From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (7 articles)
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 07:20:36 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 4510BD74-20E6-417C-8F1B-3F3700F9EA3A**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


**At_Symbol_Here**ACSDCHAS and **At_Symbol_Here**LabSustain tweets and Chemical Safety Headlines
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
Tweets available on our ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety (DCHAS) Facebook Page
Tagged Article summaries are available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas


acsdchas CDC - NIOSH eNews - January 2014 - **At_Symbol_Here**CDCgov http://t.co/JrjS6mtYOC

labsustain New disclosure rules target chemicals used in fracking; oil and natural gas producers in Oklahoma must report http://t.co/CCbb8liKpc

acsdchas Bloomburg Opinion: Study Shows Fracking Is Bad for Babies http://t.co/2wlCIiuJ8m http://t.co/d8KIzFFKky

labsustain RT **At_Symbol_Here**guardianscience: The nanotechnology in your toothpaste http://t.co/8PV1nUEi7G

acsdchas RT **At_Symbol_Here**guardianscience: The nanotechnology in your toothpaste http://t.co/vUx2tXHb2l

labsustain PBS: Tales from the Poisoner's Handbook Interactive Activities http://t.co/iWZxnrkfTQ http://t.co/5uSTuoblfN

labsustain DCHAS Using Job Hazard Analysis in the Research Lab:Dallas 15 March 2014; San Francisco 9 August 2014 http://t.co/hebSg6ClUH

acsdchas New disclosure rules target chemicals used in fracking; oil and natural gas producers in Oklahoma must report http://t.co/UHQRDABILn

labsustain DCHAS Reactive Chemical Management for Laboratories & Pilot Plants:Dallas 15 March 2014; San Francisco 9 August 2014 http://t.co/BwGbzMi0C2 19 hours ago reply retweet fwd

Table of Contents (7 articles)

FIVE INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT COLORADO SCHOOL
Tags: us_CO, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL COMPANY WHOSE SPILL SHUT DOWN W.VA. WATER SUPPLY FINDS ITSELF UNDER DEEP SCRUTINY
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental

ONE INJURED IN FIRE AT U.S. PAINT COMPANY
Tags: us_MO, industrial, fire, injury, acetone

EPA: KRATON SOLVENT LEAK SECURED
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, environmental, solvent

EXPLOSION AT VOLTAIX PLANT IN UPPER MOUNT BETHEL TOWNSHIP
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response, gas_cylinders

MYSTERIES PERSIST SURROUNDING WEST VIRGINIA CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental, water_treatment

CHEMICAL FIRE INJURES WORKER NEAR DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS
Tags: us_MO, industrial, fire, injury, acetone


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FIVE INJURED IN CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT COLORADO SCHOOL
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/16338381-five-injured-after-chemical-device-goes-off-at-colorado-school
Tags: us_CO, education, release, injury, unknown_chemical

Four students and one teacher were injured by a chemical device that went off at the Skyview Academy, in Highlands Ranch, Colo., on Tuesday.
Nine others have been reportdly hospitalized for evaluation as a result of the incident, according to authorities. Officials said during an afternoon news conference said that they are investigation whether this was accidental or there was malicious intent.
Although details are unclear at this time, it appears that some kind of device discharged an unknown chemical inside the school. Police and fire officials are still investigating. As this incident was taking place, schools in the Alamosa, Colo., were put on lockout status due to a threat issued on Facebook. The district issued the following statement via its website:

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CHEMICAL COMPANY WHOSE SPILL SHUT DOWN W.VA. WATER SUPPLY FINDS ITSELF UNDER DEEP SCRUTINY
http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/29cfd70942c94248bfb0e0889e55794a/US--Chemical-Spill-Freedom-Industries
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental

CHARLESTON, West Virginia ? When state inspectors showed up unannounced at Freedom Industries to investigate a licorice odor wafting across West Virginia's capital city, company executive Dennis Farrell seemed to brush off any cause for concern.

But inspectors quickly found what was already contaminating the water for some 300,000 people: a chemical oozing from an above-ground tank and escaping through an old, cracked containment wall. A bag of absorbent material had been placed nearby and weighed down with a cinder block in a failed attempt to stop the flow.

"When they approached the tank, (Farrell) said they just discovered a leak," Jesse Adkins, the inspectors' supervisor, said.

The encounter between state officials and Freedom Industries provides a window into the little-known and lightly regulated firm whose spill of a coal-cleaning chemical contaminated the drinking water for West Virginia's capital city. The consequences from the spill ? government investigations and lawsuits ? mark the biggest crisis that Freedom Industries has faced in its nearly 22-year history since one of its founders went to prison on tax charges. The U.S. attorney has pledged to determine who is responsible, and numerous businesses have sued because they were forced to close and lost money until the water was safe again.

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ONE INJURED IN FIRE AT U.S. PAINT COMPANY
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/2014/01/13/us-paint-corporation-st-louis-fire/4467531/
Tags: us_MO, industrial, fire, injury, acetone

ST. LOUIS (KSDK) ? One person was injured during a fire at the U.S. Paint Company at 831 S. 21st Street.

Firefighters say the fire was fueled by an acetone leak. The owner of the business - U.S. Paint Company -- directed firefighters to a shutoff valve for the leak.

The fire was subsequently extinguished. A HazMat team is currently on the scene investigating.

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EPA: KRATON SOLVENT LEAK SECURED
http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/582207/EPA--Kraton-solvent-leak-secured.html
Tags: us_WV, industrial, release, environmental, solvent

BELPRE - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday afternoon that the release of solvents from a leak last week at Kraton Polymers in Belpre has been secured.

A release from the EPA said outfall from the facility is going through carbon filters and there were no detectable levels of contaminants, "assuring no off-site release."

The first leak of diethyl ether and cyclohexane, process solvents used to cool equipment, occurred early Thursday morning, after which 538 dead fish, one blue heron and one seagull were recovered, according to the EPA. There have been no subsequent fish or wildlife kills, the agency said.

Kraton responded with booms to recapture the cyclohexane, and aeration is being used to treat the diethyl ether.

A second leak happened on Friday, but that one was contained within the plant. Both leaks were attributed to recent cold weather.

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EXPLOSION AT VOLTAIX PLANT IN UPPER MOUNT BETHEL TOWNSHIP
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140114/NEWS/140119862
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response, gas_cylinders

No one was injured in an early morning explosion Monday at the Voltaix plant in Upper Mount Bethel Township, authorities say.

According to Northampton County 911, the call came in just before 3 a.m. at the facility at 103 Demi Road.

The explosion happened inside an enclosure used during the filling or analysis of gas cylinders, according to Heather Browne, a spokeswoman for Air Liquide, the company that acquired Voltaix last year.

Browne said there were no injuries, but said there was extensive damage to equipment inside the facility.

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MYSTERIES PERSIST SURROUNDING WEST VIRGINIA CHEMICAL SPILL
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/13/262185930/mysteries-persist-surrounding-west-virginia-chemical-spill
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, environmental, water_treatment

The chemical that was found last week to be contaminating the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of West Virginians is used to clean coal. But very little is known about how toxic it is to people or to the environment when it spills.

The chemical is called 4-methyl-cyclohexane-methanol or MCHM. If you've never heard of it, you're in good company. Most chemists and toxicologists hadn't either ? nor had the water company, nor emergency responders in West Virginia who had to deal with thousands of gallons of it spilling from a tank into the Elk River, just a mile and a half upstream from the intake for the region's drinking water plant.

West Virginia officials say they looked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give them advice about when they could tell people the water was safe to drink again.

"There are unknowns," acknowledges Karen Bowling, West Virginia's secretary of health and human resources. "So we have to rely on what's already known about [it] and what's [been] tested about this particular chemical."

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CHEMICAL FIRE INJURES WORKER NEAR DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/One-worker-injured-in-1st--alarm-chemical-fire-near-downtown-St-Louis-240029651.html
Tags: us_MO, industrial, fire, injury, acetone

(KMOV) ? One worker was injured after a fire broke out at a chemical warehouse near downtown St. Louis on Monday night.
According to fire officials, the fire broke out a little after 8 p.m. at U.S. Paint, a paint manufacturing plant on 21st Street and Papin.
A first-alarm was struck after an Acetone leak sparked the flames. Crews were able to contain the blaze as the company owner worked to locate the chemical shutoff valve.
A worker was transported with injuries but their condition was not immediately known.

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