From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (11 articles)
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2019 07:34:42 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 1401F8CB-1528-4DEB-8CAC-EB9FF7D5FD6F**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, October 7, 2019 at 7:34:32 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 (11 articles)

SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS ROCK CALIFORNIA OKTOBERFEST CELEBRATIONS
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, metals

HAZMAT SITUATION INVESTIGATED IN GROVELAND, MASS.
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

SOURCE OF AMMONIA LEAK IN WEST AUCKLAND IDENTIFIED
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, response, ammonia

11 PEOPLE TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN BALLYCOOLIN
Tags: Ireland, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

FUEL TANKER HITS BARRIER, SPILLS 1,000 GALLONS OF GAS IN BROOKLYN
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, gasoline

A SAFER WAY TO MAKE AZIDES FOR USE IN CLICK CHEMISTRY
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, sodium_azide

HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHLORINE LEAK AT NORMAN WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Tags: us_OK, industrial, release, response, chlorine

6 HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE IN BRIDGEPORT
Tags: us_CT, public, fire, injury, fire_extinguisher

PD: FIREFIGHTERS BATTLING COOLIDGE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE, NEARBY RESIDENTS EVACUATED
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, fire, response, irritant

WITH LITTLE FAA DIRECTION, VAPING DEVICES ADD TO FIRE DANGERS ON PLANES
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental, batteries

EMERGENCY PLAN OF ACTION (EPOA) DREF OPERATION Nå¡ MDRMV003
Tags: Maldives, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical


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SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS ROCK CALIFORNIA OKTOBERFEST CELEBRATIONS
https://kmbz.radio.com/articles/series-explosions-rock-california-oktoberfest-celebrations
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, metals

(HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.) -- A series of explosions rocked an Oktoberfest celebration in Huntington Beach, California, injuring five people.

Authorities on Saturday responded to the scene at 8:10 p.m. local time to reports of multiple explosions that caused a transformer fire at the Old World Village complex. The complex had been hosting the Old World Village Oktoberfest festival.

Staff at a festival restaurant noticed an odor coming from an underground vault just outside the facility, Jeff Lopez of the Huntington Beach Fire Department told reporters Sunday. The underground vault contained three transformers but only one exploded. At one point the vault's 50-lb. metal lid flew off during the explosion, Lopez said.

Two firefighters at the scene were injured and treated at a local burn center. Both have been released. A third person is still hospitalized with moderate to severe injuries, Lopez said. Damages to the restaurant were minimal.

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HAZMAT SITUATION INVESTIGATED IN GROVELAND, MASS.
https://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Hazmat-Situation-Investigated-in-Groveland-Mass-562402551.html
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical

Authorities in Groveland, Massachusetts responded to a Hazmat incident on Sunday.

Groveland Police and Fire officials responded to a call in the area of Washington and Salem streets around 6:45 p.m. on Sunday for reports of a possible gas leak. First responders discovered a crystallized substance and another flammable substance at a resident at 748 Salem St., prompting hazmat crews to respond to the scene.

It was determined that there was no threat or danger to the public, and no residents were evacuated.

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SOURCE OF AMMONIA LEAK IN WEST AUCKLAND IDENTIFIED
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/400481/source-of-ammonia-leak-in-west-auckland-identified
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, release, response, ammonia

ire and Emergency were called to Corban Avenue in Henderson at about 6pm this evening after reports of smoke coming out of a building.

A spokesperson said firefighters arrivedand discovered it was an ammonia leak.

Five firetrucks and a hazmat vehicle with specialist equipment for dealing with hazardous substances attended the scene.

Fire and Emergency told residents south of Corban Avenue to stay inside with their windows closed.

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11 PEOPLE TREATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL IN BALLYCOOLIN
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/11-people-treated-after-chemical-17038834
Tags: Ireland, public, release, injury, unknown_chemical

A chemical spill in Dublin today led to 11 people being treated by paramedics and in hospital.

The spill is understood to have happened at around lunchtime today at a premises in Ballycoolin.

Dublin Fire Brigade's specialist engines attended the HazMat incident and were on scene for four hours as they dealt with the situation.

Firefighters had to wear chemical protection suits while they isolated the source of the spill within a building in the area.

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FUEL TANKER HITS BARRIER, SPILLS 1,000 GALLONS OF GAS IN BROOKLYN
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fuel-tanker-hits-barrier-spills-1000-gallons-of-gas-in-brooklyn/ar-AAIlaVU
Tags: us_NY, transportation, release, response, gasoline

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) - A fuel tanker hit a barrier in Brooklyn on Saturday, sending hundreds of gallons of fuel spilling onto surrounding streets.
City Councilman Brad Lander says the fuel truck was carrying 8,100 gallons of gasoline when it struck the temporary barrier, causing the vehicle's discharge valve to break.

Lander says 1,000 gallons of gasoline spilled onto the street and into a nearby Con Edison manhole.

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A SAFER WAY TO MAKE AZIDES FOR USE IN CLICK CHEMISTRY
https://phys.org/news/2019-10-safer-azides-click-chemistry.html
Tags: China, laboratory, discovery, environmental, sodium_azide

A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found a safer way to synthesize azides for use in click chemistry reactions. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes how they discovered a safer way to transform primary amines into azides. In the same journal issue, Joseph Topczewski and En-Chih Liu with the University of Minnesota have published a News & Views piece outlining the work by the team in China.

Click chemistry combines two reactive compounds that assemble in ways that reliably produce results with no byproducts. The most popular click reaction is called CuAAC and it is used in a wide variety of applications. But synthesizing an azide for use in the process is problematic‰??it takes a very long time, and produces toxic emissions. Also, the reagents pose an explosion risk when stored. In this new effort, the researchers report that they have found a new way to synthesize azides that eliminates both problems.

The researchers report that they were actually working on something else when they discovered that fluorosulfuryl azide (FSO2N3) could convert primary amines into azides‰??and instead of it taking hours, it took just a few minutes. Further testing showed that FSO2N3 would react with almost any primary azine, and that it almost always resulted in a 100 percent yield. The researchers note that there is no need to purify FSO2N3 before use, making it an inexpensive option. They further note that there is no need to store it because it can be produced when needed‰??by mixing imidazolium fluorosulfuryl triflate salt with a sodium azide. They also note that the initiating salt is not toxic‰??at least to test rodents that were exposed to it.

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HAZMAT CREWS RESPOND TO CHLORINE LEAK AT NORMAN WATER TREATMENT PLANT
https://kfor.com/2019/10/04/hazmat-crews-respond-to-chlorine-leak-at-norman-water-treatment-plant/
Tags: us_OK, industrial, release, response, chlorine

NORMAN, Okla. ‰?? Hazmat crews have contained a chlorine leak at the water treatment plant in Norman.


Crews responded to the 3000 block of East Robinson before 2 p.m. Friday.

Norman Fire Chief Travis King said that a valve malfunctioned on a cylinder that was being connected, and it began leaking chlorine.

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6 HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMICAL EXPOSURE IN BRIDGEPORT
https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/6-hospitalized-after-chemical-exposure-in-14493761.php
Tags: us_CT, public, fire, injury, fire_extinguisher

BRIDGEPORT ‰?? A city gas station is closed until further notice and six people were hospitalized after chemical extinguishers discharged for an unknown reason late Friday afternoon.

Around 5:20 p.m., Bridgeport‰??s 911 dispatch center got a call about a structure fire at the corner of Park and North avenues. The fire department was dispatched to the Mobil gas station at 1705 Park Ave. and found that the dry chemical extinguishers over the gas pumps had been discharged.

Officials said they‰??re still working to determine what caused it.

The chemical spilled onto at least four vehicles at the pumps and six individuals, officials said. Those six people sought refuge inside the market at the gas station.

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PD: FIREFIGHTERS BATTLING COOLIDGE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE, NEARBY RESIDENTS EVACUATED
https://www.abc15.com/news/region-central-southern-az/pd-firefighters-battling-coolidge-plant-fire-advise-nearby-residents-to-evacuate
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, fire, response, irritant

COOLIDGE, AZ ‰?? Residents of the Landmark Ranch area are being advised to evacuate as firefighters work to contain a chemical fire at a plant in Coolidge.

According to the Coolidge Police Department, the crews are working to contain a chemical decomposition fire at the Bright International plant. The fire department is recommending that anyone living in homes in the path of the smoke from the fire should evacuate their homes until further notice.

Coolidge police say the smoke being emitted is a respiratory and skin irritant.

The Coolidge Adult Center is open as a place of refuge for any evacuees affected by the fire.

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WITH LITTLE FAA DIRECTION, VAPING DEVICES ADD TO FIRE DANGERS ON PLANES
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/With-little-FAA-direction-vaping-devices-add-to-14489792.php
Tags: transportation, discovery, environmental, batteries

When an e-cigarette battery started smoldering on a flight to Los Angeles, a SkyWest flight attendant threw it in an ice bucket before shoving it into a fire containment bag. In Denver, a carry-on bag with overheating vaping batteries "caught fire on a boarding bridge," and firefighters were called to put it out, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

In March, Southwest Airlines baggage handlers had to pull a smoking suitcase containing e-cigarette batteries from a plane in San Diego. Adjacent bags were damaged, as was the plane, which was temporarily taken out of service, according to the FAA.

E-cigarettes and the rechargeable lithium ion batteries that power them have caused smoke or fire incidents on planes or at airports 30 times in less than three years, according to an FAA database.

But the e-cigarettes are emblematic of a broader problem, data shows. Passengers in the United States bring an estimated 2.3 billion electronic devices on planes each year, and safety experts say federal regulators have struggled to keep up with the deluge, often deferring to airlines to manage potential dangers.

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EMERGENCY PLAN OF ACTION (EPOA) DREF OPERATION Nå¡ MDRMV003
https://reliefweb.int/report/maldives/maldives-fire-emergency-plan-action-epoa-dref-operation-n-mdrmv003
Tags: Maldives, public, fire, response, unknown_chemical

On 20 September 2019, around 19:30, a fire broke out through a residential area of the Maldives capital, MalÌ© city, displacing more than 300 people. The fire happened in the ward or area of Henveiru in MalÌ© city, in Henveiru Thilafushige ‰?? a residential building which also housed a chemical storage on the ground floor.

According to the Maldives National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), over 700 people (450 males and 336 females) were affected, including over 100 migrant workers. The NDMA also stated that varying degrees of damage were sustained to the surrounding buildings, which totals 24. Of the 24 buildings, eight are uninhabitable after the fire and will be completely demolished. Damage assessments are being carried out to determine the extent of loss in the area. Most of the buildings are residential buildings with multiple apartments, contributing to the large number of displaced people.

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