DCHAS-L Archives Jan 24 2011 - Chemical Safety headlines from Google

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) -- Police are investigating a small explosion at the Waterloo Public Library.

Sgt. Rob Camarata says police responded to a report of an explosion just before 5 p.m. Saturday, and found what appeared to be an improvised explosive device. The police department's bomb squad found it was small chemical explosive device. No one was hurt.

The Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier reports that the library was closing when the explosive, described as a pop bottle, went off and created a bad smell.

The library's executive director, Sheryl McGovern, tells KWWL that a few patrons and several employees were in the building at the time.

ROLLOVER CLOSES WESTBOUND I-70 AT EMPIRE - THE DENVER POST, http://www.denverpost. com/news/ci_17177842

Eastbound Interstate 70 reopened about 8 p.m. tonight after a tanker truck rollover shut down both directions, but westbound lanes are stopped at Empire.

At 11 p.m. authorities said westbound I-70 would remain closed most of the night.

A tanker headed west and carrying methanol rolled over around 6:20 p.m. Authorities worried about an inhalation hazard shut down the highway.

Hazmat crews are on the scene to unload the tanker, according to Ted Hill, traveler information specialist with the Colorado Department of Transportation.

For now, CDOT recommends the following lengthy alternate routes: US 40 to CO 9 (Winter Park to Kremmling) or US 285 to CO 9 (Fairplay to Frisco).

Methanol, also called "wood alcohol," is a clear, flammable liquid used in a number of chemical products including fuel additive MTBE and in fuel cell technology, according to industry group the Methanol Institute.

9NEWS.COM | DENVER | COLORADO'S ONLINE NEWS LEADER | HAZMAT CREW INVESTIGATING SUSPECTED METH LAB, http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?s toryid=177536&provider=top&catid=188

WHEAT RIDGE - The Arvada Fire Department says potentially hazardous materials were found inside a hotel room at the Ramada Inn at 4700 Kipling about 8:45 Sunday morning. Fire and hazardous material crews responded to the scene.

Hotel employees found the materials while cleaning the rooms and notified emergency crews. The employees were decontaminated as a precaution and released at the scene.

It is believed that the materials may be from a possible methamphetamine lab but the situation is still under investigation by the drug task force team.

TRUCK CATCHES FIRE, SPREADS TO CHEMICAL BUILDING | KMOV.COM | ST. LOUIS NEWS, MISSOURI NEWS &AMP; BREAKING NEWS | KMOV.COM | NEWS FOR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Truck-catches- fire-spreads-to-chemical-building-114425384.html

(KMOV) -- A building at a company that makes explosive chemicals caught fire after a nearby truck erupted in to flames.

Fire crews were called to scene on Chouteau Avenue, just south of the Poplar Street Bridge and along the Mississippi River Saturday afternoon. When crews arrived, smoke was billowing out of a large building.

The building belongs to a chemical company named Superior Solvents. Crews worked cautiously because the company produces explosive chemicals like paint thinner, printing solvents and acetone. It is not clear if the building housed these dangerous chemicals.

More than 12 hours after a gas leak led to a scare in many parts of central Mumbai on Saturday morning around 8.30am, fire and civic authorities are still looking for the source of the gas leak which left many complaining of itchy eyes, coughing and nausea.

While admitting that the symptoms pointed strongly to the possibility that the leaked gas was ammonia, none of the authorities were willing to go on record saying so.

In the past seven months this is the fourth gas leak in the metropolitan region, which has thrown light on the casual attitude of authorities regarding gas leak incidents. In July 2010, there was a chlorine leak at Haji Bunder in Sewri which sent 123 people to the hospital. In the same month, a chlorine gas leak occurred in Bhivandi.

On Saturday morning, people residing in Matunga, Dadar and Mahim complained of a burning sensation in the eyes as well as sore throats. A fire brigade rushed to the spot to find the source of gas leak, but failed.

Authorities suspected it to be an ammonia gas leak. However, since none of the affected areas have industries in their vicinity, the source of the leak proved to be a puzzle. Fire officials even contacted Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilizers (RCF) in Chembur and other chemical units in the surrounding area to trace the leak but were unsuccessful.

California Highway Patrol closed a part of Highway 111 in the North Shore area, from Bay Drive through Garfield. They say the smell was too much to handle.

A Riverside County Hazmat team was called in but couldn't determine where the smell was coming from. The road was reopened around 7 p.m. Friday night.

This is the same area where a smell has sickened staff and students at Saul Martinez Elementary School.

FOUR PEOPLE WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL TODAY AFTER A CHLORINE GAS LEAK AT A WESTSIDE RECYCLING BUSINESS.

Four people were taken to the hospital today after a chlorine gas leak at a Westside recycling business. it happened just before noon today at Southern Metals Recycling on Tremont Avenue.

According to Savannah Fire, employees began to dismantle a 200 pound cylinder for recycling -- they didn't know at the time it contained Chlorine, which began leaking.

A full hazmat response was issued to contain the leak and OSHA was called in to investigate.

Officials say the four employees that were exposed suffered various degrees of respiratory distress.

Nine people were treated for smoke inhalation after a chemical fire broke out Friday morning at a Deerfield Beach cosmetic manufacturer.

At about 10 a.m., Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue received a report of a fire at Oxygen Development at 1441 W. Newport Center Drive.

John Quintoni, of Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue, said firefighters arrived to find a 55-gallon drum on fire in a lab.

According to fire officials, crews quickly extinguished the chemical fire. Eight workers and a firefighter were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation. About 200 employees were evacuated from the building, and they were checked out for injuries related to the chemicals or smoke inhalation.

MADURAI: Virudhunagar deputy tahsildar A Chandrasekhar said the body, which was claimed by two women, was identified as that of David Livingston (33) and handed over to Rajapushpam. Murugeswari was given the remains of her husband, Gunasekharan (32).

Fire officer Karunakaran said improper handling of chemicals could have caused the explosion.

The chemical mixture used in fireworks needs to be filled in cases immediately in wet form as otherwise they are highly inflammable. "We suspect the workers left the wet mixture when they took their tea break," he said.

Kannicheripudur village administrative officer lodged a complaint with the Vachakarapatti police, stating that the unit had used unauthorised chemicals that led to the explosion.

Last year, 15 persons were killed in similar accidents in the region. The state government had launched a crackdown to ensure that safety norms and regulations were strictly followed in the factories, some of which function without even licenses.

POLICE are warning motorists to avoid the Huntingdon area after a tanker collided with a lorry and spilled its load of hazardous chemicals onto the A14 at the Spittals Interchange.

CHEMICAL CLEARS BARRIE HIGH SCHOOL - THE BARRIE EXAMINER - ONTARIO, CA, http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2940987

A mystery chemical caused breathing difficulties for students at Barrie's St. Joseph's High School on Friday, sending some to hospital.

"Apparently they have inhaled some sort of chemical," said Fire Chief John Lynn. "We don't know what it is or what caused it.

"Our crews went in and did air monitoring, but we couldn't find anything."

A total of 26 St. Joe's students went to Barrie Royal Victoria Hospital, 19 by city bus and the rest by ambulance, hospital officials said.

More than half the students were released immediately into parental care. A few were triaged through the emergency department, but none were admitted.

The fire department's hazardous materials unit was on the scene Friday afternoon investigating the suspicious chemical.

MAN INJURED IN SMALL CHEMICAL EXPLOSION - ABC27 NEWS, http://www.abc 27.com/Global/story.asp?S=13877148

LEBANON, Pa. (WHTM) - A man was injured Thursday morning in an small chemical explosion in South Lebanon Township, according to emergency officials.

Investigators said the unidentified man was flown to a hospital for burns he suffered in the accident at Curwood Specialty Films along Keystone Drive.

Officials said they believe a chemical caused the explosion in a piece of equipment the man was working on.

Maple Shade firefighters responded to an explosion Tuesday night that blew out the windows of a unit at the Southern Arms apartment complex, sending one man to the hospital for treatment of burns.

According to MSFD Chief Andrew Simonsick, the blast and subsequent fire was brought on by a reaction between some household chemicals which were being stored under the kitchen sink.

=93We=92re still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Some of the things just don=92t add up. We=92re looking into everything.=94

Simonsick said the fire was definitely accidental and there was no malicious intent.

The kitchen and the living room of the unit sustained damage and some windows of the unit were blown out by the explosion. Residents of the building were evacuated at approximately 8 p.m. and were able to return less than two hours later, he said.

A dangerous chemical found stored in the inner-city office of Public Health South prompted a full-scale hazardous material operation at the Invercargill Fire Service yesterday.

The incident has raised questions about how a canister of calcium cyanide, labelled "Poison Cyanogas", could sit undetected in the Spey St offices of Public Health South for 18 months.

Although one of Public Health South's roles was to offer advice on hazardous substances, the canister was simply placed in storage on the premises.

Public Health South Dunedin-based general manager Pip Stewart said the canister was dropped into the Invercargill office some time in 2009 and put into a storeroom.

It was discovered last year during an audit but staff put it back into the storeroom while they decided what to do with it.

"I don't think we would normally store anything like that," Ms Stewart said.

HOTEL IN D.C. EVACUATED FOR POSSIBLE HAZMAT CASE - WTOP.COM, http://www.wt op.com/?nid=25&sid=2242537

WASHINGTON - A Washington hotel has been evacuated, and a hazardous materials team is on the scene to investigate a possible chemical reaction that sent fumes through the building.

D.C. fire department spokesman Pete Piringer says the Washington Marriott Hotel was evacuated about 4 p.m. Thursday in the city's Foggy Bottom neighborhood. Several streets also are closed in the area, which could disrupt rush hour traffic.

Firefighters believe the chemical reaction started in the hotel's trash compactor.

GAS PUMP ERROR BECOMES HAZMAT INCIDENT - JACKSONVILLE NEWS STORY - WJXT JACKSONVILLE, http://www.news 4jax.com/news/26554891/detail.html

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- What started as a planned day of wahoo fishing became a hazardous materials incident when a boater pumped 71 gallons of gas into the rod holder rather than the gas tank.

St. Johns County Fire and Rescue was called to the RaceTrac gas station on State Road 16 at Interstate 95 before dawn Thursday.

Rather than the gas filling the tank, it filled the hull of the boat. The gas station was closed for more than two hours while the hazmat team disabled all electronics on the boat to minimize the risk of an explosion and drained the gas 5 gallons at a time.

No one was injured, but the boat will require some maintenance before it can be used again.

The boater, a man with 40 years experience, has a new fishing story, just not one he will be proud to tell.

St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - A potential Hazmat situation ended Thursday night without any serious risk.

Hazmat and several fire engines were called out to Elantas Pdg Inc., a chemical company located in the 5200 block of North Second Street.

Fire officials tell NewsChannel 5 that some type of chemical process may have caused smoke in the building.

Hazmat crews were able to do a building check. No hazardous chemicals were detected.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Salt Lake City hazmat crews were called to a "sodium hydrosulfide" spill on California Avenue right by I-215 Thursday.

Firefighters say the sutstance was in a container on a truck, and about five gallons leaked out as the driver exited the freeway.

The truck came from Tooele County. Utah Highway Patrol troopers retraced its path to make sure none of the substance spilled out along the way.

California Avenue and the northbund off-ramp onto California Avenue was shut down during clean-up. "Sodium hydrosulfide" smells like rotten eggs and it can irritate the eyse and skin if a person comes in contact with it. In this case, firefighters say no one was ever in danger.

The Nutley HazMat team responded Thursday to a contaminant spill on the Third River, authorities reported.

Nutley firefighters help Hazmat member William VonRoth address a spill Thursday on the Third River at the corner of Ravine Avenue and Harrison Street.

The contamination was possibly caused by oil or diesel fuel, according to Nutley Police Det. Anthony Montanari. HazMat was using boons to soak up the material and keep it from traveling down stream. The unit continued to address the problem at 4 p.m. Thursday in the area of Harrison Street and Ravine Avenue.

"We're currently trying to find the source of the spill," Deputy Fire Chief Paul Cafone said at 5 p.m.

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