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Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Journal of Chemical Health and Safety: Alert 25 July-31 July Date: Friday, July 31, 2015 7:28:05 AM Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> |
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, July 31, 2015 at 7:40:04 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__pinboard.in_u-3Adchas&d=BQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=2btM6P84NSoyWPaYGRI6t9wHPqMRFGir3znpe6gr330&s=iQ1JXyIG-mO9essKbv4GEM9PA3klbbkG6ACQdJWKuiQ&e=
Table of Contents (12 articles)
SEVERAL TREATED IN NE AUSTIN FOR POSSIBLE HAZMAT EXPOSURE
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
'REGRETTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS' FAIL TO KNOCK HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS OUT OF PRODUCTS ‰?? NEWSWORKS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICAL SPILL FROM MARYSVILLE WATER PLANT TRIGGERS SWIM ADVISORY
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
EMERGENCY UNITS SIMULATE A CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT NU
Tags: us_IL, education, discovery, environmental
STORES EVACUATED AFTER ROTTEN EGG SMELL
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide, naphtha
HEALTH AND SAFETY GO TOGETHER LIKE ‰?|
Tags: other, discovery, environmental
DID A MOLDY BUILDING KILL 4 NEW ORLEANS COLLEGE PROFESSORS?
Tags: us_LA, education, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
WESTBURY ANIMAL HOSPITAL EVACUATED -- PETS AND ALL -- AFTER CHEMICAL REACTION, FIRE OFFICIAL SAYS
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, cleaners
FOX 8 WWCP TV
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO FRANKLINTON CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_OH, public, release, injury, bleach, cleaners
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSION BREAKS MANHOLE COVER IN MIDTOWN SACRAMENTO
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
NITRIC ACID LEAK SITE CONTAINED
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid
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SEVERAL TREATED IN NE AUSTIN FOR POSSIBLE HAZMAT EXPOSURE
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical
UPDATE: EMS officials say the possible irritating substance has been located and removed. Two more people refused treatment at the scene.
-----------------
EARLIER:
Three people were treated by EMS Thursday afternoon at a Northeast Austin business for a possible allergic reaction to an unidentified hazardous material.
It happened at around 1:30 p.m. at ProLogis, located east of the intersection of Cameron Road and East Rundberg Lane.
Austin-Travis County EMS says they initially received a call for one patient. When they arrived two others walked out of the ProLogis building requesting help. All three were transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge for possible allergic reaction symptoms.
The cause is still under investigation.
The Austin Fire Department HAZMAT team responded to the scene to monitor air quality. Authorities say they do not considering the incident an ongoing threat to public safety.
---------------------------------------------
'REGRETTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS' FAIL TO KNOCK HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS OUT OF PRODUCTS ‰?? NEWSWORKS
Tags: industrial, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Although diacetyl exposure was primarily hazardous for workers who continually inhaled it, in one extreme case a man who consumed microwave popcorn about twice a day for 10 years developed the same disease.
In reaction, some big food companies vowed to stop using it, and they did. But some replaced it with a chemical called 2,3 pentanedione, which could be just as hazardous, according to a report released earlier this month by The National Institute For Occupational Safety and Health. Swapping one hazardous chemical in for another is what experts call a regrettable substitution.
"We've discovered recently that a lot of these substitutions that have been made, while functionally equivalent, also have hazards associated with them," says Julie Zimmerman, assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at Yale University.
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CHEMICAL SPILL FROM MARYSVILLE WATER PLANT TRIGGERS SWIM ADVISORY
Tags: us_MI, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
Chrysler Beach in Marysville was closed for about three and half hours Wednesday due to a spill of hydrofluorosilicic acid from the city's water treatment plant.
Fluorosilicic acid is used by the plant to fluoridate the water. The chemical exists in liquid form only.
"We're just about to lift the chemical spill warning," Steve Demick, environmental health director of the St. Clair County Health Department, said at 3:45 p.m.
Demick issued the no-swim advisory at 12:17 p.m.
Ironically, the beach remained closed after the spill notice had been lifted due to high levels of the bacteria E. coli, which is caused by raw sewage in the water.
"We called the health department to see if they could send someone down to test the river water for the fluoride," said Marysville Public Safety Chief Tom Konik. "They said the beach was already closed due to E. coli."
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EMERGENCY UNITS SIMULATE A CHEMICAL EXPLOSION AT NU
Tags: us_IL, education, discovery, environmental
Suppose a student in the research labs at Northwestern University mixed up a couple of chemicals that didn't like each other and an explosion occurred, resulting in injuries. How would you handle it?
That was the scenario that formed the basis of a multi-agency training drill on the campus Thursday morning, involving the Evanston Fire Department, Northwestern police, the university's Office of Research Safety, and the regional Hazardous Materials Response Team that consists of personnel from a number of surrounding fire departments.
First, the "injured" students, portrayed by actors, were loaded into ambulances and whisked off to nearby hospitals. Then the alarm went out for the regional haz-mat team to arrive, complete with an array of tools and protective gear that would make them look like creatures from another galaxy.
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STORES EVACUATED AFTER ROTTEN EGG SMELL
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, hydrogen_sulfide, naphtha
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - A hazmat team has cleared a Goodwill store on Olive Drive after a report of a rotten egg smell.
Several stores were evacuated as a precaution, according to the Kern County Fire Department.
Multi-gas detectors initially found 1 part per million of hydrogen sulfide inside the store. The fire department said 100 parts per million of H2S is dangerous to a person's health.
The department says the trace chemical came from outside, but the exact source is still unknown. Anyone who knows its source is asked to call the Air Pollution Control District at (661) 392-5500.
The fire department said it has received many reports of the smell in north Bakersfield and Oildale.
And in a seemingly unrelated incident, residents in northwest Bakersfield reported a chemical smell that environmental health officials said Thursday afternoon may be at least partially attributable to a 20 gallon spill of naphtha at Amber Chemical Inc., located in north Bakersfield, just west of the 99.
Naphtha is found in oil fields and gives off a pungent odor. Health officials, however, say such a small leak doesn't pose any risk to public safety.
---------------------------------------------
HEALTH AND SAFETY GO TOGETHER LIKE ‰?|
Tags: other, discovery, environmental
When it comes to employee health, disease management and prevention get most of the attention. But occupational safety should be an integral part of any wellness strategy, according to experts who developed guidance to help employers integrate their health and safety programs.
‰??Employers do safety in one area of their company and other health-related initiatives in another portion of the company,‰?? said Dr. Ron Loeppke, past president of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and a co-author of the guidance, which can be accessed on the college‰??s website. ‰??Increasingly, there is an acknowledgment of the need to integrate the strategies of health and safety. The health of workers impacts work, and we know that work impacts the health of workers, so there needs to be a more holistic approach.‰??
In May, the college and UL ‰?? a safety certification firm based in Northbrook, Illinois ‰?? published an employer‰??s guide that includes a measurement tool to evaluate the effectiveness of corporate health and safety programs. The Integrated Health and Safety index examines the economic, environmental and social effect of those programs, similar to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which tracks the financial performance of green companies.
---------------------------------------------
DID A MOLDY BUILDING KILL 4 NEW ORLEANS COLLEGE PROFESSORS?
Tags: us_LA, education, discovery, environmental, unknown_chemical
Four Southern University at New Orleans professors who died within three months of each other had all worked on the second floor of the Multipurpose Classroom Building. So Cynthia Ramirez found it ironic that SUNO chose to hold a vigil for the dead on the same floor.
Ramirez, a tenured professor of fine arts at SUNO, had her own office in the Multipurpose Building until 2013. That fall, she demanded to be moved, complaining that the building was to blame for her worsening respiratory problems.
But on the morning of the vigil, Feb. 26, 2014, she walked back inside, climbed the atrium stairs and joined a few dozen others to honor the memory of Sudipta Das, 60, Felix James, 76, Guillarne Leary, 72, and Marina Dumas-Haynes, 57.
Standing before the crowd, students spoke of how their professors had embodied the mission of SUNO, a historically black university that caters to non-traditional students -- some older, returning to school after a time in the workforce, many attending part-time as they work full-time. One male student said Leary, a psychology professor, had saved his life.
When SUNO Chancellor Victor Ukpolo rose to speak, Ramirez burst into tears and left the building. Back at her office, she uttered a phrase that had been running through her mind for days: "SUNO killed those people."
---------------------------------------------
WESTBURY ANIMAL HOSPITAL EVACUATED -- PETS AND ALL -- AFTER CHEMICAL REACTION, FIRE OFFICIAL SAYS
Tags: us_NY, public, release, injury, cleaners
dozen employees and more than two dozen animals had to be evacuated from a Westbury animal hospital under a scorching summer sun Wednesday, following a chemical reaction between two cleaning chemicals, officials said.
Nassau County Fire Marshal Vincent McManus said the animals, dogs and cats were sheltered in private, air-conditioned vehicles; others were kept out of the blazing sun in the specially designed mobile firefighter rehab unit -- a vehicle usually used to aid firefighters working under harsh summer and winter elements.
Five employees were treated at the scene, McManus said.
---------------------------------------------
FOX 8 WWCP TV
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A fire on Penn State's campus late Tuesday gutted an office leaving hundreds of people out of work Wednesday. The Hammond Building is closed. Hundreds of people are out of work several classes cancelled and massive fans airing the building out Wednesday after fire tore through a graduate laboratory on the first floor late Tuesday night. This is that it looked like when Fire Crews go to the scene. Windows blown out and flames raging. The County Fire Director says they were able to keep the blaze to just one room. A Penn State Spokesperson says the fire was accidental and the County Fire Marshall is still investigating trying to find out why this happened. The Hammond Building is huge taking up two city blocks. It's the home to nearly every type of Engineering Program at Penn State but mostly Aerospace, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering. This room had only desks and electronics. Penn State Officials assisted at the fire.
---------------------------------------------
HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO FRANKLINTON CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_OH, public, release, injury, bleach, cleaners
COLUMBUS (WCMH) ‰?? Columbus Hazmat crews are investigating a chemical leak at a Franklinton area business.
Hazmat crews were sent to GFS Chemicals at 851 McKinley Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday after a worker reported that a cleaning chemical was leaking from a tank.
According to firefighters, the chemical is a bleach product and the leak was contained to the building.
McKinley Avenue was closed for a short time near Souder Avenue.
An employee of the business was taken to Mt. Carmel West Hospital with unspecified injuries. His condition was listed as stable.
---------------------------------------------
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSION BREAKS MANHOLE COVER IN MIDTOWN SACRAMENTO
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ‰?? Sacramento fire crews are responding to reports of a fireball blowing off a manhole cover and have asked residents to shelter in place.
Sacramento Fire described the event as a level 2 hazmat situation, but has since rescinded that. It has closed down two square blocks in the area of 17th and N streets.
---------------------------------------------
NITRIC ACID LEAK SITE CONTAINED
Tags: us_TX, transportation, release, response, nitric_acid
BEAUMONT -
A spokesperson for Beaumont Fire-Rescue says that hazardous material (HAZMAT) crews have contained a Nitric Acid leak that came from a tank truck carrying 43,380 pounds of the chemical by the Jefferson County Courthouse Wednesday.
Capt. Brad Pennison of Beaumont Fire-Rescue told 12News the leak came from the bottom of the tank truck, and was reported around 11:45 a.m. near Franklin and Park Streets.
When firefighters arrived, they set up a perimeter one block in each direction, and HAZMAT units were called to the scene. A temporary shelter was placed near the Jefferson County Courthouse, and four businesses near the courthouse were evacuated.
The driver of the truck was exposed to the product, and was treated on the scene by Beaumont EMS.
At 2:30 p.m. Pennison said the truck company, Action Resources, out of Hanceville, Alabama, had another truck en route to the scene and an environmental clean up crew.
Pennison said that the the crews experienced an equipment failure when they attempted to transfer the Nitric Acid from the leaking tank into a new tank. However, by 12:30 a.m. Thursday the transfer was complete and both trucks were removed. The environmental company remained to continue cleaning up any contaminants that may remain.
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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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