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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 (15 articles)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2017 07:30:18 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 32CD5EA3-EBC4-4442-925C-60719BE61B82**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, August 11, 2017 at 7:30:05 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 (15 articles)
FIVE PEOPLE INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL FACILITY IN NORTHWESTERN GERMANY
Tags: germany, industrial, explosion, injuries
2 TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT DYNAMIC RECYCLING IN ONALASKA
Tags: us_wi, industrial, release, injury, ammonium_hydroxide
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS SPARK FIRE IN UD LAB
Tags: us_DE, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT HEALTH CLUB BEGAN IN MEN'S SAUNA (FROM WILTSHIRE TIMES)
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, ammonia
CHLORINE PROMPTS BONNEVILLE COUNTY TRANSFER STATION SHUTDOWN
Tags: us_ID, public, release, response, chlorine, waste
SCOTT CREATES PANEL TO STUDY MANAGEMENT OF TOXIC CHEMICALS
Tags: us_VT, public, discovery, environmental
MASSIVE MORNING BLAZE DESTROYS SUBANG FACTORY, CHEMICAL STORAGE FACILITY
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HUME FOGG HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
SIX UPS WORKERS INJURED BY CHEMICAL LEAK AT NEW HAMPSHIRE FACILITY
Tags: us_NH, transportation, release, injury, nitric_acid
3 ARRESTED AFTER THC LAB EXPLOSION AT SPRING VALLEY LAKE HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, clandestine_lab
FIRE FORCES EVACUATION OF ILLINOIS LANXESS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
GOSHEN CHEMICAL SPILL COVERS ROADWAY
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems
NJ LEADS NATION WITH PLAN TO CURB TWO TOXIC CHEMICALS IN DRINKING WATER
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
CALIFORNIA TIGHTENS SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR REFINERIES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
COURT STRIKES DOWN U.S. RESTRICTIONS ON HFCS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hvac_chemicals, ozone
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FIVE PEOPLE INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT CHEMICAL FACILITY IN NORTHWESTERN GERMANY
Tags: germany, industrial, explosion, injuries
MOSCOW (Sputnik) ‰?? Five people have been injured in an explosion at a chemical facility in the German town of Marl in North Rhine-Westphalia state, the facility's operating company said Thursday.
"On Thursday, August 10, an explosion and fire [originating from the blast] went off at the ISP Marl GmbH acetylene plant. Five employees were slightly injured and are receiving medical treatment‰?| The fire brigade was able to quickly put the fire under control. The authorities are on site. The extent of the damage is not yet known," the statement read.
The Marl Chemical Park is one of the largest chemical sites in Germany. It covers an area of more than six square kilometers (2.3 square miles) and hosts Evonik holding companies, as well as 12 other chemical enterprises with roughly 100 production plants linked in an integrated material and energy network. The companies of the park employ about 10,000 people.
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2 TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT DYNAMIC RECYCLING IN ONALASKA
Tags: us_wi, industrial, release, injury, ammonium_hydroxide
Two employees were treated after being exposed to ammonium hydroxide Thursday at Dynamic Recycling in the town of Onalaska.
A small amount of the liquid chemical was spilled or released during the recycling process, exposing the employees to toxic fumes about 8 a.m., according to the La Crosse Fire Department, which assisted the Holmen Area Fire Department.
Employees were evacuated. One person was treated for respiratory distress and the other for evaluation.
The chemicals were removed from the building, which was ventilated.
The company said it does not accept hazardous substances, but that a small amount of ammonia escaped from a container brought to the facility. The company is investigating.
---------------------------------------------
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS SPARK FIRE IN UD LAB
Tags: us_DE, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
A University of Delaware building will be closed until at least Monday after a fire broke out in the basement Wednesday afternoon.
The fire started about 1:15 p.m. in McKinly Laboratory on Delaware Avenue, and firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the building.
More than 100 firefighters and EMTs from around New Castle County, as well as Cecil County, Md., and Chester County, Pa., responded to the scene.
One firefighter from Five Points Fire Company was taken to Christiana Hospital for unspecified, non-life-threatening injuries, according to John H. Farrell IV, spokesman for Aetna Hose Hook and Ladder Company.
UD spokeswoman Andrea Boyle said a crew was renovating a lab in the basement, and a worker‰??s Sawzall tool ignited material in the ventilation system. The fire traveled through the duct work and set off an alarm and sprinklers in a second-floor lab.
No classes were in session at the time of the fire, but several researchers in the building escaped unharmed.
Though the fire was largely contained to the basement and the duct work, on-scene commanders triggered a three-alarm response due to the need for extra manpower to help search the large building for anyone remaining inside.
‰??We had to flood the building with lots of people at one time,‰?? Farrell said.
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CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT HEALTH CLUB BEGAN IN MEN'S SAUNA (FROM WILTSHIRE TIMES)
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, ammonia
A CHEMICAL incident at Fieldways Hotel and Health Club began inside the men‰??s sauna after a mystery 'ammonia-based liquid' was poured onto hot coals.
The complex was evacuated and five people were treated at the scene by South Western Ambulance on Tuesday afternoon in an incident fire services described as 'thankfully relatively minor'.
Ambulance services checked over and discharged victims suffering from headaches caused by exposure to the evaporated liquid containing ammonia.
Fire services and hazardous materials experts discovered the chemical incident was a result a plume of vapour containing the chemical often found in cleaning products escaping into the changing rooms from the sauna.
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CHLORINE PROMPTS BONNEVILLE COUNTY TRANSFER STATION SHUTDOWN
Tags: us_ID, public, release, response, chlorine, waste
IDAHO FALLS ‰?? The Bonneville County Transfer Station is shut down until further notice.
The closure was caused by chlorine. Bonneville County Commissioner Bryon Reed said the chemical came from refuse that was unloaded into the building. He said he doesn‰??t think the leak was intentional, but that something must have gotten punctured, and fumes escaped. The facility was shut down around 11 a.m. Wednesday.
‰??They haven‰??t determined whether it was a liquid or a powder,‰?? Reed said
Transfer station employees were finding it hard to breathe, and there were reports of skin, eye and nose irritation.
‰??They immediately recognized that it was difficult to breathe, and so at that time they immediately evacuated the building,‰?? Reed said.
The Idaho Fall Fire Department has responded, as well as a hazmat crew.
---------------------------------------------
SCOTT CREATES PANEL TO STUDY MANAGEMENT OF TOXIC CHEMICALS
Tags: us_VT, public, discovery, environmental
ov. Phil Scott announced Tuesday that he‰??s forming a committee to study the management of harmful chemicals, following recommendations from a previous toxic chemicals working group.
The state of Vermont currently doesn‰??t have the information it needs to respond effectively to emergencies and health threats posed by chemicals in use in industries in the state, Scott said in the executive order that formed the committee.
The Interagency Committee on Chemical Management that Scott created was one of a dozen actions recommended by a working group formed by Act 154, passed in 2016.
That working group made a dozen recommendations in addition to the creation of the committee that Scott formed.
Sen. Brian Campion, D-Bennington, attempted during the last legislative session to put all of those recommendations ‰?? including formation of the interagency committee ‰?? into law through a bill titled S.103.
That bill failed to pass late in this year‰??s legislative session after industry groups lobbied against it, but could be revived when lawmakers return in January.
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MASSIVE MORNING BLAZE DESTROYS SUBANG FACTORY, CHEMICAL STORAGE FACILITY
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SHAH ALAM: An early morning fire at the Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park saw a multipurpose warehouse badly damaged, with thick black smoke visible from some 10 kilometres away.
The 4.30am incident destroyed at least 60 per cent of the warehouse, which was used to store paint and tyres, among others.
As of 2pm, some 50 firemen from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur stations dispatched to the scene were still working to put out the blaze.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Azmi Osman said the fire was noticed by a security guard who alerted the authorities at 4.41am.
He said 56 firemen with eight fire engines and water tankers, including two from the Kuala Lumpur FRD, rushed to battle the blaze, which was already raging when the first team arrived at 4.56am.
"When firemen arrived, they saw very thick smoke which signified that the fire had been spreading for quite some time.
"Within an hour, they managed to control the fire from spreading to another warehouse, which stores industrial chemicals.
"It is important to make sure that the blaze does not spread there as the chemicals there are hazardous. InshaAllah, from the current status of this operation, we are confident that the blaze is under control and contained," he said.
---------------------------------------------
HUME FOGG HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) ‰?? Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School in downtown Nashville was evacuated Tuesday morning after hydrochloric acid spilled in a classroom.
Students were seen leaving the campus at 700 Broadway beginning around 8 a.m.
Two gallons of the acid accidentally spilled in a fourth floor classroom laboratory, according to the Nashville Fire Department.
Students and staff were moved to nearby First Baptist Church in the meantime, and no injuries were reported.
---------------------------------------------
SIX UPS WORKERS INJURED BY CHEMICAL LEAK AT NEW HAMPSHIRE FACILITY
Tags: us_NH, transportation, release, injury, nitric_acid
(Reuters) - Six workers were treated for respiratory problems on Tuesday after nitric acid leaked from a package at a United Parcel Service distribution facility in southern New Hampshire, a fire official said.
The facility, in Nashua, about 45 miles northwest of Boston, was evacuated following reports of a chemical leak just after 7 a.m. local time, said Nashua Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Karl Gerhard.
Chemical fumes from a package forced temporary evacuation of the facility, UPS said in a written statement. By late morning employees were allowed to return to the facility.
Six workers who reported minor respiratory symptoms went to two area hospitals for treatment, Gerhard said.
"Nitric acid leaked from a package onto an elevated conveyer belt system they use to sort packages," Gerhard said. He added that a contractor was on site cleaning up the spilled product, which leaked through machinery. Operations would likely be affected for "the better part of the day," he said.
---------------------------------------------
3 ARRESTED AFTER THC LAB EXPLOSION AT SPRING VALLEY LAKE HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, clandestine_lab
VICTORVILLE ‰?? In the early hours last Friday morning, the Fire Department and Sheriff‰??s Deputies were called to a home where an explosion and fire occurred. The Gangs/Narcotics Disivion was also then requested to come and help with the investigation.
A search warrant then yielded the discovery of a THC extraction lab. Three suspects were in the home at the time of the fire but decided to flee the premises. Further investigation led to their identification and arrest.
25-year-old Steven Ray Hoover Jr. had suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his face, head, and body. 28-year-old Jesse Karl Bevins had 2nd degree burns on his arm and 26-year-old Paige Nicole Tappe had 2nd degree burns to her arm and back. All three were in the room when the explosion and fire occurred.
Concentrated cannabis (honey oil) sells for more than basic marijuana and produces stronger effects than the traditional method of smoking the plant.
The SBSD says, ‰??The THC extraction process is extremely dangerous and has a high potential for explosion and fire due to the use of large amounts of flammable chemicals and solvents during the extraction process. This chemical process is illegal and is a violation of California‰??s Health & Safety Code.‰??
---------------------------------------------
FIRE FORCES EVACUATION OF ILLINOIS LANXESS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
Workers were evacuated from a LANXESS chemical plant in Mapleton, IL on Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out in a chemical tank.
An official with the Peoria County Sheriff‰??s Office told the Washington Times-Reporter that the blaze in the chemical storage tank is thought to have started at about 2 p.m. following a technical malfunction.
The chemical involved in the blaze, a compound of aluminum and alkali, posed a challenge to extinguish as water exposure can cause the chemical to explode and air makes the substance burn faster. Firefighters were forced to use a chemical to put out the flames.
Workers were evacuated for about an hour as emergency responders tackled the fire.
‰??The safety of our employees, processes, the community and the environment are primary concerns of LANXESS,‰?? the specialty chemical firm‰??s chief executive officer and president Antonis Papadourakis, said in a press release published by the Times-Reporter.
---------------------------------------------
GOSHEN CHEMICAL SPILL COVERS ROADWAY
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems
GOSHEN ‰?? Late Monday, Goshen‰??s Police and Fire departments were still searching for the source of a chemical spill that occurred Sunday night on Spruce Corner Road.
Catherine Skiba, a public information officer for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the chemical spill was reported at about 11 p.m. Sunday night. Oily with a strong odor, the spill covered about two miles of the roadway, Skiba said.
By about 11:30 a.m. Monday, cleanup crews had removed most of it. Skiba said the department tentatively believes the spill was a pesticide compound and is treating the substance as a hazardous material.
‰??It‰??s still a mystery right now, because we don‰??t know what vehicle spilled this on the road or when,‰?? Goshen Police Chief Jeff Hewes said. ‰??It did smell pretty bad, but we don‰??t believe it‰??s a danger to anyone in the area right now.‰??
Spruce Corner Road was closed Monday morning at the corner of Route 116 for the cleanup. Though the majority of the spill was gone by then, the smell lingered. Horses and sheep in fields abutting the road stood in the far corners, their noses turned away from the pavement.
---------------------------------------------
NJ LEADS NATION WITH PLAN TO CURB TWO TOXIC CHEMICALS IN DRINKING WATER
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Department of Environmental Protection announces new proposed maximum contaminant limits for two likely carcinogens, PFNA and TCP
New Jersey‰??s new plan to impose tough limits on two carcinogenic chemicals in drinking water puts it in the forefront of national efforts to control the substances, and is the state‰??s first such effort for seven years, analysts said.
The Department of Environmental Protection on Monday proposed maximum contaminant limits (MCLs) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and 1,2,3 trichloropropane (TCP), which are both classified by the federal government as likely carcinogens.
The plan, which would allow the state to regulate the chemicals for the first time, includes a requirement for monitoring and treatment, if necessary, for water systems of all sizes.
---------------------------------------------
CALIFORNIA TIGHTENS SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR REFINERIES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
California is requiring its 15 refineries to adopt comprehensive new requirements to improve safety for workers and communities around the facilities.
Regulations that the state issued on Aug. 4 call for refineries to adopt inherently safer designs and systems to the ‰??greatest extent feasible‰?? and increase employer responsibility for the safety of refinery equipment. Those rules authorize workers to shut down equipment in the event of unsafe conditions and allow anonymous reporting of safety hazards to state officials. They also require root cause analysis when an incident results in a major accident or near miss.
The regulatory changes sprang from a state review of refineries after a 2012 accident at a Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif., at the northern tip of the San Francisco Bay. The accident sent plumes of smoke and particles into the air and led 15,000 residents to seek medical aid.
‰??These are landmark changes,‰?? says Erika Monterroza, spokesperson with the California Department of Industrial Relations, of the new regulations. She explains that the state created a broad task force made up of community members, workers, and industry, state, and local agencies to develop the regulations.
Three years after the state began its regulatory review, another accident, this one at the ExxonMobil refinery in southern California, increased the state‰??s focus on refinery safety. The second accident, in Torrance, sent debris into the community and involved a close call with a storage tank filled with toxic hydrofluoric acid.
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COURT STRIKES DOWN U.S. RESTRICTIONS ON HFCS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hvac_chemicals, ozone
A federal appeals court has struck down a U.S. regulation that requires manufacturers to replace hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants with chemicals that are less potent greenhouse gases.
The Aug. 8 decision hands a victory to HFC makers Mexichem Fluor and Arkema. It‰??s a loss for Honeywell International and Chemours, which manufacture hydrofluoroolefins, a new generation of refrigerants which have a very low potential to cause global warming. In a statement, Honeywell says it is ‰??deeply disappointed‰?? in the court‰??s ruling.
The legal case involves a 2015 regulation from the Obama Environmental Protection Agency. The agency restricted HFCs and blends containing HFCs because of their potential to contribute significantly to global warming. Not only did the regulation limit these chemicals in refrigerants for vehicle air conditioners, coolers in groceries and other retail stores, and vending machines, it also limited their use as blowing agents that expand plastic into foam and in aerosol cans.
EPA based its regulation on a part of the Clean Air Act that requires manufacturers to replace substances that deplete stratospheric ozone with safer substitutes. HFCs don‰??t harm the ozone layer, but they were developed as alternatives for chemicals, such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, that do.
‰??The fundamental problem for EPA is that HFCs are not ozone-depleting substances,‰?? the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled. The section of the Clean Air Act that EPA used as the basis for its regulation does not give the agency authority to require replacement of substances that do not harm stratospheric ozone, a three-judge panel ruled. HFOs, like HFCs, are benign to stratospheric ozone.
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