouse before it burst into flames.
"Obviously it could have been quite catastrophic had the palette caught fire inside the factory," Mr. Dawes said.
The company is working with authorities to determine what caused the chemical to overheat.
---------------------------------------------
SCIENTISTS ARE GOOD FOR MORE THAN R&D
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental
Companies need scientists for R&D, of course, but a new study finds that U.S. manufacturing companies seeking high productivity and earnings should consider hiring scientists for jobs other than R&D as well.
The study, to appear in the forthcoming book ‰??U.S. Engineering in a Global Economy‰?? from the University of Chicago Press, concludes that productivity is higher in manufacturing establishments with high levels of scientists and engineers than in companies with low levels of technical people. A one percentage point higher share of scientists and engineers in a company‰??s workforce is associated with productivity that is almost half a percentage point higher, according to Andrew J. Wang, an economist with Harvard University and the National Bureau of Economic Research who coauthored the study.
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