From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (13 articles)
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2016 07:24:28 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 7:24:11 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=EvBg3sUwvHY1fZzl-Ra1oKpSAnupduhfVY5chcUmEw4&s=5KkF1OHsuwUmryBK6gX7xWgHfjwGJDWsRlkj-EsJP3w&e=

Table of Contents (13 articles)

HAZMAT RUSHED TO MERCHANG CLINIC AFTER MERCURY SPILL
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, response, bleach, mercury, sulphur

FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO SOUTHINGTON SPILL MYRECORDJOURNAL.COM |
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, response, metals

FIRE MARSHAL: EFFORT TO KILL BED BUGS LED TO FATAL FIRE IN SPRINGFIELD
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, death, other_chemical

OFFICIALS ADDRESS CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_AL, public, follow-up, environmental, thiols

HAZMAT CREW CALLED FOR CHEMICAL LEAK ON UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON CAMPUS
Tags: us_OH, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical

CLEANUP COMPANY PAYING ECOLOGY PENALTY AFTER FIRE
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics, waste

INDUSTRIAL FIRES CAN BE NIGHTMARE FOR FIREFIGHTERS, RESIDENTS
Tags: us_OH, industrial, discovery, environmental

CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSES EVACUATION OF PAHRUMP MEDICAL CLINIC
Tags: us_NV, public, release, injury, other_chemical

EIGHT INJURED DURING CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN EASTLAKE
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

AMMONIA LEAK DETECTED EARLY: RICHMOND DAIRIES' CHRIS SHARPE
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, ammonia

200 PEOPLE FALL SICK AFTER AMMONIA LEAK IN BANGLADESH
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, release, injuries, ammonia

PLAQUE HONORS MEMORY OF 3 MEN KILLED IN RIVERVIEW CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_mi, industrial, follow-up, enviromental

CHEMICAL LEAK IN SUGAR GROVE SENDS 14 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_il, industrial, release, injuries, ammonia


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HAZMAT RUSHED TO MERCHANG CLINIC AFTER MERCURY SPILL
Tags: Malaysia, public, release, response, bleach, mercury, sulphur

MARANG: A team from the Fire and Rescue Department Hazardous Materials Unit (Hazmat) was rushed to the Merchang Health Clinic here to clean up liquid mercury spilt in a treatment room at about 10.40am Wednesday.

Marang Fire and Rescue chief Abdullah Zawawi Mohamed said the incident was believed to have occurred when a thermometer (which contained mercury) fell onto the floor of the treatment room.

‰??A total of five Hazmat personnel from the Kerteh Fire and Rescue Department and a team from Marang were rushed to the scene to clean up the mercury.

‰??During the incident, a doctor and a patient were in the room, and we used sulphur and bleach to clean the substance,‰?? he told reporters here.

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FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO SOUTHINGTON SPILL MYRECORDJOURNAL.COM |
Tags: us_CT, industrial, release, response, metals

SOUTHINGTON ‰?? Firefighters responded to a hazardous chemical spill at Light Metals Coloring on Spring Street Wednesday morning.

The incident occurred about 10 a.m. at 270 Spring St. Fire officials said the chemical spilled into soil, roads and storm drains. The name of the chemical was not released.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to the scene. Fire officials said no one was injured.

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

FIRE MARSHAL: EFFORT TO KILL BED BUGS LED TO FATAL FIRE IN SPRINGFIELD
Tags: us_MO, public, fire, death, other_chemical

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - A fire marshal says efforts to get rid of bed bugs led to a fire that killed a man in north Springfield on Tuesday night. The fire killed Michael Kessler, 52. A woman in the house suffered minor injuries and was treated at a hospital.

The fire started in the bedroom of a home in the 1600 block of North Golden Avenue. After the fire broke out, investigators say, Kessler ran back inside to try to save his pets. He did not make it back outside.

Springfield fire marshal Kevin Fox says Kessler had used a chemical to try to kill bed bugs earlier on Tuesday. When he saw a bug about 9 p.m., he tried to burn it, catching the bedding on fire. The chemical then became an accelerant that fueled the fire, making it worse.

After going back inside, Kessler might have been able to get out if one door on the home hadn't been blocked.

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

OFFICIALS ADDRESS CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_AL, public, follow-up, environmental, thiols

After years of questions and few answers, residents of Eight Mile had the opportunity to hear state and local officials discuss the effects and document mitigation efforts related to a 2008 release of a chemical used to odorize natural gas.

Sonja Massey, Alabama Department of Environmental Management groundwater branch chief, told the group of residents during a We Matter Eight Mile Community meeting that a 2008 lightning strike was the cause of a methyl mercaptan release from a plant in Eight Mile. ADEM started getting complaints about the release in 2011 after the chemical began traveling to the surface, Massey said.

‰??It took about three years for the groundwater to travel from the source to the nearby springs,‰?? she said.

The tank holding the mercaptan had a capacity of 5,000 gallons and Massey said ‰??several hundred of those gallons‰?? is enough to cause environmental contamination.

She said while the chemical was released in 2008, it took three years for it to travel into a nearby stream system, which then allowed it to be released into the air where residents could smell it.

That‰??s when mitigation efforts began, she told residents. Among those efforts, ADEM requires Mobile Gas to treat the groundwater with ozone. Because air dilutes the mercaptan, Massey said ozone is mixed into the affected water to neutralize the chemical. A series of pumps have been installed through a closed system to help pull water up from the ground and treat it, she said.

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

HAZMAT CREW CALLED FOR CHEMICAL LEAK ON UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON CAMPUS
Tags: us_OH, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical

DAYTON, Ohio - A chemical leak prompted evacuations Tuesday at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

A hazardous materials team was called to UD's campus around 12:37 p.m. The university's Kettering Labs and music theater building were evacuated because of a sulfer dioxide leak.

Fire and HAZMAT crews declared the scene stable and the evacuation order was lifted shortly after 2 p.m.

The emergency was reported to be a sulfur dioxide leak inside the Kettering Lab, according to the Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center.

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

CLEANUP COMPANY PAYING ECOLOGY PENALTY AFTER FIRE
Tags: us_WA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, toxics, waste

WENATCHEE, Wash. ‰?? An environmental response company has agreed to pay a $39,330 settlement for hazardous waste violations that occurred in handling cleanup from a June 2015 wildfire that severely damaged several businesses in Wenatchee.

NRC Environmental Services Inc., Great River, N.Y., made its first monthly payment of $1,100 on Aug. 3, said Joye Redfield-Wilder, a Washington Department of Ecology spokeswoman in Union Gap, Wash. The company will make the payments over the next three years, she said.

NRC waived its right to appeal by reaching a settlement that reduced the penalty by $20,000 and saves all parties costly litigation.

Northwest Wholesale Inc., a Wenatchee farm chemical company, lost several buildings in the June 28, 2015, Sleepy Hollow fire that also destroyed more than two dozen high-end homes, two major tree fruit packing plants and damaged another business.

Northwest Wholesale hired NRC to manage cleanup, including damaged containers of the fumigant gas methyl bromide.

NRC took appropriate steps to safely purge the gas from the containers, producing about 14,000 gallons of highly acidic wastewater that was stored at the site pending disposal, Ecology said.

In January, Northwest Wholesale discovered a tank containing the wastewater drained due to the corrosion of an unlined valve, Ecology said. The wastewater leaked into a dry well requiring cleanup.

The companies reported the leak and cooperated with the investigation and cleanup but the material had not been stored properly or handled in a timely fashion, said Darin Rice, Ecology‰??s Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program manager.

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INDUSTRIAL FIRES CAN BE NIGHTMARE FOR FIREFIGHTERS, RESIDENTS
Tags: us_OH, industrial, discovery, environmental

Industrial fires are some of the most challenging that firefighters face, and a recent pair of them in Columbus has caused concern among nearby residents.

Fires such as the one that ignited Friday night at the Dick Cold Storage warehouse on the Hilltop and continues to burn, are unpredictable.

It just takes one spark, or one tossed cigarette, and an acre of the city can be consumed in a matter of minutes, said Battalion Chief Steve Martin, spokesman for the Columbus Division of Fire.

Firefighters and neighbors don‰??t often know what‰??s contained in these facilities. There could be explosives or toxic materials that could affect area homes and escalate the threat.

That‰??s what concerns Jim Griffin, chairman of the Columbus South Side Area Commission.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSES EVACUATION OF PAHRUMP MEDICAL CLINIC
Tags: us_NV, public, release, injury, other_chemical

A Pahrump medical clinic was evacuated midday Tuesday and two workers were taken to the hospital after a chemical spill, according to a facility spokesman.

Two workers at Calvada Urgent Care, 1501 E. Calvada Blvd., were sent to the hospital as a precaution and later released after the spill of Cidex, a chemical disinfectant commonly used on medical equipment, said David Tauchen, a spokesman for DaVita Healthcare Partners.

Tauchen said fire personnel reported to the scene as a precaution, but no patients were injured.

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

EIGHT INJURED DURING CHEMICAL INCIDENT IN EASTLAKE
Tags: us_OH, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

EASTLAKE, Ohio-- Emergency crews are at the scene of a chemical incident in Eastlake.

It happened at Conn-Selmer Inc, a musical instrument manufacturing facility on Curtis Boulevard. The street is closed between state Route 91 and East 337th Street.

Fire officials said eight people were injured and taken to local hospitals. A majority of employees were sent home, while others stayed to clean up.

The chemical was only released in the building, according to fire officials at the scene.

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

AMMONIA LEAK DETECTED EARLY: RICHMOND DAIRIES' CHRIS SHARPE
Tags: Australia, industrial, release, response, ammonia

RESIDENTS in Dyraaba Street, Casino were forced to shut their windows due to a suspected ammonia leak on Monday night.

Residents living within the vicinity of Richmond Dairies were advised to close the windows and stay indoors.

At the time there was no need for evacuation but police and emergency services arrived on site and roadblocks were put in place.

An update soon advised residents that the gas had dissipated quickly and road blocks were lifted.

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200 PEOPLE FALL SICK AFTER AMMONIA LEAK IN BANGLADESH
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, release, injuries, ammonia

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AFP) - An explosion at a chemical fertiliser factory left at least 200 people needing medical treatment after toxic gas spread across large parts of Bangladesh‰??s second city Chittagong, officials said Tuesday.

Police and fire officials said hundreds of residents were also evacuated from their homes near the di-ammonia phosphate (DAP) plant in the port city where a 500-tonne capacity ammonia tank exploded late Monday.

Mesbah Uddin, the district‰??s chief administrator, said that 56 people had been admitted to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital after the gas leak, none of whom was in a life-threatening condition.

"Eight have been discharged. Forty-eight people are still in the hospital today but they are out of danger," he told AFP.

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

PLAQUE HONORS MEMORY OF 3 MEN KILLED IN RIVERVIEW CHEMICAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_mi, industrial, follow-up, enviromental

In a day and age of short attention spans, at a location that is now a vacant field, it would be easy to forget about an incident that happened over 15 years ago.

But friends and family members of Kenneth Cox, Terry Stein and E. Jay Wrobleski are not letting the memories of their loved ones be relegated to a footnote in local history books.

On the 15th anniversary of their deaths, at what used to be the site of an Arkema chemical plant, the city of Riverview hosted a ceremony rededicating a plaque that honors the lives of the three men killed in a chemical explosion July 14, 2001.
The facility was torn down several years after the plant closed. A tall, barbed wire fence surrounding the property is all that remains, with the exception of a boulder, placed in a landscaped area at the corner of Pennsylvania Road and West Jefferson Avenue.

On that boulder, the city and Arkema officials unveiled a plaque that has been relocated on at least two other occasions.

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CHEMICAL LEAK IN SUGAR GROVE SENDS 14 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_il, industrial, release, injuries, ammonia

SUGAR GROVE ‰?? Fourteen people were hospitalized for minor respiratory problems following a chemical spill at a chemical distributor in Sugar Grove, according to a news release from the Sugar Grove Fire Protection District.

The fire district responded to Producers Chemical, 1960 Bucktail Lane, at 8:20 a.m. Aug. 22 for a chemical release in the loading dock area, the release stated.

Sugar Grove Police Chief Pat Rollins said the call was in response to a chlorine gas leak, a byproduct of a chemical reaction.

Emergency officials cleared the building of all occupants, the release stated, noting eight people were taken to Delnor Hospital and six people were brought to Mercy Hospital.

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