Chemical Accidents Page 5

Chemical Accidents Page #5

This page was last updated on  05/06/2010

 

Report of spill delayed
By GEORGE MATHEWSON Thursday, August 21, 2003 – 09:00 
Local News – A Chemical Valley company finds itself on the hot seat today as angry residents downriver from Sarnia demand to know why they weren’t told sooner of a toxic chemical spill. Royal Polymers, a plastics plant located near Bayer, released an estimated 340 kilograms of vinyl chloride into the St. Clair River in two separate incidents sometime after Thursday’s massive power outage. As word of the spill spread Wednesday thousands of Wallaceburg residents were ordered to stop drinking tap water. Royal Polymers issued a news release Wednesday stating the spills occurred sometime between 4:12 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Saturday, when the plant was shut down. Politicians and health officials are fuming about the delay in notification. “It’s just not acceptable,” said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley. “I think there should be an apology to the people of Wallaceburg and Walpole Island.” Bradley said the Ministry of the Environment was not notified of the spill until Tuesday. Compounding the problem was the closure of inistry offices because of the current power crisis, he added. Reached this morning, a spokesperson with Royal Polymers, Mark Badger, told The Observer the source of the spill has been traced to a failed tube in a process cooler in the cooling water system. When the power went out Thursday it also knocked out the company’s monitoring equipment. It wasn’t until Tuesday that staff realized the magnitude of the release and notified authorities, he said “It’s unfortunate that the widespread power failure caused the problem to go undetected.” Asked if anyone at the company was aware of the release before Tuesday Badger replied: “A review continues to determine why the release went undetected.” There may be no way to tell if thousands of Wallaceburg residents drank water contaminated with a known carcinogen. Tests conducted Wednesday showed no signs of vinyl chloride monomer, a substance used to make plastics. According to the company, preliminary information suggests the discharges did not exceed drinking water standards. But hundreds of Wallaceburg residents armed with empty jugs and lining up for water at the County Fair Mall Wednesday weren’t convinced. “I have no idea what I’ve done to my children by giving them this water,” said Becky Caron, who as been drinking the suspect water with her two young children the past five days. “What is that doing to the inside of their bodies that I won’t know until 20 years down the road.” Health officials did not act quickly enough to notify residents, she added. “If they were that concerned about the citizens they would be telling us about this sooner.” Vinyl chloride is used in the production of plastic pipes, coating for wire and cable and in furniture and automobile upholstery. The entire city’s water supply was affected by the spill, as well as those on municipal water along St. Clair Parkway, Whitebread Line, Baseline Road west of Fraser Road, Dufferin Avenue West and Highway 40 North. Strong concentrations of vinyl chloride are known to cause cancer, said Chatham-Kent medical officer of health Dr. Doug Pudden. Boiling water does not eliminate traces of the chemical. Residents were advised not to drink, brush their teeth, shower, bath, wash dishes, and fruits vegetables using tap water. Later Wednesday evening, people were told it was safe to shower and wash food and dishes with municipal water, and the advisory was finally lifted this morning. It’s believed nearby Walpole Island was not affected because its water intake was closed at the time. The water tanker truck did not arrive in Wallaceburg until about 7:30 p.m. last night, leaving some people waiting for almost four hours. “It sucks,” said Julie Dykema. “We heard they heard about it (the spill) Thursday. We should have been told about it before now. I have five kids.” “This is from Chemical Valley in Sarnia, definitely,” said North Kent Coun. Chip Gordon. “This is another crisis situation.” He said the water system was being flushed even as people waited for water to arrive. About 10 Chatham-Kent Police Service officers and several public health officials were on the scene to control crowds and answer questions from the public. 

Workers flee chemical spill Aug 21 2003
By Staff Reporter, Birmingham Post
Eight workers were today evacuated during a chemical alert at a city parcel depot. A highly flammable 45 gallon drum of resin spilled across the floor at Dann’s Ash Limited, in Starley Way, Bickenhill, at 4am. At least 20 firefighters sealed off the area and spent more than four hours cleaning up the substance. • Firefighters were called to what was first thought to be a dangerous chemical spill in a Midland residential street. Five barrels of what turned out to be car wax spilled in the backyard of a house in Prest-wood Road, New Cross, Wolverhampton shortly before 11.30pm yesterday. It was washed away. 

Minor leak results in major response
By Doug Murphy Staff Writer
A leak in a small chlorine line resulted in one Pointe South Mountain Resort employees being treated for minor injuries last week. According to Guadalupe Fire Capt. Alfred Medina, the man was working on the line when the leak began around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 15. The victim’s identity was not available. Safety valves activated quickly, limiting the spill, fire officials said. The leak resulted in no other injuries or damage, but because the scope of the leak wasn’t immediately known, firefighters from Tempe and Phoenix and Guadalupe responded to the scene, 7777 S. Pointe Parkway West with engines, ladders, hazardous materials vehicles and ambulances.

Fertilizer Plant Remains Closed
The Cargill Fertilizer Plant remained shut down Tuesday, a day after a toxic sulfuric gas was leaked out when a tube connected to a boiler broke Monday night, said a public relations manager for the company. The gas formed a cloud in North Mulberry and led to the evacuation of about 250 people at a Mulberry baseball park and prompted emergency officials to notify about 300 residents to stay inside their homes, Mulberry fire officials said. The plant is expected to reopen this afternoon, said Ron Brownlow, Cargill public relations manager. A child and a Mulberry police officer were treated after complaining of sore throats and coughing. Brownlow said he did not know how the tube cracked. “It just failed,” Brownlow said. The plant is on the south side of State Road 60 about one-half mile from Mulberry. Cargill employs between 12 and 20 workers at the Mulberry plant, Brownlow said. 

Chemical Spill at Gwinnett Warehouse
Hazmat crews sealed off a warehouse in Lawrenceville Wednesday morning due to a potentially toxic chemical spill. Ten people were recovering after being exposed to the hydrofloric acid which spilled inside of a shipping warehouse located in the 100 block of Boulderbrook Circle in Gwinnett County, authorities say. One person was taken to a local hospital for observation. Authorities said one person actually came in contact with the fluid, which is known to be toxic, as it leaked from a ruptured drum. Both Hazmat and Gwinnett fire rescue teams responded to the situation. They evacuated the warehouse and set up a 400-foot control zone around the warehouse. There was no official word of any other facilities being affected by the chemical spill or any adjacent roads being sealed off. 

UPDATE CICPC investigating death of 9 workers by intoxication 
Nine workers at a Tejerias (Miranda) factory died allegedly as a result of intoxication and detectives are investigating possible causes. According to sources, the most likely cause of death at the Provergan factory is the inhaling of toxic gases emanating from a pool of animal and chemical waste in a confined area. Police Detective Branch (CICPC) forensic experts are examining the bodies and the pit from where the toxics allegedly came from. A CICPC spokesman says the police is treating the matter as accidental death and officers have been interviewing three key witnesses who fortunately survived the ordeal. Company owners could face criminal charges if found guilty of lax industrial health security enforcement. First reports indicate that one maintenance worker lost his balance falling into the 12- foot pit and others jumped in to rescue him … the fumes proved too strong. 

Anderson residents treated after ammonia leak
Posted Wednesday, August 20, 2003By Sara Harvey POWDERSVILLE BUREAU 
ANDERSON — An early-morning break-in at an Anderson business Wednesday sent nine nearby residents to the hospital after they reported having trouble breathing. Someone cut through a chain link fence at Kroger’s Bakery on 433 Fayre Street in Anderson County at around 3:15 a.m. and tampered with an outdoor ammonia tank in a possible theft attempt, said Capt. Dale McCard of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. “They damaged the tanks in a way that caused them to leak a good quantity of the ammonia,” McCard said. Nine people were treated and decontaminated at the Anderson Area Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Abby Brent said. Only one victim was admitted. Ammonia thefts are on the rise, McCard said. The liquid, which turns to a gas on contact with the air, is used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, he said. 

Gas leak downs 31 people, including 18 kids in Zambo
By BONG GARCIA JR. TODAY Correspondent 
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A gas leak that originated from an old gas tank sold to a junk dealer downed 31 people, including a radio reporter, Wednesday morning in a community near a government-run hospital in this city. Of the 31 victims who were rushed to the Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC), 18 were children. The old gas tank was accidentally opened around 8:30 a.m. while workers of the junkyard owned by Janet Ko, the wife of former city vice mayor Roberto Ko, were loading junk materials onto a cargo truck for shipment. The junkyard is on Murga Street in barangay Santa Catalina, just a stone’s throw away from the ZCMC. An hour and a half later, the victims told physicians here that they felt dizzy and started vomiting as the air they inhaled was contaminated with ammonium chloride. George Rojo, the physician on duty at the hospital, said the victims, who were placed under observation, complained of stomach pains and dizziness. Marlon Simbajon, a radio reporter who was among the victims, told Today that minutes after he arrived at the place to cover the incident, he started feeling dizzy and fainted. “Ang mga halaman sa paligid ng junkyard ay nalanta lahat dahil sa epekto ng gas,” Simbajon said. He was later released from the hospital after treatment. Quoting witnesses, a local radio station said barangay Santa Barbara residents ran away in panic, some falling to the ground after being overwhelmed by the acrid smell. Rojo said the patients will be confined in hospital for about two days before officials declare the area safe. City sanitary inspector Rogelio Bucoy said an initial examination indicated that the gas probably was chlorine based on the yellowish crystals that formed on the metal cylinder that junkshop workers were forcing open. Rojo said the regional disaster coordinating center will undertake a more thorough investigation. 

Chemical spill triggers early-morning clean-up 
August 18, 2003 
FOURTEEN firefighters from Warrnambool, Allansford and Koroit were called to South West Healthcare in the early hours of Saturday morning to contain a dangerous chemical spill. A cleaner discovered a leaking 20-litre drum of the highly flammable chemical xylene in the hospital’s pathology department shortly after midnight. Warrnambool fire officer Henry Barton said that while the spill was largely contained in a flammable liquid storage area in the hospital, a small amount had escaped and vapours had spread throughout the pathology department. Firefighters donned gas suits and breathing apparatus to clean up the leaking chemical and power was cut to the affected area. Mr Barton said evacuations were not necessary given that no pathology staff were on duty at the time. However, patients being treated in the nearby Accident and Emergency department were confined to that area to avoid the possibility of inhaling vapours. Mr Barton said the chemical, which was used to preserve body parts, was highly flammable and toxic in high concentrations. Firefighters were at the scene until around 3am.

Acid spill triggers evacuation
WebPosted Aug 18 2003 01:54 PM PDT 
FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Emergency officials ordered the evacuation of a city block in the northeast B.C. community of Fort St. John following a chemical spill Monday morning. The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection ordered the evacuation after police noticed a suspicious gas cloud in the area of 109th Street and 91st Avenue. A hazardous goods team was then sent in to clean up a hydrochloric acid spill at an industrial site in the area. The site is now clear, the vapour cloud caused by the spill has dissipated and people have been allowed to return to the area. Police say they are not sure what caused the spill. 

Acid Spill In Vestal 
Dustin Wadsworth Aug 15, 2003, 17:08
A hazardous materials crew was called to Vestal Asphalt where almost 200 gallons of Hydrochloric or Muriatic acid spilled. A forklift operator dropped a container causing it to rupture. Greg Kapeghian from Broome County HAZMAT says, “It’s a tote container, their’s a steel cage around i which, inside that steel cage is a plastic tote material, and it just fell over and the top of hat cracked making the product leak out.” The HAZMAT response team neutralized the acid and Vestal Asphalt cleaned up the spill. It took about 4-hours for the clear up the situation. 

Toxic fumes kill nine Venezuelan workers
CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Nine Venezuelan workers were killed by toxic fumes on Monday when eight of them went to the aid of a colleague who collapsed near a trench containing ammonia and other waste left over from an industrial process, emergency officials said. Three other workers were also treated for asphyxiation after inhaling the fumes from the exposed chemicals at a company that processes bones to manufacture animal feed near Las Tejerias, about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Caracas. “A worker was cleaning near the area where waste is stored and he collapsed. The rest of the workers went to help him and they unfortunately died in the same way,” Felix Perez, a Civil Protection officer from Aragua state, told Reuters. Police were investigating the deaths.

UPDATE Acid spill at Honeywell plant hurts 2 workers 
By NED RANDOLPH Advocate staff writer 
Two Honeywell employees were hospitalized Wednesday after they were exposed to hydrofluoric acid while cleaning equipment at the Lupine Street facility, a company spokesman confirmed. Three pounds of hydrofluoric solution spilled in the accident, said Jeffrey Meyers, emergency response manager with the Department of Environmental Quality. The acid caused a 6-inch burn on the forearm of one employee and caused inhalation problems to another standing nearby. “They were breaking down or doing repair work on a hydrofluoric line and the product that was left in the line sprayed,” Fire Department spokesman Howard Ward said. This is the third accident at the chemical plant in just more than three weeks. Honeywell will be cited with a civil violation by State Police for failure to report Wednesday’s accident in a timely manner, Trooper Johnnie Brown confirmed. EMS was called about 11:15 a.m., an EMS spokesman said. Honeywell has been dogged by its safety record as of late. The company’s chief executive, Nance Dicciani, said July 31 she had shut down the plant, pending an investigation of two recent spills: on July 20 and July 29. After the spill July 29, a Honeywell worker died the next day. Eight people suffered injuries in the July 20 spill. Honeywell spokesman Reed Walker said on Wednesday that the plant had indeed halted production operations, but workers were still on site moving chemicals and cleaning equipment. “You can’t leave chemicals in equipment for too long or it damages the reactors,” Walker said. Several residents have retained an attorney to file a suit against the company, said attorney William Grimley, who represents them. Walker said Honeywell would resume production after the company completes its internal investigation around mid-September. Several federal and state agencies are also investigating the July 20 and July 29 leaks, which could result in fines or possible criminal violations. 

Sanitation Workers Escape Serious Injury 
By Harry Loud 
Two Town of Hempstead sanitation workers escaped serious injury the morning of August 7 when noxious fumes began to escape from the rear and top of their truck. The workers, Glen Kreuzburg and Rob Kuzminski, suffered difficulty in their breathing when they inhaled the fumes. A third worker, Casey Cox, was upwind of the fumes and escaped uninjured. Levittown firefighters, under the command of Chief John Rottkamp, responded to the intersection of Tower Lane and Water Lane North where they found the truck and a white cloud seeping from the top. The workers, along with firefighters, were moved upwind of the truck to a “safety zone.” At first the workers thought it was a fire and it was at this point that they inhaled the fumes. It was ascertained that they had made a pickup and had gotten about a block away when the incident occurred. Investigation by firefighters indicated that the fumes were chlorine that had mixed with other waste within the truck. The workers were immediately put on oxygen. Chief Rottkamp reqested mutual aid from Wantagh for an additional ambulance and from Hicksville for their hazardous material unit. Nassau County was also notified for their Haz-Mat Team and additional police were also called to the scene in the event an evacuation of the area was required. Hicksville’s Haz-Mat Team climbed upon the truck and removed the remaining chlorine into a container. Fortunately, most of the chemical was intact and still in one place within the hopper otherwise the load would have had to been dropped. The workers were treated at the scene and continued on their route once the condition was stabilized. There were no other injuries and all units secured from the scene after about two hours. 

More workers ill at recycling plant
By SHANE HOLLADAY, EDMONTON SUN
Occupational Health and Safety has ordered the company operating a city recycling plant to ensure employees have protective equipment and the training to use it after another seven people yesterday fell ill to mysterious fumes. Paramedics were called to the city’s waste recycling plant, 13111 Meridian St., just after 11 a.m. yesterday, the third consecutive day workers have fallen ill. The recycling plant – run by contractor Canadian Waste – was evacuated for the third day in a row. On Monday, a pesticide was reportedly released into the air, sickening several employees. “A group of workers noticed a funny smell and manifested obvious signs of nausea and vomiting,” said emergency medical services Supt. Bruce McAlear, referring to yesterday’s incident. “They assessed seven patients and one was transported to the Northeast Community Health Centre. It’s undetermined what the element of exposure was.” Occupational Health and Safety has now ordered that the company arrange proper training of employees, establish dangerous material handling procedures, train in the use of protective equipment, and conduct a hazard assessment, said spokesman Chris Chodan. The orders were issued because inspectors discovered the company wasn’t complying with health and safety standards, Chodan said. There’s no deadline to comply, he said. Emergency Response Department spokesman Karen Carlson said the fire department’s dangerous goods team has been unable to identify the noxious emission. Sixteen people were assessed by emergency workers and one person was transported to hospital after experiencing similar symptoms Tuesday, she said.

UPDATE Plant owner says he’ll end use of cyanide
By T.J. WILHAM thestarpress.com 
MUNCIE- The owner of a local metal plating company where an employee died after falling into a vat of cyanide said Tuesday he intends to quit using the deadly chemical. The owner also suggested the worker might have suffered a heart attack before falling into the vat. Joseph Gray, 56, fell into the 7,000-gallon vat of cyanide at Mid-City Plating on July 18 while he was trying to place zinc balls into tubes running into the large container. Gray had used wooden pieces of plywood to reach the center of the vat before he fell in head first. Owner and plant manager Rod Muzzarelli said Tuesday that his company had used the method to fill the tubes for 37 years and maintained the process was industry standard and not in violation of state regulations. However, Muzzarelli said he wanted to “say sayonara to cyanide.” “We have got to get rid of this toxic chemical,” Muzzarelli said. “We don’t want anything to ever happen again.” Pete Rimsans, a deputy commissioner for the Indiana Department of Labor, said Tuesday his agency has yet to determine whether Mid-City committed any safety violations prior to the accident. “It’s more of a matter of if they are compliant with health and safety standards rather than if it was industry practice,” Rimsans said. “Anything they are doing to help ensure the safety of workers is something we would be in favor of.” Since the accident, the Department of Labor and the Delaware County Coroner’s office have been investigating what occurred at the Charles Street plating company. Muzzarelli claimed Tuesday that two investigators from a “government agency” told him they believed that Gray had died of a heart attack. The owner would not name the investigators. Coroner James Clevenger said his office never made that determination. Because of the toxic chemicals in Gray’s body that could have harmed pathologists, an autopsy was not conducted. However, Clevenger said his staff was able to determine that Gray died as a result of the plunge into the vat. “It’s a possibility that he might have had a heart attack prior to the fall,” Clevenger said. “A heart attack would be a contributing factor as to why he fell, but he died due to the chemical compound he was exposed to.” Earlier this week, Clevenger said a deputy coroner, Scott Hahn, who was injured while investigating the death, might have suffered permanent hearing loss from a series of loud explosions that occurred in the plant while he was investigating the death. The explosions routinely occur when the tanks are regenerating. Muzzarelli said that Hahn should not have been that close to the tanks during the process. Normally, employees wear ear plugs and keep a safe distance from the tanks when they are regenerating, he said. The owner said a consulting company was investigating the accident and why Hahn was allowed into the area. Shortly after the accident, the company changed the way it fills the tubes, Muzzarelli said. The new method calls for the tubes to be brought to the sides of the tanks where employees can place the balls into them from a safe distance. The process increases the company’s production time. In the meantime, the owner has been investigating new ways to plate metal. The company is planning to switch to an alkaline acid chloride process that would cost about $100,000. 

UPDATE Five SRS employees disciplined for falsifying records
The Associated Press – AIKEN, S.C.
Five workers at the Savannah River Site have been disciplined after they falsified records related to the exposure of three employees to excess radiation. The incident at the former nuclear weapons complex near Augusta, Ga., on July 29 involved workers who were exposed to radiation while removing material from a glove box used to treat and hold plutonium. In this incident, three of our fellow workers received radiation doses that were higher than expected for the job they were performing, Westinghouse Savannah River Company President Robert Pedde wrote Monday in a letter to employees. Westinghouse Savannah River Company manages and operates the U.S. Department of Energys site. While these doses were below DOE limits, and well below any level that would cause an adverse health impact, the doses were entirely unnecessary in the amounts received, Pedde said, adding that proper safety procedures were not followed. Pedde said those involved in the incident deliberately falsified records and demonstrated a lack of truthfulness in post-event reviews. This is prohibited conduct, and leaves little room for mitigating disciplinary action, Pedde said. Truthful documentation is at the heart of our processes, and when the integrity of our processes is attacked, safety is put in jeopardy. Westinghouse would not disclose the specifics of the employee discipline. However, I want there to be no doubt that willful violations of established policies or procedures and dishonest acts will have serious personal consequences for the people involved, Pedde said. The three employees received radiation doses of 700, 400 and 200 millirems of radiation, said Will Callicott, a Westinghouse spokesman. Employees at SRS can receive up to 1,500 millirems of radiation annually before the company issues a review. As a result of the accident, some operations in the FB Line were shut down and are slowly being phased back in, Callicott said. Pedde said the safety procedures at SRS help eliminate the impact of human error, but since the procedures were not followed the employees were put at greater risk. 

UPDATE Deadly Choctaw gas accident case settled for $8.6 million 
08/12/03 By GARY McELROY Staff Reporter
Victims and families have agreed to an $8.6 million settlement in a case brought against Georgia-Pacific Corp. after a 2002 deadly gas accident at a Choctaw County paper mill, their Mobile lawyer said Monday. Two construction workers with a subcontracting company died and at least a dozen others were injured, including several emergency medical technicians, when exposed to hydrogen sulfide at the Naheola Mill near Pennington. The paper products manufacturing plant, about 140 miles north of Mobile along the Tombigbee River in Choctaw County, produces pulp, paperboard and tissue. It’s owned by Georgia-Pacific. On Jan. 16, 2002, victims were exposed to hydrogen sulfide, a byproduct of the pulping process. The toxic, naturally occurring gas product of decaying organic matter engulfed the men as they were replacing a pipe rack at the plant, according to reports last year. A settlement between Georgia-Pacific and a Texas law firm representing one of the men who died, 35-year-old Benjamin Singleton, was reached earlier this year, Mobile attorney Jim Yance said. And just recently, he said, the family of the other dead worker, James Michael Sager, 45, and about a dozen construction workers and EMTs — represented by Yance and Choctaw County attorneys William and Jeff Utsey — reached a settlement totaling $8.6 million. “Our investigation indicated there was an inappropriate release of chemicals into the draining system that caused a reaction and the release of hydrogen sulfide,” Yance said. The lawyer said further investigation showed there had been similar releases of the gas in the past, and that some of the warning sensors were inoperable and had been for some time. Yance said the individual amounts of compensation received by each victim would not be disclosed. In July 2002, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed fining the Naheola Mill $91,000 as a result of the accident. Yance said that since the accident, the company has corrected deficiencies in operations and equipment that led to the deadly leak. Georgia-Pacific’s Mobile attorney, Mack Binion, contacted late Monday, deferred comments about the settlement to the company’s main office in Atlanta. 

Liquid zinc boils over at east Houston plant
Houston Chronicle
Hot liquid zinc at an east Houston processing plant bubbled over Monday, sending clouds of smoke into the sky. Houston firefighters doused small spot fires on the floor sparked by the spill about 4:50 p.m. at U.S. Zinc at North Greenwood and Navigation. “We go there probably two or three times a year,” said Houston Fire Department spokesman Jay Evans. “We’re just waiting now for the boilers, or the cookers as they call them, to cool down.” 

Ammonia leak clears out homes near Slidell plant; Man in hospital after trying to stop gas flow
Tuesday August 12, 2003 By Paul Rioux St. Tammany bureau 
An ammonia leak at a Slidell meat-packing plant sent an employee to the hospital and prompted authorities to evacuate dozens of homes for about five hours Monday. A plume of ammonia gas that could be smelled at least a mile away escaped shortly before 9 a.m. from a faulty valve at the Thompson Packers plant in the 500 block of Carnation Street on the city’s west side, police and firefighters said. A maintenance worker who tried to close the valve experienced breathing difficulty and was taken to Slidell Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in good condition Monday afternoon, firefighters said. About 75 other employees exited the building unharmed. As a hazardous materials crew arrived and donned protective suits and oxygen masks, police evacuated several dozen homes within a quarter-mile radius of the plant. “A lot of people don’t seem too thrilled about leaving until I tell them it causes blisters in the lungs,” Sgt. Brian Nicaud said as he knocked on doors along Magnolia Street a block from the plant. Slidell Mayor Ben Morris said the city used an automated phone system to call residents in the area and play a recorded message informing them of the leak and asking them to evacuate. The leak was caused by a purge valve that didn’t close properly after automatic censors opened it to release air that had built up in the ammonia lines, which are used for cooling, said Gary Hathorn, a spokesman for Fire Protection District No. 1. After shutting off the main ammonia supply line, several firefighters entered the plant and closed the leaking valve about 11:30 a.m., Hathorn said. Firefighters made a second trip into the building before residents were allowed to return to their homes about 2:30 p.m., he said. Hathorn said the leak was largely contained by a water curtain that dissolved most of the ammonia before it escaped the room housing the valve. Even so, the gas could be smelled for blocks around the plant. Slidell police Lt. Rob Callahan said he was speaking to children outside the Honeycomb School day care about a mile from the plant when the leak occurred. “There was a very distinct, very strong odor of ammonia,” he said. “We got all the kids inside the school and made sure all the windows and doors were closed.” Anhydrous ammonia is classified as a nonflammable gas, but in high concentrations it can be ignited by fire or an electrical spark, fire officials said. It also causes respiratory discomfort. The plant opened in 1975 and operated under a nonconforming-use permit until 1990, when the City Council amended the light commercial zoning classification to include meat-packing and processing plants. The change, which enabled the plant to expand, was opposed by many residents concerned about two ammonia leaks at the plant in October 1989 and November 1990. Hathorn said firefighters have no record of any other ammonia leaks at the plant. Plant manager Derise Morel said the plant has had no serious problems in recent years. “As long as you have ammonia, you are going to have problems from time to time,” he said. “But we’ve never had anything like this, and even this situation didn’t turn out to be as bad as was initially thought.” 

Gas cloud from treatment plant causes evacuation
Mandy M. Goodnight / The Town Talk Posted on August 12, 2003
POLLOCK – Grant Parish authorities evacuated residents and shut down La. Highway 3130 Monday after a hazardous chemical incident at a water plant. Authorities said it appears a delivery driver’s mistake caused the chemical reaction at the Rapides Parish Water District #3 plant about 4:30 p.m. State Police Trooper James Farris said there are no problems with the water. However, Hazardous Material crews from throughout the area were working throughout the night to clear out the chemicals. It was unknown at press time when residents who were evacuated would be allowed to return home. Farris said a delivery made to the plant was placed in the wrong tank, mixing phosphoric acid and sodium chlorite. The chemicals reacted causing a gaseous cloud at the Rapides Parish plant located in Grant Parish. State Police Hazardous Material Unit troopers said there was the potential of a hazardous reaction, but the situation was being contained. Farris said there were no reported injuries. Grant Parish sheriff’s Chief Deputy Preston Mosley said that at least one resident complained of sickness due exposure to an odor at the scene. Farris said a small reaction cloud remained Monday night, but it was being reduced by being sprayed with water mist. Sheriff’s officials said Haz-Mat crews, which included teams from the State Police, Petron and the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, planned to attempt to shut off a valve on the container. There was no word if the plan proceeded and if it was successful. About 8 p.m., Farris said he was told the Haz-Mat crews were waiting on some air sampling equipment to arrive. He said they planned to run air samples and monitor the area, moving in closer to where the incident occurred as the air clears. Farris added that workers hoped to have the road opened soon so residents could return to their homes. However, he said there was no timetable for when the area would be deemed safe. Several residents pulled up to the median near the crossover from U.S. Highway 165. They would yell questions across the highway, asking mostly when they could go home. One woman looked shocked when she pulled up to find the road closed and even more stunned when she was not allowed to turn in. Others indicated it was not their first time to drive by the intersection and check to see if they could go home. Grant Parish volunteer firemen blocking the entrance to La. 3130 at U.S. 165 told several residents it could be midnight or later before the road would be opened. Farris said residents were evacuated as a precaution. Mosley said residents in the immediate area were asked to leave while those within a one-mile radius were asked to stay inside. There was no estimate on how many people were asked to leave their homes. Authorities did not report setting up a shelter. State Police said the Sheriff’s Office and Grant Parish Fire District worked quickly to assist residents in either leaving or being informed to stay indoors. Other agencies assisting in the incident were Rapides Parish sheriff’s deputies and Ball Police Department.

Chlorine Leak
KAKE News 
Emergency crews were called to Wichita’s water treatment plant on the report of a chlorine leak just after 10 a.m. on Monday. A defective valve outside the plant allowed chlorine gas to leak. But fire officials say quick action by plant workers kept problems to a minimum. Capt. Mark Haynes of the Wichita Fire Department says, “I think they had some minor inhalation injuries, what we call code green, which is our minor level. One of the persons was trying to shut some windows. It was an outside leak and it was getting into the building so he was trying to contain it to the outside. The workers inside determined they had a leak immediately and got it shut down. We had some residual that was in the line that had to be bled out. I have to commend the workers here, they did a good job with the training and the equipment that they have to shut down the line.” Four workers were exposed to some of the chlorine gas. Three people were treated at the scene. One person went to Via Christi-St. Francis with minor inhalation injuries, but has since been released. The leak was quickly shut down. The plant was briefly evacuated as a precaution but things were back to normal within half an hour and water operations were not disrupted. 

Ammonia leak at General Mills plants sends nine to hospital 
CHANHASSEN (AP) — Nine workers at a General Mills bakery plant were taken to hospitals late Monday after an ammonia leak. The source of the leak was unclear. The leak happened during a shift change about 10 p.m. when an estimated 300 workers were in the building, said Tom Forsythe, vice president of corporate communications for General Mills. All of the workers who were taken to hospitals had been treated and released by 12:20 a.m. Tuesday, he said. Sixteen agencies responded to the plant and the leak was stopped by 12:15 a.m., Forsythe said. Ammonia is used as a refrigerant in the plant, which produces pastries and other bakery products. 

Ammonia Leak Forces Plant Evacuation; No One Hurt
August 12, 2003
TAMA, Iowa — Officials say an ammonia leak at a new beef plant in Tama Monday night forced an evacuation. No one was hurt. The leak was reported about 8 p.m. There was no immediate word on where it happened, but ammonia is often used as a coolant in the refrigeration of food. Iowa Quality Beef opened last month in the former Tama Beef plant. It has about 240 workers. 

Chemical leak overcomes two N. Ky. officers 
By Reid Forgrave The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON – Hazardous materials crews converged on a specialty chemical manufacturing company here Saturday night after toxic fumes overcame two police officers responding to a break-in alarm, officials said. The Covington officers drove themselves to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Covington for treatment after finding a chlorine line ruptured at H&S Chemical Co. shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday. Authorities did not identify the officers and their conditions were not available Sunday. H&S Chemical is located at 1025 Mary Laidley Drive, 10 miles south of downtown Cincinnati. Covington fire department, hazardous materials crews and chemists were sent to the laboratory after being notified by the police officers. Crews found that a line coming out from a 100-pound bottle of chlorine had ruptured. Another chemical appeared to have spilled on the floor. “We were concerned about securing the chlorine first,” said Bob Welch, spokesman for Greater Cincinnati Hazardous Materials. A team of technicians in HazMat suits secured the chlorine bottle by shutting off the valve, then turning on the exhaust system to disperse the toxic cloud. The other solution on the floor turned out to be water, Welch said. The ruptured line was isolated to one bottle of chlorine, he said. “It didn’t progress into any other areas and cause problems,” Welch said. The building was turned back over to H & S Chemical Co. around midnight. Owner Charles A. Schneider did not return a phone call Sunday.

Refinery’s chemical release spurs hundreds of complaints
By Tom Lochner Contra Costa Times
RICHMOND – A chemical release at the ChevronTexaco refinery Saturday night was a “burp” caused by a buildup of hydrogen sulfide gas that exceeded a safety flare’s capability to burn it off, a Richmond fire official said. Hundreds complained about the odor, and two dozen sought medical assistance. “All of a sudden you’ve got this product that has to be vented or it’ll explode,” said Battalion Chief James Fajardo of the Richmond Fire Department. “I call it a `burp.’ ” Residents of San Pablo, North Richmond and parts of Richmond, reported hearing warning sirens between 9:15 and 9:25 p.m., an alert to stay indoors while closing windows and shutting off air conditioners. Fajardo said ChevronTexaco officials estimated they had fixed the problem by about 10:25. The alert was called off at 10:55, after air samples taken at five locations were all negative for hydrogen sulfide, Fajardo said. As of 10:30, 26 people had gone to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Richmond complaining of various ills, Fajardo said. 

Residents at Marriott Inn evacuated 
By Jeff Adair / News Staff Writer Saturday, August 9, 2003
FRAMINGHAM — More than three dozen patrons and staff at the Marriott Residence Inn at 9/90 Crossing were rushed outside yesterday morning following a chemical spill on the fifth floor. One maintenance worker reported having dizzy spells and was treated briefly at the scene. There were no other injuries. The 125-room hotel at 400 Staples Drive is in the 9/90 complex, across from Staples headquarters, near the entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The Fire Department and the state’s hazardous materials team, dressed in protective gear, spent the morning cleaning the chemical used in the air conditioning system to kill bacteria in the roof-top heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) towers. Evacuated patrons were bused to the Sheraton Framingham on the opposite side of Rte. 9, where they were fed and put up in rooms. The bottom three floors of the Marriott were reopened around 3 p.m. for guests who planned to check out of the hotel. “It’s really no big deal,” said Fire Chief Michael Smith, shortly after the evacuation. He quickly clarified: “It’s a big deal in the fact that we had to get the people out of there.” “It’s some sort of corrosive material to treat the water-cooling system,” he added. Hotel officials called the Fire Department at around 9 a.m., said Smith, after the maintenance director investigated complaints of a strong odor coming from the top floor. He reported that the odor, which came from the boiler room, smelled a bit like cut flowers. The fumes began to sting his eyes and throat, Smith said. Three gallons of the liquid dropped from the dispenser holding it and spilled in front of an injection system that pumps the chemical into the cooling unit, Smith said. The spill was contained to one room, said Deputy Fire Chief Ollie Gadson. Following the cleanup, Gadson identified the substance as Glutaraldehyde, a toxic chemical that can cause a burning sensation in the eyes, nose and throat. The chemical, also used for cold sterilization of medical and dental equipment, can burn the skin in high concentrations. Long term, it can cause sudden asthma attacks, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “In situations like these, I couldn’t put my firefighters in danger,” said Gadson, explaining why the hazmat teams were called. “We don’t have the protective gear or clothing.” Three fire trucks, two ambulances, three trucks from the Hazardous Materials Response Team, and an official from the emergency response unit of the state Department of Environmental Protection responded to the accident. Many hotel guests hung around outside before they were moved to the Sheraton. Many had just awakened when the alarm sounded, and left behind car keys and other valuables. They were curious but few appeared overly upset. Mark Dunham was doing work on his PC when the alarm sounded. “All I know is they rang the alarm to evacuate,” said Dunham, an engineer from Knoxville, Tenn., working on a project for an area business. “I guess I’ll just have to go to the office,” said a frustrated Dunham. “I don’t have my computer.” Tony Miller of Turin, Italy, was with his wife, Belinda, and two small children, Ashley, 5, and Alessia, one month. They were unpacking in their third floor room when the alarm sounded. “I left my keys in the wallet,” said Miller, who works for Bose Corp. “I’m sure it’s nothing huge.” “We have no diapers,” Belinda said. Harvey Bruner, an attorney from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, in town to pick up his son from a camp at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, was peeved when he returned to the hotel an hour later. He said he wanted to get his things and just go, but was told by police that he would be arrested if he entered the building. “This is ridiculous,” he said. “I just wanted to get my stuff. “I was a little shocked at the way (the police) treated me,” he said when returning for a second time. “I simply asked the manager if he could send someone up.” 

Chemical spill at Monroe’s water plant contained 
By The Associated Press
MONROE, La. — A chemical spill at the city’s water treatment plant never posed a danger to residents, authorities said. The state Department of Environmental Quality was in charge of the cleanup, which was winding up Friday. City workers discovered nearly 5,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide, or caustic soda, which had spilled over from a container on Thursday. The city uses the chemical to adjust the pH balance in the water supply. “The majority puddled on the ground. Some seeped into the ground and some leaked into the drainage system,” said Gerald Massey, water plant supervisor. The city receives the chemical with a 50 percent concentration but uses it at 20 percent potency, Massey said. To dilute the caustic soda, he said a measured amount water is added to the solution through a pipe that connects with the storage tank. A valve in the pipe malfunctioned, causing the tank to overflow. Massey said it appears the pipe had been leaking a few hours before being detected. Sodium hydroxide is manufactured and is found in household cleaning products, such as drain and oven cleaners. Very low amounts can produce irritation of the skin or eyes. The Food and Drug Administration allows sodium hydroxide to be used a food additive at levels below 1 percent. Crews are working to replace the topsoil that was tainted, said Lance Beauvais, a DEQ emergency response official. Officials from the Louisiana State Police’s hazardous materials team and the Monroe Fire Department also responded to the initial call on Thursday. 

Blast, leak hit NCCo airport; Worker burned; flights delayed several hours 
By MURALI BALAJI Staff reporter 08/06/2003
A chemical explosion and an unrelated gas leak Tuesday morning at New Castle County Airport injured one person and shut down part of the airport for several hours. The incidents happened within 90 minutes and the gas leak delayed inbound and outbound flights. But the airport remained operational, said Jim Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River & Bay Authority, which runs the airport. The chemical explosion occurred at 9 a.m. at the Dassault-Falcon Jet hangar when an employee mistakenly poured chemicals into a barrel of solvents, causing a violent reaction and a brief fire, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio said. The worker, who was not identified pending notification of relatives, suffered facial burns and was taken to Christiana Hospital, where he was in good condition, Chionchio said. There was no structural damage to the hangar. Hazardous-materials crews from the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control responded to check for contamination, Chionchio said. He said no violation notice was issued. Dassault Falcon, a subsidiary of France-based Dassault Aviation, provides aircraft service and maintenance at the airport. DNREC spokeswoman Melinda Carl said the explosion and fire was caused by an oxidizer mixed with organics at the hangar paint shop. The second incident occurred about 10:20 a.m, after an airport grounds worker ruptured an underground gas line near the airport’s observation tower while doing maintenance work, authority Police Chief John McCarnan said. The air-traffic control tower and the Federal Aviation Administration office were evacuated and the inner runways closed until Conectiv shut off the gas at the tower at 11:55 a.m., officials said. Flights were coordinated in conjunction with Philadelphia International Airport and using a portable air-traffic control device, Salmon said. Fire crews had to ventilate the air-traffic control tower before reopening it for use. Gas was restored to the building about 1:30 p.m., Conectiv spokesman Bill Yingling said. Salmon said he could not recall a similar accident at the airport. “It’s unique to have this situation,” he said. The airport accommodates about 50 business jets and 220 propeller aircraft.

Industrial accidents force thousands to flee
2003/8/6 TOKYO, AP
In a string of unrelated industrial accidents Tuesday, one gas and two chemical leaks left three people injured and forced thousands to be evacuated in Japan. Early Tuesday, a poisonous gas leak at a paper factory in central Japan prompted authorities to temporarily evacuate thousands of people. A paper filter manufacturing plant run by Tomoegawa Paper Co. began leaking fluorine, a pale yellow flammable irritant, said a fire official from Shizuoka prefecture (state), where the accident happened. Fluorine can cause chemical burns on contact with the skin. The gas leaked when temperatures shot up to 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit) during material processing, double the normal 300 degrees (572 degrees Fahrenheit), the official said on condition of anonymity. No injuries were reported, though public broadcaster NHK said 1,200 households and 4,500 people were evacuated. Separately, one worker was treated for burns later Tuesday after a metal tank containing hydrochloric acid blew up at a galvanizing factory in Akita, northern Japan, prefectural police spokesman Toshimitsu Shibata said. Hydrochloric acid, a strong, highly corrosive acid that is water soluble, is widely used to clean metals or to process ore. Police sealed off the area around the factory, operated by Nihon Galvanizing Co, and asked nearby residents to stay home with windows shut for a while. In the day’s third incident, leaked chlorofluorocarbons at a seafood processing company sent 36 people to hospitals, two of whom remained unconscious, said Mitsuo Kamikubo of the Hachinoe Fire headquarters in northern Aomori prefecture. The victims ¡X all employees of Hachinohe Kyowa Suisan ¡X were mostly affected by breathing difficulties and stinging eyes, he said. 

UPDATE Leak in Kalpakkam plant was due to `staff error’ 
By R.K. Radhakrishnan 
KALPAKKAM AUG. 6. The Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), B. Bhattacharjee, said today that the radiation leak at a BARC facility here in January, which affected six employees, was due to a “little bit of error in judgment, miscalculation and over-enthusiasm” on the part of employees. Also, “failure of equipment went unnoticed” in the facility. BARC officials said the prescribed safety procedures were not fully followed by the personnel in charge of emptying a tank of low active waste. This had to be done to keep it ready to receive high-level waste. The officials, including the Director, Health, Safety and Environment Group, V. Venkat Raj, denied that fresh instructions had been sent to staff at the various facilities after the incident; the staff had only been told to adhere to the laid-down norms and not cut corners. The incident which should be rated between levels “one and two” in the International Nuclear Event Scale, was not serious. (The Scale ranges from level 1 (anomaly) to 7 (major accient). Deviations of no safety significance are classified level 0). Dr. Bhattacharjee said the Three Mile Island disaster was classified as level five and the Chernobyl meltdown was rated seven. Any event between one and four were classified as “incidents” and any problem above, were rated as “accidents” in the International Atomic Energy Agency lexicon. The cause of the incident, as identified later by a specially constituted technical committee, was a minor leak in an isolation valve separating a high level liquid waste tank from a low level liquid waste tank. This resulted in an increase in radioactivity in the low level liquid waste tank. While conceding that this was the worst nuclear accident in the country, he insisted that this statement of his should be viewed in the context of the fact that India has had no nuclear accident at all. “Yes, this is the worst accident. But the point is that this is a minor incident. There has been no damage even to the surrounding environment. It is unfair to yank one stement out of context and sensationalise the issue,” he said. BARC officials said the incident at one of its facilities here, the Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant (KARP), was blown out of proportion by some employees. Addressing presspersons here, Dr. Bhattacharjee said that he had met the six employees early today and that they were all fine. They have been assigned tasks in the “white areas,” meaning offices, where the radioactivity was nearly zero. This was because they had received high doses as they were exposed to the leak. He refused to reveal the exact amount of radiation the workers received, and also admitted that he was not in a position now to comment on the long-term affects of the radiation. Also, there would be no disciplinary action against the “erring” employees who had failed to follow the laid-down safety procedures. This was because the actions of the employees were “not intentional.”

Chemical Spill Cleaned; Residents Return; Vapor Cloud Forms Outside Building
WASHINGTON — Residents have returned to their apartments after a chemical mishap sent vapors through part of their building Tuesday morning. D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter said residents had to evacuate the apartment building in the 3000 block of 14th Street in Northwest. Etter said a toxic vapor cloud of myriatic acid formed about 9 a.m., after the acid mixed with water outside the building. The acid was apparently being used to clean the air conditioning system. One person had breathing problems and was hospitalized. The person’s injuries are not considered serious.Leak forces 30 workers to leave building briefly
An ammonia leak yesterday at the PepsiAmericas plant in South Toledo forced the temporary evacuation of one of the buildings. At least two employees were sent to the hospital as a precaution but returned to work by the end of their shift, said Mary Viola, a Chicago-based spokesman for PepsiAmericas. Though up to 300 employees work throughout the complex, only about 30 employees were evacuated because the delivery drivers had left the plant for the day and the leak involved only one building, she said. Fire crews were called to the plant, 3245 Hill Ave., about 9:40 a.m. The leak already had been stopped and plant inspectors were addressing the problem, Toledo fire Capt. Brent Wettle said. Another four employees from a nearby tortilla factory, La Perla, also complained of being sick, but refused medical treatment. Fire crews checked their work site but found no sign of the ammonia, he said.

UPDATE UPM-Kymmene Admits “Miscalculation” Caused Toxic Spill 
04.08.2003, 18.35 
Paper and pulp company UMP-Kymmene has admitted responsibility for accidentally dumping untreated waste into the Saimaa waters in southeastern Finland. At the end of June a pulp processing plant released a toxic black bi-product into the water. On Monday the company said a miscalculation at the factory was to blame for the environmental damage. The sludge spread as far as 15 kilometres, killing a significant number of fish and necessitating the closure of public beaches. UPM-Kymmene has requested that everyone who suffered from the accident submit written information to the company by the end of the year. UPM-Kymmene is letting an external expert investigate the damage and decide on how to compensate for it. Whatever the company has to pay in damages will be on top of the 2 million euros’ worth of losses already caused by the accident. 

Noxious Gas Hospitalizes Cape Coral Workers
Dateline: August 1, 2003 – Abigail Bleck
Cape Coral : It wasn’t the 15 foot fall that put two Cape Coral men in danger this afternoon. It was the toxic gases from the manhole they fell into that threatened their lives. The men were searching for a sewer tank leak at the Tarpon Point Marine in SW Cape Coral when one passed out from Hydrogen Sulfide fumes. His co-worker went down the manhole to save him and he also passed out from the noxious fumes. Hydrogen Sulfide poisoning is as toxic as Cyanide poisoning. “Hydrogen sulfide is a deadly gas. Exceptionally deadly. These guys are very lucky. If they had been down there any longer they may not have been as fortunate,” explains Dr. Keith Lafferty, the Cape Coral Emergeny Room Physician who treated the men. The man who was originally overwhelmed by the fumes is still in the ICU. His co-worker is also still being monitored for acute Hydrogen Sulfide poisoning symptoms. Three firefighters were also treated and released from Hydrogen Sulfide exposure.

Sioux Center Ammonia Leak 
An ammonia leak at a Sioux Center, Iowa plant on Friday night is under control and residents are back in their homes. Shortly before five, a man-way cover blew allowing anhydrous ammonia to leak from a valve; at what will soon be the Golden Crisp Premium Foods Plant. It’s in Sioux Center’s industrial park. A refrigeration company was working on the building at the time. Because of the ammonia, authorities evacuated six residential blocks “downwind” of the plant. Firefighters from Sioux Center, Orange City, Hull and Sioux City sprayed water on the site to control to spread of ammonia. Sioux City’s Hazmat team also pitched in. As of 7:30 Friday night crews had the leak contained and people were allowed to go back to their homes. No one was hurt. Authorities say “mechanical failure in a compressor” caused the problem.

N-plant leak shock Jul 29 2003
by Eryl Crump, Daily Post
A NORTH Wales nuclear power station was at the centre of a fresh safety scare last night after gas leaked from the site. Now nuclear safety inspectors say they are monitoring the situation at Wylfa, on Anglesey. BNFL Magnox Generation confirmed carbon dioxide gas, used as a coolant in the reactors, escaped from storage tanks early on Sunday morning. A spokesman insisted the gas was not contaminated by radio-activity and there was no danger to the public. The incident came just days after it was revealed engineers had shut down the station after defects were found in welds inside the reactors. Anti-nuclear campaigners have repeated calls for the station to be shut down immediately. BNFL spokesman Tim Jones said: “The gas was clean gas, released from storage tanks and was not radioactive. “There was no danger to the public at all and was not linked to the current shutdown at all.” Pawb (People against Wylfa B) spokesman Dylan Morgan said it was the latest in a worrying series of incidents at the station. “The incident is indicative of an ageing station that is way past its original working life. Even if the carbon dioxide leak was clean, this again shows the ageing process at Wylfa is undermining the plant. It should be closed down and decommissioned before a major incident takes place.” Neil Crumpton, energy spokesperson for Friends of the Earth Cymru said: “We call yet again for the closure of the Wylfa nuclear power station on safety grounds. But there is a wider point here also. Nuclear power is seriously unreliable and unpredictable, especially if a problem affects a whole series of similar reactors.” A Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) spokesman confirmed last night the incidents had been reported. “No formal investigation will be made into the latest gas leak but we will be looking into it to find out what lessons the operator can learn from the incident. As regards to the shutdown the NII are content with the action taken but the situation is being monitored and the station will not restart until we are happy with the work carried out.” Both of Wylfa’s reactors have been temporarily shut after the problems came to light. Mr Jones said one reactor was already shut down for a routine maintenance check, which has to take place every two years. Two years ago two people were treated for shock and workers ordered to evacuate the site after carbon dioxide gas was released in the basement of one of the reactor buildings. It was discovered later the gas was clean gas released from the fire fighting system and was not radioactive. Earlier this year engineers were forced to shut down a reactor after steam escaped from pipes as experts carried out safety checks on special bolts. The latest problem is yet another blow to the future of the power station, which was opened in 1971 and employs 500 people. Generation of electricity is scheduled to cease in 2010. The station re-opened two years ago, after safety concerns forced a 16-month shutdown which cost BNFL an estimated £200m. The latest difficulties are said to be unrelated to the problems suffered in 2001.Minor injuries reported from cyanide accident at Tulsa plant 
Three workers at a plant in southeast Tulsa had a close call with cyanide Monday afternoon. It happened at the Hilti plant on at 5400 South 122nd East Avenue. The workers were taken to a Tulsa hospital, but their injuries are not considered to be serious. Officials say a liquid cyanide mixture being used inside the facility splashed on some workers. Cyanide is used at the plant as part of the manufacturing process. 

Kawerau chlorine fumes inhaled 
29.07.2003
A Kawerau mill worker is in hospital after inhaling chlorine gas fumes during an emergency at a Carter Holt Harvey chlorine plant. The 24-hour mill, with up to 800 workers on site at any one time, was closed for about three hours on Friday while millworkers, using breathing apparatus, isolated the leak and replaced the washer. However, one worker inhaled gas fumes and was treated at the scene before being taken to Whakatane Hospital. 

Hazmat Crews Respond To Ammonia Odor At St. Louis Plant
7/28/2003 10:50:08 AM
(KSDK) — A chemical mishap forced emergency crews to shut down an entire stretch of South Grand on Sunday. Fire and Hazmat teams were called to the Pevely plant after an engineer noticed a strong odor of ammonia. Firefighters found that a purge valve on the roof was wide open, allowing the fumes to escape. They shut the valve and winds quickly dissipated the noxious fumes. No one was hurt or evacuated. 

Chlorine leak at water plant prompts Valhalla camp evacuation
By MICHAEL GANNON THE JOURNAL NEWS 
VALHALLA — A toxic chlorine gas leak discovered yesterday morning at a plant that treats New York City’s drinking water led officials to evacuate about 75 workers and hundreds of children attending two nearby summer camps. No one was injured. The leak was contained in the Shaft 18 building at the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Valhalla campus. The facility treats the city’s and most of Westchester’s drinking water from the Catskill and Delaware reservoir systems. The city’s water system was not affected, said Ed Welch, chief of the DEP Police. Members of the DEP Police hazardous materials team, wearing neon green chemical suits, entered the building after an alarm was triggered shortly before 9 a.m., Welch said. Chlorine levels reached 28 parts per million, almost three times the amount that would trigger the alarm, he said. Chlorine is a hazardous gas that can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract and cause coughing, teary eyes, choking and chest pains. In sufficient quantity, exposure can be fatal. The leak likely started when the valves were replaced Wednesday night as part of a regular maintenance program, Welch said. A worker in the plant turned off the valve before the employees were evacuated, Welch said. In the afternoon, water sprayed from a hose was used to knock any chlorine out of the air as the building was ventilated. The leak was fully contained by 1 p.m., said Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno. About 250 children attending a town of Mount Pleasant day camp at the Valhalla United Methodist Church, adjacent to the DEP site, were evacuated to Westlake High School two miles north and their parents were called to take them home, Alagno said. Two busloads of children attending summer school at nearby Valhalla High School and a soccer camp at adjacent Kensico School also were evacuated to Westlake, then sent home, a school official said. Welch said there was never a concern that the leak was the work of saboteurs. The leak was the first accident at the DEP site in some time, Alagno said. In May 1995, a truck delivered a leaking tank of chlorine to the site. No injuries were reported, and no surrounding homes had to be evacuated. Yesterday, about 100 emergency personnel went to the scene, including the DEP Police, Westchester County Police, the county hazardous materials unit, Mount Pleasant Police, the Valhalla Fire Department and the Valhalla Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Alagno said. Mount Pleasant Town Supervisor Robert Meehan said the DEP, police, fire and emergency officials were well prepared to deal with the leak. They had practiced responding to a chlorine leak just two years ago, Meehan said. “It’s something that we had planned for and drilled for and was handled perfectly by the emergency responders,” he said. George and Anna Fusco watched the commotion from the porch of their Columbus Avenue home, directly across the street from the site. They said they noticed the summer camp at the church being evacuated around 9 a.m., but never became too concerned themselves. “We’ve lived here for 48 years, so we’re used to this,” Anna Fusco said. 

GSU Building Evacuated After Mishap
ATLANTA — A Georgia State University building was evacuated Tuesday as a precautionary measure after a container of phosphoric acid spilled in a chemistry class. Atlanta firefighters and the HazMat team were called to the sixth floor of Kell Hall, located on Peachtree Center Avenue, after receiving reports of a chemical spill. No injuries were reported. Rescue workers blocked off several streets near the campus and ordered people to leave the building. Authorities said a container holding about 1 pint of phosphoric acid was dropped in a chemistry laboratory. on 6th. Students sought to dilute the substance with water. Fire crews also worked to contain the spill.

3 workers hurt in chlorine gas accident
Patricia Biggs The Arizona Republic Jul. 23, 2003 12:00 AM
CHANDLER – Three workers were taken to hospitals and a building evacuated after a mishap during a copper-etching process at a semiconductor plant Tuesday morning. About 10:27 a.m., the salt and acid being used to etch copper at Rogers Corp., 100 S. Roosevelt Ave., went out of balance, releasing a “chlorine cloud,” according to Dan Couch, a Chandler Fire Department battalion chief. “The operator in the area was exposed enough that he passed out,” he said. An alarm went off and shut down the process. “The operator was rescued by two other workers,” Couch said. About 35 firefighters from Chandler, Phoenix and Tempe responded to the scene. “We’re making sure it hasn’t spread beyond the room of origin,” Couch said. A neighboring suite in the building was evacuated, but there was no release of gas to the outside, Couch said. It was unknown why the chemicals went out of balance. The workers were expected to be OK, Couch said. 

UPDATE 12 sue over vapor cloud from Noveon; Plaintiffs say acid damaged their health 
By JAMES BRUGGERS The Courier-Journal 
A Kentucky road inspector and 11 construction workers sued a Rubbertown chemical plant yesterday — the second suit filed against Noveon after an industrial accident there on June 25 sent a cloud of acid vapor into a nearby neighborhood. The 12 plaintiffs, who were working on the Shawnee Expressway at the time, claim the vapors damaged their health. They also allege the company violated state environmental laws and are seeking an unspecified amount in compensation. “Most of us are worried about the long-term effects of this,” said Donald B. Goodlett, a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet inspector and the lead plaintiff. The other 11 plaintiffs are workers with an Ohio-based construction firm that was preparing to lay new concrete on the expressway the day of the incident, Goodlett said. All 12 are represented by Louisville attorneys Thomas E. Clay and James M. Green, and Frankfort attorney Phillip J. Shepherd, former secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. The suit was filed in Jefferson Circuit Court. Noveon’s plant manager, Jeff Campbell, said he was not aware of the lawsuit and could not comment on it. He has previously expressed regret for the accident, which happened in a large tank where chlorinated polyvinyl chloride is mixed with colorings and other compounds. Louisville Metro emergency officials said on June 25 that a fire in the tank produced the vapor cloud. Goodlett said the acid vapors sent him and seven others to a hospital. Clay said yesterday that all 11 construction workers have suffered some health effects, ranging from headaches to burning lungs. Goodlett said he still experiences a burning feeling in his lungs. He described the vapor cloud as a thick fog that quickly irritated eyes, lungs and mucous membranes. “It was almost like we swallowed Ta basco sauce,” Goodlett said in an interview. The Noveon plant, which has 135 employees, produces plastic powders and pellets used to make pipe. The first suit was filed June 30 in U.S. District Court by the same three lawyers on behalf of four members of a family that lives near the plant. That lawsuit stems from the same accident and also alleges that air pollution from the Noveon plant is a nuisance and routinely deprives the family of the full use of their home. Clay said the two lawsuits are part of a broader legal strategy to force Noveon and other Rubbertown – area industries to reduce air pollution. Shepherd has said the strategy was triggered in part by new revelations about the area’s poor air quality after Courier-Journal reports that have come from a West Jefferson County Community Task Force air-sampling study. The lawsuit filed yesterday also lists these plaintiffs from this area: Meho Basic, Louisville; Donald R. Jones, Jeffersonville, Ind.; Thomas M. Large, Greensburg, Ky.; and Mark Heath, Frankfort, Ky. These Ohio men also are plaintiffs: Daniel G. Park, Chillicothe; Rodney L. Beegle; Portland; Brad E. McLoughlin, Chandlersville; David A. Clendenning, Byesville; Randy A. Little, West Union; Thomas B. Haynes, Kingston; and Hulon Russell, Hardyville. The suit was assigned to Judge Steve Mershon.

Chlorine Leaks At Local Pool; Hazmat Crews Called To Scene
Story by wpxi.com 
PITTSBURGH — Bellevue homeowners had a scare Tuesday morning after a chlorine cloud was reported near the Bellevue pool. The pool was not open at the time. A tank value broke and leaked the poisonous gas. One person had to be taken to the hospital. More than 50 firefighters and other emergency workers rushed to the Ross Township neighborhood, to contain the leak and protect residents. Brian Moore said, “We were right next to it here, and we were concerned because we have a little baby. So they told us to close our windows and not get any vapors in.” Moore and other residents of Aspen Village in Ross Township were alerted to the chlorine mist in the air by firefighters who went door-to-door through several neighborhoods after the leak at the Bellevue Community Pool. A township hazardous material team found that a valve was open on a 100-gallon chlorine tank. Some of the liquid spilled out and sent a cloud over the area. Fire Chief Scott Story said, “The valve was just open, so they controlled it by just closing the valve. Other than that, there was no breakage, no product on the ground.” Tom Kelly, a worker who’d been near the tank when it spilled, was taken to a hospital as a precaution. He told medics he was OK. Residents were allowed to leave their homes 90 minutes after the alert. Paula Chiodo said, “I was concerned when they told us that because I have some health problems as it is, so I just stayed in.” Firefighters said there were no reports of residents getting sick from the fumes.

Chemical leak rousts 100 from businesses
DAVID L. TEIBEL Tucson Citizen July 22, 2003
About 100 people were evacuated from a Northwest Side business complex yesterday after chlorine and muriatic acid gases leaked from a cracked swimming pool pipe in a gymnasium. The leak was in the water-purification system of a pool at Gold’s Gym, 7315 N. Oracle Road, said George Good, a district chief with the Rural/Metro Fire Department. A pipe that held chlorine for the swimming pool cracked and mixed chlorine with muriatic acid, Good said. Eight people, including one employee, were taken by ambulance to Northwest Hospital, and several others drove to the hospital after the gas began leaking about 10:30 a.m., Good said. None of the people complaining of tightness in the chest, watery eyes and irritated breathing passages was seriously hurt, and Good expected all of them to be released yesterday. A Rural/Metro hazardous materials team donned protective suits, went into the complex and closed a valve to stop the leak, Good said. People were allowed back into the building about 1:30 p.m., Good said. Five other businesses were affected, including U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl’s office, an accounting firm and a pizzeria, he said. While muriatic acid, a commercial name for hydrochloric acid, and chlorine are common chemicals used to kill bacteria in swimming pools, gas from the chemicals can be deadly in high concentrations, Good said. Another incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. when a Gold’s Gym employee inhaled muriatic acid after opening a bucket containing the chemical. He was also taken to Northwest Hospital. Tucson Citizen reporter Irene Hsiao contributed to this report.

India admits radiation leak at N-plant
ISLAMABAD: The Indian nuclear establishment Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has admitted for the first time that a major accident took place at Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant (KARP) recently. Director BARC B Bhattacharjee admitted: “This is the worst accident in radiation exposure in the history of nuclear India.” According to an investigative report in the weekly Outlook, six workers at the KARP were exposed to a severe dose of radiation six months ago. Over three months later, in May, BFEA, the employees association of the BARC facility, gave a strike notice and president of the association was transferred Scarcely a month later. The incident on January 21, which led to the indefinite shutting down of the plant, raises serious questions over the safety of the production of potential weapons-grade plutonium at the KARP, and also the safety of workers and human habitations around Kalpakkam. Concerned members of the scientific community feel that Kalpakkam may be a mini-Chernobyl in the making if safety issues aren’t quickly addressed and made transparent. Kalpakkam, 70km from Chennai, is home to a host of Department of Atomic Energy-run installations – like the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) with two Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors; the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) that conducts research on Fast Breeder Reactor technology; and BARC facilities, including reprocessing plants like KARP. Reprocessing plants use chemical processes to extract uranium and plutonium from “spent fuel” that has been irradiated in nuclear reactors. In the process, they produce large amounts of radioactive waste, which is usually classified into low, medium and high-level wastes depending on the radioactivity concentration. On January 21 this year, high-level waste entered due to a valve failure into a tank designed for low-level waste. As a result six workers received extraordinarily high doses of radiation. The BARC authorities confirmed that the incident took place when Scientific Officer Sridharan, Scientific Assistant B P Singh and Tradesman Srinivasa Raju entered the Waste Tank Farm area. According to Secretary Atomic Energy Regulatory Board K S Parthasarathy, the annual effective dose to individual workers shall not exceed thirty millisievert (30 mSv), and the cumulative dose shall not exceed 100 mSv in a five-year period. A new monitoring mechanism came about post-Pokhran in April 2000, when the government decided that the regulatory and safety functions at the BARC and all the BARC facilities would henceforth be carried out through an Internal Safety Committee Structure. It was reasoned: “In a strategic weapons programme we have to maintain secrecy and safety.” One of the primary functions of the KARP is producing plutonium for the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) at the IGCAR. This plutonium can also be used to make nuclear weapons; hence the strategic shroud over its activities. Bansal admits that the ‘shutdown’ does affect the production and supply of fuel to the FBR. And the losses could run into crores. Responding to a question as to when would the KARP resume operations, Bhattacharjee says: “The loss is invaluable. The safety committee last met on July 10. We hope to be operational in a few weeks after ensuring that all safety procedures are stabilised.” 

Chemical Spill Causes Evacuation
Jul. 17, 2003
A Salt Lake City business was evacuated Thursday after a chemical spill. About 30 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled onto the parking lot of ‘Water Recovery Sciences’. The owner was moving the acid from one container to another. In the process, the acid mixed with another chemical and caused a reaction. The business evacuated five workers. The others were out to lunch at the time. Sulfuric acid, if inhaled, can cause breathing problems. No one was injured and no nearby businesses had to be evacuated. 

Mystery Remains After Roswell Worker Falls Ill
Story by wsbtv.com 
ROSWELL — City authorities said they may never know what sickened a Roswell sanitation worker who grew ill Wednesday while cleaning out his garbage truck, raising fears that the victim had been exposed to a chemical agent. The man, identified as Jimmy Simons, was taken to North Fulton Regional Hospital for treatment after the incident, which occurred at the city’s public works facility on Hembree Road around 10:30 a.m. Hazmat crews from DeKalb County and the city of Alpharetta were summoned to the scene over concerns that the worker had come in contact with a hazardous material while making his rounds. His last pick-up was in the Liberty Square subdivision. Roswell Fire Capt. Paul Piccirilli said the worker was cleaning his garbage truck after dumping the refuse into the transfer station. During the cleaning, the man started complaining that he was not feeling well. Workers in the public works office called 911. Piccirilli said as a precaution that other workers in the facility were ordered to remain in the Roswell public works building and no one was allowed to enter it until officials determined what the substance was. Authorities said they found nothing hazardous in Simons’ truck.

Five workers overcome by fumes 
July 15, 2003 By Pedro Ramirez III Staff writer 
Three employees were taken by ambulance to University Hospital, said Joe Rinefierd, director of fire services with Onondaga County’s Emergency Management Division. “The products (being used) contained benzene and toluene, which emits an odor while it’s wet,” Rinefierd said. “That’s pretty much what made everybody sick.” The employees complained of being lightheaded and dizzy, feeling sick to their stomachs and having trouble breathing – symptoms commonly associated with exposure to benzene and toluene, Rinefierd said. Two other employees declined treatment at the scene. County officials would not release the names of the employees, and hotel management repeatedly declined to comment on the matter. Rinefierd said the symptoms were not serious and the employees aren’t expected to suffer long-term effects from the exposure. The hotel had been sealing the cemented area around the pool, which is in a center courtyard. The hotel apparently informed guests in a letter that the pool, Jacuzzi and sauna area were being closed from noon Sunday through 4 p.m. Thursday. Copies of the letter dated July 11 were in a stack at the front check-in counter. The letter also stated that the pool deck would be stained during that time. Local firefighters and emergency medical workers responded to the hotel, 6701 Buckley Road, shortly after 1:39 p.m. Employees and guests were evacuated. Officials did not know how many people were in the hotel at the time, and management wouldn’t comment. Firefighters used fans to ventilate the hotel. They remained on the scene monitoring the air in the building. About 2:40 p.m., officials decided it was safe to allow people back into the building.

Miller Brewing ammonia leak closes roads 
07/11/03 Associated Press
Trenton, Ohio – At least 100 pounds of anhydrous ammonia gas leaked yesterday from a Miller Brewing Co. plant near this southwestern Ohio community, forcing authorities to close roads around the plant for about 30 minutes. No injuries were reported. Butler County sheriff’s deputies reopened the roads once they determined there was no hazard, sheriff’s spokesman Monte Mayer said. The leak was quickly repaired, he said. The gas leaked from the plant’s refrigeration system, brewery spokeswoman Hillary Johnson said. The cause of the leak wasn’t known, she said. Trenton is about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. 

Crews scramble to contain chemicals; Ethylene Glycol leaks into sewer
By Taryn Asher (07/15/03)
Breaking news in Flint today. Emergency crews are on the scene of a hazardous materials spill at a Flint business. The Flint fire department called for Genesee County’s Haz Mat team to help at the scene at the PPG Coatings and Resins plant on James P. Cole Boulevard near Stewart Avenue in Flint. A cooling system leak was discovered around 10:30 this morning. The cooling system was leaking ethylene glycol. It’s feared that the chemicals have made their way into the local sewers and the Flint River. There is no immediate danger to people, but crews advise residents to steer clear of the area. 

UPDATE Man dies, 14 ill from chemical plant fumes 
The Asahi Shimbun 
MATSUYAMA-One worker was killed and 14 fell sick-one seriously-due to carbon monoxide fumes leaking from a chemical processing facility of Teijin Chemicals Ltd. under repair Wednesday, police said. Teijin Chemicals officials said the fumes apparently escaped as employees and subcontracting workers were replacing valves of facilities that produce carbon monoxide at a plant in Matsuyama. The Matsuyama plant makes polycarbonate resins used in the production of CD and MD discs. Carbon monoxide used in the production process is kept in storage tanks. The Matsuyama Fire Station rescue squad got a call from the factory about 10:20 a.m. Fifteen workers were taken to a hospital, where one, Masanori Uda, 30, was pronounced dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. Police said the fumes leaked from the second level of Plant A at the Matsuyama factory, where three of five carbon monoxide tanks were out of operation for valve replacement. The cause of the leak is under investigation. Teijin Chemicals is a subsidiary of Teijin Ltd., the fiber manufacturer. It employs 340 people at the Matsuyama factory, of whom about 100 were on duty Wednesday. An annual inspection has been under way since July 1.(IHT/Asahi: July 10,2003) 

UPDATE State Opens New Motiva Investigation
WILMINGTON, Del. — Delaware environmental officials are launching a probe of a sulfuric acid spill two months ago at the Motiva Enterprises Refinery in Delaware City, Del. State officials say the company’s explanation for the spill is overdue. The announcement came one day after Motiva pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide and other charges in a deadly acid tank explosion in 2001. The company was immediately fined $296,000 at a hearing Wednesday in Wilmington. A manager with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said the latest accident raises safety and pollution concerns. Motiva had estimated its internal investigation would be done by June 20, but has since told the state it will take longer. A Motiva spokesman said refinery officials have shared their findings so far with state officials but the company is waiting for test results. Maintenance contractor Jeffrey Davis of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, was killed in the tank collapse in July 2001. Six other workers were hurt. Last month, prosecutors filed a charge of criminally negligent homicide and six counts of assault. Motiva executive John Boles apologized Wednesday and said words were inadequate to express the company’s regret. Prosecutors said the case was unprecedented, because criminal charges usually are not brought against corporations in Delaware. Motiva has also been the subject of a federal grand jury investigation and a negligence lawsuit brought by environmental regulators. 

Lowe’s Evacuated After Acid Spill
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Customers and employees had to temporarily evacuate a south Charlotte Lowe’s home improvement store Tuesday morning to avoid inhaling irritating fumes. Firefighters and a hazardous materials team were called to the store when a gallon of muriatic acid spilled. The acid is used as a concrete cleaner. Three employees at the Ballantyne Commons Parkway store were taken to an area hospital as a precaution. Firefighters say the store was evacuated as a precaution and has reopened.

Florence Fuel Spill Clean Up Begins
July 7 – Clean up efforts are underway in Florence following a gas spill that contaminated the Tennessee River. Environmental experts believe about 70 gallons of gasoline leaked into the storm drain near Fire Station Number 1 in downtown Florence. The fuel eventually leaked into the river. The spill happened when a Tatum gas driver over-filled an underground gas tank. The gas was detected by a worker at Sara Lee Foods. The employee smelled the fumes and called for help. Charles Cochran with the Florence Fire Department said, “it’s not the liquid that burns, it’s actually the gas or the vapors, so that’s what we’re the most worried about. We’re concerned about what may be trapped in the lines and that’s what we’re looking at. Tatum will now be requierd to pay for the clean-up while the Alabama Department of Environmental Management supervise. 

Fumes knock out sanitation worker
7/9/2003 By: News 9 San Antonio Staff 
A hazardous materials team checks out the back of the garbage truck. A city garbage collector passed out after he inhaled fumes from a liquid that spilled from the back of his garbage truck. It happened about 5 p.m. Tuesday in North Central San Antonio. A hazardous materials team was called out to the scene. They determined that the toxic substance was muratic acid, which is most often used in swimming pools. “It’s bad enough where if someone inhaled it, it could cause pulmonary injuries, inhalation injuries. It could cause serious burns if somebody got it on their skin,” San Antonio Fire Department Lt. Richard Barbosa said. “It is a very strong acid. Everyone kind of knows what battery acid does. This is every bit as strong — probably stronger.” No one was evacuated because of the spill, and the sanitation worker is expected to be OK. Police said they believe someone threw the chemical in the trash instead of taking it to a hazardous waste facility. Just a reminder: If you have a hazardous chemicals you need to get rid of, you can call the city services hotline at 311 to get information on how to dispose of it properly. 

Worker dies after gas poisoning in Matsuyama
MATSUYAMA — One worker at a chemical factory here died and one of his colleagues was seriously injured on Wednesday after apparently inhaling carbon monoxide, authorities said. Investigators from a local fire department gather at Teijin’s Matsuyama plant. Ambulances were called to Teijin Chemicals Ltd.’s Matsuyama factory on Wednesday morning after company officials found 15 workers collapsed there. The workers were rushed to several hospitals but Masanori Uda, 30, an employee of Fujiken Engineering Co., died despite efforts to resuscitate him. One of the collapsed workers remains in a serious condition, firefighters and police said. “We don’t know what exactly happened at the factory, but it is possible that they were struck down by carbon monoxide poisoning,” a spokesperson for Teijin Chemical’s Tokyo headquarters said. “The Matsuyama factory manufactures polycarbonate products. Apparently there was a large bang and then everyone collapsed. There was no report of fire.” Police opened an inquiry to determine the cause of the accident. The factory is located just north of Matsuyama Airport.

Ammonia Leak Causes Scare
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A leaking valve caused quite a scare Monday night near the City Market. Kansas City Cold Storage uses pressurized ammonia for refrigeration. It leaked. KCTV5 News investigated the company’s safety record, and the people who operate it said it was safe, despite the accident, KCTV5’s Dave Helling reported. Operations were back to normal at Cold Storage Tuesday, one day after a valve leaked during a maintenance procedure, allowing five gallons of anhydrous ammonia to drip onto the floor. “… In our engine room, which is down in the basement, actually it’s two floors below ground,” said Dan Haller, of Kansas City Cold Storage. “Nothing hazardous escaped, no injuries, no emergencies of any sort.” Anhydrous ammonia can be explosive and an environmental hazard, so the company said it installed state of the art containment systems to detect release of any of the 35,000 pounds it used to cool the building. Fire is a major concern, but KCTV5’s check of the company’s latest fire inspection records showed just four minor violations, all corrected within 30 days. Those records also showed the company held required permits for hazardous material use in the structure. KCTV5’s check of OSHA records showed no complaints or investigations within the past 10 years, and several workers KCTV5 News talked with off-camera did not complain about conditions inside. The company insisted the building was safe, even though it was old. “We’ve modernized to keep up with the times. We’ve automated. We used to be, had to have an engineer on hand 24 hours a day. Now we’re modernized where we don’t have to have him,” Haller said. Companies like Cold Storage are also supposed to register their dangerous chemicals with the local emergency planning commission. Tuesday, an official with that commission said they could find no listing from Cold Storage, but the official told Dave the lack of a filing could just be an oversight and not a violation of the law.