Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google
Monday, October 17, 2011 7:52:26 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Table of Contents (10 articles)
HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO =91CHEMICAL SUICIDE=92 CASE IN WASHINGTON STATE
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, suicide
OSHA RELEASES NEW MATERIALS ON LABORATORY SAFETY -- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Tags: laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, follow-up
RICHMOND CO. MOTEL SEES 2 METH LAB FIRES IN 1 WEEK
Tags: us_GA, public, explosion, response, meth_lab
'NUCLEAR' REFRIGERATOR FOUND DUMPED NEAR COAL CITY IN MORRIS, IL AND GRUNDY COUNTY, IL
Tags: us_IL, public, discovery, response, radiation
MINOR HAZMAT SITUATION CLOSES PARKING LOT AT WHITE LAKE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, response, cyanide
HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SPILL IN DELRAY BEACH
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
UPDATE: SOMERSHAM CHEMICAL SPRAY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
ARMY BOMB TEAM MAKES ACID SAFE
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive
CHEM SPILL AT TECH UNDER CONTROL
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, injury, nitric_acid
4 INJURED IN ACID SPILL AT REFINERY IN KENTUCKY
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid
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HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO =91CHEMICAL SUICIDE=92 CASE IN WASHINGTON STATE
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, suicide
SEATTLE =96A hazardous-materials team and bomb squad were called Sunday morning to the parking lot of a church in the East Bremerton, Wash., area, where a man=92s body was found in a pickup along with a sign on the driver=92s window warning people to steer clear of the vehicle because of a deadly gas.
Kitsap County Sheriff=92s Deputy Scott Wilson said the case is a suicide, apparently similar to others across the nation in which common chemicals are used to create a colorless gas that is toxic to suicide victims but also potentially harmful to police officers, medics and others who get close.
In this case, Wilson said, the hazmat team from nearby Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor took measurements and determined that the level of gas was not high enough to cause an explosion.
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OSHA RELEASES NEW MATERIALS ON LABORATORY SAFETY -- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Tags: laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, follow-up
OSHA recently published new educational materials for laboratory managers on protecting their workers from exposure to chemical, biological, and physical hazards.
The new materials include the Laboratory Safety Guidance document, which describes how electrical, fire, explosions, and falls, among other hazards, can be minimized or eliminated if employers use safety plans, worker training, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment. New laboratory safety materials also include fact sheets that each focus on a specific hazard related to laboratory environments. Practices and precautions to protect laboratory personnel include safety guidance for using autoclaves, use of chemical fume hoods, labeling and transferring chemicals, and latex exposure.
Over the past several years, there have been a number of laboratory incidents resulting in fatalities and injuries caused by fires, explosions, and equipment, OSHA noted.
"The chemicals and equipment that laboratory workers use present a number of serious, sometimes life-threatening hazards," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels. "These educational materials will help employers identify hazards and measures to ensure safe and healthful conditions for their workers and promote a robust safety culture in the workplace."
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RICHMOND CO. MOTEL SEES 2 METH LAB FIRES IN 1 WEEK
Tags: us_GA, public, explosion, response, meth_lab
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Richmond County fire crews, as well as narcotics investigators, were on the scene of a meth lab explosion Friday morning.
The cleanup began after a fire destroyed one of the rooms of the Budget Inn Motel on the 1600 block of Gordon Highway.
The burned-out room became a crime scene when a meth lab was found inside.
Guests are worried and so are the owners, but if it weren't for one of their actions, this fire could have been much worse.
Mike Patel, co-owner at Budget Inn, showed News 12 what he did early Friday morning when he saw those flames.
"I went to the backside there and got the garden hose out," Patel said.
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'NUCLEAR' REFRIGERATOR FOUND DUMPED NEAR COAL CITY IN MORRIS, IL AND GRUNDY COUNTY, IL
Tags: us_IL, public, discovery, response, radiation
COAL CITY =97 At about 3 p.m. Friday, the Grundy HazMat team responded to a report of a small refrigerator giving off radiation readings near Coal City.
The refrigerator was found in a ditch along the side of Spring Road, west of Carbon Hill Road, near Coal City.
A bomb squad was requested to respond, but after authorities spoke to a local farmer who said he had seen the refrigerator in the ditch at least two weeks ago, the request was canceled, according to Grundy County Sheriff Terry Marketti.
At approximately 4:20 p.m., however, the Kane County Bomb Squad was again called to the scene.
The refrigerator was reportedly found wrapped in nuclear tape and was discovered to be giving off radiation readings.
Marketti said authorities have yet to find out what is inside the refrigerator. Once clean-up is complete, an investigation will be done to find out where the refrigerator came from.
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MINOR HAZMAT SITUATION CLOSES PARKING LOT AT WHITE LAKE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, response, cyanide
The parking lot behind White Lake Township Hall, and near the police department entrace was closed Friday while White Lake Police and Fire handled a minor hazmat situation.
Lt. Don Nankervis said a man was cleaning out a recently deceased relatives home in Southfield when he found a jar of liquid cyanide.
"He drove the jar to us here to see if we could dispose of it," Nankervis said.
Because of nature of the substance, the fire deparmtment called on their hazmat resources to assess the substance and ensure it wasn't hazardous.
After removing the jar from the vehicle in the parking lot, firefighters properly sealed the container and recommended a place that could properly dispose of the cyanide.
Both police and fire said anytime you find a hazardous material contact emergency service for instructions on how to dispose of the material. Do not keep it in your car.
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HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SPILL IN DELRAY BEACH
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
At around 7:31 a.m., Delray Beach Fire Rescue reported to the chemical spill at NW Eleventh Street near NW Fifth Avenue, where units found two containers containing muriatic acid and chlorine.
Delray Beach Fire Rescue Public Relations officer Lt. Curtis Jepsen said the container with muriatic acid had spilled and was emptied onto the ground.
=93The chlorine jug was leaking and still contained fluid,=94 Jepsen said.
While units worked to contain the chemical, Jepsen said residents in the surrounding area were advised to stay indoors.
After the chlorine jug was contained, the entire area was washed down with water until the HAZMAT team got normal readings on all monitoring equipment.
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UPDATE: SOMERSHAM CHEMICAL SPRAY
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
AN investigation is being conducted into a chemical incident which left 35 people needing medical attention and three in hospital in Somersham today (Friday).
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A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said officers were making enquiries and would be conducting an investigation into the incident at Phoenix Door Panels Limited in the West Newlands Industrial Estate.
Workers were left feeling nauseous, light headed and weak after inhaling a chemical sprayed on an adjacent field.
All staff were told to leave the premises - around 70 were thought to be at the site. They were allowed to return to work around 12.30pm.
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ARMY BOMB TEAM MAKES ACID SAFE
Tags: Ireland, laboratory, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive
An unstable acid was made safe by the Defence Forces at a Waterford laboratory yesterday.
The bomb disposal team was called to Lancaster Laboratories in Dungarvan due to concerns over picric acid.
The team arrived at 3.30pm and removed the chemical to waste ground where they carried out a controlled explosion. The area was declared safe by 4.40pm. Picric acid is routinely used in labs but over time it can crystallise and become unstable.
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CHEM SPILL AT TECH UNDER CONTROL
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, injury, nitric_acid
Officials evacuated Texas Tech=92s Chemistry Building and a Lubbock Fire Department hazmat team responded to clean up after a chemical explosion Friday evening in a laboratory.
Battalion Chief Kelly Morman with the Lubbock Fire Department said a very small explosion sprayed a combination of chemicals, including nitric acid, through a lab on the third floor of Tech=92s Chemical Building just after 5 p.m.
Nobody was in the lab when the explosion occurred, and nobody was treated for injuries or chemical exposure, said Taylor Eighmy, Tech=92s vice president of research.
=93There was a small explosion in a lab hood and the explosion spread some weak acid materials at the base of the hood,=94 he said.
Officials evacuated several students and faculty members from the building to a sidewalk across the street near Memorial Circle for several hours.
Officials re-opened the Chemistry Building by about 7:30 p.m., but the university planned to keep the lab sealed off until Tech=92s Department of Environmental Health and Safety investigates the explosion.
=93We hope to have a better understanding of what the cause of the explosion was some time early next week,=94 Eighmy said.
Eighmy said there was no initial indication procedures were not followed. He said Tech=92s Department of Environmental Health and Safety inspected and approved conditions in the lab just weeks ago, though he did not know a specific date.
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4 INJURED IN ACID SPILL AT REFINERY IN KENTUCKY
CATLETTSBURG, Ky. =97 Four workers at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Catlettsburg have received minor injuries in an acid spill.
Company spokesman Shane Pochard told The Independent that the four were contract workers doing scheduled maintenance on the plant=92s alky unit (<a href="http://bit.ly/pvtjuT)">http://bit.ly/pvtjuT)</a>.
Pochard said hydrofluoric acid was accidentally released and they were exposed to it.
He said one person was treated at the site and the others were treated at a local hospital and released.
The company is investigating how the incident occurred.
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