Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, January 6, 2012 7:44:50 AM

 A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
 Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
 All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

Table of Contents (25 articles)

TWO METH LAB SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN SIOUX FALLS
Tags: us_SD, public, fire, response, meth_lab

RAILROAD CAR MALFUNCTION LEADS TO AMMONIA LEAK IN NORTH PORTLAND
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, ammonia

CRASH, CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES PORTION OF AIRPORT-PULLING
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, injury, pool_chemicals

CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES PARTS OF NW COASTAL HIGHWAY
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, methanol

ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LEAK AT GRAND CHUTE BUSINESS
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, response, ammonia

U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD PUSHES TOUGHER RULES ON COMBUSTIBLE DUST
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, dust

U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD REPORT ON GALLATIN FIRE
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, dust, flammables

AMMONIA LEAK PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, ammonia

HAZMAT HANDLES HOSPITAL CALL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, radiation, waste

PHARMA FIRES, POLLUTION TARGETED IN INDIA
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, drugs, waste

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ON OSER AVENUE STABILIZED
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

FATAL FIRE AT WTI REMINDS OF WASTE INDUSTRY DANGERS « SUSTAINED OUTRAGE
Tags: us_OH, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables, waste

CHEMICAL SPILL FEAR SPARKS EVACUATION IN COLLIERS WOOD (FROM YOUR LOCAL GUARDIAN)
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, solvent

DETECTIVES: LAKELAND DRIVER KILLED BY EXPLODING DRUG CONCOCTION
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, death, illegal, meth_lab

1 MISSING, 3 INJURED IN CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, injury, peracetic_acid

SHERIFF EXPLAINS WHY DECEASED SANDIA LABS SCIENTIST HAD CHEMICALS
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up

A LOOK INSIDE OF EXPLOSIVES LAB
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up

UPDATE: POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE HAZMAT SHUTS DOWN OSER AVE
Tags: us_NY, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

TCC CAMPUS EVACUATED DUE TO GAS LEAK
Tags: us_VA, education, release, response, natural_gas

CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS NINE WORKERS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

EMERGENCY CREWS RESPOND TO GAS LEAK AT HONEYWELL IN SOUTH BEND
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, gas_cylinders, propane

UCLA PROFESSOR IN COURT ON CHARGES STEMMING FROM FATAL LAB FIRE
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, death, follow-up

4 HOSPITALIZED AFTER ALLERGIC REACTION AT PARK
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS GARBAGE COLLECTORS TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia, waste

FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT PDSA PET HOSPITAL IN WOODFORD BRIDGE
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
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TWO METH LAB SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN SIOUX FALLS
http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=125798
Tags: us_SD, public, fire, response, meth_lab

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Authorities have arrested both men suspected of running a meth lab that sparked a New Year's Day fire at a Sioux Falls apartment.

It all started with a report of a fire in an apartment in the Pettigrew Heights neighborhood in central Sioux Falls. The home is between 10th and 11th Streets on South Duluth Avenue.

When crews went inside they put out the fire and found chemicals that are likely to blame for starting the fire. On Thursday, less than an hour after authorities announced they'd issued warrants for the arrests of two men, they caught up with one of them. Ted Witte was driving a pickup, not far from the apartment.

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RAILROAD CAR MALFUNCTION LEADS TO AMMONIA LEAK IN NORTH PORTLAND
http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/Railroad-car-malfunction-leads-to-ammonia-leak-in/ExdaC7H6QkGQJCN7YthXxw.cspx
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, ammonia

An ammonia leak on a railroad car in the St. Johns neighborhood of North Portland prompted a hazmat response Wednesday morning.

Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) crews responded to the anhydrous ammonia leak, near 10627 N. Swift Court, a little after 10 a.m.

A hazmat team initially approached the rail car, but their monitoring equipment detected such high concentrations of ammonia that the levels on their equipment maxed out. They were forced to withdraw and get additional protective clothing and equipment.

Eventually, hazmat technicians were able to re-approach the rail car and stop the leak, which had been caused by a malfunctioning pressure relief valve, PF&R reports.

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CRASH, CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES PORTION OF AIRPORT-PULLING
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan/05/crash-chemical-spill-closes-portion-airport-pullin/
Tags: us_FL, transportation, release, injury, pool_chemicals

NAPLES ˜ A chemical spill following a two-vehicle crash closed a portion of Airport Pulling Road South Wednesday afternoon.

Fire officials said a truck carrying pool chemicals leaked chlorine and acid, which combined to form a hazardous mixture.

North Naples firefighters received the call around 2 p.m. and cleared the chemicals from the scene just south of Pelican Marsh Elementary School near Pelican Marsh Boulevard.

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CHEMICAL SPILL CLOSES PARTS OF NW COASTAL HIGHWAY
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-06/chemical-spill-closes-part-of-highway/3761658?section=wa
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, response, methanol

Parts of the North West Coastal Highway have been closed after a chemical spill.

A truck carrying liquid methanol sustained a leaking valve north of Binnu, in the Shire of Northampton.

If methanol touches the skin it can cause poisoning.

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

ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LEAK AT GRAND CHUTE BUSINESS
http://www.wbay.com/story/16457896/2012/01/05/anhydrous-ammonia-leaks-at-grand-chute-business
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, response, ammonia

The Grand Chute Fire Department says an ammonia leak at a cold storage business Thursday afternoon didn't pose a danger to the public.

The fire department says anhydrous ammonia was leaking from a pipe in the engine room at Americold on West Nordale Drive, creating three feet of ice on the floor.

Officials say about 35 employees had to be evacuated from the building and several nearby streets were shut down.

We're told the Appleton Hazmat team made three separate trips into the building to close all of the valves on the three ammonia pipes.

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U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD PUSHES TOUGHER RULES ON COMBUSTIBLE DUST
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120106/BUSINESS01/301060026/TN-plant-fires-lead-call-tougher-national-rules-metal-dust-investigation-video-
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, dust

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board will lobby the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to publish proposed safety rules within the next year to help prevent combustible-dust accidents after such incidents killed several workers in Gallatin last year.

A final report was released Thursday morning detailing the agency‚s investigation of three fires at the Hoeganaes iron powder manufacturing plant in Gallatin that killed a total of five workers last year. The three fires at the Hoeganaes facility occurred in January, March and May 2011.

The safety board said at a Nashville news conference that new, tougher OSHA standards should be fashioned to specifically include safety measures to control metal dust such as the materials associated with the Gallatin accidents.

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U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD REPORT ON GALLATIN FIRE
http://idevmail.americaneagle.com/message.aspx?d=30&m=909&e=Rstuartcih**At_Symbol_Here**me.com&r=3693743&f=TEXT
Tags: us_TN, industrial, follow-up, death, dust, flammables

January 5, 2011, Nashville, TN ˆ The U.S. Chemical Safety Board today released its final report on three accidents that occurred in 2011 at the Hoeganaes powdered metals plant in Gallatin, Tennessee. Flash fires and an explosion killed a total of five workers and injured three others.

The CSB investigation found that significant amounts of fine iron powder had accumulated over time at the Hoeganaes facility, and that while the company knew from its own testing and experience with flash fires in the plant that the dust was combustible, it did not take the necessary action to reduce the hazards through engineering controls and basic housekeeping. The investigation also found that Hoeganaes did not institute procedures such as combustible gas monitoring or provide training for employees on avoiding flammable gas fires and explosions.

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

AMMONIA LEAK PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
http://northportland.katu.com/news/news/452355-ammonia-leak-prompts-hazmat-response
Tags: us_OR, transportation, release, response, ammonia

PORTLAND, Ore. - Emergency crews responded to a North Portland industrial area near Pier Park on Wednesday after a smell of ammonia was reported in the air.

The incident was centered in the 10600 block of North Swift Court.

Portland Fire Bureau crews found the source of the smell - anhydrous ammonia that was leaking from a railroad tanker. A spokesperson said the tank was empty but there was residual amounts of ammonia making its way into the air, possibly through a crack.

"Our standards say that at 300 parts per million ammonia becomes an immediate danger to life and health," said Tommy Schroeder with Portland Fire & Rescue. "Our meters pegged at 200 parts per million."

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

HAZMAT HANDLES HOSPITAL CALL
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120104/CGY_foothills_hazmat_120104/20120104/?hub=CalgaryHome
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, radiation, waste

Fire crews were called to the Foothills Hospital on Wednesday morning to deal with a hazardous material spill.

A courier was picking up bio-waste from the hospital when some of it spilled on him at around 9:00 a.m.

The worker was concerned about the possibility that the waste contained radioactive material so he sounded the alarm.

The Calgary Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team rushed to the hospital and decontaminated the man and one other person in the ambulance bay.

It was later learned, that the material in question was human waste.

"We had several hazardous materials individuals respond from our office, Haztech and Hazmat, and with the monitors they did identify the subsequent information that we were not exposed to radiation nor was anyone on the site," said CFD North Chief, Bill Peters

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PHARMA FIRES, POLLUTION TARGETED IN INDIA
http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/pharma-fires-pollution-targeted-india/2012-01-04
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, death, drugs, waste

Indian officials have asked Aurobindo Pharma to provide details of the late November fire at a manufacturing plant that left two workers dead and one injured. The fire, which happened at an API plant in Andhra Pradesh, started after an explosion when the chemical trityl perchlorate was in use.

The request aligns with government concerns over pharma manufacturing safety, reports Pharmabiz. The report notes the rising incidence of fires at drugmaker facilities, which have caused about 6 deaths recently.

Officials say they are conducting regular safety checks. "In spite of our reminders, most of the pharma [companies] are violating the safety norms and resorting to deceiving tactics," a factories officer explains in the report. Manufacturers are hiring unqualified laborers who are unaware of the hazards, he adds.

Aurobindo had been cited for fire safety violations in April.

Separately, the state Pollution Control Board has charged 6 Hyderabad-area drugmakers with environmental violations concerning the disposal of spent solvents. A task force suspects the companies are selling the substances to construction companies, which use them to produce bitumen for road construction rather than safely disposing of it.

The board is threatening the shutdown of the following companies: Lakshmi Saraswathi Chemicals & Organics, Sri Harsha Organic, Apex Drugs & Intermediates, Shruti Laboratories, SKR Chemicals and Sujith Chemicals, according to the Times of India.

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

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ON OSER AVENUE STABILIZED
http://hauppauge.patch.com/articles/oser-avenue-chemical-hazmat-stabilized
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

Suffolk County police report that a 55-gallon drum of volatile chemical materials that had authorities close down Oser Avenue in Hauppauge for hours Tuesday has been stabilized.

Police said the stabilizing chemicals were received at approximately 7 p.m. Tuesday, then was mixed in with the hazardous material at Pall Corp. Oser Avenue was reopened to vehicle traffic later that evening.

The 55-gallon drum of chemical material was stored overnight inside Pall Corp's building overnight until it could be removed by Miller Environmental on Wednesday, according to police.

There was no leak in the 55-gallon drum at Pall Corp, but the materials had chemically changed due to undergoing temperature fluctuations while shipping. The potentially explosive situation was first noticed by a company employee.

"An unopened 55-gallon drum was observed to be bulging," company spokesman Doug Novarro said in an emailed statement. "In accordance with recommended safety standards, employees were evacuated, the local fire department was called to the scene and the provider of the material was notified. As an extra precaution, a small portion of Oser Avenue was temporarily closed off. The drum has now been stabilized and employees have returned to work."

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

FATAL FIRE AT WTI REMINDS OF WASTE INDUSTRY DANGERS « SUSTAINED OUTRAGE
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2012/01/04/fatal-fire-at-wti-reminds-of-waste-industry-dangers/
Tags: us_OH, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables, waste

The holiday season wasn‚t so happy for the families of two workers at the WTI hazardous waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio, across the river from Chester, W.Va.  A week before Christmas, a chemical fire a the facility ˜ now officially known as Heritage-WTI Inc. ˜ left one worker dead and another seriously burned.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said in a statement:

According to company officials a flash fire occurred when workers were splitting a large solid waste drum of hazardous flammable inorganic material into smaller storage drums ∑ Unfortunately accidents at hazardous waste processing facilities are all too common.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL FEAR SPARKS EVACUATION IN COLLIERS WOOD (FROM YOUR LOCAL GUARDIAN)
http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/wimbledonnews/9451406.Chemical_spill_fear_sparks_evacuation/
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, solvent

A mass evacuation following a suspected gas leak left dozens of Colliers Wood residents stranded in the street for more than an hour.

Houses in Marlborough Road, Wilton Road and Norfolk Road were evacuated shortly after 8am on December 31, when several fire engines and police cars swooped on the scene.

Karla Kannides, of Marlborough Road, said: „When I looked out the window I thought someone had been murdered.‰

The incident was first considered highly serious by authorities but, following an investigation by a specialist chemical unit, the hazardous substance was identified as paint thinner.

The evacuation was ordered after Merton police were called by the London Ambulance Service to help an elderly man who had fallen over in a house on Marlborough Road.

Police officers broke down the door of the property at around 7.20am to reach the man but when they detected a smell like paraffin, they called the fire brigade.

The elderly man made his own way out of the property and was treated by an ambulance crew at the scene.

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

DETECTIVES: LAKELAND DRIVER KILLED BY EXPLODING DRUG CONCOCTION
http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2012/january/365303/Detectives:-Lakeland-driver-killed-by-exploding-drug-concoction
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, death, illegal, meth_lab

A Lakeland man was killed after an apparent illegal drug concoction exploded while he was driving, effectively causing his death, an eventual crash and his passenger to allegedly flee on foot.

Lakeland Police officials originally classified the investigation as an overturned vehicle with injuries Tuesday, but reclassified the investigation as a death investigation and announced the driver was killed from an illegal chemical explosion Wednesday.

Lakeland Police detectives said Clifford Ellison, 36, was killed when he mixed chemicals in a glass liquor bottle to produce an illegal form of the drug meth, known as "Shake N Bake", and the concoction exploded as he and a passenger were driving near 3955 Drane Field Road in Lakeland.

According to detectives, the explosion sent shrapnel from the bottle into Ellison's neck, causing him to crash the vehicle.

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

1 MISSING, 3 INJURED IN CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/7696726.html
Tags: China, industrial, explosion, injury, peracetic_acid

One worker is missing and three others were injured after an explosion ripped through a chemical plant in Shanghai's Songjiang District early this morning.

The explosion happened at Shanghai Habo Chemical Technology Co around 2:30am. The powerful blast shattered windows of the factory and nearby buildings.

A worker's mishandling of peracetic acid caused the blowup, preliminary investigation has found. The worker remains missing.

The three workers suffered minor injuries and are in stable condition.

Authorities said monitoring of air quality showed no environmental concerns.

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

SHERIFF EXPLAINS WHY DECEASED SANDIA LABS SCIENTIST HAD CHEMICALS
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2437671.shtml?cat=516
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up

KOB Eyewitness News 4 has learned why a retired Sandia Labs scientist may have been building bombs in the East Mountains before he died.

KOB first reported this weekend about the makeshift lab discovered near Estancia.

Now the Sheriff of Torrance County said it could be a long time before these chemicals are cleaned up.

Sheriff Heath White said it appears former Sandia Labs scientist, 81-year-old David O'Keefe spent his retirement on the outskirts of Estancia on state road 41, continuing his work up until he died a few months ago.

"He was trying to make a new type of explosive so he was experimenting with different chemicals and different compounds to make that explosive," White said.

White said O'Keefe's laboratory was elaborate and potentially deadly.

"Everybody within about a half a mile radius of this house was at high risk everyday∑every night," White explained.

Deputies discovered the explosives Saturday when the landlord of the property went to check on the home and found the chemicals.

Now it looks like the owner is going to have to pay for the cleanup, which is an estimated $50,000.

"There's not really any way for her to get back that money so it's placing her in a really bad situation," White said.

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

A LOOK INSIDE OF EXPLOSIVES LAB
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/local/central/a-look-inside-of-explosives-lab
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, discovery, response, explosives, follow-up

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - New Mexico State Police have blown up the final batch of explosives found inside of a personal laboratory.

The man who built the explosives, had them stored in a shed on his property, much to the surprise of police and his neighbors.

His collection of explosives was so large that it filled two large storage sheds as well as a lab. Everywhere you look: dangerous chemicals and hybrid, experimental explosives.

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

UPDATE: POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE HAZMAT SHUTS DOWN OSER AVE
http://hauppauge.patch.com/articles/potential-explosive-hazmat-shut-down-oser-ave
Tags: us_NY, industrial, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

Suffolk County Police have shut down part of Oser Avenue Tuesday after a 55-gallon drum of chemicals delivered to Pall Corporation in the Hauppauge Industrial Park was found to be potentially explosive.

Pall Corp is a filtration, separation and purification leader providing solutions to meet the critical fluid management needs of customers across the broad spectrum of life sciences and industry, according to its website.

Police said the material underwent a chemical change that tranformed it into a potentially volatile substance due to fluctuations in temperature during its delivery, according to police. Suffolk County police are attempting to get in contact with the out-of-state vendor who delivered the chemical to locate a chemical additive that will stabilize the materials when both substances are mixed together.

Meanwhile, Oser Avenue has been shut down from Marcus Boulevard east to Plant Avenue. Police and Hauppauge firefighters are on the scene.

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

TCC CAMPUS EVACUATED DUE TO GAS LEAK
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/chesapeake/chesapeake-cedar-road-gas-leak
Tags: us_VA, education, release, response, natural_gas

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - The Tidewater Community College Chesapeake campus has reopened after a gas leak caused the campus to evacuate Tuesday morning.

According to Capt. Mike Theibault with the Chesapeake Fire Department, a four inch gas line was severed on Cedar Road around 8:20 a.m. by an excavator in front of the TCC campus.

HAZMAT crews responded with monitoring equipment and determined the area had not reached a hazardous amount of gas away from the excavator.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL SENDS NINE WORKERS TO HOSPITAL
http://www.canada.com/Chemical+spill+sends+nine+workers+hospital/5941632/story.html
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

REGINA - Nine workers were sent to hospital Tuesday morning after a chemical spill created a vaporous cloud at the SeedMaster plant near White City, Sask.

White City Fire Chief Darrell Liebrecht said the workers were sent to the hospital for precautionary reasons and were not believed to be seriously injured.

Eight members of the fire department responded to the scene shortly after 9 a.m. The plant doors were opened, and once the cloud evaporated, the fire department cleaned about four litres of the chemical - used for cleaning stainless steel - off the plant's floor. The cloud was produced when the chemical mixed with water, he said.

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EMERGENCY CREWS RESPOND TO GAS LEAK AT HONEYWELL IN SOUTH BEND
http://www.abc57.com/home/top-stories/Emergency-crews-respond-to-gas-leak-at-Honeywell-in-South-Bend-136624813.html
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, gas_cylinders, propane

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On Tuesday, the South Bend Fire Department and Hazmat team worked for hours to control a gas leak!
Emergency crews responded to the Honeywell plant on Bendix Drive around 8:45 a.m.
Firefighters told us that a propane cylinder on a forklift started leaking under pressure.
The building was evacuated as a precaution.

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UCLA PROFESSOR IN COURT ON CHARGES STEMMING FROM FATAL LAB FIRE
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/fatal-ucla-chemical-fire.html
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, fire, death, follow-up

UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran was released on his own recognizance Tuesday after surrendering on felony charges stemming from a fatal laboratory fire three years ago.

Harran, 42, was out of town last week when the Los Angeles County district attorney‚s office charged him and the University of California regents with three counts each of willfully violating occupational health and safety standards, resulting in the death of staff research assistant Sheharbano „Sheri‰ Sangji.

Sangji, 23, was severely burned on Dec. 29, 2008, when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames during an experiment and ignited her clothing. Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later.

The regents and Harran, a prominent researcher who joined the UCLA faculty in July 2008, are accused of failing to correct unsafe work conditions in a timely manner, to require clothing appropriate for the work being done and to provide proper chemical safety training.

An arrest warrant issued last week for Harran was withdrawn after a brief appearance in L.A. County Superior Court on Tuesday, said his attorney, Thomas O‚Brien. Harran will be arraigned Feb. 2 and faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison if convicted.

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4 HOSPITALIZED AFTER ALLERGIC REACTION AT PARK
http://www.ocregister.com/news/reaction-333975-park-schultz.html
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

FULLERTON ˆ Three children and one adult were taken to the hospital after they developed an allergic reaction while playing at Olive Park in Fullerton, authorities said.
The incident was reported at 10:09 a.m. Tuesday at the park at 901 S. Gilbert St. near Olive Avenue, Fullerton Fire
The department's hazmat team responded to the park and were trying to determine the cause of the reaction, Schultz said. The team also inspected a home on the 1110 block of South Pine Dr. to try to figure out where the incident originated, he said.
"We are not sure of the cause of the reaction," Schultz said. "It's undetermined what caused it at this time."

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HAZMAT INCIDENT SENDS GARBAGE COLLECTORS TO HOSPITAL
http://redwoodcity.patch.com/articles/hazmat-incident-sends-garbage-collectors-to-hospital
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, ammonia, waste

A hazardous materials incident in Redwood City Tuesday morning sent three Recology employees to the hospital and prompted the evacuation of several businesses, a city spokesman said.

Around 10 a.m., the Redwood City Fire Department received a 911 call reporting a hazardous materials spill in the 1500 block of Main Street, Redwood City spokesman Malcolm Smith said.

Firefighters from Redwood City, Belmont and Woodside responded, as did Redwood City police and the county hazardous materials team, Smith said.

Two Recology waste management garbage collectors had emptied a Dumpster into the garbage truck, Smith said. When they attempted to compress the materials with the truck, a white container burst, emitting a white fume, he said.

The two employees began feeling ill and vomiting. The Recology employees notified their supervisor, who called 911, Smith said.

Upon arriving at the scene, supervisor also began feeling ill, and all three were taken to a hospital, he said.

Four businesses on Main Street were evacuated and remained closed this afternoon while the hazardous materials team investigated the incident.

One of the chemicals has been identified as ammonia, and the hazardous materials team is continuing testing on the material in the back of the garbage truck, Smith said. Once the chemicals are determined, they will aim to neutralize them, he said.

A section of Main Street in downtown Redwood City remained closed to traffic between Chestnut Street and Pine Street Tuesday afternoon, and part of Pine Street was also closed.

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FIREFIGHTERS INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT PDSA PET HOSPITAL IN WOODFORD BRIDGE (FROM EAST LONDON AND WEST ESSEX GUARDIAN SERIES)
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/rbnews/9450947.WOODFORD_BRIDGE__Firefighters_investigating_chemical_incident_at_pet_hospital/
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

FIREFIGHTERS were called to an animal hospital this morning after reports of a chemical smell in the building.

Four fire engines and a number of specialist fire vehicles were called to the PDSA Pet Hospital in Woodford Bridge Road shortly after 8.15am.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: „We were called at 8.16am to reports of a smell of chemicals at an animal treatment centre on Woodford Bridge Road.

„The incident was over just after 10am.

"The smell was caused by a leaking domestic fridge which was removed to the open air.

"The building was ventilated. No elevated chemical readings were recorded inside."

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We treated three people at the scene, but none of them required hospital treatment."

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Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society

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