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California http://www.ocregister.com/news/montoya-222119-lanes-freeway.html December 02, 2009 3:11 PM Chemical spill on freeway slows traffic By ANDREW GALVIN THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER BREA A chemical spill blocked two lanes on the northbound 57 freeway just south of Lambert Road, backing up traffic into Anaheim. Drivers called the California Highway Patrol to report a slippery substance in lanes at 2:35 p.m. Brea Fire Department and Caltrans went to the scene in addition to CHP, said CHP officer Gabe Montoya. The substance was determined to be oven cleaner, Montoya said. "It looks like it fell off the back of a truck because the items were in boxes," Montoya said. A SigAlert was issued at 2:52 p.m. The car-pool and No. 1 lanes were closed. All lanes were reopened at 4:13 p.m. === Louisana http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/78352592.html Intracoastal Canal Bridge now open Published: Dec 2, 2009 - UPDATED: 5:35 p.m. PORT ALLEN =97 The southbound lanes of La. 1 on the Intracoastal Canal Bridge have now been reopened to traffic. The lanes were closed earlier today after a dump truck carrying a load of =93lime slurry=94 accidentally dumped its cargo on the bridge around 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, Fire Chief Rick Boudreaux said. The lime slurry, or lime mixed with water, does not pose a chemical hazard risk, the fire chief said; however, the substance is too slick for vehicles to drive over safely, he said. PORT ALLEN =97 The southbound lanes of La. 1 on the Intracoastal Canal Bridge have been closed to traffic after a dump truck carrying a load of =93lime slurry=94 accidentally dumped its cargo on the bridge around 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, Fire Chief Rick Boudreaux said. The lime slurry, or lime mixed with water, does not pose a chemical hazard risk, the fire chief said; however, the substance is too slick for vehicles to drive over safely, he said. Police Chief Fred Smith said one northbound lane of La. 1 has been opened to southbound traffic. Boudreaux estimated that one of the southbound lanes may open after 4:30 p.m. === United Kingdom Chemical incident at Devizes company 12:15pm Wednesday 2nd December 2009 By Jill Crooks =BB FIRE crews from Devizes and Melksham were called to a chemical incident at Devizes company TYM Seals & Gaskets this morning. An employee at the company was operating an extrusion machine making a silicone rubber unit when it ignited and mixed with an organic peroxide chemical called Dichlorobenzoyl. As a result the premises, on the Hopton Industrial Estate, filled with clouds of fumes. Foreman Dean Ellicock, 40, took hold of the burning material in a plastic tub and took it outside and all nine employees got out of the building safely. Two fire engines attended and four fire fighters wearing breathing apparatus got rid of the fumes by using fans to ventilate the building. The fire crews were called at 10am and were in attendance for about two hours. Fire chief Andy Green, from Trowbridge, said the amount of the chemical concerned was less than one kilogram and therefore represented a very low hazard. He said: =93In large quantities the chemical is toxic and if there had been lots more of the chemical we would have had to consider evacuating neighbouring buildings and telling people to keep doors and windows shut.=94 Les Phillips, director of TYM Seals & Gaskets, praised Mr Ellicock for his swift actions. He said: "Dean was quick thinking and his brave actions saved people from being overcome by the fumes. If you come into contact with the chemical it can result in nausea." TYM has been at Hopton for seven years and it manufactures seals and rubber gaskets. Its clients include hospitals and car manufacturers. === Minnesota http://www.chaskaherald.com/news/public-safety/investigation-fatal-waconia -explosion-completed-112 Investigation of fatal Waconia explosion is completed Submitted by Mark Olson on December 2, 2009 - 4:05pm. An investigation into the fatal June 10, 2009 Waconia Farm Supply explosion that killed Ryan Samuelson, 18, of Cologne has been completed, according to a press release from Carver County Sheriff Bud Olson and Waconia Fire Chief Randy Sorensen. =93The investigation revealed no statutes were violated as a result of this tragic event=94 stated Olson, in a press release. A joint investigation by the Carver County Sheriff=92s Office, Waconia Fire Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal concluded that the fatal incident was initiated by the accidental explosion of a 100-pound propane cylinder, the release stated. The cylinder explosion caused the death of Samuelson, who was a Waconia Farm Supply employee, and resulted in minor injury to a bystander. Samuelson had just received the cylinder from a customer and had begun a propane filling procedure when the explosion occurred. The initial explosion ruptured other propane cylinders stored nearby and also damaged the filling station supply line, resulting in a secondary propane-fueled fire. Shrapnel was recovered at distances of more than 400 feet from the explosion site, the release stated. ==== Editorial from Salt Lake Tribune, Utah http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_13907591 Refinery explosion Where were regulators? Tribune Editorial Updated: 12/02/2009 01:48:18 PM MST How could this happen? It's a question that people often ask after a tragedy. In the aftershock of the explosion at the Silver Eagle oil refinery in Woods Cross of Nov. 4 that damaged 100 homes, it's a particularly galling one. Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board say it is a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured in the explosion, which dislodged one nearby home from its foundation and severely damaged others. Refinery workers and a passing FrontRunner train escaped literally by minutes. The board released its preliminary findings a couple of weeks ago. The lead investigator, Don Holmstrom, said that the program that monitors the mechanical integrity of the Silver Eagle plant had serious deficiencies. His boss, CSB chairman John Bresland, wondered out loud "how a refinery could be operating -- 17 years after the federal government enacted process safety regulations -- without an established and effective mechanical integrity program." Utahns should be asking the same thing. Surely Silver Eagle has some explaining to do. So do regulators. The CSB, by the way, is not a regulatory agency. It is an independent federal agency that investigates major chemical accidents at industrial sites. So we want to know where Utah Occupational Safety and Health and the Utah Labor Commission were. They are supposed to be the compliance watchdogs for worker safety. This is not an idle question. The CSB currently is conducting eight investigations of oil refineries in the United States. Three of those investigations are in the Salt Lake City area. You may recall that a separate fire at Silver Eagle early this year injured four workers. The CSB also is investigating a fireball that ignited at the Tesoro refinery in Salt Lake City in October. In the case of the Silver Eagle explosion, a 10-inch pipe carrying hydrogen gas failed, and a nearby ignition source caused the resulting cloud of gas to explode. Inspectors under contract to Silver Eagle had estimated the thickness of that pipe to be nearly one-half inch, but after the explosion it was measured at only one-eight of an inch. At the time of the failure, the hydrogen in the pipe was heated to 800 degrees Fahrenheit at a pressure of 630 pounds per square inch. According to CSB, refinery managers have acknowledged that minimum thickness values for piping and equipment throughout the plant were miscalculated. These thicknesses help to determine when equipment must be retired due to potential failure. How could this happen?
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