From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (5 articles)
Date: December 21, 2012 7:45:32 AM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <6E84A0C1-9381-4680-9C38-C964D29A13E7**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>

Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, December 21, 2012 7:45:08 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 (5 articles)

SHREWSBURY BUILDING EVACUATED IN HAZMAT SCARE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, ammonia, chlorine, cleaners

BRAMPTON HAZMAT, FIRE CREWS BATTLE AEROSOL WAREHOUSE BLAZE
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, ethanol

FIREFIGHTERS ANGRY OVER HAZMAT EXPOSURE
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

PEPPER SPRAY LEAK CAUSES HAZMAT SCARE AT OAKLAND POST OFFICE
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pepper_spray

MFD: EXPLOSION OCCURS AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN SOUTHEAST MIDLAND LATE TUESDAY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical


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SHREWSBURY BUILDING EVACUATED IN HAZMAT SCARE
http://shrewsbury.net/?p=19653
Tags: us_MA, public, release, response, ammonia, chlorine, cleaners

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts - Shrewsbury Firefighters responded today to a hazardous materials call at 1:23 PM at 60A Shrewsbury Green Drive. The resident had inadvertantly mixed two common household bathroom cleaners together, one containing a chlorine base, and the other ammonia. Those of you with a chemistry backround will understand that these are two things that you just never, ever mix, as they generate deadly chlorine gas. Having applied both of these cleaners and closed the bathroom door, the resident saw a cloud of vapor coming out from under the door and immediately called emergency services.
Shrewsbury is fortunate to have Hazmat specialist Bob Ljunggren on staff, who is not only trained to handle such emergencies, but is also a State Fire Academy Hazardous Materials Instructor, and along with one of our other Hazmat technicians Aaron Roy and the rest of the team, responded to the scene and proceded to use high speed fans to pressurize the building, and evacuate all residents. Fortunately there were no serious injuries, and the residents were allowed to return to their units aat 3:10PM.

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BRAMPTON HAZMAT, FIRE CREWS BATTLE AEROSOL WAREHOUSE BLAZE
http://www.hazmatmag.com/news/brampton-hazmat-fire-crews-battle-aerosol-warehouse-blaze/1001948650/
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, ethanol

A chemical storage warehouse in Brampton went up in flames Monday as firefighters and HazMat teams worked through the night to control a blaze of aerosol and gel products, including hair mousse, shoe cleaner and insect repellent.

Brampton Fire crews responded to Empack Spraytech Inc., near Airport Rd. and Hwy. 407, around 1:30 p.m. on December 17, 2012.

According to Brampton Fire Department officials, surrounding businesses were evacuated to avoid exposure to ethanol and heptane.

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FIREFIGHTERS ANGRY OVER HAZMAT EXPOSURE
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/20387341/firefighters-angry-over-hazmat-exposure
Tags: us_NJ, transportation, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, N.J. -
Members of a hazmat crew that responded to last month's train derailment and chemical spill in South Jersey abruptly resigned from their county's hazmat team this week. The firefighters say they were put in danger unnecessarily and they blame Gloucester County.

Top officials with Washington Township Fire Department are angry-- they say the county did not protect their guys the way they should have. Some of their first responders are especially concerned, because their urine tested for high levels of the chemical that spilled in Paulsboro.

First responders are the men and women who run toward a disaster, while everyone else runs away. November 30th was no different, when a train carrying a chemical called vinyl chloride spilled some of its contents. But when the hazmat crews from Washington Township arrived on scene, they say they didn't have the equipment they needed. "It was unnecessarily putting people in harm's way," Sam Micklus, the chairman of the Washington Township Board of Fire Commissioners told Fox 29. "Firefighters get in harm's way but you mitigate all those risks by taking precautions ahead of time," Micklus insisted. "It's kind of like asking a police SWAT team to go hunt down an active shooter somewhere, and they get to their SWAT vehicle and they find out there's no bullets in their weapons," Chief John Hoffman of the Washington Township Fire Department added.

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PEPPER SPRAY LEAK CAUSES HAZMAT SCARE AT OAKLAND POST OFFICE
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/pepper-spray-leak-causes-hazmat-scare-oakland-post/nTbDz/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, pepper_spray

OAKLAND, Calif. Ñ A puddle of pepper spray from a broken canister caused a hazardous materials scare at a post office in Oakland's Laurel District Wednesday morning after eight postal workers had bad reactions to the chemical.
Dispatchers received reports of a hazardous material at the post office 3630 High Street, near MacArthur Blvd around 10 a.m. after two employees began complaining of eye irritation and coughing from a puddle of mysterious liquid in the office workroom.
The post office was subsequently shut down during the investigation, Postal Service spokesman Augustine Ruiz said.
In all, eight postal employees were quarantined inside the building after six other employees walked through the workroom, according to Ruiz.

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MFD: EXPLOSION OCCURS AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN SOUTHEAST MIDLAND LATE TUESDAY
http://www.mywesttexas.com/top_stories/article_6395889e-49ee-11e2-b6ff-001a4bcf887a.html
Tags: us_TX, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

An explosion occurred late Tuesday night at Omega Treating Chemicals in southeast Midland, destroying at least one truck and two boats.
The Midland Fire Department and Midland Police officers responded to the explosion at around 10:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of King Street near the Garden City Highway. There were 11 units fire units on the scene and 24 firefighters working to put out the fire, said MFD Battalion Chief Brian McGary.
There were long plumes of black smoke that filled the night sky, while firefighters worked to put out the flames, which took around 20 to 30 minutes.
The cause of the explosion and fire is unknown said, McGary said.

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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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