From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (8 articles)
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2019 07:31:28 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: C2146904-D088-4E5A-B185-B592414704EC**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, January 11, 2019 at 7:31:13 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 (8 articles)

FIREFIGHTERS CLEAN UP SMALL CHEMICAL SPILL AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN‰??S HOSPITAL LAB
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

HEARING PLANNED ON BARREL RUPTURES AT E. IDAHO NUCLEAR SITE
Tags: us_ID, industrial, follow-up, response, radiation, waste

FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO SMALL EXPLOSION IN BASEMENT LAB AT MIT ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

TWO PLACER COUNTY MEN ARRESTED AFTER MARIJUANA OIL LAB EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, response, butane, clandestine_lab

FIRE OUT AT CHEMSTAR PRODUCTS COMPANY IN MCPHERSON
Tags: us_KS, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

GRAND HAVEN TRIBUNE: BIOSOLIDS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF PFAS
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

VERSO PAPER MACHINE EMPLOYEES EVACUATE JAY MILL AFTER CHEMICAL RELEASED
Tags: us_ME, public, release, response, chlorine_dioxide

CREWS BATTLE FIRE NEAR TRAILER FULL OF POTENTIALLY TOXIC, EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND ‰?? ST GEORGE NEWS
Tags: us_UT, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical


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FIREFIGHTERS CLEAN UP SMALL CHEMICAL SPILL AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN‰??S HOSPITAL LAB
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/01/10/firefighters-respond-chemical-spill-brigham-and-women-hospital-one-hurt/nT27pruttV6LSTzXTA84zH/story.html
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid

Employees at a Brigham and Women‰??s Hospital building on Longwood Avenue have returned to work after a chemical spill forced a precautionary evacuation Thursday morning, a Boston Fire Department spokesman said.

Shortly before 9 a.m., a worker spilled about 2 liters of hydrochloric acid on the floor of the lab, located on the fourth floor of the hospital building at 221 Longwood Ave., said Firefighter Brian Alkins, a department spokesman.

That person called 911, and firefighters responded to the scene, Alkins said. The incident was reported at 8:46 a.m. and declared a level 2 hazmat situation.

The building houses research labs and patient areas, but the spill ‰??was nowhere near the patient department,‰?? Alkins said.

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HEARING PLANNED ON BARREL RUPTURES AT E. IDAHO NUCLEAR SITE
https://www.fireengineering.com/ap-news/2019/01/10/hearing-planned-on-barrel-ruptures-at-e-idaho-nuclear-site.html
Tags: us_ID, industrial, follow-up, response, radiation, waste

BOISE, Idaho (AP) ‰?? A government board that makes recommendations on U.S. Department of Energy facilities plans to hold a public hearing concerning the rupture of four barrels containing radioactive sludge at an eastern Idaho nuclear site.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will meet in May in Washington, D.C., to discuss the ruptures at the Energy Department's 890-square-mile (2,300-square-kilometer) site in eastern Idaho that includes the Idaho National Laboratory.
The board in a closed meeting last month opted for the public hearing involving the April barrel ruptures at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex.
Three of the four board members voted in favor of holding the meeting, while Bruce Hamilton abstained, citing his concerns about the location of the meeting. "The recent event at Idaho National Laboratory is worthy of further information gathering which could be facilitated by a hearing. Whether that hearing is best accomplished in Washington, D.C., instead of in Idaho is questionable," he wrote.
Officials say there were no injuries and no threat to the public because of the barrel ruptures. Work later resumed at the facility.
U.S. Department of Energy contractor Fluor Idaho in a statement Thursday said it appreciated the board's interest in the problems with the barrels and said it "will lend our technical assistance as needed. We have worked with the board over the past several years on technical issues associated with the cleanup mission in Idaho and have always welcomed their input."

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FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO SMALL EXPLOSION IN BASEMENT LAB AT MIT ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
https://whdh.com/news/firefighters-respond-to-small-explosion-in-basement-lab-at-mit/
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A small explosion in a basement lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology prompted a large emergency response Thursday morning, officials said.

The explosion went off at 25 Ames St. around 10:30 a.m., prompting the sprinklers to turn on, according to the Cambridge Fire Department.

No injuries have been reported.

Officials say the situation is stable.

No additional information was immediately available.

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TWO PLACER COUNTY MEN ARRESTED AFTER MARIJUANA OIL LAB EXPLOSION
https://www.sacbee.com/community/roseville-placer/article224223800.html
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, response, butane, clandestine_lab

Two Foresthill men were arrested in connection with a Placer County marijuana butane honey oil lab explosion in December, sheriff‰??s officials said.

Kenneth Dodson and James Jacques, both 57, were arrested this week on suspicion of running a butane honey oil lab on the 5100 block of Finning Mill Road in Foresthill, according to a news release from the Placer County Sheriff‰??s Department.

Butane honey oil is a concentrated form of marijuana that is commonly known as wax, honey or BHO. This form is produced through a chemical process using butane, a highly flammable substance.

The lab exploded and destroyed the building that housed the operation in December, the release said.

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FIRE OUT AT CHEMSTAR PRODUCTS COMPANY IN MCPHERSON
https://www.kwch.com/content/news/Crews-respond-to-fire-at-chemical-plant-in-McPherson-504183381.html
Tags: us_KS, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical

A fire at Chemstar Products Company in McPherson is now out.

Firefighters will remain on the scene throughout the evening to monitor hotspots and any flare-ups. They say no one was hurt in the fire.

Chemstar is a green space, meaning it is environmentally friendly. The plan makes drilling mud out of corn products.

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Multiple fire agencies have responded to a structure fire in McPherson at the site of a chemical plant.

Units were called to the 500 block of W. Hayes around 3:55 p.m. on Thursday.

Emergency dispatchers say McPherson Fire, McPherson EMS, McPherson Police, Galva Fire and Inman Fire were all called to the scene.

Several viewers have reached out to us and say they've heard explosions coming from the Chem Star plant.

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GRAND HAVEN TRIBUNE: BIOSOLIDS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF PFAS
https://www.grandhaventribune.com/Environment/2019/01/09/Biosolids-a-potential-source-of-PFAS-in-Robinson-Twp
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

Biosolid applications are among the potential culprits that contaminated the drinking water at Robinson Elementary School and a total of 34 wells tested in the area.

According to the DEQ, firefighting foam, undocumented dump sites and materials from the M-231 highway construction project are other possible sources.

Biosolids are treated sewage sludge containing organic and inorganic material. Produced as a byproduct at sewage treatment plants, they are commonly used as fertilizer on crop-producing farms, and have been around since the early 1990s.

While biosolids have not been linked to any of the 36 sites of PFAS contamination currently under investigation by the DEQ in Michigan, the applications could contain the ‰??forever chemicals‰?? linked to numerous health hazards and found throughout the environment.

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VERSO PAPER MACHINE EMPLOYEES EVACUATE JAY MILL AFTER CHEMICAL RELEASED
https://www.centralmaine.com/2019/01/09/verso-paper-machine-employees-evacuate-jay-mill-after-chemical-released/
Tags: us_ME, public, release, response, chlorine_dioxide

JAY ‰?? Four contractors at Androscoggin Mill were taken to a hospital and employees working on paper machines were evacuated Wednesday morning after a valve was left open and chlorine dioxide gas was detected, according to Verso Corp. spokeswoman Kathi Rowzie.

The gas was detected by sensors in the mill. Evacuating the employees and sending the contractors to the hospital were both precautionary measures, she wrote in an email.

‰??No one was injured,‰?? according to Rowzie.

Employees were evacuated at about 9:30 a.m.

The release of the chlorine dioxide gas occurred as the result of a valve that was left open as the mill was making a normal transition from unbleached to bleached paper grades on the paper machines, Rowzie wrote.

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CREWS BATTLE FIRE NEAR TRAILER FULL OF POTENTIALLY TOXIC, EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND ‰?? ST GEORGE NEWS
https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2019/01/09/cgb-crews-battle-fire-near-trailer-full-of-potentially-toxic-explosive-compound/#.XDc_GC3sZTY
Tags: us_UT, transportation, fire, response, other_chemical

ST. GEORGE ‰?? A semitractor pulling double trailers caught fire on Interstate 15 in Millard County Wednesday morning, and an aggressive attack by fire crews prevented the flames from burning through the second tanker full of bisulfite, a compound that becomes dangerously unstable when heated.

The incident was reported at 7:45 a.m. on I-15 southbound near mile marker 137 where firefighters found the truck fully engulfed in flames that were spreading quickly across the front trailer.

The driver escaped without injury, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Street said.

Fire crews aggressively attacked the blaze and had it extinguished before it reached the second trailer containing the bisulfite, which averted a potential disaster, Street said.

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