From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (9 articles)
Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2018 07:46:41 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 2B5210E0-3624-4A53-B363-533252B61BFE**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, June 1, 2018 at 7:46:30 AM

A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas

Table of Contents (9 articles)

TANKER CARRYING 4,500 GALLONS OF COPPER SULFATE CRASHES IN EAST TENNESSEE
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, response, copper_sulphate

METH CLEAN-UP COST FRUSTRATING FOR LANDLORD
Tags: New_Zealand, public, discovery, environmental, clandestine_lab

SULFUR TRUCK EXPLOSION SHUTS DOWN I-55 FOR HOURS NEAR BATESVILLE
Tags: us_MS, transportation, explosion, injury, sulphur

BOY BURNED BY PEPPER-SPRAYED PORTABLE TOILET IN VERNON; 17-YEAR-OLD CHARGED
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, injury, pepper_spray

CLASSROOM AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EVACUATED AFTER STUDENTS REPORT NAUSEOUSNESS.
Tags: us_ID, education, release, injury, freon

POSSIBLE LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK SENDS POLY STUDENTS PACKING
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, liquid_nitrogen

OVERHEATED CHEMICAL TANK DRIVES EVACUATIONS NEAR MOBILE
Tags: us_AL, industrial, release, response, other_chemical

2 INJURED IN ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION AT KENTUCKY UPS FACILITY
Tags: us_KY, industrial, explosion, injury, acetylene

ACTUAL HAZMAT SITUATION DELAYS HAZMAT TRAINING IN AMHERST
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, chlorine


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TANKER CARRYING 4,500 GALLONS OF COPPER SULFATE CRASHES IN EAST TENNESSEE
http://www.wjhl.com/top-news/regional/tanker-carrying-4-500-gallons-of-copper-sulfate-crashes-in-east-tennessee/1210648579
Tags: us_TN, transportation, release, response, copper_sulphate

CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN (WATE) - Hazmat teams are responding to a chemical spill in Campbell County after a tanker truck overturned on an interstate.

A tractor-trailer crash on I-75 South at MM-138 in Campbell County occurred around 7 a.m. Thursday morning. Hazmat teams responded to the scene because of a spill of copper sulfate emanating from the tractor-trailer.

The truck was carrying approximately 4,500 gallons of copper sulfate. It is unclear at this time if the entire load spilled as a result of the accident.

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METH CLEAN-UP COST FRUSTRATING FOR LANDLORD
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/south-otago/meth-clean-cost-frustrating-landlord
Tags: New_Zealand, public, discovery, environmental, clandestine_lab

A Balclutha landlord is frustrated after he spent nearly $20,000 cleaning his methamphetamine-contaminated rental property, only to hear this week that it was not necessary.
Mark Cowan's Balclutha rental property was believed to be the first in South Otago to test positive for meth contamination after a previous tenant smoked the class A drug, also known as P or Ice, at the property.

Following testing, he was devastated when told the level of contamination was such he would have to have all the carpet and wall linings removed, and everything else would need to be decontaminated with special chemicals by cleaners wearing hazmat suits, to meet the standards for re-renting and safe living.

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SULFUR TRUCK EXPLOSION SHUTS DOWN I-55 FOR HOURS NEAR BATESVILLE
http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/38322056/sulfur-truck-explosion-shuts-down-i-55-for-hours-near-batesville-miss
Tags: us_MS, transportation, explosion, injury, sulphur

PANOLA CO, MS (WMC) -
Two officers were injured after a truck exploded in Batesville, Mississippi.

According to Sheriff Dennis Darby, a truck carrying sulfur crashed into a car on Interstate 55 near Pine Lodge Road. As officers attempted to pull the driver out of the truck, an explosion occurred.

Darby said the truck was carrying about 25,000 pounds of sulfur, which had officers waiting for hazmat officials to assist, as sulfur is hazardous if inhaled.

Darby said the deputies were burned on their arms while pulling the driver out of the truck. Both were taken to the ICU at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, and both are expected to be OK.

The driver, however, was severely burned. He was flown to the hospital in Memphis in critical condition.

Northbound traffic remains shut down in the area, and hazmat crews are still cleaning hours later. Southbound lanes are now open.

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BOY BURNED BY PEPPER-SPRAYED PORTABLE TOILET IN VERNON; 17-YEAR-OLD CHARGED
http://www.njherald.com/20180601/boy-burned-by-pepper-sprayed-portable-toilet
Tags: us_NJ, public, release, injury, pepper_spray

VERNON -- A 6-year-old boy had to be rushed to a local doctor Wednesday evening after using a portable toilet that had been covered in pepper spray, allegedly by a 17-year-old, police said.

The boy was playing soccer on the Old Orchard Fields on Eric Trail with his mother and siblings when he went in to use the portable toilet on the field and emerged with some sort of chemical burns, according to Vernon police.

According to his mother, whom police identified as Danielle Filato, the boy came out "screaming" and was developing redness, burning and swelling.

In a Facebook post Thursday evening, Filato responded to numerous commenters on the Vernon Facebook page, stating that her son was "doing well," but called the incident "scary, stressful and confusing."

According to Filato, her son had touched the handle of the portable toilet and rubbed his face and eyes because he was sweaty, which burned his face. He was also burned from the toilet seat.

Not realizing what was going on, Filato said she wiped her son's face with toilet paper, which she later found was also covered in pepper spray.

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CLASSROOM AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EVACUATED AFTER STUDENTS REPORT NAUSEOUSNESS.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/latest-news/article212220129.html
Tags: us_ID, education, release, injury, freon

A portable classroom at Rocky Mountain High School had to be evacuated late Wednesday morning and a hazmat team was called in after a pair of students and a teacher said they were nauseous, West Ada School District spokesperson Eric Exline said.

The hazmat team found Freon, a slightly toxic compound used in cooling systems, in the air. Twenty-five students were cleared out of the classroom, Exline said. The portable building is one of seven at the school.

Exline said the teacher also might have felt sick because of a recent bout with the flu.

Maintenance is working on fixing the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the room, as it is the only system that could have produced the Freon, Exline said.

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POSSIBLE LIQUID NITROGEN LEAK SENDS POLY STUDENTS PACKING
https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/41/23/dtg-nyu-liquid-nitrogen-leak-2018-06-08-bk.html
Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, response, liquid_nitrogen

New York‰??s Bravest booted students in the middle of their science experiments at New York University Tandon School of Engineering‰??s when liquid nitrogen may have spilled from a tank, according to one graduate student who was forced to leave the campus for several hours on Wednesday as firefighters checked it out.

‰??The fire department just kind of came up to our floor and said, ‰??You have to leave the building,‰?? ‰?? said Park Sloper Joe Thomas. ‰??We keep compressed cylinders of nitrogen around so maybe where it comes out it could have leaked, or erupted.‰??

Liquid nitrogen can silently kill people by sucking out all of the oxygen in the room, according to one of New York‰??s Bravest.

‰??The main hazard is it can in a confined space displace oxygen,‰?? said Deputy Chief Regan.

So firefighters in head-to-toe gear rushed up the stairs to check out the tank after transporting it from the classroom to the roof. They didn‰??t detect a leak, but were still waiting on its manufacturer a little before 4 pm to come haul it away since it‰??s better to be safe than sorry, said Regan.

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OVERHEATED CHEMICAL TANK DRIVES EVACUATIONS NEAR MOBILE
https://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/05/overheated_chemical_tank_drive.html
Tags: us_AL, industrial, release, response, other_chemical

The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department reported Wednesday that it was helping resolve a hazardous-materials situation that prompted some evacuations in part of Chickasaw.

According to information released shortly after noon by the MFRD, a tank containing acrylamide became overheated at Kemira Water Solutions. MFRD hazmat teams, with other units on standby, were helping to cool the tank in the hope of preventing a rupture.

Just before 7 p.m., MFRD officials said the hazardous material scene has "stabilized."

At about 2:30 p.m., the MFRD reported that the effort was still under way. The tank had "vented a few time" a possible indication that its contents were stabilizing.

"Chickasaw Police Department and Chickasaw Fire Department are currently evacuating residential neighborhoods south of Viaduct Road and east of Telegraph Road," the MFRD said in a news released. Evacuees were being directed to the Chickasaw Community Center; the Mobile County EMA and the American Red Cross were involved.

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2 INJURED IN ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION AT KENTUCKY UPS FACILITY
https://www.ajc.com/news/national/injured-accidental-explosion-kentucky-ups-facility/e3RYDzoTpWlAkNVfy6U2RJ/
Tags: us_KY, industrial, explosion, injury, acetylene

LEXINGTON, KY. ‰??
An apparently accidental explosion at a UPS Freight maintenance facility in Kentucky left at least two people injured Wednesday morning, Lexington fire officials said.

Authorities learned of the blast, at the UPS facility on Blue Sky Parkway in Lexington, around 7:40 a.m. Fire Battalion Chief Jason Wells said crews found ‰??significant structural damage‰?? to the facility when they arrived, with the explosion damaging the roof and walls of the building.

Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries, which Wells described as minor burns and concussion-type injuries. They were conscious and talking after the blast, Wells said.

‰??I believe we‰??re extremely lucky,‰?? he said.

Six other people who were in the area were taken to the hospital for observation.

Wells said authorities believe that acetylene tanks on a truck and trailer inside the maintenance facility exploded Wednesday morning. The chemical is used for welding, among other things.

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ACTUAL HAZMAT SITUATION DELAYS HAZMAT TRAINING IN AMHERST
http://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampshire-county/actual-hazmat-situation-delays-hazmat-training-in-amherst/1208837856
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, discovery, environmental, chlorine

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - A dangerous situation delayed a hazardous materials response training session involving UMass and the Amherst Fire Department Wednesday.

Western Massachusetts first responders were called to an emergency chlorine leak in Lee, which delayed the start of the exercise in Amherst.

Terri Wolejko, assistant director of UMass Environmental Health and Safety, said, "We work as a unified command in order to decide what were going to do."

More than 60 members from the District 4 hazmat team, Amherst Fire Department and UMass practiced in the hazmat drill. The exercise involved a mock biological spill in two labs in the UMass Graduate Research center.

Meg Stratton, Professor of Biochemistry at UMass, said, "The first concern is always the people. Is everybody safe? Is everybody out?"

As part of the exercise, hazmat team members were dressed in full protective gear.

Stratton told 22News, "All the people working in the lab go through bio-safety training, general chemical training, and so they should know what to do if something happens."

UMass has trained faculty members who stand ready to respond to chemical spills, fires, and health concerns, 24/7.

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