CH&S News

Pinboard (dchas)

• World War II munitions with mustard agent found at Deseret Chemical Depot
  STOCKTON, Tooele County — Authorities have confirmed that 11 World War II-era cartridges discovered during the environmental cleanup of Deseret Chemical Depot contain liquid blister agent. The 4.2-inch mortar cartridges were rusty and non-explosively configured, according to a statement released by the depot. Technicians with the U.S. Army 20th Support Command Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosives used a portable device to identify mustard agent in the munitions, which since have been secured in air-tight containers.
• Explosion Leads Police to Meth Lab
  LANSFORD — A father and son  are among three people facing drug charges after an explosion and fire at a home in Carbon County. Firefighters first responded to an explosion at a home on East Patterson Street in Lansford around 10 p.m. Sunday. Police said the explosion was caused by a methamphetamine drug operation inside the home.
• Update: Pool chemical spill in Gladwyne sends one to the hospital
  One man was sent to the hospital to be treated for minor burns Monday after pool cleaner employees shocking a residential pool saw the chlorine explode after they mixed the chemical with water, according to Lower Merion Chief Fire Officer Chas McGarvey. The incident occured in a five-galloon bucket that the men tried to push into the pool before having to retreat when the reaction happened. Three employees were working at the pool house in the 1400 block of Beaumont Rd. in Gladwyne. One man was treated by Narberth ambulance and taken to the hospital. He was hosed down and docontaminated by firefighters to keep the chemical from injuring medial staff.   One employee left the scene to change his clothes and the other was unharmed.
• Tanker catches fire, causes chemical spill in Chappells
  A tractor trailer carrying granulated ammonium nitrate caught fire and caused evacuation of residents in the area of S.C. Highway 39 and Rose Bud Lane at about 9 p.m. Monday night. According to officials with the South Carolina Highway patrol, the truck caught fire and caused a chemical spill. Residents within a one mile radius of the incident have been evacuated. Officials say that the stretch of S.C. Highway 39 between S.C. Highway 34 and S.C. Highway 56 has been closed. Officials say that a detour is being set up, but there is no detour route yet. There is no timetable for the road to be reopened. Officials are asking motorists to avoid the area and any residents in the area to evacuate to a safe location.
• Classes to resume after blasts at Bakersfield High
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—The principal of Bakersfield High School says classes will resume on schedule Tuesday after the school was placed on lockdown and classes were cancelled after three small explosions on the school's campus Monday. Officials say there were no injuries and no structures were damaged in the blasts around 11 a.m. The first explosion was near the school's science building while the second blast went off minutes later inside a boy's bathroom in another building. The third blast took place outside the industrial arts building. Kern High School District spokesman John Teves says the devices used to ignite the explosions included a bottle, water and a common household chemical, such as baking powder.
• Falmouth explosion fear from ammonium nitrate store
  Residents fear thousands of tonnes of fertiliser stored in a Cornish town could cause a mass explosion. Falmouth Docks holds up to 4,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate - a fertiliser - which, if heated or ignited, can explode. People in the town said they were concerned it was a "potential risk". Dock operator A&P Falmouth and Cornwall Council, which issued a storage licence, acknowledged there were risks, but said they were managed.
• West blast reveals emergency planning weaknesses
  The stockpile of ammonium nitrate at West Fertilizer Co. was well known to farmers and firefighters around West. The explosive potential of that fertilizer was well known to experts for decades, codified in national fire standards. But nowhere in the years before the April 17 explosion that ravaged West were the dangers of that stockpile reported in local emergency plans. The explosion that killed 15 people and wrecked 37 blocks has revealed gaps in the federally mandated system for planning for hazardous materials incidents.
• Hazmat crews respond to acid leak
  Colorado Springs Fire Department hazardous materials crews are at the scene of a sulfuric acid leak at Rampart Plumbing Supply at 1801 N. Union Blvd. Fire and hazmat crews discovered a 55-gallon drum on the back of a semi truck was punctured in the 9:30 a.m. incident, and nearly 20 gallons of sulfuric acid had spilled onto the parking lot at Rampart Supply. Firefighters set up at 150-foot safety perimeter around the spill and employees were briefly evacuated. Firefighters expect to be at the scene through the afternoon to clean up the spill.
• Crews from Diss and East Harling among those called to shed fire after concerns about chemical fumes
  Firefighters from Diss, East Harling and Attleborough were among those called to a fire at an old duck shed in Rockland St Peter yesterday that was being used to store chemicals. Other crews from Hingham, Thetford and Watton, the environmental protection unit with a support appliance from Sprowston, the control unit with a support appliance from Wymondham and a water carrier with a support appliance from Hethersett were called just after 6.30pm. Concerns were raised about fumes from the chemicals and residents of nearby properties were advised to keep their doors and windows closed. Firefighters used main jets to extinguish the fire.
• Racquet Club employee injured trying to stop chlorine leak; hazmat team called
  An employee of the Racquet Club of Ann Arbor suffered chemical burns to his hands and arms after trying to stanch a leak from a chlorine storage tank at the athletic club Friday, the Ann Arbor Fire Department said. The incident occurred around 3:11 p.m. Friday when a drain valve broke during maintenance, acting Battalion Chief Derek Wiseley said in a news release issued Saturday evening. The employee put his hands over the drain in an attempt to stop the leak while coworkers called 911. Firefighters and the Washtenaw County Hazardous Materials Team arrived and managed to temporarily secure the leak while they decontaminated and evaluated the employee. He declined treatment and sought his own medical treatment, Wiseley said. Firefighters and hazmat workers later safely secured the leak.
• Up to 100 acetylene cylinders explode at West Virginia Plant
  Two workers were injured when gas stored at a West Virginia industrial site exploded on the afternoon of May 13, 2013. Up to 100 cylinders filled with acetylene exploded from a bunker in the plant. Fire crews were sent to Airgas, a distributor of specialty gases in Poca, outside of Charleston, at about 3:20 p.m., officials say. Airgas deals in industrial, medical and special gases. It also deals with propane, hydrogen, helium, and nitrous oxide. The West Virginia Department of Transportation closed nearby Route 62 for about two hours while crews responded to the fire. Clark Truck Parts is about a half-mile from Airgas. There are some homes between the two industrial sites.
• C&EN: Safety Probe Of Academic Labs
  Safety in academic and other nonindustrial chemical research laboratories will be the focus of a yearlong investigation by a National Academy of Sciences committee, which held its first meeting last week in Washington, D.C. The study will consider how safe lab practices can be promoted in academic and government labs, explained H. Holden Thorp, committee chairman, chemistry professor, and chancellor of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The examination sprang from numerous chemistry-related lab accidents, particularly ones at the University of California, Los Angeles, in December 2008, and Texas Tech University in January 2010. Since the Texas Tech incident, 65 accidents have occurred at academic and government chemical research labs, according to Mary Beth Mulcahy, a Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) investigator who spoke at the meeting. Those accidents injured 136 and killed two.
• 1 Hurt, 2 Arrested For Illegal Fireworks Operation
  A medical call lands two men in jail after Wyoming police discovered an illegal fireworks operation Saturday. Police responded to the call around noon at 7002 Lake Blvd. One man suffered first degree burns to his arms, hands and face. He was sent to Regions Burn Unit with non-life threatening injuries. He could be facing charges, police said.   According to investigators there was a small explosion in the home due to the manufacturing of illegal mortar-style fireworks in the garage. Two to three of these types of fireworks were discovered during a search warrant. The fireworks were dismantled and seized.  Two men were arrested for manufacturing illegal fireworks, which is a felony if convicted. Their names have not been released.
• Texas behind the curve on regulating fertilizer plants
  If the West Fertilizer Co. plant had been in Illinois, state regulators there likely would have inspected it annually, making sure that its bins storing tons of ammonium nitrate were still in good shape and that the potentially explosive chemical wasn’t spilling out. Though not charged with fire prevention, had they spotted a fire hazard, officials say, there is a good chance they would have alerted local authorities. Had the plant been in California, a team of local officials may have inspected the plant, looking at everything from building codes to worker safety.
• Part of Manchester's Northern Quarter closed-off after chemical incident
  Part of the Northern Quarter in Manchester city centre has been closed after a chemical accident at an underground sauna. Fire fighters were called to Basement Complex on Tariff Street at around 7.15am today after a member of staff mistakenly put cleaning fluid in a drum of chemicals commonly used in the sauna industry. Noxious fumes were released and staff at the complex dialled 999. An area including parts of Tariff Street, Brewer Street and Hilton Street has been cordoned off and members of the public have been advised to avoid the area. Environmental protection experts from Greater Manchester Fire Service have made the drum safe by placing it inside another metal drum.
• Tanker rolls in Chelmsford, spills some of its fuel; roads shut
  CHELMSFORD, Mass. —A fuel tanker rolled over on Route 3 near the Lowell Connector late Friday night, spilling some of its fuel on the highway, Massachusetts State Police said. A tanker loaded with 11,000 gallons of fuel leaked fuel after rolling over on Route 3 near the Lowell Connector. State police said the tanker, which was carrying 11,000 gallons of fuel, was leaking and that a regional Hazmat team responded.
• Communication essential for Yunnan chemical project|Society|chinadaily.com.cn
  At 9 am on Friday, Kunming's Mayor Li Wenrong opened his new micro blog to solicit suggestions on the latest developments in Yunnan's provincial capital. The blog is being seen as a major a step forward in strengthening his communication with local communities, especially in light of recent events surrounding controversial plans for a chemical plant in one of the best-known tourism destinations in Southwest China. The planned China National Petroleum Corp refinery, in the city of Anning, will refine 10 million metric tons of oil a year, and has sparked a local controversy due to its potentially harmful environmental impact. On Thursday, around 1,000 Kunming residents took to the streets to show their opposition to the refinery, and a paraxylene, or PX, project nearby.
• Pool sanitizer causes hazmat scene in NN
  NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - Reports of a strong chlorine spill started pouring in around 11 a.m. Friday morning in Newport News. Fire crews responded to the 100 block of Springhouse Way, at the Springhouse Apartment complex, where they discovered several gallons of pool sanitizer had spilled, and a hazmat scene was declared. The chemical had leaked from a container. The scene has been contained, according to Fire Chief Scott Liebold. Medical personnel are assessing seven people on scene, who were possibly exposed to the vapors. Two of them were close to the fumes at the time of the spill, but no one has been transported to the hospital.
• Hazmat spill sends 5 to hospital in Bucks County
  LANGHORNE, Pa. - May 17, 2013 (WPVI) -- Five people were transported the hospital to be decontaminated after an accident spilled hazardous chemicals onto a roadway in Bucks County. Officials say two vehicles collided near a Friendly's restaurant on Business Route 1 in Langhorne. Firefighters shut down the highway as a precaution after learning that one of the vehicles was carrying strong pesticides.
• Phosphoric Acid Spilled in Crash Caused I-95 South Closure, Lengthy Cleanup
  FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (CBSDC/AP) — The southbound lanes of Interstate 95 have reopened following a lengthy cleanup of a crash involving hazardous materials in Stafford County. Shortly before 5:15 a.m. two tractor-trailers collided with one another near exit 133, officials say. One of the tractor-trailers was carrying barrels of phosphoric acid, described as an “organic, corrosive, liquid material.” HazMat crews are working to clear minor leakage from at least one of the barrels. The roadway remained completely blocked during the more than five hour cleanup effort. All lanes reopened around 11 a.m.
• After Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Action
  "Chemical plants are really pre-positioned weapons of mass destruction," says Charles Sam Faddis, a former CIA officer who ran the CIA team that searched for WMDs in Iraq after the U.S. invaded. They didn't find weapons of mass destruction there, but Faddis says he realized that if terrorists had attacked a U.S. chemical plant instead of the twin office towers, they might have caused a bigger disaster.
• Chemistry experiment causes mild explosion in UNO lab
  A vial of acid exploded Friday afternoon in a University of New Orleans chemistry lab. No one was injured, according to a New Orleans Fire Department news release. The explosion was the result of a gas buildup during an experiment on the third floor of the UNO Chemistry-Sciences Building, the release said. The vial combusted while it was inside a cabinet designed for that purpose. The only student nearby was on the other side of the room at the time of the explosion, the release said. A few other students were evacuated from the third floor until the NOFD Hazardous Materials Unit cleared the area. The unit tested the air quality and the spilled liquids, which were found to be mild to medium-strength acids that were not dangerous.
• Three injured as ‘chemical waste’ explodes in dust bin
  Three persons, including an aged woman, were injured when some “chemical waste” exploded inside an empty dumper bin in the thickly populated Pethaniapuram here on Thursday. After cordoning off the area, the personnel from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad examined the bin. A sniffer dog was also pressed into service. Scientists from the Forensic Sciences Department collected samples from the spot for analysis. Senior police officers, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) R.Thirunavukkarasu rushed to the spot. The police said at around 9.15 a.m. a deafening noise was heard from the empty bin placed on the busy Ayyanar Koil Street, causing panic. Passers-by ran helter-skelter as the lid of the bin flew to a height of about 10 feet. The explosion was powerful enough to cause severe damage to the steel bin, they added. According to Ramu, a shopkeeper, at around 8 a.m. the conservancy workers from the Corporation had lifted the bin, filled with garbage. After clearing the waste at Vellakal, they positioned the empty bin back in its place. At around 9.15 a.m., when a person identified as Murthy alias Ramamurthy, reportedly dumped some unused “chemicals” from his shop in the dumper bin, it exploded, the shopkeeper said.
• Amgen hazmat fire burns worker in South San Francisco, officials say
  SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO -- A worker was seriously burned Wednesday in a fire at biotech firm Amgen while he was collecting hazardous waste, authorities said. The man was involved in a quick, hot "flash fire," around 12:15 p.m. that resulted in him being rushed to the burn unit at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. No word was available on his condition, South San Francisco Deputy Fire Chief Travis Nuckolls said. The unidentified man, who works for waste disposal and cleanup company Clean Harbors, was in the hazardous waste collection room of the facility at 1120 Veterans Blvd. when the fire happened, Cal-Osha spokesman Peter Melton said. The agency is investigating the incident. Melton said the worker's burns were "significant" and the agency had an investigator at the Amgen facility Wednesday evening. Amgen spokeswoman Sandra Young said workers were evacuated during the incident, but the building didn't catch fire and no one else was hurt. The fire is under investigation.
• How a Food Store Inspection Turned Into a Hazmat Emergency
  That inspection by both the Brazos County Health Department and the Texas Department of State Health Services uncovered aluminum phosphide — which local hazardous materials first responders say is an extremely dangerous chemical. Called Fumitoxin, it is a pesticide that requires a license to use. College Station’s Hazmat (hazardous materials) team removed the dangerous chemical from the BCS Asian Market to Fire Station 2 on the city’s Rio Grand Boulevard, an action that required the entire area to be locked down Tuesday afternoon for about an hour. Even Fire Station 2 was evacuated for a time until the transfer was achieved. Since it opened in 2006, BCS Market has been closed three previous times and now requires three inspections a year. In addition to the pesticide, the current closure was for food storage problems including rotten and moldy products, insect and rodent activity and cross-contamination problems.