From: "Stuart, Ralph" <Ralph.Stuart**At_Symbol_Here**KEENE.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (7 articles)
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2021 11:39:56 +0000
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 35405832-6F70-4DF8-B888-DFA6ACB83A24**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu


Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, March 5, 2021 at 6:38:55 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 (7 articles)

CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD RELEASES INVESTIGATIVE UPDATE ON FATAL BELLE PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, death, bleach, waste

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL LEAK FORCES EVACUATIONS
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

ROAD CLOSED, EVACUATIONS ORDERED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK IN WADE
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, ammonia

WEST LIBERTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO HAZMAT VIOLATIONS
Tags: us_KY, public, follow-up, environmental, radiation, uranium, illegal

BNSF TRAIN DERAILS NEAR LUDLOW, CAUSING LEAK OF HAZARDOUS LIQUID
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, flammables

EMERGENCY DECLARATION LIFTED AFTER CHEMICALS DETONATED IN BILINGA ‰?? MYGC.COM.AU
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, bomb

'LITERAL MINE FIELD': SOUTH JORDAN SEEKS TO DEMOLISH AND BURN HOME CONTAMINATED WITH BOMB-MAKING CHEMICALS
Tags: us_UT, public, explosion, response, explosives


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

CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD RELEASES INVESTIGATIVE UPDATE ON FATAL BELLE PLANT EXPLOSION
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/chemical-safety-board-releases-report-on-fatal-belle-plant-explosion/article_e9b65614-24a3-566d-8c91-d7743714b839.html
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, death, bleach, waste

The company whose chemical facility in Belle was the site of an explosion that killed a worker in December 2020 said it hasn‰??t resumed operations in response to a notice of violation it was issued by West Virginia environmental regulators stemming from the incident.

Optima Belle LLC said it is still assessing its terminated operations at the facility to minimize the possibility of another explosion and fire in a letter addressed last week to an environmental inspector supervisor from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. In January, the DEP issued the company a notice of violation for ‰??not operat[ing] its facility to minimize the possibility of an explosion which released hazardous waste constituents to the air and soil.‰??

The Dec. 8 explosion occurred in an industrial dryer unit as Optima Belle was performing a process to remove water from chlorinated dry bleach, according to a brief incident summary released Wednesday by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. The CSB report noted that the board is working with Optima Belle to sample and test the chlorinated dry bleach powder involved in the incident.

The DEP announced Dec. 10 that air monitoring data collected by its Division of Air Quality indicated no federal national ambient air quality standards were exceeded during or in the hours following the explosion.

The DEP concluded the fire that burned for two hours after the explosion did not create ongoing emissions to the atmosphere. It based its conclusion on data from an ambient air monitoring station in Charleston, 8 air miles from the Optima Belle facility.

But Terry Fletcher, the department‰??s acting communications coordinator, said Thursday the Division of Air Quality was still investigating the incident.

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

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL LEAK FORCES EVACUATIONS
https://kste.iheart.com/featured/sacramentos-latest-news/content/2021-03-03-hazardous-material-leak-forces-evacuations/
Tags: us_CA, public, release, response, unknown_chemical

Evacuations are in place for a Sacramento neighborhood due to a hazardous vapor cloud.

A resident living in the 1600 block of Helena Avenue reported a bad smell, ultimately coming from a 55 gallon drum of hazardous material. The Sacramento Fire Department is investigating, and anyone in the area is being advised to stay away.

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

ROAD CLOSED, EVACUATIONS ORDERED AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK IN WADE
https://www.mydailyrecord.com/stories/hazmat-crews-address-possible-gas-leak-in-wade,88466
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, ammonia

Wade Stedman Road between U.S. Highway 301 and Interstate 95 is closed due to a chemical spill in Wade.

A leak was reported when a white plume was spotted behind an 18-wheeler hauling ammonia.

Both interstate exits into Wade were closed and some residents were evacuated as emergency crews worked to address the issue.

A chemicals company has been called to clean up the spill at the scene.

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

WEST LIBERTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO HAZMAT VIOLATIONS
https://www.dailyindependent.com/news/west-liberty-man-pleads-guilty-to-hazmat-violations/article_41e36dda-7c60-11eb-8ab1-53dacf75dbbe.html
Tags: us_KY, public, follow-up, environmental, radiation, uranium, illegal

ASHLAND A West Liberty man accused of dumping toxic sludge in Kentucky from a fracking site in North Central West Virginia pleaded guilty last week to two counts of violating the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, according to a Feb. 24 federal court filing.

Cory David Hoskins, the former owner of Advanced TENORM Services entered the plea in exchange for 20 other violations being dropped ‰?? as well as a five counts of mail fraud being dismissed.

Hoskins was indicted last year after a grand jury determined he had illegally dumped toxic sludge from Fairmont Brine Processing, an outfit in West Virginia that processed the sludge generated from fracking sites in 2015 and 2016.

TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) is a by-product of fracking that may contain harmful chemicals like uranium, thorium, radium and lead, according to the EPA.

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

BNSF TRAIN DERAILS NEAR LUDLOW, CAUSING LEAK OF HAZARDOUS LIQUID
https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2021/03/03/bnsf-train-derails-near-ludlow-causing-leak-hazardous-liquid/6913964002/
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, flammables

A train derailed in the Mojave Desert on Wednesday afternoon caused thousands of gallons of flammable liquid to spill from a railcar before crews stopped the leak.

The BNSF train derailed about a half-mile east of Ludlow ‰?? a community about 50 miles east of Barstow ‰?? and near National Trails Highway, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesperson Tracey Martinez said.

About 25 to 35 railcars were involved, Martinez said. County fire drone footage showed the cars zigzagged on the track in the remote desert area.

BNSF spokesperson Lena Kent said in an email Wednesday evening that the crash happened around 12:20 p.m. and that 44 cars derailed according to "initial reports."

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

EMERGENCY DECLARATION LIFTED AFTER CHEMICALS DETONATED IN BILINGA ‰?? MYGC.COM.AU
https://www.mygc.com.au/emergency-declaration-after-hazardous-chemical-found-in-bilinga-home/
Tags: Australia, public, discovery, response, bomb

The bomb squad squad has carried out a series of controlled explosions after the discovery of dangerous chemicals in Bilinga.

An emergency declaration was declared after the discovery of the chemicals in an apartment on the corner of Cahill St and Pacific Parade.

An exclusion zone was established just before 3.30pm after the chemicals were deemed ‰??unstable‰?? with residents on Cahill St and on Pacific Parade urged to remain inside their homes.

Multiple officers from Queensland Police and Queensland Fire and Rescue remained on scene throughout the afternoon.

Officers from the bomb squad were seen entering the complex before exiting with the chemical.

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

'LITERAL MINE FIELD': SOUTH JORDAN SEEKS TO DEMOLISH AND BURN HOME CONTAMINATED WITH BOMB-MAKING CHEMICALS
https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/literal-mine-field-south-jordan-seeks-to-demolish-and-burn-home-contaminated-with-bomb-making-chemicals/
Tags: us_UT, public, explosion, response, explosives

SOUTH JORDAN (ABC4 News) ‰?? The City of South Jordan has filed a legal complaint seeking to demolish and burn a house where the owner allegedly made chemical bombs. Now there are several questions because both the property and the allegations are potentially explosive.

43-year-old Ryan Lynn McManigal allegedly shot at officers early in the morning of July 24th, 2020 and after his arrest, the bomb squad found more than Pioneer Day fireworks in the home at 3371 West Snow Moon Place. They claim he was manufacturing bombs with an explosive called triacetone triperoxide which may be still present in the structure.

‰??By reputation, he was sort of a whackadoodle,‰?? neighbor Maris Grinvalds told ABC4 News at the time.

Now incarcerated on a list of charges including attempted murder, McManigal, and his mortgage company are defendants in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, which refers to explosions on July 24th and again on Halloween when a man doing construction was injured by a blast.

The complaint claims ‰??Walking on the floor, as one victim already found out, could cause an explosion. Conducting any sort of repair or demolition inside the house could set off the dangerous chemical. Even putting a nail in the wall in the wrong place to hang a picture could be deadly.‰??

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

---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.