Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 07:52:52 -0500
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From: Ralph Stuart <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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VAUGHAN ATHLETIC CENTER REOPENS - BEACON NEWS, http:/ /beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/3489571-418/story.html

AURORA =97 The Vaughan Athletic Center reopened Tuesday afternoon, after air quality tests determined the building was safe to occupy. The pool, however, will stay closed until further notice.

The Fox Valley Park District center on West Indian Trail was closed Monday, after chemicals mixed in a tank emitted a strong odor starting at about 9:30 a.m.

Aurora firefighters said contractors were mixing chemicals to be used in the pool area Monday morning when one of the materials was placed in the wrong tank. The resulting chemical reaction created a strong odor, and the building was immediately evacuated.

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BBC NEWS - CHEMICAL LEAK AT M1 SERVICE STATION NEAR SHEFFIELD, htt p://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-12275583

A roadside service station has been closed on the M1 near Sheffield following a chemical leak.

The fire service said a parked lorry carrying 4,000 litres of nitric acid had leaked some of its load at Woodall Services.

The car park was evacuated at about 0930 GMT. A 50m (164ft) cordon has been put in place around the lorry.

The police and fire service are involved in the incident. It is not known how much acid has leaked.

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FIRE AT ALEMBIC CHEMICALS, FOUR INJURED - THE TIMES OF INDIA, http://timesofindia.indiati mes.com/city/vadodara/Fire-at-Alembic-Chemicals-four-injured/articleshow/7 362878.cms

VADODARA: Fire broke out at the Alembic Chemicals plant on Gorwa Road on Tuesday evening leaving four persons injured. All four were working at the ATI plant when the mishap occurred at 6.30 pm. They were rushed to Bhailal Amin General Hospital . While three of them suffered minor burn injuries, one of them was reported to be serious. 

According to the police, the fire broke out when a chemical identified as acetone reacted with water in a tank. When some employees opened the tank, they suffered burn injuries. A portion of the plant also suffered some damages. "The fire was doused within 15 minutes by fire-brigade officials. We have registered a non-cognisable report," said Gorwa police inspector M Rawal.

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FIRE STILL BURNING IN CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE - NEWS STORY - WHIO DAYTON, http://www.whiotv .com/news/26605664/detail.html

MADISON TWP., Ohio -- A fire is still burning inside a chemical warehouse in Butler County.
The fire began around 1 a.m. at a Mar-Flex Systems, Inc. warehouse at 6866 Chrisman Lane in Madison Township.
Firefighters arrived and found flames shooting from the building.
A Hazmat crew from Middletown advised fire officials to let the fire burn itself out, which could take several days.

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HAZMAT CALLED, DOZENS EVACUATED AFTER TARENTUM GAS SCARE - PITTSBURGH NEWS STORY - WTAE PITTSBURGH, http://www.wtae.com /news/26603298/detail.html

TARNTUM, Pa. -- Hazmat crews were called to Tarentum after 44 people were evacuated from their homes on the 300 block of West Sixth Street.
Homeowners waited for hours after neighbors reported they smelled gas in the area, but were allowed back in their homes around 9:45 p.m. when crews deemed the situation safe.
Firefighters used gas detection meters to track down where they thought the leak started.
"It's in the sewer system. Once it's in the sewage system it will get in everyone's house, and if your traps aren't filled with water, that odor is going to come up through your traps and fill your house up," said Mike Remper, assistant fire chief.
Allegheny County Hazmat crews were called to the scene to shut off valves to stop any potential leak.

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FBI INVESTIGATING 'DANGEROUS' MATERIAL FOUND IN SUMMIT CO. HOME - WJW, http://www.fox8.com/news/akroncan ton/wjw-news-coventry-township-fbi-hazmat-searching-home,0,3908285.story

COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, Ohio =97 A suspicious and potentially deadly substance, removed from a house on the 2600 block of South Main Street in Coventry Township Tuesday, is headed to a special laboratory for testing.

"We want to make sure we play this safe and package the substance correctly, and take it back to Maryland and have it analyzed properly in a laboratory," said FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson.

Authorities were first alerted on Monday.

Ownership of the property had recently changed, and the new owner discovered a canister with the material inside. Local authorities were notified, and the substance was recognized as potentially lethal. Local authorities were notified. They recognized the substance as a potentially lethal material and immediately contacted the FBI.

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LENIENT REGULATION LET PG&AMP;E DO FAULTY INSPECTIONS, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f= /c/a/2011/01/23/MN691HC452.DTL&amp;tsp=1

Federal regulators missed at least two chances before the deadly explosion in San Bruno to force Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and other utilities to collect more accurate information on their gas pipes and use better inspection techniques, a Chronicle investigation has found.

A permissive regulatory system allowed PG&amp;E to use inaccurate information to establish the San Bruno pipeline's operating pressure and to rely on an inspection technique inappropriate for finding key weaknesses in the pipe, records show.

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FIREFIGHTER INJURED AT CHEMICAL PLANT BLAZE - CITYNEWS, http://www.citytv.com/toront o/citynews/news/local/article/109651--fire-fighter-injured-at-chemical-pla nt-blaze

A firefighter was injured while battling a blaze at a chemical plant on Monday.

The three-alarm fire began on McLachlan Drive near Highway 27 around 3am. Police and paramedics also rushed to the fire.  

The firefighter was seen limping out of the building and was treated at the scene. He did not go to hospital.

The fire was extinguished by 6am. 

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POLICE: LEAK REPORTED AT ADRIAN CHEMICAL FACILITY | 13ABC.COM, http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/local&amp;id =7915148

Adrian, MI (WTVG) -- A potentially deadly chemical leak caused quite a commotion today in Adrian.

Two people were rushed to the hospital, a neighborhood was ordered to stay inside with the windows closed, and schools were delayed.

It happened at Bio-Lab, a chemical making plant in Adrian, Michigan

Bromine, used to make swimming pool chemicals, polluted the air. Adrian fire chief Paul Trinka said the chemical can be deadly "at a high enough concerntration." Fortunately, levels weren't high enough to cause death.

Bio-Lab manager John Poelstra says the bromine released was "a very small amount, but bromine has very high warning properties. So despite being such a small amount of material, it is detectable."

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KAALTV.COM - HAZMAT CREW RESPONDS TO SULFURIC ACID LEAK, http ://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1940446.shtml?cat=10226

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- There were some tense moments this morning at an industrial site on the outskirts of Manly, Iowa.

"We had a call, 9-1-1 call earlier today that there was a train car that had sulfuric acid spilling out of it," explained Worth County Sheriff Jay Langenbau as he stook outside his SUV, just down the road from the Manly Terminal.

Sulfuric acid is a colorless, odorless and highly corrosive liquid. About two thirds of all fertilizers available on the market today are created from a combination of sulfuric acid and other chemicals. It's also a key component in batteries and wastewater treatment.

"I don't know how much is spilling," said Sheriff Jay Langenbau. "We do have hazmat that is up there taking a look at it and taking care of the problem up there. So what we're doing is we're blocking the roads here and making a perimeter."

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BASF FIRE CAUSES HAZMAT INCIDENT | THE SUFFOLK NEWS-HERALD, http://www.suf folknewsherald.com/2011/01/24/25780/

A smoldering fire in a piece of equipment at the BASF plant on Wilroy Road on Monday morning resulted in a hazardous materials response by Suffolk emergency crews.

City firefighters, rescue personnel and police responded at about 10:56 a.m. to a report of a fire in the company=92s Acrylamide processing plant.

A fire alarm and automatic shutdown were activated when sensors indicated a rise in the temperature of a thermal oxidizer pollution control device, according to Patrick Hochstrasser, BASF=92s Suffolk site manager.

The plant was shut down and its personnel were evacuated to another location on the BASF site while company and city emergency workers extinguished the fire.

=93There were no employee exposures or injuries, and air monitoring results at the plant site and along the fence line were normal,=94 Hochstrasser said in a press release late Monday. =93Damage was minimal.=94

The smoldering thermal oxidizer would have released some volume of acrylonitrile, a chemical that is listed by the National Fire Protection Association as being flammable, reactive and toxic.

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