From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (15 articles)
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2019 07:47:23 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 3D7AA2CB-F21D-46DC-959A-712B97A7166D**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, July 12, 2019 at 7:47:09 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)

BINGHAMTON DPW WORKERS SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, antifreeze, chlorine

RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND IN MIDDLE OF DURHAM STREET
Tags: us_NC, transportation, discovery, response, radiation

2 WORKERS DEAD AFTER BEING PULLED FROM ALDAN MANHOLE
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical

1,000 GALLONS OF ETHANOL SPILLS IN PHOENIX
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, release, response, ethanol

CHARLOTTE FIRE SAYS BUILDING IS SAFE AFTER WORKERS SICKENED BY ROOF TAR
Tags: us_NC, public, release, injury, other_chemical

ALTOONA BUSINESS EVACUATED AFTER AMMONIA LEAK
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

SUSHI 'CRUNCH' CAUSED 2 RESTAURANT FIRES BY SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION, MADISON FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Tags: us_WI, public, fire, response, oils

ILLICIT DRUG LAB SUSPECTED IN EXPLOSION AT ANAHEIM STRIP MALL
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, butane

UPDATE 1-NZ DEFENCE FORCE USE CONTROLLED EXPLOSION TO DEFUSE HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL AT BIOTECH SITE
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, discovery, response, hydrazine

DULUTH MAY HARDEN STANCE AGAINST HYDROGEN FLUORIDE
Tags: us_MN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid

‰??BUG BOMBS‰?? SPARK EXPLOSION, EVACUATIONS AT NORTH HOLLYWOOD APARTMENT BUILDING ‰?? CBS LOS ANGELES
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, other_chemical

TRAIN COLLISION SPARKS FIRE AT AVON RAILYARD
Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, response, petroleum

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT KEARNY, NEW JERSEY CHLORINE FACTORY FOR 2ND TIME IN 3 MONTHS
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, fire, response, chlorine

UH RESEARCHER WHO LOST AN ARM IN LAB EXPLOSION FIGHTING TWO BATTLES
Tags: us_HI, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical

1 DEAD, 12 HURT IN CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, solvent


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BINGHAMTON DPW WORKERS SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
https://wnbf.com/four-binghamton-workers-sent-to-hospital-after-hazmat-incident/
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, injury, antifreeze, chlorine

Three Binghamton public works employees were sent to Lourdes Hospital for evaluation after they complained of dizziness following exposure to chlorine gas.

Deputy fire chief Stephen Faughnan said the workers detected a burning odor as they collected trash. When the back of the truck was opened, they observed a white vapor cloud.

Faughnan said several fire department rigs were sent to deal with the situation. He said the exothermic reaction caused some material in the truck to melt but there was no fire.

Floral Avenue was closed between Grand Boulevard and Carhart Avenue while the hazmat operation was underway.

Firefighters in protective suits retrieved the materials generating the fumes. It appeared chlorine had come into contact with antifreeze, causing a chemical reaction.

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

RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND IN MIDDLE OF DURHAM STREET
https://www.cbs17.com/news/radioactive-material-found-in-middle-of-durham-street/
Tags: us_NC, transportation, discovery, response, radiation

DURHAM, NC (WNCN) ‰?? HAZMAT crews were able to clear the scene in less than an hour after a box containing radioactive material was found laying in the middle of Duke Street.

‰??A pickup truck carrying a radioactive material had the box holding it fall out of the back of a truck leaving the car wash,‰?? said Durham Fire Chief Robert Zoldos. ‰??It fell in the middle of the street. A passerby actually picked it up and moved it out of the street, read what was on it, and called 911.‰??

Zoldos says that package contained radioactive material known as Colbalt-60, which has a wide variety of industrial and medical uses.

‰??When packaged appropriately, and used appropriately, there‰??s no big deal at all,‰?? said Zoldos.

If mishandled, Cobalt-60 has been known to cause skin burns, radiation sickness, and even death.

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

2 WORKERS DEAD AFTER BEING PULLED FROM ALDAN MANHOLE
https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/2-workers-dead-after-being-pulled-aldan-manhole
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, death, unknown_chemical

ALDAN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) ‰?? Two workers are dead after being found unresponsive in a Delaware County manhole.

The men, who were in their early 20s, were conducting a dye test in a manhole at West Rively and South Sycamore avenues in Aldan, but had to be pulled out in an emergency rescue after they were found unresponsive.

Ken Coppola, Aldan police chief, said during a press conference that two other men were working at the other end of the street, at West Magnolia and South Sycamore avenues. They lost contact with their coworkers a little after 11:30 a.m. and didn‰??t hear back from them.

When the two men went to check on their co-workers, they found them unconscious.

They immediately called 911. Emergency responders pulled the men from the 30-foot-deep manhole and declared them dead at the scene.

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

1,000 GALLONS OF ETHANOL SPILLS IN PHOENIX
https://kjzz.org/content/1055936/1000-gallons-ethanol-spills-phoenix
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, release, response, ethanol

The Phoenix Fire Department responded to an ethanol spill Thursday morning. The spill was bigger than expected.

Upon arrival, fire crews found about a thousand gallons of ethanol spilled at Kinder Morgan Terminal in an industrial park in Phoenix.

Crews from Phoenix, Glendale and Avondale fire, equipped with hazmat suits, worked with Kinder Morgan to contain the spill.

One Kinder Morgan employee was evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Crews successfully removed all of the ethanol, and it is unknown what caused the leak.

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

CHARLOTTE FIRE SAYS BUILDING IS SAFE AFTER WORKERS SICKENED BY ROOF TAR
http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/local-news/charlotte-fire-says-building-is-safe-after-workers-sickened-by-roof-tar
Tags: us_NC, public, release, injury, other_chemical

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) - The odor of tar forced employees to evacuate a south Charlotte building on Thursday. Fire officials tell FOX 46 that the building is now safe for people to return, but workers aren‰??t quite ready to walk back in.

Some left work early, and one woman told FOX 46 that she‰??s going to the doctor to get checked out just to make sure she's ok.

‰??I think it created anxiety for everyone,‰?? Yolanda Cato said.

‰??We were entering the building this morning, we heard a beeping noise we didn't think anything of it, about an hour or so later we were all asked to evacuate the building,‰?? said Cato.

Fire officials say dozens of people were checked out by medical teams and five people were sent to the hospital complaining of nausea and headaches.

‰??It raised an eyebrow for caution. It makes you apprehensive to return immediately,‰?? Cato said.

Firefighters say workers were putting tar on the roof of the building and the smell circulated through the building's air conditioning system making workers sick. Charlotte Fire says they checked it out, there are no hazardous materials and the building is safe for workers to return.

‰??The building was deemed clear we ran our hazmat meters through the building and everything came back negative,‰?? Charlotte Fire Captain Dennis Gist said.

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

ALTOONA BUSINESS EVACUATED AFTER AMMONIA LEAK
https://www.weareiowa.com/news/local-news/altoona-business-evacuated-after-ammonia-leak/
Tags: us_PA, industrial, release, response, ammonia

ALTOONA ‰?? Police have evacuated Iowa Cold Storage on Adventureland Drive due to an ammonia leak.

Police have allowed nearby businesses, including hotels, to independently decide on whether or not to evacuate. Altoona Police are monitoring the air quality in the area at nearby hotels.

The leak has been stopped, but Altoona hazmat and fire crews are still on scene.

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

SUSHI 'CRUNCH' CAUSED 2 RESTAURANT FIRES BY SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION, MADISON FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS
https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/sushi-crunch-caused-restaurant-fires-by-spontaneous-combustion-madison-fire/article_62ee7c8b-36f3-5f34-8521-700b3360065f.html
Tags: us_WI, public, fire, response, oils

How can a tasty sushi topping cause a fire? Two Madison restaurants learned the hard way.

The Madison Fire Department issued a fire hazard warning Thursday about "crunch", or "crunchy," a deep-fried batter sprinkled on top of sushi rolls, that can spontaneously catch fire when not stored properly.

Two Japanese restaurants, Sumo Steakhouse and Sushi Bar on April 5, and Takara Japanese Restaurant on May 10, had such fires, with damages from the two fires estimated to total at least $575,000.

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"The fires were caused by a food preparation technique where oil used to make a tempura-like crunch self-heats and spontaneously combusts," said MFD spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster.

What happens is the batter is fried in vegetable oil, then the crunch is put into a bowl or colander to drain and cool. If unattended while cooling, the crunch can retain heat and get to the flash point.

"Cooking oils, especially soybean oil and canola oil, are known to have a propensity to self-heat under certain circumstances," Schuster said.

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

ILLICIT DRUG LAB SUSPECTED IN EXPLOSION AT ANAHEIM STRIP MALL
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-explosion-investigation-anaheim-20190711-story.html
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, response, butane

Authorities are trying to determine whether a business in a strip mall where an explosion and fire occurred late Wednesday in Anaheim was an illicit drug lab.

Firefighters and police responded to reports of an explosion at in the 400 block of South Euclid Street shortly before 10 p.m. and discovered a small fire outside one of the units, which was quickly extinguished, according to fire officials. A man was seen running from the location with extensive burns to his body, authorities said.

Several cans of butane gas were found in the back of one of the businesses, and it appeared someone was trying to extract honey oil from marijuana, Anaheim Fire and Rescue Capt. Mark Dunn told City News Service.

Investigators determined the explosion was caused when butane came in contact with an ignition source, according to the Anaheim Police Department.

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

UPDATE 1-NZ DEFENCE FORCE USE CONTROLLED EXPLOSION TO DEFUSE HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL AT BIOTECH SITE
https://news.yahoo.com/1-nz-defence-force-controlled-004711477.html
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, discovery, response, hydrazine

July 12 (Reuters) - New Zealand's defence force conducted a controlled explosion at a South Dunedin site owned by biotechnology company Blis Technologies Ltd on Friday after being called to deal with a hazardous chemical incident, said authorities.

The site has now reopened and police cordons removed, Blis and Fire and Emergency New Zealand said in separate statements.

"The chemical was disposed of safely via a controlled detonation at the site by the New Zealand Defence Force around 9.45am (2045 GMT) this morning," Fire and Emergency New Zealand said in a statement.

Police had earlier cordoned off several streets in the area to dispose of the container where some "hydrazine monohydrate had crystalised".

Hydrazine is used in making pharmaceuticals among other things and exposure to it can cause irritation and seizures in humans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a probable human carcinogen.

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

DULUTH MAY HARDEN STANCE AGAINST HYDROGEN FLUORIDE
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/energy-and-mining/3905559-Duluth-may-harden-stance-against-hydrogen-fluoride
Tags: us_MN, industrial, follow-up, environmental, hydrofluoric_acid

On Monday, the Duluth City Council will take up a resolution formally requesting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take another look at safety concerns that have swirled around the continued use of hydrogen fluoride at refineries, such as the Husky Energy plant that exploded April 26, 2018. The ensuing blaze forced the evacuation of a large portion of Superior, as crews worked to get the fire under control and prevent any escape of the gaseous chemical, which can quickly penetrate and damage human tissues, causing blindness and even death. A follow-up investigation indicated that no hydrogen fluoride was released that day.

Yet both Duluth Mayor Emily Larson and Superior Mayor Jim Paine called on Husky to discontinue its use of hydrogen fluoride in the wake of the incident.

Nevertheless, Husky Energy Inc. announced in April of this year its intentions to resume operations with hydrogen fluoride still in the mix when its Superior refinery is ready to come back on line.

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

‰??BUG BOMBS‰?? SPARK EXPLOSION, EVACUATIONS AT NORTH HOLLYWOOD APARTMENT BUILDING ‰?? CBS LOS ANGELES
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/07/10/bug-bombs-spark-explosion-evacuations-at-north-hollywood-apartment-building/
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, other_chemical

NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) ‰?? Multiple purported ‰??bug bombs‰?? likely caused some type of explosion at a North Hollywood apartment complex Tuesday morning, forcing residents to evacuate and sending a Los Angeles police officer to the hospital, authorities said.

The explosion was reported at around 10:15 a.m. at a two-story apartment building in the 6400 block of North Denny Avenue.

According to the L.A. Fire Department, the explosion was sparked by several bug bombs in one of the apartments.

No residents were injured, but three units sustained damage including blown-out windows and doors blown off their hinges, the fire department said. The building as a whole did not sustain serious structural damage.

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

TRAIN COLLISION SPARKS FIRE AT AVON RAILYARD
https://www.wthr.com/article/train-collision-sparks-fire-avon-railyard
Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, response, petroleum

AVON, Ind. (WTHR) - Crews are battling a fire involving trains at a railyard in Avon.

The fire was reported just before 9 p.m. at the CSX Avon Railyard near CR 800 East and Rockville Road. Firefighters say three locomotives collided, puncturing a saddle tank, which sparked a fuel-fed fire that engulfed several trains.

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

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT KEARNY, NEW JERSEY CHLORINE FACTORY FOR 2ND TIME IN 3 MONTHS
https://abc7ny.com/fire-breaks-out-at-new-jersey-chlorine-factory-for-2nd-time-/5388336/
Tags: us_NJ, industrial, fire, response, chlorine

KEARNY, New Jersey (WABC) -- Firefighters in New Jersey battled a fire Wednesday night at the same chlorine plant that was the scene of a fire in May.

The Kearny Fire Department responded to the fire at a factory at 55 Jacobus Avenue, under the Pulaski Skyway.

Jacobus Avenue, which has several industrial businesses, was evacuated. Hazmat units were called to the scene.

No injuries have been reported.

The building manufactures and stores chlorine tablets that are used in swimming pools.

The fire in May caused the Pulaski Skyway to be closed for hours.

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

UH RESEARCHER WHO LOST AN ARM IN LAB EXPLOSION FIGHTING TWO BATTLES
https://www.khon2.com/top-stories/uh-researcher-who-lost-an-arm-in-lab-explosion-fighting-two-battles/
Tags: us_HI, laboratory, follow-up, injury, other_chemical

Three years after losing part of her arm in a lab explosion at UH, Thea Ekins-Coward continues to struggle with what happened.

But she‰??s fighting on two fronts. One to get her life and career back. The other is a legal battle against the university.

Her attorney says Ekins-Coward has struggled to get a job, much less just doing everyday things. She has a long way to go and her legal battle can take just as long.

In March 2016, a powerful explosion inside a laboratory rocked a building at the UH Manoa campus. HFD determined that a wrong pressure gauge was used, which caused a spark that led to the explosion.

Ekins-Coward, a postdoctoral fellow was in that lab and lost part of her right arm. Her attorney says she has since moved back home to England and has struggled with getting her life back.

‰??She still is very traumatized by the event, it distresses her to speak about it still and she still can‰??t do a lot of things,‰?? said attorney Claire Choo.

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

1 DEAD, 12 HURT IN CHEMICAL PLANT BLAST
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/1-dead-12-hurt-in-chemical-plant-blast/800189.html
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, solvent

One person was killed and at least 12 injured in an explosion in a solvent tank of a chemical plant at Punjab Chemicals and Crop Protection Limited (PCCPL) on the Mubarikpur road here this morning.

The blast triggered a fire and a thick blanket of toxic smoke engulfed the area. Panic spread in the area as soon as residents heard the loud explosion.
The cause of the fire is unclear, but company officials said a short-circuit might have caused it.

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