From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (19 articles)
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 07:32:12 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 7D9DB278-718A-4748-B4EE-03B6ABB94332**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at 7:31:57 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 (19 articles)

DETERIORATING DYNAMITE FOUND INSIDE PORTSMOUTH HOME: POLICE
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, response, explosives, waste

SAFETY EXPERT EMAILS SHOW APS LACKED CERTAIN VENTILATION SYSTEM IN APRIL BATTERY SITE EXPLOSION
Tags: us_AZ, public, follow-up, environmental, batteries

GAS LEAK SENDS FIRE SHOOTING INTO AIR IN BRAINERD COMMUNITY ‰?? CBS CHICAGO
Tags: us_IL, public, fire, response, methane

CONTAINER FIRE IN NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LABORATORY PROMPTS LEVEL 2 HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL SPILL AT TAMALPAIS HIGH SCHOOL POOL PROMPTS NEIGHBORHOOD SHELTER-IN-PLACE ‰?? CBS SAN FRANCISCO
Tags: us_CA, education, release, response, pool_chemicals

NURSING HOME CHEMICAL SPILL FUMES SEND 2 TO HOSPITAL
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, cleaners

MORE CLUES POINT TO CHEMICAL COMPOUND IN US VAPING ILLNESSES
Tags: us_MN, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

BANKRUPT PHILADELPHIA REFINERY WAS REALLY DIRTY. A NEW REPORT SHOWS HOW DIRTY.
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

CHEMICAL SPILL AT NORTH SMITHFIELD TRANSFER STATION PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
Tags: us_RI, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid, waste

9 INJURED IN MAJOR BLAZE AT BADLAPUR CHEMICAL FIRM
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical

HEALTH CONCERNS MOUNT AS MORE OLD SEWER PIPES ARE LINED WITH PLASTIC
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, resin, solvent

16 KIDS, 3 ADULTS RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AFTER CO POISONING AT DAY CARE
Tags: us_GA, education, release, injury, carbon_monoxide

HAZMAT SITUATION AT LEWIS PRISON IN BUCKEYE SICKENS 5 EMPLOYEES
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

SCENE CLEARED AFTER HAZMAT SPILL CAUSES EVACUATION OF MUN CHEMISTRY BUILDING
Tags: Canada, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

MASSIVE FIRE ENGULFS UNAUTHORISED THINNER STORAGE AS CHEMICAL DRUMS CATCH FIRE
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, solvent

STAFF MEMBERS AT CENTERVILLE NURSING HOME HOSPITALIZED, DOZENS SICKENED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL INCIDENT ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, cleaners

SELANGOR GOV'T VOWS TO NAB CULPRITS BEHIND CHEMICAL WASTE DUMPING
Tags: Malaysia, public, follow-up, environmental, illegal

POLICE INVESTIGATING NEGLIGENCE IN DEADLY BANGLADESH FIRE
Tags: Bangladesh, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical

WHY SCIENTISTS DEFEND DANGEROUS INDUSTRIES
Tags: public, discovery, environmental


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DETERIORATING DYNAMITE FOUND INSIDE PORTSMOUTH HOME: POLICE
https://patch.com/new-hampshire/portsmouth-nh/deteriorating-dynamite-found-inside-portsmouth-home-police
Tags: us_NH, public, discovery, response, explosives, waste

PORTSMOUTH, NH ‰?? The hazmat on Austin Street in Portsmouth Tuesday was deteriorating dynamite inside of a home, according to police. Officers, firefighters, and the New Hampshire State Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit were called to the home by caretakers who discovered the materials. At 11:30 a.m., Austin Street, from Middle to Cabot streets, was closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, as a precaution.

Police also sent out a code red notification to all homes in the immediate area.

Just before 1 p.m., the situation was deemed under control and the street reopened.

"The materials had been inside the residence for decades making removal of the deteriorated material hazardous," said Capt. Mike Maloney of the Portsmouth Police Department. "Out of an abundance of caution, nearby residences were evacuated and roads were closed. The New Hampshire State Police EOD unit were able to safely remove the material and bring it to a remote location where it was safely destroyed."

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SAFETY EXPERT EMAILS SHOW APS LACKED CERTAIN VENTILATION SYSTEM IN APRIL BATTERY SITE EXPLOSION
https://www.12news.com/article/news/investigations/aps-explosion-investigation/75-95590a62-e8ef-46c3-9a89-cf73da298e05
Tags: us_AZ, public, follow-up, environmental, batteries

SURPRISE, Ariz. ‰?? A battery storage site that exploded and injured several firefighters was not equipped with a ventilation system that is considered a ‰??requirement,‰?? according to an official from the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

ADOSH provided emails and investigative records to 12 News through a public records request that contain a portion of the investigation into the fire at the 635-square-foot facility near Deer Valley Road and Grand Avenue in Surprise.

The fire injured eight firefighters. A hazmat team arrived after reports of smoke and assessed the situation. They thought the area was clear so they opened the door to the facility. That's when the explosion happened.

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GAS LEAK SENDS FIRE SHOOTING INTO AIR IN BRAINERD COMMUNITY ‰?? CBS CHICAGO
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/11/26/gas-leak-sends-fire-shooting-into-air-in-brainerd-community/
Tags: us_IL, public, fire, response, methane

CHICAGO (CBS) ‰?? A gas leak sent a plume of flames shooting into the air in front of a house in the Brainerd community Tuesday night.

The gas leak erupted in front of a bungalow at 8943 S. Marshfield Ave., according to the Fire Department.

A fire was seen raging at the site of the leak, with the flames climbing higher than the roofs of the houses behind it.

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CONTAINER FIRE IN NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LABORATORY PROMPTS LEVEL 2 HAZMAT RESPONSE
https://www.masslive.com/police-fire/2019/11/container-fire-in-northeastern-university-laboratory-prompts-level-2-hazmat-response.html
Tags: us_MA, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical

A fire inside a container in a lab at Northeastern University prompted a Level 2 hazmat response Tuesday afternoon.

Brian Alkins, a spokesperson for the Boston Fire Department, said emergency crews responded to the lab shortly after noon, and that the fire had been extinguished by the time they arrived. There were no injuries.

‰??We don‰??t know what was burning," he said.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL AT TAMALPAIS HIGH SCHOOL POOL PROMPTS NEIGHBORHOOD SHELTER-IN-PLACE ‰?? CBS SAN FRANCISCO
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/11/26/chemical-spill-at-tamalpais-high-school-pool-prompts-neighborhood-shelter-in-place/
Tags: us_CA, education, release, response, pool_chemicals

MILL VALLEY (CBS SF) ‰?? A chemical spill related to an outdoor pool at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley Tuesday morning has been stabilized, a city spokeswoman said.

The spill occurred inside a maintenance and storage room near the pool and the cleanup should be finished by around noon, Mill Valley spokeswoman Linn Walsh said.

A shelter in place order was issued within a half-mile radius from the pool. Mill Valley police wrote on Twitter about the spill around 8:45 a.m.

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NURSING HOME CHEMICAL SPILL FUMES SEND 2 TO HOSPITAL
https://www.barnstablepatriot.com/news/20191126/nursing-home-chemical-spill-fumes-send-2-to-hospital
Tags: us_MA, industrial, release, injury, cleaners

Two nursing home staff members were taken to the hospital and 18 other staff members or residents were evaluated at the scene following a chemical spill Monday at Cape Regency Rehabilitation & Health Care Center in Centerville.

A state hazardous materials crew and local firefighters responded shortly before 3 p.m. for reports of an unknown odor on the second floor of the building.

When they arrived, Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills firefighters were told that cleaning solutions might have accidentally been mixed, creating the noxious odor, according to COMM Fire Chief Michael Winn.

Winn said crews worked with staff to move patients into safer areas after the fumes were reported. He said 20 people in all were evaluated, and two were taken to Cape Cod Hospital for further treatment. There were no threats to neighbors or residents of the facility.

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MORE CLUES POINT TO CHEMICAL COMPOUND IN US VAPING ILLNESSES
https://kbjr6.com/news/national-news-from-the-associated-press/2019/11/26/more-clues-point-to-chemical-compound-in-us-vaping-illnesses/
Tags: us_MN, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

NEW YORK (AP) ‰?? Health officials say they have more evidence that a certain chemical compound is a culprit in a national outbreak of vaping illnesses.

A study released Tuesday analyzed vaping cartridges gathered in Minnesota during the outbreak this year and cartridges seized in that state last year. The newer cartridges contained the compound vitamin E acetate, but none of the older ones did.

The study was small and included just a few dozen products. But the finding echoes another study that found the compound in the damaged lungs of 29 patients across the country.

Nearly 2,300 Americans who vape have gotten sick since March, many of them teens and young adults. Vitamin E acetate has been used as a thickener in illicit vaping products that contain THC, the high-inducing part of marijuana.

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

BANKRUPT PHILADELPHIA REFINERY WAS REALLY DIRTY. A NEW REPORT SHOWS HOW DIRTY.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Bankrupt-Philadelphia-Refinery-Was-Really-Dirty-New-Report-Shows-How-Dirty-565485211.html
Tags: us_PA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, unknown_chemical

The now-bankrupt refinery in South Philadelphia has long been known as one of the city's biggest producers of pollution.

The explosion that shuttered the 1,300-acre complex in June threw the site's future into turmoil. Its history as a heavy industrial site goes back more than 150 years.

On Tuesday, the City of Philadelphia issued a 45-page report that includes recommendations for the future of the property. (The bankrupt corporate owner, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, is mostly a group of venture capital firms.) The sale of Philadelphia Energy Solutions' assets, including the property, is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2020.

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

CHEMICAL SPILL AT NORTH SMITHFIELD TRANSFER STATION PROMPTS HAZMAT RESPONSE
https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/blackstone-valley/chemical-spill-at-north-smithfield-transfer-station-prompts-hazmat-response/
Tags: us_RI, industrial, release, response, hydrochloric_acid, waste

NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WPRI) ‰?? Hazmat technicians worked for hours to clean up a chemical spill inside of a North Smithfield transfer station Tuesday evening, according to fire officials.

The incident occurred at the Link Environmental Transfer Station on Canal Street.

Fire officials tell Eyewitness News multiple containers of hydrochloric acid spilled and were leaking inside the building.

It‰??s unclear at this time what caused the containers to spill or if anyone was injured.

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

9 INJURED IN MAJOR BLAZE AT BADLAPUR CHEMICAL FIRM
https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/9-injured-in-major-blaze-at-badlapur-chemical-firm
Tags: India, industrial, fire, injury, unknown_chemical

Thane: Nine people were injured after a major fire broke out in a chemical company situated in the MIDC area of Badlapur on Tuesday.

Fire brigade officials said the blaze erupted at 11.25 am at Omkar Speciality Chemical Ltd, which is a ground plus three-storied building situated near the Mankoli village of Badlapur.

Fire officials said that the blaze started from the ground floor, where 10-12 employees were working. In all, 60-70 people were present in the company and barring 9, all managed to escape unhurt.

‰??Around 10 fire tenders from Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Thane and 15 private water tankers were used to control the blaze,‰?? said a fire official.

The fire-fighting operation was on even after more than seven hours, said an officer from the Badlapur fire station.

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

HEALTH CONCERNS MOUNT AS MORE OLD SEWER PIPES ARE LINED WITH PLASTIC
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/health-concerns-mount-as-more-old-sewer-pipes-are-lined-with-plastic/
Tags: us_TX, public, release, injury, resin, solvent

Earlier this year Nicole Davis arrived at one of the San Antonio, Tex., offices of the audiology practice she co-owns, ready to see the day‰??s patients. But upon entering her office, Davis says she quickly noticed a noxious odor that smelled like paint thinner. Her eyes started burning. By noon, she felt nauseated and dizzy, with the burning sensation spreading to her nose and throat. Her mouth went numb. Co-workers in the building told Davis that they felt ill, too. By the evening, she says, she was vomiting.

Two days later, Davis received an e-mail from an employee for a construction firm that was doing work that week on municipal pipes below street-level near the building. The employee apologized in the e-mail for Davis‰??s ‰??recent experience,‰?? and attached a technical document describing the hazards and health risks associated with materials used to make plastic in the pipe project. The e-mail and attachment do not state that the work caused the odor or Davis‰??s reaction.

The company was renovating an underground sewer pipe with a widely and increasingly used technique called cured-in-place pipes. A felt or composite sleeve is saturated, typically with a polyester or vinyl ester resin. Workers thread the sleeve through an underground pipe and then inflate and heat it, often with steam or hot water. The sleeve hardens to form a continuous plastic liner along the old pipe‰??s inner walls. The technique is less expensive and takes less time than fully replacing old sewer-system pipes and stormwater culverts.

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

16 KIDS, 3 ADULTS RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AFTER CO POISONING AT DAY CARE
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/at-least-3-children-sickened-at-daycare-after-hazmat-incident/1012501855
Tags: us_GA, education, release, injury, carbon_monoxide

ATLANTA - More than a dozen children and several adults are back home after they were sent to a hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning Monday afternoon.

Atlanta Fire and Rescue spokesperson Cortez Stafford said they were called to the G.A.T.E.S day care at 2929 Hapeville Road around 3 p.m. for reports of children getting sick.

Fire officials said they found high levels of carbon monoxide in the air inside the day care.

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

HAZMAT SITUATION AT LEWIS PRISON IN BUCKEYE SICKENS 5 EMPLOYEES
https://www.azfamily.com/news/hazmat-situation-at-lewis-prison-in-buckeye-sickens-employees/article_b76b6f12-0fd3-11ea-bec3-3f2dee4f179c.html
Tags: us_AZ, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical

BUCKEYE, AZ (3TV/CBS5) -- Hazmat crews were called out to Lewis Prison in Buckeye Monday afternoon after five employees became ill.

Three of the five were corrections officers. Those three were taken to the hospital. Two more prison employees were treated and released at the prison.

According to the Arizona Department of Corrections the employees got sick after checking an inmate's cell.

The Department of Corrections says one officer felt disoriented and nauseated after exposure to "an unknown substance." The officer then threw up. A short time later, two other officers started showing the same symptoms.

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

SCENE CLEARED AFTER HAZMAT SPILL CAUSES EVACUATION OF MUN CHEMISTRY BUILDING
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/mun-chemistry-hazmat-1.5373367
Tags: Canada, laboratory, release, response, unknown_chemical

The chemistry physics building has been reopened after a hazardous material ‰?? hazmat ‰?? spill prompted an evacuation at Memorial University's St. John's campus Tuesday morning.

MUN issued an evacuation order at around 7 a.m., asking anyone in the building to leave immediately.

Firefighters and emergency responders were on the scene, but cleared the area around 8:10 a.m.

Faculty and students are now allowed back in the building for regular operations

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

MASSIVE FIRE ENGULFS UNAUTHORISED THINNER STORAGE AS CHEMICAL DRUMS CATCH FIRE
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/massive-fire-engulfs-unauthorised-thinner-storage-as-chemical-drums-catch-fire/articleshow/72229185.cms
Tags: India, industrial, fire, response, solvent

MEERUT: A massive fire engulfed an unauthorised thinner storage near Hapur Bypass road in Meerut as chemical drums caught fire on Monday afternoon. Soon after the fire officials reached the spot, they cordoned off the area and started dousing the fire. People living in nearby houses were asked to leave until the process of dousing the fire was over.
Sanjeev Kumar Singh, fire station officer, Meerut, said, ‰??The incident occurred on Monday afternoon around 1pm, when locals alerted us. The storage factory had drums full of thinner here and apparently caught fire due to a short circuit. Prima facie, it looks like a short circuit started a fire. However, a probe has been ordered.‰??
As many as seven fire tenders were put into action to douse the fire, which got extinguished only by Monday late evening. ‰??Nobody was hurt in the fire as nobody was inside at the time of the incident. We also cordoned off the nearby areas to ensure that if at all the fire spreads, it doesn‰??t cause harm to anyone,‰?? said Singh.

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STAFF MEMBERS AT CENTERVILLE NURSING HOME HOSPITALIZED, DOZENS SICKENED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL INCIDENT ‰?? BOSTON NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
https://whdh.com/news/staff-members-at-centerville-nursing-home-hospitalized-dozens-sickened-following-chemical-incident/
Tags: us_MA, public, release, injury, cleaners

CENTERVILLE, MA (WHDH) ‰?? Two staff members at a Centerville nursing home were hospitalized and over a dozen were sickened following a chemical incident Monday afternoon.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the Cape Regency nursing home around 3 p.m. for reports of an unknown chemical odor coming from inside a second-floor utility closet, according to COMM Fire Captain Richard Sargent.

A tier one hazmat response was called to the scene and crews began evacuating residents and employees from the area and preforming medical evaluations.

Hazmat teams tested the chemicals inside the closet and determined them to be a possible combination of cleaning chemicals.

The solution was determined to be unharmful and the odor was neutralized.

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SELANGOR GOV'T VOWS TO NAB CULPRITS BEHIND CHEMICAL WASTE DUMPING
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/501263
Tags: Malaysia, public, follow-up, environmental, illegal

The Selangor government has pledged to bring the culprits who dumped chemical drums at an illegal dumpsite in Kampung Tambak Jaya, Kuala Selangor to book.

This came after 244 chemical drums caught fire early yesterday morning.

The state executive councillor for local government, public transport and new village development Ng Sze Han said an investigation into the fire and explosion incident will be coordinated by the Selangor Disaster Management Unit (UPBN).

The illegal dumpsite was discovered by the Kuala Langat District Council on Nov 20, Ng told the New Straits Times.

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POLICE INVESTIGATING NEGLIGENCE IN DEADLY BANGLADESH FIRE
https://stockdailydish.com/police-investigating-negligence-in-deadly-bangladesh-fire/
Tags: Bangladesh, public, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical

DHAKA, Bangladesh ‰?? Bangladesh police said Friday that they were seeking up to a dozen suspects in connection with a fire in the oldest part of the capital and could charge them with negligence over the blaze that killed at least 67 people.

The case involves between 10 and 12 people wanted on suspicion of ‰??causing death through negligence‰?? in the Wednesday night fire in Dhaka‰??s Chawkbazar district, said Ibrahim Khan, a deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He declined to give details.

‰??Upon investigation we will be able to disclose everything,‰?? he told reporters.

Relatives of a 19-year-old killed in the blaze have filed a separate case with police accusing the owners of a building where chemical products were stored and that caught fire of ‰??death by negligence, sabotage and damage of goods,‰?? Abdul Halim, a police investigator in Chawkbazar, told The Associated Press. He said no arrests had been made.

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WHY SCIENTISTS DEFEND DANGEROUS INDUSTRIES
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-Scientists-Defend/247598?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest
Tags: public, discovery, environmental

By the time he stepped down, in 2017, David Michaels had been the top official at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for seven years, the longest anybody has held that post. He had a tenured position to return to ‰?? professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University ‰?? but he didn‰??t stop getting involved in policy. In July 2018, Michaels attended a packed hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency‰??s proposal to restrict what studies may be used to regulate pollution.

Like dozens of other commenters, Michaels opposed the draft rule. In fact, in the hearing‰??s first two hours, only two people clearly stated support for it, and both had direct ties to industries affected by pollution laws. The scene could have come straight from Michaels‰??s own research into how companies react to science that threatens their financial health: Industry representatives questioned the quality of studies that the EPA commonly uses to set limits on the amount of chemicals that factories can legally emit.

In his forthcoming book, The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception (Oxford University Press), Michaels collects recent examples of industries not just questioning science but manipulating it. Often the manipulation involves private laboratories, but he also cites numerous examples of scientists at colleges taking industry grants and delivering skewed results that promote the interests of their funders.

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