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Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, July 6, 2015 at 7:54:03 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (14 articles)
MORE P-XYLENE PROTESTS ERUPT IN CHINA
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, xylene
DUPONT CHALLENGES FINES LEVIED FOR DEADLY METHYL MERCAPTAN LEAK
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
INDUSTRIAL GAS LEAK IN MALAYSIA
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
ALLAFRICA.COM: KENYA: EIGHT DIE AFTER FIRE BREAKS OUT IN LORRY CARRYING METHANOL
Tags: Kenya, transportation, fire, death, methanol
INT: CHEMICAL SPILL IN THE BASEMENT OF AGUA CALIENTE CASINO
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pepper_spray
THREE STILL HOSPITALIZED FRIDAY AFTER TRAIN FIRE
Tags: us_TN, transportation, follow-up, injury, acrylonitrile, flammables, plastics, toxics
SIX DEAD, 1 INJURED IN CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: Democratic_People%27s_Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, death, methane, waste
WALLER COUNTY PLANT FIRE EXTINGUISHED, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, flammables
RESIDENTS EVACUATED, HAZMAT CALLED TO FOUL ODOR AT DALLAS APARTMENT
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, injury, gasoline
PROPANE LEAK CLOSES WAILUKU‰??S LOWER MAIN STREET BRIEFLY
Tags: us_HI, industrial, release, response, propane
CHEVRON FIRE SENT U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD INTO A TAILSPIN
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental
FIRST RESPONDERS DECONTAMINATED AFTER CONTACT WITH TOXIC CHEMICAL IN MARYVILLE TRAIN FIRE
Tags: us_TN, transportation, follow-up, injury, flammables
LEXINGTON POLICE, FIRE EVACUATE SEVERAL HOMES AFTER DISCOVERING METH LAB
Tags: us_KY, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
SHOPPERS, EMPLOYEES AT KIRKLAND COSTCO EVACUATED WHEN REFRIGERATION PIPE BURSTS
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, hvac_chemicals
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MORE P-XYLENE PROTESTS ERUPT IN CHINA
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental, xylene
Thousands of Shanghai residents took to the streets in late June convinced that a p-xylene plant would be built in the Chinese city‰??s Jinshan district. Chinese citizens have been especially wary of these chemical plants since April when a new p-xylene plant exploded in Fujian province.
Government authorities in Shanghai insist that no plans for a new p-xylene facility there exist.
The protests in Shanghai started after the government of Jinshan initiated a public consultation process as part of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of an existing chemical industry park. In a statement, officials point out that the chemical industry zone has not undergone an EIA for five years and that it is time for one to be performed.
However, plans for the assessment and a separate site integration project have apparently led Shanghai residents to conclude that a p-xylene plant will be built. Still, government officials say, ‰??The EIA for the development plan of the chemical industry zone does not involve a p-xylene project, and it‰??s not possible that it would have a p-xylene project in the future, either.‰??
---------------------------------------------
DUPONT CHALLENGES FINES LEVIED FOR DEADLY METHYL MERCAPTAN LEAK
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, death, ag_chems
DuPont is contesting multiple safety citations from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration related to an accident that killed four workers at the company‰??s La Porte, Texas, facility.
In May, OSHA cited the plant for 11 safety violations and fined DuPont a total of $99,000 for the November 2014 leak of methyl mercaptan. The accident and subsequent deaths at the facility, which manufactures pesticides and other chemicals, could have been avoided, the agency found.
When cited, companies have 15 days to appeal OSHA‰??s findings, and they commonly do. DuPont last month notified the agency that it would contest the violations. ‰??We are working with OSHA to better understand the citations and the associated abatement requirements,‰?? says DuPont spokesman Aaron Woods.
DuPont‰??s appeal angers worker representatives, who say the move shows little sensitivity. ‰??They are going to pay more than $100,000 to their lawyers,‰?? says Brent W. Coon, an attorney who represents the family of one worker who died. ‰??It is not the amount of money they are going to be fined that‰??s the issue.‰??
During the appeal process, OSHA and companies sometimes come to a negotiated settlement that helps to correct cited safety violations. If that doesn‰??t happen, the case goes to the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission, an independent agency that adjudicates challenges to OSHA citations and penalties.
---------------------------------------------
INDUSTRIAL GAS LEAK IN MALAYSIA
Tags: Malaysia, industrial, release, injury, unknown_chemical
BUTTERWORTH: A gas leak at an industrial area here caused five people to suffer from breathing difficulties and blurred vision.
The incident happened about 10.30am next to a bank in Taman Selat here.
A Hazmat team was despatched to the scene to collect samples of the leaked gas while the five were rushed to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for treatment.
A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said the Hazmat team had cordoned off the area to find the source of the leak.
---------------------------------------------
ALLAFRICA.COM: KENYA: EIGHT DIE AFTER FIRE BREAKS OUT IN LORRY CARRYING METHANOL
Tags: Kenya, transportation, fire, death, methanol
EIGHT people died on Thursday night after a lorry transporting methanol to a factory in Kayole caught fire in what police suspect was an arson attack.
Seven of the victims were burned to death while another died after consuming the chemical. Several people are admitted to various hospitals following the incident.
The lorry had been seized by government officials at Queens Factory, a spirits manufacturer in the area. The factory manufactures Blue Moon, a popular brand of alcohol.
"The lorry was carrying the methanol seized by government officers for disposal. A group of youths volunteered to help the officials to offload chemical and boarded the lorry," said Kayole OCPD Ali Nuno.
The youths are suspected to have started drinking the methanol immediately after they boarded the lorry and therefore could not escape when the fire broke out.
Police are suspecting a person angered by the crack down set the lorry ablaze.
---------------------------------------------
INT: CHEMICAL SPILL IN THE BASEMENT OF AGUA CALIENTE CASINO
Tags: us_CA, public, release, injury, pepper_spray
RANCHO MIRAGE ‰?? (INT) - CAL FIRE/Riverside County Firefighters were on scene of a reported chemical spill in the basement of Agua Caliente Casino, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Saturday morning.
The chemical spill was blocked off by security. There was no threat to employees or persons inside the casino.
The chemical was identified as pepper spray. There were a total of four patients.
Two were evaluated by firefighter paramedics on scene and declined transport. The other two were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.
---------------------------------------------
THREE STILL HOSPITALIZED FRIDAY AFTER TRAIN FIRE
Tags: us_TN, transportation, follow-up, injury, acrylonitrile, flammables, plastics, toxics
Three people remained hospitalized Saturday evening, roughly three days after a train carrying a toxic chemical derailed in Blount County, caught fire and forced 5,000 people from homes within a 2-mile radius.
Blount Memorial Hospital has treated 125 people for varying degrees of respiratory and skin irritation symptoms since the derailment, which happened just before midnight on Wednesday, hospital spokesman Josh West said. Of those patients, 43 were admitted, and three had not been discharged as of Saturday, he said.
The 57-car train owned by CSX was headed from Cincinnati to Waycross, Ga., when a broken axle punctured a tank car hauling 24,000 gallons of acrylonitrile, a toxic chemical used in making plastics, and probably sparked the fire, which was fed by the flammable liquid, authorities said.
---------------------------------------------
SIX DEAD, 1 INJURED IN CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION
Tags: Democratic_People%27s_Republic_of_Korea, industrial, follow-up, death, methane, waste
ULSAN ‰?? The head of Hanwha Chemical Co. offered a public apology Friday over a deadly explosion at a plant that killed six workers and injured one.
Kim Chang-bum also expressed condolences to the families of the victims ‰?? the six workers of a subcontractor.
The blast occurred at around 9:19 a.m. when the workers were doing welding work on a storage tank containing waste at the Hanwha‰??s plant in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan, fire officials said.
The officials suspect that a welding spark came in contact with a heat source, mainly methane and biochemical gas from the storage, triggering the blast.
Kim vowed to fully cooperate with an investigation to determine the cause of the accident as he suspended the operation of the plant.
---------------------------------------------
WALLER COUNTY PLANT FIRE EXTINGUISHED, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN
Tags: us_TX, industrial, fire, response, flammables
WALLER, TX (KTRK) -- Multiple fire departments and a HazMat crew responded to a fire at a chemical plant fire in Waller County Saturday night. That fire is now extinguished, but questions remain about its cause.
Officials say flames broke out at Flowchem along FM 529 west of FM 2855 at around 9:30pm. Though a test of the air quality showed only a low risk, residents near the facility were advised to shelter-in-place. That order was lifted at around 2:20am.
At this point, it's not clear how the fire started. Plant managers say there haven't been employees there since Thursday.
Waller County Judge Trey Duhon said, "There's definitely some alcohol and some other materials on site that were flammable, and we know that there was one tank that had liquid nitrogen in it that we were real careful of, but it doesn't appear the fire came anywhere near close to those tanks."
Air tests of the area did not show any danger from the fire.
---------------------------------------------
RESIDENTS EVACUATED, HAZMAT CALLED TO FOUL ODOR AT DALLAS APARTMENT
Tags: us_TX, public, discovery, injury, gasoline
Several containers of gasoline led to a hazardous materials scare at a Dallas apartment Friday evening.
First responders were called to the Cielo Ranch Apartments in the 3800 block of Gannon Lane in Dallas just after 8 p.m. Friday after residents reported a foul odor. Authorities discovered several laundry detergent containers with an unknown liquid which smelled of gasoline inside an apartment unit, Dallas Fire spokesman Jason Evans said.
As a precaution, authorities evacuated an undisclosed number of residents before HazMat and Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams arrived. Authorities were able to confirm the liquid was, in fact, gasoline.
The owner of the containers was asked to come home from work to explain the containers. He told authorities the gasoline was only stored in case he needed to fill up his vehicle in an emergency, Evans said.
---------------------------------------------
PROPANE LEAK CLOSES WAILUKU‰??S LOWER MAIN STREET BRIEFLY
Tags: us_HI, industrial, release, response, propane
Fire fighters responded to a leaking propane storage tank on Lower Main Street in Wailuku on Maui.
It happened at about 1:20 p.m Friday.
When Wailuku firefighters arrived at 1:25 p.m., a loud whistling sound was heard coming from a 1,150 gallon propane tank to the rear of Nakamura Mortuary.
Lower Main Street was closed for a brief time between Waena Street and Puaala Place. Kawaipuna Place and Nakila Place, off of Lower Main, were also closed to traffic.
When the area was deemed safe, Lower Main Street was reopened 30 minutes later.
The HazMat team, along with the owner of the tank, Maui Gas Service, determined that a pressure relief valve properly opened in order to relieve mounting gas pressure most likely caused by today‰??s unusually high temperatures. However, the relief valve failed to re-close after internal pressures dropped to safe levels, so Maui Gas Service workers unloaded the remaining propane into a mobile tank truck. When the HazMat crew left the scene at 5:47 p.m., Maui Gas Service planned on burning off the remaining flammable vapors so repairs on the stuck valve could be made.
---------------------------------------------
CHEVRON FIRE SENT U.S. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD INTO A TAILSPIN
Tags: us_CA, public, follow-up, environmental
The tiny federal agency that has urged big reforms in how California regulates oil refineries is in disarray.
To some, the strife at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board ‰?? the 40-person authority charged with investigating industrial accidents and recommending ways to improve safety ‰?? bears strong resemblance to the headlines from developing nations:
Its leader, seen by critics as an autocrat, is forced out before his term is up. His successor takes charge in what detractors call a backroom maneuver and moves quickly to consolidate power, ordering loyalists of the ousted regime removed from their posts with the help of armed guards.
‰??What is going on at the Chemical Safety Board is a little slice of the eastern Ukraine here in Washington, D.C.,‰?? said Jeff Ruch, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a group that advocates for government workers.
Meanwhile, he said, the board‰??s mission of pushing regulatory reform is languishing. ‰??The industrial infrastructure is getting older, and we‰??re not doing anything about it.‰??
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Chevron fire
Much of the strife can be traced back to the August 2012 fire at Chevron‰??s Richmond refinery that sent thousands of people to East Bay hospitals seeking treatment. It soon became clear that California officials had done little to make sure Chevron was dealing with safety issues, prompting the Chemical Safety Board to launch a crusade to change how oil refineries are regulated and maintained.
---------------------------------------------
FIRST RESPONDERS DECONTAMINATED AFTER CONTACT WITH TOXIC CHEMICAL IN MARYVILLE TRAIN FIRE
Tags: us_TN, transportation, follow-up, injury, flammables
MARYVILLE (WATE) ‰?? Ten first responders were brought to Blount Memorial Hospital after the early morning train derailment and fire that exposed them to the flammable and poisonous liquid inside those train cars.
Anyone who came into direct contact with that liquid had to be decontaminated at Blount Memorial Hospital.
Previous story: Thousands evacuated after train carrying toxic, flammable liquid catches fire in Blount County
‰??That sounds kind of scary, but it‰??s really not. What it is, is a series of four showers with hot water and soap, and we do a real thorough cleansing. All your clothing is taken off and is placed in a bag because your clothing could potentially be contaminated as well,‰?? said Dr. Hal Naramore, Chief Medical Officer
---------------------------------------------
LEXINGTON POLICE, FIRE EVACUATE SEVERAL HOMES AFTER DISCOVERING METH LAB
Tags: us_KY, public, discovery, response, meth_lab
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Lexington Police and firefighters had Crosby Drive between Trent Boulevard and Dale Drive shut down for hours while a hazmat team decontaminated a duplex.
Police said they went to a duplex to pick up a person who had an active warrant around 11:30 Thursday morning. They said when they went inside, they noticed materials that made them suspect that there might be a meth lab. They said a fire department and narcotics team found an active meth lab inside shortly after. A hazmat team decontaminated the duplex and 4 people as well as a dog that were all inside. They also evacuated the other half of the duplex and the houses on either side as a precaution.
Several people gathered along Crosby Drive to watch police and firefighters work.
"I look out and there's about five or six fire trucks, I see the hazmat truck, makes you wonder what's going on," said Scott Whitson.
Cynthia Lawson said she was upset about the situation.
"Very mad. It's a quiet neighborhood. Let's keep it that way," she said.
---------------------------------------------
SHOPPERS, EMPLOYEES AT KIRKLAND COSTCO EVACUATED WHEN REFRIGERATION PIPE BURSTS
Tags: us_WA, public, release, response, hvac_chemicals
KIRKLAND, Wash. ‰?? Shoppers and workers at the Costco store in Kirkland were evacuated Thursday when a refrigeration pipe exploded, spewing coolant in gas form, the Kirkland Fire Department said.
The accident occurred in the warehouse area near the loading dock. All of the coolant in the refrigeration system drained out of the six-inch pipe and turned into gas.
A HazMat team was called, but levels of the gas were nowhere near hazardous levels, said Kirkland Fire spokesman Ken Henderson.
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