February 13  1 Dies, 9 Hurt in Pennsylvania Plant Blast
An explosion and fire at one of the nation's largest particleboard manufacturing facilities in Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania killed one worker and injured nine others, at least four critically. Fire crews continued to fight the blaze into the following day at the Temple-Inland Forest Products Corp. plant about 75 miles southeast of Erie. The fire from the February 13 explosion was contained in a silo that abuts the plant, McKean County emergency management director Ken Mostyn said. The 9 p.m. blast that started the fire occurred near the plant's production line, blowing out a section of a tin wall, Lafayette Township fire Chief Don Fowler said. Flames spread through sawdust piles and silos in the building.  Helicopters transported the most severely injured workers to burn units in Pittsburgh, about 170 miles away.  James Covert, 39, suffered burns on 56 percent of his body and died. Four other workers who suffered second- and third-degree burns were listed in critical condition at a hospital. Five others were taken to two other Pittsburgh hospitals, where officials would not comment on the extent of the injuries. 

The company sent inspectors to the site February 14 to assess damage and determine a possible cause of the blast, said Temple-Inland vice president Doyle Simons. He said the company takes precautions at the plant because dust and wood particles in the air could be combustible. Inspectors from OSHA were traveling to the plant, said John Stranahan, the agency's director for northwestern Pennsylvania to determination if there were any deviations from OSHA standards, and if those deviations played a role in the explosion.  There have been several fires at the plant in the last decade but none with serious injuries. 

Temple-Inland Forest Products Corp., which operates the Building Products Group, is one of three major subsidiaries of Temple-Inland Inc., based in Diboll, Texas. About 250 people work at the Mount Jewett plant.

  
Updates to 1999 Bellingham, Washington Pipeline Rupture  and Explosion that Killed Three
February 10, 2001  Damage to pipeline that ruptured 'more extensive' than previously known
The Olympic Pipe Line segment that ruptured and exploded 20 months ago in Bellingham, Washington had 27 additional gouges on it at the time of the spill, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board. Of the gouges, 13 dented the pipe to the point they could be measured from inside the pipeline, the report shows. The report provides the most detailed description to date of the state of the pipe when it ruptured in a Bellingham park on June 10, 1999, spilling more than 200,000 gallons of gasoline that ignited into a fireball. Two 10-year-old boys and a 19-year-old man were killed and the disaster left a swath of destruction along Whatcom Creek.

 
 
February 7, 2001 U.S. Northwest pipeline to reopen after fatal 1999 blast
The U.S. Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) said on Wednesday it had approved the reopening of a 37-mile section of a refined oil products pipeline that has been closed since a fatal explosion in Washington State in June 1999. The OPS said the Olympic pipeline will be allowed to operate at a reduced pressure under federal government supervision with tests being conducted to assess its performance before allowing it to go back to full operational service. The section that was closed is part of a 400-mile pipeline system in Washington and Oregon. The closure cut off oil refineries in Washington operated by BP Amoco and Tocso Corp. from the rest of the system.

  
 
January 27, 2001  Oil Spill: 4,000 Gallons Of Oil Removed; Trucking Company Takes 'Full Responsibility'
Environmental officials said that they were optimistic about cleanup efforts to contain nearly 6,000 gallons of thick petroleum that spilled into the Yaquina River over the weekend. By nightfall, crews had collected more than 4,000 gallons of oil and didn't expect the oil to reach ecologically fragile Yaquina Bay. The accident happened early January 27 when a tanker truck filled with bunker oil overturned on U.S. 20 about 12 miles east of Toledo. The driver of the truck was killed in the accident. About 120 tons of contaminated soil was removed from the accident site and taken to a landfill in McMinnville, Ore. Crews plan on removing another 50 tons of dirt January 30. The soil will be sent to the River Bend Landfill in McMinnville, Ore.

In response, the owner of the Portland-based trucking company whose vehicle was involved in the accident told the group that his company assumes full responsibility for the oil spill and the cleanup. "We're going to get through this. I know we will," Blue Line Trucking owner Charlie Pendall said. "We have a great crew working out there."

 
  
January 17, 2001  Romania Reports River Pollution with Cyanide
Government officials in Romania said on January 19 that toxic waste containing cyanide had spilled into a river in northeastern Romania, killing fish and posing a health hazard in the area. The incident occurred January 17. At first it was believed that the incident occurred when the contents of a storage tank at the closed Medatet SA chemical factory in Falticeni, 250 miles northeast of Bucharest, spread accidentally through a rain gutter into a tributary of the Siret river. It was later learned, however, that high cyanide levels were discovered upstream from the plant, which suggests that the contamination was deliberate. It was unclear how much cyanide poured into the Siret River, but environmental officials reported January 19 that cyanide was 128 times the accepted levels in the Siret and one of its tributaries. Authorities released extra water into the river, and the level of cyanide was reduced to less than half the initial levels on January 22. A cyanide spill last year near Baia Mare in northwestern Romania discharged 130,000 cubic yards of cyanide-tainted water from a gold mine reservoir into river systems in Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. The incident has been described as Europe's worst river pollution disaster in a decade.

 
 
January 16, 2001  160,000 Gallons Spill From Oil Tanker Offshore from Galapagos Island
An ecological disaster was narrowly averted as the cargo vessel "Jessica" ran aground on its approach to the  Galapagos' capital of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal, and spilled diesel and bunker into the park's pristine ocean a few days later. Environmentalists around the world were outraged, fearing mass deaths of birds and sea lions that live on the water's edge. Those fears have so far proved largely unfounded as just two dead birds, one sea lion and a few dozen oily pelicans and sea lions are the toll so far of the spill. Galapagos National Park Director Eliecer Cruz forecast the islands' ecosystem would make a full recovery within three to four years. The ecological damage was minimal because ocean currents took most of the spilled diesel and bunker fuel used to power tour boats away from the islands. Captain Arevalo of the "Jessica" blamed himself for the incident. "The truth is I didn't even know the rock was there. It was over-confidence on my part, I am completely to blame,'' the 58-year-old sailor said in an interview. "I didn't do it on purpose. This has nothing to do with my crew, it was my fault, not theirs,'' he added. Arevalo was on board for four days after the accident and needed hospital treatment for a gash on his forehead, dehydration and sleep deprivation. Others blamed the government for permitting such vessels to enter the tiny harbor and the owner of the boat.

The Ecuadorian Navy was forced to abandon efforts to move the stricken tanker because they did not have the right equipment and the hull was in such poor condition. The U.S.  Coast Guard Salvage Chief forecast that Pacific Ocean waves would erode it out of view within two years. The spilled oil and chemical dispersants have nearly all been washed out to sea -- there was only a thin sheen of oil around the boat -- so the ecological urgency to move it was gone, he added. It is believed that over time the broken hull will become an artificial reef, and support habitat for fish and home to seals and exotic birds.

 
  
January 16, 2001  Fourteen Chemical Plant Workers Hospitalized Overnight After Chemical Leak
Fourteen workers at the Solkatronic Chemicals plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania were reported in good condition after  were being kept overnight for observation at two hospitals. The chemical that spilled is hydrogen selenide, used to make optical products such as night vision goggles. The chemical can be an irritant to the eyes, skin, nose and throat. The cause of the leak was not immediately known. Solkatronic Chemicals is a division of Allentown-based Air Products and Chemicals. 

 
  
January 15, 2001   2,000 Gallons of Hydrochloric Acid Spill From Holding Tank, Reach Storm Drains
About 2,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid stored in a waste holding tank at Hi-Tech Plating spilled from the tank on Monday and reached storm drains in a western Phoenix industrial park. A spokesman for the Phoenix Fire Department said those who were working in the industrial park were evacuated and the storm drains were diked with sand. No injuries were reported as a result of the spill. Hydrochloric acid is highly corrosive and can burn the skin and is dangerous if inhaled.

  
  
January 15, 2001  Oil Well Fire in Texas Burns Into Third Day; Nearby Residents Evacuated
An employee of Performance Oilfield Service of Kilgore was injured when gas ignited during work on the well , according to the safety manager for Tulsa, Okla.-based Samson Lone Star Co., which owns the well. The worker was treated and released from the hospital the same day. A pickup truck and an 18-wheeler loaded with specialized equipment were destroyed. Approximately 75 residents living within 1.5 miles of the fire were ordered to leave, and some returned home Tuesday when the evacuation area was reduced to a half-mile.

 
 
January 15, 2001 Oil Tanker Sinks off South Korea
An empty oil tanker exploded and sank off the South Korean (news - web sites) coast Monday, killing three crew members, maritime police said. Six others were missing and seven had been rescued after the 5,000-ton P-Harmony went down 30 miles south of Pusan, South Korea's largest port, officials said. The cause of the explosion was under investigation. Phil Ocean, a Seoul-based company that manages the ship, said the tanker was empty when it sank, but may have leaked some oil. Cleanup operations were underway. The ship had unloaded fuel oil at Ulsan, 15 miles northeast of Pusan, the company said.

  
  
January 14, 2001  Cargo Ship Spills Fuel Taiwan Coast, Threatens Coral Reef Reserve 
The 35,000-ton cargo vessel suffered mechanical problems in high waves on its way from Singapore to the eastern Chinese port city of Nantong. The ship drifted into high seas and broke in two, but all 25 crew members were rescued, officials said. The hull rupture caused approxmately 1,210 tons of oil to ooze into the ocean over a 24 acre area, including 3,300 feet of the Lungkeng coral reef along the island's Pacific coast. It was too early to say what the long-term effects would be, and officials were hoping that the Pacific Ocean's current would shift and wash the oil away from the coastline. According to an ecological scientist, only a small amount of fish and crabs have been killed and that birds seemed to have survived the spill.  However, local newspapers quoted ecologists as saying it may take 10 years before marine life could restore ecological balance. 

Local media have criticized authorities for a slow response to the spill. It wasn't until more than two weeks elapsed that the military was sent to help and a special government committee was organized to work on the spill. 

This is Taiwan's worst oil spill since 1977, when a Kuwaiti oil tanker sank off the northern port of Keelung, dumping some 33,000 tons of oil.