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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, September 11, 2017 at 7:28:58 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 (29 articles)
IFFCO TO STOP INVESTMENT IN CHEMICAL FERTILISERS, NEED TO BRING BALANCE IN ENVIRONMENT, SAYS MD UDAY SHANKER AWASTHI
Tags: India, industrial, discovery, environmental, ag_chems
BUSY LEAMINGTON ROAD RE-OPENS FOLLOWING CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, ammonia
HARVEY FALLOUT: FIRST RESPONDERS SUE OVER CHEMICAL PLANT FUMES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, injury, benzene
DISCOUNT AND HARDWARE STORES TO BE INSPECTED FOR BANNED CHEMICALS
Tags: Ireland, public, discovery, environmental, adhesives, cleaners, illegal
TEXAS FLOOD SHOWS NEED FOR CHEMICAL SAFETY RULE, ADVOCATES SAY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
TREES WITH A PROBIOTIC BOOST CLEAN UP A CARCINOGEN
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, solvent, waste
U.S. EPA‰??S CHLORPYRIFOS DECISION SPURS PUSHBACK
Tags: us_MN, public, follow-up, environmental, pesticides
TANK FAILURES IN HARVEY REVEAL VULNERABILITIES IN STORM
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, gasoline, petroleum
FIRE CHIEF URGES CAUTION WITH CHEMICALS AFTER OSHAWA RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE BURNED
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, cleaners
TACHBROOK ROAD CLOSED AFTER SUSPECTED CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, ammonia
SOHN: WACKER OWES COMMUNITY RESPECT, SAFETY AND HONESTY
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrochloric_acid
ARKEMA.COM ‰?? SAFETY SUMMARIES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
CHINA TO FORCE ALL CHEMICAL PLANTS OUT OF URBAN AREAS BY 2020, CABINET SAYS
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE CHEMICAL IN THE AIR AFTER WACKER EXPLOSION THURSDAY?
Tags: us_TN, education, follow-up, response, HCl
EXPLOSION AT WACKER CHEMICAL PLANT ROCKS COMMUNITY
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
ABANDONED BEAKER CAUSES SOUTHINGTON CHEMICAL LAB TO FILL WITH SMOKE
Tags: us_CT, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
TENNESSEE PLANT HAD $10K IN SAFETY FINES BEFORE EXPLOSION
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, injury, HCl
EPA CHIEF DEFENDS CHEMICAL RULE DELAY AFTER TEXAS PLANT EXPLOSIONS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
EPA COMPLETES TESTING OF WATER, AIR AFTER ARKEMA PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, runoff
SMALL FIRE DAMAGES MBL LAB
Tags: us_ma, laboratory, fire, response
HAZMAT SCARE AT U.S. NONWOVENS SENT EMPLOYEE RUNNING FOR EXIT
Tags: us_ky, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
FIREFIGHTER RESPONDING TO WACKER CHEMICAL LEAK HOSPITALIZED
Tags: us_tn, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
USCG ASSESSING LOCAL CHEMICAL FACILITIES AHEAD OF HURRICANE IRMA LANDFALL
Tags: us_al, industrial, discovery, environmental
SAFETY WORKERS SICKENED BY FUMES SUE TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, release, unknown_chemical, follow-up
KILLEEN COUNCILMAN CALLS FOR FORUM ON CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, discovery, response
EPA LAST INSPECTED FLOODED ARKEMA PLANT IN 2003
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
GOVERNMENT ILL-EQUIPPED TO MONITOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS DAMAGED BY HURRICANE HARVEY
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
U.S. CHEMICAL RISK PROGRAM GETS MIXED REVIEW
Tags: us, public, discovery, enviromental
WHAT MADE ARKEMA‰??S PEROXIDES UNSTABLE IN HARVEY‰??S AFTERMATH?
Tags: us_tx, industrial, followup, enviromental, peroxide
---------------------------------------------
IFFCO TO STOP INVESTMENT IN CHEMICAL FERTILISERS, NEED TO BRING BALANCE IN ENVIRONMENT, SAYS MD UDAY SHANKER AWASTHI
Tags: India, industrial, discovery, environmental, ag_chems
New Delhi, September 10: Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) Managing Director Uday Shanker Awasthi on Monday said the company will no longer invest in manufacturing of chemical fertilisers, due to its hazardous impact on the environment. Awasthi said people are still are unaware of the bad impact of fertilisers on soil and it adversely affects the environment.
Awasthi conceded agriculture cannot be made free from chemical fertilisers.
The investment on bio-fertilisers will be also increased.
India needs to learn from the experiments in China and the USA.
Addressing a meet of senior journalists in New Delhi, the IFFCO MD announced that the cooperative will ‰??not even invest a rupee on chemical fertilisers‰??. Instead, the investment on bio-fertilisers will be also increased. Citing the examples of China and the United States of America, Awasthi said ‰??we need to learn from their experiments‰??. While China decided to stop investment in the production of chemical fertilisers, the USA has prohibited the use of fertilisers in the farms on the shores of Mississippi river, he noted.
However, Awasthi conceded agriculture cannot be made free from chemical fertilisers. Thus, a balance between biofertilizers and their chemical counterparts need to established, he opined.
---------------------------------------------
BUSY LEAMINGTON ROAD RE-OPENS FOLLOWING CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, response, ammonia
A CHEMICAL leak saw part of a busy Leamington road closed off overnight on Saturday.
Police received a report of a strong chemical smell in the Tachbrook Road area, following an ammonia leak from a nearby factory, around 7pm on Saturday.
The immediate area by the Tachbrook Park industrial estate was cordoned off as a precaution and West Midlands Ambulance Service and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue attended.
No injuries were reported but local residents were advised to close all windows and doors to minimise any potential exposure.
---------------------------------------------
HARVEY FALLOUT: FIRST RESPONDERS SUE OVER CHEMICAL PLANT FUMES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, injury, benzene
The action was taken Sunday evening at the Arkema facility at Crosby, Texas, northeast of Houston, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The government issued the evacuation of a 1.5-mile radius around the plant.
Two explosions in the middle of the night blew open a trailer containing the chemicals, lighting up the sky with 30- to 40-foot flames.
The Environmental Protection Agency wants answers from Arkema.
The complaint also states that the plaintiffs relied on Arkema executives' assurances during a press conference that the fumes were not toxic, and suffered as a result.
In all, fifteen sheriff's deputies complained of respiratory irritation.
Texas-sized damage followed Harvey's flood: Hundreds of thousands of homes stinking; a million cars wrecked; more than a million pounds of benzene and other unsafe material escaped from factories and refineries.
Arkema identified hurricanes, flooding and power failures as risks to the site almost a decade ago. "Crosby-Plant/" target="_blank">more fires on the afternoon of September 1, as more chemicals began igniting.
An Arkema spokeswoman Thursday afternoon promised the company would release a statement later in the day. It is unclear whether the plant was up to date on its risk assessment protocol, but the company is known to have been up to date with submitting its risk management plan to the EPA, having filed its most recent one for that facility in 2014. A total of twenty-one emergency responders received treatment at hospitals for smoke inhalation and nausea, local officials have said. It came, instead, by way of the plant's workers, who told the Crosby Volunteer Fire Department about it when they were rescued during the hurricane, she said. Arkema denied the allegations.
---------------------------------------------
DISCOUNT AND HARDWARE STORES TO BE INSPECTED FOR BANNED CHEMICALS
Tags: Ireland, public, discovery, environmental, adhesives, cleaners, illegal
Hardware and discount stores all over the country are to be targeted by inspectors to ensure their products don't contain any banned chemicals and are safe to the public.
Chemicals such as cadmium, nickel and lead are banned in jewellery, while benzene, chloroform and toluene are banned in glues and adhesives.
Inspections will focus on cleaning and laundry products; air fresheners and reed diffusers; paint products such as thinners; jewellery; and glues.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) today launched the nationwide inspection campaign to see if products comply with the relevant EU chemical legislation, which is designed to improve chemical safety.
The packaging of products will also be checked to ensure child-resistant fastenings and tactile warnings of danger are included where required.
"We will focus our inspections on discount stores and hardware stores. Specifically, we will be checking the labelling information and also packaging to ensure that products which are required to have child-resistant fastenings are compliant. We will also be checking jewellery and glues for the presence of banned substances," said Kevin Buckley, senior inspector with the HSA.
---------------------------------------------
TEXAS FLOOD SHOWS NEED FOR CHEMICAL SAFETY RULE, ADVOCATES SAY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, peroxide
Industrial safety advocates and Texas residents say a flood-related fires and explosions at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, underscores the need for a worker and community safety regulation.
Issued by the Obama Administration in January and blocked by the Trump Environmental Protection Agency in March, that regulation would require chemical safety improvements at industrial plants.
If fully implemented, the new regulation would require greater public disclosure from companies that use large amounts of certain chemicals, notes Yvette Arellano, spokesperson with TEJAS, the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, a community-based nonprofit. The rule would also call for firms to conduct root-cause analysis after an accident, she adds.
When it postponed the regulation, EPA reopened discussions of what the final rule should require. This reexamination won‰??t be complete until February 2019, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has said.
Pruitt attributed the delay to opposition to the rule from companies. Among them is Arkema, which filed comments against the regulation. Several states, labor unions, and community groups are challenging EPA‰??s move in court. Chemical companies and some other states, on the other hand, are backing Pruitt.
Advocates say the rule, if implemented, would have a made a difference when Tropical Storm Harvey brought heavy rains that flooded the Crosby plant and killed backup electricity generators used to maintain refrigeration of some 225 metric tons of organic peroxides at the facility. The reactive peroxides decompose with heat, and at Arkema, they began to burn. Government officials arranged for the remaining stock of these chemicals to be set on fire.
---------------------------------------------
TREES WITH A PROBIOTIC BOOST CLEAN UP A CARCINOGEN
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, solvent, waste
Planting poplar trees that harbor a secret weapon‰??pollutant-busting microbes‰??could help clean up sites contaminated with the carcinogen trichloroethylene, a new study shows (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b01504). In the first field trial of this approach at a Superfund hazardous waste site, poplar trees boosted by bacteria within their tissues brought groundwater concentrations of TCE to below the maximum contaminant level for drinking water set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
TCE is used as a solvent and degreaser in industrial processes, and was recently declared a human carcinogen. It contaminates the soil or water of more than 1,000 Superfund sites around the U.S. Current methods to remove it from groundwater include sorbing it onto activated carbon or driving the pollutant out of water with a stream of air. But these methods are so expensive, says Sharon L. Doty of the University of Washington, that many site managers choose to monitor and isolate polluted areas instead of cleaning them up. Now she and her colleagues have developed a much cheaper approach.
Using plants to soak up pollutants‰??a method called phytoremediation‰??can remove a variety of contaminants from soil and groundwater. Introducing symbiotic, pollutant-destroying bacteria to the plants has shown even more promise in lab tests, because carrying the bacteria seems to help plants stay healthier during the process and remove more pollutants. But so far, this probiotic approach has had mixed results in the field, sometimes because the introduced bacteria are outcompeted by naturally present soil microbes.
---------------------------------------------
U.S. EPA‰??S CHLORPYRIFOS DECISION SPURS PUSHBACK
Tags: us_MN, public, follow-up, environmental, pesticides
On a summer evening in 2012, Bonnie Wirtz and her family hurried inside and shut all the windows in their rural Minnesota house when they heard the roar of a plane spraying pesticides on a neighboring farm.
Moments later, the plane flew over their house. ‰??It sounded so close we thought it was going to crash,‰?? Wirtz says. Within seconds, their house began to fill with a white mist coming in around the air-conditioning unit.
‰??I stumbled out coughing and I was having trouble breathing,‰?? Wirtz recalls. Her husband rushed her and their eight-month-old son to the emergency room.
Tests revealed that she had been exposed to chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic insecticide that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed twice to ban on food under the Obama Administration. The agency has since decided to allow its use to continue for at least five years.
In 2013, Wirtz collected air samples using a technique called drift catching to estimate the levels of chlorpyrifos that she and her family were likely exposed to. ‰??When the results came in, we were devastated,‰?? she says. The estimated exposure levels were four times as high as the EPA-recommended safe limit for a one-year-old child.
Chlorpyrifos has been associated with developmental delays and other health problems in children. ‰??Up until this point, our son had met all of his developmental milestones,‰?? Wirtz says. By the age of two and a half, his speech had regressed. He has since been diagnosed with a developmental disorder, which Wirtz is convinced is related to his exposure to the insecticide.
---------------------------------------------
TANK FAILURES IN HARVEY REVEAL VULNERABILITIES IN STORM
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, gasoline, petroleum
More than two dozen storage tanks holding crude oil, gasoline and other contaminants ruptured or otherwise failed when Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, spilling at least 145,000 gallons (548,868 liters) of fuel and spewing toxic pollutants into the air, according to an Associated Press analysis of pollution reports submitted to state and federal regulators.
The tank failures follow years of warnings that the Houston area's petrochemical industry was ill-prepared for a major storm, with about one-third of the 4,500 storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel located in areas susceptible to flooding, according to researchers.
More of the massive storage tanks could be put to the test in coming days as Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida. The tanks are prone to float and break during floods, and Harvey's unprecedented rainfalls revealed a new vulnerability when the roofs of some storage tanks sank under the weight of so much water.
Federal and state rules require companies to be prepared for spills, but mandate no specific measures to secure storage tanks at refineries, chemical plants and oil production sites.
Although Florida has no oil refineries, it has more than 20 petroleum product storage terminals in coastal communities and about 30 chemical companies with a presence in the state, including a significant number of facilities in the Tampa Bay area, according to the American Chemistry Council and U.S. Energy Information Administration.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE CHIEF URGES CAUTION WITH CHEMICALS AFTER OSHAWA RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE BURNED
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, cleaners
OSHAWA ‰?? Oshawa‰??s fire chief is reminding residents to be cautious with cleaners, after a restaurant employee was burned by chemicals Friday night.
Emergency crews were called to the Family Wok restaurant on Simcoe Street North in downtown Oshawa at about 11 p.m. on Sept. 8, for reports of a ‰??chemical situation.‰??
Oshawa Fire Chief Derrick Clark says a cleaning product being used to clean a sink reacted with the water and vapourized.
One employee was taken to hospital with burns.
Clark says it is important to carefully read labels and follow directions when working with chemical cleaners.
---------------------------------------------
TACHBROOK ROAD CLOSED AFTER SUSPECTED CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, ammonia
Police have cordoned off a section of Tachbrook Road after a receiving a report of a strong chemical smell at around 7pm this evening, Saturday September 9 .
Although the incident is not being treated as suspicious, the Tachbrook Road/Heathcote Lane crossroads area has been cordoned off as a precaution.
West Midlands Ambulance Service and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue are in attendance.
No injuries have been reported but residents are being advised to close all windows and doors to minimise any potential exposure to the possible chemical - suspected to be ammonia.
Disruption is likely to continue until tomorrow (September 10) while the incident is dealt with.
People living in the vicinity are being allowed to return to their homes and there are currently no plans to evacuate residents.
---------------------------------------------
SOHN: WACKER OWES COMMUNITY RESPECT, SAFETY AND HONESTY
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrochloric_acid
In April 2016, a Times Free Press front page story and pictures showed Wacker polysilicon chemical officials and Tennessee politicians cutting a thick red ribbon at the $2.5 billion plant's opening. Wacker officials even announced that they would soon start work to build a second plant adjacent to the new Charleston, Tenn., facility just 45 miles northeast of Chattanooga.
On Friday, almost a year and a half later, Wacker was again on our front page ‰?? this time with a white vapor plume rising from the plant beside a headline reading "Wacker blast spews gas; Plant sustains second incident within 8 days."
An explosion at the plant involved a chemical called chlorosilane and released hydrochloric acid. Hazardous materials emergency responders closed down nearby roads and Interstate 75, forced nearby residents and school students within a 1.5-mile radius to "shelter in place" with closed windows and switched off heat and air conditioning units.
Area 911 dispatchers reported that people called experiencing skin burning sensations and difficulty breathing, and eight people went to hospitals with symptoms related to the incident.
In a news release, Wacker officials made light of the blast and the long-lasting plume. They termed the day's event as a "mechanical incident [that] resulted in a hydrogen chemical release. "The statement claimed that the cloud appeared to be steam, and that air quality being tested by Wacker was at a safe level. There was no danger to the public, they said.
Steam, by the way, is mostly invisible and certainly not long-lasting.
On video, Wacker Vice President and site manager Mary-Beth Hudson said she did not know why people had to be treated for irritation despite officials saying there was no threat to safety.
"I don't know that we can speculate why they went to the hospital," she said.
But Troy Spence, director of the Bradley County Emergency Management Agency, in that same video, said, "We do know that the vapor was HCl."
HCl is the chemical formula of hydrogen chloride and hydrochloric acid. At room temperature, hydrogen chloride is a colorless to slightly yellow, corrosive, nonflammable gas that is heavier than air and has a strong irritating odor. On exposure to air, hydrogen chloride forms dense white corrosive vapors, and inhalation of the fumes can cause coughing, choking, inflammation of the nose, throat, and upper respiratory tract, and in severe cases, pulmonary edema, circulatory system failure, and death, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
---------------------------------------------
ARKEMA.COM ‰?? SAFETY SUMMARIES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
Arkema participates in the global product strategy program of the international council of chemical associations (ICCA). This commitment underlines its desire to inform the public about its products in a fully transparent manner.
As a signatory to the Responsible Careå¨ global charter of the international council of chemical associations (ICCA), the Arkema group also participates in the Global Product Strategy (GPS) program of this organization. The aim of this initiative is to strengthen the public‰??s trust in the chemical industry.
Safety data released to the public
The Group has demonstrated it commitment by producing GPS/Safety Summaries ‰?? data sheets on product safety. These documents are available to the general public on its web site (see below) as well as on the ICCA web site.
What exactly is GPS?
The aim of the GPS program is to provide a reasonable amount of information at a global level about chemical product hazards and risks, and to then inform the general public about them. Due to the globalization of markets, this has led to the harmonization of systems to manage chemical products and to ensure consistency with national and regional regulations.
Europe has a structured regulation in REACH, which requires the submission of detailed dossiers to be able to manufacture, import or sell chemical products on the european market. The GPS program makes it possible to re-use these data in order to create the safety summaries. The Arkema Group has made a commitment to publish a safety summary within one year of the REACH registration of the chemical substance.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA TO FORCE ALL CHEMICAL PLANTS OUT OF URBAN AREAS BY 2020, CABINET SAYS
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
All of the chemical plants currently located in urban areas in China will be forced to relocate by the year 2020, according to a statement released by the country‰??s cabinet following an explosion at a refinery in the city of Dalian.
Well, that‰??s mostly the case anyway ‰?? ‰??large‰?? chemical plants will apparently have until 2025 to relocate out of urban areas, according to the statement.
Reuters provides some further information: ‰??A fire at PetroChina‰??s Dalian refinery, one of its largest, has raised worries about safety and pollution from the refining sector. Chemical companies that are not able to relocate will be shut, the cabinet said. In addition, the cabinet will give a tax rebate and subsidy to companies that need to be moved.‰??
---------------------------------------------
WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE CHEMICAL IN THE AIR AFTER WACKER EXPLOSION THURSDAY?
Tags: us_TN, education, follow-up, response, HCl
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ‰?? Alex Haws wasn't in school Friday because of the explosion at Wacker, but he was working hard on an extra-curricular project after he witnessed the catastrophe.
"I heard a real loud bang boom. I don't know it was a big old thud, and the school shook," he said.
Soon after he saw steam puff up into the sky. Friday afternoon, Wacker clarified that the chemical released is called trichlorosilane. Wacker officials says when trichlorosilane mixes with moisture in the air, it makes another compound called HCl. That's what they were worried about people breathing in.
Professor Bradley Harris his chemical engineering class is very familiar with HCl.
"As an inhalant, something that's in the air, it's mostly just going to be an irritant," Harris said. "It's going to make you feel uncomfortable. It's going to bother your mouth, your esophagus, your lungs-- make you cough."
That's why Haws created this petition online that now has more than 500 signatures.
"Gas masks should be provided for each student teacher and faculty," he said.
Haws didn't experience symptoms after the explosion Thursday, but wants to know he'll be safe in the future. Even if the school can't afford masks, he says he wants a safety discussion to happen.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION AT WACKER CHEMICAL PLANT ROCKS COMMUNITY
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. ‰?? White smoke filled the sky in Charleston Thursday afternoon.
Construction worker Gary Pirkle describes to us what he heard before he saw that smoke.
"I went to get me a small breather of a break and I was looking just toward the Wacker plant and, all of sudden, I heard something that sounded like a giant bomb go off," Pirkle said.
Wacker officials tell us that noise was an explosion.
Just down the street from the plant, Malibu Boats owner Shannnon McPhail showed us surveillance video.
In the video, you can see the camera shake the moment the explosion happened.
---------------------------------------------
ABANDONED BEAKER CAUSES SOUTHINGTON CHEMICAL LAB TO FILL WITH SMOKE
Tags: us_CT, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
SOUTHINGTON ‰?? Southington firefighters ventilated the United States Chemical Corp. building Friday night after a beaker left on a lit burner caused the laboratory to fill with smoke.
Firefighters responded to a smoke alarm sounding at the business located at 609 Old Turnpike Road just before 8 p.m., according to Battalion Chief Jimmy Paul. The company‰??s employees had already left for the day and firefighters needed a key holder to access the building. Upon entry, firefighters found the entire lab area of the building filled with smoke.
‰??It was some type of detergent in a beaker on a burner they accidentally left on,‰?? Paul said.
No one was treated for smoke inhalation, as the building was empty at the time. Firefighters ventilated the building and cleared the scene after about an hour.
---------------------------------------------
TENNESSEE PLANT HAD $10K IN SAFETY FINES BEFORE EXPLOSION
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, injury, HCl
CHARLESTON, Tenn. (AP) ‰?? A Tennessee chemical plant where an explosion occurred was previously fined almost $10,000 for three workplace safety violations since opening last year.
Records show the Wacker Polysilicon plant in Charleston was fined $3,500 in April 2016 by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration over control of hazardous energy.
In August 2016, a $6,450 fine was issued over process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals and respiratory protection.
Authorities said Wacker's hydrogen chloride release Thursday briefly closed a busy interstate section and spurred shelter-in-place orders.
Bradley County schools were closed Friday.
The Bradley County Sheriff's Office said eight people went to the hospital for related symptoms. Wacker said one employee was in the hospital for observation.
---------------------------------------------
EPA CHIEF DEFENDS CHEMICAL RULE DELAY AFTER TEXAS PLANT EXPLOSIONS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt on Friday defended his decision to delay a major chemical plant safety regulation.
The EPA has faced criticism on the decision following multiple explosions last week at Arkema Inc.‰??s plant in Crosby, Texas, which flooded from Hurricane Harvey.
The Risk Management Plan rule, written under the Obama administration and delayed by Pruitt, would not likely have prevented the incident, but it may have helped first responders to avoid injuring themselves by inhaling noxious fumes.
Pruitt said he had good reasons to delay the regulation, arguing the new standards for risk management plans would have helped terrorists find out what substances are at plants.
‰??These chemical plants are terrorist opportunities as well. They present soft targets to terrorists who come in and do something pretty bad in those communities,‰?? Pruitt said on ABC News‰??s Power House Politics podcast.
‰??And so what you‰??ve got to do is strike the balance in what‰??s in that RMP, so that you‰??re not informing terrorists and helping them have data that they shouldn‰??t have.‰??
The EPA chief said he supports requiring risk management plans, and his intent in delaying and revising the rule is not to abolish that mandate.
---------------------------------------------
EPA COMPLETES TESTING OF WATER, AIR AFTER ARKEMA PLANT FIRE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, runoff
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed its response support to the Crosby Volunteer Fire Department and the Harris County Fire Marshal‰??s Office for the catastrophic event at Arkema. The EPA and the TCEQ provided direct support to incident commander Michael Sims of the Crosby Volunteer Fire Department and Chief Bob Royall of the Harris County Fire Marshal‰??s Office, who are leading a coordinated local, state, and federal effort as part of the Unified Command to control the fire at the Arkema facility in Crosby.
"As a result of initial chemical fires while the facility was flooded, EPA has collected downstream surface water runoff samples at four locations outside the evacuation zone, near residential areas.
"Six surface water runoff samples were collected on Friday, September 1, 2017 in the vicinity of the Arkema plant in Crosby, Texas. Surface water runoff results were less than the screening levels that would warrant further investigation. Each flood water sample was analyzed for volatile organic chemicals and semi-volatile organic chemicals likely to come from the Arkema plant. No volatile organic chemicals or semi-volatile organic chemicals were detected in the surface water runoff samples. Non-quantifiable and compounds not definitively identified are not reported. It is important to note that chemical analysis alone cannot be used as an indication of water safety. In a flood situation, there are multiple risk factors that can cause harm, industrial chemicals are only one of those risk factors. A copy of the data reports are attached.
---------------------------------------------
SMALL FIRE DAMAGES MBL LAB
Tags: us_ma, laboratory, fire, response
WOODS HOLE ‰?? Firefighters were called to a small fire in a Marine Biological Laboratory building Thursday morning.
An alarm sounded at the Falmouth fire station at about 9 a.m. Thursday indicating a fire in laboratory‰??s three-story Marine Resources Center. The building contains laboratory space, marine life and ongoing experimental work so standard procedures, such as shutting down all gas and electricity to the full building, weren‰??t an option, said Falmouth Deputy Fire Chief Scott Thrasher.
‰??Their biggest concern was if we just killed the power to the building that they would lose marine life and experiments,‰?? Thrasher said.
Everyone had left the building by the time firefighters arrived. While searching the resources center, firefighters discovered a small fire on a workbench in one of the second floor labs. Some electrical equipment was on the bench, but the source of the fire is still under investigation.
An automatic sprinkler system directly above the bench kept damage to a minimum and firefighters used a small pump can to finish putting out the fire, Thrasher said.
The fire was contained to the laboratory, he said. Once it was out, the maintenance crew at Marine Biological Laboratory worked with firefighters to ventilate the building.
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HAZMAT SCARE AT U.S. NONWOVENS SENT EMPLOYEE RUNNING FOR EXIT
Tags: us_ky, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
LUDLOW, Ky. ‰?? Fumes sent frightened employees hurrying out of an industrial plant Thursday, but there was no hazmat leak, a plant official said.
‰??The building just basically got filled full of smoke and started burning our eyes and stuff,‰?? said Blake Colbin, who just started working at the U.S. Nonwovens plant at 1 Sandbank Road two months ago.
‰??I left my phone, wallet, everything in there. I got out as quick as possible. Yeah, it was little scary,‰?? Colbin said.
The fumes were created in the making of a drain cleaner, warehouse manager Pete Kohlmorgen said. U.S. Nonwovens is known for making household cleaning products.
Kohlmorgen insisted it was safe.
‰??The product is not toxic. It‰??s not combustible. It‰??s not explosive. There was nothing that leaked onto the ground. Everything is completely, 100 percent contained,‰?? Kohlmorgen said.
A hazmat crew, two fire departments and the Kentucky EPA vouched for the safety inside the building.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTER RESPONDING TO WACKER CHEMICAL LEAK HOSPITALIZED
Tags: us_tn, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
CHARLESTON, Tenn. (WATE) ‰?? James Bradford of the Bradley County Sheriff‰??s Office says a firefighter responding to the Wacker chemical plant has been taken to a nearby hospital due to ‰??heat exhaustion.‰?? This after a second leak at the plant Thursday evening.
Bradley County EMA says because of a wind shift near the plant, residents living up to 1.5 miles south of Wacker should stay inside until notified otherwise.
As a precaution, residents in the area should not use their AC units.
Crews have closed Lauderdale Memorial Hwy between Hwy 11 and I-75.
Bill Toth, Director of Corporate Communications for Wacker could not answer when asked if there is a danger to the public.
Toth says they are busy ‰??mitigating the incident,‰?? and will release a statement later.
The Bradley County Sheriff‰??s Office released a statement about an explosion at the Wacker chemical plant in Charleston, Tennessee Wednesday afternoon around 4 p.m.
At approximately 4:00 p.m. an alleged explosion was reported tothe 911 Communications Center from residents around Wacker Polysilicon, located inCharleston, TN.Upon arrival, first-responders were able to determine a mechanical failure caused a plume of low-concentrated hydrochloric acid to form a cloud that was visible within a portion within the Charleston area.Students from Walker Valley High School students sheltered in place and CharlestonElementary School students were transported to Ocoee Middle School for pickup by parents. Additionally, residents within the Charleston area were advised to shelter in place and turn off H.V.A.C. systems to minimize exposure.Representatives from Wacker Polysilicon and area first-responders were able to evaluatethe incident in order to communicate the precautionary procedures to ensure the safety ofthe community.Earlier reports advised there were no injuries at the facility; however medical responderswere able to locate one patient at th!
e facility needing medical assistance. At this time weare unable to determine if the patien
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USCG ASSESSING LOCAL CHEMICAL FACILITIES AHEAD OF HURRICANE IRMA LANDFALL
Tags: us_al, industrial, discovery, environmental
MOBILE, AL (WALA) -
With the active hurricane season, FOX10 News Investigates took a closer look at the possibility of the chemical facilities in our area being impacted by potential hurricanes... and how that could put people's safety at risk.
While it seems Irma may be going to the Florida peninsula, the commander for the U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG) Mobile Sector told FOX10 News Investigates his teams have been going around to several chemical facilities from Panama City Beach to Bayou la Batre, to assess their ability to handle a major hurricane, just in case.
After Hurricane Harvey ripped through the Texas coast, huge fires broke out at a chemical plant northeast of Houston, when the facility was forced to shut down operations, and officials said units refrigerating the toxic chemicals were "compromised due to massive flooding."
Fifteen deputies were taken to the hospital for inhaling volatile chemical smoke, and a mandatory evacuation was put in place for all residents living with in a mile and a half of the facility.
Along the Mobile River, there are eight petrochemical storage facilities operating in close proximity to the downtown and Africatown communities.
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SAFETY WORKERS SICKENED BY FUMES SUE TEXAS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, release, unknown_chemical, follow-up
Seven emergency workers filed suit on Monday against the French chemical company Arkema, saying they were sickened by fumes from explosions last week at the company‰??s flood-stricken plant near Houston. They say they were not given ample warning of the dangers from volatile chemicals stored at the plant.
The workers were among those hospitalized after falling ill from the fumes, according to the lawsuit, filed in Harris County District Court. The local responders also claim that Arkema failed to properly secure the chemicals or draw up adequate emergency plans. They are seeking at least $1 million in damages.
The suit describes a chaotic scene at the plant when the first of nine trailers storing a highly flammable compound ignited on Aug. 31.
‰??Immediately upon being exposed to the fumes from the explosion, and one by one, the police officers and first responders began to fall ill in the middle of the road. Calls from medics were made, but still no one from Arkema warned of the toxic fumes in the air,‰?? the lawsuit claims.
Flooding from Hurricane Harvey knocked out electricity at the plant and also disabled backup systems meant to keep a class of unstable chemicals, called organic peroxides, cool. Workers at the plant moved the chemicals into trailers before abandoning the site under orders from the local authorities. The police ordered people to evacuate a 1.5-mile radius around the plant when Arkema officials warned that explosions were imminent.
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KILLEEN COUNCILMAN CALLS FOR FORUM ON CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_tx, industrial, discovery, response
Riding a wave of resident concern over the planned arrival of an MGC Pure Chemicals America plant in Killeen, Councilman Steve Harris is calling for a community forum for city officials to field questions from the public.
On Aug. 9, the Killeen Economic Development Corporation announced the signing of a performance agreement with the Japanese company for a $30 million plant on 28 acres of land in the Killeen Business Park on Roy J. Smith Drive.
The plant will produce superpure hydrogen peroxide, a cleaning chemical used in the semiconductor industry for applications that require stripping, etching and cleaning silicon wafers, according to a news release.
In an email to City Manager Ron Olson on Monday, Harris said the entire council was not briefed on the incoming plant and wanted to provide the public with information on the project.
‰??Since the negotiations were performed in secret, even from the majority of the council, I believe this to be an imperative and necessary step in maintaining transparency,‰?? Harris said.
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EPA LAST INSPECTED FLOODED ARKEMA PLANT IN 2003
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
It‰??s been 14 years since EPA inspectors last visited an Arkema Corp. facility in Crosby, Texas, that saw chemical explosions caused by flooding from Hurricane Harvey, a company official told Bloomberg BNA.
Arkema spokesman Stan Howard, and David Gray, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s Region 6 office in Dallas, both said the plant was last inspected under the agency‰??s risk management program in 2003. The EPA is more likely to inspect high-risk facilities under the program ‰??where offsite consequences impact a large number of people or they have had an accident,‰?? Gray said in an email Sept. 6.
Arkema‰??s Crosby facility came under scrutiny after power failures due to an estimated 40 inches of rain at the plant during Harvey caused electricity and multiple backup generators to fail and volatile chemicals to overheat and catch fire.
The lack of inspections at the Crosby plant doesn‰??t surprise many. According to a Sept. 1 letter Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) sent to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the agency has ‰??about 30 inspectors‰?? who can complete between 300 and 350 inspections per year of around 12,500 facilities in the program‰??information the senator‰??s spokeswoman told Bloomberg BNA came from a telephone briefing with EPA staff last week.
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GOVERNMENT ILL-EQUIPPED TO MONITOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS DAMAGED BY HURRICANE HARVEY
Tags: us_tx, industrial, follow-up, environmental
More than a dozen Texas chemical and refining plants reported damaged storage tanks, ruptured containment systems and malfunctioning pressure relief valves as a result of Hurricane Harvey, portending safety problems that might not become apparent for months or years, according to a Houston Chronicle review of regulatory filings.
The filings are incomplete and represent only damage that produced excessive air pollution, a fraction of the impact on plants in southeast Texas that provide more than 40 percent of the nation's petrochemical capacity and about 30 percent of its refining.
At Shell's Deer Park refinery, two tanks were damaged and oil ran into a surrounding berm. At BASF's Beaumont pesticide plant, tanks overflowed and leaked unknown chemicals. At the Chevron Phillips Cedar Bayou plant, a cooling pump failed, causing overpressurized chemicals to be burned off in a flare.
When Harvey swept through the Gulf Coast and Houston area, it forced the shutdown of hundreds of industrial facilities across the region. Now, with waters receding, these operations will be coming back on line in the coming weeks, raising the prospect of cancer-causing gas emissions, toxic spills, fires and explosions, said Sam Mannan, director of a center that studies chemical process safety at Texas A&M university.
"Such a large industry coming up at the same time," he said. "All you need to do is have some mistakes pop up somewhere and it will be magnified elsewhere."
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U.S. CHEMICAL RISK PROGRAM GETS MIXED REVIEW
Tags: us, public, discovery, enviromental
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‰??s program for evaluating the human health risks associated with exposure to chemicals in the environment‰??the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)‰??is under attack by Republican lawmakers.
At a hearing on Sept. 6, Republican leaders on two subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space & Technology criticized EPA for not making changes to IRIS as suggested in 2014 reports by the National Academies‰?? National Research Council and the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Democrats at the hearing, however, praised EPA for significantly improving the IRIS program in a short amount of time. They questioned why no one from EPA, GAO, or the National Academies was invited to testify at the hearing to discuss changes EPA has made in recent years. Several Democrats pointed out that EPA‰??s Scientific Advisory Board sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt just days before the hearing, commending the agency for improving the IRIS program.
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration initially proposed to zero out funding for IRIS in EPA‰??s fiscal 2018 appropriations but later sought money for the program. Lawmakers held the hearing to assess whether the program should continue.
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WHAT MADE ARKEMA‰??S PEROXIDES UNSTABLE IN HARVEY‰??S AFTERMATH?
Tags: us_tx, industrial, followup, enviromental, peroxide
Organic peroxides, the chemicals that led to evacuations and explosions at the flooded Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, are well-known for their instability‰??the characteristic that provides both their chemical utility and their hazardous properties.
[+]Enlarge
Structure of bis(2-ethylhexyl) peroxydicarbonate and tert-butyl 2-ethylhexaneperoxoate.
Two of the peroxides stored at Arkema‰??s Crosby site were tert-butyl 2-ethylhexaneperoxoate, which has an SADT of 35 å¡C, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) peroxydicarbonate, which has an SADT of 5 å¡C for a 75% solution.
Organic peroxides contain the peroxide functional group ROORæ1.The O‰??O bond is inherently weak; the bond dissociation energy of CH3O‰??OCH3 is 157.3 kJ/mol compared with 335 kJ/mol for CH3‰??OCH3.
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