Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 07:29:18 -0400
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Subject: Chemical Safety headlines from Google

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BUILDERS INHALE TOXIC FUMES ON SITE - PRESS &AMP; JOURNAL, http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1932882?UserKey=

Work stopped on a new school in Aberdeen yesterday after construction workers inhaled toxic fumes.

One of the builders working on Kaimhill School at Garthdee passed out after breathing in fumes which led to two of his colleagues taking themselves to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) suffering from sore throats, nausea, vomiting and headaches.

Admissions of the accident and emergency department at ARI had to be restricted over fears of chemical contamination when the two men arrived. The unit was accepting only emergency patients between 2.50pm-4pm.

Other patients were transferred to the A&amp;E department at the Royal Aberdeen Children=E2=80=99s Hospital.

The Scottish Ambulance Service sent paramedics to the site in Pitmedden Crescent just after 2pm when a third construction worker passed out after inhaling the toxic fumes.

It is understood the concentration of a solution the construction workers were preparing was too high, causing the gas.

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STRONG SMELL BLAMED ON CAN OF OPEN PAINT, http: //www.wowt.com/news/headlines/103654649.html?ref=649

A home renovation project took an unexpected turn Thursday when Hazmat teams were called to an Omaha home after someone reported a strong smell coming from the premises.

Firefighters made sure no one was in danger before entering the residence near 38th and Grand to investigate.

What they found was an open can of paint. Officials say there were two to three inches left in the bottom. None of the nearby homes or businesses were evacuated.

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GRANITE BAY TEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED BY EXPLOSION - CBS13.COM, http://c bs13.com/local/granite.bay.injury.2.1929043.html

GRANITE BAY, Calif. (CBS13) =E2=80=95 
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CBS
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CBS13.com Mug Shot Gallery Explosion Rocks San Bruno Neighborhood Taking A Ride At The Capital Airshow When NOT To Hyphenate Your Name (Mature Content) Sacramento Mountain Lions' Cheerleader Tryouts Weather Adventure Pictures! A teen in Granite Bay lost most of his hand and suffered severe injuries to his leg during an explosion at his home Thursday.

The incident happened at around 4 p.m. on Olive Branch Road, say Placer County Sheriff's Deputies. 

A neighbor says she heard what sounded like an explosion coming from inside the home and ran across the street to help. She says the 14-year-old came running out and appeared to be missing his hand. He also had a severe injury to his leg.

"His parents were not there. All I know is that his hand is completely gone. I could see the bone in part of his leg. I was just trying to keep him calm," she said.

She also says she smelled some kind of chemical odor on his body that she did not recognize.

The Placer County Sheriff's Department confirmed the teen lost most of his hand in the explosion.

Investigators believe that the boy ignited a firework type device similar to an M-80, which exploded in his hand.  It is not known where the boy obtained the explosive device.

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TURPS, PAINT FUEL $2 MILLION ALBURY FIRE - LOCAL NEWS - NEWS - GENERAL - THE BORDER MAIL, http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/ local/news/general/turps-paint-fuel-2-million-albury-fire/1951029.aspx

A "COCKTAIL=" of paint, turps and other chemicals helped fuel a multimillion-dollar blaze that destroyed two shops in Albury yesterday.
Priceline and The Reject Shop in Dean Street were engulfed by fire at 2.55am, causing an estimated $2 million damage.

No one was injured in the blaze, which took 35 firefighters about two hours to bring under control.

A fire investigator from Sydney and crime scene officer from Albury =C2=ADpolice were still trying to determine the cause of the fire yesterday afternoon.

They were expected back on the scene this morning.

Albury Civic fire captain John Vandeven described the fire as being fierce, with contents in The Reject Shop in particular fuelling the flames.

"There were things like paint and turps, a real cocktail of everything in there that fed the fire pretty well,=" he said.

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RYE SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL | LOHUD.COM | THE JOURNAL NEWS, http://www.lohud.com/article/20 100923/NEWS02/9230442/-1/newsfront/Rye-school-evacuated-after-chemical-spi ll

RYE =E2=80=94 Rye Country Day School was evacuated this morning after a teacher reported the smell of nitric acid in the building, fire officials said.

There were no injuries.

Fire officials responded to the school on Grandview Avenue around 10:25 a.m.

Nitric acid is yellowish liquid. It is highly corrosive and toxic. Its fumes are dangerous.

Construction workers, working in the chemistry room, may have tried to move one of the containers of acid and dropped it, fire officials said.

The container was removed by fire officials and students were able to go back into the school around 11:30 a.m.

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SMALL FIRE BREAKS OUT IN MASON LAB | YALE DAILY NEWS, http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/sep/22/small-fire-bre aks-out-mason-lab/

Students with midday classes in Mason Laboratory on Wednesday enjoyed listening to lecture outdoors but also had their ears filled with the drone of the alarm that went off in response to a small fire.

The fire broke out this afternoon in a furnace that had been left on in associate research scientist Sungchul Lee's lab. The furnace burnt a hole, about 4 inches in diameter, in a wooden table, but no one was injured, and no experiment was taking place when the fire started, according to William Cross, a University fire inspector.

The fire occurred during a weekly meeting of chemical engineering graduate students. When one of the students entered Room 220, he smelled smoke and pulled the fire alarm, said Gary Haller, a professor in chemical engineering. The alarm went off at 12:12 p.m., and three fire trucks arrived on the scene within minutes.

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HIDDEN METH LAB IGNITES IN NORTH COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOOD - WTVM.COM AND WTVM NEWS LEADER 9, COLUMBUS, GA |, http://www.wtvm .com/Global/story.asp?S=13201219

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) -  For 35 years, Ronnie Skinner has lived off of 54th Street near Veterans Parkway and over the past few days he says a strange chemical smell has been in the air.

Officials with the Columbus Police Department's Special Operations Unit say the stench was most likely coming from an active meth lab set up inside a nearby vacant realty building.

Officers say 26-year-old Craig Reynolds, from Fort Mitchell, Alabama, was supposed to be doing renovations at house across the street from Skinner but instead, he was making meth in the empty realty office.

Late Tuesday night, police say some of the lab's materials caught fire, sparking flames inside and out in the parking lot.

According to police, Reynolds was captured on surveillance footage carrying the flaming materials out of the front door and either kicked or dropped a open fuel container, setting fire to the ground and grass.

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FORT WORTH K2 CENTER SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF CODE VIOLATIONS | CRIME AND SAFETY | NEWS FROM..., http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/21/2485934/fort-wo rth-k2-center-shut-down.html

FORT WORTH -- A K2 manufacturing and distribution center has been shut down -- at least temporarily -- after city officials found that the building where it is housed violated city and fire codes.

The K2 lab was discovered Monday morning when a code compliance officer was investigating a complaint at the building in the 100 block of North Beach Street, said Engineer Timothy Hardeman, a Fire Department spokesman.

A firetruck and hazardous-material squad were sent to do testing at the building after the officer also noticed a strong odor, Hardeman said. While no fire hazards were found, Hardeman said multiple code violations were noted, including that "the interior of the business had not been completed, and owners couldn't produce a certificate of occupancy."

"Our commercial building inspector was able to issue a stop-work order based on the fire code violations and lack of a certificate of occupancy," Hardeman said.

Fort Worth is among several North Texas cities considering measures to limit or ban K2, an herbal product sprayed with chemical compounds. When smoked, K2 produces highs similar to marijuana. But the chemical compounds can make it more potent, and side effects can include hallucinations.

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VAULT BELOW ELECTRA MAY CONTAIN DANGEROUS CHEMICALS - NEWS1130, http://www.news1130.com/news/local/a rticle/105084--vault-below-electra-may-contain-dangerous-chemicals

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The return home for people living in the Electra could be delayed again, by yet another mystery deep below the building.

The chemical smell has evaporated, at least at street-level. Vancouver fire crews are still on stand-by, and the focus of the city investigation has shifted to a sealed underground vault.

The Vancouver Sun reports it was punctured by the contractor on-site, who then filled it with expanding foam - that created enough heat to spark an underground fire.

There are now worries the vault contained PCBs used by the hydro substation next door. Vancouver Coastal Health still isn't expressing an official medical concern.

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AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT GLEN RAVEN MILLS | GLEN, RAVEN, BURLINGTON - BREAKING NEWS - BURLINGTON TIMES NEWS, http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/glen-37125-raven-burlington.html

Authorities have blocked part of North Park Avenue after smoke was found coming from a container filled with a chemical at Glen Raven Mills.

Burlington Fire Department was called at 1:42 p.m. to 1821 N. Park Ave. The mill was evacuated and the chemical was identified, said Burlington police Assistant Chief Greg Seel.

The Alamance County Fire Marshal was notified and the Hazardous Material Regional Response Team out of Greensboro has been notified. The team will handle cleaning up the substance.

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CHEMICAL SPILL: 4 SENT TO CHICAGO HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILLS IN LOOP - WGN, http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-roosevelt-hazmat-sept22,0,2804411.s tory

HICAGO - Chicago Fire Department officials responded to Roosevelt University in the Loop Wednesday afternoon for a hazardous materials incident.

Fire officials also called for an EMS Plan 1, sending five ambulances to the scene at 430 South Michigan.

Officials at the scene say one person was transported in fair condition and two other people in good-to-fair condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for exposure to fumes.

All victims were complaining of irritation to the throat and were experiencing headaches.

Fire officials say a chemical spill on the 6th floor triggered the response, police officials said.

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BLASTED NEIGHBORHOOD REPAIRS LEFT UNDONE - BOSTON NEWS STORY - WCVB BOSTON, http:// www.thebostonchannel.com/news/25114151/detail.html

DANVERS, Mass. -- Four years after a chemical explosion leveled a Danvers neighborhood, residents are left with another big mess.
They said a contractor hired to make repairs has abandoned the neighborhood.
Last week, Cape Ann Equipment walked away from the massive project to upgrade the sewer and water drainage systems, according to residents.
Workers left piles of dirt and unfinished sidewalks, the said and neighbors complained that the contractor botched the job from the start. They said the mistakes have caused drainage problems that have already flooded newly re-built homes.
Town officials are now working with the bonding company to find another contractor.

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BAYER CROPSCIENCE SETTLES PLANT ISSUES  - BUSINESS - CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL - WEST VIRGINIA NEWS AND SPORTS -, http://www.dailyma il.com/Business/201009220623

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Bayer CropScience agreed to pay the state Department of Environmental a nearly half a million dollars to settle several alleged violations at its plant in Institute over the past year.

The $460,000 settlement, announced Wednesday, does not involve the August 2008 explosion at the plant.

"These agreements resolve a backlog with the agency and cumulatively clear the plate," said company Vice President Steve Hedrick.

The DEP did, however, allege the company was storing the deadly chemical methyl isocyanate, or MIC, in an underground tank that lacked "full compliance." But Bayer said there were "other redundant control measures" and that it was "operating safely without danger to the plant and community."

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TEENAGER INTERNET EXPLOSIVES INQUIRY: MAY LOSE FINGERS AFTER BLAST - CRIME - NEWS - THE MANLY DAILY, http://manly-daily.where ilive.com.au/news/story/teenager-internet-explosives-inquiry-may-lose-fing ers-after-blast/

POLICE are investigating whether a 17-year-old Freshwater youth bought or learned how to make high explosives from the internet, which detonated in his hands and left him with serious injuries.

Yesterday afternoon police said their investigation into the source of the material would not only focus on the internet but also explosive-making instructions in books, word of mouth or other data.

The boy is recovering in Royal North Shore Hospital and is undergoing treatment to repair what police have described as "serious, significant injuries to his hands=E2=80=99=E2=80=98.

The injuries are so severe the youth is at risk of losing one or more of his fingers.

"He is lucky to get away with this, as tragic as it is, but he could have been killed,=E2=80=99 =E2=80=99 Manly Police crime manager Det-Insp Brad Hughes said.

It is understood that one or more of the boy=E2=80=99s fingertips were blown off in the incident.

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HAZMAT SITUATION AT PLYMOUTH COUNTY JAIL; WOMAN CRITICALLY INJURED IN DENNIS TUESDAY AFTER BEING STRUCK BY JEEP; CAR AND LANDSCAPING TRUCK COLLIDE IN FALMOUTH TUESDAY, ONE INJURED; FALMOUTH BOY LOCATED MONDAY EVENING AFTER TOWNWIDE SEARCH, http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs /index.php/2010/09/21/falmouth-boy-located-monday-evening-afte?blog=80

PLYMOUTH - Several prisoners at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility were reportedly exposed to mercury Tuesday afternoon, September 21, 2010.

According to emergency broadcast reports from the scene, 19 people were exposed to approximately 3 ounces of mercury as well as an unidentified powder.

Rescue personnel transported the prisoners involved in the Hazmat situation to a decontamination site at the jail.

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WHDH-TV - STUDENT BRINGS MERCURY TO WORCESTER SCHOOL, http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/loca l/12002290536049/student-brings-mercury-to-worcester-school/

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Hazardous materials crews were called to Grafton Street Elementary in Worcester Wednesday after children were exposed to a poisonous metal by a classmate.

Neighbors identified the boy as a 12-year-old sixth grader who school officials said brought mercury to school.

The school said they isolated the substance and then called the fire department on Wednesday morning.

"The total amount that we can determine was in the container was somewhere between half a pint and a pint of it, which is a large amount of mercury,=" said Worcester Fire Deputy Chief John Sullivan.

A daylong investigation and inspection of the school took place, but officials believe that only a few drops were spilled in a hallway.

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SOUTHBOUND I-5 REOPENED AT KENT AFTER CRASH, DIESEL SPILL | KING5.COM | SEATTLE AREA LOCAL NEWS, http://www.king5.com/news/local/Two-tankers-roll -over-on-I-5-in-Federal-Way-103504594.html

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- An overnight accident involving an overturned fuel tanker truck on southbound I-5 at S. 272nd Street near Kent had a major impact on the morning commute. Southbound I-5 was shut down for nearly 12 hours after the double fuel tanker flipped over near State Route 516.
Hazmat crews had to drain the overturned fuel taker before they flipped it upright. Crews say the task was time consuming because the tanker was carrying about 10,000 gallons of gasoline and 900 gallons of diesel.

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INTERSTATE 5 TRUCK FIRE TIES UP STOCKTON COMMUTE | NEWS10.NET | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA | NEWS, http://www.news10.net/news/article.aspx? storyid-918&amp;provider=top&amp;catid=188

STOCKTON - The California Highway Patrol says it doesn't know how long it will take to clean up and make guard rail repairs after a big rig fire and spill on southbound Interstate 5 in Stockton.

CHP officers received reports about the fire and a possible bleach spill on the southbound lanes of I-5 near Pershing Avenue around 8:18 a.m.

It appeared the truck driver was attempting to cross from southbound I-5 to the Highway 4 Crosstown Freeway when his rig hit the guardrail and ended up half-dangling over the overpass.

According to Officer John O'Neil, the driver made it out of the truck.

"We have reports that there have been minor injuries to the driver." O'Neil said. "He has been transported to a local hospital."

CHP Officer Rich Wetzel said about 1,000 gallons of household bleach spilled onto the freeway and Weber Street.

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