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From: Ralph Stuart <rstuartcih**At_Symbol_Here**me.com>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2018 07:51:28 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: F83A82D5-2F5F-4E40-833F-36C0FAC36A49**At_Symbol_Here**me.com
Article summaries are also available at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (12 articles)
20 FAMILIES EVACUATED FROM HOMES AFTER GAS MAIN BURSTS
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, natural_gas
SANTA FE BOOM CAME FROM LOS ALAMOS LAB
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, explosion, response, explosives
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT SCRAP METAL FACTORY
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, metals, waste
OFFICIAL: TRUCK WAS CARRYING 5 DIFFERENT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, injury, acids, pesticides, pool_chemicals
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP APPEALS EPA"S DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
IRANIAN OIL TANKER BURNS AFTER COLLISION OFF CHINA COAST
Tags: China, transportation, explosion, response, petroleum
FIRE CONTAINED AT NEW BERN CHEMICAL FACILITY
Tags: us_NC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
OIL TANKER CATCHES ON FIRE
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, petroleum
HAZMAT UNIT RESPONDS TO REPORT OF GAS SMELL AT PARK CITY MARRIOTT
Tags: us_UT, public, release, response, repellent
ALL LANES OF I-65 REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE PROMPTS EVACUATION IN JACKSON COUNTY
Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, injury, corrosives, flammables, pesticides
CHEMICAL LEAK AT DERRY GAS WELL SPREADS ODOR FOR MILES
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, thiols
AT TRUMP"S EPA, ONCE-PUBLIC CHEMICAL SAFETY REVIEWS GO DARK
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
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20 FAMILIES EVACUATED FROM HOMES AFTER GAS MAIN BURSTS
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/families-evacuated-burst-gas-pipe-14143941
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, response, natural_gas
Families had to be evacuated from their homes after a gas main burst and ruptured.
The rupture happened when a vehicle reversed into a high pressure gas main in Thaxted Road, Wimbish at 8.20pm last night (January 12).
Firefighters from across Essex in Saffron Walden, Thaxted, Braintree and South Woodham Ferrers rushed to the scene, including a hazmat unit.
They evacuated 20 families to a local pub while urgent repairs were made and the road was shut.
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SANTA FE BOOM CAME FROM LOS ALAMOS LAB
https://www.abqjournal.com/1117974/santa-fe-boom-came-from-los-alamos-lab.html
Tags: us_NM, laboratory, explosion, response, explosives
SANTA FE " A loud explosion that shook the ground and rattled windows in the Santa Fe area about 3 p.m. Wednesday came from Los Alamos National Laboratory, which confirmed it had set off explosives about that time.
A LANL statement said it was unusual for its blasts to be heard off-site, but this one was heard all over Santa Fe " about 25 miles away as the crow flies " and as far east as Eldorado and as far south as La Cienega.
Social media exploded " figuratively, of course " after the boom, as people around the area who heard and felt the blast wondered about its source.
Social media exploded " figuratively, of course " after the boom, as people fwho heard and felt the blast wondered about its source.
"Does anyone know what"s up with the explosions/shock-waves today?" a man wrote on the Santa Fe Bulletin Board, a Facebook page where people can post announcements, get recommendations about good restaurants or ask where they can buy firewood. "I"ve felt two so far off Jaguar and (N.M.) 599 and confirmed with a friend on St. Michaels that he felt it too. Are any testing ranges close enough to do this?"
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FIRE BREAKS OUT AT SCRAP METAL FACTORY
https://patch.com/illinois/desplaines/fire-breaks-out-scrap-metal-factory
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, metals, waste
DES PLAINES, IL - The more than 50-year-old Maine Scrap Metal building in Des Plaines caught fire Wednesday night. No one was hurt, but extensive damage was done to the scrap metal processing and recycling center in the 1200 block of Rand Road, according to an ABC-7 Chicago report. Part of the building was destroyed.
Firefighters found flames coming from the roof of the factory around 11 p.m. The owner was in the building at the time, but called for help and got out safely. Most of the damage was found toward the back of the building.
The report from ABC says chemical reaction inside the building led to the fire spreading quickly.
Maine Scrap Metal has been in operation for more than 50 years.
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OFFICIAL: TRUCK WAS CARRYING 5 DIFFERENT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
http://www.tribtown.com/2018/01/12/semitrailer_fire_continued/
Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, injury, acids, pesticides, pool_chemicals
As an orange fog began billowing from the front of a wrecked semitrailer carrying hazardous materials Wednesday on Interstate 65 south of Seymour, those involved in the cleanup knew the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
An hour after reporting that one of the southbound lanes of the interstate had reopened near the 43-mile marker, Indiana State Police Sgt. Stephen Wheeles said complications from the cleanup forced the re-closure of both lanes.
Thirty minutes later, police closed the northbound lanes until 4 p.m. as some of the five different hazardous chemicals being hauled in the trailer from Chicago to Jacksonville, Florida, caught fire. Two other semitrailers involved in the wreck already had been hauled away.
A mixture of the chemicals being hauled, including medical cleaning supplies, printer ink, weed killer, pool chemicals and other acids, is thought to be the cause of the fire, Senior Trooper Seth Davidson said. Indiana Spill Response of Anderson and Midwest Environmental Services of Brownstown were called to clean up the chemicals.
Davidson said crews discontinued unloading when the orange fog appeared.
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ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP APPEALS EPA"S DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/environmental-group-appeals-epa-s-decision-making-framework
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
On January 5, 2017, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a Petition for Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Second Circuit) of what is characterized as a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "final rule" issued November 7, 2017, entitled "New Chemicals Decision-Making Framework: Working Approach to Making Determinations under Section 5 of TSCA." The Framework Document, as it has come to be called, is the "final rule" at issue and was posted in EPA"s docket opened for comments related to its two Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) public meetings that took place in December. It is reasonable to assume that the Framework Document is not referred to by EPA as a final rule and was not published in the Federal Register as a final rule because EPA believes it is a document that outlines a conceptual approach to how EPA may go about making decisions on new chemicals. EPA specifically states the document, referred to as a !
"draft" in the Federal Register notice that announced the two public meetings, "outlines EPA"s approach to making decisions on new chemical notices submitted to EPA under TSCA section 5, as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act," and includes EPA"s "general decision framework for new chemicals" and a breakdown of how EPA "intends to approach each of the five types of new-chemical determinations required under the statute."
The citizen action petition raises novel and interesting legal questions, and is quite different from the other petitions for review, one for each framework final rule, that are pending. Whether the newest legal challenge will survive procedural motions that EPA can be expected to file to dismiss the action remains to be seen.
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IRANIAN OIL TANKER BURNS AFTER COLLISION OFF CHINA COAST
https://cen.acs.org/articles/96/i3/Iranian-oil-tanker-burns-collision.html
Tags: China, transportation, explosion, response, petroleum
An Iranian tanker carrying nearly 1 million barrels of oil partially exploded and has been on fire since Jan. 6 in the East China Sea, following a collision with a cargo ship about 160 nautical miles (300 km) east of Shanghai.
"We are worried about the potential environmental impact that could be caused by leakage from the vessel," says Rashid Kang, campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia. No large-scale oil spill had been detected by C&EN"s deadline.
The tanker, a Panama-flagged vessel owned and operated by National Iranian Tanker, was ferrying approximately 150 million L of highly-flammable condensate, a type of ultra-light crude oil, to South Korea"s Hanwha Total Petrochemical.
By comparison, the Exxon Valdez was carrying 200 million L of crude oil when it spilled 41 million L into Prince William Sound off Alaska in 1989, contaminating 2,000 km of coastline.
The term condensate describes a range of light crude oils that occur primarily as a byproduct of natural gas production. They are usually composed of propane, butane, and pentane, and also have high concentrations of benzene and hydrogen sulfide.
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FIRE CONTAINED AT NEW BERN CHEMICAL FACILITY
http://wcti12.com/news/local/fire-contained-at-new-bern-chemical-facility
Tags: us_NC, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
NEW BERN, Craven County " An early morning fire at a New Bern chemical company was contained to an outbuilding as nearly three dozen firefighters worked from keeping the fire from spreading, fire officials tell NewsChannel 12.
Township No. 7 Assistant Fire Chief Travis Blalock says the fire was reported at 3:24 a.m. at the Amerochem Corporation Facility off of Old Airport Road. The fire spread through carbon-based slurry in an old outbuilding but thanks to a lack of wind and quick response, did not spread to other portions of the facility.
Blalock said Cherry Point sent a hazmat unit, which tested the water and air quality after the blaze was extinguished and found no hazards to the public. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality will conduct further testing later in the day on Thursday to confirm those results.
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OIL TANKER CATCHES ON FIRE
https://www.wcbi.com/oil-tanker-catches-fire/
Tags: us_MS, industrial, fire, response, petroleum
MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) " It was a busy morning for fire crews in Monroe County after a large fire broke out at an oil company.
The fire happened just before 8 a.m., January 10, at the Metano Energy Company.
Monroe County Fire Coordinator Terry Tucker says a tire from a piece of equipment nearby blew out and went into an open top tanker that was storing crude oil.
Firefighters battled the fire for approximately three hours.
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HAZMAT UNIT RESPONDS TO REPORT OF GAS SMELL AT PARK CITY MARRIOTT
https://www.parkrecord.com/news/hazmat-unit-responds-to-report-of-gas-smell-at-park-city-marriott/
Tags: us_UT, public, release, response, repellent
A bear spray release triggered an evacuation of the Park City Marriott Wednesday evening, according to the Park City Fire District.
The Fire District's hazardous materials unit responded to the scene after dispatchers received a report just before 4 p.m. of a chemical odor so offensive people could not enter the room it originated from, the hotel's cleaning room, said Tricia Hurd Hazelrigg, a Fire District spokesperson.
Emergency services cordoned off the hotel and surrounding streets to give responders room to work.
No injuries were reported.
Bear spray causes a similar reaction in humans to that of pepper spray.
Natasha Levitt, a guest at the hotel, said she was sitting in the lobby when hotel staff told her she "might want to leave" the building. She saw people running by coughing and covering their mouths.
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ALL LANES OF I-65 REOPENED AFTER CHEMICAL FIRE PROMPTS EVACUATION IN JACKSON COUNTY
http://cbs4indy.com/2018/01/10/all-lanes-of-i-65-reopened-after-chemical-fire-prompts-evacuation-in-jackson-county/
Tags: us_IN, transportation, fire, injury, corrosives, flammables, pesticides
JACKSON COUNTY, Ind. " Indiana State Police say all lanes of I-65 have reopened in Jackson County after a semi crash and chemical fire.
The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on I-65 southbound near mile marker 43. Traffic was diverted off I-65 at exit 50. Around 11:30 a.m., state police said the northbound lanes were also being closed at exit 41. All houses within half a mile of the crash scene were evacuated, according to Sgt. Stephen Wheeles with Indiana State Police.
A passenger inside Okpeh"s truck was injured in the crash and was taken to an area hospital. His injuries aren"t believed to be life-threatening.
Okpeh"s vehicle was hauling hazardous chemicals, including a non-flammable gas, a corrosive liquid (weed killer), a caustic acid, an oxidizing solid (dantobrom), and a corrosive liquid (glutaradehyde). Some of the containers inside Okpeh"s tank ruptured after the collision and then spilled onto the road. Hazardous materials crews were called to the scene for cleanup.
State police briefly reopened the left lane around 10:30 a.m. and said the right lane was expected to reopen Wednesday afternoon. However, just before 11 a.m., ISP said both southbound lanes were closed again due to "complications from the cleanup." Crews removing containers from Okpeh"s truck noticed smoke and a "volatile reaction" taking place inside the trailer, leading to the closure of the northbound lanes and the evacuation.
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CHEMICAL LEAK AT DERRY GAS WELL SPREADS ODOR FOR MILES
http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/13165163-74/chemical-leak-at-derry-gas-well-spreads-odor-for-miles
Tags: us_PA, public, release, response, thiols
A chemical leak at a Derry natural gas well has been stopped, according to Westmoreland County 911, but it created an odor that can be smelled for miles.
A mercaptan tank operated by Canonsburg-based XPR Resources began leaking at around 2 a.m. Wednesday at a well near Bergman Road, dispatchers said.
Mercaptan is a pungent-smelling chemical. Tiny amounts of it are added to natural gas so that it can be smelled easily in case of a leak. No gas leaked Tuesday morning, only mercaptan, according to dispatchers.
Emergency radio broadcasts described a natural-gas odor that spread miles from the leak, toward Latrobe.
The chemical is harmless, but it will take some time for the smell to dissipate, according to the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety.
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AT TRUMP"S EPA, ONCE-PUBLIC CHEMICAL SAFETY REVIEWS GO DARK
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/trump-s-epa-once-public-chemical-safety-reviews-go-dark
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears to no longer be releasing preliminary assessments of potentially hazardous new chemicals or new uses of existing chemicals, according to documents reviewed by E&E News.
The development means the public has no way to know whether the agency has initial concerns or has granted companies preliminary authorization to begin manufacturing new chemicals or using them in novel ways.
During the Obama administration, EPA would note whether new chemicals or new chemical uses were "not likely to present an unreasonable risk" to human health or the environment.
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