Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:46:10 -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: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety"

Subject: Chemical safety headlines in Google

 =E2=9C=AD Dozens treated for respiratory ai lments from South Lubbock hotel pool | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Jo urnal 
Dozens of people, mostly children, were treated for un known respiratory ailments Saturday after swimming in a South Lubbock hotel p ool.

Dozens of people, mostly children, were treate d for unknown respiratory ailments Saturday after swimming in a South Lubboc k hotel pool.

First responders set up a medical tri age in front of Embassy Suites hotel, Slide Road and South Loop 289, to trea t 24 people who started having trouble breathing while in and around the hot el=E2=80=99s indoor swimming pool.
us_tx  hotel  exposur e  injuries  pool_chemicals 
6 minutes ago   e dit   delete
=E2=9C=AD 35% H2O2 starts home fire 
< div>Concentrated hydrogen peroxide that leaked from its container caused a f ire in a home in Indiana Borough, according to a state police fire marshal.& nbsp;

Indiana fire Chief Paul Koons said firefighte rs went to a Washington Street home at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. The fire s pread from a hallway closet to the basement and took about 10 minutes to ext inguish, Koons said. 

Four of the firefighters , including Koons, had chemical burns that had eaten holes through their glo ves and uniform pants, he said. In all, 13 firefighters were exposed to the c hemical. 

"It basically turned white where it c ontacted me, like really, really dry skin. It burned like you were putting n eedles in your hands," he said. 

One firefight er used his cell phone to find the treatment for the burns, a thorough washi ng with water, which firefighters did at the scene and later at the fire sta tion, Koons said. 

Hydrogen peroxide, concentr ated at 35 percent, typically is added to water and used as a disinfectant o n produce and metal food containers. 

Koons sa id diluted peroxide is used around the house, but in this case a crack devel oped in the plastic storage jug.
us_in  home  responRedf ord  hydrogen_peroxide  
11 minutes ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Prof: They=E2=80=99re not really bath salts at all | The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre & Scranton PA 
WILK ES-BARRE =E2=80=93 Just to be perfectly clear, the designer drugs sold as =E2 =80=9Cbath salts=" and hitting headlines lately are utterly unrelated to the bath salts you dump in your tub to scent your soak.

King=E2=80=99s chemistry professor Fred Sauls says =E2=80=98anybody who works with a chemical company or in academia=E2=80=99 can access a larg e online list of compounds that can be converted into designer drugs.
< div>
The dirty business of using =E2=80=98bath salts=E2=80=99< /div>

"They have nothing to do with bath salts, a bsolutely nothing,=" King=E2=80=99s College chemistry professor Fred S auls explained.

The drug has apparently been labele d as "bath salts=" to mask its real purpose and allow legal s ales without attracting attention.

Real bath salts a re comprised of things like "Epsom salts and essential oils, fragran ces, skin softeners,=" Sauls said.

The powde r dubbed "Bath salts=" that people are snorting, smoking or o therwise ingesting for a quick high is the latest in decades of "des igner drugs=" deliberately concocted =E2=80=93 usually in home grown l abs =E2=80=93 to have the effect of a banned narcotic while falling outside t he definition of "illegal drug.="
us  home  discovery  response  drugs  
14 minutes ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Commissioner's son caught in drug l ab blast - The West Australian 
The son of WA Police Commissi oner Karl O'Callaghan was one of five people injured in an explosion at a cl andestine drug factory in Carlisle late yesterday. 

Russell O'Callaghan, 29, was severely burnt during the blast.
australia  illegal  explosion  injuries  drugs  < /div>
16 minutes ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Ammon ia Leak At Treatment Plant - KLIV 
    SAN JOS E -- An ammonia leak at a San Jose water treatment plant Saturday morning re sulted in a shelter in place warning in the Almaden Valley. The incident was reported at the Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant around 10:45am when abou t 250 gallons were released from the 5,000 gallon tank. 

    People living in about 25 residences were advi sed to stay indoors while HazMat crews investigated. The warning was lifted a bout 2:45pm after it was determined that all of the aqueous ammonia had been diverted to a secondary containment area.
us_ca  industrial & nbsp;release  response  ammonia  
19 minutes ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Chemical Leak Stopped at DuPont P lant - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com 
BELLE -- Hazmat and the Belle Fire Department were on standby Sunday night at the DuPont Plant in Belle after an amine leak, Metro 911 dispatchers sai d. 
The Belle Fire Department and HAZMAT were put on standby a round 9:45 p.m. Sunday, but released about 45 minutes later. 

Residents of Kanawha City were advised to stay indoors for a t least an hour following the leak to allow time for the odor from the leak t o dissipate, according to the Kanawha County Emergency Services Director. 

Dave Hastings of DuPont Operations Public Affai rs issued the following statement just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday, March 20:
us_wv  industrial  release  response  amines  
20 minutes ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD H AZMAT called in for West Carrollton chemical leak | www.newstalkradiowhio.com 
WEST CARR OLLTON, Ohio -- HAZMAT crews were called out to a chemical leak at the Apple ton Paper plant on Alex-Bell Road. 
The report came in around 3 a.m. of a train tanker car outside the plant with some kind of leak.  ;

This brought about a precautionary response but w orkers from the plant had the leak pretty much stopped when emergency crews a rrived. 

Some 200 to 500 gallons of sodium Hyd roxide were spilled. Firefighters closed off area storm sewers to make sure n one of the caustic chemical got into the sewer system. 

< /div>
Everdry was used to soak-up some of the leaked chemical.
us_oh  transportation  release  response  sodium_hydrox ide  
22 minutes ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C =AD Evergreen home explosion under investigation | KAJ18.com | Kalispell, Montana 
Fire personnel say th ey heard explosions and also smelled a strange chemical odor coming from ins ide the trailer. The Flathead County Sheriff's Department later discovered t hat medical marijuana cardholders had been attempting to convert marijuana i nto hash. 

Butane, which is a highly flammable substance, was used in this illegal conversion process, and is believed to b e responsible for sparking the fire and explosions. Investigators say incide nts like this one are becoming more common in the Flathead Valley. 

"We've seen an increasing number of marijuana-related i ncidents and fires as you can imagine, and it's relatively out of control," c ommented Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry.
us_co  home  fire  response  illegal  
yesterday   edit & nbsp; delete
=E2=9C=AD Fire in Dr Reddy's plant; 2 killed - Times O f India 
Two workers were charred to death in a fire at Dr Re ddy's Laboratories (DRL) plant at Bollarum in Medak district on Thursday nig ht. The fire broke out in the material-handling lift area at G Block in the u nit's chemical manufacturing facility at Bolarum at 10.50 pm on Thursday nig ht. The deceased, K Govind Rao, 34, of Srikakulam district and D Keshava, 24 , of Vizianagaram district were casual workers, police said. Both were resid ents of Lakshminagar, Bollarum. 

Meanwhile, DR L officials said the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained as im mediate shut down of the G Block was carried out for safety reasons. The fir e was contained within the host area and was subsequently put out by the pla nt personnel using the fire fighting equipment, the official said. Police ha ve registered a case under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) again st the DRL management, the officer added. 


This is the second fire incident at the pharma major's plant in t he past three months. Two DRL employees were killed in a fire mishap in Dece mber last. According to a senior police officer, Govind Rao and Keshava were shifting materials in the lift attached to Unit I when electrical sparks le d to the blaze which spread rapidly. The two got stuck in the lift and were b urnt to death.
india  industrial  fire  death   ;solvent  
yesterday   edit   delete
=E2=9C =AD Bomb Unit Called For WWI Chemical Found Inside Safe - Denver News Story - KMGH Denver 
A worker at Willow Stone Antiques found two sea led glass tubes inside an antique safe that he believed contained nitroglyce rin. 
Investigators determined the tubes were attached to the backside of the safe door as part of an aftermarket burglary deterrent, pol ice said. 
An Internet search found the glass tubes likely co ntained CS or CN tear gas or chloropicrin, a World War I chemical agent, pol ice said. 
The bomb unit responded. Using a thermal chemical a nalyzer, officers said they determined the substance was chloropicrin.
us_co  retail  discovery  response  nerve_gas   ;
yesterday   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Lebanon s chool evacuated due to chemical fumes - 13 WTHR 
Lebanon - St udents at a Lebanon school were forced to evacuate due to chemical fumes in t he building Friday. 

All of the students at Ce ntral Elementary School are safe, the school said. 

The school called 911 at 12:23 pm to report that fumes had entered the building, causing some students to feel sick. An evacuation was already in p rogress. 

The Lebanon Fire Department later de termined that solvent fumes from roof maintenance had somehow entered the bu ilding's air handling system. 

19 students wer e checked by EMS at the scene for minor complaints of sore throat, headache a nd nausea. None were transported from the scene and they were allowed to rej oin their classes.
us_in  education  exposure  resp onse  solvent  
yesterday   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Explosive Fire Rocks Detroit Warehouse - Detroit Local News S tory - WDIV Detroit 
Firefighters said they heard several exp losions coming from the building. Fire crews had their hands full as heavy f lames and smoke could be seen for miles. However, firefighters were unable t o enter the building because of the possibility of chemical concerns from wh at was in the plant. 
The business recycles and processes met als.
us_mi  industrial  fire  response  metals  
yesterday   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Fi re at chemical godown | chemical solvent godown | eedimetla Industrial Devel opment Area (IDA) | Indian Express 
HYDERABAD: A major fire e rupted in a chemical solvent godown, said to be an unauthorised one, in Jeed imetla yesterday. There were no casualties or injuries reported but the prop erty loss is suspected to run into several lakhs of rupees, police and fire s ervices personnel said. 
They added that they are yet to esta blish who were running the godown illegaly. 
The fire took pl ace in Ram Reddy Nagar near the Jeedimetla Industrial Development Area (IDA) . According to officials, the fire might have broken out due to a short circ uit or when the huge quantity of solvents that were stored there fell on the ground during shifting. "It was a small godown but huge quantity of highly inflammable solvents were stored in it,=" an official said. 
The fire control room was alerted around 1.30 p.m and one fir e tender each from Jeedimetla, Sanathnagar and Moula Ali rushed to the place . 
They battled for more than five hours to bring the flames u nder control as thick smoke emanated from the godown adding to the difficult ies of the fire fighters.
india  industrial  fire   response  
yesterday   edit   delete
=E2=9C =AD Hospital access blocked on cyanide scare | Calgary & Alberta | News | Calgary Sun 
Concerns of cyanide exposure forced fire offici als to temporarily block access to the Peter Lougheed Centre hospital Saturd ay night. 

Police said a man moseyed in just a fter 7 p.m. carrying a container he claimed was filled with cyanide =E2=80=94 a chemical compound used for various applications, but more commonly known a s an effective killing agent. 

"He jus t wanted to know where to put it, he didn=E2=80=99t know what to do with it, =" said Insp. Jim Rorison. 

The Calgary Fire Department dispatched a hazardous materials team that partially blocke d entry to the hospital while they investigated.
canada  hosp ital  discovery  response  cyanide  
yesterday   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Fuel truck spills thousands g allons gas in Idaho - U.S. news - Life - msnbc. com 
BOISE, Idaho =E2=80=94 The Idaho State Police say a t anker truck crashed on Interstate 84 in southwestern Idaho, critically injur ing the driver, spilling thousands of gallons of gasoline and closing a 13-m ile stretch of the westbound lanes for about nine hours. 
The patrol says the semi was eastbound and negotiating a curve east of Mountain Home at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when the tanker went off the left shoulde r of the road, down a slope into the median and overturned. 
The driver, 39-year-old Danny Guntrum of Nampa, was taken by air ambulance t o St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. The nursing supervisor sai d he was critical condition Thursday morning.
us_id  transpor tation  release  response  gasoline  
2 days a go   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Diesel Spill Cleaned Up, Ro ad Re-opened | digtriad.com 
< div>Greensboro, NC -- Greensboro Police responded to a crash involving a tra ctor trailer and a vehicle that was pulling a trailer just at 6:32 am Thursd ay. 

Some lanes on I-40 West near MLK Drive an d Patton Avenue were closed for several hours. A tractor trailer spilled die sel fuel and hazmat teams were called to clean it up. 

Police say the truck was carrying about 100 gallons at the time of t he crash. Parts of the concrete barriers were also knocked out.
us _nc  transportation  response  release  diesel 
2 days ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD WWI chemical found inside old safe | NewsFirst5.com | Colorado Springs | Pueblo | 
Police officers were called t o an an antique store at 1710 Dublin this morning when someone found two gla ss tubes inside an old safe. 

Originally the p erson who found them thought they could be nitroglycerin, an explosive.  ;

An investigation showed the tubes contained chlor opicrin, a World War I chemical agent. The chemical causes vomiting. They tu bes were apparently used as a burglary deterrent. 

Employees at Willow Stone Antiques were given instructions from the Haz Mat team on how to dispose of the chemical.
us_co  retail  discovery  response  weapojn  
2 days ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD Two killed in Dombivli chemical fact ory blaze - The Times of India 
DOMBIVLI: Two persons were ki lled and three injured in a fire at the Gharda Chemicals Ltd, MIDC, in Dombi vli, on Thursday. 

Thirty workers were in the p esticide manufacturing unit's plant 4 when there was a huge explosion at 1.4 5 pm. Helpers G R Rathod and R V Pardeshi succumbed on the spot due to 100% b urn injuries, while Dattatre Parul, Nilesh Madvi and Mahesh Tarade were take n to Hambarde hospital with burn injuries. Parul is in a serious condition.& nbsp;

The fire brigade control room, which got a ca ll around 1.45 pm, sent nine engines which took around 45 minutes to reach d ue to heavy traffic. 

It took two hours for th e fire brigade, along with help from experts from the company, to douse the f lames at Gharda, one of the biggest chemical units in Thane district.
< div>india  industrial  fire  death  ag_chems  
2 days ago   edit   delete
=E2=9C=AD 40 evacuated a fter chemical spill at Mesa business 
Fire officials were cal led to manufacturing plant Thursday afternoon with report of leaking chemica ls, officials said. 

Crews from Mesa, Tempe, C handler, Gilbert and Phoenix were called to mitigate the potential hazards a t the International Rectifier manufacturing facility near Extension and Base line roads around 2 p.m. 

Mesa Fire Department spokesman Forrest Smith said that a line carrying a liquid regularly used i n semiconductor industry had sprung a leak inside the building. 
< div>
After the release of the chemical, the system shut itself down and sounded a warning to employees, Smith said. 

The building's 40 employees were safely evacuated.

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.