HAZMAT Around the World
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DATELINE - HAZLETON PA– (Pennsylvania) Meat-processing plant evacuated after vapor leak. Employees were evacuated and emergency crews responded after ammonia vapor leaked at a Hazleton, Pennsylvania meat-processing plant Wednesday. The incident began at about 4:30 p.m. with a malfunction in the refrigeration system at U.S. Pig Pork Packers processing plant on South Wyoming Street. Rescuers were on scene clearing the plant of the vapors until about 8 p.m. The Hazleton Fire Chief said no injuries were reported and the leak did not cause harm to nearby residents.
DATELINE - SOUTH PLAINFIELD
SOUTH PLAINFIELD — A chemical reaction at a South Plainfield industrial firm touched off a potentially noxious cloud of fumes Thursday, forcing the evacuation of two businesses but causing no injuries, according to local authorities. The incident occurred at about noon at Ferro Electronic Material Systems, 3900 S. Clinton Ave., according to Mayor Charles Butrico. "At about 4:30 this (Thursday) morning, there was a problem with one of their pumping systems, and they had to take nitric acid out of the system and put it into containers,'' Butrico said. "They then worked on the system,'' the mayor added.
However, as that work proceeded a few hours later, it became clear to the workers that one of the temporary holding containers, which contained about 300 gallons of the acid, was in danger of losing its lid because of pressure building inside it. The workers moved that container, as well as three others — all of which held from 100 to 300 gallons of the acid — to a location outside and behind the building, where the initial container's top finally blew off, sending a yellowish-brown cloud into the air, authorities said.
Butrico said none of the other three temporary holding containers experienced any problem. The reason for the chemical reaction inside the fourth, is under investigation.
Nitric acid is a colorless, highly corrosive liquid that may give off suffocating brown fumes of nitrogen dioxide upon exposure to air. Commercially prepared nitric acid is a powerful oxidizing agent used in photoengraving and metallurgy.
Butrico said there was some residue from another material inside the empty container when the nitric acid was poured into it. "Nobody's really sure what else was in it. They said it was clean, but they think there might have been some rust in it,'' Butrico added.
There is also speculation, according to Fire Chief Larry Del Negro, that the material was methanol — a colorless, toxic, flammable liquid used as a general solvent, among other things. While the unaffected nitric acid was available to be reused at Ferro, Butrico said the compromised material was being transferred to a tanker truck for disposal at another location. In addition to Ferro, a second business, at 107 Wade Ave., was also evacuated. Butrico and other officials did not immediately have the name of that company. Meanwhile, Butrico said the incident remains under investigation by the state Department of Environmental Protection. This is not the first time that an incident of this type has occurred at Ferro, the mayor acknowledged. But he was quick to defend the company.
"They're using a lot of chemicals, and things happen,'' he said. "Nothing has ever really been dramatic,'' Butrico added. Ferro is a global supplier of technology-based performance materials for manufacturers, according to its Web site. The company works with materials used in electronics, solar energy, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, building and renovation, appliances, automotive, household furnishings, and industrial products.
The neighborhood is an industrial-commercial one, with firms of varying sizes along either side of South Clinton Avenue.
DATELINE - MARYLAND
Four helped after spill
Employees at Shepherdstown's wastewater treatment plant were exposed to chlorine
By Daniel Friend and Edward Marshall / Journal Staff Writers
POSTED: June 9, 2009
SHEPHERDSTOWN - Four Shepherdstown Public Works Department employees were treated for exposure to chlorine Monday afternoon following a reported chemical spill at the town's wastewater treatment plant off East High Street. According to an official at Town Hall, the spill occurred at about 1 p.m. Traffic was routed away from a several-block residential area for at least two hours. Several emergency response teams from Berkeley and JeffersonCounties and Washington County, Md., responded along with a West Virginia Regional Response Team from the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. "What happened is some employees of the Corporation of Shepherdstown went into the sewer water treatment facility for a suspected chlorine leak," said Marshall DeMeritt, Shepherdstown Fire Department's public information officer. When the employees entered the facility they initially didn't find anything leaking, but there was a great amount of chlorine in the air. They they called 911 and the Shepherdstown Fire Department's Rescue Engine 3 and two medic units were the first to arrive at the scene. DeMeritt said responders did an initial search of the facility in full protective equipment and breathing apparatus, but found nothing in the first sweep of the facility located at 409 E. High St. "We knew something was wrong because we were definitely getting readings of chlorine in the air, so we called for the regional hazmat team out of BerkeleyCounty and also a hazmat team out of Washington County, Md., who both responded," DeMeritt said. Once hazmat teams arrived at the scene with specialized equipment, they were able to gain a better understanding of the situation. During their search they found a portable cylinder that was leaking chlorine, according to DeMeritt. "It had a malfunction in the valve and one of the valves was leaking," DeMeritt said. "They did take care of the leak, stopped it and removed the portable container to the point where it can be disposed of properly." A makeshift decontamination station was set up on High Street near the railroad crossing where one of the Public Works employees and a town pickup truck were sprayed to wash away the chemical. "There were four people that were subject to chlorine (exposure). All four then went through a decontamination process," DeMeritt said. "In laymans terms we pretty much spray them down with a fire hose, but in a controlled environment." None of the four employees were taken to the hospital and were fine after the decontamination process. High Street was shut down and the facility was evacuated for more than two hours until everything was deemed safe. Water and wastewater treatment plants use chlorine to reduce water levels of microorganisms that can spread disease to humans, according to the EPA. An EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Fact Sheet reports that chlorine is a "highly reactive gas" and a naturally occurring element. Breathing small amounts of chlorine for short periods of time adversely affects the human respiratory system, the EPA reports. Effects range from coughing and chest pain to water retention in the lungs. Chlorine irritates the skin, eyes and the respiratory system. DeMeritt said the employees did the right thing by calling 911 and was pleased with how the situation was handled. "It was handled very professionally. The scene was under control at all times," DeMeritt said. "As soon as we arrived we had emergency personnel where they needed to be." - Chronicle staff writer Daniel Friend can be reached at (304) 876-3380, or edit@shepherdstownchronicle.com -Journal staff writer Edward Marshall can be reached at (304) 725-6581, or emarshall@journal-news.net
DATELINE FLORIDA, FLAGLER COUNTY
Hydrochloric acid started leaking from one of the train cars that derailed near Hargrove Grade and U.S. 1 near Palm Coast, but the minor leak was contained Sunday, a Florida East Coast Railway spokeswoman said.
The wreck occurred about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and hydrochloric acid, a hazardous material, was leaking, but the car was uprighted and a hazardous materials team responded, FEC Railway spokeswoman Michelle King said Sunday.
Later Sunday, the leak was contained, according to a brief statement from the city of Palm Coast. That statement sent out Sunday afternoon said the St. Johns County Hazmat Team had been on the scene to determine the extent of the leak.
Palm Coast and Flagler County Rescue, as well as the Flagler County Sheriff's Department, also worked on the site to assure safety, according to the statement.
A second Hazmat team was called in from Jacksonville to assist the St. Johns team due to the heat Sunday afternoon.
One locomotive caught fire, but the fire was extinguished.
The train, No. 107-09, consisted of two locomotives and 68 railcars. Both engines and 26 cars -- including automobile carriers, corn syrup tanks and boxcars -- left the tracks.
The train's crew, the conductor and a locomotive engineer, were taken to a local hospital for observation, although no severe injuries were reported, King said.
FEC is coordinating closely with local authorities on the clean-up and investigation, and the cause has not yet been determined. No evacuations were necessary.
-- Audrey Parente and Eileen Zaffiro
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ST. PETERSBURG -- The Interstate 275 ramps and blocks of 28th Street that were closed when a tanker overturned Thursday are open to traffic this morning.
Officials closed the road when hundreds of gallons of used oil spilled onto the roadway from a Tim's Oil Reclamation tanker that had lost control as it exited southbound I-275 at 28th Street S.
The driver, Andre M. Phifer, 44, apparently took the exit too fast and hit a curb along 28th Street, said William Jolley, assistant chief of St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. The truck came to rest on its left side side facing north.
About 350 gallons of the 4,800 gallons on board spilled when a cap on top of the truck came off, Jolley said. Some of the oil got into storm drains, he said, but it is unclear how much. Sand was spread around the truck to soak up the oil.
Both the I-275 exit and entrance ramps at 28th Street, along with 28th Street between Eighth and 16th Avenues S, were reopened Thursday night.
Emergency workers freed the driver, who had a cut on the head. He was taken to Bayfront Medical Center.
Brant James, Times staff writer
Times photos by Cherie Diez
Plant fire forces evacuation of entire Minn. town
By LIZ RIGGS – 3 days ago 4/21/09
ST. CHARLES, Minn. (AP) — Authorities evacuated this southeastern Minnesota town of about 3,600 Friday as a large fire at a meat processing plant threatened the anhydrous ammonia tanks inside but, despite a scare, firefighters were able to prevent the tanks from exploding.
While Police Chief Bill Eckles had said he received word from the command center around 8 p.m. that one of the tanks in the North Star Foods plant had burst, Kristine Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the emergency operations center for the incident, later said it turned out the tank didn't blow.
What happened, Hernandez said, was that as crews were deliberately venting ammonia from the five tanks inside the plant, some ammonia in the pipes that run through the plant escaped, causing ammonia levels in the air to temporarily spike twice. She said the ammonia dissipated right away and posed no threat to emergency workers at the scene.
Hernandez also said officials hoped to let residents return home at noon Saturday.
City Administrator Nick Koverman said there were about 30,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in the five tanks. The refrigerant can cause severe burns, particularly to the eyes, throat and lungs. The cause of the fire wasn't immediately known, he said.
Civil defense sirens blared to warn residents to get out. Sheriff's deputies began door-to-door evacuations of people and pets about 3:30 p.m., and evacuation centers were set up for displaced residents at a church and schools in nearby communities. Both major highways through town were closed.
Hernandez said the only reported injuries were minor. One state trooper had some minor lung irritation, while some residents sought treatment for minor eye irritation, she said.
Some 200 firefighters and emergency workers from several agencies responded to the fire, including a hazardous materials team from Rochester, and 70 firefighters were still on the scene late Friday to fight the blaze through the night. They were spraying the tanks with water to keep them cool and help the ammonia dissipate, Hernandez said, adding that they weren't sure by late Friday how much ammonia was left in the tanks and pipes.
Smoke from the fire could be seen 10 miles away by late morning, and by late afternoon three tornado-like clouds of gray smoke were visible from five miles away. Winona County Deputy Rod Hansen said that by nightfall the flames were no longer visible outside the plant.
North Star Foods plant manager Mark Eads said the fire started late Friday morning above one of the ovens where chickens are cooked.
"Within two to three minutes, there was smoke coming out of the room pretty heavy," Eads said.
Carolyn Nicklay, who works in human resources for the company, said she called 911 and firefighters quickly arrived.
"Everybody's out. Everybody's OK. That's all that matters," she said.
North Star Foods is the second-largest employer in St. Charles with about 150 workers. Their futures were on the minds of some residents even as the fire burned.
Locally owned North Star Foods Inc. has been in business since 1971, serving industrial, retail and foodservice customers, according to its Web site. Its products include chicken, turkey, beef, pork and other food products.
"Small towns can't afford to lose a business. As a matter of fact, no towns can these days," said Bob Golden, a resident who was staying at a local church that served as a shelter Friday evening.
Gustavo Balderas, who has worked at the plant for about eight years, said he was checking the quality of a chicken product Friday morning when a supervisor told everyone to get out. He said he wasn't sure what he'll do for work now.
"I like my job. My feelings are not really good right now," Balderas said as he prepared to spend the night at the church. "If it were just myself or 10 people unemployed it would be OK. But there's too many."
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
– (Nevada) Mercury spill closes 1 gate at Reno-Tahoe International. A Southwest Airlines passenger jet at Reno-Tahoe International Airport was grounded for several hours at the gate on March 15 as the result of a mercury spill from a blood-pressure monitoring device. No injuries were reported, and cleanup was under way. A female passenger with the blood-pressure device in her carry-on bag was getting off the plane that had arrived from Seattle about 12:30 p.m. March 15, an airport spokesman said. "Apparently somehow it had broken...and it had leaked mercury into the aircraft..." said the spokesman. The mercury also spilled onto some of the jet bridge connecting the terminal to the 737. One gate was closed at Reno-Tahoe International. "Everything else is fully operational and functioning," said the spokesman. No passengers remained on the plane. The airport fire department was contacted; its hazardous materials-trained team arrived, and sealed off the area and the jet bridge. A preliminary clean up was carried out. Later, a private environmental company was planning a "thorough, in-depth cleanup of the area and monitoring of the air quality inside that jet bridge, before they clear that area to be open to the public again," said the spokesman. Source: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090315/NEWS18/90315020/1321/news
Dateline Reno NevadaMarch 15, Reno Gazette Journal
DATELINE: RIFLE COLORADO 3/5/09
Condensate spill forces Rifle road closures, evacuations advised
Driver may have suffered minor injuries at intersection that has had other similar accidents
By MIKE McKIBBIN
Citizen Telegram
Rifle, Colorado
384-9170, mmckibbin@citizentelegram.com
A tanker spilled its load of natural gas condensate liquid after it overturned Thursday morning, March 5 in north Rifle. The liquid ran down Railroad Avenue to the 16th Street interchange before crews could contain it.
BONNIE STRONG/Citizen Telegram
RIFLE, COLO. - Traffic was expected to be allowed to use the Colorado Highway 13 bypass and Railroad Avenue in Rifle Thursday evening (March 5), after it was closed that morning due to an overturned tanker that leaked natural gas condensate liquid, Rifle police said.
Police released more details about the accident at 4:30 p.m. It was reported at 10:12 a.m. and caused apparently minor injuries to the unnamed male driver. He was taken to Grand River Medical Center for treatment, police said in a written statement.
While traffic was blocked from the area, motorists used Whiteriver Avenue to get north and south through Rifle.
Police said a northbound tractor-trailer rolled over onto its side at the Railroad Avenue and Highway 13 bypass intersection, where several other tankers have overturned in recent years. The trailer ruptured and released an estimated 5,000 gallons of condensate, police said.
Emergency crews with at least one bulldozer built an earthen dam around one large spill and used dirt and other materials to absorb more condensate. It appeared some of the condensate liquid ran down the gutters of Railroad Avenue to the 16th Street light.
Police said in the statement that a small amount of the liquid did reach a storm drain, which was closed shortly after.
Authorities advised residents and businesses to evacuate the scene between 21st to 24th Streets, and Reverse 911 phone calls were made to residents in the Deerfield Park subdivision to advise them to seek shelter to avoid exposure to potentially harmful fumes from the condensate.
Condensate is a combination of petroleum-based compounds that give off possibly harmful fumes, especially if they gather in enclosed places.
Along with Rifle police and Rifle Fire Protection District crews, the Grand Junction Police Department’s Hazardous Materials Team, Burning Mountains and Glenwood Springs Fire Protection Districts and Garfield County Sheriff’s Department responded to the accident.
DATELINE, COLLIER COUNTY FLORIDA 2/12/09
UPDATE: HAZMAT situation in Immokalee
By WINK News
Story Created: Feb 12, 2009 at 12:11 PM EST
Story Updated: Feb 12, 2009 at 6:39 PM EST
UPDATE 2/12/2009 6PM
COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. - A powder substance that lead to the evacuation of the Collier County substation in Immokalee turned out to be cocaine.
We’re told a man found an envelope with a white substance in it near the Guadalupe center He got nervous and took the envelope to the sheriff's office.
About 15 people were evacuated from the building and the north Naples Hazmat squad showered the three people who came in contact with the substance that later tested positive for cocaine.
DATELINE - Salida, Chaffee County COLORADO 1-30-09
BREAKING NEWS County jail evacuated
by Christopher Kolomitz
Mail Managing Editor
The Chaffee County Detention Facility has been evacuated because of a chlorine gas leak.
It's unclear how many inmates were evacuated although two buses were dispatched to the jail to temporarily house them.
An emergency command post has been established at Third and L Streets.
The incident started to unfold about 4:40 p.m. when Salida Fire Department was dispatched.
At least two people have been transported to Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center. Their injuries were not known as of 5:50 p.m.
It's unknown how chlorine is used at the jail, although some reports indicate it could be used in the laundry.
Emergency responders include hazardous materials units from Salida Fire Department and Chaffee County Fire Protection District.
Chaffee County Emergency Medical Services responded with at least three ambulances.
Salida police have blocked off Third Street between Poncha Boulevard and M Street.
The hospital was on disaster standby for about 30 minutes while the situation unfolded and was later taken off standby.
Weather conditions were poor at the time of the evacuation, with strong wind, snow and temperature in the lower teens.
DATELINE - AKRON, OH
Monday, December 26, 2008
Sulfuric Acid Spill with Fatal
The driver of a tanker truck carrying 3,000 gallons of sulfuric acid lost control of his vehicle on Steels Corner Road in the early morning hours on December 26th and crashed into a gully on park property by the intersection of Akron-Peninsula and Steels Corner Roads. The operator, Shawn Flynn, 44, of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was killed in the accident. Approximately 50 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled onto the ground; the remaining acid was siphoned into another tanker. At the time of the crash, the truck was making a delivery to the city composting facility on Riverview Road (the city uses sulfuric acid to balance the pH factor at the facility). Ohio EPA was notified and brought chemicals to neutralize the acid. A private contractor removed the contaminated soil. The crash occurred in a fairly remote area and as a precautionary measure the NPS temporarily closed a section of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath trail. The NPS and Akron Police Department are working together on the investigation. Akron PD is leading on both the collision and death investigations; the NPS is assessing the clean-up and final restoration efforts. This is the same location as a tanker truck rollover two months ago.
DATELINE - STATECOLLEGE, PA
Odor causes building evacuation
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tyson Building on Penn State's University Park campus was evacuated for a short time Wednesday evening (Dec. 10) while the source of an unknown odor was investigated. The odor is believed to have originated from the use by a student of an adhesive fixative spray in a stairwell in the building.
Roughly half a dozen people were evacuated from the building. There were no apparent injuries, although a Penn State lab technician was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Centre as a precaution. Shortlidge Road between Curtin Road and the Life Sciences Building was closed, as was Eisenhower Blvd., while the incident was being investigated. The building and the roads reopened about 8:30 p.m.
At about 6:30 p.m. Centre County 9-1-1 received a call from a Penn State lab technician in the building, who reported a strong, unknown odor in the building. Emergency responders included Penn State's Hazmat unit, Penn State Police, ambulances, Centre County EMS, Alpha Fire Co., and Penn State Environmental Health and Safety.
The Hazmat team went through the building, searching all rooms and labs, with instruments that can detect volatile chemicals. No source of the odor could be found until a student reported using an adhesive fixative spray in a building stairwell. Officials opened a roof hatch and put a fan in the stairwell to clear the odor from the stairwell. As Hazmat officials continued to monitor the air, they reported levels of the odor dropped.
Tyson is a horticulture building with about half a dozen labs. There is low chemical use in the building, including alcohol, acids and salts.
DATELINE - Chicago, IL
January 8, 2009 Chicago Sun-Times
A note containing white powder and "hateful language" was sent to the South Side office of a U.S. Representative on Thursday. Shortly after noon, the Chicago Fire Department was called to the congressman’s office, after a white powder was found in a letter sent to the congressman, according to the fire media affairs director. A Level 1 HazMat response was called as a precautionary measure, but the white powder was determined to be a harmless household product, he said. "There is absolutely, positively no threat at all," he said, though adding the letter included "hateful language." A couple of employees in the office opened the letter and alerted authorities. No one was injured, according to the director. Crews were leaving the scene as of 12:45 p.m. Source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1368266,w-letter-white-powder-sent-rush-
BREAKING NEWS County jail evacuated
by Christopher Kolomitz
Mail Managing Editor
The Chaffee County Detention Facility has been evacuated because of a chlorine gas leak.
It's unclear how many inmates were evacuated although two buses were dispatched to the jail to temporarily house them.
An emergency command post has been established at Third and L Streets.
The incident started to unfold about 4:40 p.m. when Salida Fire Department was dispatched.
At least two people have been transported to Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center. Their injuries were not known as of 5:50 p.m.
It's unknown how chlorine is used at the jail, although some reports indicate it could be used in the laundry.
Emergency responders include hazardous materials units from Salida Fire Department and Chaffee County Fire Protection District.
Chaffee County Emergency Medical Services responded with at least three ambulances.
Salida police have blocked off Third Street between Poncha Boulevard and M Street.
The hospital was on disaster standby for about 30 minutes while the situation unfolded and was later taken off standby.
Weather conditions were poor at the time of the evacuation, with strong wind, snow and temperature in the lower teens.
Fire and police officials work on the scene of an explosion outside of the NDK America plant in Belvidere today. (Photo for the Tribune / Andrew A. Nelles)
A Belvidere factory designed to break apart during an explosion did just that this afternoon, but debris from the still unexplained blast killed a truck driver in the parking lot of a nearby Tollway Oasis.
Investigators are still trying to discover what caused the explosion at the NDK America plant, 701 Crystal Parkway, which manufactures crystals used in liquid-crystal displays. They're also exploring whether other parts of the building could pose a danger.
Belvidere Fire Chief David Worrell said the blast happened about 2:30 p.m., apparently in a highly pressurized vessel where crystals are made.
Worrell said the six-story factory, which has been there for about five years, was built with special exterior panels that are meant to break away during an explosion. One employee who was inside the building was unhurt by the blast, he said.
But Worrell said a piece of one of the exterior panels, several feet long, flew through the air before striking a man standing outside his vehicle on the north side of the Interstate 90 Tollway Belvidere Oasis. The distance appeared to be less than a quarter mile.
Authorities identified the victim as Ronald Greenfield, 63, a truck driver from Chesterton, Ind.
The lone person in the factory where the explosion occurred was not hurt, said Boone County Sheriff's Deputy Sandra Rogers. About 20 people were working in offices in another building on the company grounds at the time, she said.
A woman working at a nearby company was injured when she was thrown by the force of the blast. She was treated at the scene and did not need to be taken to a hospital, Rogers said.
The debris field left from the explosion spanned several hundred feet, Worrell said. Some who lived near the factory said the blast felt like an earthquake.
"All of a sudden my whole house shook," said Ruth Saldana. "I thought something hit the house."
Saldana was home with her 16-year-ild daughter Brandi Siszek at the time of the blast. "I told my mom it sounded like we were being bombed," Brandi said.
Mayor Fred Brereton of Belvidere said it was "a very powerful explosion."
Worrell declined comment when asked about any regulations that might govern how far away the factory was supposed to be from other buildings.
A man who identified himself as Greenfield's son also declined comment when reached by phone.
"We're all still reeling from this," he said.
The plant opened in September 2003, Brereton said.
The Belvidere police, Boone County Sheriff, state fire marshal and possibly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will continue to investigate, Worrell said.
--Georgia Garvey and William Lee
April 7, Hazleton Standard-Speaker
Source: http://standardspeaker.com/news/meat-processing-plant-evacuated-after-vapor-leak-1.722456
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