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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines (12 articles)
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2020 07:57:18 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: A8913484-4CEC-44D7-9268-B7EE6D1FC7B4**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Monday, April 20, 2020 at 7:57:00 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 (12 articles)
ANTIDEPRESSANTS IN WASTE WATER MAY CAUSE POTENT TAP WATER TOXIN
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
ONE PERSON INJURED IN KUME EXPLOSION; HAZMAT VEHICLE AT THE SCENE
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
FUNDAMENTALS OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) IN CLINICAL LABORATORIES
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
NORTH CAROLINA REJECTS CHEMOURS??S PFAS CLEANUP PLAN
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
SMALL FIRE CAUSED BY CHEMICAL SPILL IN HOPKINSVILLE
Tags: us_ky, fire, public, response, unknown_chemical
STEVENSON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT CLEANS BUSINESSES WITH FOAM MACHINE TO REDUCE COVID-19
Tags: us_al, industrial, release, environmental, unknown_chemical
SAFETY CASE STUDY. INTRINSIC INSTABILITY OF CONCENTRATED SOLUTIONS OF ALCOHOLIC HYDROGEN CHLORIDE: POTENTIAL HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH METHANOL
Tags: france, laboratory, followup, release, environmental, other_chemical
TEXAS CITY DISASTER: ON THIS DAY IN 1947, MORE THAN 500 LIVES WERE LOST
Tags: us_TX, transportation, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
AIR QUALITY SAFE AFTER MILL EXPLOSION IN JAY, OFFICIAL SAYS ?? LEWISTON-AUBURN ?? BANGOR DAILY NEWS ?? BDN MAINE
Tags: us_ME, industrial, explosion, response, irritant
CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT SANFORD POOL CLOSES PARK ACCESS :: WRAL.COM
Tags: us_NC, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
1 KILLED, 6 INJURED IN BADDI CHEMICAL UNIT BLAST
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, adhesives
NOVEL CORONAVIRUS FOUND IN SURPRISINGLY HIGH LEVELS IN SEWAGE
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, environmental, water_treatment
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ANTIDEPRESSANTS IN WASTE WATER MAY CAUSE POTENT TAP WATER TOXIN
https://edu.rsc.org/science-research/antidepressants-in-waste-water-may-cause-potent-tap-water-toxin/4011518.article
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, environmental, toxics
Antidepressants like Prozac and stimulants like methamphetamine may be responsible for creating one of the most potent toxins found in tap water. Researchers have now suggested reasons why the toxin nitrochloroform forms in the purification of water.
Recycling waste water is used in areas where droughts are frequent and local water supplies are unreliable. To restore sewage to potable water quality, it first goes through regular waste water treatment. Then, it is passed through several purification stages including ozone treatment followed by chlorination. These steps kill microorganisms and remove chemical impurities.
But sometimes, these processes create a toxin called nitrochloroform in the resulting drinking water. The toxin may form from antidepressants such as Prozac and stimulants like methamphetamine which are found in waste water. When the amines in these drugs come into contact with ozone, they react to form nitromethane. Then, during chlorination, the nitromethane converts into toxic nitrochloroform.
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ONE PERSON INJURED IN KUME EXPLOSION; HAZMAT VEHICLE AT THE SCENE
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12325934
Tags: New_Zealand, industrial, explosion, injury, unknown_chemical
One person has been burnt in an explosion in the West Auckland suburb of Kume.
The Fire Service said it was called at 7.48pm after the explosion in "an industrial/accommodation unit" in Loft Place, Kume.
One person has been burnt and an ambulance is attending.
Four fire engines and a Hazmat vehicle are at the scene.
The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
A police spokesperson said one person has sustained "moderate injuries".
"Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances. No other updates available."
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FUNDAMENTALS OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) IN CLINICAL LABORATORIES
https://www.cdc.gov/labtraining/training-courses/basic-microbiology/fundamentals-personal-protective-equipment.html
Tags: laboratory, discovery, environmental
Description
Safety is imperative when working with potentially harmful materials and other hazards in the laboratory. This course is designed to assist clinical and public health laboratory professionals with applying risk management strategies to identify hazards, assess risks, and select appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) options.
Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
Describe how PPE helps protect laboratory professionals.
Recognize hazards and risks associated with laboratory procedures.
Identify PPE options, limitations, and considerations for selecting appropriate PPE.
Select appropriate PPE options for given clinical laboratory scenarios.
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NORTH CAROLINA REJECTS CHEMOURS??S PFAS CLEANUP PLAN
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/North-Carolina-rejects-Chemourss-PFAS/98/i15
Tags: us_NC, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Chemours must make major changes to its plan for cleaning up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from groundwater near its plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the state??s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) says. The facility is the source of PFAS, such as hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid, that pollute drinking-water supplies for hundreds of thousands of households in southeastern North Carolina, including those connected to water utilities and those with wells. Chemours proposed a cleanup plan to the DEQ at the end of December, as required under a February 2019 legal order with the state. ??The proposed plan is clearly deficient,?? DEQ secretary Michael S. Regan saysin an April 7 statement. The agency says Chemours??s plan ??lacks a thorough technical basis, including an adequate assessment of human exposure to PFAS compounds and a thorough evaluation of on- and off-site groundwater contamination.?? In a statement provided to C&EN, Chemours sa!
ys its plan is ??robust?? and that it is ??surprised and disappointed?? by the DEQ??s announcement. ??We look forward to learning the details behind their comments,?? the company adds.
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SMALL FIRE CAUSED BY CHEMICAL SPILL IN HOPKINSVILLE
https://www.wkdzradio.com/2020/04/17/small-fire-caused-by-chemical-spill-in-hopkinsville/
Tags: us_ky, fire, public, response, unknown_chemical
A small chemical spill caused a fire in the back parking lot of Huck??s on East 9th Street Friday afternoon.
Hopkinsville Firefighters say the chemical was spilled in the back parking lot a few days ago and caused a small smoldering fire.
The area was blocked off and the fire was extinguished.
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STEVENSON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT CLEANS BUSINESSES WITH FOAM MACHINE TO REDUCE COVID-19
https://www.waff.com/2020/04/17/stevenson-volunteer-fire-department-cleans-businesses-with-foam-machine-reduce-covid-/
Tags: us_al, industrial, release, environmental, unknown_chemical
STEVENSON, Ala. (WAFF) - To ensure that the community stays safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stevenson Volunteer Fire Department is putting their equipment to use.
For the past two weeks, the Stevenson Volunteer Fire Department has been hard at work using a foam machine to clean local businesses.
??We took the CDC guidelines of using what chemicals would affect this virus and they came up with a soap additive to make it stick working with a local chemical company," said Fire Chief Bob Spencer.
Spencer said with the machine they can clean buildings in less than 10 minutes.
They??ve already cleaned more than 20 buildings including grocery stores, gas stations, and nursing homes.
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SAFETY CASE STUDY. INTRINSIC INSTABILITY OF CONCENTRATED SOLUTIONS OF ALCOHOLIC HYDROGEN CHLORIDE: POTENTIAL HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH METHANOL
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.0c00034
Tags: france, laboratory, followup, release, environmental, other_chemical
Methanolic hydrochloride is a commonly used reagent on the lab scale and on larger scales as well. It is commercially available or can be prepared by bubbling gaseous hydrogen chloride in methanol. After we experienced an incident using a concentrated solution, observations and data were collected. This allowed us to implement a few recommendations to prevent the recurrence and alert of a potential hazard that to our knowledge has not been clearly reported in the literature.
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TEXAS CITY DISASTER: ON THIS DAY IN 1947, MORE THAN 500 LIVES WERE LOST
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas-city-disaster-a-tragic-day-in-1947-that-killed-hundreds/285-04db15aa-372a-446e-b245-0eb491601916
Tags: us_TX, transportation, follow-up, environmental, ammonium_nitrate
TEXAS CITY, Texas ?? On April 16 of every year, Donna Spurlock Falco walks up to a stone memorial in a Texas City park and lays a flower beneath her uncle's name.
"Took us three days to find Uncle Joe," she said.
The park's centerpiece is a busted section of a 3,000 pound anchor that was blasted more than a mile and a half away from the S.S. Grandcamp, a ship carrying a load of fertilizer that ignited a catastrophic chain of explosions and fires now collectively and infamously known as the Texas City disaster.
On this date in 1947, longshoremen had spent the last five days loading onto the Grandcamp sacks of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that would later become notorious as the explosive agent used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. At least 2,300 tons had been loaded onto the ship when workmen boarded it and discovered a fire.
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AIR QUALITY SAFE AFTER MILL EXPLOSION IN JAY, OFFICIAL SAYS ?? LEWISTON-AUBURN ?? BANGOR DAILY NEWS ?? BDN MAINE
https://bangordailynews.com/2020/04/16/news/lewiston-auburn/air-quality-safe-after-mill-explosion-in-jay-official-says/
Tags: us_ME, industrial, explosion, response, irritant
It smells, but the air that carried smoke and debris from the Androscoggin Mill explosion on Wednesday is safe to breathe, Jay Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Booker said Thursday.
Town workers will soon start collecting pulp debris scattered by the explosion, which occurred in a digester that turns softwood into pulp to make specialty paper. A significant part of the building was destroyed, but no injuries were reported. Chemically treated pulp fell from the sky as far as a mile away from the mill.
The Androscoggin Mill is a key cog in Maine??s long-embattled paper industry, which saw five mills close between 2014 and 2016 but has leveled off since then in a stronger economy. With 500 workers it is Franklin County??s second-largest employer and makes up roughly half of Jay??s property tax base at a valuation of more than $325 million.
??The air quality is safe. There is a nuisance smell, but that is not toxic to your health,?? Jay said in a statement posted on the fire department??s Facebook page. ??The chemical with the pulp is classified as a mild irritant, will dissolve over time, and is known as a good fertilizer.??
Booker discussed the situation with Maine Department of Environmental Protection and mill officials prior to releasing the statement.
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CHEMICAL INCIDENT AT SANFORD POOL CLOSES PARK ACCESS :: WRAL.COM
https://www.wral.com/chemical-incident-at-sanford-pool-closes-park-access/19059389/
Tags: us_NC, public, release, injury, pool_chemicals
SANFORD, N.C. ?? The N.C. Hazardous Materials Regional Response Team was called Thursday to a pool in Sanford after a contractor mistakenly mixed two chemicals, causing a reaction that led to toxic fumes.
Kelly Miller, Public Information Officer with the City of Sanford, said the incident happened during routine maintenance at the Kiwanis Family Park Splash Pad. The hazardous materials team, based out of Fayetteville, was called in to assist and make sure the environment was safe for employees and the public.
Access to the Kiwanis Family Park trails and the Endor Iron Furnace Greenway is closed for the remainder of the day. The Sanford Fire Department, Lee County Emergency Management, and Central Carolina Advanced Life Support are also on the scene.
The park??s playground and general areas have been closed since March 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Only the trails have remained open.
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1 KILLED, 6 INJURED IN BADDI CHEMICAL UNIT BLAST
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shimla/1-killed-6-injured-in-baddi-chemical-unit-blast/articleshow/75190742.cms
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, adhesives
Chandigarh: One person died while six others injured in a blast that occurred at a chemical unit in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The injured were rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, from where they were discharged after being treated, said Solan deputy commissioner (DC) K C Chaman.
Chaman said Baddi superintendent of police (SP) Mohit Malpani has been asked to conduct a thorough enquiry into the matter and submit an action taken report.
Malpani said, ??The incident occurred at a leading adhesive manufacturing unit in Baddi. One person has died whereas six others. including an year-old girl, were injured. They were rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, where they were treated and have been discharge now.??
The explosion took place in a closed unit of the chemical storage tank, he said. ??The unit was closed due to lockdown otherwise there could have been a major tragedy as this factory has hundreds of workers,?? the SP said.
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NOVEL CORONAVIRUS FOUND IN SURPRISINGLY HIGH LEVELS IN SEWAGE
https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/Novel-coronavirus-found-surprisingly-high/98/i15
Tags: us_MA, public, discovery, environmental, water_treatment
Because SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, has been found in the feces of confirmed COVID-19 patients, wastewater-based epidemiology might be an effective way to track the extent of the disease in a population.
Wastewater epidemiology is most commonly used to monitor drug usage in a community. It can also provide information about the spread of infection when individual tests are limited. A team led by Eric J. Alm of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Biobot Analytics has now used quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to measure SARS-CoV-2 in sewage from a wastewater treatment facility in Massachusetts (medRxiv 2020, DOI: 10.1101/2020.04.05.20051540).
The Biobot team analyzed four samples taken before the first known US case of COVID-19, and all tested negative for the virus. All 10 samples taken between March 18 and March 25 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, at levels higher than the researchers expected based on the number of confirmed cases. They used direct DNA sequencing to verify that the RT-PCR products were actually from SARS-CoV-2. But more information is needed, such as the amount of virus in stool from positive patients over the course of the disease, to fully interpret the findings.
Wastewater analysis ??could be used to establish whether COVID-19 has infected a community and monitor for when the community is relatively free of COVID-19,?? says Kevin Thomas, an epidemiologist at the University of Queensland. The approach should be used in combination with individual testing, he says.
Biobot is now getting weekly samples from more than 100 treatment plants around the US, according to Mariana Matus, Biobot??s CEO.
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