From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (9 articles)
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2018 07:00:48 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 75C697F7-0F53-4060-A4E8-A0BE514056A2**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 7:00:36 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)

EXPLOSION ROCKS HOSPITAL IN GATESVILLE, TX
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, death, methane, natural_gas

TEXAS DEPUTY TREATED AFTER TOUCHING FLYER LACED WITH FENTANYL
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, other_chemical

HAZMAT TEAM CONTAINS CHEMICALS AT CUMBERLAND COMPANY
Tags: us_RI, public, release, response, cleaners

NO CAUSE DETERMINED FOR WORKERS' ILLNESS AT SALEM PLANT
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

16 INJURED DUE TO POSSIBLE CHEMICAL LEAKAGE IN BRAMPTON
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, ammonia

CHEMICAL SPILL FORCES WISCONSIN HOSPITAL TO EVACUATE
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, cleaners

UPDATE: PLANT REMAINS CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAKS
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

TOXIC CHEMICAL PFAS FOUND IN LIVESTOCK NO CAUSE FOR ALARM, VICTORIA'S CHIEF VET SAYS
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, toxics

FISH PRESERVED IN TOXIC CHEMICAL IN PALAKKAD! KERALA STATE FOOD SAFETY DEPARTMENT SEIZES 6,000 KG POISONOUS SEA FOOD
Tags: India, public, discovery, response, formaldehyde


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EXPLOSION ROCKS HOSPITAL IN GATESVILLE, TX
https://www.wkrn.com/news/explosion-rocks-hospital-in-gatesville-tx/1265712276
Tags: us_TX, public, explosion, death, methane, natural_gas

Texas - An explosion at Coryell Memorial Hospital Tuesday killed one man and injured 12 others. All were part of a construction crew working on a project at the back of the hospital

Our sister station in Waco, KWKT, reported more than dozen ambulances, fire trucks, and hazmat crews came from Temple, Fort Hood, Flower Mound and other counties to help. Thick black smoke could be seen for miles.

According to KWTX, a generator exploded and a natural gas line may have been involved.

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TEXAS DEPUTY TREATED AFTER TOUCHING FLYER LACED WITH FENTANYL
https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/crime/texas-deputy-treated-after-touching-flyer-laced-with-fentanyl/83-567940978
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, other_chemical

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas ‰?? A Harris County Precinct 5 deputy received medical treatment after coming into contact with a flyer now being tested for fentanyl.

The opioid can be deadly -- even in tiny doses.

The flyer was one of many placed on deputies‰?? vehicles around 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon outside of their station in the 600 block of Lockwood, according to the Harris County Sheriff‰??s Office.


A Harris County Precinct 5 deputy received medical treatment after coming into contact with a flyer that tested positive the opioid Fentanyl.
The sheriff said the deputy found the flyer on her unmarked car and removed it without giving it a thought. As she drove away, she started to feel light-headed and experiencing other symptoms.

The sheriff said the sergeant is alert and receiving treatment.

The sheriff added that they are not sure if deputies were the target of these flyers or if they were placed at random.

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HAZMAT TEAM CONTAINS CHEMICALS AT CUMBERLAND COMPANY
http://turnto10.com/news/local/hazmat-team-contains-chemical-leak-at-cumberland-company
Tags: us_RI, public, release, response, cleaners

A hazardous-materials team from the Woonsocket Fire Department responded to a building in an office park in neighboring Cumberland early Tuesday morning.
Officials said there was a small chemical leak at Cintas at 300 Highland Corporate Drive. No injuries were reported.
Officials said employees thought a set of cleaning chemicals might have mixed with other chemicals, but the chemicals were contained and the mixture was prevented.
Firefighters were expected to clear scene within 30 minutes.

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NO CAUSE DETERMINED FOR WORKERS' ILLNESS AT SALEM PLANT
http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/no-cause-determined-for-workers-illness-at-salem-plant/article_4fd3e6cb-8a6c-5afb-bdb3-ae693a30b152.html
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

SALEM ‰?? Fire officials don't know what caused 29 workers to become sick Sunday night at Thermal Circuits, a company that makes components for e-cigarettes at an industrial park off Swampscott Road.

This second incident took place several hours after a chlorine leak was reported at the plant at around 3:30 Sunday afternoon. This first incident triggered a hazmat response, and no one was injured.

The later incident, which occurred shortly after 9 p.m., sent 29 people to the hospital. Dozens of others were evacuated from the building at 1 Technology Way.

But after visiting the facility Monday morning, acting fire Chief Gerry Giunta could not say why second-shift workers got sick, or whether it was related to the earlier chlorine leak in a storage room.

Giunta said the entire building was tested by the hazardous materials response team before they departed at around 8:30 p.m., after the first incident.

"There were zero readings of chlorine anywhere in the building," Giunta said.

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16 INJURED DUE TO POSSIBLE CHEMICAL LEAKAGE IN BRAMPTON
https://www.theepochtimes.com/16-injured-due-to-possible-chemical-leakage-in-brampton_2573455.html
Tags: Canada, industrial, release, response, ammonia

Sixteen people were reported to be suffering from respiratory issues following a possible ammonia leakage in Brampton on the morning of June 24.

According to the Peel paramedics‰?? Twitter feed, they received a call from an address on Orenda road in Brampton at 5 a.m.

They said they were sharing the call with Toronto Medics because of the multiple patients onsite at the possible chemical leak.

Brampton Fire Emergency Services got a call at around the same time, and both were on the scene at the building, which fire officials referred to as a ‰??plant.‰??

Shortly after their arrival, they assessed the workers for any respiratory issues caused by the possible ammonia leakage.

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CHEMICAL SPILL FORCES WISCONSIN HOSPITAL TO EVACUATE
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/chemical-spill-forces-wisconsin-hospital-to-evacuate.html
Tags: us_WI, public, release, response, cleaners

Neillsville, Wis.-based Memorial Medical Center evacuated patients, staff and visitors for more than 1 hour June 22 due to a strong chemical smell, according to a WSAU report.

Several agencies were called to the medical center around 6:00 p.m. June 22. Officials determined the smell was a spilled cleaning solution that spread through the hospital's ventilation system.

The Neillsville Fire Department used ventilation fans to rid the smell. Patients, staff and visitors were allowed back into their rooms at 7:30 p.m. June 22.

No injuries were reported.

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UPDATE: PLANT REMAINS CLOSED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAKS
http://www.salemnews.com/news/update-plant-remains-closed-after-chemical-leaks/article_fba14bde-7826-11e8-be92-bb8e55f34029.html
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, chlorine

SALEM ‰?? The Thermal Circuits manufacturing plant on Technology Way will be closed Monday after it was evacuated twice Sunday due to what officials believe to both be chlorine leaks.

The latest leak, which was reported at 9:17 p.m. Sunday, caused a number of workers to be taken to area hospitals, 18 of them who had been admitted by 10 p.m.

No serious injuries had been reported as of 11 p.m., according to fire Capt. Richard Thomas, a spokesman for the department.

Hazmat teams, firefighters and police were called to the plant, at 1 Technology Way, after reports of multiple people overcome by gas.

At one point, Salem fire Deputy Chief Alan Dionne described the scene as "mass hysteria", as workers flooded out of the building.

The plant, he said, employed roughly 1,000 people, with about 450 to 500 people per 12-hour shift.

The building was evacuated. Medical personnel were directed to check all those streaming out of the building to be checked for inhalation problems. Decontamination units were set up at Salem Hospital, where Dionne said 15 workers were taken. But authorities don‰??t know for sure how many people were treated ‰?? fire officials learned throughout the night that workers were getting themselves to area hospitals.

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TOXIC CHEMICAL PFAS FOUND IN LIVESTOCK NO CAUSE FOR ALARM, VICTORIA'S CHIEF VET SAYS
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-24/pfas-in-livestock-no-cause-for-alarm-victoria-chief-vet-says/9904320
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, toxics

Victoria's chief veterinary officer Dr Charles Milne has downplayed concerns about the discovery of toxic chemicals in livestock near Esso's gas plant in Gippsland.

The Department of Agriculture confirmed 45 cattle and 45 sheep, from three properties in Longford, tested positive for elevated levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

The chemicals were once used in firefighting foam across Australia, including at Esso's Longford gas plant.

There have been similar issues at the nearby East Sale RAAF base.

But Dr Milne said there was no cause for alarm.

"A number of food safety agencies around the world have examined this in detail, including [Food Standards Australia New Zealand] (FSANZ), and concluded the levels that we see in our livestock, the public health risk is negligible," Dr Milne said.

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FISH PRESERVED IN TOXIC CHEMICAL IN PALAKKAD! KERALA STATE FOOD SAFETY DEPARTMENT SEIZES 6,000 KG POISONOUS SEA FOOD
https://www.latestly.com/india/information/fish-preserved-in-toxic-chemical-in-palakkad-kerala-state-food-safety-department-seizes-6000-kg-poisonous-sea-food-231180.html
Tags: India, public, discovery, response, formaldehyde

Palakkad, June 24: In a major breakthrough, the State Food Safety Department officials seized at least 6,000 kg of fish preserved in toxic formalin at a check post in Kerala‰??s Palakkad on Saturday. Formalin is a carcinogenic substance used to preserve bodies and can cause serious ailments like cancer. According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the fish, mainly prawns, came from Andhra Pradesh and was meant for a fish processing unit in Kochi.

The raid was carried out as part of the 'Operation Sagar Rani,' a drive launched to ensure safety and hygiene at fish handling and distribution centres. In the tests conducted at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology in Kochi 63.9 mg of formalin found in a kilogram of fish.

Last week, officials also seized around 14,000 kg of fish containing Formalin from the state. According to the report, the seized fishes were then sent back to the originating place so that they could be destroyed. Health expert Dr Mathew Thomas told Hindustan Times, ‰??Formalin poses serious health hazards. Once inside the body, it triggers a metabolic process and produces toxins. While cooking, its toxicity never gets spoiled.‰??

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