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: Wed, 28 Jan 2015 07:46:33 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 3AB6E83A-BAA5-4F0A-ACFC-C9643A8D6223**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 7:43:33 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 (13 articles)

CHEMICAL RELEASE PROMPTS SHELTER-IN-PLACE AT TAFT ELEMENTARY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide

MARTIN, S.C.: TRAIN DERAILS, CHEMICAL SPILLS AT PLANT IN ALLENDALE COUNTY
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical

5 HURT IN CENTRAL TEXAS CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, toluene

CREWS CLEANING UP CHEMICAL SPILL NEAR GUNN, ALTA
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid

ONE INJURED AFTER FIRE BREAKS OUT IN AURORA SINAI HOSPITAL'S EMERGENCY ROOM
Tags: us_WI, public, fire, injury, fire_extinguisher, oxygen

ALLAFRICA.COM: LIBERIA: CONCERN MOUNTS OVER EXPLOSION AT LAC
Tags: Liberia, industrial, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

SODIUM'S EXPLOSIVE SECRETS REVEALED
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, discovery, environmental, sodium

CHEMICAL REACTION, UNDERGROUND FIRES CONTINUE AT STARK COUNTY LANDFILL
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, environmental, waste

DOZENS OF BOATS DESTROYED IN WALNUT GROVE MARINA FIRE
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, propane

EMPLOYEES EVACUATE MAGNABLEND FACILITY AFTER SODIUM CHLORITE SPILL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, other_chemical

LAB ACCIDENT INVOLVING ACID EVACUATES KINGSWAY
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, injury, irritant

GASOLINE BARRELS WASH ASHORE ALONG SCENIC HWY. 98
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, response, gasoline

ALAMEDA COUNTY: HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE ORANGE CHEMICAL FOUND AT CHERRYLAND HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical


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

CHEMICAL RELEASE PROMPTS SHELTER-IN-PLACE AT TAFT ELEMENTARY
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, sulfur_dioxide

A chemical release from a refinery near Groves Tuesday prompted an elementary school to shelter in place.

Groves Fire Chief Dale Jackson told 12News they were notified of the release around 11:30 a.m. He said the wind direction prompted them to shelter-in-place at Taft Elementary for about 10 minutes.

Jackson said they conducted air tests along with the Port Arthur Fire Department and Total. The shelter in place was lifted once they determined there was no cause for concern.
Jackson told 12News the chemical released was Sulfur dioxide.

Port Neches- Groves superintendent Dr. Rodney Cavness said the school quickly implemented its crisis plan. However, parents with children in the district expressed frustration when they were not notified about the chemical release.

‰??I didn't get a note at all and if it weren't for Facebook I would never have known,‰?? Taft parent Traci Harrington said.

According to a statement released by Total, the unit involved was shut down following the incident and there have been no additional chemical releases.

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

MARTIN, S.C.: TRAIN DERAILS, CHEMICAL SPILLS AT PLANT IN ALLENDALE COUNTY
Tags: us_SC, transportation, release, injury, unknown_chemical

MARTIN, S.C. ‰?? A train traveling through Allendale County derailed and chemicals leaked out early Tuesday after the train ended up on to a side line at a plant, authorities said.

Workers at the Archroma plant in Martin, about 12 miles northwest of Allendale on state Highway 125, were evacuated after the derailment. No one living in the rural countryside nearby was ordered to leave, authorities said.

Two people on the train heading from Augusta, Georgia, to Charleston were hurt and were taken to a hospital in Augusta, Georgia, Allendale County deputies said. Their conditions were not known.

The train crashed just outside the entrance to the plant, which makes color paper and textiles. No workers were injured, Archroma U.S. spokesman Chad Perry said.

Authorities have not said what chemical leaked or whether the car that was breached was part of the through train or one of the parked cars.

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

5 HURT IN CENTRAL TEXAS CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, injury, toluene

At least five people have been hurt in a chemical spill at a Central Texas company that makes foam products.
Temple Fire & Rescue units on Tuesday morning responded to the Carpenter Co. and contained the leak.
Officials said there's no danger to the public. Investigators are trying to determine what led to the leak and how much liquid spilled.
Authorities said three employees reported breathing problems and were decontaminated at the facility. All were then transported to a hospital. An emergency medical services worker also had trouble breathing and was taken to a hospital.
A firefighter who came into contact with the chemical, identified as toluene diisocyanate, was treated at the scene and returned to duty.

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

CREWS CLEANING UP CHEMICAL SPILL NEAR GUNN, ALTA
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, response, hydrofluoric_acid

A chemical spill near Gunn, AB. forced the closure of Hwy 43 for several hours Tuesday while crews cleaned up the mess.
Stony Plain RCMP asked drivers to stay away from the junction of Hwy 43 and Hwy 37 after a tanker truck overturned early Tuesday morning.
Gunn is located northwest of Edmonton.

A spokesperson for Alberta Environment said the tanker was hauling 30,000 tonnes of a 35% hydrochloride solution - an amount ESRD later said was approximately 30,000 litres. That amount was later adjusted to about 28,000 litres.
Officials said about 300 litres of product was released into the ditch, officials said about 23,000 litres had been offloaded by HAZMAT crews on the scene dealing with the spill.

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

ONE INJURED AFTER FIRE BREAKS OUT IN AURORA SINAI HOSPITAL'S EMERGENCY ROOM
Tags: us_WI, public, fire, injury, fire_extinguisher, oxygen

MILWAUKEE -- One person is recovering from moderate burns after a small fire broke out in the emergency room of Aurora Sinai Hospital Monday night, according to the Milwaukee Fire Department.

Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing reports that an adult male patient was being given oxygen through a mask when he accidentally ignited his lighter as he reached for his phone, which started the fire.

The fire was quickly put out by nurses who used a dry chemical extinguisher. The patient was taken to Saint Mary's burn center as a precaution.

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

ALLAFRICA.COM: LIBERIA: CONCERN MOUNTS OVER EXPLOSION AT LAC
Tags: Liberia, industrial, follow-up, injury, unknown_chemical

There have been mounting concerns over the recent explosion at the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC) in Grand Bassa County.

Since the incident in Districts#3/4, many have expressed concern over the incident with some calling for the speedy probe into circumstances leading to the unfortunate situation in which about at least five persons sustained injuries.

Many lawmakers of Grand Bassa County including the county's former Senator, Gbehnzohngar Findley, have expressed concerns over news of the horrific explosion involving loss of lives at the Liberia Agriculture Company in Electoral District # 4 & 5, Grand Bassa County.

The lawmakers and former Pro-tempore Findley have at the same time called for speedy medical care for citizens severely affected by the explosion.

A Liberian journalist, Alexander Beadeah, has also joined others in calling for speedy probe into the situation and proper care for the victims.

Recently, a boiling water tank in the rubber processing factory exploded while employees were on duty and 17 employees got burnt.

Yesterday, Sen. NyonbleeKarnga-Lawrence, Sen. Johnathan Kaipay and Rep. Byron Browne were in the plantation to investigate the accident and to make sure the victims are given proper attention.

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

SODIUM'S EXPLOSIVE SECRETS REVEALED
Tags: United_Kingdom, education, discovery, environmental, sodium

It‰??s the classic piece of chemical tomfoolery: take a lump of sodium or potassium metal, toss it into water and watch the explosion. Although this piece of pyrotechnics has amazed generations of chemistry students, until now it has been misunderstood, a paper in Nature Chemistry reveals1.

The explosion, say Pavel Jungwirth and his collaborators at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, is not merely a consequence of the ignition of the hydrogen gas that the alkali metals release from water. That may happen eventually, but it begins as something far stranger: a rapid exodus of electrons followed by explosion of the metal driven by electrical repulsion.

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

CHEMICAL REACTION, UNDERGROUND FIRES CONTINUE AT STARK COUNTY LANDFILL
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, environmental, waste

Underground fires at a landfill in southern Stark County continue ‰?? with little evidence that the situation is improving.
Michael Darnell, environmental manager for Republic Services Inc., the owner and operator of the 258-acre Countywide Recycling & Disposal Facility, said the chemical reaction fueling the fires still is migrating to the northwest in a now-isolated 88-acre section of the landfill.
That was roughly the same assessment the landfill offered a year ago.
Problems at Countywide were discovered in late 2005 and early 2006, when noxious odors from the landfill repeatedly fouled the air for neighbors in southern Stark and northern Tuscarawas counties.
The fires were traced to a chemical reaction triggered when buried aluminum waste, called dross or salt cake, came into contact with landfill liquids. The dross had been dumped, legally, into the landfill years earlier.

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

DOZENS OF BOATS DESTROYED IN WALNUT GROVE MARINA FIRE
Tags: us_CA, public, fire, response, propane

WALNUT GROVE, Calif. (KCRA) ‰??At least 14 boats were destroyed in a fast-moving fire Monday at the Walnut Grove marina.

The fire started just after midnight and took several hours to contain.

By the time crews stopped the spread of the fire, 14 boats had been destroyed in the blaze.
....
Fay and his wife were asleep on their boat when they heard the sounds of explosions.

"It didn't take long because of all the fuel in the boats, fiberglass, propane just started going one after the other and as soon as it did, it just blew up. There was propane tanks blowing up, fuel tanks were on fire," said Fay.

Fay took his boat out onto the river to escape the flames and snapped photos of the devastation.

"It was like a forest fire," Fay said. "You looked at it and it was just solid flames, just huge and it was hot. I was out 100 feet from shore and you could feel the heat."

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

EMPLOYEES EVACUATE MAGNABLEND FACILITY AFTER SODIUM CHLORITE SPILL
Tags: us_TX, industrial, release, response, other_chemical

BREAKING 2:15 p.m.: Employees are evacuating a Magnablend facility on Sterrett Road and Interstate 35E because of a possible sodium choride spill. Initials/unconfirmed reports are residents near the facility are also being evacuated because the wind is blowing the fumes toward residences' homes.
‰??I don‰??t know what the product was but they have had a product release out here. It formed a vapor cloud. The police department has the traffic shut off to the road here. We have a command post set up. Our units have evacuated some of the houses,‰?? Potter said.

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

LAB ACCIDENT INVOLVING ACID EVACUATES KINGSWAY
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, injury, irritant

WOOLWICH ‰?? A lab mishap involving lauric acid sent a dozen Gloucester County high schoolers to the hospital and forced a snowy school-wide evacuation early Monday.

Heavy smoke was reported at Kingsway Regional High School near 7:40 a.m.

Woolwich Township Police and the Gloucester County HAZMAT team responded to potentially toxic chemical fumes, according to Superintendent James Lavender.

The HAZMAT workers cleared the scene within 45 minutes.

In the routine science class experiment, lauric acid is heated to show changes in temperature. It is believed a contaminant in a beaker created a bad reaction, according to Gloucester County spokeswoman Debra Sellitto.

Lauric acid is hazardous if inhaled and is considered a skin and eye irritant, according to the chemical's Material Safety Data sheet.

Twelve students and five adult faculty members, including the science teacher, were taken by school bus to the Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa., as a precaution, and were screened for respiratory issues, Lavender said.

High schoolers returned to class around 9 a.m. Students were dismissed at noon due to snow conditions.

The science lab will remain closed until school officials test ventilation hoods and other lab equipment, Lavender said.

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

GASOLINE BARRELS WASH ASHORE ALONG SCENIC HWY. 98
Tags: us_FL, public, discovery, response, gasoline

First responders from the Destin Fire Control District responded to a call about 6:45 a.m. Sunday related to a ‰??hazardous materials incident‰?? Fire Chief Kevin Sasser told The Log Monday. The barrels were located on the beach near 3450 Scenic Hwy. 98.

‰??Once we arrived, we determined the barrels were not leaking and therefore not an immediate public hazard,‰?? he wrote in an email. ‰??We requested the assistance of the sheriff‰??s office, DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), Coast Guard and a few others.‰??

Sasser said the scene was turned over to the Okaloosa County Sheriff‰??s Office and the DEP.

Michele Nicholson, public information officer for the OCSO, told The Log that she is unsure where the barrels came from, but confirmed they held gasoline. She said the situation is currently under investigation.

Hazmat crews were brought out to handle the containers, which were ultimately turned over to the DEP.

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

ALAMEDA COUNTY: HAZMAT CREWS INVESTIGATE ORANGE CHEMICAL FOUND AT CHERRYLAND HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

Alameda County firefighters are responding to reports of an unknown chemical found at a Cherryland home this morning, a fire dispatcher said.

About two shovelfuls worth of an orange chemical were found at the home in the 21800 block of Princeton Street just after 10 a.m., according to the fire department.

Hazardous materials crews are responding to investigate.

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


Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society

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