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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, January 12, 2015 at 7:33:39 AM
A membership benefit 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 (16 articles)
FAA FINE FOR SHIPPING PAINT UNLABELLED
Tags: us_IL, transportation, follow-up, response, other_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS CONTAIN PAINT FIRE IN LYNCHBURG
Tags: us_VA, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical
SMOKE SEEN FOR MILES IN SOUTH PHILLY REFINERY HAZMAT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
EDGEWATER BUILDING EVACUATED IN CHEMICAL FUMES INCIDENT
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, metals, nitric_acid
CHEMICAL SPILL AT HARB SENDS FOUR TO THE HOSPITAL
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, injury, hydrazine
CHEMICAL SPILL CLEARS DOWNTOWN FARGO BUILDING
Tags: us_ND, public, release, injury, tear_gas
PARENTS MEET ABOUT CHEMICAL ISSUE CLOSING HARTFORD SCHOOL
Tags: us_CT, education, release, response, other_chemical
EXPLOSION DESTROYS SOUTHEAST FRESNO HOME, INJURES 2
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, drugs
NANOTECH SAFETY EXPERT NOMINATED TO CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, nanotech
EMERGENCY CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT CHEMICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_KY, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
EVACUATION ORDER NEAR SCENE OF FATAL 50-70 CAR PILEUP IN MICH. LIFTED
Tags: us_MI, transportation, fire, death, fireworks
FIRE AND RESCUE CREWS RESCUE THREE FROM CO POISONING IN SOUTH RIDING
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, carbon_monoxide
LITTLE TIME GIVEN TO DISCUSS ERRORS MADE AT LANL AT TOWN HALL
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, follow-up, response, radiation, waste
UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM LABORATORY FIRE CAUSED BY ELECTRICAL FAULT, SAYS REPORT
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, follow-up, response
15-YEAR-VETERAN DIES IN CRESTON CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: us_IA, industrial, explosion, death, ag_chems, carbon_dioxide
ONE YEAR LATER, WEST VIRGINIA'S HISTORIC CHEMICAL SPILL IS STILL HURTING SMALL BUSINESSES
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
---------------------------------------------
FAA FINE FOR SHIPPING PAINT UNLABELLED
Tags: us_IL, transportation, follow-up, response, other_chemical
FAA has proposed fining Pearl Paint North America of Harvey, Illinois, $90,000 for allegedly violating federal hazardous materials regulations.
The agency charged that on Feb. 7, 2013, Pearl Paint offered UPS a 5-gallon metal container of flammable paint for transportation by air to Shelby, North Carolina. Workers at the UPS sort facility in Louisville, Kentucky, discovered the shipment.
Investigators determined the shipment was not accompanied by papers to indicate the hazardous nature of its contents. The agency also alleged the boxes were not marked, labeled or packaged in accordance with the hazmat regulations. In addition, Pearl Paint offered the shipment without providing emergency response information, according to FAA.
Pearl Paint is scheduled to meet with FAA in late February to discuss the case.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS CONTAIN PAINT FIRE IN LYNCHBURG
Tags: us_VA, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical
Lynchburg, VA - Hazmat crews reported to Toledo Avenue Saturday evening for a potentially dangerous fire.
First responders say a trailer carrying about 300 gallons of paint caught fire around 4 pm.
The trailer was parked near a storm drain, so crews say they quickly contained the run-off to be sure no paint leaked into the water system.
Utilities officials were on scene and said there was no threat to the community's drinking water.
---------------------------------------------
SMOKE SEEN FOR MILES IN SOUTH PHILLY REFINERY HAZMAT
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, unknown_chemical
OUTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A hazmat situation at a South Philadelphia refinery sent smoke billowing into the air - visible from miles away.
Black smoke starting filling the air shortly before 4:00 p.m. Saturday at the old Sunoco refinery now the Girard Point Refinery in the 3100 block of Passyunk Avenue.
The company says an "operational issue" resulted in the release of the dark smoke but there was no danger to the community.
No one was injured.
---------------------------------------------
EDGEWATER BUILDING EVACUATED IN CHEMICAL FUMES INCIDENT
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, response, metals, nitric_acid
Firefighters evacuated two buildings in Edgewater on Friday morning after a passerby spotted fumes emitting from a vent at a metal plating company.
Fire Capt. Jill Danigel said a heater had been left on overnight at Mil-Spec, 706 W. Park Ave. That prompted a nitric acid tank to overheat and emit fumes.
According to Danigel, four people were evacuated from two buildings next to the business as a precaution.
‰??They (the people evacuated) didn‰??t even know anything was going on,‰?? she said.
Fire crews were on the scene for about an hour and a half, Danigel said, after responding to the 8:30 a.m. call.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL AT HARB SENDS FOUR TO THE HOSPITAL
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, injury, hydrazine
Four people were rushed to the hospital Tuesday after a chemical spill occurred at Homestead Air Reserve Base.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said a few cups of the chemical hydrazine were spilled.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SPILL CLEARS DOWNTOWN FARGO BUILDING
Tags: us_ND, public, release, injury, tear_gas
FARGO ‰?? Firefighters responded to a chemical spill reported at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 211 NP Ave.
Fire crews evacuated eight people from two businesses on the first floor of the building, and a family of three from a second-floor apartment, Battalion Chief Dane Carley said.
A person from one of the businesses was treated for eye irritation at the scene by personnel from FM Ambulance, Carley said.
Initial reports indicated that the chemical could be phosgene, which is a health hazard if inhaled, Carley said.
A hazardous materials team later determined the chemical was likely tear gas or chloropicrin (a soil fumigant that also saw use as part of chemical warfare in World War I and for riot control), Carley said.
The chemical was in a vial in the back of an old safe. It was part of a deterrent system to safecrackers, and would be released if someone broke into the safe, Carley said.
The building will remain closed until a cleanup firm removes the spilled chemical.
---------------------------------------------
PARENTS MEET ABOUT CHEMICAL ISSUE CLOSING HARTFORD SCHOOL
Tags: us_CT, education, release, response, other_chemical
A Hartford school will remain closed after air quality testing detected levels of harmful chemicals in the air over winter break. Concerned parents met with school and district leaders Saturday to find out what happens next.
School officials made the decision to close J.C. Clark Jr. Elementary School as they search for the source of contamination after discovering traces of the chemical PCB in the school after the installation of a new sprinkler.
"I freaked out for my kids health and my daughter actually had a physical yesterday and I told them to test her for it," parent Gloribee Gonzalez said. "If it comes back positive I'll have to bring back the other two. They say it wasn't a big concern, but it was a big concern to me because I didn't know what PBC was."
PCBs are chemical compounds thought to be linked to a higher cancer risk. Recent air quality tests conducted after the sprinkler was installed revealed higher levels of PCBs in the air than are recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency, Hartford Superintendent Beth Sharvino Narvaez said.
---------------------------------------------
EXPLOSION DESTROYS SOUTHEAST FRESNO HOME, INJURES 2
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, drugs
A marijuana operation sparked an explosion that destroyed a southeast Fresno home late Friday night and severely burned two teens.
The ‰??honey oil‰?? operation, a process of extracting THC, the mind-altering chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, from the stems of plants, was happening in a room of a single-story home located on the 2000 block of South Fifth Street when the explosion occurred just before midnight.
Pete Martinez, spokesman for the Fresno Fire Department, said two teens inside the home had second- and third- degree burns over most of their bodies. They were transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. A mother and her teenage son, also inside the home, were not injured.
Fresno police Lt. Phil Cooley said the two injured, ages 17 and 19 and were not named, are the only suspects in the honey oil operation. The 17-year-old was in critical condition and the 19-year-old in stable condition on Friday night.
Cooley said the older teen told officers he was making honey oil when his younger brother flicked a lighter inside the home, which caused the explosion. Their clothes caught fire and were extinguished by neighbors, Cooley said. Police continue to investigate the incident.
The force of the explosion blew out two of the home‰??s walls and pushed two other walls about six inches from their original position, Martinez said, causing about $70,000 in damage. Martinez said when firefighters arrived, there was only a small, smoldering fire in the home‰??s attic that was easily extinguished.
---------------------------------------------
NANOTECH SAFETY EXPERT NOMINATED TO CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, nanotech
President Barack Obama has nominated chemist Kristen Kulinowski to the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), the White House announced Thursday.
Kulinowski, a science policy and nanotechnology safety expert, is a researcher at the Science & Technology Policy Institute, a think tank that provides analysis for federal agencies. Until 2011, she was a professor at Rice University, where she ran the International Council on Nanotechnology and a National Science Foundation Center for Biological & Environmental Nanotechnology.
‰??I‰??m honored to have been selected by the President for this important position,‰?? she tells C&EN.
Kulinowski was a congressional science policy fellow from 2001‰??02 in the office of Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who was then in the House of Representatives but is now a senator. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry
from the University of Rochester and is a member of the American Chemical Society, C&EN‰??s publisher.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kulinowski would fill the last open seat on CSB, which for years has operated with less than its full complement of five members.
From last June to December, CSB was down to two members. But in a last-minute push before adjourning in December 2014, the Senate confirmed Richard J. Engler and Manuel H. Ehrlich Jr. to the board. Engler, who was nominated in 2012, is a worker safety and environmental advocate. Ehrlich, who was nominated in January 2014, is a chemical industry emergency response and safety expert.
---------------------------------------------
EMERGENCY CREWS RESPOND TO HAZMAT SITUATION AT CHEMICAL COMPANY
Tags: us_KY, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Emergency crews responded to a hazmat situation at a chemical company in western Louisville early Friday morning.
Around 1:30 a.m., several agencies - including multiple fire departments, the health department, emergency management and the Metropolitan Sewer District - responded to Lubrizol Corporation at 4200 Bells Lane.
Officials could not specify exactly why crews were on scene, but business was back to normal within about two hours.
---------------------------------------------
EVACUATION ORDER NEAR SCENE OF FATAL 50-70 CAR PILEUP IN MICH. LIFTED
Tags: us_MI, transportation, fire, death, fireworks
At least one person was killed and six cars and semi-trailers set afire in a pileup of 50 to 70 vehicles on Friday in Michigan in one of the most serious weather-related incidents in three days of snow and bitter cold throughout the Midwest and East Coast.
Hazardous materials officials on Friday ordered the evacuation of everyone living within 3 miles of a multi-vehicle crash in southern Michigan after a trailer transporting hazardous material caught fire, state police said. The evacuation order was later lifted.
‰??We believe all the product has burned off,‰?? State Police Lieutenant Rick Pazder said. Earlier, state officials had asked people in a 3-mile radius of the accident to evacuate.
The accident occurred on Interstate 94 about 10 miles east of Kalamazoo, Michigan, at about 10 a.m., state police said. One of the burning semis was carrying hazardous material, State Trooper O.J. Hamilton told Reuters. He said icy conditions and low visibility contributed to the crash.
Another semi truck hauling fireworks was near another truck that is on fire.
‰??Emergency crews are working to extract this semi to resolve any further issues,‰?? the Michigan State Police said in a statement.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE AND RESCUE CREWS RESCUE THREE FROM CO POISONING IN SOUTH RIDING
Tags: us_VA, public, release, response, carbon_monoxide
Three South Riding residents were rescued Friday after carbon monoxide levels at a home at 23396 Summerstown Place reached dangerous levels.
Loudoun Fire and Rescue Crews were initially called to the home for reports of a fall.
Upon arrival, crews found two unconscious adults inside the home. A carbon monoxide alarm carried on the ambulance‰??s aid bag sounded as crews entered the home.
Carbon monoxide levels readings in the home's main level and basement were found to be at dangerous levels with the source isolated to a faulty furnace.
Fire and rescue units secured the utilities and ventilated the home.
A total of three patients were treated and taken to Inova Lansdowne Hospital with serious but non-life threatening CO exposure. No injuries to public safety personnel were reported.
---------------------------------------------
LITTLE TIME GIVEN TO DISCUSS ERRORS MADE AT LANL AT TOWN HALL
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, follow-up, response, radiation, waste
CARLSBAD>> Los Alamos National Laboratory are looking for a way to retreat over 300 nitrate salt drums that are being held both at LANL and in a Texas facility, before they can be moved, officials said Thursday during a town hall meeting.
The re-treatment is a part of the recovery process that was launched by LANL after it was discovered that a waste drum from the laboratory was responsible for a fire and radiation leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant last February.
About five minutes of a two-hour town hall meeting were used to discuss the errors that were made with the waste drum that WIPP officials believe was the source of a radiation leak at the WIPP facility last year.
However, questions from residents and other officials forced a LANL spokesman Dave Nickless to speak more of the matter.
"The City of Carlsbad is very frustrated with Los Alamos and what went on there, especially the lack of control, the lack of understanding, and the lack of treatment," said John Heaton, chairman of the Mayor's Nuclear Task Force.
Among the concerns were waste drums transferred to the Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Texas.
---------------------------------------------
UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM LABORATORY FIRE CAUSED BY ELECTRICAL FAULT, SAYS REPORT
Tags: United_Kingdom, laboratory, follow-up, response
A fire that destroyed an unfinished University of Nottingham laboratory was most likely caused by an electrical fault, the fire service has said.
The å£20m wooden-framed GlaxoSmithKline building, on the Jubilee Campus in Radford, burnt down in September.
The report said there were no fire doors or windows, allowing the blaze to spread with "ferocity".
The university said it was satisfied its contractors met its health and safety requirements.
---------------------------------------------
15-YEAR-VETERAN DIES IN CRESTON CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: us_IA, industrial, explosion, death, ag_chems, carbon_dioxide
CRESTON, Iowa ‰?? OSHA has already begun its investigation on Thursday‰??s explosion at the Green Valley Chemical Plant in Creston. The explosion killed 71‰??year‰??old Eldon Ray Jr. and injured two others.
The chemical plant produces fertilizer, carbon dioxide and dry ice. Officials say a chemical spill is not what caused the explosion. Creston Fire Chief, Todd Jackson, says a six foot section of a four inch pipe ruptured.
‰??It was actually air, over pressured air that caused the explosion,‰?? he says. ‰??As my understanding they were opening and closing valves and trying to get heat to some of the buildings, trying to get heat to some of the buildings to try and increase the heat levels to those buildings.‰??
---------------------------------------------
ONE YEAR LATER, WEST VIRGINIA'S HISTORIC CHEMICAL SPILL IS STILL HURTING SMALL BUSINESSES
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
Four days after the January 9, 2014 chemical spill, Bluegrass Kitchen was one of the only open businesses in Charleston, West Virginia. The restaurant had been given special clearance to serve food by the Department of Health, and waitstaff were hustling to feed a hungry crowd. At the counter, locals buzzed behind cans of soda served with clear plastic cups and sandwiches served in red plastic baskets. The dishwasher was off limits.
I‰??m not real optimistic, really, about seeing any of that money.
‰??We don‰??t [usually] keep bottled water here at the restaurant, because of the wastefulness of it,‰?? Bluegrass Kitchen‰??s owner, Keeley Steele, told ThinkProgress at the time. ‰??But I see us probably keeping bottled water on hand for customers for quite a long time.‰??
That was one year ago. Now, on the anniversary of the day when 10,000 gallons of a coal industry chemical called Crude MCHM leaked out of a storage tank into the Elk River, spoiling the drinking water supply for 300,000 people, Steele and Bluegrass Kitchen have moved on ‰?? sort of. In an interview with West Virginia‰??s State Journal, Steele said she had to bring in a system called Drinkable Air, a machine that creates drinking water from humidity in the air, just so she could keep water on the tables. She said the restaurant didn‰??t stop using bottled water for coffee until ‰??probably October.‰?? Combined with the cost of other alterations, the business lost about $40,000, she said.
‰??I‰??m not real optimistic, really, about seeing any of that money,‰?? she said.
In the month immediately following the spill, it was estimated that the impacted area took a $61 million economic hit ‰?? a figure representing approximately 24 percent of the economic activity in the nine-county area. Studies looking at the long-term economic impact of the spill have not yet been released, but some local businessowners told ThinkProgress they believe the spill is still costing them, both money-wise and otherwise.
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