From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (10 articles)
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2015 07:50:54 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 520960A4-6C63-443E-8B06-37D2B0EF1570**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, February 2, 2015 at 7:50:37 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 (10 articles)

CHEMICAL SPILL AFTER TRUCK CRASH CLOSES I-57 NEAR CHAMPAIGN, IL
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, flammables

EPA ANALYSIS SUGGESTS GREEN SUCCESS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, hydrochloric_acid, toxics

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. OFFICIALS SEARCH FOR SOURCE OF CHEMICAL IN WATER SUPPLY
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

HAZMAT CLEANING UP AMMONIA LEAK INSIDE COCA COLA PLANT
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, ammonia

SPILL AT VALENT ENDS UP A SOAPY MESS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, cleaners, sodium_hydroxide

POLICE TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OF CHEMICAL TRANSPORTATION
Tags: China, public, discovery, response, explosives, illegal

CONSIDER CHEMICAL REACTIVITY IN PROCESS HAZARD ANALYSIS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, flammables

PROPANE DELIVERY PART OF DAILY LIFE IN MEXICO, BUT DEADLY EXPLOSION DRAWS CALLS TO RECONSIDER
Tags: Mexico, transportation, explosion, death, propane

METH LAB EXPLODES IN GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, response, meth_lab

SUSPECT IN MARSHALLS EXPLOSION ARRESTED
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical, bomb, illegal


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CHEMICAL SPILL AFTER TRUCK CRASH CLOSES I-57 NEAR CHAMPAIGN, IL
Tags: us_IL, transportation, release, response, flammables

CHAMPAIGN, IL (KTVI) ‰?? A hazardous chemical spill resulting from an overturned tractor trailer shut down Interstate 57 in Champaign, IL for most of Sunday. The spill forced more than 100 residents out of their homes. No one was injured in the accident.

Authorities said the trailer contained a chemical used in cleaners and shampoos. Dimethylaminopropylamine is flammable. Vapors from the chemical can cause health problems.

The driver of the tractor trailer was cited for driving too fast for the weather conditions.

‰??Road conditions were snowy,‰?? said Illinois State Trooper Tracy Lillard. ‰??It was starting to get slushy.‰??

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EPA ANALYSIS SUGGESTS GREEN SUCCESS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, hydrochloric_acid, toxics

In 2013, industrial facilities in the U.S. generated approximately 26 billion lb of chemical waste, up 4% from the previous year. Of that amount, 22 billion lb, or 84%, was managed through recycling, treatment, or burning to generate energy. Of the 4 billion lb that was disposed of in the environment, 66% went to landfills or injection wells, 19% was released to air, 10% was transferred to other facilities for disposal, and 5% was released to water.

These data, issued two weeks ago, come from the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s annual Toxics Release Inventory National Analysis. The data might not seem relevant to the average research chemist or plant engineer. But the numbers reveal that the amount of chemical waste released to land, air, and water has decreased 7% during the past decade, according to EPA‰??s Daniel H. Teitelbaum, leader of the TRI program‰??s pollution-prevention team. Furthermore, the releases for some chemicals, including hydrochloric acid, trichloroethylene, and methyl isobutyl ketone, have decreased by more than 60% over that time.

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. OFFICIALS SEARCH FOR SOURCE OF CHEMICAL IN WATER SUPPLY
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

Fayetteville's tap water contains traces of an industrial chemical that has been classified as likely to cause cancer in humans, and local and state officials are working to find its source in the Cape Fear River.
The cancer risks are most likely at high doses over a long period, and scientists are not warning people to stop drinking their tap water. But, they do want to determine the acceptable levels if the contaminant can't be eliminated. Removing the chemical would be an expensive project for Fayetteville Public Works Commission and other water systems.
The man-made chemical, 1,4-dioxane, is widely used in paint strippers, varnishes, dyes, greases and even some cosmetics and shampoos.
But it wasn't until 2013 that the federal Environmental Protection Agency began requiring municipalities around the U.S. to begin testing for 1,4-dioxane.
The federal agency wants to monitor the contaminant through December to know how pervasive 1,4-dioxane is before deciding whether to issue advisories to water treatment plants or set standards for safe levels in drinking water.

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HAZMAT CLEANING UP AMMONIA LEAK INSIDE COCA COLA PLANT
Tags: us_IN, industrial, release, response, ammonia

Speedway, IND. (February 1, 2015) ‰?? HAZMAT teams continue to clear an ammonia leak at the Coca Cola plant. Dispatchers received a call around 10 PM on Saturday from employees saying they could clearly smell ammonia. Workers immediately evacuated the premises.

IFD, Wayne Township, and Speedway Fire Dept. arrived on scene. They sent in teams of 10 to get readings in different parts of the building and said in some parts the ammonia readings sent their meters off the charts. They shut off the source of the leak and the remaining step is to clean up the ammonia.

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SPILL AT VALENT ENDS UP A SOAPY MESS
Tags: us_IA, industrial, release, response, cleaners, sodium_hydroxide

OSAGE | Osage firefighters responded to a chemical spill at Valent BioSciences Corp. on Saturday morning ‰?? but in the end, it was all about ‰?? well, soap.

Firefighters, required to follow hazmat protocols, evacuated the building of about eight employees until the spill was identified and procedures followed, according to Assistant Fire Chief Gene Evans. The department was called just after 11 a.m.

The chemical ‰?? sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as lye ‰?? is used to clean vessels at the plant, and "some inadvertently spilled and triggered the automatic fire alarm," Evans said.

The solution was in a low concentrate form, mixed with water, and is commonly used by industry as a cleaner. The spill occurred on the second floor of the fermentation area.

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POLICE TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OF CHEMICAL TRANSPORTATION
Tags: China, public, discovery, response, explosives, illegal

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) will launch a nationwide campaign from Feb. 2 to 10 to eliminate security risks linked to the transportation of dangerous chemicals, it said Friday.

The ministry will tighten supervision on the transportation of illegal chemicals and dangerous chemicals.

Road police were warned of the danger posed by leakage or explosion of dangerous chemicals, and reminded to be especially vigilant as the Lunar New Year holiday approaches.

Earlier this month, the ministry began another campaign on guns and explosives, which will run till the end of March.

It will focus on the illegal manufacture, sale and smuggling of guns and explosives, as well as inspect work safety in departments that work with guns and explosives.

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CONSIDER CHEMICAL REACTIVITY IN PROCESS HAZARD ANALYSIS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, flammables

Managing chemical reactivity hazards is more complex than other major hazards. Learn how to use process hazard analysis (PHA) to identify such hazard scenarios and determine whether additional risk-reduction measures are needed for your process.

Many chemicals used in the chemical process industries (CPI) present chemical reactivity hazards. Such materials can undergo uncontrollable or unintended chemical reactions that could cause serious harm to people, property, and the environment. Addressing chemical reactivity hazards is more challenging than dealing with toxic, flammable, or explosive chemicals, because reactivity hazards are not as widely recognized or understood; and because hazard scenarios involving them are more involved and harder to identify.

This article discusses the different types of chemical reactivity hazards and how process hazard analysis (PHA) can be used to identify these hazards. The article explains how PHA for chemical reactivity hazards differs from the use of PHA to address other types of hazards. Finally, it identifies common pitfalls in performing chemical reactivity PHAs and offers suggestions for avoiding them.

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PROPANE DELIVERY PART OF DAILY LIFE IN MEXICO, BUT DEADLY EXPLOSION DRAWS CALLS TO RECONSIDER
Tags: Mexico, transportation, explosion, death, propane

MEXICO CITY ‰?? It was the sort of scene that plays out thousands of times a day across Mexico City: A tanker truck laden with propane rumbled down a crowded street, pulled up at a hospital and began to pump gas into its storage tanks.

Then something went very wrong. A gas leak led to an explosion Thursday that destroyed a maternity hospital, killing at least three people and injuring more than 70. It's already focusing on attention on Mexico City's unusual reliance on trucking gas through often-chaotic traffic to reach homes and businesses.

"Mexico City is one of the few or maybe the last major capital in the world where gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, all the fuels, propane, are distributed by cargo trucks, tankers and gas cylinders," said Jose Luis Luege, a chemical engineer and former federal environment secretary.

A fleet of 10,000 tank trucks rumble across Mexico filling stationary tanks through hoses and pipes. An additional 14,200 open-bed trucks handle the 20 million gas cylinders in circulation, hawked by venders who slowly make their way through city neighborhoods endlessly shouting "gaaaaaaaas." It's not unusual to see one man pushing a cylinder as tall as he is down the street on a dolly.

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METH LAB EXPLODES IN GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT
Tags: us_OH, public, explosion, response, meth_lab

A vehicle exploded in the parking lot of an Anderson Township grocery store Thursday night.

The cause? Police believe two men were cooking meth in an SUV, sparking the explosion.

When authorities arrived at the parking lot of Remke Markets on Beechmont Avenue, the reported vehicle fire was out, but a witness told them two men jumped out of the vehicle after an explosion.

The men grabbed a burning object ejected from the SUV and ran from the scene around 7:15 p.m., the witness told police.

After an investigation, authorities determined the cause of the explosion and brief fire was a "one-pot" meth lab inside the vehicle, according to a news release from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

Typically, a one-pot meth lab is a bottle of soda filled with chemicals to make methamphetamine.

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SUSPECT IN MARSHALLS EXPLOSION ARRESTED
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical, bomb, illegal

Police have arrested a man suspected of setting off a small explosive Wednesday inside the Visalia Marshall's department store.

Nobody was hurt in the explosion, which generated a loud bang but didn't do any damage, as it may have been set off to distract store employees and customers while the person who set it off was shoplifting items.

A man was seen leaving the store carrying a bag of items during the confusion over the explosion. Customers and employees were evacuated until emergency crews determined that no serious threat existed.

Visalia police announced today that they identified the man suspected of setting off the explosion as Larry Mock, and he was arrested Thursday night at a Tulare hotel.

Before that happened, Visalia police report that an officer tried to pull over a car belonging to Mock later on Wednesday, but it sped away. A brief chase ensued, but police terminated it after over concerns for public safety.

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

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