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Table of Contents (18 articles)
TANKER TRAILER CARRYING METHANE GAS ENDS UP IN TRUSSVILLE DITCH; HOME EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY
Tags: us_AL, transportation, release, response, methane
HAZ-MAT INCIDENT INVOLVING DRAIN CLEANER DISRUPTS KENT HOSPITAL
Tags: us_RI, public, release, injury, cleaners
MAN KILLED IN 'CATASTROPHIC' BLAST WHILE 'TINKERING' IN SHED
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, death, hydrogen
BILL WHITAKER: MANY WEST FOLKS STILL UNCONVINCED OF ATF FINDINGS ON EXPLOSION
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
SACRAMENTO STATE HAD LEAD AND CHEMICAL SAFETY PROBLEMS. DOES CSU HAVE SYSTEMWIDE ISSUES?
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, solvent
CHEMICAL WEAPONS: A DEADLY HISTORY
Tags: Belgium, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
MAKING FIRE SAFETY OUTLIVE THE NEWS: A 10-POINT STRATEGY- THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Tags: India, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
SENIOR LABORATORY MANAGER OF HORANA RUBBER FACTORY ARRESTED OVER DEATHS IN AMMONIA TANK
Tags: Sri_Lanka, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonia
NEW MAP SHOWS EXPLOSION OF FLUORINATED CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
PAINT STRIPPER WITH DEADLY CHEMICAL NEEDS BANNING OR REMOVING
Tags: us_SC, public, follow-up, environmental, methylene_chloride
CHEMICALS THAT COULD SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST FOUND THROUGHOUT NORTH SACRAMENTO HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical
LANES RE-OPENED ON I-480 WEST AT RIDGE ROAD AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL; PHOTOS
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
SCIENTISTS WARN OF NERVE AGENT POTENCY AS SALISBURY CLEAN-UP BEGINS
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
HENRY COUNTY CLEANING UP AFTER FIRE AT CHEMICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_IA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical, runoff
TYSON FOODS PLANT FIRE SPURS EVACUATIONS, SCHOOL CLOSURES
Tags: us_GA, industrial, fire, response, ammonia, hvac_chemicals
VALERO PLANT WHERE EXPLOSION OCCURRED HAS HISTORY OF OSHA VIOLATIONS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
FINAL WARNING LETTERS ISSUED OVER FLARING AT MOSSMORRAN CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
EXPLOSION, LARGE FIRE AT TEXAS CITY PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
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TANKER TRAILER CARRYING METHANE GAS ENDS UP IN TRUSSVILLE DITCH; HOME EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/04/tanker_trailer_carrying_methan.html
Tags: us_AL, transportation, release, response, methane
First responders are on the scene of a crash in Trussville involving a tanker trailer carrying methane gas.
Trussville police Sgt. Mike Bruce said the crash is at the intersection of Floyd Bradford Road and Dollar Road. The truck failed to negotiate a turn at the intersection, left the roadway and ended up in a ditch. It did not overturn. Both streets are closed in the area while Trussville Fire hazmat units are working the scene.
Bruce said residents within a half mile of the accident are being evacuated. As of 9 p.m., there was no gas leaking from the trailer and the evacuation is only a precaution.
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HAZ-MAT INCIDENT INVOLVING DRAIN CLEANER DISRUPTS KENT HOSPITAL
http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180422/haz-mat-incident-involving-drain-cleaner-disrupts-kent-hospital
Tags: us_RI, public, release, injury, cleaners
WEST WARWICK, R.I. ‰?? Main Street was closed for about three hours late Sunday afternoon while a hazmat team from Cranston checked the apartment of a woman taken to Kent Hospital, a West Warwick fire official said Sunday night.
West Warwick Battalion Chief Paul Boisclair said a rescue call came in at 3:39 p.m. from a Dunkin‰?? Donuts. A woman who said she didn‰??t feel well was taken to Kent Hospital, he said, and as a security measure, her purse was searched. As a hospital worker began dumping the contents of two water bottles down a drain, the bottles began to melt and splashes left small burns on skin and brown spots if they hit the floor.
The patient told hospital personnel that she had more bottles like those in her apartment at 745 Main St., Boisclair said.
Notified by the hospital, the West Warwick Fire Department closed a portion of Main Street and asked for Cranston‰??s hazmat team to help search the woman‰??s apartment.
Nothing unusual was found, Boisclair said. There was drain cleaner in a drain cleaner bottle, he said, but no evidence of water bottles that contained drain cleaner. He said Kent Hospital redirected ambulances to other hospitals for a couple of hours.
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MAN KILLED IN 'CATASTROPHIC' BLAST WHILE 'TINKERING' IN SHED
http://www.mygc.com.au/man-killed-in-catastrophic-blast-while-tinkering-in-shed/
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, death, hydrogen
A MAN has been killed in a ‰??catastrophic‰?? explosion at his home in Brisbane‰??s north.
The blast ripped through the property in the suburb of Warner around 5.30pm on Friday.
Police said the man in his 50s was working on a machine beside his shed when the explosion occurred.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER THIS ADVERTISEMENT
It‰??s understood the man, described by his wife as a ‰??tinkerer‰??, was using a hydrogen gas unit to extract the chemical element from water.
Neighbours called triple-0 after the blast shook their homes and likened the explosion to a ‰??nuclear bomb‰??.
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BILL WHITAKER: MANY WEST FOLKS STILL UNCONVINCED OF ATF FINDINGS ON EXPLOSION
http://www.wacotrib.com/opinion/columns/bill_whitaker/bill-whitaker-many-west-folks-still-unconvinced-of-atf-findings/article_88ad5c01-3208-569b-8ba8-d4a44284aa51.html
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
Nearly two years have passed since the Houston office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives surprised almost everyone by announcing that the cause of the fire that triggered the ammonium nitrate blast was ‰??incendiary, a criminal act.‰?? The bureau‰??s three-year, $2 million investigation reportedly reached this conclusion by eliminating all other possible causes through more than 400 interviews, a systematic fire-scene investigation, high-tech testing and scrutiny of photographic and video evidence.
The announcement, complete with the ATF‰??s $50,000 reward for evidence leading to arrests, wasn‰??t just at odds with those reached by other federal investigators ‰?? including the independent, detail-oriented U.S. Chemical Safety Board ‰?? but also with many West townspeople.
‰??The consensus of the city is it‰??s complete BS, if I can say that,‰?? lifelong resident Steve Vanek, mayor pro tem, told me last week. ‰??There is not a citizen in town I have talked to ‰?? and I‰??ve talked to many, many, many of them ‰?? who believes it was set. It is truly, honestly an accident. I‰??ll believe that till my dying day and 90 percent of citizens in the city of West believe the same thing. I don‰??t know where they‰??re [ATF officials] getting that from. I don‰??t have a clue.‰??
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SACRAMENTO STATE HAD LEAD AND CHEMICAL SAFETY PROBLEMS. DOES CSU HAVE SYSTEMWIDE ISSUES?
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article208384359.html
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, environmental, solvent
Lead exposure and a chemical spill at Sacramento State are expected to feature prominently in a state audit scheduled for release Tuesday examining whether the California State University system has health and safety deficiencies.
As The Sacramento Bee reported last year, Sacramento State chemistry lab employees said they became infertile or had other health problems because they were exposed to chemicals in badly ventilated rooms and were required to clean up a solvent more hazardous than they realized. The university also shut off drinking fountains last year after a professor found high levels of lead in the water.
The audit was requested last year by Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, at the urging of the university employees union. The California State Auditor is reviewing the adequacy of safety equipment, regulations and training at CSU campuses in Sacramento, San Diego, Sonoma and the Channel Islands.
The auditor is looking specifically into the Sacramento State drinking water issue and protocols at the four campuses for handling chemicals.
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CHEMICAL WEAPONS: A DEADLY HISTORY
https://www.rferl.org/a/history-of-chemical-weapons/29184063.html
Tags: Belgium, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
On a sunny afternoon in April 1915, outside the Belgian city of Ypres, the wind began blowing in the direction the German troops wanted ‰?? toward the French lines. German soldiers set up over 5,000 barrels of chlorine gas along their position, and let loose a rolling cloud of thick, yellow death. More than 6,000 French troops died in what was the first systematic use of poison gas on the battlefield. Its effectiveness caught even the Germans off guard. Willi Siebert, a German soldier, noted in his diary, ‰??When we got to the French lines, the trenches were empty, but in a half mile the bodies of French soldiers were everywhere. It was unbelievable.‰?? Just over 99 years later, on June 17, 2014, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed chlorine gas was used by the Syrian government in an attack on its own people.
German soldiers ignite chlorine gas canisters during the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium on April 22, 1915.
In 1918, a German chemist named Fritz Haber won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for a method of extracting ammonia from the nitrogen in the atmosphere. The process made ammonia abundant and easily available. Haber‰??s discovery revolutionized agriculture, with some calling it the most significant technological discovery of the 20th century ‰?? supporting half of the world‰??s food base.
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MAKING FIRE SAFETY OUTLIVE THE NEWS: A 10-POINT STRATEGY- THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/apr/22/making-fire-safety-outlive-the-news-a-10-point-strategy-1804690.html
Tags: India, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
BENGALURU: National Fire Service Week is celebrated every year in India from April 14 until April 20. It is in remembrance of the 66 firemen who perished in the fire that erupted and the explosions that followed on April 14, 1944 at the Victoria Dock in the Bombay Port. Here is a 10-point agenda for relevant stakeholders to bolster the growing demand for fire safety measures
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SENIOR LABORATORY MANAGER OF HORANA RUBBER FACTORY ARRESTED OVER DEATHS IN AMMONIA TANK
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_18A/Apr21_1524319144CH.php
Tags: Sri_Lanka, industrial, follow-up, death, ammonia
Apr 21, Colombo: The Senior Laboratory Manager of the rubber factory in Horana has been arrested over the death of five persons in the ammonia tank incident.
The Police said the 42-year-old female laboratory manger, a resident of Horana, Dikhenapura was arrested this evening (21) and she will be produced before Horana Magistrate Court.
Earlier the police arrested the manager of the rubber factory in Horana A.K.D.R Edirisinghe over the five deaths. He was remanded until April 25 by the Horana Magistrate's Court.
Five people including two employees and three residents were killed in Sri Lanka on Thursday after a worker at a rubber factory in Ballapitiya, Horana fell into a tank of ammonia and co-workers and residents tried to save him.
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NEW MAP SHOWS EXPLOSION OF FLUORINATED CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION
http://weku.fm/post/new-map-shows-explosion-fluorinated-chemical-contamination
Tags: us_MA, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
The non-profit Environmental Working Group and a team of environmental health researchers at Northeastern University in Boston developed the map, which tracks publicly-known contaminated sites reported from both EPA testing and state and local agencies.
In the 10 months since the map was first published, the number of sites has exploded. Last February, researchers knew of 52 sites in 19 states. Today, they know of 94 sites in 22 states that report the presence of these chemicals, which are linked to cancer, thyroid disease and other health problems.
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Much of the newly noted activity came from Michigan. Communities there are dealing with contamination from 3M's Scotchgard fabric protector used by shoemaker Wolverine World Wide.
Martinsburg in the Eastern Panhandle of West Viriginia, was the only site in the Ohio Valley researchers added during this update.
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PAINT STRIPPER WITH DEADLY CHEMICAL NEEDS BANNING OR REMOVING
http://www.thestate.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article209422984.html
Tags: us_SC, public, follow-up, environmental, methylene_chloride
COLUMBIA, SC
My son Drew Woolverton Wynne was easy to love. The youngest of my three boys, he garnered attention with his quick wit, booming voice, and bright smile. Drew was an entrepreneur who relished building his small coffee business, making me endlessly proud.
But one day in October, I found the county coroner waiting somberly on my doorstep, and my world came crashing down.
While refinishing the floor of his Charleston coffee business with a paint stripper product purchased at Lowe‰??s, Drew was exposed to deadly levels of methylene chloride, a toxic chemical linked to cancer and death. As little as six ounces can be deadly. Scientists have also linked long-term exposure to liver toxicity and cancer.
Sadly, Drew is just the latest victim in a string of deaths associated with these dangerous products. More than 50 Americans have died from exposure to methylene chloride paint strippers since 1980.
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CHEMICALS THAT COULD SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST FOUND THROUGHOUT NORTH SACRAMENTO HOME
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/04/19/chemicals-that-could-spontaneously-combust-found-throughout-home-that-caught-fire/
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ‰?? FBI and Sacramento county hazmat personnel are investigating chemicals found in a North Sacramento home that caught fire Thursday morning.
Around 6 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire at the home on Bogle Court and were able to contain the flames to the structure, but unknown chemicals were later found throughout the home that could spontaneously combust, according to a Sacramento Fire Department statement.
Authorities have not identified the chemicals found in the home, which is said to be for sale.
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LANES RE-OPENED ON I-480 WEST AT RIDGE ROAD AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL; PHOTOS
http://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/lanes-re-opened-on-i-480-west-at-ridge-road-after-chemical-spill-photos/95-543238125
Tags: us_OH, transportation, release, response, other_chemical
The cleanup of a hazmat spill on I-480 westbound at Ridge Road continues on Thursday evening.
After a closure of more than three hours, the left lanes of I-480 were finally re-opened just before 10:30 p.m. Cleveland Police and Fire say 300 gallons of aluminum chloride was spilled in the incident.
ODOT says all lanes are expected to be open by the morning rush hour.
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SCIENTISTS WARN OF NERVE AGENT POTENCY AS SALISBURY CLEAN-UP BEGINS
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/19/scientists-warn-of-nerve-agent-potency-as-salisbury-clean-up-begins
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
The residue of the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of the Skripals in Salisbury could still be as potent as it was when it was deployed more than six weeks ago, government scientists believe.
Experts responsible for the decontamination effort in the cathedral city said there could still be ‰??hotspots‰?? yet to be discovered where the novichok agent remains in high concentrations.
The revelations were made at a public meeting held in Salisbury as new barriers were put in place around key sites connected to the attack on the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, signalling the start of the lengthy clean-up process. Almost 200 military personnel in protective suits and boots will spend months decontaminating nine sites.
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HENRY COUNTY CLEANING UP AFTER FIRE AT CHEMICAL COMPANY
http://qconline.com/news/henry-county-cleaning-up-after-fire-at-chemical-company/article_c79a6820-cad9-59a7-99d8-84506e050d3e.html
Tags: us_IA, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical, runoff
ORION ‰?? Henry County workers are attempting to contain runoff tainted with chemicals from Wednesday‰??s fire at Helena Chemical Co.
Authorities were alerted around 12:30 p.m. to the fire at the site, 2929 N. 1300th Ave., Orion, according to officials. Witnesses said flames towered more than 100 feet, and several explosions were heard.
The concern Thursday was that water used to fight the fire is now runoff, and it has signs of chemicals from the site in it, according to Mat Schnepple, Henry County‰??s director of emergency management. Runoff in that area follows a specific drainage system, and workers have erected an earthen dyke at a key point to contain it.
‰??Everything should run off to this downstream point,‰?? Mr. Schnepple said.
There was no immediate threat to public safety Thursday morning, but the runoff could have long-term environmental impacts, he said.
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TYSON FOODS PLANT FIRE SPURS EVACUATIONS, SCHOOL CLOSURES
http://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/news_home/Business/2018/04/Tyson_Foods_plant_fire_spurs_e.aspx?ID=%7BBEA0A406-674D-436D-AB7C-34560762B1E3%7D&cck=1
Tags: us_GA, industrial, fire, response, ammonia, hvac_chemicals
DAWSON, Ga. ‰?? Multiple crews of firefighters responded to a chemical fire in the dock area of a Tyson Foods Inc. poultry processing plant in Dawson, Georgia, on April 18.
Dozens of homes were evacuated, but no injuries were reported. As a precautionary measure, local schools were closed on April 19 because of the schools‰?? proximity to the plant.
‰??Our team members were evacuated and there were no injuries,‰?? Tyson Foods said in a statement. ‰??We‰??re grateful for area fire departments and their quick response. The incident involved the release of ammonia, which is used as a refrigerant at the plant. The leak has been isolated and we‰??re working to determine the root cause. The plant will not operate the rest of this week. We‰??re evaluating the damage and will determine when we might resume operations sometime next week.‰??
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VALERO PLANT WHERE EXPLOSION OCCURRED HAS HISTORY OF OSHA VIOLATIONS
http://www.khou.com/article/news/local/valero-plant-where-explosion-occurred-has-history-of-osha-violations/285-543302501
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical
TEXAS CITY, Texas - The Valero plant where an explosion occurred Thursday has a history of work safety issues, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Texas City officials say all employees were accounted for, and no one was hurt.
Related: Explosion at Valero plant rocks Texas City; no one hurt
OSHA records show in 2009, an employee was killed in a boiler explosion and another was injured. According to the report, the boiler failed, and it was considered an accident. The company was fined $4,500.
In the past three years, there have been two serious injuries reported to OSHA. In 2016, an employee was descending a ladder when he lost his footing falling 12 to 15 feet. The employee sustained a broken left wrist, dislocated his right shoulder and fractured the right side of his face and jaw. Valero was fined $21,000 for serious violations.
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FINAL WARNING LETTERS ISSUED OVER FLARING AT MOSSMORRAN CHEMICAL PLANT
http://www.thenational.scot/news/16170188.Final_warning_letters_issued_over_flaring_at_Mossmorran_chemical_plant/
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
TWO major petrochemical companies have been served with final warning notices over an unplanned flaring incident at the Mossmorran complex in Fife.
Black smoke was seen coming from the chemical plant with nearby residents complaining of noise and vibration during the incident in June 2017.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) received 74 complaints.
Following an intensive investigation, Sepa found that environmental controls were breached during the incident and has served ExxonMobil Chemical Ltd and Shell UK Limited with Final Warning Letters.
It found that whilst flaring is an important safety feature in the event of a process fault, a series of maintenance failures led to elevated levels of unplanned flaring in breach of environmental controls between June 12 and 18, 2017 following the breakdown of a condensate pump.
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EXPLOSION, LARGE FIRE AT TEXAS CITY PLANT
https://www.chron.com/houston/article/Reports-Plant-fire-at-Texas-City-12849010.php
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
A large fire broke out Thursday afternoon at a Texas City plant, city officials said.
The explosion was reported at the Valero plant on Loop 197 in Texas City, officials said. Witnesses said the explosion happened around 4:45 p.m.
The fire has been contained but fire crews will remain on site until it is fully extinguished, according to city officials.
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