From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (15 articles)
Date: October 12, 2012 8:05:12 AM EDT
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <65DA6756-18B2-49A7-9AD7-97AB65604B53**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, October 12, 2012 8:04:53 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 (15 articles)

CHINESE STUDENT INJURED IN ASSAULT
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

1,600 POUNDS OF LIVE FISH SPILL IN IRVINE STREET
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, environmental, diesel

TCI CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE RULED ACCIDENTAL
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, response, waste

CHEMICAL ON CLOTHES OF PATIENT SPARKS EVACUATION AT BASINGSTOKE HOSPITAL (FROM THIS IS HAMPSHIRE)
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

SUN CHEMICAL UPDATES STATEMENT ON FACTORY EXPLOSION
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

PASCO MAN BURNED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_WA, industrial, explosion, injury, acetylene

CITGO REPORTS FIRE AT CORPUS CHRISTI REFINERY IN TEXAS
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

TWO WORKERS BURNED IN NORFOLK PROPANE TANK FIRE
Tags: us_NE, industrial, fire, injury, propane

AUTHORITIES REPORT AMMONIA LEAK AT FRESNO WINERY
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, ammonia

MISSOURI HIGH SCHOOL DEVELOPS A BIODIESEL PRODUCTION PLANT
Tags: us_MO, laboratory, discovery, environmental, biodiesel

UPDATE: LAKE HIGHLANDS FIRE THAT BURNED 3 WORKERS WAS SPARKED BY BATTERY CHARGER
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, injury, batteries

CHEMICAL FIRE RESTRICTS GOLDEN EARS BRIDGE ACCESS, LEAVES ONE INJURED (WITH VIDEO)
Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

OSHA CITES FONTAROME CHEMICAL AFTER APRIL FIRE
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, response, pharmaceutical

PERSON MAKING, EXPLODING HOME-MADE BOMBS SOUGHT IN YUCAIPA
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, bomb

SAFETY ETHICS BLACK AND WHITE? OR SHADES OR GRAY?
Tags: public, follow-up, response


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

CHINESE STUDENT INJURED IN ASSAULT
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=26233&icid=a&d_str=
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

A Chinese student in an Australian university was critically injured Friday after being attacked by a fellow Phd student with acid and a hammer, RTHK reports.
The incident took place at a chemistry research laboratory at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
The victim, named Cheng Xiaoyu, suffered burns and head injury.
The 25-year-old was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney for emergency treatment and later moved to Royal North Shore Hospital's Burns Unit where he remains in critical condition.
Police said a row broke out between two students during which one of them allegedly threw a chemical, believed to be sulphuric acid, in another student's face before hitting him on the head with a hammer.
A fellow student, also a Chinese national, aged 26 has been charged in connection with the attack and has appeared in a Sydney court.
The magistrate ordered that the accused be transferred to a mental health facility for evaluation before appearing in court again on November the 29th.


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

1,600 POUNDS OF LIVE FISH SPILL IN IRVINE STREET
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/11/4905051/1600-pounds-of-live-fish-spill.html
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, environmental, diesel

IRVINE, Calif. -- Morning commuters in Irvine may have felt like they were facing an upstream battle when 1,600 pounds of live fish spilled on to a roadway, flopping around and bringing traffic to a standstill.

The Orange County Register reports ( http://bit.ly/RjcdNh) that the truck carrying the fish collided with two vehicles at about 9 a.m. Thursday, dumping the saltwater bass onto the intersection of Walnut and Yale avenues.

No injuries were reported.

The intersection reopened after hazmat authorities were able to clean up spilled diesel fuel and handle the oxygen tanks used to keep the fish alive during transport.

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

TCI CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE RULED ACCIDENTAL
http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/top_stories/603934/tci-chemical-plant-fire-ruled-accidental/
Tags: us_NY, industrial, follow-up, response, waste

COLUMBIA COUNTY, N.Y. -- This summer's massive TCI fire in Columbia County has been ruled accidental.

The recycling plant suffered a massive fire back on August 1st. People living within a 15 mile radius were advised to stay indoors for a time.

County lawmakers later approved a reverse 911 system to alert residents of future emergencies.

A DEC air quality test near the site turned up no trace of potential carcinogens.

State Police now say the official criminal investigation into a cause is closed and final. They say all plausible outside causes, including incendiary causes, have been ruled out.

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

CHEMICAL ON CLOTHES OF PATIENT SPARKS EVACUATION AT BASINGSTOKE HOSPITAL (FROM THIS IS HAMPSHIRE)
http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/9982022.Chemical_on_clothes_of_patient_sparks_evacuation_at_Basingstoke_hospital/
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

A CHEMICAL on the clothes of a patient at Basingstoke hospital sparked an evacuation of part of the emergency department, after five staff became sick and dizzy and reported a smell of gas.

Ambulances with emergency patients were diverted away from Basingstoke between around 8pm last night and 1am this morning as firefighters investigated the bizarre incident.

Mary Edwards, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said there had been no gas leak, explaining that the smell was emanating from the clothes of a patient who had earlier been treated in the department.

She said: "The fire service was called to the emergency department at Basingstoke hospital shortly because of a smell which was initially thought to be gas.

"The smell was actually from a chemical on the clothing of a patient who had been treated earlier.

"Staff acted quickly in raising the alarm."

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

SUN CHEMICAL UPDATES STATEMENT ON FACTORY EXPLOSION
http://evertiq.com/news/23040
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

The explosion took place yesterday afternoon in the plants mixing room. Sun Chemical has updated its statement below:

Seven employees at Sun Chemical's US Ink Plant, located in East Rutherford N.J., were transported to Hackensack University Medical Center following what appears to have been an explosion or flash fire in the pre-mix room of the plant at approximately 1:20 [EDT] this afternoon.

According to an emergency trauma physician at Hackensack University Medical Center, five workers are in fair condition at Hackensack and two others have been transported to the burn unit at St. Barnabas. Sun Chemical human resource personnel are providing any support needed by the families of the employees.

"We will cooperate 100 percent with East Rutherford Fire Department Fire Official Dennis Monks in order to conduct a full investigation. We must determine the actual root cause of this incident so that we can take any possible steps to prevent it from happening again. The safety of our people is too important," said Gary M. Andrzejewski, Sun Chemical Corporation Corporate Vice President for Environmental Affairs. "Speculating about what happened would do a disservice to the accuracy of any investigation."

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

PASCO MAN BURNED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/Pasco-man-burned-in-explosion-173747061.html
Tags: us_WA, industrial, explosion, injury, acetylene

PASCO, Wash. -- An explosion Thursday morning in Pasco left an employee with third degree burns.

KFLD-AM reports the fire broke out just before 1 a.m. at Oxarc on South Oregon Ave. The worker received burns to his arms, chest and stomach.

The Pasco Fire Department said an employee working overnight was emptying bottles of acetylene on a pallet when one caught fire and exploded. It's unclear what sparked the explosion.

Officials said the injured man and his co-workers were waiting for emergency crews outside the building when they arrived. One of the bottles burned out without setting anything else on fire.

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

CITGO REPORTS FIRE AT CORPUS CHRISTI REFINERY IN TEXAS
http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/3101040/Latest-News/Citgo-reports-fire-at-Corpus-Christi-refinery-in-Texas.html
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, petroleum

Citgo Petroleum Corp. said a small fire that broke out at its refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, forced the shutdown of its platformer unit 4.

The fire started at 9 p.m. on Tuesday but resulted in no injuries, a Citgo official said. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, the official said.

Citgo is the operating subsidiary of Venezuela's national oil company Petroleos de Venezuela. The company's Corpus Christi refinery has operating capacity of 163,000 bpd.

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

TWO WORKERS BURNED IN NORFOLK PROPANE TANK FIRE
http://www.ktiv.com/story/19794394/two-workers-burned-in-propane-fire-in-norfolk-lyle-lutt-henningsen-food
Tags: us_NE, industrial, fire, injury, propane

NORFOLK, Neb. (KTIV) -
Two workers have been burned in a propane tank fire in Norfolk, Nebraska. Fire Captain Lyle Lutt says the workers sustained moderate 2nd degree burns to the face and arms. They were treated at the scene, but were not hospitalized.

It happened Wednesday afternoon at the Henningsen's Foods plant. Fire crews were initially called for a fire involving a propane tank. Plant workers had put it out by the time firefighters arrived on the scene. But. as workers were checking the system, propane spewed out of a pressure relief vale and was ignited by the pilot light of another machine.

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

AUTHORITIES REPORT AMMONIA LEAK AT FRESNO WINERY
http://www.modbee.com/2012/10/11/2409811/authorities-report-ammonia-leak.html
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, ammonia

FRESNO, Calif. -- Authorities are advising people living near a Fresno winery to stay indoors because of what they say is an ammonia leak from the facility.
Fresno Fire Chief Rob Brown tells the Fresno Bee (http://bit.ly/T8IjaW) an area of about one square mile near Golden State Vinters was cordoned off on Thursday morning.
A vapor cloud was reported to the fire department around 5:30 a.m.

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

MISSOURI HIGH SCHOOL DEVELOPS A BIODIESEL PRODUCTION PLANT
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/8733/mo-high-school-prepares-to-expand-biodiesel-production-center
Tags: us_MO, laboratory, discovery, environmental, biodiesel

In Fenton, Mo., Rockwood Summit High School students and chemistry teacher Darrin Peters have taken hands-on learning to a whole new level with biodiesel production. The journey began five years ago when an organic chemistry student learned from Peters that fuel could be produced from waste restaurant grease. She presented research and plans for laboratory experiments to produce biodiesel and, since then, Rockwood Summit High School's advanced classes in organic chemistry, authentic science research and environmental science have expanded their laboratory work to regularly produce biodiesel fuel from waste vegetable oil collected from the school's cafeteria. Now, after using a small, dedicated space in one of the school's storage sheds to produce biodiesel used to power two test vehicles for the past few years, Peters and his students are ready to expand.

Peters is heading up the approval and financing process to build a new facility on the school's property, the Falcon Renewable Fuel Educational Center. The proposed center would be 20 feet by 25 feet, and is expected to cost around $100,000.

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

UPDATE: LAKE HIGHLANDS FIRE THAT BURNED 3 WORKERS WAS SPARKED BY BATTERY CHARGER
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/lake-highlands-workers-severely-burned-when-floor-stripper-catches-fire-in-living-room.html/
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, injury, batteries

Dallas Fire-Rescue investigators have determined what sparked Wednesday's fire: a battery charger.

Investigators determined the fire started when a spark from a battery charger ignited fumes from a chemical that was being used to strip the floors. The concentration of fumes caused a spontaneous combustion, resulting in significant fire damage to the room.

== 3:30 p.m. ==

The three men were converting a garage Ñ not a living room Ñ says D-FR spokesman Jason Evans. He said the fire's cause is still under investigation, but "they were using chemicals that probably ignited because of the fumes Ñ the concentration of fumes."

All three were seriously burned and taken to a hospital in unknown condition. The fire, however, was mostly extinguished by the time D-FR got on scene, Evans said.

== 3 p.m. ==

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

CHEMICAL FIRE RESTRICTS GOLDEN EARS BRIDGE ACCESS, LEAVES ONE INJURED (WITH VIDEO)
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Trucking+company+fire+closes+Golden+Ears+Bridge/7333743/story.html
Tags: Canada, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

METRO VANCOUVER -- One person was airlifted to hospital in serious condition and traffic headed to the Golden Ears Bridge was snarled Tuesday afternoon as fire crews battled an industrial chemical fire on Langley's northern border with Surrey.

The victim was transported to Vancouver General Hospital according to British Columbia Ambulance Service spokeswoman Kelsie Carwithen.

The three-alarm fire started around 2:30 p.m. after an accident caused a blast that triggered multiple chemical explosions at 9807 196 A St., Langley RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Holly Marks confirmed.

The company, Ken Johnson Trucking Ltd., trucks chemicals, lubricating oils, asphalt and special waste around Western Canada and the United States, according to its website.

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

OSHA CITES FONTAROME CHEMICAL AFTER APRIL FIRE
http://www.jsonline.com/business/osha-cites-fontarome-chemical-after-april-fire-4q7643r-173497451.html
Tags: us_WI, industrial, follow-up, response, pharmaceutical

Fontarome Chemical Inc. of St. Francis has been cited for an alleged 17 serious safety violations following a fire at the company's pharmaceutical plant, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday.

OSHA says it has proposed $51,800 in fines against the company. The fire occurred during the troubleshooting of an electrical component on a hot-oil heater, the agency said.

In a written statement, Fontarome said it is disputing the violations and the fines, which it said stemmed from an ingredient that the company uses in manufacturing having exceeded a certain limit.

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

PERSON MAKING, EXPLODING HOME-MADE BOMBS SOUGHT IN YUCAIPA
http://www.dailybulletin.com/breakingnews/ci_21741252/breaking-possible-chemical-bomb-investigation-underway-yucaipa
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, bomb

YUCAIPA - The city is being plagued by what authorities believe is a lone person making home-made bombs.
"Several residential properties have had mailboxes and property damage from homemade chemical bombs," said sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman. "There isn't a specific pattern and the homes are scattered throughout Yucaipa."

On Wednesday morning, the sheriff's bomb and arson detail began to look into the latest incident, a possible chemical bomb that exploded last week around Seventh Street and Palm Drive.

The bombs, often containing a chemical cleaner, are placed inside a plastic beverage container with tin foil, which contributes to the chemical reaction, Bachman said.

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

SAFETY ETHICS BLACK AND WHITE? OR SHADES OR GRAY?
http://www.nsc.org/safetyhealth/Pages/10.12Safety-Ethics-Black-and-white-Or-shades-or-gray.aspx#.UHXEpG96vNt
Tags: public, follow-up, response

Safety ethics
Black and white? Or shades of gray?

KEY POINTS
Safety professionals should target their safety pitch to match their organization's ethical climate - or shared perception of right and wrong - some researchers say.
One expert says safety professionals tend to compromise rather than make the most ethical decision because of pressure to put other factors above safety.
Being a change agent may require remaining at an organization that does not value safety.

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


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

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.