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From: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (13 articles)
Date: November 30, 2012 6:37:34 AM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <10DED0FD-9E55-449F-B7EF-88AEC8C1CA82**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Friday, November 30, 2012 6:36:56 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 (13 articles)
UPDATE: EVACUATION ORDER LIFTED AFTER SOUTH BEND MEAT PACKING FACILITY FIRE
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, response, ammonia
MAN DIES AFTER FALL INTO WHEELING CHEMICAL TANK
Tags: us_IL, public, release, death, unknown_chemical
DRUG EXPLOSION TAKES OUT APARTMENT WALL
Tags: us_OR, public, explosion, injury, drugs
HEARING ON UCLA LAB DEATH BEGINS
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death
STUDENTS, TEACHERS IN HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, sulphur
EMERGENCY SERVICES CALLED TO PLUMPTON HIGH SCHOOL AFTER CHEMICAL BOMB EXPLODES
Tags: Australia, education, fire, injury, bomb, chlorine
STANDARDS IN PLACE TO HELP PREVENT ACCIDENTS IN SCIENCE CLASSROOMS
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, follow-up, injury, propanol
FIVE INJURED AS CHEMICALS CREATE 'FIREBALL' AT WILSON MIDDLE SCHOOL (VIDEO)
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
I-85 REOPENED AFTER HAZMAT CRASH IN DAVIDSON COUNTY
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, ammonium_nitrate, explosives
CEMENT SMOTHERS PRINEVILLE ZIRCONIUM FIRE
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, dust, flammables
MFD: CHEMICAL FIRE CAUSES MINOR DAMAGE TO HOME
Tags: us_TX, public, fire, response, solvent
FORT MILL: HEATER IGNITES FIRE AT FORT MILL CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CHEMICAL MIX-UP AT WEBER STATE POOL CAUSES SCARE
Tags: us_UT, education, release, response, chlorine, sulfuric_acid
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: EVACUATION ORDER LIFTED AFTER SOUTH BEND MEAT PACKING FACILITY FIRE
http://www.wndu.com/localnews/Hazmat-evacuation-underway-in-South-Bend-meat-packing-facility-fire-180689281.html
Tags: us_IN, industrial, fire, response, ammonia
The vast majority of the South Bend Fire Department was on the scene of a major business blaze at the corner of W. Ewing Ave. and S. Main St., just south of downtown.
Around 10:30 a.m., firefighters were called to meat storage facility Plumrose USA Inc., with active smoke and flames brewing inside.
....w
The South Bend Fire Department issued a HazMat alarm because of the high level of refrigerator coolant and ammonia inside the facility.
"It was a very white smoke coming out at first, but then it kind of turned into a greyish-white smoke," explains South Bend Fire Marshal Federico Rodriguez. "That's where the concern was."
It took crews about an hour to put out the fire in one of the recycling units. Fortunately, no one was injured.
This isn't the first time the plant has caused problems for the city, with a similar incident having taken place just this past summer. Employees believe old equipment is to blame, and the company was in the process of updating machinery before the fire broke out.
---------------------------------------------
MAN DIES AFTER FALL INTO WHEELING CHEMICAL TANK
http://northbrook.patch.com/articles/wheeling-fire-department-recovers-dead-man-from-chemical-tank
Tags: us_IL, public, release, death, unknown_chemical
Fire crews recovered the dead body of a man from the bottom of a chemical storage tank at the Sunnyside Corporation in Wheeling on Thursday, according to Wheeling fire chief Keith MacIsaac.
The man, whose identity has not been released, was cleaning the tank near an opening at the top before falling into the chemical "slime" at the bottom of the structure he died in, the fire chief said. The fire chief was unsure whether the unknown man fell accidentally or was overcome by fumes emitted by the chemical contents of the tank.
The man was part of a two-person cleaning crew contracted by Sunnyside, and a second man was at the scene of the accident when fire fighters arrived, according to the Daily Herald.
---------------------------------------------
DRUG EXPLOSION TAKES OUT APARTMENT WALL
http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=181489111&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10202
Tags: us_OR, public, explosion, injury, drugs
PORTLAND, Ore -- A drug-related chemical explosion took the wall off a second story condominium unit in southwest Portland shortly after 7pm.
The explosion and fire that followed sent a man to the Emanuel Hospital burn center for treatment, said the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue spokesman on scene at the Sylvan Heights condo complex at 7450 SW Barnes Rd.
Sgt. Bob Ray, Washington County Sheriff's Office, says the victim was cooking drugs prior to the explosion. The drug unit and hazardous materials team were called to secure and process the scene and determine exactly what happened.
Neighbors heard the explosion followed by screams from the victim, who is not yet identified.
---------------------------------------------
HEARING ON UCLA LAB DEATH BEGINS
http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i49/Hearing-UCLA-Lab-Death-Begins.html
Tags: us_CA, laboratory, follow-up, death
preliminary hearing started on Nov. 16 in the unprecedented felony labor code violation case against University of California, Los Angeles, chemistry professor Patrick Harran. The charges stem from a 2008 fire in Harran's lab that led to the death of research assistant Sheharbano (Sheri) Sangji.
At the end of the hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench will decide whether prosecutors have gathered enough evidence to take the case to trial. After four afternoons of testimony, the hearing was suspended for scheduling reasons and will resume on Dec. 17.
---------------------------------------------
STUDENTS, TEACHERS IN HOSPITAL AFTER CHEMICAL LEAK
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-29/students-teachers-in-hospital-after-school-chemical-leak/4399518?section=nsw
Tags: Australia, laboratory, release, injury, sulphur
Eleven high school students and two teachers have been taken to several hospitals in western Sydney after reacting to a chemical in a science laboratory.
The fire brigade says a sulphur-based substance leaked in a classroom at Moorebank High.
Part of the school was evacuated while the brigade's hazardous materials unit dealt with the chemical.
The ambulance service says about 20 people suffering nausea and eye and nose irritations were assessed, with the 13 taken to hospital as precaution.
---------------------------------------------
EMERGENCY SERVICES CALLED TO PLUMPTON HIGH SCHOOL AFTER CHEMICAL BOMB EXPLODES
http://mt-druitt-standard.whereilive.com.au/news/story/emergency-services-called-to-plumpton-high-school-after-chemical-spill/
Tags: Australia, education, fire, injury, bomb, chlorine
MORE than 100 students were evacuated from Plumpton High School after a chemical bomb was ignited.
....Mt Druitt Chief-Insp Bill Pearce said detectives were still at the school speaking with students who they believed have knowledge of the incident.
``Some young student or students have ignited what we believe to be a chlorine bomb in a stairwell of a school building,'' Chief-Insp Pearce said.
``As a result, the fumes were noxious and nauseating. The building which had three classes, was evacuated.
---------------------------------------------
STANDARDS IN PLACE TO HELP PREVENT ACCIDENTS IN SCIENCE CLASSROOMS
http://cumberlink.com/news/local/standards-in-place-to-help-prevent-accidents-in-science-classrooms/article_8769f2f0-39b3-11e2-ae2e-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, follow-up, injury, propanol
Kenneth Roy, the science safety expert with the National Science Teachers Association in Virginia, knows a few things about chemicals and experiments that are performed in many of the nation's public schools.
Following a devastating chemical fire at Wilson Middle School on Wednesday where two students were seriously injured, Roy said it was important to note that, like at any laboratory, there is no such thing as a safe school lab.
"You can make the labs safer, but there is no safe lab because you're dealing with chemicals," Roy said.
The well-known science safety expert, who often writes safety columns that deal with chemicals, said all chemicals are hazardous, but can be used safely if teachers and students are properly trained to control hazardous characteristics while using them.
"There are two strands at work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration laboratory standard and the legal standard," Roy said.
The Carlisle Area School District, as the employer, is required to have a chemical hygiene plan to make the science laboratory safer, something that should be spelled out for teachers in a written document, Roy said.
Everyone is responsible, including students, teachers, supervisors and higher administrators, and all of them must work together to ensure that teachers and students use and handle chemicals with appropriate care and precaution, Roy said.
ABC27 News reported that the fire was caused, in part, by the use of rubbing alcohol.
Roy said it was likely that rubbing alcohol was involved.
"I suspect with burns (being the result) that it is possibly alcohol," Roy said. "It is a very common chemical that is used. It is used at home, but when you bring alcohol into a lab and there are vapors present, it could cause an explosion."
---------------------------------------------
FIVE INJURED AS CHEMICALS CREATE 'FIREBALL' AT WILSON MIDDLE SCHOOL (VIDEO)
http://cumberlink.com/news/local/five-injured-as-chemicals-create-fireball-at-wilson-middle-school/article_02d9b082-3979-11e2-9890-0019bb2963f4.html
Tags: us_PA, laboratory, fire, injury, unknown_chemical
What happened in the eighth-grade science room just after 11 a.m. Wednesday at Wilson Middle School is a blur for 13-year-old Rose Heflin.
"She said all she saw was a young man with flames all over him screaming," her mother Rebecca Heflin said. "There were a number of kids rolling around (to get the flames off). She felt the heat of it and just blacked out. She doesn't remember much about it."
Rose was one of three students sent to Carlisle Regional Medical Center in the immediate aftermath of a science-class experiment that ended in flames. These three students were accompanied by a teacher who acted as a chaperone.
---------------------------------------------
I-85 REOPENED AFTER HAZMAT CRASH IN DAVIDSON COUNTY
http://www.wxii12.com/news/local-news/piedmont/I-85-reopened-after-HazMat-crash-in-Davidson-County/-/10703612/17483488/-/kkhtxn/-/index.html
Tags: us_NC, transportation, release, response, ammonium_nitrate, explosives
DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. Ñ
For the second time in less than a month, an Orica USA truck carrying hazardous material has crashed on Interstate 85, causing road closures.
....
The driver was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for evaluation. He is conscious and communicating with medical staff, Orica USA officials said.
The tractor-trailer was carrying ammonium nitrate and blasting caps, emergency officials told WXII. The compound is an oxidizer that has the same chemical composition as fertilizer.
Troopers believe a tire blew out, causing the truck to go off the road.
---------------------------------------------
CEMENT SMOTHERS PRINEVILLE ZIRCONIUM FIRE
http://www.ktvz.com/news/Cement-smothers-Prineville-zirconium-fire/-/413192/17566544/-/30gfcrz/-/index.html
Tags: us_OR, industrial, fire, response, dust, flammables
PRINEVILLE, Ore. -
A spark from a shovel ignited a fierce fire in a pit of flammable zirconium in an industrial area west of Prineville late Tuesday morning, officials said. The blaze sent up a tall smoke plume for hours, prompting authorities to keep students in doors and urge that anyone with respiratory problems do so as well, and report any symptoms to 911.
Matt Smith, chief of Crook County Fire and Rescue, said the fire was reported around 11:20 a.m. at EnviroTech Services, a business at the Prineville Freight Depot about three miles west of town. The 2-year-old facility makes road de-icer and dust control products, according to a 2010 article on its Website.
A hazardous materials team from SMAF Environmental was called in and began pouring dry cement onto the fire to smother it.
The smoke was called an "irritant" and not a significant health threat, though officials were advising people with breathing problems to stay indoors as a precaution.
---------------------------------------------
MFD: CHEMICAL FIRE CAUSES MINOR DAMAGE TO HOME
http://www.mywesttexas.com/top_stories/article_fb47a176-38e7-11e2-9012-001a4bcf887a.html
Tags: us_TX, public, fire, response, solvent
A chemical fire in a residential garage Tuesday afternoon resulted in minor damage, according to the assistant fire marshal.
Midland firefighters were called to 4405 Versailles Drive at 4:25 p.m. and found a trash can on fire in the garage.
David Hickman, assistant fire marshal, said the home owner is a painter who uses paint thinners and lacquers, which were disposed of in trash can. The chemicals reacted when coming in contact with each other and started the fire, he said.
"They got real lucky," Hickman said. "I'm just glad someone was home."
The fire caused minor damage to the wall of the garage, as well as some minor damage to a vehicle parked inside.
---------------------------------------------
FORT MILL: HEATER IGNITES FIRE AT FORT MILL CHEMICAL PLANT
http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/11/27/4442575/crews-called-to-fire-at-fort-mill.html
Tags: us_SC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FORT MILL Ñ Fire burned at a Fort Mill chemical plant Tuesday afternoon after oil in a heating unit ignited, forcing several employees to evacuate and producing thick, black smoke that officials said could "easily" be seen from the Catawba River Bridge.
No injuries were reported at Nation Ford Chemical Plant, which stands a little over a mile away from Banks Trail Middle School, said Jay Dickson, company president.
Company employees were performing maintenance on a heating unit when oil used for heating processes caught fire, Dickson said. The unit was not running at the time.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL MIX-UP AT WEBER STATE POOL CAUSES SCARE
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865567639/Chemical-mix-up-at-Weber-State-pool-causes-scare.html
Tags: us_UT, education, release, response, chlorine, sulfuric_acid
OGDEN Ñ A chemical mix-up at a Weber State University swimming pool shut down Skyline Drive east of campus for more than an hour Tuesday.
Just before 11 a.m., workers chlorinating the pool in the Swenson Gym dumped an extra gallon of chlorine into a drum containing 30 gallons of sulfuric acid, causing a chemical reaction that gave off clouds of gas, said Ogden Fire Department deputy chief Eric Bauman.
The workers then placed the smoking drum in a pickup and drove it to an area on campus near the W5 student parking lot. The Weber County Hazardous Materials Task Force responded and established a 300-foot perimeter around the truck, Bauman said.
The chemical was transferred into a separator to remove the chlorine from the sulfuric acid and contain the chemicals in a chiller.
No buildings were evacuated in the incident. Two Weber State employees were given medical examinations, though they showed no adverse symptoms, officials said.
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Ralph Stuart
secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Secretary
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
American Chemical Society
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