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, 15 Jun 2016 07:12:12 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 7ED0D402-1CA2-4834-B53C-70837C3CD4FE**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at 7:11:59 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=DQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=XWFXDaOB6qjM1NwSGgnK5H5FNE_l3AO3e8UEq1ONTqo&s=hVGh4GE21RlzXb39aN5R-1GFmjQiR6-OwgxzooTibmM&e=

Table of Contents (15 articles)

3 TREATED AFTER SOLVENT LEAK AT RENO PRINTING COMPANY
Tags: us_NV, industrial, release, injury, solvent

CHEMICAL SPILL AT GEHL FOODS PLANT LEAVES FIVE WITH MINOR INJURIES
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, chlorine, sulfur_dioxide

CHEMICAL SPILL AT EL SEGUNDO WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, water_treatment

TRANSITIONING TO SAFER CHEMICALS IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH LABORATORIES: LESSONS LEARNED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, toxics, waste

STRONG ODOR HITS LA COUNTY IN WAKE OF MAYWOOD FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, environmental, plastics

HCSO: BABYSITTER ARRESTED FOR BUILDING ACID BOMBS WITH TEEN
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, response, bomb, illegal

FIRE, EXPLOSION DESTROY POOL SHED IN PEMBROKE
Tags: us_MA, public, explosion, response, pool_chemicals

FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE EXPLOSIVE, CHEMICAL-FUELED BLAZE IN SOUTHEAST L.A.
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, magnesium

FIRE CREWS INSPECT GEAR AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_OR, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides

AMAZON FACES $350,000 FINE FOR IMPROPERLY SHIPPING LIQUID FIRE
Tags: us_CO, transportation, follow-up, response, cleaners

EVACUATIONS ORDERED FOLLOWING FIRE AT NC CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_NC, industrial, explosion, response, sulphur

KIDS EXPERIENCE APPARENT CHEMICAL REACTION FROM ABILENE POOL -
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL SPILL AT PHELPS
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

NEIGHBORS CONCERNED OVER RUBBERTOWN CHEMICAL SPILLS
Tags: us_KY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics

SPRINGFIELD SUICIDE WITH 'COCKTAIL OF CHEMICALS' SPARKS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, death, suicide


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3 TREATED AFTER SOLVENT LEAK AT RENO PRINTING COMPANY
Tags: us_NV, industrial, release, injury, solvent

RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) " The Garlock Printing and Converting warehouse on Woodland Avenue was evacuated after a solvent leak Tuesday morning, according to the Reno Fire Department.

RFD first tweeted about the possible HazMat situation.

Officials said three people needed medical attention after equipment failure caused the solvent to be released into the air.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL AT GEHL FOODS PLANT LEAVES FIVE WITH MINOR INJURIES
Tags: us_WI, industrial, release, injury, chlorine, sulfur_dioxide

A gas buildup inside the Gehl Foods plant in Germantown on June 7 caused a chemical spill that sent five to the hospital with minor respiratory issues.

According to a press release from the Germantown Fire Department, a contractor had accidentally mixed two materials that created chlorine and sulfur dioxide, which eventually caused a pressure breach that released product and gas inside the facility.

All employees at the plant were evacuated, with five sent to Community Memorial Hospital after complaining of respiratory distress.

Responders on the scene determined the product could be flushed and diluted to a safe point. According to the release, the Washington County Hazmat Team monitored the situation in and around the building.

The area was released back to Gehl Foods after air monitoring was completed and the pH at the scene was neutral.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL AT EL SEGUNDO WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, response, water_treatment

EL SEGUNDO, CA " A chemical spill was reported Tuesday afternoon at the West Basin water treatment plant across from the Chevron refinery.

The spill was reported at around 1 p.m, West Basin Water District Assistant General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh said.

"Early today, we have a chemical that was put into the wrong chemical tank," he said. "We're still investigating why that happened."

The chemical created a "minor heat increase" and the plant contacted the El Segundo Fire Department out of "an abundance of caution," he said.

The fire department evacuated a nearby building and shutdown a portion of El Segundo Boulevard near Sepulveda Boulevard.

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TRANSITIONING TO SAFER CHEMICALS IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH LABORATORIES: LESSONS LEARNED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Tags: us_WA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, toxics, waste

Chemicals are an integral component of laboratory activities in academia but minimizing hazards and environmental impacts of chemicals is challenging. This paper describes how laboratories in University of Washington"s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (UW DEOHS) partnered with the UW Green Laboratory Program to explore approaches for assisting laboratories to adopt green chemistry principles and select safer chemicals. Chemical inventories, purchasing records, and hazardous waste data were used to quantitate chemical use in DEOHS. Characterizing chemical use based on the data sources provided the project team with a summary of the high volume chemicals used by departmental laboratories. As a way to target chemicals that are highly hazardous but not used in large masses/volumes, laboratory managers were asked about highly hazardous or toxic chemicals they used. Two chemicals were selected for alternatives assessments and developed into case studi!
es that represent different barriers that laboratories face in their efforts to transition to greener and safer chemicals. This project provided a unique opportunity to survey chemicals used by a set of laboratories with diverse research topics and assess the practicality of transitioning to safer and greener chemicals in laboratory research using case studies.

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

STRONG ODOR HITS LA COUNTY IN WAKE OF MAYWOOD FIRE
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, environmental, plastics

When Paulette Jorrisset stepped out of her Reseda home Tuesday morning, she was hit was by an intense, chemical smell.
"I took one little whiff and it just came over me. I immediately closed my door and windows and started contacting people," she said.
'Horrifying' Explosions, Fire Destroy Warehouse
Residents all over the Southern California area felt the after-effects of a fire through a pungent odor that settled over the region. Another resident, Justin Adams of Sherman Oaks, described the scent "like a burning tire, a plastic-y smell."
The fire began around 2:30 a.m. at a plastics business in the 3700 block of Fruitland Avenue. A smoke advisory was released late morning by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, advising residents to avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure and to limit physical exertion.
Thousands Attend Downtown LA Vigil for Orlando Victims
Air quality officials are reporting poor air quality in the central, south central and southeast portions of LA County.

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

HCSO: BABYSITTER ARRESTED FOR BUILDING ACID BOMBS WITH TEEN
Tags: us_FL, public, explosion, response, bomb, illegal

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A babysitter is accused of having explosives and child abuse after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said he set off an acid bomb in a park Monday.

HCSO said deputies arrested 30-year-old Joshua Stephen Lapin-Bertone, of Tampa, and charged him with four counts each of making/placing/discharging a destructive device and child abuse - endangerment.

Investigators said an off-duty deputy working in the Logan Gate Subdivision near Monterey Lakeside Park heard an explosion and went straight to the park around 11:15 a.m. That's when he saw Lapin-Bertone setting off chemical bombs.

HCSO said Lapin-Bertone was showing a boy how to set off chemical bombs and had the child participated in throwing the devices. After searching his vehicle, deputies found more chemicals used to make acid bombs.

A bomb team member from HCSO came to the scene and neutralized the chemicals.

The child's mother responded came to the park and took her son. The initial investigation revealed the babysitter was found by the mother through Care.com and has been a regular babysitter for the boy for the past four years.

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

FIRE, EXPLOSION DESTROY POOL SHED IN PEMBROKE
Tags: us_MA, public, explosion, response, pool_chemicals

PEMBROKE " A fire burned a wooden pool shed to the ground and caused a propane tank to explode at a Thompson Street home Monday afternoon.
Firefighters were called to 13 Thompson Street at about 4:10 p.m. for a report of an explosion, Fire Chief Michael Hill said. The wooden 10-foot-by-12-foot pool shed and its contents were engulfed in flames.
Firefighters were at the scene for about two hours dousing the fire, which spread to some brush and dry leaves.
No firefighters or residents were injured.
Hill said investigators believe that the fire may have started because of either an electrical problem or a chemical reaction from items stored in the shed. The fire likely caused a 20-pound propane cylinder to explode.

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

FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE EXPLOSIVE, CHEMICAL-FUELED BLAZE IN SOUTHEAST L.A.
Tags: us_CA, industrial, explosion, response, magnesium

Firefighters are battling an explosive, magnesium-fueled fire in southeast Los Angeles County Tuesday morning that is shooting flames and sending sparks, huge plumes of smoke and ash into the sky.

The three-alarm blaze was reported about 2:30 a.m. in an industrial area in the city of Maywood where it started in a junkyard and the spread to two nearby buildings.

Power was knocked out to thousands of people as the flames consumed power poles and a nearby apartment building was evacuated.

L.A. County Fire inspector Randall Wright told KABC TV that the explosions were caused by the volatile reaction of chemicals and water. He said the fire was "very active, very challenging and very dangerous."

One nearby resident described the scene as "no joke, downtown covered in smoke and smells of fireworks."

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

FIRE CREWS INSPECT GEAR AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
Tags: us_OR, industrial, follow-up, environmental, ag_chems, pesticides

WHITE CITY, Ore-- The three alarm fire on Mason Way Friday is still being investigated by fire crews, but they are also waiting on a list of chemicals that were in the building during the fire.

It's standard practice for firefighters to clean themselves off with the hose after fighting a fire, but because there were things like pesticides and herbicides in this one, crews have to isolate their gear until it's been inspected for safety reasons.

"Most of the chemicals we saw in this fire were water soluble, so our wash off after the fire should be sufficient," Fire District 3's Ashley Lara said. "But it's the chemicals we don't know about that we are testing for."

Fire District Three has this special "extractor" washing machine, specially designed for fire fighter's gear...but not all fire stations have these.

Turnouts, or the gear firefighters wear, are placed in pretty dirty places. The smoke from house fires can pick up chemical particles from anything that it burns, and that can get into the turnouts.

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

AMAZON FACES $350,000 FINE FOR IMPROPERLY SHIPPING LIQUID FIRE
Tags: us_CO, transportation, follow-up, response, cleaners

Federal regulators are going after Amazon for allegedly botching the packaging of Liquid Fire drain cleaner, which leaked on UPS employees during shipping.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is proposing a $350,000 fine for the October 2014 incident.
Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) did not properly package or label the box containing the drain cleaner before it was flown from Louisville to Boulder, Colorado, the FAA claims.
"Nine UPS employees who came into contact with the box reported feeling a burning sensation and were treated with a chemical wash," the FAA said.

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

EVACUATIONS ORDERED FOLLOWING FIRE AT NC CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_NC, industrial, explosion, response, sulphur

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. (WECT) " Emergency crews are responding to reports of a fire following an explosion at Tiger Products" chemical plant in Bladen County Monday morning.

According to Bradley Kinlaw, emergency services director for Bladen County, the fire was first reported around 9:30 a.m. at the plant, located in the 4200 block of US 701 in Elizabethtown.

Officials on scene said the fire started in a machine at the plant following an explosion. Crews have contained the fire but it is still burning.

A hazmat crew was called to the scene due to smoldering sulfur.

Kinlaw said evacuations were issued to homes a quarter mile down wind from the plant. No injuries have been reported so far.

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

KIDS EXPERIENCE APPARENT CHEMICAL REACTION FROM ABILENE POOL -
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) - Four children experienced an apparent reaction to chemicals after swimming at an Abilene pool.

All four kids were swimming at the Dive Spot off Lytle Way when the began to notice a chemical smell they described as being similar to sulfur, according to medical personnel on scene.

The kids were checked out at the scene, and examiners determined there was no need to send them to the hospital. The nature of their symptoms is unknown, but a member of the KTAB and KRBC team reports seeing the kids rubbing their eyes.

Every other person swimming in the pool, including a fifth kid from the same group as the four experiencing symptoms, did not experience any issues related to the chemicals.

The City Inspector did test the PH level of the water and discovered the PH level was low, but the pool was not shut down. The incident was called into authorities as a precaution.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL AT PHELPS
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

PHELPS, Ky. " A chemical spill at Peter Creek on Saturday afternoon have many scratching their heads as to what type of material was being kept in multiple containers at a vacant building, which belongs to former State Representative W. Keith Hall.

Lanny Brannock , spokesman with the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in Frankfort, Ky. said an Emergency Response Team (ERT) was dispatched to the area around 5 p.m. at the request of Pike County Emergency Management.

According to Brannock, twenty-seven 300 gallon totes were discovered on the outside of the building several totes, 55 gallon drums and a couple of poly-tanks were being housed inside the building. None of the containers were labeled and all of the containers appear to contain the same material. Samples have been taken and are currently at the lab for characterization. The containers were in poor condition and were badly deteriorated; the spill caused a mile long stretch of dead fish in Peter Creek.

Brannock said it will be approximately 7-10 days before testing will be complete and the department will be certain of what the material was. Brannock also does not see a threat to public health.

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

NEIGHBORS CONCERNED OVER RUBBERTOWN CHEMICAL SPILLS
Tags: us_KY, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) " Two non-toxic chemical spills from two different chemical plants in the last week has Chickasaw and Algonquin neighbors saying enough is enough.

Many in the Rubbertown area say not only does it smell but they're tired of chemical spills becoming a common occurrence.

WHAS11 News received word about the spills courtesy of strong Twitter posts from Kentucky State Representative-Elect Attica Scott. Her district 41 covers parts of Chickasaw and Algonquin and she says the Rubbertown area stinks.

"I had to go and one educate people on social media because many people won"t' know that this happened because it was kind of pushed under the rug...oh it was a chemical spill but there's no harm that we anticipate," she explained.

The Air Pollution Control District says there were two minor chemical spills last week, an alert sent out to neighbors, it says the public was not at risk and we"re told the chemicals stayed on the plant's property.

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

SPRINGFIELD SUICIDE WITH 'COCKTAIL OF CHEMICALS' SPARKS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_MA, public, release, death, suicide

SPRINGFIELD " A 20-year-old man committed suicide by immersing himself in a "cocktail of chemicals" sparking a major hazardous materials event that lasted more than five hours.

The victim pitched a tent in the backyard of Old Acre Road, climbed into some type of large bag and poured a variety of chemicals on his body, said Dennis G. Leger aide to fire commissioner Joseph Conant.

The man was found by a Milbrook Scholars student at the Children's Study Home, where he was staying, and started CPR. Firefighters arrived and continued CPR until they realized the chemicals were involved and called the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Regional Hazmat Team 2, Leger said.

The incident was first reported at about 11:35 p.m. on Saturday and the team did not clear the scene until about 5 a.m., Sunday, Leger said.

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