From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (12 articles)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 04:46:35 -0700
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 4:46:27 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

Table of Contents (12 articles)

RUPTURED GAS MAIN PROMPTS SOUTH SIDE HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, natural_gas

NEIGHBORS FRUSTRATED OVER CLAIMED ?HAZMAT HOUSE?
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical, biodiesel

GREENBRIER HIGH TO REOPEN WEDNESDAY AFTER ACID SPILL
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

HAZMAT CREW CLEANS UP CHEMICAL SPILL AT HOSPITAL
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, release, injury, formaldehyde

FORT MILL: NO INJURIES AFTER SMALL FIRE AT FORT MILL CHEMICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

INDUSTRIAL BUILDING FIRE CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

BP AMOCO SHUTS DOWN ONE CHEMICAL UNIT AFTER $25 MILLION WEEKEND FIRE
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

HFD IDENTIFY WEEKEND CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, acids

EARLY MORNING FIRE AT TULSA BUSINESS LEADS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

EXPLOSION AT EASTMAN CHEM. RESEARCH FACILITY; NO WORKERS SERIOUS
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

DEADLY CHEMICAL BLASTS IN TAIWAN
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, petroleum

DRY CLEANING CHEMICAL CONTAMINATES UNITY WELLS.
Tags: us_WI, public, discovery, environmental, pce


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RUPTURED GAS MAIN PROMPTS SOUTH SIDE HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_IL, public, release, response, natural_gas

A gas main break has prompted a limited evacuation on the Far South Side Tuesday afternoon.
The 4 inch gas main was struck and ruptured by a construction crew at 104th Street and Vincennes, creating a level 2 hazmat situation, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Around 30 people were evacuated from the Triedstone Full Gospel Baptist Church at 1415 W 104th St. Officials say the evacuations were a precautionary measure.

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NEIGHBORS FRUSTRATED OVER CLAIMED ?HAZMAT HOUSE?
Tags: us_OR, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical, biodiesel

BEAVERTON, Ore. (KOIN 6) ? Barrels of unknown liquids and canisters containing possible flammable substances at an empty house left residents in a Beaverton neighborhood frustrated with an inability to get it cleaned up.

Barrels of unknown liquids and canisters containing possible flammable substances that have sat outside a vacant Beaverton home since late 2013, August 12, 2014. (KOIN 6)
The house at 250 NW 181st has been vacant since late 2013. Homeowner Scott Rovig said his former home was going through foreclosure. He fell behind in the payments, he told KOIN 6 News, and when the bank demanded around $35,000, he moved out since he didn?t have the money.


Nearby residents told KOIN 6 News they nicknamed it the ?Hazmat House? and noted it?s very close to a park where children play.

One neighborhood association member, who asked to remain anonymous, pointed to some barrels and canisters piled near the driveway.

?I?m looking at gas cans here,? the member said. ?I don?t know what?s in some of these barrels.?

Outside, there were also containers labeled ?Nitric Acid? and ?Muriatic Acid,? as well as paint cans and canisters labeled as gear oil.

Rovig said some of the barrels were once used to store vegetable oil to make bio-diesel for his truck, and the muriatic acid was used for doing stone work. He said he did not remember having a container labeled ?nitric acid.?

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GREENBRIER HIGH TO REOPEN WEDNESDAY AFTER ACID SPILL
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

Greenbrier High School will reopen as scheduled on Wednesday after classes were cancelled Tuesday following a chemical spill in the school?s chemistry lab, officials said.

Cleanup crews remained at the school until about noon, according to Robertson County Emergency Management Director R.L. Douglas. The spill was comprised of three different acids, sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric, Douglas said. No ammonia was involved, he added.

?Once we got in there, we put lyme on the chemicals, swept everything up and disposed of it,? Douglas said. ?The school is still being ventilated by the Board of Education (as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday). They are letting the fans run for safety reasons, but everything should be good to go in a few more hours.?

Investigators are still trying to determine how the spill occurred.

In a statement, Robertson County School District officials said the spill happened overnight Monday and was discovered early Tuesday morning. A teacher arrived at the building around 7 a.m., noticed a smell in the building, researched it and discovered the spill in the school?s science lab, according to schools spokesman Jim Bellis.

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HAZMAT CREW CLEANS UP CHEMICAL SPILL AT HOSPITAL
Tags: us_KY, laboratory, release, injury, formaldehyde

A hazardous materials crew was at Georgetown Community Hospital to clean up a chemical spill.
Eddie Fryman of the Georgetown fire department said a little more than a liter of formaldehyde was spilled in a laboratory at the hospital.
The spill did not interfere with patient care or normal operations at the hospital, Fryman said.
Emergency workers and the hospital closed the lab for approximately two hours while the spill was cleaned up.

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

FORT MILL: NO INJURIES AFTER SMALL FIRE AT FORT MILL CHEMICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

FORT MILL ? A fire disrupted operations at a manufacturing facility in Fort Mill late Monday morning.

No injuries resulted from the fire at Wikoff Color Corporation at 1886 Merritt Road, officials said. Fire crews responded to a call at around 11 a.m. Monday. Wikoff produces ink for printing design and other uses. A small fire was put out by the facility's internal sprinkler system, but firefighters were called as a precaution.

"We had a thermal reaction that went a little too far," said Art Dennis, director of manufacturing at the plant.

Within an hour, fire crews were leaving the facility, freeing incoming delivery truck traffic at Merritt and Kennel roads. By noon the company wasn't sure when it would resume operation, but had confirmed that all employees were accounted for and that no one was injured.

"We don't know what happened, but we won't be back up and running until we do," Dennis said.

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INDUSTRIAL BUILDING FIRE CAUSES CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Several firefighters were checked out on scene after a hazardous building fire this morning at Southwest United Industries.

Authorities on scene say there were a lot of chemicals inside the building, which is near 4th and Utica.

There were people inside at the time of the fire, but they were all able to escape safely.

HazMat crews and firefighters are currently on scene. The damage to the building was confined to the inside, and authorities are not sure how or where the fire started.

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

BP AMOCO SHUTS DOWN ONE CHEMICAL UNIT AFTER $25 MILLION WEEKEND FIRE
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

BP Amoco is operating one of two chemical production units at its Berkeley County plant after a $25 million fire Saturday.

The oil and chemical giant on the Cooper River suffered extensive damage to a compressor building in the early-afternoon blaze that was brought under control in about 45 minutes. No one was injured.

BP spokesman Scott Dean said the company shut down one of the two purified terephthalic acid, or TPA, production units as a result of the fire.

"BP is assessing the extent of damage to the compressor building and working to get the unit safely restarted," Dean said. "The rest of the Cooper River plant continues to operate and produce TPA for customers."

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

HFD IDENTIFY WEEKEND CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, acids

HANFORD ? The Hanford Fire Department spent several hours Friday investigating a chemical spill at a local gas station parking lot.

Battalion Chief Christopher Ekk said a report of a truck leaking a chemical of strong odor was reported just after 6 p.m. at the Chevron on 11th Avenue and Northstar Drive.

After collecting samples, hazardous material specialists were able to determine that the chemical was perchloric acid, commonly used for etching and cleaning medals.

Specialist reportedly neutralized the chemical and were able to safely clean the spill.

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

EARLY MORNING FIRE AT TULSA BUSINESS LEADS TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_OK, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Employees of a local business were forced to evacuate after a fire and chemical spill Monday morning.
Tulsa firefighters were called to Southwest United Industries in the 400 block of South St. Louis Avenue about 7 a.m. and were met with smoke and flames inside the building, Fire Capt. Jarrod Perry said.

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EXPLOSION AT EASTMAN CHEM. RESEARCH FACILITY; NO WORKERS SERIOUS
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical

INGSPORT, TN (WJHL) -
On Sunday night around 10 p.m. an explosion was reported at Eastman Chemical Company at one of the gates off of Lincoln Street.

Corporate Communications Director, Betty Payne, told News Channel 11 that the explosion happened in one of Eastman's research facilities. She said windows and doors were blown out, but no one was seriously injured.

One employee was taken to Holston Valley Medical Center and was released a short time later. Two other employees were taken to Eastman's on-site medical facility and were released to return to work.

Payne said there is no reason to believe the explosion will have an impact on human health, or the environment.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

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

DEADLY CHEMICAL BLASTS IN TAIWAN
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, petroleum

A series of explosions caused by leaks in an underground propylene pipeline in Kaohsiung, Taiwan?s second-largest city, killed 30 people and injured 300 more on the evening of July 31, according to the state-owned Central News Agency. The pipe was bringing raw material to LCY, a chemical company that operates several plants in the industrial city.
Five firefighters were among the dead, the news agency reported. The blasts occurred when emergency responders were already at the scene investigating reports of gas smells. The pipe ran under the streets of a busy commercial and residential neighborhood.
Amid claims that the tragedy could have been avoided, four senior Taiwan government officials, including the economic minister, have tendered their resignations.
Investigators have determined that the propylene pipeline responsible for the blast belongs to LCY. For two hours before the blast, 10 metric tons of propylene leaked from the pipe, according to Kaohsiung?s Environmental Protection Bureau.
Accusations and denials are flying in the wake of the accident. Kaohsiung officials maintain that LCY could have turned off its propylene supply as soon as it noticed a drop in pressure. LCY issued an apology for its role in the accident but also alleges that maintenance of the pipe was the responsibility of its builder, China Petroleum Corp., which denies responsibility.

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DRY CLEANING CHEMICAL CONTAMINATES UNITY WELLS.
Tags: us_WI, public, discovery, environmental, pce

UNITY ? Investigators from the state?s Department of Natural Resources are asking residents here for permission to test their water wells this week to determine if a dry-cleaning chemical is present.

The DNR will test the water in private wells for tetrachloroethylene, a chemical used widely by the dry cleaning industry in the 1970s. The chemical has been found in four private wells on the north side of this small town that straddles the boundary between Marathon and Clark counties between Colby and Spencer.

Those who have already been found to have unsafe wells are being provided bottled water, according to a DNR media release. Officials from the Marathon County and Clark County health departments also have been notified.

Tetrachloroethylene is a nonflammable liquid solvent that, in addition to dry cleaning, is used for wood processing, fabric manufacturing and metal degreasing, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

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