About This Archive  | DCHAS-L 2010 Index   | DCHAS-L Yearly Index
person wearing a disposable face shield and surgical style mask

Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.

Previous by Date:
Subject: Re: Chemical Safety headlines from Google
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 07:29:27 -0400
Author: Christopher Suznovich 		Next by Date:
Subject: Syringe Disposal
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:06:39 +0000
Author: "Williams, Mark"


Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:08:38 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

Links to details available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas< /div>

US_NC: LIGHTNING SPARKS GAS TANK FARM FIRE, http://www.wr al.com/news/news_briefs/story/7773524/

GREENSBORO, N.C. =97 Lightning sparked a fire at a gasoline tank farm in Guilford County shortly after midnight Saturday, shutting down two interstates for at least six hours and drawing in haz-mat crews from as far away as Raleigh, authorities said.

Lightning struck one storage tank at the Colonial Pipeline Tank Farm, at 411 Gallimore Dairy Road, near I-40 in Greensboro, according to Julia Jarema, spokeswoman for the state Division of Emergency Management. CBS News affiliate WFMY reported that the fire was brought under control around 5:15 a.m. and put out by 6:30 a.m.

SLIDESHOW    

Gasoline tank farm fire

"This is not a catastrophic, cataclysmic event. It is simply a tank fire," Greensboro Assistant Fire Chief David Douglas told the Greensboro News-Record.

Four firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, WFMY reported. No other injuries or evacuations were reported, and there was never any danger of an explosion.

-----------------------

US_OH: HAZMAT SITUATION ENDS SAFELY, http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/jun/13/10/haz mat-situation-shuts-down-broad-street-ar-107005/

Columbus fire and police were called to the scene of a hazmat situation on West Broad Street Sunday, closing the valve of an ammonia pipe at a business in the neighborhood, where the smell was first noticed.

At approximately 12:45 p.m., Columbus fire crews were called to the area of Avondale Avenue and Wes Broad Street on a smell of ammonia in the area.

West Broad Street was closed at Dakota Avenue going eastbound and Rodgers Avenue going westbound.  South Glenwood Avenue was also affected.  

The source of the odor was a bakery which uses the substance in the baking process.

-----------------------

US_PA: BLOWN TRANSFORMER CAUSES OIL TO SPILL INTO RIVER, http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2010/06/12/news/srv0000008522664.t xt

POTTSTOWN =97 Several hundred gallons of oil from an electrical transformer spilled onto South Street Friday morning, some of which escaped down a storm sewer that discharges directly into the Schuylkill River.

According to authorities, the spill happened around 9:15 a.m. when PECO crews performing maintenance on the transformer, near the Mrs. Smith's Foil building between Charlotte and Hanover streets, made an error that caused an explosion at an electrical pole and subsequent damage to the transformer.

The fire department and HazMat team were dispatched and noticed that a significant amount of oil had run into the storm drain.

They stabilized the area, set up booms to capture the oil as it entered the river and notified the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

-----------------------

US_UT: OIL SPILL Q &AMP; A, http: //www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-3744-oil-spill-q-a.html

The 4 p.m. June 12 update on the Chevron pipeline oil spill from Lara Jones with the Salt Lake City Police Department:

When did the Oil Spill begin?

Chevron has determined the pipeline fractured underground on the south side of Red Butte Creek at approximately 10 p.m.

Were any alarms triggered?

Chevron reported receiving high- and low-pressure alarms Friday evening.

When was SLC police/fire notified?

At approximately 6:51 a.m., SLC Police/Fire were dispatched on a complaint of petroleum odors from the Veterans Administration (VA) facility at 500 Foothill Drive. This led to the discovery of significant crude oil in Red Butte Creek.

How many gallons are leaking?

At the start, 50-60 gallons per minute. By 11:20 a.m., 20-25 gallons per minute as the pipe was shut off farther up the line. However, according to Chevron executives, they are capturing crude at Red Butte Creek. They say it will take several hours for residual crude in the line to stop flowing.

What was in the pipeline?

Crude Oil.

-----------------------

US_NY: AMMONIA LEAK LEADS TO EVACUATION FOR SOME OAKFIELD RESIDENTS, http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/06/12/1080026/ammonia-l eak-leads-to-evacuation.html

About 1,500 residents in the village of Oakfield in Genesee County were evacuated from their homes as emergency crews worked to contain an ammonia leak from a food processing plant.

The leak was reported about 12:30 p.m. and the Genesee County HazMat unit was called to the scene, along with the Oakfield Fire Department and other fire stations.

Residents within a half-mile radius of the Allen's food plant at 40 Stevens St. were evacuated after an employee called in to report a strong odor of ammonia.

Fire officials were planning an afternoon news conference to provide more details.

The Batavian, a news Web site, reported the leak was located and shut down at about 2:45 p.m.

-----------------------
-----------------------
us_mi: Tanker carrying hazardous chemical tips in Augusta Township 
A tanker truck carrying anhydrous ammonia rolled over on Willis Road west of Pittman in Augusta Township at about 10:33 a.m. June 4, according to reports from the Augusta Township Fire Department. 

Emergency crews, including members of the Washtenaw County Hazardous Materials Response Team, responded to the site of the accident to contain the spill of the dangerous chemical, which was to be delivered to a farm on Willis Road. 

Augusta Township Fire Chief Vic Chevrette said the crash was caused by a hitch pin that came out, resulting in the tanker rolling over on its side, and weighing of the truck after the incident showed that about four gallons of anhydrous ammonia may have leaked out of the tank. 

Willis Road was closed to traffic for approximately two hours, Chevrette said, between Stony Creek and Hitchingham Roads while crews assessed the situation and righted the overturned trailer. 

The trailer, owned by Crop Production Services, was leaking the chemical at valves near the bottom of the tank, he said, which could have been dangerous to humans in the area because the chemical can burn the skin and, if released as a vapor, can damage the lung tissue of anyone breathing it in, according to Augusta Township firefighters.

-----------------------
us_nj: Hazardous Material Incident Reported at Lower Township Public Works - Cape May County Herald 
ERMA - On Thurs. June 10, at approximately 9:10am the Lower Township Police Department Received a report of a possible fire in a trash truck at the Lower Township DPW, located on Seashore Road in the Townships Erma section. 

Investigation on scene determined that DPW workers observed white smoke coming from the back of a trash truck. Believing the contents of the truck may be on fire some of the trash from inside of the truck was dumped in the parking lot in order to extinguish the fire. 

At that time several DPW workers reported feeling light headed as a result of breathing in the fumes that were coming from the truck. 

Lower Township Police, Fire and Rescue units responded to the area and requested the assistance of the County Office of Emergency Management and the Counties Hazardous Material CBRN Unit. 

Officials determined that discarded paint may have mixed with another chemical agent inside of the truck causing a chemical reaction releasing fumes. 

Four DPW workers were evaluated on scene by the Lower Township Rescue, but did not require transportation to the hospital. 
The Erma Fire Department stood by while the chemical was neutralized.
-----------------------
us_sc: Train Derailment Prompts More Evacuations 
LIBERTY, S.C. -- A train derailment in Liberty prompted another mandatory evacuation order on Friday, affecting about 100 people. 
The Liberty Fire Department said that 24 freight cars left the tracks on Thursday afternoon near the intersection of south Norman Street and Farmers Hill Road. 
According to a statement by Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Thom Berry, a car carrying isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, flipped, spilling the highly flammable and toxic liquid. 
Initially, 436 homes were evacuated near the scene, but DHEC took air samples and determined that the air quality was not effected. Everyone was allowed back in their homes by Friday morning. 
On Friday afternoon, officials issued a new evacuation order because of a new chemical called toulene diisocyanate, which is used in plastic and other chemical manufacturing. They said that the chemical is in one of the train cars they are trying to upright. They said that the evacuation order is a precaution only. 
Officials said that residents affected by the order can bring their receipt for their hotel stay to the Liberty Fire Department, where they will be reimbursed by Norfolk Southern. They said residents who cannot afford a hotel can seek assistance at the Eastside Baptist Church at 920 Anderson Drive. 
The train was pulling 110 cars in all when the derailment happened, officials said. They said that as of Friday afternoon, 12 of the derailed cars are upright. 
Officials said that all of the leaks have been stopped or contained. 
The cause of the derailment is still being investigated.

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post


The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.