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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, December 18, 2017 at 7:29:21 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 (14 articles)
GROUP THINKS CHEMICALS STILL 'HAPHAZARDLY' STORED DOWNTOWN
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, response, toxics
CHEMICAL HEALTH STUDY ENACTED
Tags: us_GM, public, discovery, response, toxics
NAVI MUMBAI: MAJOR FIRE BREAKS OUT IN CHEMICAL UNIT, 5 HURT
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
WATCHDOG URGES CAUTION IN DISPOSING OF E-WASTE
Tags: Philippines, public, discovery, environmental, waste
UNITED NATIONS ASSEMBLY SETS GOAL FOR POLLUTION-FREE PLANET
Tags: Kenya, public, discovery, environmental
U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD SUED FOR NOT CREATING EMISSIONS REPORTING RULE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
HUGE FIRE DEMOLISHES FACTORY
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, fire, response, flammables
AREA BUSINESSES WITH DANGEROUS CHEMICALS WORK CLOSELY WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES ON RESPONSE PLANS
Tags: us_CT, industrial, discovery, environmental, acrylonitrile, ammonia
SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER MORE THAN 6 GET SICK IN BERGEN
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
UPDATE: GAS LEAKS CAUSE DISRUPTIONS
Tags: us_NC, public, release, injury, natural_gas
CREEKWALK COMMONS IN SYRACUSE EVACUATED DUE TO ODOR FROM CLEANING CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, cleaners
AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL LOBBYISTS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT AT THE EPA
Tags: us_DC, public, discovery, environmental
A PARTING GIFT FROM DOURSON: A TROVE OF REVEALING EMAILS
Tags: us_DC, public, follow-up, environmental
EPA MUM ON WHETHER OR NOT FAILED TRUMP NOMINEE REMAINS TO BE ON THE‰?|
Tags: us_DC, public, discovery, environmental
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GROUP THINKS CHEMICALS STILL 'HAPHAZARDLY' STORED DOWNTOWN
Tags: us_MO, public, discovery, response, toxics
A local environmental justice group is continuing its effort to educate the public on Superfund sites located Downtown that they believe could still contain ‰??haphazardly‰?? stored chemicals.
Ecumenical Eco-Justice formed in the summer of 2016 with the mission of protecting ‰??the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of St. Joseph, Missouri, from environmental hazards.‰??
EEJ‰??s toxin team co-chair, Shelley White, who worked as an independent preservation consultant for 25 years, said the group has compiled research into a presentation called ‰??Toxins In Our Town‰?? which looks at HPI Chemical Products as it‰??s primary example.
‰??I have personally read hours and hours of documents,‰?? White said. ‰??We‰??ve actually given this talk on the average of once a week for several months now, and we‰??ve talked to a couple hundred people.‰??
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CHEMICAL HEALTH STUDY ENACTED
Tags: us_GM, public, discovery, response, toxics
Sabina Perez and former Sen. Hope Cristobal, as representatives of the Guam Coalition for Peace and Justice, met with Gov. Eddie Calvo on Dec. 14 to inform him about a mandated study of toxic chemicals tucked within the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act.
In addition to authorizing more than $300 million in spending for military construction projects on Guam and a provision promising to address the shortage of foreign labor on island, the fiscal 2018 NDAA sets aside about $7 million to conduct a study of the possible health implications of perfluorinated compounds in no less than eight sites containing former or current military bases.
These compounds ‰?? commonly in the form of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and the perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) chemical found in some water wells on Guam ‰?? are associated with serious health problems to include certain cancers.
"(Calvo) stated that he‰??d like more information from us about it (and) that he would request (Special Assistant) Margaret Metcalfe to follow up on it to see if Guam could get its fair share for this human health study," Cristobal told The Guam Daily Post.
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NAVI MUMBAI: MAJOR FIRE BREAKS OUT IN CHEMICAL UNIT, 5 HURT
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
Five people were injured after a major fire broke out in a chemical factory in Navi Mumbai‰??s Turbhe MIDC area on Sunday. According to fire officials, the fire broke out at around 4.30 pm in a chemical company ‰?? Modepro (India) Private Ltd ‰?? located on plot No. 16/2 in Turbhe MIDC area in Navi Mumbai.
‰??The fire broke out after a blast in the company. There are two buildings with ground plus two storey structures. While there was a chemical plant in one building, the other building was being used as a godown. After the blast in the chemical plant, the adjoining godown was also damaged and it can collapse at any time,‰?? said an official who was present on the site.
‰??The fire has been brought under control at around 7.30 pm and the cooling operation is being carried out,‰?? said P D Borade, station in-charge of Nerul Fire station, adding that around 15 five engines had been pressed into service to douse the fire.
Officials said they were finding it difficult to ascertain whether any labourer was trapped inside. ‰??We don‰??t have an idea about the number of people working in the company,‰?? said another official, adding that it would be clear after establishing contact with the company.
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WATCHDOG URGES CAUTION IN DISPOSING OF E-WASTE
Tags: Philippines, public, discovery, environmental, waste
With holiday shopping in full swing, the EcoWaste Coalition appealed to the public to be discerning in buying and properly disposing Holiday Season presents that they would eventually discard.
To promote e-waste prevention, reduction and safe management, EcoWaste Coalition yesterday conducted a public outreach at the Quezon Memorial Circle to inform the public about e-waste, which is described as ‰??one of the fastest growing waste streams‰?? across the globe.
The event followed the release last December 13 of the Global E-Waste Monitor 2017 by the International Telecommunication Union, United Nations University and the International Solid Waste Association indicating the rising levels of e-waste and its improper and unsafe treatment and disposal through burning or dumping.
Globally, some 44.7 million metric tons of e-waste were generated in 2016 or 6.1 kg per inhabitant.
The study also showed that Filipinos produced 2 kg. to 5 kg. of e-waste per inhabitant.
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UNITED NATIONS ASSEMBLY SETS GOAL FOR POLLUTION-FREE PLANET
Tags: Kenya, public, discovery, environmental
Top environmental officials from around the globe pledged on Dec. 6 to improve people‰??s lives by cutting contamination of land, air, freshwater, and oceans. Meeting as the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, the officials set an international goal of a pollution-free planet. They did not establish a time frame for reaching this lofty objective, calling it ‰??a long-term endeavor.‰?? One activity that must be improved to eliminate pollution is use of commercial chemicals, the assembly determined. ‰??We believe that it is both inexcusable and preventable that tens of thousands of chemicals are used in everyday objects and applied in the field without proper testing, labelling or tracking,‰?? the environment ministers say in a declaration. The assembly also called for action to curb the amount of plastic in the world‰??s oceans as global plastic production and use continue to increase. The assembly called for the United Nations Environment Programme to crea!
te a global experts group to study options for reducing marine plastic litter, including microplastics.
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U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD SUED FOR NOT CREATING EMISSIONS REPORTING RULE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Several nonprofit organizations sued the U.S. Chemical Safety Board earlier this month for failing to establish a national reporting system to collect data on air pollution emissions from accidents by U.S. companies. The CSB reporting system is required by the Clean Air Act of 1990, which created the board.
CSB is an independent federal agency responsible for investigating industrial, chemically related accidents and determining their root cause. Several hundred accidents annually meet the criteria for CSB investigations‰??a fatality among workers or the public, serious injuries, or substantial property damage‰??although the agency only has the resources to investigate a few.
CSB has in the past recognized the importance of the reporting requirement and proposed a regulation in 2009. In that proposal, the board identified a host of improvements that would come from the regulation. It noted, for instance, that timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of chemical incident reports would be improved. Also, required reporting would better help the agency assess issues and trends and further the cause of accident prevention, the proposal said.
But CSB dropped the proposal due to a combination of implementation costs, lack of funding, and industry opposition to new reporting requirements, according to sources familiar with the proposal.
The arguments in the lawsuit pushing for the reporting regulation largely echo those that CSB identified in its proposal. CSB currently tracks incidents using media reports in combination with data collected by the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center and a mix of other sources of accident information.
---------------------------------------------
HUGE FIRE DEMOLISHES FACTORY
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, fire, response, flammables
AJMAN: A massive fire has demolished a factory mart in Ajman due to the exacerbated amounts of flammable substances on Saturday. The Ajman Civil Defence was able to extinguish the fire and there were no casualties.
According to an Ajman Civil Defence official, the fire was spreading rapidly due to the huge amount of materials and flammable substances in the commercial shops. The Ajman Civil Defence was assisted in controlling the blaze by fire brigades from Dubai, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.
The nearby factories were also affected and gutted in flames.
Motorists were urged to use other detours as roads leading to the factory outlets were cordoned to ensure the fire did not spread to neighbouring outlets and roads leading to the ships were closed to ensure efficient arrival of fire cars.
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AREA BUSINESSES WITH DANGEROUS CHEMICALS WORK CLOSELY WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES ON RESPONSE PLANS
Tags: us_CT, industrial, discovery, environmental, acrylonitrile, ammonia
WALLINGFORD ‰?? Two companies in the area use such large quantities of potentially toxic chemicals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires they submit disaster response plans.
Allnex‰??s manufacturing plant in Wallingford and Bozzuto‰??s Inc.‰??s warehouse in Cheshire are two of 27 facilities in Connecticut required to submit ‰??risk management plans‰?? to the EPA because they exceed a certain threshold of regulated substances, according to a report published by the Connecticut Health Investigative Team this week.
The Allnex plant, 528 S. Cherry St., has to submit a risk management plan because it carries more than 20,000 pounds of acrylonitrile, a chemical used to make medical devices and other plastic products. According to the EPA, short-term exposure to acrylonitrile can cause headaches, dizziness and nausea. The EPA classifies acrylonitrile as a ‰??probable human carcinogen‰?? based on limited evidence in human and rat studies.
Bozzuto‰??s facilities in Cheshire and North Haven carry more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a natural refrigerant. Symptoms from inhalation of ammonia anhydrous can range from coughing and headaches to severe shortness of breath, depending on the concentration, according to the EPA.
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SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER MORE THAN 6 GET SICK IN BERGEN
Tags: us_NJ, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical
More than six people got sick at a New Jersey elementary school over the past two days, prompting the district to close the building, officials said.
Some children reported falling ill on Wednesday at the Gantner Avenue School in Elmwood Park in Bergen County, and then six six staff members were sent home sick - two via ambulance - at the end of the school day on Thursday, at approximately 3:05 p.m., officials said. No students were sent home sick on Thursday.
"At this point in time, we feel that although Bergen County HazMat, OEM, the Elmwood Park Fire Department, and Elmwood Park Police Department have deemed the building safe for occupancy, we will be
closing Gantner Avenue School tomorrow, Friday, December 15th, to perform an Indoor Air Quality Test with an independent, licensed environmental company," Anthony Grieco, superintendent of schools, wrote in a letter to the community.
Grieco said the Gantner Avenue Elementary School has the required amount of carbon monoxide detectors, and the Elmwood Park Fire Department and Bergen County Hazmat have not found any traces of carbon monoxide in their tests throughout the entire school.
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UPDATE: GAS LEAKS CAUSE DISRUPTIONS
Tags: us_NC, public, release, injury, natural_gas
A gas leak at the intersection of Stantonsburg Road and Memorial Drive disrupted traffic Friday morning and left at least one bystander in need of medical attention, officials said.
A construction crew digging in the area damaged a line about 10:50 a.m. Officials shut down portions of Statonsburg, Memorial and Farmville Boulevard for just under an hour. The leak also affected nearby businesses.
A person at a Walgreens at the intersection was overwhelmed and needed medical attention after leaking natural gas swept across the road, Greenville Fire-Rescue Chief Eric Griffin said. Griffin believed the individual was affected by the smell of mercaptan, a chemical added to otherwise odorless natural gas to alert people of leaks. Some people are strongly affected by the smell, he said.
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CREEKWALK COMMONS IN SYRACUSE EVACUATED DUE TO ODOR FROM CLEANING CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, cleaners
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Creekwalk Commons in Syracuse was evacuated this morning due to a chemical odor, according to Syracuse police.
Syracuse police and fire responded to the luxury apartment building on West Water Street this morning.
"A maintenance employee had difficultly breathing after inhaling some cleaning chemicals that were possibly spilled," said Sgt. Richard Helterline, a Syracuse police spokesman.
The fire department cleaned up the chemical and ventilated the building, Helterline said.
The maintenance employee was transported to Upstate University Hospital for treatment, Helterline said.
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AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL LOBBYISTS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT AT THE EPA
Tags: us_DC, public, discovery, environmental
The evidence is growing that the insidious influence of a special interest lobbying group, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is compromising our environment and public health.
The ACC‰??s fingerprints were all over President Trump‰??s nomination of industry shill Michael Dourson to head the agency‰??s chemical safety division. Dourson was forced to withdraw his name from consideration on December 13, after bipartisan opposition rendered his Senate confirmation unlikely, given his ongoing ties to chemical industries he had spent his career defending as a toxicologist. Trump‰??s nomination of Dourson is but the latest example of the ACC‰??s influence within the agency assigned to regulate the polluting and contaminating industries‰??on whose behalf this trade association lobbies.
The Fox is Dismantling the Hen House
On December 6, the EPA held a public meeting with Deputy Assistant Administrator Nancy Beck, Ph.D., a former executive at the American Chemistry Council, who opened the public meeting. Industry cronies such as Michael Walls, the ACC‰??s vice president of regulatory and technical affairs organized a ‰??pilot program‰?? with only chemical industry representatives.
On the following day, the U.S. House of Representatives‰?? Energy and Commerce Committee summoned EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to address concerns surrounding his sweeping, counter-productive policy and departmental changes, acting at the bidding of the ACC and other corporate interests.
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A PARTING GIFT FROM DOURSON: A TROVE OF REVEALING EMAILS
Tags: us_DC, public, follow-up, environmental
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported on the withdrawal of the nomination of Michael Dourson to head the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s (EPA) chemical safety office ‰?? which we applauded as a win for public health. The Times article mentioned and provided a link to a 400-page trove of emails to and from Dourson that were obtained through a FOIA request filed in August by Greenpeace to the University of Cincinnati, where Dourson previously worked.
The emails shine a rare spotlight on a network, of which Dourson and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) are a part, that operates largely out of public view. It involves a coordinated effort between the chemical industry and its private and academic consultants to generate science that invariably supports the safety of the industry‰??s chemicals, and pushes back against any regulatory and academic science that indicates otherwise. The emails make for very interesting reading, if you can skip through the myriad emails about scheduling calls and meetings (which make up the bulk of any of our inboxes, I suspect).
To pique your interest, let me start with one email relating to Dourson‰??s nomination.
His nomination was publicly announced by Scott Pruitt on July 17. But nearly two months earlier, in an email (see page 178) dated May 23 and marked confidential, Dourson wrote to Kimberly White at ACC to let her know of his ‰??appointment,‰?? and also alluding to the possibility (which came to pass) that he would be hired as an advisor before being confirmed:
Based on the recommendation of EPA Administrator Pruitt, President Trump has appointed me as the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Safety Assessment and Pollution Prevention. EPA wants to get my senate confirmation scheduled before the August recess. They may also want to hire me into the Agency in July, which apparently they can do as soon as the announcement is made. The announcement is made after background checks are completed (40 days is typical). At this point, please keep news of this appointment under wraps.
Now, ACC is no doubt upset by the Dourson withdrawal, having hired Dourson repeatedly to help defend its companies‰?? chemicals and never wavering in support of his nomination. So it should come as no surprise that ACC is also unhappy with the Times‰?? release of the emails, especially given that a large fraction of them involve communications that include Dourson and ACC employees.
Yesterday ACC took to its blog to object to the Times article as ‰??misleading.‰?? The only specific it takes issue with, however, is that the article ‰??paints a dubious picture of emails between one of our employees and Dr. Michael Dourson.‰??
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EPA MUM ON WHETHER OR NOT FAILED TRUMP NOMINEE REMAINS TO BE ON THE‰?|
Tags: us_DC, public, discovery, environmental
WASHINGTON (AP) ‰?? The Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to say whether President Donald Trump‰??s failed pick to oversee chemical safety will continue to work there as a senior adviser, a role that doesn‰??t require Senate confirmation.
Michael L. Dourson withdrew his nomination Wednesday to serve as head of the EPA‰??s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention amid bipartisan opposition in the Senate.
Dourson has been working at EPA for at least two months as a senior adviser to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, an arrangement Democrats have said could be illegal without Senate confirmation.
EPA did not respond Wednesday or Thursday to inquiries about Dourson‰??s current employment status at the agency.
The agency has also refused to disclose Dourson‰??s taxpayer-funded salary. Other senior advisers to Pruitt are paid more than $170,000 annually, according to records reviewed by AP.
In his letter asking the president to withdraw his name from consideration as an assistant administrator at EPA, which was obtained by The Associated Press, Dourson listed his job title as ‰??Senior Adviser to the Administrator‰?? and provides his epa.gov email address ‰?? which has not been listed in the agency‰??s employee directory.
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