From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (15 articles)
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2015 07:42:39 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: DB72FE7D-8625-4DF0-850B-831ED43150AA**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at 7:41:55 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=UFOGh6TBx6I2LTwICYjaaNXa8TJSEZj2xy-uvGMrxxc&s=hiBxD9pQUN7f-z08WJ5R_qN5aMS8mE0lZ1l70F0LiV8&e=

Table of Contents (15 articles)

CHEMICAL FIRE ERUPTS IN WWU BUILDING
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, fire, response, solvent

HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO SMALL CHEMICAL SPILL AT AKZONOBEL
Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, adhesives

SCOTTISH LEISURE CENTRE EVACUATED OVER CHEMICAL SPILL FEARS
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, bleach

50 YEARS AGO: FATAL DUPONT CHEMICAL EXPLOSION A TURNING POINT IN LOUISVILLE TV COVERAGE
Tags: us_KY, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

SIUE STUDENT INJURED IN SCIENCE LAB EXPLOSION
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical

PEASE CONCERNS GROW AS BLOOD TESTS SHOW UNREGULATED CHEMICAL
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

CHEMICAL REACTION PROMPTS CALL TO NB‰??S FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

TAOS HOSPITAL ER EVACUATED AFTER PATIENT DIES FROM INGESTING POISON
Tags: us_NM, public, release, death, phosphine, suicide

FIRE INVOLVING SOLAR CAR MODEL BREAKS OUT AT SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC, SINGAPORE NEWS & TOP STORIES
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

US MILITARY WAREHOUSE NEAR TOKYO ROCKED BY EXPLOSION
Tags: Japan, industrial, explosion, response, freon, nitrogen, oxygen

JUDGE DENIES MOTIONS TO DISMISS WEST EXPLOSION CASES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems

ROBESON DEPUTY CONFIRMS DEATH OF HOME BEAUTY SALON OPERATOR
Tags: us_NC, public, release, death, unknown_chemical

MAN DIES AFTER CHEMICAL GAS INCIDENT IN AUCKLAND HOTEL
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide

CAGED BUNNIES IN TIANJIN BLAST ZONE FOR CHEMICAL TESTS
Tags: China, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical

CHEMICAL SPILL SHUTS DOWN ROAD, SENDS HAZMAT TO CORAOPOLIS
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, flammables


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

CHEMICAL FIRE ERUPTS IN WWU BUILDING
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, fire, response, solvent

BELLINGHAM
A chemical fire erupted in a Western Washington University chemistry building on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 25.

No one was injured, and the building was evacuated right after the fire broke out about 5:15 p.m., said WWU spokesman Paul Cocke.

Student Melany Fry was in room 370 of Morse Hall with six other students when the fire broke out.

‰??We heard a big bang and a whoosh,‰?? Fry said.

Fry said the fire started by a dry-solvent pump, which keeps water out of solvents. She didn‰??t think anybody was working with that pump at the time.

The flames were initially about 15 feet high, Fry said. All of the students got out quickly while somebody else tried putting the fire out with an extinguisher.

Firefighters responded and saw a plume coming from the building. They set up a perimeter far from the building to keep everyone away as they tried to determine what chemicals were involved.

The building‰??s sprinklers put out the fire. Firefighters broke out windows to ventilate the building, and conducted a search for anyone who might still be inside, though the building had been cleared. They later ordered an evacuation of the nearby biology building.

A hazardous materials team was brought in to examine the lab and ensure the scene was safe.

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

HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO SMALL CHEMICAL SPILL AT AKZONOBEL
Tags: us_NC, industrial, release, response, adhesives

Hazmat crews and fire personnel responded to a small chemical spill Tuesday afternoon at AkzoNobel Chemicals Inc. following a chemical reaction from a product at the Cedar Springs Road plant.

Company officials say an ingredient used to make label adhesive self-reacted, generating heat and smoke. A hazardous materials team was called in as a precaution. The incident was reported just after 4:30 p.m.

A third of the drum self-reacted in an area where the chemical is stored, said Gary Hamblin, director of operations for Henkel Corp., located beside AkzoNobel.

Hamblin said Henkel worked with officials from AkzoNobel to contain the chemical.

Brian Owen, AkzoNobel site director, said both companies have trained together and have a joint hazardous materials team that responded to the spill. Owen said there was no one in the area where the spill happened, which was in an area especially designed for containment.

All employees were accounted for, both men said.

‰??There was no environmental impact,‰?? Owen said.

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

SCOTTISH LEISURE CENTRE EVACUATED OVER CHEMICAL SPILL FEARS
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, bleach

A Scottish entertainment centre has been evacuated after a suspected chemical leak, multiple causalities were reported.
Three fire engines and 15 ambulance service vehicles were called to the scene at East Sands leisure centre in St Andrews, Fife, shortly after 1pm on Tuesday.
Scottish ambulance service has said that the injured will be transported to hospital, with triage teams treating several people on site at present. Those affected are understood not to be in a serious conditions.
The Scottish fire and rescue service said the leak was believed to be sodium hypochlorite, a chemical compound which becomes bleach when it comes into contact with water.
The leisure centre, which has a swimming pool and flume rides, has been cordoned off and evacuated as the emergency services deal with the incident.

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

50 YEARS AGO: FATAL DUPONT CHEMICAL EXPLOSION A TURNING POINT IN LOUISVILLE TV COVERAGE
Tags: us_KY, industrial, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- The DuPont chemical plant in Louisville's Rubbertown exploded in fire on August 25 1965.

A series of blasts starting that morning would kill 12 employees and injure 70.

Bill Ritter of Sellersburg, Indiana, now 91 years old, worked there 36 years and remembers that day like yesterday.

"Everything shook, lights went out. I remember I fell down to my knees," he said.

The DuPont tragedy was also the first live broadcast for WHAS-TV and for that matter, any TV station in Louisville.
....
Ritter looked out of the window of his tool shop at DuPont and saw an unreal scene as the explosion ripped apart giant chemical tanks, "It blew the tops off of them. They looked like flying saucers in the air."

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

SIUE STUDENT INJURED IN SCIENCE LAB EXPLOSION
Tags: us_IL, laboratory, explosion, injury, other_chemical

A student at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was injured Tuesday afternoon when a mixture of chemicals he was working with in a science laboratory exploded.

The 23-year-old student was working with a beaker containing tetrahydroflorine and potassium exploded, causing a small fire.

The student suffered cuts to both of his hands. He was treated by emergency medical services and taken to Anderson hospital.

The university's new Science Building was evacuated after the explosion but is expected to re-open Tuesday night.

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

PEASE CONCERNS GROW AS BLOOD TESTS SHOW UNREGULATED CHEMICAL
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. ‰??Blood tests for people who may have been exposed to an unregulated contaminant in a well at Pease Tradeport have come back elevated, and many are wondering what to do now.

The well was shut down in May 2014 after a test showed the presence of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, one of a class of chemicals known as perflurochemicals, or PFCs.

Levels of the chemical were found to be 10 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency's advisory level. Five hundred people opted to be tested to see if the chemical was present in their blood. One of 108 children to be tested was Alayna Davis' 5-year-old son.

"My heart sank," Davis said. "It's scary."

Andrea Amico's two children and her husband all have elevated levels.

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

CHEMICAL REACTION PROMPTS CALL TO NB‰??S FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_TX, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

A chemical reaction at a company that makes ingredients for personal care products in Comal County caused a bit of a scare Sunday evening.
Officials quickly controlled the situation at Boracay and no one was hurt and the environment suffered no exposure, the company‰??s chief executive officer said.

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

TAOS HOSPITAL ER EVACUATED AFTER PATIENT DIES FROM INGESTING POISON
Tags: us_NM, public, release, death, phosphine, suicide

Holy Cross Hospital in Taos evacuated staff and patients early Monday after a patient died from ingesting massive amounts of prairie dog poison, according to hospital officials. The hospital had reopened in its entirety and was offering all services as normal as of 3:30 p.m. Monday.
The patient's death resulted in the possible release of phosphine gas, prompting the emergency department to evacuate and seal off the rest of the hospital for several hours early Monday.
The Taos News reports the patient had consumed 1 1/2 pounds of prairie dog poison at his home in an effort to commit suicide. He was taken to the hospital by his brother.
All employees have been cleared of any contamination and are being monitored. No other patients were affected, according to officials.
The Rio Arriba Hazmat team responded to the hospital to assess the situation Monday afternoon. State police and the Office of the Medical Investigator also reported to the site early Monday.
The hospital had reopened in its entirety by 3:30 p.m. The Los Alamos Hazmat team and 64th Civil Support Team-WMD will remain at the scene and the tent erected earlier Monday to handle the situation with remain overnight.

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

FIRE INVOLVING SOLAR CAR MODEL BREAKS OUT AT SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC, SINGAPORE NEWS & TOP STORIES
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

SINGAPORE - A fire broke out at Singapore Polytechnic on Tuesday (Aug 25) at about 10.30am.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the fire involved a solar car model.

Three security officers suffered from smoke inhalation, and were taken to National University Hospital, SCDF added.

It is believed that the solar car model was in a laboratory in the school.

This is not the first time that there has been a fire at the tertiary institution. In July 2013, firefighters had to battle two fires there in three days. One fire involved a Malay food stall at a foodcourt. A 45-year-old stall assistant suffered minor burns to the right side of her face and arm and was taken to the Singapore General Hospital where she was treated. The other fire happened at an office of a teaching block. No one was injured.

In July 2012, an exhaust duct at another foodcourt at the polytechnic caught fire.

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

US MILITARY WAREHOUSE NEAR TOKYO ROCKED BY EXPLOSION
Tags: Japan, industrial, explosion, response, freon, nitrogen, oxygen

A warehouse at a US military base in Sagamihara near Tokyo was rocked by an explosion and fire on Sunday.

The blast, however, did not lead to any injury as the warehouse was not storing any hazardous materials. A statement by the US Army Japan revealed that the building was housing canisters of compressed nitrogen, oxygen, Freon and air.

Sagamihara is a city about 25 miles southwest of Tokyo.

The country's national broadcaster NHK reported that around 580 people work at the 200h depot.

Japan has asked the US to launch an investigation and prevent future recurrence, reported Reuters.

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

JUDGE DENIES MOTIONS TO DISMISS WEST EXPLOSION CASES
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems

The judge presiding over trials of lawsuits spawned from the 2013 West fertilizer plant explosion has denied defense motions seeking the dismissal of the suits.
Judge Jim Meyer of Waco‰??s 170th State District Court heard summary judgment motions last week from defense attorneys asking that the lawsuits be thrown out and from attorneys challenging each side‰??s proposed expert witnesses.
Meyer made 27 separate rulings in the case, issuing his orders late Friday afternoon.
Last week, the judge denied a defense motion to postpone the first trial until February.
Plaintiffs in the first trial, which is set to begin Oct. 12, include the families of Kevin Sanders, 33; William ‰??Buck‰?? Uptmor Jr., 45; and Kenneth ‰??Luckey‰?? Harris Jr., 52.
The three were killed in the blast.
Meyer has divided the plaintiffs into three trial groups.
The summary judgment rulings include denials on plaintiffs‰?? having failed to establish the cause of the explosion; on plaintiffs‰?? design defect claims; on plaintiffs‰?? marketing defect claim of ‰??duty to warn‰??; on plaintiffs‰?? manufacturing defect claim; and on plaintiffs‰?? breach of warranty claim.

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

ROBESON DEPUTY CONFIRMS DEATH OF HOME BEAUTY SALON OPERATOR
Tags: us_NC, public, release, death, unknown_chemical

FAIRMONT - One person is dead in Robeson County and four others have been treated today for exposure to an unknown chemical.
....
The Regional Hazardous Materials team in Fayetteville was called to the scene because of a strong odor, Thompson said.
The scene had been cleared by 6 p.m. The investigation, Thompson said, was only just beginning once the HAZMAT team completed its work late in the afternoon.
Three sheriff‰??s officials and one civilian, none of whom was injured, were sent to Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton out of precaution, Thompson said. A spokeswoman for Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton said people were brought to the hospital and decontaminated.
The chemical is believed to have been used in a home beauty salon, the spokeswoman said.

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

MAN DIES AFTER CHEMICAL GAS INCIDENT IN AUCKLAND HOTEL
Tags: New_Zealand, public, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide

Auckland: A man is dead following an incident involving harmful chemicals at an inner-city Auckland hotel.

St John ambulance spokeswoman Victoria Hawkins said the 58-year-old man was in a critical condition and was undergoing decontamination by Fire Service staff at the Grand Hotel Chancellor in Hobson St but died at the scene at 12.10pm on Tuesday.

Ambulance staff had assessed a further 10 patients at the scene who did not need to be taken to hospital.
.....
It was too early to confirm whether it was a drug-making operation, Fire Service assistant area commander Dave Woon said. He said authorities were unsure what chemicals were used but that different chemicals had been combined together. The mixed chemicals created a gas, which formed a "rotten egg smell that you would typically find in Rotorua".

Mr Woon said it was a rare situation and he had never seen anything quite like it and said police were now leading the investigation
\

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

CAGED BUNNIES IN TIANJIN BLAST ZONE FOR CHEMICAL TESTS
Tags: China, public, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical

Hong Kong (CNN)Caged rabbits, chickens and pigeons placed in the heart of the Tianjin blast zone by Chinese authorities to test for chemical exposure have drawn a mix of ire and ridicule on Chinese social media, as pressure builds for authorities to answer for the deadly blast that devastated the northeastern port city earlier this month.

According to a weekend tweet by the state-run People's Daily, the animals were placed in a "core" area of Tianjin to test for possible "chemical remains."

The move comes after images emerged last week of a large number of dead, rotting fish washed up in a local river, fueling local residents' fears over possible chemical contamination.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL SHUTS DOWN ROAD, SENDS HAZMAT TO CORAOPOLIS
Tags: us_PA, transportation, release, response, flammables

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ‰?? A chemical spill created a big mess and shut down part of 5th Avenue in Coraopolis Monday.
The Hazmat team and EPA officials were called to the scene around 4 p.m.
Officials say a tractor-trailer started leaking fuel with a kerosene additive in the 700-block of 5th Avenue.
The road in that area was shut down for much of the evening.
Mayor Anthony Celeste wrote on Facebook:
‰??5th Avenue is shut down from family video down. A tanker truck spilled a highly flammable chemical all down the road. They are calling in hazmat. Please be careful and take another route.‰??
The fuel leak was contained.

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