From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 09:16:12 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: D99C0C14-61EF-4000-AD6C-9AA27B47EF1A**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


**At_Symbol_Here**ACSDCHAS and **At_Symbol_Here**LabSustain tweets and Chemical Safety Headlines
Links to the headlines below can be found at the http://www.dchas.org/newsflash

acsdchas Nat Acad of Sci: Limited Affordable Low-Volume Manufacturing:Summary of a Workshop (2014)

acsdchas Sharp disagreement over effects of North Carolina coal ash spill -

acsdchas JChemEd: uRespond: iPad as Interactive, Personal Response System


Table of Contents (12 articles)

OSHA, INDUSTRY TEAM UP ON CHEMICAL SAFETY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, ammonium_nitrate

HOME
Tags: Tanzania, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO AKRON GAS STATION BECAUSE HUNDREDS OF GALLONS OF GAS SEEPED ONTO GROUND
Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, gasoline

TRUCK ACCIDENT SPREADS ETHANOL, FEARS
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, ethanol

US GOVERNMENT BLOG: LARGE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE LOSING POWER; WATCH FOR CO
Tags: public, release, response, carbon_monoxide

ACID LEAK FORCES MEDICAL AIRLIFT OF 2 MARTINEZ REFINERY WORKERS
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical, acids

EXPLOSION LIGHTS UP SKY NEAR TIOGA; NO INJURIES REPORTED
Tags: us_ND, transportation, explosion, response, natural_gas

WORKER STILL MISSING AFTER SOUTHWESTERN PA. GAS WELL EXPLOSION ? NEWSWORKS
Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response, natural_gas

WORK: THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT'S HAZARDOUS WASTE TECHNICIANS
Tags: us_VT, laboratory, discovery, environmental, wastes

CAUSE OF INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION IN PETERBOROUGH, NH DETERMINED
Tags: us_NH, industrial, follow-up, injury, nitric_acid

CHEMICAL SPILL ?UNDER CONTROL? AT GAGE PRODUCTS IN FERNDALE
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ethanol

US CHEMICAL ARMS SHIP ARRIVES IN SPAIN
Tags: Spain, other, discovery, environmental, other_chemical


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OSHA, INDUSTRY TEAM UP ON CHEMICAL SAFETY

Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, ammonium_nitrate

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute are reaching out to more than 7,000 agricultural retailers, distributers, producers and other facilities in the fertilizer industry to encourage safe storing and handling of ammonium nitrate.

This effort follows the April 2013 ammonium nitrate explosion in West, Texas that killed 15 including 12 emergency response personnel.

The owners of West Fertilizer were cited with 24 serious safety violations for exposing workers to fire/explosion hazards of ammonium nitrate and chemical burn and inhalation hazards from anhydrous ammonia storage.

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HOME

Tags: Tanzania, industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

Only 300 of some 1000 buyers of large chemical consignments in Tanzania are known and registered with the Government Chemist Laboratory Agency (GCLA ) and only 48 registered distributers in Dar es Salaam.

As such, GCLA is calling on companies, organisations and persons who use large chemical batches to register with the authority.

GCLA has also announced plans to start working with local governments and entrepreneur groups to tackle the challenges of chemical management in the country.
The process will involve provision of education and awareness creation on how to use different types of chemicals. The targeted group under Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs (SMEs) are those engaging in soap and batik production.

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HAZMAT CREWS CALLED TO AKRON GAS STATION BECAUSE HUNDREDS OF GALLONS OF GAS SEEPED ONTO GROUND

Tags: us_OH, public, release, response, gasoline

AKRON, Ohio - Akron firefighters were called to a strange situation at a gas station on Friday morning.

When they arrived just after midnight, they found an abandoned car with a flowing gas pump put into the tank,

It happened at the Sunoco on East Archwood and Inman Street.

According to firefighters, the gas pump had no safety, so gas was flowing out of the tank, leading to 207 gallons of gas flowing onto the ground.

Hazmat crews were called to the scene and quickly began to lay down absorbents.

Firefighters said the gas was absorbed, put into containers, and will be disposed of appropriately.

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TRUCK ACCIDENT SPREADS ETHANOL, FEARS

Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, ethanol

A crash involving a chemical-loaded tractor trailer alarmed residents and stopped traffic. Accident lawyer Herb Auger of Auger Law says that even though the chemicals turned out not to be deadly, they highlight the increased risk of accidents involving tanker trucks.

The crash involved a tanker hauling ethanol according to WCNC News (retrieved 01.14.2014). When the semi crashed, first responders detected a leak of the substance and HazMat was notified.

?The consequences tend to be worse whenever a big truck is involved,? said Auger, whose firm helps accident victims who have been injured. ?A tractor trailer is quite possible the most dangerous vehicle on the road. But once there are chemicals on board, it can affect an entire community.?

Ethanol is an industrial version of alcohol which can be used as a solvent or for fuel. While not the most toxic chemical on the roads, Auger says it can cause substantial harm in large enough quantities.

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US GOVERNMENT BLOG: LARGE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE LOSING POWER; WATCH FOR CO

Tags: public, release, response, carbon_monoxide

Large parts of the country are experiencing power outages as a result of winter weather storms. If you?re using a portable back-up generator, make sure you run it outside to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
To make sure you?re operating your generator safely:
Use it outside the house or garage
Keep it at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and vents
Use a battery operated CO detector outside bedrooms.
Never ignored a beeping CO detector. Go outside and call 911 if the alarm sounds.

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ACID LEAK FORCES MEDICAL AIRLIFT OF 2 MARTINEZ REFINERY WORKERS

Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical, acids

MARTINEZ (CBS SF) ? Two workers at the Tesoro Refinery in Martinez were airlifted to the hospital early Wednesday morning after an industrial accident.
The employees were taking a sample when they were exposed to acid about 2:30 a.m.
They are expected make a full recovery.
The leak was quickly contained and the refinery resumed normal operation.

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EXPLOSION LIGHTS UP SKY NEAR TIOGA; NO INJURIES REPORTED

Tags: us_ND, transportation, explosion, response, natural_gas

TIOGA, N.D. ? A natural gas pipeline that ruptured south of Tioga caused an explosion and fire that lit up the sky Monday evening but no injuries were reported.

When the Tioga Fire Department received a report of the explosion sometime after 8:30 p.m. Monday, the orange glow south of town was visible for miles.

?We knew we had a pretty big incident going on at that time,? said Randall Pederson, a member of the volunteer department who served as the incident commander.

In a brief statement issued Tuesday, Hiland Partners said a natural gas pipeline ruptured and caused the fire about six miles south of Tioga in northwest North Dakota.

The pipeline that ruptured was an above-ground natural gas gathering line and the fire was contained to property owned by Hiland Partners, according to the North Dakota Department of Health and the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

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WORKER STILL MISSING AFTER SOUTHWESTERN PA. GAS WELL EXPLOSION ? NEWSWORKS

Tags: us_PA, industrial, explosion, response, natural_gas

A worker is still unaccounted for after a natural gas well explosion in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The incident happened around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday morning at Chevron's Lanco 7H well site in Dunkard Township, Greene County? about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. The fire continued to burn late Wednesday afternoon. The cause of the explosion remains unknown.

State Rep. Pam Synder (D- Fayette) says state police are treating the site as crime scene, however a death has not been confirmed, and a body has not been found.

She says a Houston, Texas based company called Wild Well Control, which specializes in these types of incidents, is on the scene.

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WORK: THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT'S HAZARDOUS WASTE TECHNICIANS

Tags: us_VT, laboratory, discovery, environmental, wastes

Many windows and a friendly staff give the nondescript facility of University of Vermont Environmental Health and Safety a cheery feeling. You'd never guess the place often contains barrels of nasty toxic ooze. A branch of the Department of Risk Management & Safety, this is headquarters for the university's fire marshal, environmental safety coordinators, occupational safety programs and hazardous waste disposal facilities. It started operations in 1994.

UVM produces some 40,000 pounds of hazardous waste every year: from the chemistry department, medical school and horticulture research center; from the cast-off cellphone batteries of thousands of students; from 15,000 mercury-laden fluorescent light bulbs; from paints and solvents.

At EHS, all of this is categorized, treated and processed according to federal standards established in 1986. One long corridor in the building opens onto nine secure "cells," each of which temporarily holds up to 1100 gallons of a hazardous material. Each has a sprinkler system, dedicated sump and high-volume air exchanger.

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CAUSE OF INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION IN PETERBOROUGH, NH DETERMINED

Tags: us_NH, industrial, follow-up, injury, nitric_acid

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A chemical reaction caused the explosion at New Hampshire Ball Bearings on Monday afternoon, the New Hampshire Fire Marshal said Wednesday.

The explosion, which injured more than a dozen people and inured two people critically, was caused by a nitric acid reaction. Nitric acid is an oxidizing agent commonly used in industrial processes, according to the state fire marshal.

Late Tuesday evening, officials turned the plant, at 175 Jaffrey Rd. in Peterborough, N.H. back to management so that they could begin clean-up and remediation efforts.

The fire marshal's office said it would be weeks until a full report of the exact origin and cause of the explosion would be released.

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CHEMICAL SPILL ?UNDER CONTROL? AT GAGE PRODUCTS IN FERNDALE

Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, ethanol

FERNDALE ? Extremely cold temperatures helped the Ferndale Fire Department in their efforts to contain a chemical spill at Gage Products, 625 Wanda, at around 10 p.m. Tuesday night.

Fire Chief Kevin Sullivan said that 390 gallons of ethanol from a 500 gallon tote were spilled on the property and into the sewer. This also caused steam to billow into the air. A Gage crew placed ?pigs,? a tubular absorbent device, to prevent any further drainage.

?An emergency cleanup crew has been dispatched to clean catch basins and sewer,? Sullivan said. ?Everything is under control at this time. I have notified Michigan DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) and other parties required by law.

?This is the first time the extreme temperatures are working for us. It?s approximately 70 percent ethanol and the balance gasoline. There was no danger to the public at any time. The biggest concern would be ignition. That?s where extreme cold is very helpful, no one is out, so accidental ignition is barely a factor.?

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US CHEMICAL ARMS SHIP ARRIVES IN SPAIN

Tags: Spain, other, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

ROTA, Spain (AP) ? The American ship MV Cape Ray arrived Thursday at the Spanish naval base of Rota for crew rest and refueling ahead of an unprecedented mission to collect and destroy highly toxic substances that form part of Syria?s chemical weapons program.

The ship, which left Portsmouth, Virginia Jan. 27, will leave Rota when Syria has completed removal of its chemical materials and proceed to the transloading port in Italy, Defense Department spokesman Col. Steve Warren said in a statement.

Here are some questions and answers about the Cape Ray and its mission:

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