From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 08:08:49 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 9CD9B0A2-A69E-4DAC-87BF-60F3E8A9EA25**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Alert readers may have noticed a decrease in incident reports and an increase in follow up reports since July 1. Google ended its Reader service July 1 and I'm still looking for a source of news that is as comprehensive as Reader was. However, there are a lot interesting news stories not directly related to a specific event that I am including in the summary.

- Ralph

Chemical Safety Headlines
Friday, July 12, 2013 8:06:55 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 (8 articles)

HAZMAT INVESTIGATION FOR MEDICAL WASTE FOUND IN ROSSLYN
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, illegal, waste

HAZMAT INCIDENT IN DOWNTOWN KCMO
Tags: us_MO, public, release, response, chlorine

HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN SANTA FE SPRINGS
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, irritant

OFFICIAL: FLAWED TANKERS IN FATAL TRAIN DERAILMENT
Tags: Canada, transportation, follow-up, death

SKY NEWS: THREE IN HOSPITAL AFTER MAJOR FUEL SPILL
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, petroleum

BEHAVIOR OF ENGINEERED NANOPARTICLES IN LANDFILL LEACHATE
Tags: public, discovery, response

FIVE REMAIN HOSPITALIZED AFTER ANTERO GAS BLAST
Tags: us_WV, industrial, explosion, injury, natural_gas

14 HOSPITALIZED AFTER BATTERY LEAK IN RIDGEFIELD
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, batteries, sulfuric_acid


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HAZMAT INVESTIGATION FOR MEDICAL WASTE FOUND IN ROSSLYN
http://www.arlnow.com/2013/07/11/hazmat-investigation-for-medical-waste-found-in-rosslyn/
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, illegal, waste

Authorities are trying to figure out why a box of old medical waste was left outside a hotel in Rosslyn this afternoon.
Police were first called around 3:00 p.m. to investigate a suspicious package, found next to a trash can outside Le Me´ridien hotel at 1121 19th Street N. Upon looking through the contents of the worn cardboard box, police discovered what was reported to be human waste.
Firefighters were then dispatched to the scene to conduct a hazardous materials investigation. They discovered sealed medical waste with labels indicating it was from 1985, according to Battalion Chief Daniel Fitch. Among the contents were blood and various needles.
?There was no leakage, no threatening note,? he said. ?I guess whoever dropped it off wanted it to be someone else?s problem.?
A duty fire marshal is remaining on scene to ensure that the waste is disposed of by a qualified contractor. So far, there?s no word of any suspects or criminal charges related to the incident.

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

HAZMAT INCIDENT IN DOWNTOWN KCMO
http://www.kshb.com/dpp/traffic/police-called-to-possible-hazmat-incident-in-downtown-kcmo
Tags: us_MO, public, release, response, chlorine

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Police were called to a report of a hazmat incident at 712 Broadway in downtown Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday evening.

Authorities say a contractor working to install Google Fiber lines hit an underground chlorine storage unit to a hot tub where chlorine and other chemicals are stored.

A Google Fiber spokeswoman said contractors working on a sidewalk adjacent to a building caused a portion of the sidewalk to break apart, falling on top of pool cleaning supplies in a basement room of the building, which caused the leak.

The building was evacuated and officers shut down Broadway from 6th St. to 9th St.

Kansas City Fire Department crews removed four to five buckets of chlorine and fans were brought in to air out the building.

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

HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHEMICAL SPILL IN SANTA FE SPRINGS
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/07/11/hazmat-crews-respond-to-chemical-spill-in-santa-fe-springs/
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, irritant

SANTA FE SPRINGS (CBSLA.com) ? HazMat crews Thursday investigated a chemical spill in Santa Fe Springs.

Fire officials were called to a trucking company in the 12000 block of Clark Street at 6:50 a.m., officials said.

A chemical spill inside a truck at a loading dock caused an irritant, which dissipates as it moves, to be released into the air, officials said.

The chemical can affect eyes, but was not considered deadly, according to authorities.

Local residents were asked to stay indoors, and businesses volunteered to keep employees inside while fire officials and HazMat crews worked on the situation.

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

OFFICIAL: FLAWED TANKERS IN FATAL TRAIN DERAILMENT
http://www.chem.info/news/2013/07/official-flawed-tankers-fatal-train-derailment#.Ud_tXtIce5L
Tags: Canada, transportation, follow-up, death

TORONTO (AP) ? The lead Transportation Safety Board investigator says the rail tankers involved in a derailment and explosions that wiped out the heart of a small town in Quebec have a history of puncturing during accidents.

TSB investigator Donald Ross told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Monday that the train that derailed in Lac-Megantic early Saturday killing at least 13 people had the DOT-111 tanker cars.

Ross says the Canada's TSB has gone on record that it would like to see improvements on these tankers. He says it's too early to say whether a different or modified tanker would have avoided this weekend's tragedy.

The DOT-111 is a staple of the American freight rail fleet. But its flaws have been noted as far back as a 1991 safety study.

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

SKY NEWS: THREE IN HOSPITAL AFTER MAJOR FUEL SPILL
http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=887254&vId=4052566
Tags: Australia, transportation, release, injury, petroleum

Three people are in hospital, including a firefighter, after 130,000 litres of fuel gushed from a tank at a Caltex terminal in Sydney.

Two Caltex workers were doused with fuel during routine maintenance on a valve about 1.30am (AEST) on Friday at the fuel terminal at Banksmeadow, in Sydney's south.

The pair was forced to flee the area before firefighters stepped in and turned off the valve, a NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman told AAP.

The fuel spill also injured a firefighter who was overcome with fumes. All three people were taken to hospital.

A major fire and environmental disaster were avoided since the fuel spilled into a 50m x 25m contained area next to the tank.

Hazmat crews applied a blanket of foam to the fuel and a 500m exclusion zone has been established until Caltex workers devise a plan to pump the fuel back into the tank.

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

BEHAVIOR OF ENGINEERED NANOPARTICLES IN LANDFILL LEACHATE
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es305175e
Tags: public, discovery, response

This research sought to understand the behavior of engineered nanoparticles in landfill leachate by examining the interactions between nanoparticles and leachate components. The primary foci of this paper are the effects of ZnO, TiO2, and Ag nanoparticles on biological landfill processes and the form of Zn, Ti, and Ag in leachate following the addition of nanoparticles. Insight into the behavior of nanoparticles in landfill leachate was gained from the observed increase in the aqueous concentrations over background for Zn, Ti, and Ag in some tested leachates attributed to leachate components interacting with the nanoparticle coatings resulting in dispersion, dissolution/dissociation, and/or agglomeration. Coated nanoparticles did not affect biological processes when added to leachate; five-day biochemical oxygen demand and biochemical methane potential results were not statistically different when exposed to nanoparticles, presumably due to the low concentration of dissolved!
free ionic forms of the associated metals resulting from the interaction with leachate components. Chemical speciation modeling predicted that dissolved Zn in leachate was primarily associated with dissolved organic matter, Ti with hydroxide, and Ag with hydrogen sulfide and ammonia; less than 1% of dissolved Zn and Ag was in the free ionic form, and free ionic Ti and Ag concentrations were negligible.

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

FIVE REMAIN HOSPITALIZED AFTER ANTERO GAS BLAST
http://www.sundaygazettemail.com/News/201307080055
Tags: us_WV, industrial, explosion, injury, natural_gas

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- At least five workers remained hospitalized in a Pittsburgh burn center Monday following an explosion over the weekend at an Antero Resources natural gas well in Doddridge County.

Federal and state authorities, along with two firms hired by Antero, have begun investigations into what caused the blast, which occurred at about 4 a.m. Sunday at the Hinterer 1H well near New Milton.

The incident occurred near the end of the process of drilling and completing the well -- prior to commercial natural gas production -- when water and chemicals used in the process were coming back to the surface, a company official said.

"We assume it was a gas explosion, but we don't know if it came from the well or the flowback," said Al Schopp, spokesman for Denver-based Antero.

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

14 HOSPITALIZED AFTER BATTERY LEAK IN RIDGEFIELD
http://www.kptv.com/story/22783409/14-hospitalized-after-battery-leak-in-ridgefield
Tags: us_WA, industrial, release, injury, batteries, sulfuric_acid

RIDGEFIELD, WA (KPTV) -
Fourteen people were taken to area hospitals after a battery leak at a warehouse in Ridgefield on Monday.

Fire officials said no one was seriously hurt at Northwest Foods, located on 56h Street, but the victims complained of symptoms such as sore throat and nausea.

The leaking, industrial-sized battery belonged to a forklift. It began to melt and emit sulfuric acid Monday morning. The melting happened as the battery was being charged.

Firefighters cleared the scene by 9 a.m

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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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