Chemical Accidents Page 2

Chemical Accidents Page #2

This page was last updated on  05/06/2010

 

Excessive carbon monoxide leads to evacuation of plant; ‘Foul odor’ noted; 2 treated in St. Rose
Wednesday March 12, 2003 By Mary Swerczek River Parishes bureau 
About 40 workers were evacuated from Delta Petroleum Co. in St. Rose on Tuesday because of high levels of carbon monoxide, St. Charles Parish emergency officials said. State Police and the state Department of Environmental Quality were called to investigate the increasing levels of carbon monoxide at the plant. They found that the high levels might have been caused by workers using epoxy to put a steel roof on the building or by a malfunctioning heater, said Jean Kelly, the DEQ’s public information officer. After realizing the situation was not a chemical leak but an indoor air quality issue, the DEQ left Delta employees to finish the investigation, Kelly said. Delta officials could not be reached by phone Tuesday. The incident began when Delta Petroleum employees called 911 about 9:15 a.m. to complain of a “very foul odor” that was sickening some employees, said Aaron Ertel, St. Charles emergency operations senior coordinator. The 40 employees in the building evacuated, St. Rose Volunteer Fire Department Chif Larry Cochran said. When firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the building, they found high levels of carbon monoxide, Cochran said. When workers opened the door, the level of carbon monoxide decreased from 300 parts per million to 9 parts per million, Kelly said. Volunteers spent about 2½ hours monitoring the carbon monoxide level and ventilating the building with exhaust fans, Cochran said. Two female employees exhibited signs of carbon monoxide poisoning and were treated at the site, Cochran said. “They just got out in the air and they started feeling better,” he said. About five fire rescue trucks were dispatched to the company, which is on River Road, Ertel said. Delta Petroleum Co.’s St. Rose site stores lubricants and petrochemicals. The hazardous materials now stored at the site — polyurethane and MDI — are used to make insulation and tennis shoe soles, company officials have said. Outside the plant Tuesday morning, employees milled around while 18-wheelers scheduled to make deliveries or pick up products at the plant parked in a line along River Road waiting for the investigation to end. 

Sulfuric acid leak in Aurora sends nine to hospital
Associated Press
AURORA, N.C. – A sulfuric acid leak at a PCS Phosphate plant sent nine people to the hospital Tuesday, authorities said. About 20 workers were affected by the morning spill. Six of the nine workers sent to Craven Regional Medical Center were treated for respiratory irritation and released as of Tuesday afternoon. Three were admitted and were in good condition, said Megan McGarvey, public information officer for the hospital. The leak caused one of the 1,000 PCS employees and eight contract company workers on site to be exposed to sulfur dioxide gas, spokesman Ross Smith said. PCS doesn’t know exactly how the leak occurred, officials said. PCS takes sulfur from a tank and mixes it with water in the process of making sulfuric acid, which is incorporated into the phosphate mix for fertilizer, spokesman Curtis Ormand said. PCS, one of seven PotashCorp phosphate operations, has a mine, mill and processing complex in Beaufort County with annual capacity of 6 million tons of phosphate rock and 1.2 million tons of phosphoric acid. It has storage facilities at Aurora and the North Carolina State Ports Authority in Morehead City. 

Chemical spill brings fire department to lab
Roaa Al-heeti The Daily Illini
The Urbana Fire Department was called to the Chemical and Life Sciences Laboratory Monday afternoon after a graduate student dropped between 100 and 200 grams of potassium cyanide. University spokeswoman Robin Kaler said the accident occurred in Room 228 of the building. Kaler would not comment on the student’s identity. There were no injuries or evacuations. James Imlay, associate director for graduate affairs, said the incident happened before 2 p.m. The student knocked over a jar of solid potassium cyanide, then cleaned it up with a dust pan and disposed of the chemicals in a trash bin. The trash bin was moved to the chemical supply room in the Chemical and Life Sciences Building, Imlay said. Because it was in a solid form, the potassium cyanide was not dangerous. If combined with certain chemicals, such as acid, cyanide fumes prevent cells in the human body from using oxygen, Imlay said. The student called the University authorities responsible for chemical waste clean-up, Imlay said. The University was not sure how dangerous the chemicals were and called the Urbana fire department, Imlay said. The fire department has the equipment necessary to deal with dangerous fumes, which was not necessary because the chemical was in solid form, he said. The fire department arrived within four minutes, Kaler said. The student was taken to the bathroom and told to wash and change her clothes. Urbana Fire Division Chief Jeff McDuffy said the fire department isolated the chemicals and surrounding floor. McDuffy said the University police were contacted at the same time as the fire department. He said he radioed the department of environmental health and safety. The only damages were to the glass container the chemicals were in, McDuffy said. The fire department left the building at 3:52 p.m. Jennifer Bedell, assistant director of environmental health and safety, said the room was accessible immediately after the fire department left. She was called to the scene at 2:15 p.m., and said she stood outside the room while the fire department worked to isolate the chemical spill. Bedell said the chemicals will probably be disposed of today by the chemical waste division of the department of environmental health and safety.

 

FUEL LEAK FORCES EVACUATIONS IN DECATUR
By: Eric Mann March 10, 2003 
The largest leak of fuel in the history of Decatur mobilized a large number of responders overnight Sunday, closed US 224 to through traffic for five hours, led to several people leaving their homes for a few hours, and produced gasoline smells – often very strong – in many places within a 60-square-block area of the central city. Fire Chief Jan Smith, who was among those coordinating the response to the problem, said between 1,000 gallons and 1,200 gallons of gasoline leaked from a 14,000-gallon storage tank on Eighth St., a half-block north of Monroe St., apparently beginning sometime early Sunday morning. At mid-morning today, Anne Butcher, superintendent of the city sewage treatment plant, reported that no evidence of the gasoline had shown up yet at the million-gallon storm water storage tank on Jackson St. downtown by the St. Marys River or at the sewage plant. She said that perhaps the amount of the leak was less than 1,000 gallons. Chief Smith, however, stuck with the figure given him by National Oil and Gas, the Bluffton firm that owns the fuel site on Eighth St., and said, at mid-morning, that with the latest number of calls about gas smells coming from people along First and Second Sts., the fuel is moving toward the large tank and the plant and should show up today. The chief, who called the leak the worst such incident in his 37-year career, said that calls from people in the area near the tank reported they noticed the smell of gas during Sunday, although the first call to the fire department did not come until 7:38 p.m. from someone on Third St. As other calls came in, members of the fire and police departments began a search of places most likely to produce a leak or a spill of gas and it was a police officer who noticed the leaking fuel from the large tank on Eighth St. While a lot of the fuel had soaked into the ground and found its way into the combined sewers in the central part of town, causing fumes to enter homes and businesses through sewer drains in basements, there was additional gas sti above ground, trapped by a dike around the tanks. Such dikes are required by law. Once the source was located, National Oil and Gas called the SES company of Fort Wayne, which specializes in cleaning up spills and leaks of potentially-dangerous products, to handle the situation here. A vacuum truck and six men from SES arrived by late Sunday night to begin suction operations and those continued into Monday at the Eighth St. location. Butcher said booms were placed today by the SES firm at the treatment plant on Monmouth Rd. and the swirl site near the plant to stop fuel from reaching the plant. Chief Smith said this morning that the tank was emptied last night to stop the source of the leak. The fire department, the Adams County Emergency Management Agency, and the sheriff’s department created a command center inside the Pak-A-Sak business at Seventh and Monroe Sts., a half-block from the leaking storage tank. Smith said that city firefighters placed 70 gallons of a special foam into the sewers by mixing it in a ratio of three percent foam and 97 percent water. The foam, designed especially to combat gasoline spills, creates a protective blanket or coating on top of the fuel to prevent accidental ignition. As long as that coating stays in place, the fuel will not ignite or burn, said the chief. The veteran fire department leader said that any fire that spreads through the sewer system, which is connected to almost every building in the city, has the potential to cause a catastrophe. The fire chief noted that the cold temperature – the low was nine degrees – and steady wind helped lessen the danger of gasoline fume buildups. Smith stated that the smells could linger for a few days, but with the flushing of the sewers and the ventilation of many buildings, the problem would dissipate soon. He said members of the Monroe, Preble, and Berne fire departments assisted, with Monroe and Preble firefighters manning the city fire station in case a fire started anywhere in Decatur. Monroe and Berne firefighters helped Decatu firefighers check buildings in town and ventilated a number of places, using large fire department fans. The affected area in terms of gasoline odors extends, said Chief Smith, from 10th St. to the river and from Jefferson St. to Nuttman Ave. Within that area, primarily near to the scene of the leak, fewer than 10 people sought shelter at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church on the city’s west side for several hours. Adams County Red Cross Executive Director Vickie Ellis said five people were at the church until 3:15 a.m., but a church spokeswoman said she was told nine people had been there until 4 a.m. A bus and a driver from the North Adams Schools District was available during the night to transport any large numbers of people from the area, but was not used. Chief Smith said US 224 was closed to through traffic only on each side of Decatur by the Indiana Department of Transportation from around 10:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. While there were barricades set up on Monroe St. near the location of the leak, local traffic was allowed to move along Monroe St. during the night. City officials also notified the Indiana Department of Environmental Management of the incident. This morning, Chief Smith commended everyone who pitched in and helped, thanking the emergency departments for the good coordination of effort, Pak-A-Sak for the use of the building, and the area news media for spreading the word of the problem effectively.

 

Carbon monoxide tank ruptures
A major incident has been brought under control at Great Lakes Chemicals in Merseyside after a tank containing liquid carbon monoxide ruptured yesterday. Emergency services closed a major road for several hours and told neighbouring residents to keep their windows closed. The strong winds are said to have aided dispersal.

 

33 evacuated after noxious fumes penetrate building
March 05, 2003 
STEVENSVILLE – Approximately 33 people who work at the Zodiac of North America office on Thompson Creek Road in Stevensville were evacuated from the building for about half an hour Tuesday after a worker mixed bleach with another cleaner, producing a foul-smelling chemical odor. The incident happened at about 12:30 p.m., when a subcontractor who cleans and does other odd jobs mixed the cleaners in a bathroom. “It put off a gaseous odor,” said Chief Tracy Schulz of the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department. By the time firefighters arrived, the bucket containing the offensive liquid had been removed and the building had been evacuated. Firefighters set up fans to help with ventilation. No one was hurt, Schulz said. The worker who mixed the cleaners refused treatment.

 

UPDATE Oil spill at Cargill contained
By Keith Rydberg 
While the situation could have been much worse, a chemical spill at the Cargill plant outside was contained in time for authorities to determine the spill should have no noticeable impact on the environment. Between 3 and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, approximately 1,000 pounds of a solution containing 20 percent sodium hydroxide was released into a drainage system in the plant after a gasket on a flange joint inside the plant malfunctioned. While most of the spilled solution was contained in a drainage ditch, which was taken to a wastewater treatment facility, an amount of up to 25 gallons of the solution was subsequently released into the Missouri River. However, environmental and emergency management authorities agree that the amount of solution released into the river should have no effect on fish or humans. Bill Pook, director of Region 5/6 Emergency Management, said while sodium hydroxide is a corrosive material, it is only dangerous when a person comes into direct contact with it in its liquid state. Pook added that although sodium hydroxide can prove fatal if swallowed, the amount spilled into the river was diluted by the river itself. “An amount of up to 25 gallons was dumped, which does seem like a lot, but, when you consider the parts per million of the solution, as well as the overall size of the Missouri River, the amount that was released was really negligible,” Pook said. “But, if nothing else, the incident did prove to be a good exercise for us.” Brian McManus, public information officer with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, agreed with Pook’s assessment and said the solution that was spilled had been diluted beforehand and likely dissipated quickly once it spilled into the river. McManus added the department has been working with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission regarding the incident and has found no evidence of fish dying from the solution in the water. While the department will continue to monitor the situation in order to ensure there are no lingering effects from the spill that would require additional clean-up efforts, McManus said the situation has been remedied for the time being. “We are very satisfied the spill was contained and cleaned up as much as possible,” McManus said. Pook also credited the work that was done by Cargill employees in reporting the incident to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency and his office as well as the work that was done to ensure the situation was handled professionally. “There were about 30 Cargill employees out there cleaning up the spill, all of whom had hazardous material training,” Pook said.

 

Hospital evacuated in chemical scare
By ADAM PEARCE Sunday, 2 March 2003
SECTIONS of the Ballarat Base Hospital were evacuated and staff decontaminated on Saturday after a suspected chemical incident. However, a spokesman for Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital later confirmed that complaints of eye and throat irritation were caused by a burnt-out electrical motor in the hospital’s ventilation system. The hospital was closed to visitors during the incident and 15 patients on the third floor were moved to another ward while 10 staff were put through decontamination showers at the rear of the building. Two staff who complained of asthma-like symptoms, breathlessness and nausea were also treated in the hospital’s emergency department. The Country Fire Authority was called to the hospital at 12.30pm on Saturday to investigate a reported chemical incident on level one. Unusual odours on level three were also reported and emergency procedures were put in place immediately. The odours were initially thought to have been caused by a leak of hydrogen peroxide vapour from a level one sterilisation unit but, after engineers inspected the unit, a fan in the hospital’s ventilation system was identified as the problem. Mair St, near the hospital, was closed to traffic during the incident and was re-opened at 6pm. The hospital was declared safe by the emergency incident controller at 5.30pm. Hospital management also decided to leave the third level south ward unoccupied over night. CFA media coordinator Jane Auchettl said the hospital and emergency services considered it to be a small incident and all measures put in place were precautionary. Three CFA units and a hazardous materials unit, as well as approximately 20 personnel, were sent to the incident. Ms Auchettl said a certain amount of CFA resources were immediately sent to any suspected chemical incident and they do not reflect the seriousness of a situation. BHS executive director of clinical services Dr Ian Graham said the department of health, hospital and emergency personnel worked together to ensure minimal disruption to services. He congratulated all staff and patients on the level of calm and co-operation displayed throughout the afternoon. 

Spill forces Sprint to evacuate; Crew working with hydrochloric acid
By Joel Moroney News Journal 
MANSFIELD — A hydrochloric-acid spill forced 328 employees to evacuate the Sprint building at the Lumbermens Office Complex on Friday morning. The spill occurred as two Columbus-area men worked on the heating and air conditioning system, Mansfield fire Chief Michael Hartson said. Hartson said a gallon of solution containing 30-percent hydrochloric acid was mixed with about 30 gallons of water and used to clean the air conditioning. An unexpected chemical reaction spewed about 10 gallons onto the floor, Hartson said. Sprint spokeswoman Chriss Harris said both men left in ambulances. MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital spokesman Brian Justus said Michael Stallard was not admitted and Robert D. Nedds was treated at the hospital and released. The men work for CSI in Columbus, fire Capt. George Rippey said. Six members of the fire department’s hazardous-materials team responded, Rippey said. Hydrochloric acid is harmful to skin and the respiratory system, Hartson said. “It makes breathing difficult and it burns your lus, throat and mouth,” he said. “That’s the primary threat.” Hartson said about 350 pounds of caustic soda ash was obtained from AK Steel Corp. to neutralize the acid. “The waste products that are out there are still dangerous, but the liquid has been absorbed and the corrosive effect of the acid … has been stopped,” Hartson said. The chief said the building has been ventilated and would be hazard-free after the ash was removed. A private crew from Cleveland was scheduled to remove the ash late Friday. Harris said the building will be open today from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and 12 to 12:30 p.m. for employees to retrieve belongings left during the evacuation. Additional security measures would be taken during the weekend and the building would be open Monday, she said. Harris said customers calling the building’s call centers Friday were transferred to another center without difficulty or interruption in service. 

Gas leak leads to panic in Bhopal 
Press Trust of India Bhopal, February 26 
At least 35 people were affected as panic prevailed for some time in areas near Tarun Pushkar swimming pool in the city following a leakage of chlorine gas from the pool premises on Tuesday night. There was a leak from one of the four cylinders of chlorine gas, used for disinfecting the pool waters, following which many residents complained of heaviness in breathing, sudden coughing and irritation in eyes, police said. A team from Kolar project rushed to the swimming pool and capped the leak a little after midnight, police said. One person is still in the Hamidia Hospital for treatment while about 35 to 40 others were discharged after giving first aid. For many, the leak revived memories of the infamous Bhopal Gas Disaster of December 1984 when lethal Methyl Iso Cyanate leaked from the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal killing around 3,000 people. 

DuPont agrees to $1.1 mln settlement over HF leak
Reuters, 02.28.03, 4:03 PM ET
WILMINGTON, Del, Feb 28 (Reuters) – DuPont Co. (nyse: DD – news – people), the No. 2 U.S. chemical company, on Friday said it agreed to a $1.1 million settlement with the U.S. government over a hydrogen fluoride leak from its Kentucky plant in 1997. About 11,500 pounds of hydrogen fluoride, a gas with a pungent, irritating odor, leaked from DuPont’s plant in Louisville, Kentucky, the company said. The gas is a byproduct of coal burning and is used to make hydrofluoric acid, a chemical used in steel production and etching circuit boards. DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delaware, has concluded that inadequate value stem design contributed to the release, which lasted 40 minutes but caused no injuries on-site. Half the settlement is a cash penalty. The remaining portion will fund environmental agencies in Louisville. The settlement is between DuPont, the U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency. DuPont is still reviewing the settlement, which could be finalized in the second quarter of 2003. 

Spill causes evacuation 
Employees and customers at a strip mall just off State Road 135 were evacuated for about 90 minutes Wednesday after a chemical spill at one of the businesses. White River Township firefighters were called to U.S. Cleaners at 172 Melody Ave. at 11:16 a.m. Wednesday. An employee in the dry cleaners heard a pop and noticed a chemical smell. Employees left the building to protect themselves, Lt. Jim Engmark said. A couple of gallons of a chemical used in one of the dry-cleaning machines had spilled. Firefighters treated it as a hazardous chemical spill because the chemical can irritate the skin and affect breathing, Engmark said. Two employees were injured and treated for their exposure at the scene. They were not taken to the hospital, Engmark said. The entire strip mall was evacuated during the cleanup. The commercial center is near the Fazoli’s restaurant, south of Main Street and east of State Road 135. U.S. Cleaners was hiring a crew to do further cleaning work inside the business, Engmark said.

 

UPDATE Court OKs class-action suit vs. Chevron
By Jose A. Lopez CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO – Reversing the ruling of a lower court, a state court of appeals ruled this week that people forced to shelter in place after an explosion at Chevron’s Richmond Refinery in 1999 can pursue a class action lawsuit against the oil company. The litigation stems from an explosion and fire at the refinery on March 25, 1999. In the aftermath of the explosion, thousands of people in Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, El Sobrante, Pinole and surrounding areas were forced to take shelter inside their homes or office buildings for about three hours. Some of those who were in the area at the time of the incident sued Chevron, alleging the sheltering caused them inconvenience and annoyance, and prevented them from enjoying their legal rights. A Superior Court judge in San Francisco denied class certification in August 2001, ruling that the type of damages sought could not be considered in a single class-action suit because of the diverse nature of the damages alleged. The lower court ruled the damages alleged were “made up of annoyance, inconvenience, anxiety and just plain bother,” and that claims of emotional distress — because they vary from person to person — could not be the subject of a class action lawsuit. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal reversed that ruling 2-1. In the majority opinion, the court wrote that the superior court’s decision was based on faulty reasoning “that presumed emotional distress and inconvenience are always one-and-the same.” The court said the superior court judge acted prematurely in dismissing the class certification based on the assumption, and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with the appeals court decision. In the dissenting opinion, Justice Paul Haerle wrote that it is “extremely doubtful that there can be any sort of uniformity on the issues of impact and damage as between the widely different … Contra Costa citizens who were required to remain in place on the day in question.” 

UPDATE IEPA seeks citation for spill
BY KORRINA GROM STAFF WRITER 
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has asked the Attorney General’s office to pursue citations against the village of Antioch and a trucking company for a spill of 2,000 gallons of ferric chloride Feb. 19 at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. “In a case like this where there’s been a fish kill, it’s more or less typical to send it to the Attorney General for action,” said Joan Murano, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Bureau of Water. Murano said it’s too early to say who is to blame for the spill. “Obviously something happened that shouldn’t have happened,” said Murano. Lee Shannon, the village’s emergency management coordinator, said roughly 2,000 gallons of ferric chloride, a coagulant agent used to treat wastewater, was spilled within a sludge process building while being dumped into a holding tank by JVH Trucking Inc. The chemical spilled on the floor and although crews attempted to neutralize it, it made its way through floor drains into the treatment plant, located longside Sequoit Creek near the Hiriam-Buttrick Sawmill Park. “The material entered the treatment plant process. Material on the ground was neutralized and contained,” said Shannon. “The leak and flow of the ferric chloride had been stopped before it reached the creek.” By 8 a.m. the next morning, however, the village started receiving reports about a reddish tint in the creek along with numerous dead fish. Several agencies immediately responded to the incident, including the Antioch, Grayslake and Fox Lake fire departments, the Lake County Hazmat team, the Fox Waterway Management Agency, the Illinois Department of Conservation and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Both straw bale and earthen dams were erected to stop the flow of the material in the creek, Shannon said. “The contamination was contained in the creek downstream from the plant at a distance of approximately one mile,” he said. The material was stopped from entering the Chain O’ Lakes, he added. During this process, it was determined that a lower than normal pH caused the discoloration and the fish kill in the creek. “The chemical never made it into the creek,” said Shannon. Instead, the chemical caused water that normally spills into the creek to have a low pH, he said. “When the pH level drops as low as it did, that itself can cause (discoloration).” “That’s what killed the fish,” said Shannon. Clean-up crews worked non-stop from 8 a.m. Feb. 20 until late Feb. 21. The creek was drained and the creek bed removed, Shannon said. “The creek is now flowing fine,” he said. Throughout the process, the public was kept informed through press releases, door-to-door notification of residents who live adjacent to the creek, and a press conference at the village hall Feb. 21. Residents were asked to limit their wastewater discharge while clean-up efforts were taking place. Because the creek runs behind Antioch Upper Grade and W.C. Petty Schools, students were kept indoors. “At no time was the village drinking water affected,” said Shannon. “There have been no reports of any medical-related problems in connection with this incident. There are no long-term effects from any exposure to this contaminant in the concentrations that were present in Sequoit Creek at the height of the incident.” Shannon said an Antioch Public Works employee got water from the creek in his boot, but he was not injured. Additionally, a firefighter twisted an ankle while responding to the spill. “Both were taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure,” said Shannon. “Nobody from the public was injured as a result of this.” Murano said the cause of the incident is still under investigation. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, she said, is still determining whether the right course of action was taken by the village in dealing with the spill. “There’s some confusion now as to whether the best judgment was used and the best action was taken,” said Murano. Particularly at issue, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency was not notified of the spill until several hours ater it occurred. “Because the material was spilled within the building, there’s a different set of notification requirements. “Once we refer it to the Attorney General’s office, they really become the lead agency,” said Murano. “Our goal is to ultimately get a court-enforceable decree of some sort … that both parties will take better care (in this type of situation).”

 

Mysterious Fumes
An investigation is underway to determine what caused a Fresno construction crew to become sick while digging a ditch. The men were installing a sewer line at Elm and North Tuesday morning when they were overcome by fumes. The intersection is open, but early Tuesday police blocked off about a two-mile area for several hours as a precaution. There were no evacuations. Now, investigators want to know what made the workers so sick they had to be taken to the hospital. Heavy machinery sat in the position workers left it. The six-man crew was installing a sewer line at the intersection of Elm and North when they all started feeling ill. Matthew Waite, a working at the scene, recalled what happened, “We just came through a line and it started smelling real bad and everyone started feeling sick.” The workers thought the nausea would pass, so they waited an hour before reporting the incident. But, the sick feeling didn’t go away. Soon, a hazardous material crew arrived on the scene. Paramedics checked out each of the workers. They were then put in a tent and decontaminated as a precaution. Five men were taken to UMC by ambulance. Firefighters, armed with protective gear, oxygen, and high tech equipment, gathered samples of dirt and water from the ditch. Early analysis shows the men came in contact with a substance similar to benzene, a highly flammable gas. More tests need to be done before they know an exact cause. Investigators say it’s not uncommon for crews to experience unusual smells when doing this kind of work. It will be another day before a cause can be determined. Investigators say the gas could have come from a previous fuel spill or an underground storage tank. All of the workers are now recuperating at home. 

Fumes irritate 12 workers at Elliott company 
Wednesday, February 26, 2003 By Jan Ackerman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer 
A dozen employees reported dizziness, headaches, scratchy eyes and throats and similar symptoms after they were affected by an unknown substance today at an office of Pittsburgh’s cable TV contractor. City emergency crews that responded this morning could not determine the source of the fumes. They also could not detect any signs of carbon monoxide, said Steve Carlson, district chief for emergency services. The employees of Comcast on Corliss Street in the Elliott section were treated at the building and did not have to go to the hospital. The company was allowing them to go home or work in a different section of the building if they wished. The building was not evacuated, by emergency crews remained at the scene for several hours. Comcast recently absorbed AT&T Broadband. 

Workers Evacuated from DeKalb Facility February 25, 2003
DECATUR — Over 100 people were evacuated from a DeKalb County factory Tuesday after a chemical spill was reported. The incident was reported shortly before 11:30 a.m. at the Dyncorp facility, located in the 3500 block of Buford Highway. The DeKalb Hazmat team was summoned to the scene, where four people were treated. At least one person was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. The exact extent of their injuries was pending. According to the company’s Web site, the firm specializes in providing information and enterprise technology, management and operations support, and aerospace and aviation services.

Chemical hits ditch, but not seen as hazard
A small amount of chemical liquid found its way to a ditch in Townsend Township Saturday with help from the rain. Up until that point, officials at Vickery Environmental had the spill contained. Plant manager Steve Lonneman said this morning that rain pushed a small amount of a diluted mixture of chromic and nitric acid into a ditch near the business at 3956 Ohio 412. “Because it was raining so much, nature took care of diluting it,” he added. HAZ-MAT officials were notified about the spill Saturday morning. They did not immediately respond to the spill because officials had it contained. They later checked to confirm that the spill was cleaned up. Lonneman reported the spill to the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office and Environmental Protection Agency at 9:41 a.m. Saturday. “It was a small amount for a short duration,” he said. “Within minutes it was stopped.” The mixture is used for steel processing.

Major gas leak found, fixed in Atlantic City
By ELAINE ROSE Staff Writer
ATLANTIC CITY – A team of firefighters averted what could have been a major tragedy Saturday afternoon after a gas meter at the public-works yard broke under the weight of a mound of snow, a fire official said. A public works employee called the fire company at 2:13 p.m. to report an odor of natural gas, said Battalion 2 Chief James Boyer, commander at the scene. Upon his arrival at the Albany Avenue facility, Boyer said, he noticed a heavy flow of gas from the rear of the building. Hundreds of cubic feet of gas were being released. Inspection revealed a 2-inch gas meter that had broken under the weight of wet snow. The interior of the building, used to repair municipal vehicles, was filled with gas, Boyer said. He ordered about 25 workers on the scene to evacuate. Natural gas is extremely volatile and the slightest spark could have exploded the building, Boyer said. South Jersey Gas, a hazardous-materials team and the high-voltage team of Conectiv Power Delivery were called to the scene, Boyer said. Meanwhil, firefighters ventilated the building. Firefighters had to tunnel through 8 feet of snow by hand – because starting a front-end loader could have caused an explosion – so the gas company’s special response team could get to the valve that would turn off the flow, Boyer said. A second alarm was called, for a total of 16 firefighters, and emergency management coordinator Robert Levy and Deputy Chief Dennis Brooks were among the city officials who responded to the scene, Boyer said. “The firefighters did an excellent job, but that’s what we get paid to do,” Boyer said. “It was a very hazardous situation we were in, because any type of ignition could have caused serious injury or fatalities.” 

UPDATE Blasts send rail cars soaring
By Derek Baldwin The Intelligencer Saturday, February 22, 2003 – 10:00 
Local News – MELROSE — Railway cars became fiery rockets after two freight trains carrying propane and hazardous chemicals derailed early Friday, 25 kilometres northeast of Belleville, forcing the evacuation of up to 500 people. To the amazement of authorities, propane-filled tanker cars blew sky high when the pressurized contents boiled to the point where they ignited, jettisoning rail cars in all directions. Ontario Provincial Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kristine Cholette confirmed three — and possibly four — rail tankers full of liquefied propane exploded before the day was out. “There were two on the north side (of the wreck) and one on the south side,” said Cholette late Friday. “One car flew as far as 1.6 kilometres.” The force of the blasts shook homes as far away as Kingston, OPP said. Four farm fields away from the wreck on the Canadian Pacific Railway, an exploded rail tanker lay half buried in snow. In the next field over sat yet another crumpled, blackened car. A third propane tanker was propelled into the countryside, while the search for a possible fourth will continue early today. Fearful of falling debris as the tankers — which weigh thousands of tonnes — continued to explode, emergency authorities evacuated up to 500 residents. The chaos began just before 5 a.m. when an eastbound freight train derailed after a wheel on a car allegedly malfunctioned. CP Rail vice-president Pat Pender said early reports indicate the derailed train struck a westbound freight train waiting in a siding near Lonsdale. Then, all hell broke loose on the single-line track. A second explosion tossed roughly a dozen propane tankers and hazardous chemical cars off the rails. Flames raced through the gnarled wreckage. Two engineers, unable to get out of harm’s way, were rescued by fellow workers and rushed to Belleville hospital for treatment. One of the two unidentified engineers was later transported to Kingston hospital with serious non-life threatening burns to his face and hands. As the OPP threw up roadblocks to contain an nitial two-kilometre safety zone, a third tanker exploded at 9:36 a.m. A massive fireball climbed an estimated 170 metres into the air and then erupted into a gigantic mushroom cloud. The heat generated from the fireball was so intense it was felt a kilometre away by emergency officials and reporters crowded around a command centre set up at the Tyendinaga Township municipal offices. A fourth explosion, said police, was heard shortly after noon. John Tooley, district supervisor for the Ministry of Environment, watched the mushroom cloud from the third blast in disbelief. He said such occurrences are rare and are referred to by emergency officials as a BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion). In his three decades with the ministry, Tooley said he knew of only two such rail car BLEVEs in Ontario’s history, with only 10 recorded across Canada. “This is extremely rare for this to happen,” said Tooley. “To have such a small number of these explosions in Canadian history and then have three in a span of a ew hours here is really unbelievable. This will put Tyendinaga Territory on the map. Emergency people and train workers will be talking about this day for years to come.” Tooley said there was more to worry about, however, than just the possibility of tanker cars plunging through the roofs of nearby farmhouses and barns. Just as worrisome for Tooley and members of a hazardous materials team from Ottawa were two liquid tanker cars carrying a much more destructive material: anhydrous ammonia, a highly combustive and toxic material used in the fertilizer industry. According to University of Missouri-Columbia department of agricultural engineering, anhydrous ammonia can lead to “death by suffocation within minutes” at 5,000 parts per million. “If this ammonia gets mixed with acid, it becomes an extremely nasty material. This stuff can actually move uphill. It’s very toxic and it doesn’t take much to harm a person,” said Tooley. Concerns about raining debris and toxic contamination led authorities to widen the evacuation zone to four kilometres shortly after noon, and the command centre was moved beyond the safety perimeter to Tyendinaga Public School on Shannonville Road. Environment Minister Chris Stockwell travelled to Tyendinaga and gathered with emergency officials to assure the community that all measures were being taken to avert further danger. The two railway cars containing anhydrous ammonia, said Stockwell, did not “appear to be in any imminent danger of exploding. “We continue to monitor the site and will continue to assess it at regular intervals today…” Stockwell said environment ministry data collected in the hours after the derailment suggested there would be no long-term environmental harm. Tyendinaga Township Fire Chief Wayne Prest said he had no choice but to let the train fire burn itself out. The danger from possible further explosions was too high to send his personnel into the remote accident scene east of Weese Side Road and south of Melrose Road, he said. “We can’t get anyone near it — there re no roads to it. Even if we could get in, it would be impossible to do anything with it,” said Prest, who acknowledged his department did not have the the hazardous materials gear necessary to fight the fire. At a press conference Friday afternoon, Pender, vice-president of CP Rail, did not answer a query regarding the allegedly malfunctioning wheel. He did confirm that “We think there was a derailment that occurred on an eastbound train…in the derailment process, one of the cars exploded and that caused other cars to catch fire.” The cars in question were roughly 10 years old and the railway track’s “level of maintenance is good to excellent.” Tyendinaga Township Reeve Margaret Walsh said she hoped area residents would “be back in their homes as soon as possible.” Meanwhile, residents inside the cordoned off area told The Intelligencer they were stunned at the magnitude of the destruction in their quiet hamlet. The home of Peter Dafoe, 33, lies about half a kilometre to the west of the derailment and is the closest residence to the scene. Shortly after 4:30 a.m., Dafoe said he had just awakened when he noticed flames in the night sky. He stepped up to his patio windows for a closer look. Nothing, he said, could have prepared him for what happened next. “There was this huge explosion that shook my home and rattled my windows. Then there was this mushroom cloud so big it looked like a bomb went off,” said Dafoe. “I could feel the heat on my face through the patio door.” The force of the blast was so strong, he said, it sucked the attic entrance panel out of place and into the attic. Hours afterward, Dafoe said he couldn’t believe how brilliant the explosion was. “It was like looking directly at the sun. It went from total darkness to instantly needing sunglasses.” A worker at the Deseronto water treatment plant, Dafoe spent the day worrying whether the fumes from the train fire would injure the three horses he keeps on his hobby farm. Dan Ladoucier, 48, lives on Melrose Road about two kilometres away the derailment scene. The primary blast woke him from a dead sleep. “At first I thought it was a big earthquake. The house kept shaking and shaking. The rumble of it felt like it lasted for 15 seconds,” said Ladoucier. “I looked out the window and the night sky was all bright orange. The sky was pulsing like out of a science fiction flick.” He thought he was witnessing a meteor shower. “I saw this piece of something flying through the air and it was all on fire. That’s when I though it must be a meteor hitting the ground. With the sound of that explosion I thought it could have been a sonic boom or something. It didn’t dawn on me that it was a couple of trains on fire.” Shift worker James Oliver, 19, lives just east of Ladoucier and was also awake when the first blast rocked the tiny hamlet of Melrose. “I heard this explosion then I saw this very bright light in the sky. The explosion was so strong it blew our front door right open,” said Oliver. “I thought there was a car accident but realized it was something else when I saw these big flames. It wasn’t a nice wake-up call first thing in the morning.” Deborah Kinsman lives in Napanee and also felt her house rumble from the shockwaves of the exploding propane cars. Kinsman helped to bring food and drinks, donated by Tim Horton’s and Dewe’s Independent Grocers in Belleville, for emergency personnel to the Tyendinaga Township Community Hall. Kinsman said she was having problems accepting the power of the blast and how it could be felt at her home 25 kilometres to the east. “It was strange. Our house shook and creaked all over and we didn’t know what it was,” said Kinsman. “My husband went outside and walked all around the house to see what had happened. We didn’t learn until later on the radio what had happened.” Lisa Hall, 37, waited anxiously with her daughter Samantha at Tyendinaga Public School late Friday after she was evacuated from her home. “I just want to know when I can go home. I’m not too scared, it’s more of an inconvenience,” she said. Officials said residents many of whom spent the night with relatives — could return home by early Saturday. Sgt. Cholette, meanwhile, said most of the fire appeared to have burned itself out by late Friday night. A car carrying grain was still smouldering into the evening. Hazardous materials personnel felt it was safe enough to venture into the site late in the evening to begin scouting out the damage. The accident was the fourth train derailment in Ontario in just under a week. A spokesman for Canadian Pacific Railway said people evacuated from the area could stay in area hotels and the rail company would cover the costs.

Airport re-opens after chemical leak contained
By ROBIN FITZGERALD THE SUN HERALD
Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport re-opened around 8:30 a.m. to prepare for flights leaving at 10 a.m. or later. The airport can be reached by taking Washington Avenue from central Gulfport to Airport Road. U.S. 49 has not been re-opened for airport traffic. Authorities evacuated an area south of Seaway Road in Gulfport early this morning after a chemical leak around 2 a.m. was found at Channel Chemical, a company that processes anhydrous ammonia. At least a dozen churches as far south as Landon Road have cancelled early services while environmental experts monitor the air quality. Residents in nearby areas are advised to keep their windows shut and turn off their central heat or air conditioning systems. When the chemical hits the air, it turns into a white cloud that can burn eyes, cause coughing and respiratory problems. Officials at first believed the chemical leak was an accident, but police and fire officals around 7:30 a.m. said they found evidence that the leak occurred during an attempted theft of the chemical. Anhydrous ammonia is one of the ingredients used to make methamphetamine, an illegal drug made in clandestine labs. The ingredient also is one of the most difficult to obtain, narcotics agents say. Officials believe about 600 gallons of the chemical are missing. At least one person was injured after driving into a cloud formed by the gas created when the chemical hit the air.

 

Dow chemical leak shuts down nearby traffic
Source: Charleston Daily Mail 
Emergency workers shut down traffic along W.Va. 25 for about an hour after Dow Chemical Co. reported a leak of ethylene diamine from its Institute plant. Bill White, Kanawha County’s emergency services director, said Thursday afternoon’s leak turned out to be minor and provided a good opportunity to practice the county’s traffic diversion plan. “It was a good exercise,” he said. In a written statement, Dow says about 75 pounds of the chemical escaped from a vent on a storage tank and moved in a ground-hugging cloud from the northeast to the southwest across the plant. A plant emergency squad sprayed the cloud down with a fire hose to help eliminate the vapors, and the leak was contained to the site, the company says. The leak was detected at 3:10 p.m. Dow issued a shelter-in-place order for plant workers and asked the county to block traffic from passing on W.Va. 25 adjacent to the plant. The company says there were no injuries. The plant canceled the shelter-in-place order and the county lifted the traffic diversion at 4:40 p.m. White said the traffic diversion plan went well with State Police, Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies and area firefighters working together to divert traffic from the site of the leak. Although emergency workers do drills, there’s no substitute for actual experience, he said. According to U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration guidelines, ethylene diamine is a strong irritant. Exposure to the chemical as a vapor causes eye irritation, shortness of breath, respiratory irritation and asthmatic symptoms such as wheezing, faintness, anxiety and dizziness. Prolonged skin contact with liquid ethylene diamine causes burns and blisters. Eye contact with liquid ethylene diamine causes acute pain and may permanently damage the cornea. Swallowing ethylene diamine causes severe irritation and burns of the mouth and esophagus, nausea and vomiting.

 

Two exposed to substance in Utica mishap
By Tom Watts, Macomb Daily Staff Writer February 21, 2003 
Two technicians exposed to an unknown substance Thursday were sent to the hospital following an accident at a medical building in Utica. Randy Bawkon of the Utica Fire Department said an emergency call came from the Washington Center, located at 11051 Hall Road, indicating a female worker had been exposed to an unknown substance. Fire officials said a technician spilled a substance on her hand in a second-floor room used for testing blood samples. “We treated it as hazardous material,” Bawkon said Thursday night. “It was some type of powder substance. She got it on her hands.” Michigan State Police and the FBI were called in to assist the Utica Fire Department and Sterling Heights Fire Department, Bawkon said. The building was locked down and yellow police tape surrounded the building’s parking lot. “We kept people inside to be on the safe side and then let them leave after we got their names,” Bawkon said. “We took two people to the hospital complaining of breathing difficulties.” The two unidentified people — a supervisor and one technician — were listed in good condition Thursday at St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital in Clinton Township. “This was a precaution,” Bawkon said. “We want to be on the safe side.” Utica Mayor Jacqueline Noonan was supposed to get a tour of the facility Thursday with members of the Chamber of Commerce. However, the mayor was denied entrance because the incident took place a short time before the tour was to begin, officials said.

 

Trains collide near Belleville, Ont.; propane tanks explode, homes evacuated
MELROSE, Ont. (CP) – Two freight trains, at least one of which was carrying hazardous materials, were involved in a fiery derailment early Friday, forcing the evacuation of more than 100 in this rural area just east of Belleville, Ont. Two crew members were injured after two huge propane tanks exploded, lighting up the night sky like day and emergency workers were staying a safe distance from the accident. One of the trains on the CP Rail line had at least five liquefied propane tanks on it and other hazardous chemicals, including one compound believed to be anhydrous ammonia, a toxic chemical used in the fertilizer industry that can be fatal if inhaled. “Whether the westbound train was actually hit or whether it’s just the fire that hit the westbound train I don’t know,” said local Fire Chief Wayne Prest. “We haven’t been down to see – we can’t get close enough to it because of the danger of these tanks exploding. We did have a second one explode when we were on scene and, let me tell you, it was quite a firall.” Emergency officials evacuated nearby residents to an area school as a precaution. Scott Ward, a local town councillor who was co-ordinating emergency services from the school, said emergency crews were dealing with the situation. “We’ve taken all the appropriate short-term measures,” Ward said. A hazardous materials crew was dispatched from Ottawa to assess the danger before the cleanup could begin and an OPP helicopter was patrolling the area. “There’s a lot of people talking about how it lit up their houses and shook their houses,” said Ward. It was believed an eastbound freight train with a wheel on fire was moving along the single-rail line when it struck another train parked on a siding in the area, causing an explosion that shook items off shelves in nearby homes, said firefighters at the scene. The crew members, who sustained burns to the hands and face, were taken to Belleville hospital. One was later moved to Kingston General Hospital. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. The crew from the eastbound train rescued the injured by disconnecting their engine and taking them to a nearby road crossing where they were met by an ambulance. “They were burned pretty good,” said Prest. “I guess they jumped out of the train. One guy went out the window apparently, and they were rescued by the crew of the eastbound train.” Flames from the fire could be seen from several kilometres away. It was the fourth train derailment in the province in just over a week. Last Thursday, there were two – one near Woodstock, the other north of Parry Sound. On Wednesday, several cars from a freight train jumped the tracks in Brantford and rolled down a steep embankment. 

Worker exposed to hazardous chemicals
SCOTT DOLAN, Gazette Staff Writer February 21, 2003 
TAUNTON — Firefighters rescued a Waters Corp. employee from the roof of the company’s building yesterday morning after the man was apparently exposed to toxic fumes while cleaning a drain. The Fire Department activated a decommissioned snorkel truck to lower the worker from the rooftop at 177 Robert Treat Paine Drive in Myles Standish Industrial Park, firefighters said. On the ground, they used a hose line from a fire engine to decontaminate the worker, identified as 28-year-old Gary Oliveira, Deputy Fire Chief Russell Bradshaw said. “We really didn’t know what was on him,” Bradshaw said. “We basically went by the book. We took all the precautions.” The Fire Department received a call around 9:30 a.m. about a rooftop situation involving hazardous materials. Bradshaw said he did not know what materials were involved or the contaminated worker’s condition. “The snorkel was out of commission due to manpower cuts,” Bradshaw said. Firefighters had the use of a ladder truck, but the deputy chief said the snorkel truck has a bucket on an articulated arm that is much better for lowering an incapacitated person from a rooftop than a ladder. “I requested the snorkel when we left. There was a guy on the roof. I figured that was the best apparatus if he was critical,” Bradshaw said. The department’s 911 supervisor, Lt. Todd Myers, is trained to operate the snorkel truck. He and Firefighter Keith Rigley drove the decommissioned truck to the industrial park and brought Oliveira down from the rooftop in the bucket, Bradshaw said. The deputy chief said firefighters later learned that the man had inhaled fumes of possibly a half-dozen different gasses that had exuded from the drain. “Supposedly nothing actually spilled on him,” Bradshaw said. But firefighters did not know initially and used extremely cold water on Oliveira during the decontamination process. “It’s unfortunate, and I feel bad we had to do it, but that’s the precaution we had to take,” Bradshaw said. Oliveira was taken to Morton Hospital and Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

 

Trucker Cited In Propane Tanker Accident
The driver of a propane tanker that crashed on Interstate 10 near Downtown Tucson on Tuesday night has been cited. Thousands of people were stuck in traffic while crew cleared the mess. And people had to be evacuated from the area because of the danger of explosion. Driver Felipe Navarro was cited Thursday for failure to maintain control of a moving vehicle. Navarro says he was reaching for a cell phone on the passenger seat when the accident happened. 

Monroeville Facility Closed Tomorrow 
An usual odor forced the evacuation of about 150 people from a facility for the mentally-challenged in Monroeville this morning along Seco Road. Once staff members noticed the odor, they immediately contacted the fire department and evacuated everyone inside the Allegheny East Mental Health/Mental Retardation facility to a nearby fire hall. Though several people were taken to the hospital for evaluation, no one was seriously injured. Late this afternoon, fire officials determined the source of the odor was a forklift that had been left running without proper ventilation. As a precaution, Allegheny East will remain closed tomorrow. 

Gas fumes briefly close hospital
By Ben Penserga Daily Times Staff Writer 
CAMBRIDGE — Dorchester General Hospital shut down briefly Wednesday following a nearby gas leak and carbon monoxide exposure, officials said. Sometime between 8 and 9 a.m., a gas leak on Maryland Avenue across from the Bryne Street hospital was reported, said Bill Watkins, chief of the Cambridge Fire Department and director of the city’s emergency medical services. “Gas fumes went off into the atmosphere and were picked up by the hospital sensors,” he said. Several emergency crews from Dorchester and Talbot counties arrived at the scene and shut down the area — closing surrounding streets and diverting medical emergencies to Memorial Hospital at Easton. atkins said fire crews determined that the gas did not pose any threat, yet warning sensors were triggered a second time Wednesday morning as emergency workers prepared to turn on the hospital’s air system again. “A food delivery truck had backed into the hospital to deliver its stock,” he said. “Exhaust fumes went inside through an open door and flooded the ound floor.” Watkins said oxygen levels in the hospital were lowered briefly while the carbon monoxide from the truck dissipated. By 12:30 p.m., Watkins said everything was back to normal. No patients were affected by the two incidents, but three hospital employees were treated for possible carbon monoxide poisoning, said Patti Willis, hospital spokeswoman. One worker was treated in Cambridge, while two others were taken to Memorial Hospital, she said. All surgeries in the hospital were either canceled or postponed, and outpatient services like X-rays were shut down, Willis said. If the hospital would have had to move patients, they would have been transported to other hospitals in the area, she said. “We’re always prepared for disasters of various kinds,” Willis said.

 

UPDATE Train released hydrochloric vapor, school evacuated
02/20/2003 01:51 PM
TAMAROA, Ill. (AP) — An elementary school was evacuated Thursday after one of the cars from a train that derailed nearby earlier this month released a vapor cloud into the air. No injuries were reported. A valve on a railroad car that had carried hydrochloric acid vented built-up vapor for about 15 to 20 seconds at around 8:30 a.m., said Charles Genesio, coordinator for the Du Quoin Emergency Services and Disaster Agency. The release, possibly triggered by a run of warmer weather, sent up a cloud that could be seen floating westward from the site of the Feb. 9 derailment for 5 to 10 minutes before dissipating, Genesio said. Air tests conducted at and around the site, including “inside the plume itself,” indicated no toxic fumes had been released, Genesio said. Vapor clouds also contain high levels of water, he said. Still, officials decided to evacuate the town’s elementary school, located a few blocks from the derailment, as a safety precaution, Genesio said. “We do not expect any problems, but we wanted to be extra sure,” he said. Nerves have been on edge in this town of 800 since a 21-car Canadian National-Illinois Central freight train carrying hazardous and flammable chemicals derailed. Tamaroa is located about 65 miles southeast of St. Louis, near Du Quoin. Officials evacuated about 1,000 people, including everyone within three miles of the town, as workers started cleaning up the site and removing the train cars. Some people were kept out of their homes for almost a week. Some rail cars remained off to the side of the tracks and were in the process of being removed Thursday when the incident happened, said Jack Burke, a spokesman for Canadian National-Illinois Central railroad. The 130 students evacuated from Tamaroa Elementary School were taken to the town’s community center nearby while the air in the school was checked for contamination, Genesio said. Although initial tests showed nothing, school officials decided to keep the school closed until Monday, when most of the remaining cars at the derailment site are expected to have been removed, said Beth Cassity, president of the school board. “We felt it was safe before, but now we are not going to reopen the school until those tanks are gone,” she said. 

Chemical Spill Closes Down Jackson County Road
Feb. 20 – Traffic is flowing smoothly this morning on a Jackson County road after it was shut down because of a chemical spill. It happened just after 6:00 on County Road 5, near Paint Rock. An 18-wheeler dumped its load of chlorine on the road. People who live in that area were evacuated from their homes. The mess was quickly contained and cleaned up. No one was hurt. 

Acid Spill Closes Local High School; Engineer Reportedly Knocked Unconscious By Fumes
February 17, 2003
An acid spill has reportedly closed Pontiac Northern High School Monday. An engineer mixed too much of a mild form of hydrochloric acid in the pool’s chlorine tank and created a cloud of fumes, according to school officials. The engineer was knocked unconscious by the fumes, but is reportedly OK. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. Some students began arriving for school Monday morning and were evacuated to the gymnasium of the middle school next door, according to school officials. The Pontiac School District decided to close school for the remainder of the day while the building is aired out and the pool is cleaned. 

Shopping Center Evacuated; Snow Removal Caused Gas Leak
February 18, 2003
SHILLINGTON, Pa. — A shopping center near Reading had to be evacuated because of a gas leak caused by a snow removal accident. It happened Tuesday afternoon when someone was plowing snow behind the Shillington Shopping Center. The plow struck a gas meter, causing a pipe to break. A fire official said the evacuation was only a precaution, and nobody was hurt. Things got back to normal within a couple of hours. 

UPDATE Storage company fined for foul air 
A LAVERTON North company has been convicted and fined $50,000 after seven young workers were hospitalised with carbon monoxide poisoning. WorkSafe Victoria spokesman Justin Peysack said the company, AB Cold Storage, was found guilty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to provide a safe plant and systems of work. It was also found that the company failed to provide adequate training and supervision to its workers, failed to provide adequate facilities for the welfare of its employees and failed to maintain a workplace that was safe and without risk. Sunshine Magistrates Court placed the company’s director on a good behaviour bond and ordered him to pay $4000 into the court fund. The incident occurred on December 29, 1999, at Pipe Road, Laverton North, when seven university students employed as casual workers were overcome by carbon monoxide emitted from a forklift. A WorkSafe Victoria investigation revealed that there was no ventilation in the freezer. WorkSafe Victoria’s executive director, John Merritt, said operating forklifts without adequate ventilation could be deadly. “Machines that emit carbon monoxide fumes should not be used in enclosed areas,” Mr Merritt said. “Employees must also ensure forklifts are properly tuned and maintained so the emission of fumes is reduced,” he said.

 

Acid spill poses no health threats
By Mike Penprase News-Leader
Acid spilled from a storage tank Monday at a west-side factory didn’t pose a health threat, a Springfield Fire Department official said. The spill of a mixture of sulfuric and phosphoric acid — held in a 350-gallon tank at Walker Stainless Technology at 4439 W. Billings St. — was contained near the tank, fire Capt. Rusty Darnell said. The factory is located in an industrial area north of West Chestnut Expressway and east of Interstate 44. No employees were injured and the plant where processing vessels are made didn’t have to be evacuated during the incident, acting general manager Steve Deringer said. “It was fully contained,” Deringer said of the spill. There was no estimate of how much acid was released, he said. Along with a hazardous materials team, six fire units responded to the 9 a.m. call, Darnell said. The spill occurred when a 55-gallon drum that was being moved caught on the tank’s valve handle and turned it to the open position, he said. Cleanup began soon after firefighters arrived, Darnell said. The acid mixture is used to clean metal parts, he said. “The important thing is it never posed a health threat to the community,” he said of the spill. A private environmental firm began cleaning up the area Monday morning. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were expected to visit the site later, Darnell said. 

Chemical leak is blamed for nasty odor downtown
Tuesday, February 18, 2003 St. Joseph News-Press 
An odor that filled the air over 60 blocks Monday afternoon started from a leak at HPI Products Inc. The fire department responded to HPI, and Battalion Chief John Nelson said the leak was detected at the company’s warehouse. The chemical was determined to be dipropylene glycol, a product used by several manufacturers that is not dangerous. “Our concern was that the odor was so widespread,” Mr. Nelson said. “This has occurred four or five times. This was by far the worst it’s been. After the leak was found, we identified what the chemical was by talking to the plant manager and determined it was safe. The tank was then shut off as well as the vent. There were about 10 people in the plant and none complained of illness.” The Environmental Protection Agency was contacted about the leak, Mr. Nelson said, as a precaution and safety measure. Deana Hand, co-owner of Downtown Furniture Emporium, said she has noticed the odor several times, but Monday’s was worse. “It was pretty strong for us, particularly the guys working on the dock,” Mrs. Hand said. “The odor was also pretty bad inside the store.” HPI, at 222 Sylvanie St., is a custom-blending and packaging firm for lawn and pet-care products, including crop-protection chemicals and pesticides. 

15 hurt in acid spill 
FIFTEEN employees were taken to hospital after a chemical spill at a Hallam factory last week. Ambulance officers and the CFA were called to the TNT factory in Wedgewood Drive after a forklift pierced a 25-litre container of Formula, a phosphoric acid. About 30 employees were evacuated from the factory, with 15, including the forklift driver isolated. Six ambulance crews took victims to Dandenong Hospital, Monash Medical Centre and Frankston Hospital. All were discharged that night. Metropolitan Ambulance Service group manager, Andrew Watson treated victims at the scene last Monday for watery eyes, itchy skin, dry throat and headaches. The forklift driver was treated for minor fume inhalation. “Nobody actually had direct contact with the chemical, everything we did, including decontamination was precautionary,” Mr Watson said. Everybody remained calm and the incident was well co-ordinated by fire crews. TNT Express CEO Roger Corcoran said: “TNT Express is doing everything possible to address the situation and has started an investigation of events leading to the accident with the aim of preventing a recurrence of a similar situation in the future.” WorkSafe executive director John Merritt said the safety organisation was investigating the spill and warned companies to have correct safety procedures. “Companies should ensure that workplace procedures are designed so that incidents like these should be prevented and that emergency recovery procedures are in place so that if an incident does happen it can be handled quickly.” 

Casino Evacuated After Chlorine Leak 
February 16, 2003
A chlorine leak forced the evacuation of about 125 people from a casino on Thursday but caused no serious injuries, authorities said. One employee with a pre-existing respiratory condition was taken to Mason General Hospital. The employee was treated and released, according to a casino press release. Witnesses driving by Thursday morning described a large cloud of gas billowing from the casino, State Patrol Trooper Glen Tyrrell said. About 4 pounds of chlorine gas escaped from a 100-gallon tank inside the casino. The leak was reported about 9:30 a.m., Tyrrell said. The casino is south of Shelton, just west of where U.S. Highway 101 intersects with state Route 108. The State Patrol blocked a portion of Route 108 for about 90 minutes until the Department of Ecology cleared the area for contamination. No nearby residents were evacuated, Tyrrell said. The casino was reopened later in the day after it was inspected by the state Department of Ecology, according to a press release. The accident was a small leak caused by a valve malfunction during a maintenance operation, casino Assistant General Manager Michael Peters said. The tank holds chlorine for the casino’s water system. The casino was not open when the gas seeped out and most of the evacuees were employees, Peters said. Firefighters from Mason County Fire District 4 were on scene along with Squaxin tribal police officers and the State Patrol. Cars were blocked from driving west on Route 108 until noon, when the road reopened.

 

Chemical spills onto busy street; Cause of accident involving tanker remains unknown 
Web posted Friday, February 14, 2003 By Sara Bancroft South Carolina Bureau 
Hazardous materials workers check the inside of a tanker truck that spilled several hundred gallons of a chemical and closed the street for more than three hours. GRANITEVILLE – A tanker truck traveling through Graniteville on Friday ruptured and spilled hundreds of gallons of its chemical contents on Main Street. The chemical is sodium hydrosulfite, a nonhazardous liquid used in the textile dyeing process, according to authorities. It is estimated that several hundred gallons of the chemical leaked onto the street, but the material was contained before it reached storm drains, said Don Turno, the chief of Aiken County’s Hazmat team. Aiken County Emergency Medical Services, South Carolina Highway Patrol, and Aiken County Sheriff’s Office authorities also responded, Mr. Turno said. People living near the chemical spill were not forced to evacuate, since there was no health or environmental danger, Mr. Turno said.

Train Carrying Acid Derails in Delaware; Small Amount of Acid Spilled; 200 Residents Evacuated
The Associated Press FARMINGTON, Del. Feb. 14 — 
Eight cars from a Norfolk Southern train derailed early Friday, and a small amount of acid in powder form was spilled, authorities said. State police evacuated about 200 people from the town of Farmington but said there were no reports of injuries. The 45-car freight train, which was carrying 15 propane tankers, derailed about 3:30 a.m., said Rudy Husband, a Norfolk Southern spokesman. The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Seven cars five propane tankers and two hopper cars carrying adipic acid derailed together. Another propane tanker derailed farther south. Adipic acid is a raw material used to make nylon fiber, polyurethane and other products. Husband said that less than five pounds of the powdered acid was spilled, and an environmental contractor was at the scene cleaning it up. No propane leaked from the tankers. It must be transferred from the cars, a process that could take three to four days, before the tankers can be moved, authorities said. People living within a mile of the site were told to leave their homes, and a shelter was set up at a fire station. “The evacuation is a precaution,” said State Police Cpl. Harlan Blades. “There’s certainly a large potential for problems anytime those tankers aren’t sitting on their tracks.” The train was moving south from Harrington at about 25 mph when the derailment happened, Husband said. As the cars derailed, a power line was struck, causing a bright flash, he said. Power on the line was turned off afterward. There were no reports of fires. “The evacuation is a precaution,” Blades said. “There’s certainly a large potential for problems anytime those tankers aren’t sitting on their tracks.” The train was supposed to stop at the DuPont nylon plant in Seaford.

 

No one injured at Delnor in small chemical spill
By Kara Spak and David R. Kazak Daily Herald Staff Writer Posted on February 13, 2003 
A one-liter spill of a common hospital chemical at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva drew about 80 local firefighters and hazardous materials crews to the scene Wednesday evening. Neither patients nor hospital staff were hurt or evacuated after the liter of phenol, an acid, was spilled inside the hospital around 7:40 p.m., said Geneva firefighter Mike Antenore. As a precaution, the hospital’s ventilation system was shut down but no patients were affected, Antenore said. The two hospital staff people inside the room where the chemical was spilled were taken to the emergency room but did not sustain injuries. The large number of emergency workers sent to the scene reflected the difficult task of cleaning up a chemical spill, said Geneva Lt. John Stoffa. “This isn’t like firefighting; this is science,” Stoffa said. “The hazardous materials technicians were called in for their equipment, material and knowledge.” The spill was in a laboratory in the center of the hospital, and the patient rooms are in the hospital’s north and south wings. Staff was moved into the wings after the spill, Stoffa said. St. Charles, Batavia, North Aurora, Warrenville, Wheaton, Winfield, Carol Stream and Lisle-Woodridge all sent personnel to the hospital. 

Waitakere’s Aquatic Plaza Evacuated
12/02/2003 07:02 AM IRN
Waitakere’s aquatic plaza in west Auckland was evacuated again last night. Around 350 people were in the centre when a chlorine leak was discovered, and three ambulances and several fire engines were sent to help with the evacuation. A Fire Service spokesman says the leak was contained in the ammonia plant room, and the chlorine supply was shut off. There were no reported injuries. Late last year, a chlorine leak sent numerous children to hospital, forcing the facility to close for several weeks. 

Meatworks fined after workers overcome
A north Queensland meatworks has been fined $15,000 after three chill room workers were overcome by carbon monoxide gas. Thomas Borthwicks and Sons pleaded guilty in Mackay Magistrate’s Court to a breach of Workplace Health and Safety regulations. The court was told the workers were overcome by fumes emitted from a forklift in June 2001. One person required treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Magistrate Ross Risson fined the company $15,000, but did not record a conviction.

 

CINEMA GAS LEAK LEAVES 18 IN HOSPITAL 
Feb 10 2003
EIGHTEEN people were taken to hospital after a gas leak at a multi- million pound cinema complex yesterday. The accident happened when engineers broke a pressurised coolant pipe at the Omni Complex in Edinburgh city centre. The safe refrigerated gas inside the pipe escaped into the air conditioning system and heated up, becoming deadly phosgene. That gas – used to kill during World War I – then spread through the £73million complex, which opened in November. Emergency services were called at 12.45pm after customers reported a smell of gas around the new Playfair Bar, which is still expected to open tomorrow as planned. The building was evacuated and 18 people, including three firefighters, were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after inhaling the gas. Three were kept in for observation but allowed home later. Firefighters in protective clothing ventilated the complex and it reopened two hours later. A spokesman for La Tasca restaurant, which is part of the Omni complex, said: “The whole building was evacuated. They had everybody out on the street.” Phosgene gas causes severe eye, throat and chest irritation and symptoms are often not noticed until the next day. During the war, apparently healthy soldiers died up to 48 hours after breathing it in.

 

Fertilizer fumes send several workers at Harford bleach plant to hospitals
By A Sun Staff Writer February 6, 2003
Several employees of a Harford County bleach-manufacturing plant were being treated for breathing difficulties last night at four area hospitals after coming into contact with fumes from an unidentified type of fertilizer, police said. About 7:30 p.m., three employees of a Clorox Co. plant in the 1300 block of Perryman Road in Perryman were loading bleach into a trailer behind the plant when they began having difficulty breathing, said state police spokesman Lt. Bud Frank. The fumes came from fertilizer remaining in the trailer from a previous shipment, he said. Six other employees who went to help their three colleagues also were affected by the fumes, Frank said. The workers were taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace and Franklin Square Hospital Center in Baltimore County, Frank said. Their conditions were not life-threatening, he said. 

Seven go to hospital after propane leak
Friday, February7, 2003, 7:04 AM
BRUNSWICK (AP) — Seven civilian workers at the Brunswick Naval Air Station were transported to hospitals Wednesday morning following a propane leak. Officials say a small 20-pound propane tank leaked fumes into offices inside the public works maintenance building. Four workers were taken to Midcoast Hospital and three were taken to Parkview Hospital. Spokesman John James says all but one are expected to be released. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

 

Acid spilled in suburban plant
About 300 gallons of hydrochloric acid was spilled Monday at a Franklin Park plant. No one was injured in the accident at Belmont Plating Works. Firefighters said a truck making a delivery of acid pulled away from the building with the hose still attached, breaking a valve on the vehicle’s tank. The plant was evacuated and people within a half mile of the site were asked to stay in their homes while cleanup was completed.

 

Portland Neighborhood Evacuated After Ammonia Leak
(LOUISVILLE, February 3rd, 2003, 2 p.m.) — A factory in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood had to be evacuated after an ammonia leak Monday morning. Two painters at the Engelhard factory at 35th and Bank accidentally broke the glass on an anhydrous ammonia tank. Engelhard employees are accustomed to working with potentially dangerous materials, so they were prepared for the leak. Englehard Site Manager Mike Cunio says they have a HazMat team ready to respond whenever there is a leak of any kind. There were no injuries, but as a precaution, fire officials advised surrounding residents and businesses to keep windows and doors closed. 

Crews respond to chemical spill
February 3, 2003 — A hydrochloric acid spill from a truck forced the evacuation of part of a Franklin Park neighborhood. A truck making a delivery pulled away with a hose still connected. A valve broke, allowing a 300-gallon spill. Hazardous materials crews neutralized the acid. No one was injured.

 

Business evacuated as chemical spills
By Jerry Urban The Daily News Published January 31, 2003
GALVESTON — A Galveston laundry and cleaners was evacuated Thursday after a combustible chemical spilled during the laundry process, fire department officials said. At 12:15 p.m., firefighters were called to the Pilgrim Cleaners at 23rd Street and Avenue L. There they found 10 to 25 gallons of dry-cleaning fluid that had leaked or spilled from equipment. Battalion Chief Jens Jensen said the cause was under investigation; however, employee error appeared to have caused the spill of the chemical, which included vapors that could cause eye irritation and breathing problems. One worker was taken the hospital with breathing problems. She was treated and released. The city’s environmental emergency response unit was called to scene for containment and cleanup of the material. The area was cleared about two hours after the spill.

 

Chemical Spill Causes Treasury Evacuation 
WASHINGTON (AP)–Workers at the Treasury Department and at American Bar Association offices near the White House were evacuated Thursday due to a chemical spill, and the environmental crime unit of the police department will investigate the incident, authorities reported. Treasury Department spokeswoman Tara Bradshaw said the evacuation shortly after 6 p.m. EST was a precautionary measure stemming from an odor that seemed to be coming from the sewer system. Traffic in the area was tied up. Police investigated a similar situation a year ago when someone dumped a petroleum product at a water and sewer pumping station in the southeast part of the District of Columbia. That case hasn’t been solved. District of Columbia Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter said it appeared that a petroleum product, possibly diesel fuel, was involved in the latest spill. Etter said hazardous material teams found the substance progressing through the sewer system and that fumes eventually got into air ducts. Etter said the environmetal crime unit will investigate to see if the spill was deliberate. No one was hurt, according to Etter, although workers complained of headaches and nausea. 

UPDATE Valero oil spill at 282,000 gallons 
By Rob Shea Staff writer 
BENICIA – Having contained and recovered an estimated 6,750 barrels of crude oil that leaked from a 480,000-barrel tank, Valero refinery workers continued cleanup efforts Thursday, a company official said. After recalculating, refinery officials more than quadrupled their Wednesday estimate of how much oil was spilled after a two-inch tank valve failed Wednesday morning during routine maintenance outside the tank. They had reported that about 1,500 barrels leaked and was collected into a containment area around the tank. A leak of 6,750 barrels would be equivalent to about 283,000 gallons, enough to almost fill three 1600-square-foot homes. At about 4 p.m. city officials opened nearby Francesca Terrace Park, which had been closed for about four hours because some foam that had been sprayed on the spill area to contain odors had been blown into the park, said refinery spokesman Bill Tanner. Although the foam is non-toxic, a refinery environmental hygienist recommended the closure to prevent anyone from getting the soapy substance in their eyes and stinging them, Tanner said. The playground equipment at the park has been cleaned, and refinery officials are working on placing plastic tarp over the spill area, eliminating the need for foam treatment, Tanner said. While an investigation of the cause is continuing, it appears that a propeller inside the tank broke or fell off a shaft that was attached to an engine outside the tank, said Tanner. The engine rotates the propeller to mix the crude oil so that it retains its consistency, he said. Workers will have to retrieve the propeller and conduct metallurgical tests, he said. Workers from a company that is contracted to conduct maintenance on the mixer unit may have pulled the shaft from the tank, creating a hole from which oil gushed about four feet off the ground, he said. After as many as 150 people worked in response to the accident Wednesday, a crew of about 25 worked at the tank farm Thursday, Tanner said. Refinery engineers are trying to determine whether contaminated soil will be collected and trucked to a hazardous waste landfill, or whether it could be cleaned and remain on site, he said. The spill was confined to a containment area that is designed to hold the entire contents of the 480,000-barrel tank. The leaked oil was vacuumed up and transferred into another tank, and hundreds of thousands of barrels were diverted to it via a pipeline, Tanner said. The spilled oil will be refined. Tanner said plugging the hole, which was completed about six hours after the leak began, was a messy and difficult job that required a lot of people and equipment. “The oil is coming out at such a velocity that there’s a tremendous amount of downward pressure,” he said. “It would be like patching a fire hose. You can do it, but it’s tough.” He called the failure “highly unusual.” “This is a very reliable piece of equipment,” he said of the mixer, which is a standard for the industry. The refinery received three odor complaints and three complaints about news media helicopters flying overhead and making noise, Tanner said. Officials continued air monitoring throughout Wednesday night, and found no elevated levels of pollution, Tanner said. “We don’t have a concern from a community health point of view,” he said. The refinery did not yet have an estimate on the cost of the emergency or cleanup operations Thursday morning, Tanner said. Despite the mishap, all refining processes continued as usual Wednesday, he said. 

Waste spill halts Oak Ridge shipments
By FRANK MUNGER, January 30, 2003
OAK RIDGE – The government’s cleanup manager has temporarily halted rail shipments of hazardous waste because of an incident last week in which a waste container spilled some of its contents. Bechtel Jacobs Co. is investigating the incident, which was discovered Jan. 22 when a rail shipment arrived at the Envirocare landfill in Utah. The U.S. Department of Energy requested the fact-finding probe. Paul Clay, vice president and deputy general manager of Bechtel Jacobs, said a small quantity of low-level radioactive sludge spilled when a lid on one of the metal boxes came off during the trip from Oak Ridge to Clive, Utah. The dried sludge was contained inside the car and posed no threat to the public or the environment, he said. Based on early information, it appears the rail car was jolted in a way that loosened wooden braces, allowing the metal boxes to shift inside the car, Clay said. Officials suspect the incident occurred in St. Louis, where the rail shipments were transferred from Norfolk Southern to Union Pacific, he said. “It appears to us that there was some kind of severe jostling, severe enough to cause one of the lids to open and spill a small amount of waste,” the Bechtel Jacobs executive said Tuesday. “We’ve had 14 shipments of the same stuff go the same way prior to this without incident,” he said. Clay said two Oak Ridge employees, including a transportation expert, were dispatched to Utah to look at the damaged boxes and collect information on the incident. Bechtel Jacobs will report its findings to DOE by Feb. 22, he said. The waste shipments were the responsibility of Westinghouse Safety Management Solutions-MK, a subcontractor to Bechtel Jacobs. Clay said the sludge, which also contained small amount of hazardous chemicals, came from the West End Treatment Facility on DOE’s Oak Ridge site. The sludge had been dried and treated with a polymer to prevent any leaching of the hazardous constituents, he said. The waste shipments previously were shipped to the Envirocare landfill by truck, but Bechtel Jacobs switched to rail transportation last fall as a cost-cutting measure, Clay said.

 

Crews Working To Contain Oil Spill
Jan. 29 — In Benicia, crews are working hard to keep a 60,000 gallon oil spill from leaking beyond its containment walls. The spill happened around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning at the Valero Refinery on East Second Street in Benicia. Refinery workers and fire crews sprayed foam on the oil to keep it from spreading. A protective berm blocked the oil from flowing into nearby wetlands and harming wildlife.

 

Chemical Spill Closes I-35 Near Ames
Ames, January 29, 2003 – Hospitals officials say truck driver and two Story County deputies affected by a chemical leak in Ames have been treated and released. All three were taken to Mary Greeley Medical Center this morning after a semi leaked what authorities say were hazardous materials onto Interstate 35. They had breathing problems. Cleanup continues on I-35 where the spill was reported around 7:00 a.m. Story County Sheriff’s Captain Gary Foster says paperwork showed the truck was hauling hexane and sulfuric acid. He says a hazardous materials team found a 55-gallon drum that had been leaking, and about one-third of it was left. The Interstate reopened over the noon hour after a section of several miles was shut down. he truck is owned by New Prime Incorporated of Springfield, Missouri. It was en route from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Minneapolis. Hexane poses several dangers to humans. Inhalation of hexane vapors can irritate the respiratory tract and cause lightheadedness, nausea, headache, blurred vision, muscle weakness, numbness of the extremities, unconsciousness and even death. Hexane can also cause redness and irritation in the skin and cause redness and pain in the eyes. Inhalation of sulfuric acid can be very irritating to the skin, eyes and respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. Symptoms include irritation of the nose and throat and labored breathing. Inhalation of sulfuric acid can cause lung edema, a medical emergency.

 

Chemical Spill In Slaton
A half a million gallon tank holding fertilzer collapsed onto a container of anhydrous ammonia in Slaton this afternoon. It happened about 1 p.m. at a plant on FM 400. The leak of ammonia caused a small evactuaion. Fire crews from Slaton and Lubbock blocked off the area up to a half a mile away. No one has been reported injured. Crews say the situation is under control. Anhydrous means “without water.” Thirteen hundred gallons of ammonia vapor will dissolve in one gallon of water. Because of its high affinity for water, it readily absorbs water to create a dilute ammonium hydroxide, which is a component of lye. Anhydrous ammonia is a hydroscopic compound, which means that it seeks water from the nearest source, any source, including the human body. This attraction places the eyes, lungs, and skin at greatest risk because of their high moisture content. Caustic burns result when the anhydrous ammonia dissolves into body tissue. Most deaths from anhydrous ammonia are caused by severe damage to the throat and lungs from a direct blast to the face. When large amounts are inhaled, the throat swells shut and the victims suffocate. Exposure to vapors or liquids also can cause blindness. 

Workers contain huge spill of diesel fuel
1/29/2003 11:12:50 AM By: Associated Press 
(GREENSBORO) — Workers have contained a diesel fuel spill that threatened lakes that feed water supplies in the Triad. Nearly 85,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled at a Plantation Pipeline terminal in Greensboro on Monday. Authorities said ice ruptured a fuel pipeline. Terminal operations manager Murray Clayton said all the fuel was kept in a containment system. He said there was no impact away from the terminal and no injuries. The area drains into streams that feed High Point’s water supply lakes. Other parts of the huge fuel tank farm, just south of Piedmont Triad International Airport, drain into streams that feed Greensboro’s three water-supply lakes north of town. In 1987, regulators found several underground pools of fuel that had spilled from various terminals through the years. That discovery launched a cleanup that’s taken years and led to improved environmental safeguards. 

UPDATE Lack of Safety Plans at East Point, Ga., Firm Factor in Workers’ Exposure to Ammonia; OSHA Proposes $57,200 in Penalties
ATLANTA — The U. S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued 15 serious citations to Reddy Ice of East Point and proposed $57,200 in total penalties following the agency’s investigation of a July 24 ammonia release that sent four workers to the hospital. On the day of the incident, employees at the ice manufacturing facility had finished changing electrical controls on a compressor and were in the process of restarting the motor when a buildup of pressure in the compressor caused a valve to rupture, blowing metal parts and ammonia into the air. “This accident could have been avoided if the company had followed requirements of the process safety management standard and conducted a safety review before making modifications to the compressor,” said Andre Richards, OSHA’s Atlanta-West area director. In 1992, OSHA issued the standard to protect employees from the hazards associated with certain chemicals, such as ammonia. This regulation requires companies to develop, implement, and update plans analyzing potential risks, outline procedures to minimize those factors and properly train employees on how to avoid exposure. OSHA cited the company for failing to have an emergency action plan; failing to conduct a safety review before beginning modifications to equipment and failing to have an air pressure gauge on the compressed air receiver. The company was also cited for failing to have written programs for process safety management, respiratory protection, confined space entry and hazard communication. All of these programs require that employees receive appropriate training. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard. The company has 15 working days to contest the OSHA citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by staff from the OSHA Atlanta-West area office located at 2400 Herodian Way, Suite 250, Smyrna, Ga.; phone: (770) 984-8700. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is dedicated to saving lives, preventing injuries and illnesses, and protecting America’s workers. Safety and health add value to business, the workplace and life. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.