| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2014 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] EHS Management Software Date: Friday, January 17, 2014 4:34:40 PM Author: "Reinhardt, Peter" <peter.reinhardt**At_Symbol_Here**YALE.EDU> |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] DCHAS-L Digest - 16 Jan 2014 to 17 Jan 2014 (#2014-18) Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 10:33:09 -0500 Author: Mary M. Cavanaugh |
**At_Symbol_Here**ACSDCHAS and **At_Symbol_Here**LabSustain tweets and Chemical Safety Headlines
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
Tweets available on our ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety (DCHAS) Facebook Page
Tagged Article summaries are available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
acsdchas C&EN: Toxicity Unknown: Lack of data hampers response to chemical spill in West Virginia http://t.co/3mT0Fh9viW http://t.co/bAehVGDGwC
labsustain "How Much Do Electric Drive Vehicles Matter to Future U.S. Emissions?" Found at http://t.co/auKjo4KUVf http://t.co/puY2FHac9y
CHMMNews Firefighters battle large HAZMAT fire after Livonia industrial building engulfed by flames http://t.co/oaQ81uLsbk #HazMat
Table of Contents (9 articles)
WEST VIRGINIA CHEMICAL SPILL IN ELK RIVER POSES A NEW TEST FOR LAWMAKERS
Tags: us_VA, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
WOWK 13 CHARLESTON, HUNTINGTON WV NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHEMICAL-RELATED HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS RISE
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
WARREN, OH
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, response, titanium, various_chemicals
4 TEACHERS INJURED IN HAZMAT INCIDENT AT MERCER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid, zinc
PACKERS OF INDIAN RIVER: POSSIBLE CHEMICAL SPILL AT MIDWAY ROAD BUSINESS
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, injury, chlorine
WEST VIRGINIA CHEMICAL COMPANY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY AFTER LEAK
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, solvent
FEDERAL CHEMICAL BOARD REJECTS SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER FIRE AT CHEVRON REFINERY IN CALIF.
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response
LAB WITH CHEMICAL EXPLODED, HAZMAT CALLED IN
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, explosion, response, corrosives, nitric_acid
---------------------------------------------
WEST VIRGINIA CHEMICAL SPILL IN ELK RIVER POSES A NEW TEST FOR LAWMAKERS
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/west-virginia-chemical-spill-in-elk-river-poses-a-new-chemistry-test-for-lawmakers/2014/01/19/993d5a66-7ed7-11e3-93c1-0e888170b723_story.html
Tags: us_VA, public, follow-up, response, other_chemical
There are more than 80,000 chemicals in the United States catalogued by government regulators, and the health risks of most of them are unknown.
This became glaringly obvious when, on Jan. 9, a clear, licorice-smelling chemical leaked from an old storage tank into the Elk River in West Virginia, contaminating the drinking water for much of the state, including the capital, Charleston.
---------------------------------------------
WOWK 13 CHARLESTON, HUNTINGTON WV NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
http://www.wowktv.com/story/24490799/residents-wonder-when-chemical-leak-started
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, environmental, other_chemical
CHARLESTON, WV -
It doesn't take a scientist to know when your child is sick. It takes a mother. Brooke Wisen instantly knew something was wrong with her 7-year-old son, Michael.
"He hardly ever gets sick, and usually in my house when one gets sick, it's like the plague, everyone gets sick," Wisen said.
Almost two weeks ago, Michael was the only one of four children to suffer from cramps, nausea, and diarrhea, according to his mother. The complaints began soon after Michael took a bath at their home in Charleston.
"He always drinks the water in the shower," Wisen said.
Nearly two days later on January 9, inspectors with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection traced a chemical spill back to Freedom Industries, just outside of Charleston. They found 7,500 gallons of crude MCHM had leaked into the Elk River. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a State of Emergency for nine counties by 6 p.m. that evening. West Virginia American Water issued a "do not use" order for nearly 100,000 customers in the region. Some waited as long as a week before officials deemed their water "safe."
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL-RELATED HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS RISE
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401180073
Tags: us_WV, public, follow-up, injury, other_chemical
CHARLESTON, W.Va. --Even as the last official water restrictions were lifted Saturday, more people were getting sick from exposure to the chemical that contaminated the Kanawha Valley's drinking water, according to numbers provided by a government official.
As of Saturday, a total of 411 patients had been treated at 10 hospitals for reported chemical exposure since Jan. 9, according to Allison Adler, a spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. Twenty patients had been admitted to four hospitals. None of them are still in the hospital and none of them were in critical condition, Adler said.
Those numbers have increased significantly since Thursday, when the DHHR said 317 had been treated and 14 had been hospitalized.
The West Virginia Poison Center had received 2,302 calls about the chemical leak by Saturday evening, Adler said. Of those, 1,862 were human-related, 98 were animal-related and the rest were requests for information only.
A "do-not-drink" order was lifted Saturday for Buffalo, Frazier's Bottom and Pliny, in Putnam County, after a previously issued "do-not-use" order had been lifted and then rescinded two days later.
---------------------------------------------
WARREN, OH
http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/598301/Chemicals-ignite-industrial-fire.html?nav=5021
Tags: us_OH, industrial, fire, response, titanium, various_chemicals
WEATHERSFIELD - More than 40 firefighters from Weathersfield and Niles fought an industrial chemical fire along state Route 169 in frigid temperatures for more than five hours Saturday.
Fire officials said they were forced to use a salt compound to suppress the blaze at ITPS Inc. in Niles Commerce Park between Niles and Warren's southeast side.
Weathersfield fire department was called to the scene about 9:40 a.m., Saturday, by the company that said 18 to 20 barrels of chemicals inside its warehouse were on fire.
Fire Chief Randall Pugh said ITPS Inc. accepts 55-gallon barrels of material from steel making companies that contain titanium, nickel and chromium.
"Because the barrels had a combination of chemicals that include titanium, nickel and chromium, we could not use water to put out the fire, because water would have caused the titanium to explode," Pugh said.
Because there was concern about the various chemicals at the site, the fire departments called in the Trumbull County Hazmat and the Ohio EPA to monitor what was being done.
---------------------------------------------
4 TEACHERS INJURED IN HAZMAT INCIDENT AT MERCER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id"97197
Tags: us_NJ, laboratory, release, injury, hydrochloric_acid, zinc
HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. - January 17, 2014 (WPVI) -- Four teachers were hospitalized after a chemical mishap led to evacuations and early dismissal Friday at a high school in Mercer County, New Jersey.
"There must have been an experiment yesterday and it was being held in the frame hood," said School Superintendent Ed Forsthoffer. "And then this morning one of our teachers opened the frame hood, and I guess some fumes came out."
Science teacher Franco Paoletti was hospitalized after pulling open the window of that frame hood, where experiments involving hydrochloric acid and zinc sat overnight without the fan on.
"My teacher is the person that passed out," said Kiani Bonner. "Mr. Paoletti, he was in my first period class, and he came in and he wasn't feeling good."
Officials say the fume hood was closed overnight but the fan was not on, so when the teacher lifted up the glass Friday morning, he got a face full of noxious fumes.
---------------------------------------------
PACKERS OF INDIAN RIVER: POSSIBLE CHEMICAL SPILL AT MIDWAY ROAD BUSINESS
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_st_lucie_county/packers-of-indian-river-possible-chemical-spill-at-midway-road-business
Tags: us_FL, industrial, release, injury, chlorine
FORT PIERCE ? St. Lucie County Fire District Hazmat crews are on the scene of chemical emergency at a Midway Road business.
A report came in at 2:13 p.m. of at least four people at Packers of Indian River at 5700 W. Midway Road in Fort Pierce having difficulty breathing and feeling nauseous, district spokeswoman Catherine Chaney said.
Fire investigators later determined that chemicals were mixed incorrectly.
The building, with about 75 people, was evacuated at 2:15 p.m.
13 people were taken to the hospital for observation.
Firefighters think they may have inhaled chlorine, Chaney said. The chemical has been confined.
---------------------------------------------
WEST VIRGINIA CHEMICAL COMPANY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY AFTER LEAK
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-wva-water-bankruptcy-20140118,0,3811547.story#axzz2qktJ2WsK
Tags: us_WV, industrial, follow-up, response, solvent
Bombarded by lawsuits and under federal investigation, the chemical company that spilled a dangerous solvent into a West Virginia river and fouled the drinking water of 300,000 people filed for federal bankruptcy protection Friday.
Freedom Industries Inc., owner of a storage tank that ruptured Jan. 9 and spilled 7,500 gallons of a coal-treatment foaming agent called MCHM into the Elk River, sought protection from creditors under a Chapter 11 filing by its parent company, Chemstream Holdings Inc. of Pennsylvania.
The filing will protect Freedom from creditors, temporarily halt lawsuits against it and allow the company to continue operating.
---------------------------------------------
FEDERAL CHEMICAL BOARD REJECTS SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER FIRE AT CHEVRON REFINERY IN CALIF.
http://www.startribune.com/business/240562141.html
Tags: us_CA, industrial, follow-up, response
RICHMOND, Calif. ? The federal officials probing a 2012 fire at a Northern California Chevron refinery have voted against recommending a tougher, European-style refinery safety system.
The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bit.ly/1b6cQzH">http://bit.ly/1b6cQzH ) that a divided U.S. Chemical Safety Board voted Wednesday against recommending implementation of the so-called "safety case structure," which forces a company to document how it's reducing risks.
Those who voted against the safety case recommendation say it's too complex and would take too long to implement.
The board has 120 days to modify the report.
The investigation stemmed from an Aug. 6, 2012, fire at the Richmond refinery caused by an old, corroded pipe that Chevron failed to properly monitor and replace. More than 15,000 people sought treatment for respiratory and other discomforts after the blaze.
---------------------------------------------
LAB WITH CHEMICAL EXPLODED, HAZMAT CALLED IN
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/lab-with-chemical-exploded-hazmat-called-in-1.463782
Tags: Malaysia, laboratory, explosion, response, corrosives, nitric_acid
KULAIJAYA: A loud explosion, followed by fire that was almost 10 metres high, revealed the actual nature of business conducted at a premises along Jalan Besi 1, Desa Perindustrian Kulai Park here.
The industrial chemical company which went into operation in 1994, had on its' premises licence listed it as "storage".
But it was used as a laboratory, and had combustible chemicals to produce organic and inorganic chemicals.
When the fire broke out at 8am, the Kulaijaya Fire and Rescue Department firefighters and engines were rushed to the scene, but they had to call in the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) team, when they realised that there were combustible materials in the premises.
Kulaijaya Hazmat commander in chief Ithnin Osman, said it took 10 personnel over an hour to neutralise the chemicals and to contain the premises.
Initial investigations revealed that there were 33 bottles of Nitrite Acid which were kept on a wooden pallet and one of the 2.5 litter bottle exploded suddenly, which followed by the fire.
There were 72 litters of fuming Nitric Acid that it was very corrosive, thus extra care was to be taken.
---------------------------------------------
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post