CENtral Science

Chemical safety round-up

Chemical health and safety news from the past few weeks:

• A safety message from CSB on the anniversary of the Tesoro refinery explosion that killed seven workers: “preliminary findings indicate that the company did not adequately maintain the exchanger,” which developed microsocopic cracks that led to its rupture
• Fun with fluorine, courtesy of the Periodic Table of Videos and the University of Leicester’s Eric Hope (additional footage here)
• Gaussling discusses handling HF
• Chemical Plant Safety Blog goes through the OSHA citations assessed against steel building manufacturer Trachte Southeast; the citations included exposing workers to chemical hazards, not providing MSDSs, and storing oxygen next to acetylene and propane cylinders
• Texas probes jump in birth defects–”Five cases of the chromosomal disorder trisomy 18 were recorded in Bryan-College Station in the seven months after a 2009 blaze at El Dorado Chemical Co. burned an undetermined amount of fertilizer and closed the Texas A&M campus”
• The hidden world of nuclear power in Japan–”Mr. Ishizawa…is one of thousands of untrained, itinerant, temporary laborers who handle the bulk of the dangerous work at nuclear power plants here and in other countries, lured by the higher wages offered for working with radiation. Collectively, these contractors were exposed to levels of radiation about 16 times as high as the levels faced by Tokyo Electric employees last year”
• Two firms fighting over Nevada toxic waste facility–”Basic Management says that Olin and its partners have admitted the treatment facility needs $900,000 in repairs to keep it running, but don’t want to pick up the tab.”
• Decades-old commercial explosives found in Pennsylvania garage
• Paying the price for meth: Lab cleanup now a growing issue for property owners

Fires and explosions:

• An explosion at a fireworks storage bunker killed five Donaldson Enterprises employees in Hawaii; CSB is investigating
• Hydrogen buildup caused fatal power plant blast–”Utility officials say hydrogen is used as coolant in the generator and is supposed to be purged from the area when the unit is shut down for maintenance. But some hydrogen was still in the unit when Rogers entered, and it was ignited by either a fan or a work light.”
• Two Oxford University graduate students were hospitalized after an explosion in the chemistry department
• A fire at Ohio chemical-blending company Howard Industries started just hours after the firm was fined $71,280 by OSHA for 23 safety violations
• A fire in a chemical warehouse in India, involving “chemical adhesives, primarily used for manufacturing sports goods”
• Some sort of chemical reaction is believed to be the source of a “freak industrial accident” in California that sent flying a 300-pound metal pipe encased in concrete
• “An overflow of lubricant coming into contact with other metals” caused a fire at Metal Improvement Company in Kansas
• Tennessee’s Hoeganaes Corp., which produces atomized steel powder, had its second flash fire this year; CSB is investigating
• Six workers were injured at a pharmaceutical plant in Nepal “when a fire broke out due to chemical leakage”

Leaks, spills, and other exposures:

• Thousands of gallons of fracking fluids spilled from a natural gas well in Pennsylvania, leading Chesapeake Energy to suspend fracking across the state until it figures out the cause
• 5,400 gal of ammonium hydroxide at Univar in Missouri, while workers were transferring the chemical from a tanker into drums
• 5 gal of nitric acid spilled and mixed with other chemicals at Dana Transport in Masachusetts, causing the evacuation of all buildings within a half-mile radius
• Hydrofluorosilicic acid at a water-treatment plant in Illinois
• Two Ametek Plastics workers were treated at hospital and released after a maleic anhydride spill in Pennsylvania
• Chemicals mixed to form hydrogen cyanide at Amphenol in the U.K.
• One truck carrying battery acid vs another with cleaning chemicals leads to one severely exposed fire fighter: “A neuro nurse told Brandon that she had not seen anything like his symptoms in 38 years. Doctors say he should make a full recovery, but for now he is using a walker to maintain his balance. His eyes continue to vacillate rapidly, but with the help of medicine they can be slowed to minimal movement. For now, Brandon is dependent on the meds. Without them, his eyes move so rapidly that he has headaches and discomfort.”
• Grade school science demo goes wrong: A demonstration involving a “hydrogen balloon” dislodges ceiling tiles, resulting in exposure to asbestos-laced dust
• On roads and railways: “some sort of chemical containers”, hydrochloric acid, a flaming pickup truck carrying car batteries, “Permutex, a rubber-based paint material”, acetic acid, glyphosphate, muriatic acid and acetone