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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, March 2, 2012 8:19:13 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)
ENVIRONMENTAL WORKERS NEAR END OF CLEANUP IN ANDERSON
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
MENLO PARK LAB CITED FOR FATAL EXPLOSION
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death, gas_cylinders
MCCRORY LANE SHUT DOWN FOR CHEMICAL REMOVAL
Tags: us_TN, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
UT'S WELCH HALL SUSTAINS $15,000 IN FIRE-RELATED DAMAGE
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF FIRE ON FOURTH FLOOR OF WELCH HALL
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
TORCH SPARKS FIRE AT STORAGE UNIT TUESDAY
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, acetylene
TEMECULA: WORKER CRITICALLY INJURED IN ACID SPILL
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, sulfuric_acid
CHEMICAL LEAK AT ZAMBO ICE PLANT DOWNS 60
Tags: Philippines, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SPILL AT LLANDUDNO HOSPITAL
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, other_chemical
LARGE FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL STORAGE IN JUAREZ
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, solvent, sulfuric_acid
CORROSIVE CHEMICAL BURNS AT UPS FACILITY IN SHREWSBURY
Tags: us_MA, transportation, fire, response, corrosives
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ENVIRONMENTAL WORKERS NEAR END OF CLEANUP IN ANDERSON
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/mar/01/environmental-workers-near-end-of-cleanup-in/
Tags: us_SC, laboratory, follow-up, environmental
ANDERSON Ñ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expects to finish cleaning the site of a crude chemistry lab in Anderson by the end of the month.
Work on cleaning up the property, on Frontage Road near Interstate 85 and Hartwell Lake, has been going on since June, after a federal environmental official working in Anderson noticed it as he drove down the highway.
So far, the cleanup of the old Flex-A-Form site has included the discovery and testing of 946 containers of chemicals, most either mislabeled or not labeled at all.
It has included work to remove 10,000 tons of soil, some laced with arsenic and cadmium, a toxic metal.
It has included the demolition of three leaky warehouses where a man in his 70s mixed and stockpiled chemicals, many dating to the 1990s.
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MENLO PARK LAB CITED FOR FATAL EXPLOSION
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_20084630
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death, gas_cylinders
A Menlo Park research and development company is facing nearly $56,000 in penalties for workplace safety violations following a September explosion that left one scientist dead and another with injuries.
Cal/OSHA on Thursday released the results of its investigation into the fatal blast at Membrane Technology & Research on Willow Road.
At 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 2, Adrian Martin, 55, was mixing butane, helium, nitrogen and methane in a propane cylinder with a maximum allowable working pressure of 300 psi, according to an investigation summary. The concentration of the gases, however, boosted pressure to between 700 and 800 psi.
The 15-inch-diameter, nearly 4-foot-tall cylinder exploded as Martin added more methane in an effort to achieve a 90 percent concentration of the gas, the report said. Had the San Jose resident succeeded, the pressure in the cylinder would have reached at least 1,200 psi.
Investigators also determined that the cylinder wasn't equipped with a proper pressure relief valve. The device was set to activate above 3,360 psi, more than 10 times the maximum allowable working pressure of the cylinder.
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MCCRORY LANE SHUT DOWN FOR CHEMICAL REMOVAL
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/17060281/mccrory-lane-shut-down-for-chemical-removal
Tags: us_TN, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
BELLEVUE, Tenn.- A stretch of McCrory Lane in Bellevue was shut down Thursday afternoon as crews worked to remove deteriorating chemicals from a business.
Hazmat crews were called out to help the business remove chemicals from their building. Police said the business at 8337 McCrory Lane houses chemicals. The company had deteriorating chemicals they requested Metro's Bomb Squad's assistance in removing the items.
No injuries were reported, but due to the volatile nature of the chemicals McCrory lane was shut down as a precaution.
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UT'S WELCH HALL SUSTAINS $15,000 IN FIRE-RELATED DAMAGE
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2012/03/01/austin_fire_respond_to_hazardo.html
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, follow-up, response, unknown_chemical
An early morning fire at Welch Hall on the University of Texas campus caused an estimated $15,000 in damage, school officials said this afternoon.
Austin fire and other emergency officials responded to the incident around 4 a.m. at the building that houses the university's chemistry and biology departments.
The fire occurred in a refrigerator in a chemistry and biology lab on the fourth floor of Welch Hall, university officials said. The fire set off an alarm and sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire.
"The details of the cause are still under investigation," the university said in a statement.
The damage was water-related, officials said.
"The University of Texas at Austin is committed to the highest standards for lab safety," Dennis Nolan, assistant director for biological and lab safety, said in a statement. "The department of Environmental Health and Safety works closely with the 1,400 research and teaching labs on campus. In the wake of national laboratory incidents at UCLA and Texas Tech, the university has made a number of improvements to its laboratory safety program over the last two years."
The morning incident was a reminder of past emergency calls that plagued the building in the 1990s.
In the last 10 years, however, emergency responders have seen a dramatic improvement with fewer such incidents at Welch Hall, said Battalion Chief Palmer Buck. Buck said the department has not responded to a hazardous call to the building in more than two years.
In 2009, the Austin fire department responded to two similar hazardous-material incidents, he said.
Welch Hall saw a $30 million renovation in the late 1990s that included the installment of new fire alarm and sprinkler systems after a six-alarm fire gutted a lab and damaged two others.
A state auditor's report had been critical of the school's progress in enforcing lab safety prior to the fire. Since that time, city officials have said improvements at Welch Hall have been substantial.
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OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF FIRE ON FOURTH FLOOR OF WELCH HALL
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2012/03/02/officials-investigate-cause-fire-fourth-floor-welch-hall
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
A chemical storage refrigerator may have caused a fire on the fourth floor of Welch Hall's west wing Thursday morning, officials said.
The fire started at about 4 a.m. and caused minimal damage. The UT Police Department and Austin Fire Department arrived at the scene where the investigators ruled the cause of the fire to be undetermined at the time, said Garland Waldrop, UT fire marshal. Fire officials are still investigating the exact source of the fire.
"There was a minimal amount of fire damage because the fire sprinklers in the lab contained the flames in the one room, but we had to remove the water from the sprinklers that ran down from the fourth floor to the basement," Waldrop said.
The fourth floor of the west wing was closed off to students Thursday in order to repair the water damage, but will be accessible again on Friday. False alarm sirens alerted those in and around the building throughout the day, but did not signal danger.
Dennis Nolan, assistant director of biological and lab safety, said investigators do not know if it was the refrigerator that caused the fire or the chemicals inside it.
"From what I can tell, it doesn't look like the refrigerator [alone] caused the fire, but it is still not conclusive," Nolan said. "All labs in the building were notified of what the best practices are in order to prevent this from happening again."
---------------------------------------------
TORCH SPARKS FIRE AT STORAGE UNIT TUESDAY
http://www.heraldandnews.com/breaking/article_bbff4b9a-6313-11e1-a8ae-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, acetylene
A Tuesday evening fire in a storage unit at the corner of Washburn Way and Joe Wright Road caused property damage but no injuries.
A person was using an acetylene cutting torch to disassemble an old pickup truck for scrap metal, said Fire Marshal Scott Rice with Klamath County Fire District No. 1.
"The person inadvertently hit the brake line, which was still full of fluid," Rice said. "Brake fluid is very volatile and there was no extinguisher on hand."
The fire spread rapidly, and Rice said it essentially was allowed to "free burn" until the fire department arrived.
"The fire destroyed the unit it started in," Rice said. "The units to each side had water damage, but no fire damage."
---------------------------------------------
TEMECULA: WORKER CRITICALLY INJURED IN ACID SPILL
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/temecula/temecula-headlines-index/20120229-temecula-worker-critically-injured-in-acid-spill.ece
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, injury, sulfuric_acid
A worker was critically injured at a Temecula industrial plant Wednesday morning when he dropped two glass jars filled with sulfuric acid, fire officials said.
The accident was reported shortly before 10:30 a.m. at Optiforms Inc., at 42310 Winchester Road, a Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department news release said.
The worker apparently slipped and dropped the jars, which shattered and spilled the acid, the release said.
The worker fell onto the broken glass and acid, fire officials said. According to a preliminary report, the worker cut his hand on the glass and suffered second-degree burns from the acid over 18 percent of his body, including his shoulder and back.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK AT ZAMBO ICE PLANT DOWNS 60
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/03/01/12/chemical-leak-zambo-ice-plant-downs-60
Tags: Philippines, industrial, release, injury, ammonia
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) - At least 60 workers and residents in Zamboanga City were rushed to the hospital after an explosion at a fishing company ice plant triggered a chemical leak Wednesday night.
The workers and residents experienced nausea and vomiting due to a huge volume of ammonia that leaked from the ice plant of Leo Fishing Company in Barangay Ayala.
The leak also resulted in the evacuation of some 2,000 residents of the barangay.
The victims were brought to a nearby hospital and barangay health center to receive treatment.
The plant's owner, Ismael Tan, said a heavy ice can fell into and damaged a pipe that distributes ammonia.
---------------------------------------------
HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SPILL AT LLANDUDNO HOSPITAL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-17215178
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, other_chemical
Firefighters wearing protective clothing have dealt with a hazardous chemical spill at Llandudno Hospital.
The alarm was raised after peracetic acid, a chemical cleaning fluid used for sterilising, was spilled during routine maintenance, said North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
Two crews from Llandudno and a specialist environmental protection unit from Wrexham attended the scene.
The incident resulted in the early closure of the out-patients department.
Fire crews also used breathing apparatus to tackle the spill on Wednesday evening, and disposed of the substance.
---------------------------------------------
LARGE FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEMICAL STORAGE IN JUAREZ
http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-us.cfm?articleID=103686
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, solvent, sulfuric_acid
United States (Texas) - Thousands of people, mostly maquiladora workers, were evacuated as the Juarez Fire Department tried to control a huge fire started at a chemical storage, officials said. Law enforcement officials closed Bermudez Industrial Park, near Industrias Avenue, authorities said. Motorist were advised to seek alternative routes.
The fire started around 9:45 a.m. today at the Margopool Warehouse, said Efren Matamoros, Juarez director of environment Services.
"Their situation is dangerous because there is a potential for an explosion over there," Matamoros said in a telephone interview. "So we had to close the streets and evacuate many people."
Matamoros said he doesn't know how many people were evacuated. Fire investigators are trying to establish the cause of the fire.
That warehouse stores explosive chemicals like thinner and sulfuric acid, among other substances, Matamoros said.
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CORROSIVE CHEMICAL BURNS AT UPS FACILITY IN SHREWSBURY
http://www.telegram.com/article/20120301/NEWS/103019936/-1/NEWS07
Tags: us_MA, transportation, fire, response, corrosives
SHREWSBURY Ñ A fuming package at United Parcel Service at Routes 140 and 20 burned itself out without incident yesterday afternoon, fire officials said.
Fire Capt. Seth Colby said workers inside the facility were loading a trailer when they noticed a package emitting fumes.
Capt. Colby said UPS workers detached the trailer from the building and pulled it into the yard near the Route 20 side of the facility, near Flynn's Truck Plaza.
He said the corrosive agent in the package emitted vapors and generated heat, but firefighters did not have to put out any flames. He said that because the package was corroded by the substance, he could not say what was in it. He said the package had been headed to another UPS facility.
Firefighters arrived about 2:30 p.m. and left around 4:30. Fire officials called for a Tier 1 statewide hazardous materials response. They said there were no injuries.
Capt. Colby said UPS hired Clean Harbors, an environmental cleanup company, to clean out the trailer. Tests will be performed to determine the cause of the exothermic reaction, meaning a chemical reaction that releases heat.
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