From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 08:05:20 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 53C0FB8D-0DD7-4799-A66D-BA8E416566C5**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 JChemEd: Using a Deliberative Exercise To Foster Public Engagement in Nanotechnology http://t.co/JzeYAdgXCM http://t.co/FlLdBdcvzj

cornelllabsafe **At_Symbol_Here**jchemhealthsafe The cardinal rule of explosives safety http://t.co/nZ7kBpAKql

labsustain Environmentally friendly, energy-dense sugar battery developed to power the world's gadgets http://t.co/UC2egNB8mL

cornelllabsafe Cornell Comstock Energy Conservation Project Saves $108,000 & 270 tons CO2e Annually http://t.co/oxtIbSZwhN

acsdchas NPR: Undermanned And Limited, Chemical Safety Board Confronts A Crisis http://t.co/N36kJME2LP

acsdchas Descriptive Social Norms as Underappreciated Sources of Social Control http://t.co/BSSCMfMdUL

cornelllabsafe Energy Foundations for High School Chemistry website includes investigations, demos, and links to multimedia. http://t.co/2WL1OBb1dX

cornelllabsafe **At_Symbol_Here**jchemhealthsafe: A research university's rapid response to a fatal chemistry accident: Safety changes and outcomes http://t.co/xhhLsSPLAF


Table of Contents (8 articles)

RESCUERS HIT BY P-LAB TOXIC FALLOUT
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, death, meth_lab

RADIATION FROM WATCHES LEADS TO SAFETY CONCERNS
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, radiation

WORKER KILLED IN ST. MARYS EXPLOSION IDENTIFIED
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

TESORO REFINERY FIRE CAUSED BY WEAKENED STEEL TUBING
Tags: industrial, follow-up, death, hydrogen

NPR STORY: UNDERMANNED AND LIMITED, CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CONFRONTS A CRISIS
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental

ROOF COLLAPSE SPARKS FIRE AT FIBERGLASS FACTORY
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, response

EXPLOSION LEVELS STEEL PLANT BUILDING; NO INJURIES
Tags: us_PA, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

PAPER MILL FIRE LEAVES ONE MAN INJURED
Tags: us_FL, industrial, explosion, injury, propane


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RESCUERS HIT BY P-LAB TOXIC FALLOUT
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11196966
Tags: New_Zealand, public, explosion, death, meth_lab

Four people who went to the aid of two men severely burned in a suspected P-lab explosion in Northland have reported sore throats, exhaustion and breathing difficulties - symptoms believed to be associated with exposure to the toxic chemicals.

The good Samaritans are on the mend, but a medical expert is urging them to seek an all-clear diagnosis from a doctor.

One of the burned men, 49-year-old Arthur Bruce Cornelius - who had been injured in previous P-lab explosions at Kaitaia and Kerikeri - died about 17 hours after the blast at Pakotai, 50km north-west of Whangarei, last Wednesday.

A 26-year-old Northland man who was with Mr Cornelius in the Pakotai shed blown apart by the explosion is being treated in the National Burn Centre at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

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RADIATION FROM WATCHES LEADS TO SAFETY CONCERNS
http://ns.gmnews.com/news/2014-02-06/Front_Page/Radiation_from_watches_leads_to_safety_concerns.html
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, response, radiation

Radioactive emissions were found at a North Brunswick storage facility where antique watches were stored during a routine patrol by police officers last week.

The county and state Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) units confirmed the presence of radium-226 isotopes at a single storage unit on Carolier Lane on Feb. 1, according to police.

An investigation revealed that the storage unit contained numerous antique watches that had dials painted with radioluminescent paint, which contained radium and allowed them to glow in the dark.

The North Brunswick Police Department, the New Jersey State Police and the FBI determined there was no connection to terrorism.

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WORKER KILLED IN ST. MARYS EXPLOSION IDENTIFIED
http://www.wjactv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/worker-killed-st-marys-explosion-identified-1564.shtml
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

ST. MARYS, Pa. -- Officials in Elk County have released the identity of an employee killed in an explosion at a manufacturing facility last week.

Elk County Coroner Michelle Muccio and Mersen USA officials said the victim was 52-year-old Arwed Ralf Uecker. Officials said he was a worker visiting the plant.

Mersen officials said Uecker worked for the company for 28 years and was global director of research and development for Mersen USA Bn Group, based in Boonton, N.J.

Uecker was killed Thursday when an oven exploded at the facility on Trout Run Road in St. Marys. Two other employees were injured in the blast. One was released from an area hospital the day of the accident and the second, Neil Carter, remains hospitalized in stable condition.

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TESORO REFINERY FIRE CAUSED BY WEAKENED STEEL TUBING
http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2014/02/tesoro-refinery-fire-caused-by-weakened-steel-tubing/
Tags: industrial, follow-up, death, hydrogen

Last week, the U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board released its draft report about a 2010 fire at a Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Wash., that killed seven workers. The fire occurred when a naphtha heat exchanger ruptured, the report says. The cause of the rupture was high temperature hydrogen attack, which occurs when hydrogen atoms diffuse into carbon steel and react with the carbon to form methane. The methane accumulates in the steel and causes stress and fissures. CSB found that curves established by the American Petroleum Institute to predict high temperature hydrogen attack are inaccurate. ?CSB has learned of at least eight recent refinery incidents where HTHA reportedly occurred below the carbon steel Nelson curve,? the report says.

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NPR STORY: UNDERMANNED AND LIMITED, CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD CONFRONTS A CRISIS
http://www.npr.org/2014/02/03/271128027/undermanned-and-limited-chemical-safety-board-confronts-a-crisis
Tags: public, follow-up, environmental

The lead federal agency investigating the West Virginia chemical leak is one that most Americans have probably never heard of. The Chemical Safety Board is an independent body, modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates plane crashes and the like. But critics say that the Chemical Safety Board is understaffed, underfunded and takes too long to finish its investigations, and that its non-binding recommendations are often ignored anyway.

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ROOF COLLAPSE SPARKS FIRE AT FIBERGLASS FACTORY
http://www.rvbusiness.com/2014/02/roof-collapse-sparks-fire-at-fiberglass-factory-2/
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, response

An Elkhart, Ind., fiberglass factory went up in flames Sunday (Feb. 2), prompting evacuations of nearby homes and concerns of possible toxins being released into the air.
The Associated Press reported that the fire at the Lami Plast plant, which supplies the recreational vehicle industry, produced thick black smoke visible for miles.
?We have agencies from the Indiana Department of Emergency Management that are driving around now taking air samples,? Assistant Fire Chief Jo Johnston of the Osolo Township Fire Department said.
?We did evacuate the people on the south side of the building as a precaution. There is nothing that we know of that is stand-alone toxic. Obviously, nobody wants to breathe any of this and nobody should breathe any of it,? Johnson said.
Firefighters went to the factory late Saturday because its metal roof collapsed under the weight of snow near a gas meter, Johnston said. There was no sign of a fire then or problems with the gas, the chief said.
However, a passer-by reported flames shooting into the sky about 2 a.m. Sunday.
?The vast majority of the building was involved upon our arrival,? Johnston said.

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EXPLOSION LEVELS STEEL PLANT BUILDING; NO INJURIES
http://www.wtrf.com/story/24616916/explosion-levels-steel-plant-building-no-injuries
Tags: us_PA, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

STEELTON, Pa. (AP) - A gas explosion has leveled a building on the grounds of a central Pennsylvania steel plant.

Steelton Mayor Thomas Acri tells Pennlive.com (http://bit.ly/1kzSEwn">http://bit.ly/1kzSEwn ) that no one was hurt in the blast and subsequent fire at the ArcelorMittal plant Sunday afternoon.

No one was inside the building when it exploded around 1 p.m. The cause of the gas leak remains under investigation.

The fire brought more than 90 first responders to the grounds. Officials from UGI Utilities were there to investigate and help firefighters.

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PAPER MILL FIRE LEAVES ONE MAN INJURED
http://www.wmbb.com/story/24610825/paper-mill-fire-leaves-on-man-injured
Tags: us_FL, industrial, explosion, injury, propane

A propane tank caught fire at the RockTenn paper mill in Springfield, Saturday leaving one man injured.

The fire broke out just before 1:30 near the East Avenue entrance to the mill.

Lieutenant Bryan Hughes of the Springfield Fire Department says a man was attempting to fill a forklift with propane, when the tank's hose ruptured and caused an explosion.

Hughes says when firefighters arrived on scene they found the forklift, A 1,000 gallon propane tank, and the shed surrounding it on fire.

Flames reportedly shot 50-to-75 feet into the air.

Hughes says crews from Springfield, Bay County and Callaway were able to keep the tank's temperature down and prevent another explosion by spraying water on the tank and allowing the propane to burn itself out.

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