From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (15 articles)
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2019 06:10:09 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: E5FD5AF0-C641-421F-AF1A-F7AA537DDCC5**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, June 10, 2019 at 6:09:59 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 (15 articles)

TULSA OFFICIALS WARN RESIDENTS ABOUT STENCH AFTER FLOODING
Tags: us_OK, public, follow-up, environmental

FIREFIGHTERS SPEND HOURS BATTLING FIRE AT STORAGE FACILITY ON FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE
Tags: us_IL, public, explosion, response, propane

EMERGENCY CREWS ORDER EVACUATIONS IN PERRY TOWNSHIP AFTER INCIDENT AT CHEMICAL FACILITY
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

TYLER COUNTY, WV, GAS TANK FIRE UNDER INVESTIGATION
Tags: us_OH, industrial, follow-up, environmental, natural_gas

SEVERAL FIRE CREWS RESPONDING TO A HAZMAT SITUATION IN LITCHFIELD
Tags: us_CT, public, release, response, propane

FIREFIGHTERS, POLICE OFFICER HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIRE, HAZMAT SITUATION AT FAIRFIELD HOME
Tags: us_CT, public, fire, injury, batteries

CREDIT UNION EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN KALAMAZOO
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, gasoline, solvent

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL GODOWN IN KOLKATA
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

SYSCO FOOD PLANT IN PLYMPTON EVACUATED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, hydrogen

SHELTER-IN-PLACE ADVISORY ISSUED FOR RESIDENTS NEAR COVINGTON POOL AFTER CHEMICAL ACCIDENT
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, pool_chemicals

CHEVRON EXPLOSION: FIRM FINED å£5M
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables

PLEA AGREEMENT INCLUDES $2.8M FOR THOSE INJURED IN 2014 CHEMICAL BLAST
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury, illegal, waste

AI POSES CHALLENGE TO METHOD VALIDATION, SAYS SENIOR OECD FIGURE
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental

US CHEMICAL ARMS DESTRUCTION PLANT HALTED BY SEEP FROM TANK
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, response, waste

3 SICKENED AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO NITROGEN GAS AT WESTON ICE...
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, nitrogen, oxygen


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TULSA OFFICIALS WARN RESIDENTS ABOUT STENCH AFTER FLOODING
https://www.ky3.com/content/news/Tulsa-officials-warn-residents-about-stench-after-flooding-511040711.html
Tags: us_OK, public, follow-up, environmental

TULSA, Okla. Tulsa health officials are cautioning residents to be aware of the natural stench that comes as the water continues to recede after last week's historic flooding.

State experts said the smells can be mold decay, odors with unrecognizable scents, or the scents from sewage or chemicals, the Tulsa World reported .

"If they're just unsure, if something doesn't smell right or look right, we tell people to call our hotline," said Erin Hatfield, director of communications for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Anonymous grievances are accepted.

"People don't always know, and they are overwhelmed," said Gina Gould Peek, housing and consumer specialist with Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension. "Floodwater can have all kinds of nasty chemicals and other things in it, but eventually as things normalize, your yard is not going to be a hazmat site. Generally, the Earth repairs itself. But if you are unsure or hesitant, you should certainly call for help."

Though Tulsa remained largely intact, one of its suburbs, Sand Springs, was among the first communities flooded when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began releasing more water from a dam upriver to control more severe flooding elsewhere.

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

FIREFIGHTERS SPEND HOURS BATTLING FIRE AT STORAGE FACILITY ON FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE
https://wgntv.com/2019/06/09/firefighters-spend-hours-battling-fire-at-storage-facility-on-far-southwest-side/
Tags: us_IL, public, explosion, response, propane

CHICAGO ‰?? Firefighters say they're exhausted after battling a large fire that destroyed multiple self-storage units inside a Garfield Ridge facility around 8 a.m. Sunday morning.

The fire started in a handful of units inside a Cubesmart storage facility at 62nd Street and Harlem Avenue on the Far Southwest Side, but spread to about 20 storage units by the time it was extinguished.

Several storage cubes contained chemicals, moving firefighters to treat the response as a potential hazmat situation. A few propane tanks exploded, but nobody was injured. The fire took a few hours to put out, and there were a lot of firefighters on scene.

Those units are completely destroyed. Firefighters say they had some issues with water because the fire hydrant outside of the facility was not working.

Chicago fire says that is common especially in places like 62nd and harlem which is right at the edge of the city of chicago and water is scarce. The fire spread quickly from unit to unit and that made it difficult to put out quickly.

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

EMERGENCY CREWS ORDER EVACUATIONS IN PERRY TOWNSHIP AFTER INCIDENT AT CHEMICAL FACILITY
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/breaking-news/2
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

About a dozen people were being sheltered at the Shoemakersville Fire Company late Sunday night following a hazmat incident in Perry Township.

Emergency crews had ordered evacuations in Perry at about 9:15 near a chemical facility on Mohrsville Road.

An unknown substance was released earlier in the evening, initial reports said.

Residents a half-mile north and a half-mile south of the incident were evacuated.

Evacuees at the fire company were eating pizza while waiting to be told they could return to their homes.

They said that the problem was at the Bulk Chemicals Inc. building in the 800 block of Mohrsville Road.

One resident who lives across the river from the chemical facility was upset.

‰??I thought it was an (car) accident,‰?? said the resident, who did not wish to be identified. ‰??I had the house windows open for hours.

"It wasn't until the guy knocked on the door at 10:15 p.m. saying: ‰??We're evacuating. There's been a spill.'

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

TYLER COUNTY, WV, GAS TANK FIRE UNDER INVESTIGATION
https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/tyler-county-wv-gas-tank-fire-under-investigation/article_b7f172d2-a6ce-528a-bea2-fa67f725cb52.html
Tags: us_OH, industrial, follow-up, environmental, natural_gas

FRIENDLY ‰?? Officials from Dominion Energy are conducting an investigation into a fire at one of the company‰??s storage tanks in the Ohio Valley during Memorial Day weekend with an eye toward preventing future incidents.

The fire was reported at the site of a natural gas condensate tank in the unincorporated community of Ben‰??s Run near Friendly in the afternoon hours of May 25. Several Tyler County fire departments and even industrial fire fighting crews were called to the scene. Gov. Jim Justice also ordered state resources to the scene to assist upon being informed of the situation by Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton.

The fire wasn‰??t extinguished until about 5 a.m. the following morning.

Lora D. Lipscomb, public information officer for the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said Dominion is investigating the fire, which was believed to have been caused by a lightning strike since thunderstorms were moving through the area at the time.

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

SEVERAL FIRE CREWS RESPONDING TO A HAZMAT SITUATION IN LITCHFIELD
https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/litchfield/several-fire-crews-responding-to-a-hazmat-situation-in-litchfield/2062956040
Tags: us_CT, public, release, response, propane

LITCHFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) - Litchfield and several neighboring fire crews are responding to large, leaking 1,000 gallon propane tank on Campville Road Saturday.

DEEP is also responding to the hazmat situation.

There are no injuries or known causes for the leak at this time. There are no road closures at this time.

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

FIREFIGHTERS, POLICE OFFICER HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIRE, HAZMAT SITUATION AT FAIRFIELD HOME
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/firefighters-police-officer-hospitalized-after-fire-hazmat-situation-at-fairfield-home/2063465322
Tags: us_CT, public, fire, injury, batteries

FAIRFIELD (KRON) -- Several firefighters and a police officer in Fairfield were taken to the hospital Saturday evening after responding to a house fire involving hazardous materials.

The fire department has issued a shelter-in-place for the area of Ash Tree Court and Fawn Glen Circle in Fairfield because of the incident.

Police say they responded around 5 p.m. to a house fire on Ash Tree Court, and while fighting the fire, they discovered 200 pounds of lithium batteries in the garage of the home.

The batteries began to emit fluoride gas, according to police, prompting three firefighters and a police officer to be taken to the hospital for exposure.

One firefighter also suffered a back injury and was taken to the hospital.

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

CREDIT UNION EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN KALAMAZOO
https://wwmt.com/news/local/credit-union-evacuated-after-chemical-spill-in-kalamazoo
Tags: us_MI, public, release, response, gasoline, solvent

KALAMAZOO, Mich. ‰?? A hazmat crew was sent to Alvan Road and a nearby credit union was evacuated after a chemical spill at a trucking company.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and members of the Kalamazoo County Hazmat team were called to the Old Dominion Freight Line just before 10 a.m. and found a 55-gallon drum of trimethyl phosphate had been punctured and was leaking in a trailer.

Trimethyl phosphate is a chemical used as a gasoline additive, paint solvent, and in preparing polymers and resins, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine Toxicology Data Network.

The Hazmat team stopped the leak, but not before nearly 25 gallons had leaked into the trailer.

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

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL GODOWN IN KOLKATA
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/261336487/fire-breaks-out-at-chemical-godown-in-kolkata
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 8 (ANI): A large-scale fire engulfed a chemical godown near Jagannath Ghat in the wee hours of Saturday.

At least 20 fire tenders have reached the spot in an effort to douse the flames.

The fire broke at around 2 am and no reports of injuries or casualties were reported so far.

The fire-fighting operations are currently underway.

Traffic on Strand Bank Road has been diverted because of the fire.

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

SYSCO FOOD PLANT IN PLYMPTON EVACUATED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK
https://www.boston25news.com/news/sysco-food-plant-in-plympton-evacuated-due-to-hydrogen-leak/956069537
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, response, hydrogen

PLYMPTON, Mass. - A food plant had to be evacuated due to a hydrogen leak.

Hazmat teams were called to the Sysco food plant in Plympton Thursday night. Several fire trucks were also on scene.

The state fire marshal's office says it appears the leak came from a forklift.

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

SHELTER-IN-PLACE ADVISORY ISSUED FOR RESIDENTS NEAR COVINGTON POOL AFTER CHEMICAL ACCIDENT
https://www.wlwt.com/article/joshuas-house-hospice-care-for-homeless/27728797
Tags: us_KY, public, release, response, pool_chemicals

OVINGTON, Ky. ‰??
A chemical accident at a Covington pool prompted a neighborhood scare Thursday afternoon.

A shelter-in-place advisory was issued briefly for Covington residents in the one-block area around Goebel Pool after pool chemicals inadvertently got mixed.

The shelter-in-place advisory has since been lifted.

"The mixture produced a small cloud of chlorine gas that was confined to the building, but we went ahead and issued the advisory as a precaution only," said Mike Bloemer, Covington Fire Department assistant chief of training and operations, who is at the scene.

The pool was not open to the public at the time, and was scheduled to open this weekend.

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

CHEVRON EXPLOSION: FIRM FINED å£5M
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-wales-48544296/chevron-explosion-firm-fined-5m-after-pembroke-deaths
Tags: United_Kingdom, industrial, follow-up, death, flammables

Four contractors died at the Chevron Oil Refinery in 2011, after flammable gases inside a chemical storage tank they were draining ignited.

Dennis Riley, 52, Robert Broome, 48, Andrew Jenkins, 33, and Julie Jones lost their lives after the explosion in Pembroke.

A fifth employee, Andrew Phillips, was caught in the flames but survived with life-changing burns.

Chevron will have to pay a å£5m fine and court costs of å£1m as part of a deal it struck with Valero Energy UK Limited, which bought the site shortly after the disaster.

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

PLEA AGREEMENT INCLUDES $2.8M FOR THOSE INJURED IN 2014 CHEMICAL BLAST
https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/santa-paula/2019/06/06/plea-agreement-includes-2-8-m-those-injured-2014-chemical-blast/1373314001/
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, injury, illegal, waste

Santa Clara Waste Water Co. and parent company Green Compass Environmental Solutions are expected to pay nearly $2.8 million to those injured in a 2014 explosion at a wastewater facility near Santa Paula.

The restitution is part of an agreement filed Thursday between the corporations and prosecutors over the criminal case stemming from the chemical blast at 815 Mission Rock Road, according to a news release from the Ventura County District Attorney‰??s Office.

The incident left employees and first responders, many of them firefighters, with serious injuries that affected their ability to continue working, said Supervising Deputy District Attorney Dominic Kardum.

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

AI POSES CHALLENGE TO METHOD VALIDATION, SAYS SENIOR OECD FIGURE
https://chemicalwatch.com/78459/ai-poses-challenge-to-method-validation-says-senior-oecd-figure
Tags: Europe, public, discovery, environmental

The incorporation of artificial intelligence, or machine learning, into in silico methods of hazard prediction presents a new validation challenge, according to a senior OECD figure.

At the Helsinki Chemicals Forum on 31 May, Bob Diderich, head of the OECD‰??s environmental health and safety division, which runs the test guidelines programme, said that he did not yet have an answer.

Developers of in silico methods are increasingly working with machine learning because of the possibilities it raises. In theory, methods incorporating this technology improve as they are used because the underlying algorithm changes constantly in response to new data.

Mr Diderich said that the OECD has been working on validation of in silico methods for several years with the aim of increasing use and acceptance for regulatory purposes.

"What's the kind of validation that we need and who's going to do it? Can we have something for Qsars [quantitative structure-activity relationships] that is similar to what we have today for laboratory test methods?" he said. "The conclusion of that discussion was these methods evolve way too fast. By the time we've put a stamp on it, there's another model that is way better."

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

US CHEMICAL ARMS DESTRUCTION PLANT HALTED BY SEEP FROM TANK
https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/06/06/us-chemical-arms-destruction-plant-halted-by-seep-from-tank/
Tags: us_CO, industrial, release, response, waste

PUEBLO, Colo. ‰?? An Army facility in southern Colorado has temporarily stopped destroying obsolete chemical weapons because of liquid hazardous waste seeping from a storage tank.

Officials said Thursday the liquid is a byproduct of the destruction process at the Pueblo Chemical Depot and contains no chemical weapons. They say less than 8 ounces (237 millilitres) seeped out.

The seepage was discovered May 15. The cause is under investigation.

Destruction is expected to resume in mid-June.

The depot is eradicating a stockpile of 780,000 shells containing 2,500 U.S. tons (2,270 metric tons) of mustard agent. Since starting in 2016, the plant has eliminated 132,000 shells and 774 U.S. tons (702 metric tons) of mustard.

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

3 SICKENED AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO NITROGEN GAS AT WESTON ICE...
https://www.local10.com/news/florida/weston/multiple-exposed-to-nitrogen-gas-weston-ice-cream-shop
Tags: us_FL, public, release, injury, nitrogen, oxygen

WESTON, Fla. - Two employees fell ill and a deputy with the Broward Sheriff's Office was treated after being exposed to nitrogen gas at a Weston ice cream shop, according to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue.

Fire Rescue received a call after 4 p.m. from employees who were complaining of dizziness, officials said. The Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream shop is located in the 2200 block of Weston Road.

Officials said firefighters arrived and found one person already unresponsive and another in distress.

The release of nitrogen likely happened so quickly that employees could not escape the business before collapsing, according to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue. Officials said evidence of the release could be seen on the iced-over storefront windows.

The ice cream parlor uses nitrogen as a freezing agent in preparation of their desserts, officials said.

"Nitrogen is an inert gas, meaning it doesn't chemically react with other gases and generally isn't toxic," Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue said in a release. "But breathing pure nitrogen could be deadly because the gas displaces oxygen and could lead to suffocation of the victim. In high concentrations, unconsciousness can occur within one or two breaths, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board."

Officials said BSFR's hazardous materials team stopped the leak, which was emanating from a large storage tank.

Ventilation of the structure is in progress but it likely will not be allowed to reopen until a professional service team responds to repair the nitrogen tank assembly, officials said.

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