From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (7 articles)
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2016 07:41:48 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 7:41:37 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=Dbsabpy7Md76HIt6Zs4VL-sZjPDRh339-oFaeDHL9vk&s=4Jsuoe6pGKLNx8sztAbxDFWCZFYrjSC9Bh-rTMaHaw0&e=

Table of Contents (7 articles)

21 STAFF OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH CLINIC SUFFER CHEMICAL POISONING
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, injury, other_chemical

AIRPLANE LEAK FORCES CARTHAGE FAMILY TO BE EVACUATED
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO ODOR COMPLAINT AT DUNKIN' DONUTS
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

DULUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_mn, public, release, response, chlorine

WHY CHEMICALS IN THE U.S. ARE STILL ‰??INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY‰??
Tags: us, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

GIVE EPA DETAILED NEW CHEMICAL NOTICES, ATTORNEYS ADVISE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

FIRE ERUPTS OUTSIDE FRESNO COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT; NO ONE INJURED
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical


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21 STAFF OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH CLINIC SUFFER CHEMICAL POISONING
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, injury, other_chemical

IPOH: Twenty-one staff of the Batu Gajah Maternal and Child Health Clinic have suffered poisoning from a leaking disinfectant, but they are reported to be stable and not hospitalised.

According to State Health Director Datuk Dr Juita Ghazalie, the staff were confirmed to have suffered the symptoms of poisoning including cough, cold, sore throat, headache and difficulty breathing since early July after getting treatment at the Emergency Department of the Batu Gajah Hospital, but none were warded.

She said checks by the Batu Gajah Fire and Rescue Department found the cause of poisoning to be leaking Cresol fluid, a type of disinfectant used to clean the clinic premises.

"The substance was found to have been seeped into the concrete floor after it leaked from a chemical container which was kept in a store on the first floor of the clinic.

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AIRPLANE LEAK FORCES CARTHAGE FAMILY TO BE EVACUATED
Tags: us_NY, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

A Carthage family required the assistance of the American Red Cross following a hazmat incident this past weekend.

An airplane being stored in the basement of a complex on Brown Street in Carthage leaked oil Saturday night.

Five gallons of oil leaked through a fuel line of the older model plane that had been stored in the basement for a number of years.

As a result of the leak, a family living in an apartment there needed to be evacuated from their home and DEC and hazmat crews were called in.

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HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO ODOR COMPLAINT AT DUNKIN' DONUTS
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

CLINTON TWP. ‰?? Reports of an odor and people with headaches at the Dunkin' Donuts on Route 31 prompted a response from the county HazMat team on Sunday.

A call was dispatched around 4:20 p.m. to the shop, at 1707 Route 31 south.

That Dunkin' Donuts, located at a US Fuel gas station, is in a building that also houses a car repair garage that is not currently in operation. Emergency responders found a 55 gallon drum leaking an unknown liquid in the garage portion of the building.

The county HazMat team responded to contain the leak and the drum was secured in a large container. They cleared the area around 6 p.m.

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DULUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: us_mn, public, release, response, chlorine

Early Monday afternoon, the Duluth Fire Department responded to a report of a possible chemical leak at Comfort Suites hotel at 408 Canal Park Drive.

Crews arrived to find that a private pool contractor had accidentally mixed hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite (bleach) while servicing the hotel pool. The reaction causes the release of chlorine gas.

Crews immediately evacuated the building and secured the scene. On employee at the hotel, was treated for possible exposure and was transported to a local hospital. No other injuries were reported.

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WHY CHEMICALS IN THE U.S. ARE STILL ‰??INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY‰??
Tags: us, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

, President Barack Obama signed a chemical bill that was meant to solve a problem few people knew they had. That problem was the substandard safety of everyday chemicals‰??an issue that affects anyone who uses household cleaners, has a couch or wears clothing. In a month filled with dramatic political news, this seemingly small legislative achievement received little media attention. Yet it actually represents a major reform, providing the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) with a much-needed retrofit.

In the European Union, safety laws guarantee that both industrial and household chemicals are vetted for their potential risks to human health and the environment before they appear on the market. In the United States, however, chemicals are generally ‰??innocent until proven guilty‰??‰??a maxim that‰??s good for people, but bad for potential toxic chemicals. Scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency have found that the majority of chemicals in use today have not been sufficiently examined for human health toxicity or environmental exposure. How can this be?

Originally passed in 1976, the old TSCA was meant to help the EPA regulate the safe production and use of industrial chemicals. But the act was founded on scientific assumptions and practices that are far outdated today. Perhaps worse, TSCA also grandfathered in a long list of ‰??existing‰?? chemicals‰??which made it extremely difficult for the EPA to pull them from the market even if they were later shown to be harmful. (It has been easier for the EPA to require companies to develop data on chemicals that are new to the market, but many hurdles still exist.)

As a result, people have been exposed to toxic chemicals left under-regulated by the EPA for decades‰??with devastating effects. This has been the case since 1989, when a federal court overturned the EPA‰??s ban on asbestos, one of the best-known carcinogens ever used. Since then, the EPA has never attempted to completely pull an existing chemical from the market. Lead, which is known to harm children‰??s brain development at extremely low levels and was banned from use in house paint in 1978, is still used in ammunition and some industrial manufacturing.

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GIVE EPA DETAILED NEW CHEMICAL NOTICES, ATTORNEYS ADVISE
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

July 15 ‰?? Manufacturers of new chemicals should give the Environmental Protection Agency strategic, detailed notices about exposures and properties to boost their market chances following changes to the U.S. chemicals law, industry advisors say.

Pre-manufacture notifications, or PMNs, that makers must submit before they can produce or import a new chemical, and significant new use notifications, which companies must submit before they can make or use certain chemicals in new ways, ‰??need to be much more strategic, thoughtful and detailed,‰?? Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell PC, said during a July 14 webinar the firm organized.

Ernie Rosenberg, president and chief executive officer of the American Cleaning Institute, told Bloomberg BNA July 15 that new chemical manufacturers are asking for trouble if they submit a notification without first checking how analogous chemicals are regulated in Australia, Canada, the European Union and elsewhere.

Richard Dension, lead senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, said the changes the amended law makes to EPA's new chemicals program ‰??are not trivial.‰??

The changes will make it easier for the public to understand why EPA concludes that new chemicals may or may not enter commerce; what restrictions it may impose on the uses of those chemicals and why, he said during the Bergeson & Campbell webinar.

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FIRE ERUPTS OUTSIDE FRESNO COUNTY CHEMICAL PLANT; NO ONE INJURED
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

A fire outside a chemical plant in southwestern Fresno County was contained quickly Monday afternoon, Fresno County Fire Protection District officials said.

The fire was reported at 11:48 a.m at Wilbur-Ellis Co., a fertilizer supplier.

The fire was in two Seatrain containers and didn‰??t spread, said Capt. David Martin of Fresno County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire.

The containers were engulfed when firefighters arrived, Martin said.

Employees were able to ‰??shelter in place,‰?? he said, and no injuries were reported.

The fire was contained at 12:24 p.m., Martin said.

It was unknown early Monday afternoon what was in the containers. Mop-up was expected to take much of the afternoon, Martin said.

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