From: Secretary ACS DCHAS <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 08:15:11 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 1E2A95A6-D9DC-4420-8DF2-F98BC889842D**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

Table of Contents (8 articles)

NO ACTION TAKEN IN CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE, AREA STILL POLLUTED
Tags: Viet_Nam, industrial, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical

HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL LISTS NO LONGER PUBLIC RECORD IN TEXAS
Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate

CHEMICAL LEAK IN CANADA SPARKS A FIRST NATIONS BLOCKADE
Tags: Canada, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

NEIGHBOR, FUNERAL DIRECTOR TALK ABOUT CHEMICAL THAT SPILLED IN ROANOKE CO. CRASH
Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, formaldehyde

MAN IN HAZMAT SUIT POURS ACID ON BOULDER ATM, RETURNS LATER TO TRY TO GET CASH
Tags: us_CO, education, release, response, unknown_chemical, illegal

BUFFALO STILL STRUGGLING WITH HAZMAT MANAGEMENT
Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, flammables, mercury, paints, solvent, used_oil

CHEMICALS STASH IN HARWICH PROMPTS MAJOR RESPONSE
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive

CRIME BRIEF: FIRE REPORTED AT SCOTT LABORATORY
Tags: us_OH, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical


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

NO ACTION TAKEN IN CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE FIRE, AREA STILL POLLUTED

Tags: Viet_Nam, industrial, fire, environmental, unknown_chemical

Local residents in Binh Chanh District in HCM City have are concerned about the consequences of the fire at Tan Hung Thai Company Ltd storage site in Le Minh Xuan Industrial Zone.
The fire occurred in mid-April, but only on June 5 did the HCM City Department of Natural Resources and the Environment meet to discuss the solutions to settle the problem.
Local authorities issued orders to set up embankments with a total length of 600 meters to prevent the chemicals from pouring into Canal No 6.
However, the danger still exists: the embankments may collapse if it rains heavily.
According to Cao Tung Son, deputy head of the district?s environment sub-department, the water samples taken lately showed that pollution of the Canal No 6 has lessened.

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

HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL LISTS NO LONGER PUBLIC RECORD IN TEXAS

Tags: us_TX, public, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, ammonium_nitrate

DALLAS -- For the past 30 years, federal law has required chemical makers and handlers to disclose what's stored on premises. It's called the Community Right To Know Act, and it has been at the core of the safety conversation since last year's deadly fertilizer explosion in West, Texas.

But News 8 has learned that in the past few weeks, state health officials have stopped making those hazardous chemical records public.

On May 29, emergency responders in Athens, Texas, were faced with a potential disaster. An old storage building filled with explosive ammonium nitrate near the center of town was on fire. According to the Community Right To Know Act, the chemical contents of that building had to be publicly disclosed through what's called a Tier II report.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ?states and communities [...] can use the Tier II information to improve chemical safety and protect public health and the environment." In Texas, Tier II reports are kept on file at the Department of State Health Services and according to its web site, those reports are public information. All citizens "may ask for" them by simply filling out a request.

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

CHEMICAL LEAK IN CANADA SPARKS A FIRST NATIONS BLOCKADE

Tags: Canada, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

On Tuesday morning, staff at the Northern Pulp-owned Abercrombie Point pulp and paper mill in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, observed that a pipe carrying raw effluent to its final destination of the Boat Harbor Treatment Facility had sprung a leak and was spewing its contents into the adjacent waters of Pictou Harbor.

Northern Pulp spokesperson Dave MacKenzie could not verify how many hours the leak had been going on for, nor if the pipe itself had been absolutely severed ? and was thus spewing its total contents into the harbor.

The official mill stance is that the leak was discovered at about 7AM and the shutdown process: ?began immediately and took a couple of hours.?

Pictou Landing First Nation resident Jonathan Beadle, however, suspects that the leak had gone undetected through the previous night ? and that the pipe itself was completely ruptured at the leak point.

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

NEIGHBOR, FUNERAL DIRECTOR TALK ABOUT CHEMICAL THAT SPILLED IN ROANOKE CO. CRASH

Tags: us_VA, transportation, release, response, formaldehyde

ROANOKE CO., Va. -
We are learning more about a potentially hazardous chemical that spilled onto the property of nearly twenty families in Roanoke County.

A truck carrying thousands of gallons of a formaldehyde solution overturned Wednesday morning on Jae Valley Road, forcing those people to evacuate.

Contractors with the Department of Environmental Quality are checking to make sure everything is OK. That includes soil, water and air samples.

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

MAN IN HAZMAT SUIT POURS ACID ON BOULDER ATM, RETURNS LATER TO TRY TO GET CASH

Tags: us_CO, education, release, response, unknown_chemical, illegal

BOULDER, Colo. - A man in full hazmat gear poured some kind of acid on an ATM in Boulder and returned later to try to get the cash.

He was caught on camera May 29 at 2:30 a.m. at the Center for Community on campus, according to the University of Colorado Police Department.

The man was first caught on tape wearing a plastic suit, gloves and a protective helmet.

He returned later in street clothes and poured the contents of two water bottles on the machine. He checked the machine again in the morning but could not remove any cash.

"I am concerned what the suspect would have done to anyone who surprised him during his attempt to break into the ATM," said Detective Sgt. Michael Lowry. "The suspect caused significant damage to the ATM and we are hopeful the public will assist us in identifying him."

The machine was damaged beyond repair and the replacement cost is estimated at $50,000, investigators said.

If arrested, the suspect would face felony charges of Criminal Mischief and Attempted Burglary.

Anyone using an ATM should always be aware of their surroundings. If you see anything suspicious, leave the area and report the incident to the local police.

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

BUFFALO STILL STRUGGLING WITH HAZMAT MANAGEMENT

Tags: us_NY, public, follow-up, environmental, flammables, mercury, paints, solvent, used_oil

Following a 2011 hazardous materials agreement between the City of Buffalo and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the city?s handling of dangerous goods has not improved as much as residents had hoped.

City Hall is now facing more than $100,000 in fines after the mishandling and improper storage of spent lamps that could leak mercury, as well as old paint, used oil and cleaning fluids that could ignite if exposed to flame.

A report from Buffalo?s Investigative Post states that the city?s problems came to the attention of the EPA in 2008. After the 2011 agreement assured the city had matters under control, it was just five months later that EPA officials discovered more problems, including nearly a ton of ignitable paints, thinners and solvents stored in hundreds of containers, many corroded and leaking, at the city?s mechanical services building at 1326 Seneca St. EPA inspectors EPA inspectors also found hundreds of spent lamps, some broken, stored in City Hall and the Buffalo Science Museum

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

CHEMICALS STASH IN HARWICH PROMPTS MAJOR RESPONSE

Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive

HARWICH ? Hazardous materials experts descended on a Harwich neighborhood Thursday, spending seven hours removing bottles of old chemicals from a Bank Street home.

The exact source of the materials is unknown, but firefighters suspect they were left by the homeowner, who is listed in town assessing records as Peter A. Nickerson, of Amherst, N.Y. A pathologist, Nickerson may at one time have done some chemistry at his 322 Bank St. home, according to Harwich Deputy Fire Chief Kent Farrenkopf.
....
Nickerson could not be reached for comment. Firefighters guessed that the chemicals had been in the home for decades, Farrenkopf said.

Mark Nickerson, no relation to the homeowner, who was the contractor hired to clean out the vacant house, found as many as 50 bottles of old and poorly labeled chemicals, Farrenkopf said. He called the Fire Department.

"He did the right thing and called us, rather than throw it in a dumpster," said Hyannis fire Lt. Norman "Spanky" Sylvester, an expert on hazardous materials removal.

Some chemicals, including picric acid, were highly explosive and had to be removed by the state police bomb squad, Sylvester said.

The acid had to be transferred without bumps or sudden movements, Farrenkopf said. The bomb squad put the bottles inside buckets filled with SpeedyDry.

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

CRIME BRIEF: FIRE REPORTED AT SCOTT LABORATORY

Tags: us_OH, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

When officials responded to an activated fire alarm, they found an evacuated building and a hallway full of smoke.

Officers and firefighters arrived at Scott Laboratory on Saturday afternoon and a student told them he had been working on a project involving a vehicle engine. The engine had sparked and ignited nearby plywood, according to a University Police report.

The Columbus Fire Department determined that the damage was contained to the charred plywood, according to the report.

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

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.