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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, February 14, 2020 at 6:42:53 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (14 articles)
HAZMAT CALLED TO DRT MEDICAL PLANT IN VANDALIA
Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
EXPLOSIONS ROCK PORT FACTORY
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, response, pharmaceutical
EXXONMOBIL FIRE RELEASED CARCINOGENIC CHEMICALS, REPORT SAYS, BUT MONITORING FOUND NO LOCAL RISK
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, response, benzene
MOSSMORRAN 'FIRE': INTENSE FLARING SPARKS ALARM AT CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
HAZMAT RESPONDS TO SPILL FROM TRAFFIC COLLISION
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, chlorine, gasoline
AMMONIA ALARM PROMPTS EVACUATION OF ROCKY RIDGE YMCA
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, ammonia
CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SPILL IN DOWNTOWN SLO
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, hydraulic_fluid
TWO WORKERS DIE AFTER FIRE AT CHEMICAL PLANT, SINGAPORE NEWS & TOP STORIES
Tags: Singapore, industrial, fire, death, other_chemical
MORE DETAILS RELEASED ON CAUSE OF WEEKEND CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT WEST LIBERTY FOODS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
LAB PROCESS CAUSES FIRE AT BATTELLE
Tags: us_OH, laboratory, fire, response, acetylene
NUMBER OF CHEMICALS IN COMMERCE HAS BEEN VASTLY UNDERESTIMATED
Tags: Sweden, public, discovery, environmental
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT CHEMSTAR IN MCPHERSON
Tags: us_KS, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
PHILLY PROPOSES BAN ON HYDROFLUORIC ACID IN REFINERY USES
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid
MOM OF PA. STUDENT BURNED IN CLASSROOM CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT RENEWS QUEST FOR DAMAGES
Tags: us_PA, education, follow-up, injury, methanol
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HAZMAT CALLED TO DRT MEDICAL PLANT IN VANDALIA
https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/hazmat-responds-smoking-barrels-vandalia-business/ChV6r9KCcXs1guMtSRThMK/
Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
A regional hazardous materials crew responded Thursday evening to the DRT Medical plant in Vandalia.The Vandalia Fire Division was dispatched around 6:20 p.m. for a report of a fire at the business, 4201 Little York Road.‰??What appeared to be a 55-gallon drum of a chemical in the rear of the building had a reaction,‰?? Fire Chief Chad Follick said.The drum was smoking but there was no active fire, he said.
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EXPLOSIONS ROCK PORT FACTORY
https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/local_news/explosions-rock-port-factory/article_4deae330-93b3-5930-9279-49bb8be5af7c.html
Tags: us_MA, industrial, explosion, response, pharmaceutical
NEWBURYPORT ‰?? No one was injured after a series of explosions Thursday morning inside a pharmaceutical chemical company at Newburyport's industrial park. But the explosions inside PCI Synthesis' manufacturing plant forced the evacuation of three businesses near the Opportunity Way complex.
Newburyport Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Bradbury said when firefighters responded to a fire alarm call around 4:30 a.m. they saw smoke inside the plant. While firefighters were investigating, three explosions took place in a different room.
"(Firefighters) evacuated immediately," Bradbury said.
Once they were out of the building, three more explosions occurred, ripping a 5-by-8-foot hole in the roof.
A state hazmat team arrived and firefighters evacuated three businesses adjacent to PCI. Officials said the cause of the explosions was still under investigation Thursday afternoon. Authorities sent a robot into the area where the explosions occurred to determine whether it was safe for firefighters and others to reenter, Bradbury said.
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EXXONMOBIL FIRE RELEASED CARCINOGENIC CHEMICALS, REPORT SAYS, BUT MONITORING FOUND NO LOCAL RISK
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_2a030ce4-4e89-11ea-a720-6fcae35453c7.html
Tags: us_LA, industrial, fire, response, benzene
The massive fire overnight Tuesday at the ExxonMobil Refinery in Baton Rouge is suspected of releasing cancer-causing chemicals benzene and 1,3 butadiene, as well as other chemicals that are toxic at high enough concentrations, a Louisiana State Police report says.
But the amounts of those releases are unclear and likely will remain so for about a week, when ExxonMobil provides estimates to state regulators in what's known as a "seven-day" report.
State officials have said the blaze likely combusted many of those harmful chemicals, converting them into other materials ‰?? some of which are also toxic. Air monitoring inside, around and away from the plant did not detect harmful concentrations of chemicals being released into the air or among the broader public, according to state officials and public data.
The initial incident report from State Police details ExxonMobil's response to the blaze, which took nearly seven hours to extinguish. The report shows brief updates over an 11-hour period from 11:58 p.m. Tuesday to 11:16 a.m. Wednesday, hours after the fire had been put out but while flaring was still underway.
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MOSSMORRAN 'FIRE': INTENSE FLARING SPARKS ALARM AT CHEMICAL PLANT
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-mossmorran-fire-intense-blaze-21493801
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
Dramatic pictures show huge flares at a chemical plant in Scotland during a restart which sparked alarm.
The "unacceptable" flaring is underway at the ExxonMobil Fife Ethylene Plant in Mossmorran.
Dramatic pictures show huge flames billowing from the plant.
Flaring is carried out to remove dangerous gasses.
Local councillor Darren Watt posted on Twitter: "I passed #Mossmorran main gate 30 mins ago & the flaring was the most intense I've ever seen.
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HAZMAT RESPONDS TO SPILL FROM TRAFFIC COLLISION
https://www.edhat.com/comment/99184
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, chlorine, gasoline
Rollover traffic accident at Ontare and Foothill Roads with a possible chemical spill from a pool cleaning truck. Acid possibly mixed with chlorine and gasoline are possibly involved.
---------------------------------------------
AMMONIA ALARM PROMPTS EVACUATION OF ROCKY RIDGE YMCA
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/ammonia-alarm-prompts-evacuation-of-rocky-ridge-ymca-1.4808665
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, ammonia
CALGARY -- Calgary firefighters evacuated the Rocky Ridge YMCA for a short time Wednesday due to a possible ammonia leak.
Alarms in a refrigeration room went off around 9:20 a.m. at the facility in the 11300 block of Rocky Ridge Road N.W.
"The source of the ammonia leak, a compressor, was shut down and the room was ventilated," read a released from the city.
Around 200 people were evacuated form the building and Calgary Transit buses were brought in to provide temporary shelter.
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CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SPILL IN DOWNTOWN SLO
https://keyt.com/news/san-luis-obispo-county/2020/02/12/hazmat-situation-underway-in-downtown-slo/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, hydraulic_fluid
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - San Luis Obispo police and firefighters responded to a hazardous materials incident in downtown San Luis Obispo Wednesday evening.
A fire engine, battalion chief and police units responded to the area of Chorro and Higuera streets at around 5:30 p.m.
According to the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department, a small spill of what is believed to be hydraulic fluid needed to be cleaned up.
Crews began to clean up the spill and people were being advised to avoid the area.
---------------------------------------------
TWO WORKERS DIE AFTER FIRE AT CHEMICAL PLANT, SINGAPORE NEWS & TOP STORIES
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/two-workers-die-after-fire-at-chemical-plant
Tags: Singapore, industrial, fire, death, other_chemical
Two workers, a Singaporean and an Indian national, died after suffering burns during a fire at a chemical plant on Jurong Island last Friday.
They were among a group of workers who were carrying out purging of a hydrocarbon pipeline when a fire broke out in the plant at 21 Sakra Avenue.
The 38-year-old Singaporean and the 29-year-old Indian were taken to Ng Teng Fong Hospital, where their burns were treated. They were then transferred to Singapore General Hospital and died after surgery.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had deployed a combined platform ladder to rescue the two men from the top platform of a process vessel when it responded to the incident at 11.25pm last Friday.
The fire was put out by the chemical company's emergency response team before the SCDF arrived.
---------------------------------------------
MORE DETAILS RELEASED ON CAUSE OF WEEKEND CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT WEST LIBERTY FOODS
https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/More-details-released-on-cause-of-weekend-chemical-incident-at-West-Liberty-Foods-567812561.html
Tags: us_IA, industrial, follow-up, response, other_chemical
WEST LIBERTY, Iowa (KCRG) - Company officials have released more information about a hazmat incident at West Liberty Foods on Saturday that resulted in the temporary evacuation of nearby residences.
At around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, February 8, 2020, an employee at the food processing plant smelled an unusual odor outside of the building on its north side. The employee discovered a vapor leaking from a chemical storage building and reported it to plant officials. This led to an emergency response involving the West Liberty Fire Department and the Muscatine County HAZMAT team.
A plastic tote containing a chemical marketed under the name Inspexx, produced by Ecolab Co., appeared to be the source of the vapor leak. The vapors appeared to be drifting toward empty turkey sheds west of the plant, and potentially toward apartment buildings on Short and Iowa Streets nearby. Those apartments were evacuated for around 20 minutes.
According to product safety data sheets for Inspexx, it is used as an anti-microbial treatment for raw poultry products. It has a vinegar-like smell and can cause respiratory irritation if its vapors are inhaled.
---------------------------------------------
LAB PROCESS CAUSES FIRE AT BATTELLE
https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200212/lab-process-causes-fire-at-battelle
Tags: us_OH, laboratory, fire, response, acetylene
A chemical process used to seal test tubes resulted in a fire at Battelle Memorial Institute Wednesday morning.
Columbus firefighters were first called to 505 King Ave. near the Ohio State University campus around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday on a report of a fire in a laboratory involving chemicals in a gas state being used in an experiment, Battalion Chief Steve Martin said.
A second alarm was called almost immediately because of the size of the building and the fact that chemicals were involved, Martin said.
The fire was contained to an area of the lab building and the building will be decontaminated, along with all responding firefighters and their gear.
Further investigation determined the fire started during a chemical process using a torch to seal test tubes, Martin said. The employee working on the process had taken a break, and smoke was reported in the area while he was on break, Martin said.
Battelle released a statement saying no employees were injured in the fire.
‰??Initial reports indicated that the fire involved an acetylene torch which led to a piece of wood catching fire,‰?? the statement said.
---------------------------------------------
NUMBER OF CHEMICALS IN COMMERCE HAS BEEN VASTLY UNDERESTIMATED
https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-regulation/Number-chemicals-commerce-vastly-underestimated/98/i7
Tags: Sweden, public, discovery, environmental
For the first time, scientists have created a global inventory that lists more than 350,000 chemicals and mixtures of chemicals registered for commercial production and use, up to three times as many as is commonly estimated (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b06379).
This inventory can help researchers track compounds that are expected to be volatile, persistent, or capable of long-range transport, which is important for building a picture of global chemical safety, says Cynthia de Wit, an analytical chemist at Stockholm University. ‰??Because we live in a global economy, we really require a global framework,‰?? says de Wit, who was not involved in creating the database.
Previous research studies to grasp the effects of certain chemicals on ecosystems and human health have relied mainly on inventories from the US, Canada, and western Europe that total around 100,000 substances. ‰??While these countries dominated chemical production in the early 2000s, their market share has declined, and now China, India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa account for 40% of chemicals in trade,‰?? says Zhanyun Wang, an environmental scientist at ETH Zurich. So he and his colleagues decided to do better, compiling all the chemical inventories they could find around the globe.
The scientists downloaded and combined publicly available inventories, expanding from North America and Europe to include 16 other countries and regions encompassing all the top 10 chemical producers except Brazil and Saudi Arabia. The combined list includes 157,000 individual chemicals identified by their Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number, a unique number assigned to only one substance. It also includes 75,000 mixtures, polymers, and ‰??chemical substances of unknown or variable composition‰?? also identified by CAS numbers.
---------------------------------------------
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT CHEMSTAR IN MCPHERSON
https://www.kwch.com/content/news/Firefighters-respond-to-hazmat-situation-at-Chemstar-567782181.html
Tags: us_KS, public, release, response, unknown_chemical
MCPHERSON, Kan. (KWCH) The McPherson Fire Department responded to a hazardous materials situation at Chemstar in McPherson Tuesday evening.
MFD said the crews were in the process of making entry in level-a suits.
McPherson police officers were placed on standby while firefighters responded to the situation.
Police said there is no danger to the public. People have been asked to stay away from the scene.
---------------------------------------------
PHILLY PROPOSES BAN ON HYDROFLUORIC ACID IN REFINERY USES
https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-proposes-banning-hydrofluoric-acid-toxic-chemical-in-refinery-explosion/
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, response, hydrofluoric_acid
Legislation to ban a deadly chemical from refining operations will be introduced this week in Philadelphia City Council. Hydrofluoric acid, or HF, is one of the most dangerous industrial chemicals in use.
The proposal stems from last summer‰??s explosion at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in South Philadelphia. The shuttered refinery is winding its way through bankruptcy and the future of the site is unclear.
The June 21 explosion released more than 5,000 pounds of the toxic chemical. Although no one was injured, Philadelphia Managing Director Brian Abernathy said the city narrowly escaped a disaster.
‰??We want to make it very clear that should a refinery restart at that location, HF shouldn‰??t be used,‰?? Abernathy said. ‰??No matter what happens at that site, we want it to be safer, we want it to be cleaner, and we want it to be better for public health.‰??
---------------------------------------------
MOM OF PA. STUDENT BURNED IN CLASSROOM CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT RENEWS QUEST FOR DAMAGES
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/02/mom-of-pa-student-burned-in-classroom-chemistry-experiment-renews-quest-for-damages.html
Tags: us_PA, education, follow-up, injury, methanol
SUNBURY ‰?? The mother of a student burned in a liquid methanol demonstration in a Mount Carmel Area High School classroom in 2018 has renewed her attempt to collect damages.
Karen Green of Locust Gap on behalf of her daughter has sued the school district and chemistry teacher Tammy Michaels in Northumberland County court seeking in excess of $50,000 for negligence and infliction of emotional distress.
They were claims U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann last April chose not to accept jurisdiction when he dismissed Green‰??s federal suit.
The daughter, identified as M.G., suffered second-degree burns in an Aug. 30, 2018, explosion that caused flaming liquid methanol to spill onto her leg and desk.
In dismissing the suit, Brann ruled Green failed to allege facts that infer the defendants were aware of the risks of the demonstration, noting Michaels had performed it for 23 years without incident.
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