From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (13 articles)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 07:20:12 -0400
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, August 25, 2014 at 7:20:02 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 (13 articles)

IOWA RESIDENCE HALL EMPTIED OVER UNKNOWN CHEMICAL
Tags: us_IA, education, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT CALLED TO INDY HOSPITAL AFTER CONTAINERS LEFT AT DESK
Tags: us_IN, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

SUMNER CHEMICAL FIRE SENDS TWO PEOPLE TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_ME, public, fire, injury, cyanide, hydrogen

CHEMICAL ODOR SPREADS THROUGH AIEA SHOPPING CENTER
Tags: us_HI, public, release, response, other_chemical

GAS LEAK IN MISSION CONTAINED
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, ammonia

CLOUD WITH CHEMICAL SMELL SETTLES OVER GLYNN ACADEMY, SICKENING ONE STUDENT, DELAYING CLASS CHANGES
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, other_chemical

DQ SHAKE TAINTED WITH CHEMICAL CLEANER
Tags: us_CO, public, discovery, response, cleaners

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT PARKER TRUTEC METAL GROUP IN SEVIERVILLE
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, response, metals

SALVAGE YARD FIRE STOPPED BEFORE REACHING FUEL TANKS
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

EXPLOSION AT HUNTSVILLE GAS COMPANY SENDS 2 TO HOSPITAL, DEBRIS FLYING INTO OTHER BUILDINGS
Tags: us_AL, industrial, explosion, response, hydrogen, liquid_nitrogen

FIRE INVESTIGATED AT OREGON HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT FACILITY
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, waste

SAUGET SEWER GAS EXPLOSION SENDS MANHOLE COVERS FLYING, DAMAGING POWER LINE
Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, response, sewer_gas

CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN TEMA COMMUNITY 12 CLAIMS FOUR
Tags: Ghana, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical


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IOWA RESIDENCE HALL EMPTIED OVER UNKNOWN CHEMICAL
Tags: us_IA, education, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

OWA CITY, Iowa (AP) ? Police say a University of Iowa residence hall was evacuated the night before classes began after an unknown chemical was reported and a student was found unresponsive.

The 500-person capacity Slater Hall was evacuated for about four hours Sunday night. Students were allowed to return around 11:30 p.m. after police said there were no toxic or explosive dangers. Police didn't identify the chemical.

Police spokesman Chuck Green said a male student was transported to an area hospital after he was found in a third-floor lounge.

An update on his condition was not available Sunday night, but Green says no one was injured by the chemical. It's unclear what was wrong with the student.

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

HAZMAT CALLED TO INDY HOSPITAL AFTER CONTAINERS LEFT AT DESK
Tags: us_IN, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) ? Fire investigators were called to St. Vincent?s Hospital Saturday afternoon to investigate an unknown substance left at the front entrance.

Officials say someone walked into the hospital just before 4 p.m. with five 1-gallon water jugs, placed them on the front desk, and left.

A security guard at the hospital removed the containers and brought them to the facility?s hazardous material shed outside the hospital.

The Indianapolis Fire Department?s HazMat team was called to evaluate the substance which was later deemed non-hazardous.

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

SUMNER CHEMICAL FIRE SENDS TWO PEOPLE TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_ME, public, fire, injury, cyanide, hydrogen

SUMNER ? Two people were taken to a hospital complaining of smoke inhalation after a small chemical fire at a home here Wednesday morning.

Fire departments from three towns responded to 153 Labrador Pond Road following reports that chemicals being mixed for a spray foam insulation caught fire around 11 a.m.

Paris fire Chief Brad Frost said the chemicals apparently ignited and spread to a small amount of insulation in a basement. The blaze was quickly extinguished after crews arrived on scene.

The people were taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway.

A chemical-monitoring team from Paris was dispatched an hour later to the site over concerns that hydrogen cyanide, a component of some insulation types, was present. Frost said no traceable amounts of the compound were discovered.

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

CHEMICAL ODOR SPREADS THROUGH AIEA SHOPPING CENTER
Tags: us_HI, public, release, response, other_chemical

Aiea businesses are airing out Wednesday night after a chemical odor prompted the response of the Honolulu Fire Department.

Crews were called to the Westridge Shopping Center on Kaonohi Street around 6:30 p.m.

Officials say a floor sealant was being applied inside one of the shops.

The odor got into first floor ventilation and air conditioning.

One person was treated at the scene for nausea, while others in the shopping center evacuated.

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

GAS LEAK IN MISSION CONTAINED
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, ammonia

MISSION (NEWS1130) ? A major ammonia leak caused big problems in Mission this morning.

The accident happened around 3 a.m. at the BC Frozen Foods plant.

?There was a leak from the plant or within the facility. No persons were known to be exposed,? says RCMP Sergeant Shaun Wright.

Hazmat teams were called in from Abbotsford. The leak caused the closure of parts of the Lougheed Highway, the CP Rail line along the Fraser River in Mission, and the river itself.

?Around 7 a.m., the scene was cleared and all traffic was re-opened,? says Wright.

?WorkSafeBC is following up and investigating the cause and circumstances of the leak,? he adds. ?There should be no concern for environmental impact or any extenuating exposure.?

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

CLOUD WITH CHEMICAL SMELL SETTLES OVER GLYNN ACADEMY, SICKENING ONE STUDENT, DELAYING CLASS CHANGES
Tags: us_FL, public, release, response, other_chemical

BRUNSWICK | A heavy haze with a strong chemical smell settled over Glynn Academy Friday morning sickening one student and prompting a hold on the changing of classes at the downtown high school.

GP Cellulose took responsibility for the cloud saying there was an abrupt and complete loss of power at its Brunswick mill that caused the release of gases that normally would have been captured and incinerated....

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

DQ SHAKE TAINTED WITH CHEMICAL CLEANER
Tags: us_CO, public, discovery, response, cleaners

KUSA - A vanilla shake served to a customer at a Thornton Dairy Queen was contaminated with a chemical cleaner.

Lisa Chase stopped by the drive-thru of Dairy Queen at 3894 E. 120th Avenue Thursday with her two children Thursday night. Riley, her son, ordered a vanilla milkshake. Chase and her daughter ordered blizzards.

Riley took a sip of the shake and immediately complained to his mom about the taste.

"He took a drink of it and then he said 'mom this shake tastes disgusting,'" Chase said.

She decided to take a sip also.

"I took a drink of it and instantly you knew that was not a vanilla shake," she said. "It burned my mouth and my throat. You could feel it burn all the way down to your stomach."

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

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT PARKER TRUTEC METAL GROUP IN SEVIERVILLE
Tags: us_TN, industrial, fire, response, metals

SEVIERVILLE (WATE) - A metal manufacturing plant went up in flames Thursday night.

The call came into the Sevier County Dispatch around 10 p.m. that the Parker Trutec Group at 134 River Bend Drive, formerly MMI Trutec Industries, was on fire.

According to dispatch, the building had to be evacuated as chemicals were present.

The Sevier County, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Northview Fire Departments all responded to the scene with crews.

According to a spokesman with the Sevierville Fire Department, at its peak, the fire consumed around 25 percent of the structure.

Sevier County Dispatch tells 6 News most of the flames were ousted within 30 minutes, leaving crews to attack hot spots.

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

SALVAGE YARD FIRE STOPPED BEFORE REACHING FUEL TANKS
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

HARRISON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -
It was a chaotic few minutes for the crew at Barry's U Pull It Auto Parts Thursday afternoon. Employees were working in the salvage yard around 3:30 cutting catalytic converters out of cars. Suddenly a spark hit a fuel reservoir and ignited a fire.

Harrison County fire trucks rushed to the Firetower Road property. So did an Air Force rescue team. Its foam was used to help contain the fire before it spread to nearby fuel tanks.

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

EXPLOSION AT HUNTSVILLE GAS COMPANY SENDS 2 TO HOSPITAL, DEBRIS FLYING INTO OTHER BUILDINGS
Tags: us_AL, industrial, explosion, response, hydrogen, liquid_nitrogen

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Nearby buildings shook when a hydrogen tank outside Cimarron Composites at 4912 Moores Mill Rd. exploded Thursday afternoon. Witnesses say it was amazing no one was seriously hurt, even workers who were standing nearby.

Employees with the Huntsville gas company said they were testing liquid nitrogen when the hydrogen tank exploded at approximately 2:30 p.m. Emergency crews found debris flooded the parking lot. In fact, shrapnel landed all over the neighborhood.

Capt. Frank McKenzie with Huntsville Fire & Rescue said two workers nearby were hurt but not seriously. He said they were walking around after the explosion but still went to the hospital to be checked out. He said it was "really lucky" no one else in the area was hit by falling debris.

Employees at National Copper can agree with that. The copper company is located approximately 150 yards down the street, but that distance didn't stop a piece of metal from tearing through the front wall and crashing into the middle of the work floor. No one was hurt but they were all shocked at the explosion even before they saw the debris crash into the building.

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

FIRE INVESTIGATED AT OREGON HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT FACILITY
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, waste

OREGON, OH (Toledo News Now) -
The Oregon Fire Department is investigating the cause of a Thursday afternoon fire at Envirosafe.

Heavy black smoke was seen rising from Enviro Safe Services on Otter Creek Road near York Road in Oregon.

The fire was put out by 6:30 p.m. Police say the building that was burning has arsenic and lead contamination.

The company accepts hazardous waste and puts it in barrels, which are then loaded into underground cells and capped. Materials are brought there from out of state.

Oregon Fire Assistant Chief Mark Mullins says an excavator inside a storage building caught fire.

"That excavator was in the Southeast corner," said Mullins. "It had no effect on any materials that were around or inside the building. It was self contained."

Twenty six firefighters from three Oregon fire stations attacked the blaze. Crews were rotated in and out because the stifling heat and humidity. Eventually, foam was used to extinguish the flames.

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

SAUGET SEWER GAS EXPLOSION SENDS MANHOLE COVERS FLYING, DAMAGING POWER LINE
Tags: us_MO, public, explosion, response, sewer_gas

SAUGET ? A sewer gas explosion early this morning in Sauget sent several manhole covers flying, at least one of which damaged a power line and cut off electricity to a factory.

Sauget Police Chief Patrick Delaney said the village's sewer system lost power at around 5:15 a.m.

?During efforts to repair it, an electric line arced and that triggered a fire in the sewer system that eventually caused the explosion at around 7:50 a.m.,? Delaney said.

The electric lines damaged were in the 500 block of Monsanto Avenue, near the Afton Chemical plant. That road has been closed for hours but is expected to reopen by 2 p.m., Delaney said.

In turn, the power line damage knocked out electricity to the Eastman Chemical Co. plant.

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

CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN TEMA COMMUNITY 12 CLAIMS FOUR
Tags: Ghana, public, explosion, death, unknown_chemical

Four people have been confirmed dead in a chemical explosion that occurred
at a residential area near the Adonai Chapel in Tema Community 12.

The victims, all men, including the owner of the house who is said to
be a sub-Chief from the Eastern Region, Steve Danso were dismembered beyond recognition due to the magnitude of the explosion, which also ripped off part of the roofing.

Body parts of the victims were strewn into adjoining houses and Police personnel had to go round picking them.

According to sources at the scene, the chemicals that are normally mixed in that house, is used to produce matches.

The Tema Metropolitan Fire Officer, William Abekah Blankson narrating the incident to the media said the Command is to investigate the actual cause of the explosion.

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