Hazmat Alerts

15 people sent to hospital after powder chemical release causes irritation

ROCKFORD (WREX) — An accidental dry powder chemical release causes severe irritation and sends 15 people to the hospital with minor injuries.

At 11:46 a.m., the Rockford Fire Department responded to Emery Air located at 6020 Cessna Drive for a medical call.

Fire personnel determined that the medical call was the result of an accidental dry powder chemical release from a 55 barrel drum.

Full Article – 15 people sent to hospital after powder chemical release causes irritation

5 derailed train cars carrying hazardous material at risk of exploding are no longer burning, official says

Five train cars that contained vinyl chloride, a potentially explosive chemical, are no longer burning after a train derailment in Ohio, a Norfolk Southern official said Tuesday.

The burning stopped after a controlled release of the unstable, toxic chemical Monday at the train derailment site in East Palestine, near the Pennsylvania border.

A freight train derailment in Ohio puts US infrastructure back in a bruising spotlight
Four of those five cars have been cleared from the wreckage, and crews are working to remove the fifth car, Norfolk Southern official Scott Deutsch said Tuesday.

Full Article – 5 derailed train cars carrying hazardous material at risk of exploding are no longer burning, official says

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Critical Safety Proposal for Energy Pipelines

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise federal pipeline safety regulations by requiring the installation of remotely controlled or automatic shutoff valves – or equivalent technologies – on certain newly constructed or entirely replaced natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. The proposed rule would enhance safety by mitigating the consequences of large-volume pipeline releases and establishing minimum standards for rupture detection.

“This rule will improve critical safety requirements for the next generation of energy pipelines as U.S. energy production continues to grow,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

Full Article – U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Critical Safety Proposal for Energy Pipelines

Ohio town under evacuation order after train derails, chemical burns

The location of Friday’s train derailment in eastern Ohio was a hazardous materials scene Saturday, and a fire that raged overnight continued to smolder, officials said.

People living and working within one mile of the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, were ordered to evacuate Friday. Those orders were still in effect Saturday as the scene was being monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency, the village’s mayor, Trent Conaway, said.

The burning chemical was identified as vinyl chloride, the village said in a news release Saturday afternoon. The flammable gas is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, vehicle interior features such as upholstery, and plastic kitchenware.

Full Article – Ohio town under evacuation order after train derails, chemical burns

Madison, Huntsville agencies respond to fuel spill that flowed into pond near Hexagon

Cleanup crews were still on the scene of a fuel spill Thursday afternoon that had mixed with rainwater to flow into a nearby pond.

Madison Fire & Rescue said its crews were called out for a possible chemical spill just before 11 a.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Intergraph Way. It was determined the chemical in question was diesel fuel that had leaked from an external tank at a business on Lime Quarry Road and ended up in the pond by Hexagon.

Huntsville Fire & Rescue responded with its Hazmat team to contain the pill on the north and south sides of the leak, as well stop the leak at its source, an official said.

Full Article – Madison, Huntsville agencies respond to fuel spill that flowed into pond near Hexagon