From: Ralph B Stuart <rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**CORNELL.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (12 articles)
Date: August 17, 2012 6:38:50 AM EDT
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, August 17, 2012 6:38:34 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 (12 articles)

GREENLEAF MAN DIES FROM BURN INJURIES SUFFERED IN VAN EXPLOSION
Tags: us_ID, transportation, explosion, death, paints

BOMBS EXPLODE NEAR PRINEVILLE
Tags: us_OR, public, explosion, response, bomb

CHEMICAL PLEA AFTER EMERGENCY AT WYE VALLEY SKIPS
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid, waste

CHEMICAL REACTION OUTSIDE CONCOURSE HOTEL DRAWS HAZ MAT TEAM
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, ammonia

FEDEX WORKERS EVACUATE AFTER HOT-SAUCE CHEMICAL SPILLS
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, injury, pepper_spray

GUTTED CHEMICAL FIRM WAS ILLEGAL
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT SPILL CLOSES PART OF THE SAM HOUSTON TOLLWAY (UPDATED)
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, corrosives

FIRE IN INK FACTORY AT JEEDIMETLA DAMAGES FOUR BUILDINGS
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, solvent

TWO MAJOR FACTORY FIRES CLAIM THREE LIVES, INJURE 10
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

NSW TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILL CLEARED
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, mek

HAZMAT CREW STOPS CHEMICAL REACTION CAUSING ACIDIC VAPOR CLOUD IN PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, release, response, nitric_acid

TWO KILLED IN FACTORY FIRE IN ANDHRA PRADESH
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, gas_cylinders


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GREENLEAF MAN DIES FROM BURN INJURIES SUFFERED IN VAN EXPLOSION
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/08/16/2233831/greenleaf-man-dies-from-burn-injuries.html
Tags: us_ID, transportation, explosion, death, paints

One of the three men who were hospitalized Aug. 7 after a cigarette ignited paint fumes and caused an explosion in the van they were riding in by West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell has died, according to Idaho State Police reports.

ISP officials say 58-year-old Jose L. Gonzalez of Greenleaf died early Thursday. He had been hospitalized in Salt Lake City since the crash.

Investigators say the explosion occurred right after 30-year-old Roman Gonzalez, who was driving a grey GMC Savana van with two passengers inside and filled with paint and chemicals, lit a cigarette and then dropped it on the floor, according to Caldwell Fire and ISP reports.

The crew had just left a painting job in Caldwell before 6:30 p.m. and Gonzalez was driving the van westbound on West Logan Street when he dropped the lit cigarette, which ignited paint and chemical vapors and caused a fireball in the van, according to reports.

Roman Gonzalez and front seat passenger, 50-year-old Ramon Gonzalez, jumped out of the van while it was still in motion.

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BOMBS EXPLODE NEAR PRINEVILLE
http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120816/NEWS0107/208160422/
Tags: us_OR, public, explosion, response, bomb

Two homemade bombs exploded in a residential neighborhood north of Prineville Tuesday night, and a third was disabled by bomb technicians from the Oregon State Police, authorities said.

Crook County Sheriff's deputies responded to McDougal Court at around 10:22 p.m., when a resident reported that an unknown device had exploded in the driveway.

Deputies found evidence of a second explosion shortly after arriving in the area, as well as a third, unexploded device nearby.

Sgt. James Savage said the devices are similar to dry-ice bombs, but more powerful. Made with household items in beverage bottles, the pressure inside the bottle slowly builds up as a result of a chemical reaction between the ingredients, and the bottle eventually explodes.

"It's pretty violent. It would probably blow your hand off if you had it in your hand when it went off," Savage said.

Savage said an OSP bomb squad investigating a recent incident in Gilchrist was able to respond quickly to Crook County and disarm the unexploded device.

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CHEMICAL PLEA AFTER EMERGENCY AT WYE VALLEY SKIPS
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-19288594
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, hydrofluoric_acid, waste

Fire chiefs have urged people to take "extreme caution" when disposing of chemicals after an incident at a skip company in Herefordshire.

Emergency crews were called to Wye Valley Skips, on the Rotherwas Industrial Estate, on Wednesday.

Hereford and Worcester Fire Service said "highly toxic liquid and vapours", believed to be hydrofluoric acid, were coming from a drum in one of the skips.

Four members of staff at the site were taken to hospital for checks.

The fire service said the area was now being decontaminated.

Station commander Neil Pigott said: "Exposure to this substance could have had tragic consequences.

"We would urge people to take extreme caution when handling chemicals and to be careful and considerate regarding their disposal."

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

CHEMICAL REACTION OUTSIDE CONCOURSE HOTEL DRAWS HAZ MAT TEAM
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/chemical-reaction-outside-concourse-hotel-draws-haz-mat-team/article_16a42acc-e7ba-11e1-a3d5-001a4bcf887a.html
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, ammonia

Update: An earlier version of this story referred to a fire in a trash compactor, based on reports from fire department and 911 dispatch center officials. Fire department spokeswoman Bernadette Galvez now says there was never an actual fire in the trash compactor, just a chemical reaction that looked like a fire.

A chemical reaction in a trash compactor that was mistaken for a fire outside the Concourse Hotel attracted a hazardous materials team Thursday morning, officials said.

Callers reported a fire in a trash compactor behind the hotel at 1 W Dayton St. around 9:15 a.m., Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Bernadette Galvez said.

The container was smoking, giving the appearance of a fire, Galvez said, but an investigation revealed the incident was actually a chemical reaction and the container was never on fire.

Fire fighters reported a strong ammonia smell and called a hazardous materials crew as a precaution, according to Galvez.

She said part of North Carroll Street behind the hotel was closed off, but has since been re-opened.

There have been a number of fires in trash containers around Madison recently, at least one of which Madison police said was suspicious. Galvez said this incident was under investigation, but is not considered suspicious.

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FEDEX WORKERS EVACUATE AFTER HOT-SAUCE CHEMICAL SPILLS
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/08/hot-sauce-spill-forces-fedex-workers-to-evacuate/1#.UC4Wi8RYsrg
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, injury, pepper_spray

A spill of a chemical used in hot chili sauce and pepper spray forced more than 100 FedEx workers to evacuate a freight area early today, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

A forklift punctured a 5-gallon barrel of liquid capsaicin about 2:30 a.m. outside a building at the parcel carrier's global hub in Memphis. FedEx spokesman Chris Stanley said the chemical was going to be used to make hot sauce, adding, "Basically, it was the hot in hot sauce."

The fire department reported 117 workers were exposed, at least 10 complained of chest pains or trouble breathing, and two went to the hospital as a precaution.

The brief shutdown, less than an hour, did not affect FedEx's system, Stanley said.

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GUTTED CHEMICAL FIRM WAS ILLEGAL
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/gutted-chemical-firm-was-illegal/282953-60-121.html
Tags: India, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

A day after a huge fire gutted a major part of Bharath Inc chemical factory in Jeedimetla, it has come to light that the company had not obtained the required licences from the department of factories and Pollution Control Board.
Officials of the factories department visited the company premises on Thursday along with the local police who are investigating the cause of the mishap.

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

HAZMAT SPILL CLOSES PART OF THE SAM HOUSTON TOLLWAY (UPDATED)
http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/08/hazmat-spill-closes-part-of-the-sam-houston-tollway/
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, corrosives

A truck spilled some type of material along a section of the Sam Houston Tollway in east Harris County, causing a traffic shutdown in the area.

Houston TranStar officials said a single truck was responsible for the spill that happened about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday along a section of the East Sam Houston Tollway near Jacinto Port Boulevard.

TranStar officials called the substance a "corrosive liquid chemical" and said people in the area were reporting burning eyes and throats. They asked any motorists to avoid the area until further notice.

Authorities closed down both north and southbound lanes of the tollway at the scene for the cleanup effort. It wasn't clear how long that would take and whether it would be completed in time for Thursday morning commuters.

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

FIRE IN INK FACTORY AT JEEDIMETLA DAMAGES FOUR BUILDINGS
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3778402.ece
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, solvent

Fire in an ink making factory at Jeedimetla on Tuesday damaged four adjacent buildings extensively while crores of rupees worth property was destroyed even as firemen struggled for nearly 10 hours to control the blaze.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire mishap which started at 9 a.m.

It created panic among locals and workers of surrounding factories as drums of chemical solvents blew up one after the other. As the area was filled with thick clouds of smoke, the firemen brought from six fire service stations struggled to control the blaze.

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

TWO MAJOR FACTORY FIRES CLAIM THREE LIVES, INJURE 10
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/two-major-factory-fires-claim-three-lives-injure-10/282633-60-114.html
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

Explosion of a container at a steam core iron factory in Shadnagar claimed three lives and critically injured 10 on Wednesday even as fire-fighters battled another major fire in a chemical godown in Jeedimetla. The latter incident did not entail loss of lives but gutted property worth several crores.
The blast in the liquid iron container in Shadnagar happened around 9 a.m. during the first shift on Wednesday morning when about 20 workers were present there. The container burst and splattered liquid iron across the room, causing severe burns to the workers. All the three victims were aged between 25 and 35 and hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The injured were immediately shifted to a local hospital and then to private hospitals in Hyderabad. Three of them - Deep Lal, Kapil Khanna and Malkan Singh - succumbed to injuries while being shifted to Hyderabad. The trio, along with five others, were said to be standing close to the container when it exploded.

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

NSW TOXIC CHEMICAL SPILL CLEARED
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8517419/severe-chemical-spill-near-newcastle
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, mek

One hundred litres of a highly toxic and potentially explosive chemical that spilled at an industrial site near Newcastle have been mopped up without incident, authorities say.

Police established a 300-metre exclusion zone and evacuated 100 people after a 1000-litre drum of methyl ethyl ketone cracked at a warehouse in Tomago about 1.45pm (AEST) on Thursday.

Power was switched off in the neighbouring area, streets were closed and all ignition sources were removed as hazmat officers in fully encapsulated suits inspected the site and began the cleanup job.

Six Fire and Rescue NSW crews worked to contain the spill and the area was deemed safe by Thursday evening, Superintendent Paul Bailey told AAP.

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

HAZMAT CREW STOPS CHEMICAL REACTION CAUSING ACIDIC VAPOR CLOUD IN PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP
http://www.annarbor.com/news/hazmat-crew-stops-violent-chemical-reaction-causing-acidic-vapor-cloud-in-pittsfield-township/
Tags: us_MI, laboratory, release, response, nitric_acid

A violent chemical reaction forced three people to evacuate a business in Pittsfield Township early Wednesday morning.

Pittsfield Township firefighters responded to a report of smoke coming from Pacific Industrial Development, 4788 Runway Blvd., at 12:13 a.m. Wednesday. Upon arrival, firefighters quickly found the smoke was actually an acidic vapor caused by the mixture of two chemicals, neodymium oxide and nitric acid.

The Washtenaw County Hazardous Materials Response Team was called and, using chemical protective equipment, cooled the 100-gallon container with about 35 gallons of the solution inside to the point where the reaction stopped.

One of the three employees at the business, which makes specialty chemicals and nanomaterials used in pollution and emissions-control devices, was exposed to the vapor but was wearing chemical protective clothing and a respirator, escaping injury, firefighters said in a press release.

There will be no lasting effects to the environment or area around the building, Pittsfield Township Fire Chief Sean Gleason said Wednesday morning.

Workers were making the solution as a part of a research project, said Bill Germond, vice president of PIDC. The amount of nitric acid released was very small, even though it appeared along with a large cloud of steam, he said.

Researchers had previously made a small amount of the solution in laboratories, but when it was made in the larger tank, the reaction was bigger than expected, Germond said. It was the first time the company has needed the hazmat team's assistance with a reaction.

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

TWO KILLED IN FACTORY FIRE IN ANDHRA PRADESH
http://twocircles.net/2012aug15/two_killed_factory_fire_andhra_pradesh.html
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, gas_cylinders

: At least two workers were killed and six others injured in a fire at a chemical factory in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, police said.

The fire broke out after a gas cylinder exploded at a factory in Shadnagar town in Mahbubnagar district. Shadnagar is about 50 km from Hyderabad.

The injured were admitted to Shadnagar Government Hospital and later shifted to Osmania Hospital in Hyderabad.

Police said they were investigating what caused the disaster.

In another mishap, massive fire broke out in a storehouse of a chemical plant in Jeedimetla industrial area in Hyderabad.

Ten fire tenders battled for over four hours to bring the blaze under control.

The flames spread to a nearby building. As a precautionary measure, the police evacuated people from an adjacent residential locality.

Eyewitnesses said four chemical tankers exploded in the fire. Several vehicles were also damaged.

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