Hello:

Why don't these notes include the hyperlinks to the news articles anymore? That used to be very helpful to get more info on stories of interest.

Regards,

Dan

Daniel Shiel, MBA, MS, CSP, CHMM
Director, Risk & Quality Management Services
Site Security Officer / Site DEA Compliance Designee
Pfizer La Jolla
10777 Science Center Drive
San Diego, CA 92121
858-622-3245
"I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened" - Mark Twain

-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Secretary ACS DCHAS
Sent: Friday, August 1, 2014 4:34 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] CHAS Tweets and Chemical Safety headlines (14 articles)

**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 (14 articles)

SPILL AT KARCHER ROAD AND CALDWELL BOULEVARD DETERMINED TO BE COW FEED
Tags: us_ID, public, release, response, ag_chems

2 TECHNICIANS KILLED IN LABORATORY FIRE
Tags: India, laboratory, fire, death, unknown_chemical

MONESSEN COKE PLANT WORKERS EXPOSED TO CHEMICAL
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL REACTION EVACUATES MARATHON ELECTRIC IN WAUSAU, WISCONSIN
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, waste

BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL REACTION AT INGALLS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical

SULFURIC ACID SPRAY INJURES TWO
Tags: us_GA, industrial, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

CHEMICAL STOCKS HIT BY KAOHSIUNG GAS BLASTS
Tags: Taiwan, industrial, explosion, death, natural_gas

PROMOTING BETTER ACADEMIC LAB SAFETY CULTURE
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental

4 EMPLOYEES INJURED IN MORNING FIRE AT SOUTHEAST KANSAS OIL REFINERY
Tags: us_KS, industrial, fire, injury, petroleum

ZINC FIRE PROMPTS EVACUATION AT NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA MANUFACTURING PLANT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, fire, response, zinc

TITANIUM DUST CATCHES FIRE AT SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS
Tags: us_KS, industrial, fire, response, dust, titanium

HAZMAT CREWS CLEAN UP AFTER BATTERY TRUCK ROLLS ON 1-15
Tags: us_UT, transportation, release, response, batteries, sulfuric_acid

5 HOSPITALIZED IN CHEMICAL SPILL AT FORSYTH COUNTY WATER PLANT
Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, injury, sodium_hydroxide, water_treatment

PALMERSTON PLACE CLOSED OFF IN CHEMICAL INCIDENT
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, response, cyanide

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SPILL AT KARCHER ROAD AND CALDWELL BOULEVARD DETERMINED TO BE COW FEED

Tags: us_ID, public, release, response, ag_chems

NAMPA - A spill of what was believed to be a type of cattle feed slowed traffic from about 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Caldwell Boulevard and Karcher Road in Nampa, Nampa Fire Captain Jeff Mutchie said.
The spill was originally thought to be fertilizer, but a test by the hazmat team came back inconclusive, Mutchie said. The hazmat team concluded the spill was probably an organic substance, most likely cattle feed.
Nampa Police were investigating the cause of the spill.

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

2 TECHNICIANS KILLED IN LABORATORY FIRE

Tags: India, laboratory, fire, death, unknown_chemical

Two laboratory technicians died of suffocation when their room was filled with smoke as a minor fire broke out at their pathological facility in Tilak Nagar area in the wee hours of today, police said.

The deceased were identified as Vipin (28), a native of Uttar Pradesh, and Robin (29), a native of Kerala.

According to the fire department, a call was received around 3.30 AM that a fire had broke out at a lab situated in a house in Tilak Nagar area.

"Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. After around 50 minutes, the fire was completely doused. In the incident, two persons were killed," said a fire department official.

Police said, as per initial investigation, it seems that the fire broke out due to a short-circuit in air-conditioner fitted in the basement lab.

"Vipin and Robin were at the ground floor of the house when the fire broke at the basement where X-ray machine and other equipment were kept. The impact of the fire was such that smoke filled the ground floor which caused to the duo's death. Vipin and Robin died of suffocation and there was no burn injury on their bodies," said a senior police officer.

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MONESSEN COKE PLANT WORKERS EXPOSED TO CHEMICAL

Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

Three workers at the ArcelorMittal's coke plant in Monessen were treated after they were exposed to a chemical shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday.

Monessen Municipal Fire Chief Chris Rhome confirmed the incident, but did not know the identity of the employees involved. Rhome said firefighters from the city's two fire companies were called out in part to prepare for an emergency helicopter landing, if necessary. Those injured, however, were taken to Monongahela Valley Hospital, he said.

A hospital spokesperson said by policy, condition information could not provided unless the media could identify those injured.

Two spokespersons for the ArcelorMittal's U.S. operations did not return calls or respond to emails seeking comment and identification of the employees involved.

The Valley Independent attempted to speak to plant management Thursday afternoon, but was stopped at the gate at Third Street by guard Joshua Carney, who said speaking to any plant management personnel was "out of the question" and that no one would be available before Monday.

"That matter is being evaluated and assessed by our in-house investigators," Carney said.

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

CHEMICAL REACTION EVACUATES MARATHON ELECTRIC IN WAUSAU, WISCONSIN

Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, waste

WAUSAU - One man was hospitalized and workers at Marathon Electric were evacuated from the plant after a barrel that once held varnish began to smoke in an apparent chemical reaction, emergency workers say.

The Wausau Fire Department was called to the electric motor and generator manufacturer at 100 E. Randolph St. shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday after a worker noticed a barrel that was being used as a waste container was smoking, said Battalian Chief Doug Beula.

The drum once held a varnish product. Something in the trash reacted with some of the remaining varnish, Beula said, but he didn't know what. When firefighters responded to the scene, the can was still smoking.

"We evaluated the reaction, and poured some sand on it and removed it from the building," Beula said. "It was a minor thing."

One worker had a possible respiratory ailment after the incident, Beula said, and was taken to the hospital. "To my knowledge, it was not serious," he said. The plant also was evacuated as a precaution.

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

BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL REACTION AT INGALLS

Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical

Shortly after 2 p.m. on Thursday, the Boston Fire Department responded to a reported chemical reaction at 44 Cummington St., home of Boston University's W. Bradford Ingalls Engineering Resource Center. A graduate student working in the lab had opened a container with an unidentified chemical and had a reaction upon inhalation, said BFD spokesman Steve MacDonald.

The lid was immediately placed back on the container of chemicals, and there was no chemical leak or spill in the building. The student was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to be treated, and BFD confirmed the building was safe for further use.

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

SULFURIC ACID SPRAY INJURES TWO
Tags: us_GA, industrial, release, injury, sulfuric_acid

AUGUSTA, GA (WFXG) -
Two employees of an Augusta chemical plant are being treated for burns after a spill, according to the Augusta Fire Department.

Firefighters responded to a call about a spill at ChemTrade on Columbia Nitrogen Drive near downtown Augusta Thursday morning.

Two employees had been sprayed with sulfuric acid, according to the fire department. One employee suffered significant burns, and the other employee suffered minor burns.

Both workers were transported to Doctors Hospital for treatment.

The sulfuric acid was contained, the battalion chief said. There is no environmental impact.

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

CHEMICAL STOCKS HIT BY KAOHSIUNG GAS BLASTS

Tags: Taiwan, industrial, explosion, death, natural_gas

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) Chemical stocks in Taiwan took a dive Friday after a series of gas explosions rocked Kaohsiung Thursday night, killing 25 people and injuring 267, dealers said.

Many investors stayed away from chemical stocks amid worries that the findings of the investigation into the blasts would affect chemical stocks, dealers said.

"Uncertainty over the cause of the incident spooked many investors and they began dumping chemical stocks as soon as the local bourse opened," Hua Nan Securities analyst Henry Miao said.

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

PROMOTING BETTER ACADEMIC LAB SAFETY CULTURE

Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental

Two new reports from the National Research Council (NRC) and Stanford University offer guidance to the chemistry community for how to improve the safety culture in academic laboratories.
The NRC project looked at current safety practices and attitudes in academic chemistry labs; behavioral science; and safety experience in aviation, health care, industrial research facilities, and the nuclear industry. The resulting report has recommendations for how institutions can better integrate safety into research practices.
"I think that all of us who study a discipline for our whole lives tend to think that our discipline is unique in so many different respects," says H. Holden Thorp, the NRC committee chair and provost at Washington University in St. Louis. Nevertheless, experience in other fields can help chemists address potential hazards in research labs, says Thorp, who is also a chemistry professor.
The American Chemical Society, which publishes C&EN, helped sponsor the NRC study. The report is available at bit.ly/NASreport.
The Stanford report-an internal study intended to assess the institution's current safety culture-provides recommendations for how to improve that culture.
The Stanford project included open meetings with stakeholders, comments submitted online, a survey, and detailed interviews with researchers. The lab research community tends to be very data-driven, so it was important to have a robust assessment, says Robert M. Waymouth, one of three cochairs of the project and a professor of chemistry. The Stanford report, reviewed by C&EN, will be available at ehs.stanford.edu.

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

4 EMPLOYEES INJURED IN MORNING FIRE AT SOUTHEAST KANSAS OIL REFINERY

Tags: us_KS, industrial, fire, injury, petroleum

COFFEYVILLE, Kansas - Four workers at an oil refinery in southeast Kansas were burned Tuesday in an early morning fire, the Texas company said.

CVR Refining said in a news release that the fire at its Coffeyville refinery was reported at 12:30 a.m. and extinguished by 1:18 a.m. The refinery was shut down and initial reports indicate there was no impact to the surrounding community.

The company isn't naming the workers who were hurt and taken to an area hospital, but said all other employees were accounted for at this time.

"CVR Refining personnel express their deepest concern for and are currently providing assistance to the injured employees and their families," the company said.

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

ZINC FIRE PROMPTS EVACUATION AT NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA MANUFACTURING PLANT

Tags: us_PA, industrial, fire, response, zinc

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- First responders were on the scene of a fire at a manufacturing plant in Northeast Philadelphia.

The blaze was first reported at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday at Allied Tube and Conduit in the 11000 block of Norcum Road.

The fire department tells Action News that there was a pot of Zinc on fire that caused the Hazmat and evacuation.

Crews were able to extinguish the blaze and a HAZMAT clean up company was called to the scene.

No one was injured.

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

TITANIUM DUST CATCHES FIRE AT SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS

Tags: us_KS, industrial, fire, response, dust, titanium

WICHITA, Kan. -
Fire crews were called to Spirit Aerosystems after some titanium dust caught fire.

It happened in the 4400 block of E. MacArthur at around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Jarrod Bartlett, Spirit Aerosystems spokesman, said about 50 people were displaced from their work area due to smoke.

Hazmat crews from Sedgwick County were also called as a precaution.

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

HAZMAT CREWS CLEAN UP AFTER BATTERY TRUCK ROLLS ON 1-15

Tags: us_UT, transportation, release, response, batteries, sulfuric_acid

(KUTV) A vehicle rollover shut down an on ramp and caused a messy cleanup in Davis County Tuesday morning.

An Interstate Battery truck rolled over on the highway 89 on-ramp to I-15 southbound. The vehicle was full of batteries that broke and leaked battery acid on the ramp.

Hazmat cleanup is on site using a neutralizer and the ramp will be closed until cleanup is complete.

No one was hurt in the accident and UDOT will then come out to check for any road damage

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

5 HOSPITALIZED IN CHEMICAL SPILL AT FORSYTH COUNTY WATER PLANT

Tags: us_GA, transportation, release, injury, sodium_hydroxide, water_treatment

CUMMING, Georgia - Forsyth County fire officials say five people working at the county's water plant have been hospitalized in a chemical spill.

Fire Chief Jason Shivers says the workers were unloading sodium hydroxide from a truck when residual gas was released and caused eye irritation Tuesday afternoon.

According to the National Institutes of Health, sodium hydroxide - also known as lye and caustic soda - is found in many industrial solvents and cleaners. Exposure to the chemical is known to cause reactions in several areas of the body including the eyes, skin, airways and lungs.

The workers were treated by a nearby hazardous materials team and were taken to Northside Hospital in Forsyth. Shivers told the Forsyth News the workers are employed by a private contractor that operates the water plant.

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

PALMERSTON PLACE CLOSED OFF IN CHEMICAL INCIDENT

Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, response, cyanide

Emergency services closed off Palmerston Place yesterday after a woman found dangerous chemicals in a basement.

The alarm was sounded because a little jar of white powder had been discovered by a woman clearing out a property.

But it was soon revealed that she was right to alert the emergency services - as the jar was marked with the words "potassium cyanide".

The potentially lethal substance belonged to her father and is used to clean jewellery.

Her initial call was to seek advice on dispensing the product safely, only for her casual inquiry to turn into a major chemical incident as a host of emergency services screamed into the street.

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