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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 7:54:46 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 (14 articles)
IMPROPERLY STORED CLEANING RAGS BLAMED IN SWITCHGEAR FIRE
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, response, flammables
CHEMICAL TANK'S CEILING BLOWS OFF CAUSING PANIC IN KARACHI
Tags: Pakistan, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
THE MORNING SENTINEL, WATERVILLE, ME
Tags: us_ME, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
DEQ: WESTLAKE BLAST RELEASED SEVERAL CHEMICALS
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
JAFFREY FIRE CAUSED BY CHEMICAL REACTION
Tags: us_NH, industrial, explosion, response, waste
EPA FINES U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR LONG TERM CHEMICAL MISMANAGEMENT -- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Tags: us_VI, public, release, environmental, ag_chems, waste
TRUCK ROLLOVERS KEEP POLICE BUSY ON GTA HIGHWAYS
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, injury, corrosives
HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVE DEVICE SHUTS DOWN BLUFFTON NEIGHBORHOOD
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, bomb
POLICE OFFICERS, AMBULANCE CREW TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER TOXIC SUICIDE IN SOUTH END
Tags: us_MA, public, release, death, sodium_azide, suicide
FIRE BREAKS OUT AS CHEMICAL TANKER PLOWS THROUGH HOMES, VEHICLES IN CAVITE
Tags: Philippines, transportation, fire, response, ethanol
'BOTTLE BOMB' INJURES TEENAGER SATURDAY NIGHT
Tags: us_MD, public, explosion, injury, bomb, cleaners
BRIQUETTES CATCH FIRE AT METAL PLANT
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, metals
LARGE FIRE AT FORMER METAL PLATING PLANT IN FT. WAYNE, IN
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, environmental, metals, runoff
INVESTIGATIONS INTO GRAINCORP CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, other_chemical
---------------------------------------------
IMPROPERLY STORED CLEANING RAGS BLAMED IN SWITCHGEAR FIRE
http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/improperly-stored-cleaning-rags-blamed-in-switchgear-fire-1357241.html
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, response, flammables
MIDDLETOWN Ñ The spontaneous combustion of cleaning rags stored improperly caused a fire that left an estimated $2.5 million in damages to Midwest Switchgear Services late last month.
Middletown Fire Marshal Bob Hess has ruled the fire accidental due to the combustion of the "poorly discarded cleaning rags stored in an improper container close to a table storing ignitable liquids" at the facility at 4014 Tytus Ave., according to a release.
Fire crews had a crane late last week remove the roof to sift through the debris left by the fire.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL TANK'S CEILING BLOWS OFF CAUSING PANIC IN KARACHI
http://dawn.com/2012/04/10/chemical-tanks-ceiling-blows-off-causing-panic-in-karachi/
Tags: Pakistan, public, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
KARACHI: Ceiling of a chemical tank of a private company was blown off near oil installations in Keamari area on Tuesday evening, causing panic in nearby areas, KPT Fire Station sources said.
A fire extinguishing officer said excessive gas in the chemical tank of Home Protect International Company (HPI) located on Plot No 45 near PSO terminal-C, generated the huge blast.
The resultant spill of chemical caused an inferno and spread chaos in the nearby areas, he said and added that fire tenders controlled the fire by using foam.
He said no one was injured in the incident.
---------------------------------------------
THE MORNING SENTINEL, WATERVILLE, ME
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/One-Injured-at-Manchester-Fire.html
Tags: us_ME, public, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
MANCHESTER Ñ A man suffered second- and third-degree burns in an explosion that occurred about 1:15 p.m. today while he was attempting to saw an old fuel tank in half.
The man, identified as Edward Bishop, 33, of Oakland, was using a gas-powered saw to make the cut, according to a neighbor.
"It ignited the fumes or fuel inside it," said Manchester Fire Chief Clarence "Bug" Cram.
Cram said Bishop, who had burns on his face and arms, was taken by ambulance and then transferred to a LifeFlight helicopter to finish the trip to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
---------------------------------------------
DEQ: WESTLAKE BLAST RELEASED SEVERAL CHEMICALS
http://www.katc.com/news/deq-westlake-blast-released-several-chemicals/
Tags: us_LA, industrial, follow-up, environmental, chlorine, hydrochloric_acid
GEISMAR, La. (AP) - State environmental officials say an explosion and fire last month at the Westlake Chemical Corp. complex in Geismar was the fifth and most significant release of chemicals at the plant since the beginning of 2010.
The Advocate reports that the March 22 fire primarily released hydrochloric acid, chlorine and vinyl chloride monomer. Records of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality say those release exceeding the one-hour permit level for those chemicals and at least three other compounds.
No one was injured in the explosion. The cause is still under investigation.
Westlake said it bought the complex in 2002 from Borden Chemical and spent nearly $20 million for environmental and safety improvements. The plant was built in the mid-1970s.
---------------------------------------------
JAFFREY FIRE CAUSED BY CHEMICAL REACTION
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120410/NEWS07/704109941
Tags: us_NH, industrial, explosion, response, waste
JAFFREY - A chemical reaction between two combustible materials is believed to have caused the two-alarm fire at Monadnock Disposal Services Tuesday morning, Jaffrey Fire Chief David Chamberlain said.
Firefighters responded to the structure fire at the private waste-disposal business on Old Sharon Road at 10:16 a.m.
Shortly after firefighters arrived, there was a small explosion in the fire, Chamberlain said, so firefighters worked to douse the flames from outside the building.
The fire started on the tipping floor inside the building where workers sort the trash for disposal, Chamberlain said.
"It's hard to tell what's in the Dumpsters," he said, adding he believes a reaction between two hazardous materials caused the fire.
"It was something that came in from a Dumpster from a facility. Again it's hard to tell because there are multiple trucks that come to dump, moving around by an operator with an excavator," Chamberlain said. "That's the problem nowadays; something gets put into a Dumpster (and) two things Ñ two chemicals Ñ come together, mix together and create another chemical and then mix with another chemical."
---------------------------------------------
EPA FINES U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR LONG TERM CHEMICAL MISMANAGEMENT -- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
http://eponline.com/articles/2012/04/10/epa-fines-u.s.-virgin-islands-health-department-for-long-term-chemical-mismanagement.aspx
Tags: us_VI, public, release, environmental, ag_chems, waste
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Health violated federal law governing the handling and storage of hazardous waste at two of its facilities and has fined the agency $68,000 for the violations. EPA inspections at the facilities, the Old Municipal Facility in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and 3500 Estate Richmond, Christiansted in St. Croix, found unlabeled and decaying containers of chemicals and pesticides on the properties. Many of the containers spilled and the USVI Department of Health failed to properly identify what types of waste were being stored. In some instances, the hazardous chemicals had been kept on-site for over ten years in a state of neglect and decay. Among the hundreds of hazardous chemicals on-site were pyrethrin (a neurotoxin), chlorpyrifos (an insecticide) and calcium hypochlorite (a bleach) - all of which are toxic. Federal environmental law requires hazardous chemicals to be stored, han!
dled and disposed of properly to safeguard public health and the environment.
---------------------------------------------
TRUCK ROLLOVERS KEEP POLICE BUSY ON GTA HIGHWAYS
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/04/09/toronto-tractor-trailer-rollover.html
Tags: Canada, transportation, release, injury, corrosives
Police were forced to deal with two separate truck rollovers on Greater Toronto Area highways Monday.
The first occurred when a tractor trailer overturned Monday morning on a ramp at Highway 401 and Warden Avenue in Toronto's east end.
The truck was headed eastbound on Highway 401 when it tipped onto its side while exiting the highway around 11 a.m.The Ontario Provincial Police said that speed may have been a factor.
The driver suffered minor injuries.
CBC's Jeff Semple reported that the truck was hauling a trailer with 20,000 litres of ferric sulfate, a highly corrosive and acidic liquid that is often used to treat wastewater.
A hazardous materials team was called in to deal with the cleanup. An unknown amount of the liquid was feared to have spilled out and leaked in the ground.
---------------------------------------------
HOMEMADE EXPLOSIVE DEVICE SHUTS DOWN BLUFFTON NEIGHBORHOOD
http://www2.wsav.com/news/2012/apr/09/homemade-explosive-device-shuts-down-bluffton-neig-ar-3572219/
Tags: us_SC, public, release, response, bomb
Bluffton, S.C. --
Neighbors in the Baywood subdivision of Bluffton were not allowed to leave or enter while investigators identified an explosive device Monday morning.
Around 9:30 a.m. a resident called police to 2 Juniper Lane citing a crack in his Hyundai SUV windshield and a chemical smell coming from the vehicle.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Department says the remnants of a soda bottle were found inside the SUV. Bluffton Township Fire District also responded to the scene.
Authorities believe the bottle contained various household chemicals and was placed inside the unlocked vehicle.
---------------------------------------------
POLICE OFFICERS, AMBULANCE CREW TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER TOXIC SUICIDE IN SOUTH END
http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/04/police-officers-ambulance-crew-taken-hospital-after-suicide-sparks-hazmat-scene-south-end/da0IFfoxlNkIAWwHXzJ9TK/index.html
Tags: us_MA, public, release, death, sodium_azide, suicide
Twelve people were evacuated from a South End apartment building and four Boston police officers and an ambulance crew were taken to a hospital after a woman committed suicide Monday night inside an apartment by ingesting a toxic chemical, fire officials said.
Boston Deputy Fire Chief Steve Dunbar said at the hazmat scene that the woman ingested the chemical on the first floor of 676 Mass. Ave. at about 9 p.m. and was later pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center.
He said four police officers and the ambulance team of two EMS workers were being quarantined at BMC to determine whether they were affected by the substance.
Dunbar said a relative of the woman, whose name and age he did not know, reported that the victim told her she ingested a chemical and asked that her cats be taken care of.
The deputy fire chief said the victim appeared to be young, but he could not be more specific.
He said the woman is believed to have ingested sodium azide, a chemical used to make airbags. "But it can metabolize into some kind of cyanide," Dunbar said, adding that the woman died about an hour or two after ingesting the substance.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE BREAKS OUT AS CHEMICAL TANKER PLOWS THROUGH HOMES, VEHICLES IN CAVITE
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/174493/fire-breaks-out-as-chemical-tanker-plows-through-homes-vehicles-in-cavite
Tags: Philippines, transportation, fire, response, ethanol
CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, PhilippinesÑA wayward chemical tanker whose driver had fallen asleep sideswiped three vehicles before finally crashing into a row of houses, causing a brief fire in Dasmari–as City in Cavite early Tuesday, police said.
According to Superintendent Ulysses Cruz, Dasmari–as police chief, the driver of the tanker lost control of the vehicle, which sideswiped another truck, a car and a van, all of which were at the Pala-pala junction and all headed towards Tagaytay City, at around 1:30 a.m.
The tanker stopped when it hit three houses on the side of the road. A fire broke out but firefighters were able to put it out after around 30 minutes.
The ten-wheel tanker, which police said belonged to the Absolute Chemicals Inc., carried food-grade alcohol used in the manufacture of liquor.
---------------------------------------------
'BOTTLE BOMB' INJURES TEENAGER SATURDAY NIGHT
http://glenburnie.patch.com/articles/bottle-bomb-injures-teenage-girl-saturday-night
Tags: us_MD, public, explosion, injury, bomb, cleaners
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department responded at 9 p.m. Saturday after a report of a chemical explosion in a park near Kempton and Overhill roads in Glen Burnie.
Fire spokesman Battalion Chief Steve Thompson said some teenagers were making "bottle bombs," possibly using a combination of drain cleaner and alcohol.
An 18-year-old woman received lacerations and burns from the explosion and was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with serious but not life-threatening injuries, Thompson said.
---------------------------------------------
BRIQUETTES CATCH FIRE AT METAL PLANT
http://www.thestate.com/2012/04/06/2224267/fire-at-cayce-metal-plant.html
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, metals
Cayce Department of Public Safety crews responded to a fire at a steel plant Thursday morning.
Several aluminum-manganese alloy briquettes caught fire Friday morning at a Commercial Metal Co. warehouse off 12th Street Extension before noon, said the company's Jeff Adams.
At least one firetruck responded to put out the blaze. No one was injured in the incident, and crews were cleaning the area up by 1 p.m. It is unknown how the fire started, Adams said.
---------------------------------------------
LARGE FIRE AT FORMER METAL PLATING PLANT IN FT. WAYNE, IN
http://www.fs-world.com/Show.asp?ID=12628&Form=1
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, environmental, metals, runoff
A fire at a closed metal works plant in Ft. Wayne, IN sent a column of black and grey smoke skyward to be seen for miles. No homes were evacuated on the city's east side. The defunct plant has been undergoing a costly cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater. Plans, which were approved in 2010 after a more than four-year process, called for the removal of contaminated soil from seven areas on the plant property.
Also, wells were to be dug to draw out and treat the groundwater, and to draw vapors from the soil. Despite this history of environmental problems and the plant's past use of hazardous chemicals, city fire marshal said evacuations of nearby homes were not necessary. A hazardous materials crew was monitoring air quality downwind of the fire, and the city water department tested the runoff created by the fire department's hoses.
---------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATIONS INTO GRAINCORP CHEMICAL LEAK
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-09/carrington-incident/3939690/?site=newcastle
Tags: Australia, public, release, response, other_chemical
Residents at about 30 homes in the Newcastle suburb of Carrington were forced to stay indoors on Saturday night (AEST) after a gas leak at Graincorp.
The New South Wales Fire and Rescue Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) unit was called to the Graincorp Carrington terminal just before 7pm (AEST)
About 100 kilograms of the gas methyl bromide leaked from a canister, while staff were fumigating at the site.
A Graincorp spokesman says while the gas is commonly used to kill pests and bugs, a leak of this kind is uncommon.
---------------------------------------------
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