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Here are news summaries of some of the chemical incidents
that were brought to our attention between September 19 and October 13,
2000. In some
cases, a more detailed story is available at AcuSafe. Due to the
overwhelming popularity of this regular feature, we are expanding coverage
to include more transportation-based incidents and those that may be the
result of sabotage. Issues of terrorism, site security, and transportation
are of interest to many of our readers. Readers are welcome to contribute
news stories that you may have read about. If you have read about a story
and would like to share it with other readers, please send it to editor@acusafe.com.
October 11 Norwegian Port Storage Yard Fire from 100 Ton
Magnesium Fire
A pile of magnesium alloy in an industrial park near Bamble, Norway
ignited. Local officials closed roads and asked that residents within one
kilometer of the blaze to shelter in place. An explosion of the material has
been averted and the magnesium fire has not spread to similar nearby
stockpiles. Firefighters had struggled to contain the blaze because
magnesium reacts violently to water. Tons of salt were used instead, but
it only melted in the 3000 degree Celsius heat.
October 9 Hexavalent Chromium Spill From a Metal Refinishing
Company
As a fire destroyed an industrial building in North Amityville, New York Monday, high doses of hexavalent chromium, a hazardous chemical, spilled into the ground near public wells.
The fire and spill took place at AMW Material Testing Inc., a metal-refinishing company serving the aircraft
industry. Twelve people were inside when the fire broke out, but none was injured.
The fire took place after an employee was cleaning metal tubing with a bucket of methyl ethyl ketone,
although it was not clear what ignited this very flammable solvent.
Initial tests from the Suffolk County Health Department of soil, storm drains and a groundwater recharge basin found 7.8 parts per million of hexavalent chromium, which is used to coat metal parts. That level is 78 times higher than state standards regulating the discharge of the substance into the ground.
While public drinking water wells are less than a mile from the spill
site, they are protected by a clay liner and are 400 to 500 feet deep.
Given the local geology and these protections, local officials believe
that the chances of contamination are remote.
October 3 Weapons Depot in the Dominican Republic Explodes
A weapons depot at the General Antonio Duverge army base scattered shells
and shrapnel over a wide area, even damaging the local hospital. An
estimated 2000 people were evacuated and there were two confirmed
fatalities. Soldiers were seen with pick axes digging shells out of
resident's lawns and power to the area was cut off, presumably to reduce
the chance of unexploded shells from going off. The cause of the munitions
explosion was not reported.
October 3 Gas Fumes From Gas Station Prompts Highway Closure
Gas fumes from a Napavine Shell station surprised local officials with
their intensity and prompted authorities to close I-5 near Chehalis,
Washington. Gasoline odors were detected over one-tenth of a mile away.
Crews pumped 15,000 gallons of gas out of the tanks and into a gasoline
tanker, and according to the state Department of Ecology, it doesn't
appear that any gas leaked into any local waterways or groundwater.
October 2 Ongoing Sabotage from Marxist Rebels Paralyzes
Columbia's Oil Pipelines
According to the state oil company Ecopetrol, two key pipelines have been
shut down for over a week due to explosions caused by rebels. The
principal point of attack was the 230,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity Cano Limon pipeline, which carries crude from the Cano Limon field operated by Occidental Petroleum Corp to the Caribbean lifting terminal of
Covenas. Repair work on a section of the pipeline ruptured in a bomb attack on Sept. 23 was near completion when it was dynamited again Saturday evening, in
a rebel-dominated area 31 miles west of the Cano Limon
field. The Cano Limon pipeline has been bombed 67 times so far this year,
and is expected to break the record set last year of 79 attacks. A total
of 176,000 barrels of crude has spilled or been lost this year due to these attacks.
October 2 One Fatality at New Jersey Chemical Plant
An explosion at the Reade Manufacturing Plant in Manchester, New Jersey
killed one worker who was alone at the time of the incident. The employee,
53-year old Russel Kluge, was operating a machine grinding magnesium, the
plant's major product. Kluge was found outside the demolished
building with burns over 95% of his body; he died the next day. Reade, a subsidiary of Luxfer Group, processes magnesium powder for use in pharmaceutical manufacturing, steel- and alloy-making, military flares, and pyrotechnics.
Magnesium fires were reported at this location in 1986, 1988 and
1990.
October 1 Three Workers Injured in Alberta Oil Rig Fire
Three workers were hurt, one in critical condition, when an oil rig caught fire near
Cow Lake in central Alberta. The oil rig itself collapsed after 20 minutes
from the intense heat; it took local fire fighters a total of 3 hours to
extinguish the blaze.
October 1 Sixteen Hospitalized following Chemical Plant Release
Ten firefighters, five police officers and a passer-by were treated and
released with eye and nasal irritation at a local hospital on October 1 after inhaling noxious fumes from a chemical factory.
The facility is located in Stratford, Connecticut and is owned by Flow Polymers Inc.
The plant heats "organic peroxide'' into a liquid that is used in refining rubber and
plastic. Workers had apparently forgotten to turn off the oven before
leaving for the weekend and fumes from the organic peroxide filled the
building and surrounding area. The Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection ordered that the building be cleaned and monitored prior to the
return of its employees.
September 30 Anhydrous Ammonia Leak in Rural Louisiana Town
Causes Evacuation
An anhydrous ammonia leak from a 30,000 gallon tank prompted local
authorities to evacuate Bonita, Louisiana, a town of about 150 people.
Four people were known to have required oxygen because they had inhaled
ammonia fumes; they were treated at a nearby command post. Troopers in hazardous-materials suits reached the tank early Sunday and shut off an open valve to stop the leak.
Early theories as to the cause of the release were that it was an intentional
theft of the tank contents; ammonia can be used to make met amphetamines.
September 29 Florida Fertilizer Plant Fire Forces 1100 to
Evacuate
Smoke containing ammonium nitrate, an explosive material, from the Ben
Hill Griffin Inc. fertilizer plant in Frostproof, Florida could be seen
for miles and prompted the evacuation of 1,100 homes and businesses. The evacuation,
in this sparsely settled area 50 miles south of Orlando, was done out of
concern for the chemicals that were potentially involved, but no injuries
were reported. The cause of the fire was unknown.
September 26 Minivan Strikes Tanker Car, Kills Driver
In East Islip, NY a minivan slammed into a gas tanker outside a gas station, triggering an explosion that shook houses several blocks away and shot flames more than 100 feet in the air. The minivan's driver was
killed, but the tanker car driver escaped injury when he jumped out of his
vehicle upon impact. Roads were wet and visibility was poor at the time of the accident,
but police have charged the tanker driver with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle
and is investigating who was at fault in the accident.
September 20 Chlorine Gas Forces School Evacuation
A contractor, who thought he was putting chlorine into a swimming pool,
inadvertently added acid into the chlorine tank, causing a chemical
reaction that produced a chlorine cloud. The gas spread through the school
building, which prompted the local school officials to evacuate the
building. No students were injured and three school staff members were
treated and released from a local hospital.
September 17 Cardinal Chemical Co. Columbia, South Carolina Plant
Ordered to Shut Down Following Discovery of Tin; Company Vows to Fight
Order
Cardinal Chemical Co. completed its plant shutdown on September 17,
following an order from the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (DHEC). DHEC ordered the shutdown on Friday after low levels of organic tin compounds were found
in a settling pond at Columbia's wastewater treatment plant. The same chemicals were found earlier this year in Lexington County's Red Bank Creek, where they are believed to have caused a massive fish kill.
An attorney for Cardinal Chemical rebutted the claims saying there is no
proof that the chemicals came from the Cardinal plant and that the company would fight the shutdown order.
Sources and Disclaimer:
AcuSafe's Incident News Summary is primarily compiled from Reuters and AP
news wires, and from information shared on the U.S. Chemical Safety and
Hazard Investigation Board Chemical Incident Reports Center. An effort has
been made to summarize stories only from reputable sources, but neither
AcuSafe nor AcuTech Consulting can guarantee the accuracy of the story,
nor do they necessarily reflect the views of AcuTech, AcuSafe, and its
staff. We make no effort to independently corroborate the accuracy of the
incident news stories.
AcuSafe is a presentation of
AcuTech Consulting,
©2002, All Rights Reserved
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