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  </channel><item rdf:about="https://www.wkyt.com/2023/07/10/whats-next-after-destruction-chemical-weapons-blue-grass-army-depot/">
    <title>What’s next after destruction of chemical weapons at Blue Grass Army Depot?</title>
    <dc:date>2023-07-11T10:54:23+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wkyt.com/2023/07/10/whats-next-after-destruction-chemical-weapons-blue-grass-army-depot/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[MADISON COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County have finished destroying 30,000 tons of chemical weapons.

If you’re 70 years old or younger and lived in or around Madison County all your life, the threat of a leak was a lifelong worry. Richmond residents tell us they are relieved the threat of a chemical spill or accident is now in the past.

PREVIOUS: Last of world’s declared chemical weapons destroyed in Kentucky
“This is something that has been hanging over our heads my whole life,” said Richmond resident Jennifer Sexton

Benjamin Hill, who lives across from Blue Grass Army Depot, says he no longer needs this long roll of plastic wrap used to cover his doors and windows in case of a chemical leak.

He’s lived across the street from the depot for the past three years. He’s not 100% convinced all of the chemical weapons are destroyed, nor is he assured there weren’t any accidents or leaks during the eradication process.

“I would be extremely surprised that no ‘oopsies,’ as you put it, happened, and if they did, I don’t believe they would tell anybody,” said Hill.

At times, Hill says he could feel the destruction.

“They’re old single-pane windows from the 60s, and, yeah, it would rattle the windows,” Hill said.

“There’s two sides to this. One, it’s completed. But, oh yes, what about all those jobs,” said Richmond Mayor Robert Blythe.

Blythe says the city has been working with a consultant to see which workers will retire and which ones will find similar jobs in the county.

“There will be people on site for a while because of demolition of those things that need to go,” Blythe said.

Potentially, thousands of jobs will be erased once everything is cleared.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_KY public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/repercussions-of-bhopal-disaster-found-to-echo-on-down-through-generations/4017672.article">
    <title>Repercussions of Bhopal disaster found to echo on down through generations</title>
    <dc:date>2023-07-06T10:22:45+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/repercussions-of-bhopal-disaster-found-to-echo-on-down-through-generations/4017672.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The 1984 Bhopal disaster that exposed thousands in the Indian city to toxic methyl isocyanate has had long term, intergenerational effects on victims, a new study has found.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego note that multiple studies have shown a broad spectrum of serious long term and chronic health effects for hundreds of thousands of survivors, including respiratory, neurological, musculoskeletal and endocrine problems. ‘These impacts may be the tip of the iceberg however, given that [methyl isocyanate] toxins affected groundwater and the reproductive health and other health outcomes of exposed women, factors suggesting that generations not exposed to the toxic gas directly may nevertheless suffer adverse health and social impacts of the [Bhopal disaster] event,’ the authors write.

Previous research has revealed that decades after the disaster, menstrual abnormalities and premature menopause are common problems among exposed women and their female offspring. Methyl isocyanate has also been shown to damage chromosomes – early clinical studies revealed signs of increased chromosomal aberrations.

The new study has found that the disaster affected people across a more widespread area than was previously thought. Up to around 100km from the site, as opposed to the 4.5km radius that was considered by public health officials and researchers after the disaster.

The researchers attempted to investigate long term, intergenerational impacts of the disaster using government data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 and 1999 Indian Socio-economic Survey. They discovered that women pregnant at the time of the disaster were more likely to give birth to a boy who went on to have a disability that affected their employment 15 years later, and had higher rates of cancer and lower educational attainment over 30 years later. ‘These results indicate social costs stemming from the disaster that extend far beyond the mortality and morbidity experienced in the immediate aftermath,’ they note.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>India public discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2023/the-university-of-birmingham-launches-the-centre-for-environmental-research-and-justice-cerj">
    <title>The University of Birmingham launches the Centre for Environmental Research and Justice (CERJ)</title>
    <dc:date>2023-07-01T10:39:08+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2023/the-university-of-birmingham-launches-the-centre-for-environmental-research-and-justice-cerj</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A new £2.6m investment in chemical safety research and education will tackle the rising problem of toxic chemicals and the harms they cause.

The Centre for Environmental Research and Justice, launched at the University of Birmingham with funding from its Dynamic Investment Fund (DIF), will combine expertise in science and law to offer solutions that will ultimately protect human health and the environment from exposure to hazardous chemical pollutants.

The need for chemical pollution intervention has never been greater. Globally, pollution kills three times as many people as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. This burden disproportionally affects low and middle-income countries, where pollution can account for one in four deaths. In terms of the impact of chemicals on the environment, the world has seen an average 69% drop in mammal, bird, fish, reptile, and amphibian populations since 1970.

University of Birmingham experts are well-placed to make an impact in this area, with a leading role in the €400 million 7-year European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC).

The new investment brings together academic expertise from Life and Environmental Sciences, Arts and Law, and Medical and Dental Sciences, to undertake interdisciplinary research into the effective management of hazardous chemicals. The Centre is recruiting nine assistant and associate professors, bringing together a team of more than 20 academic staff specialising in research at the interface of Precision Toxicology and environmental governance.

Precision Toxicology is an emerging scientific approach to environmental justice and health protection which establishes causation between chemicals and their adverse health effects, while environmental governance attempts to address the societal costs of chemical pollution. By combining recent innovations in both science and governance, the new Centre aims to develop and implement new approaches to defend against chemical hazards.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>United_Kingdom education discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nbcrightnow.com/national/household-chemical-exposure-during-pregnancy-linked-to-childhood-obesity/article_27b64a01-4059-5377-96d3-b55a61db2551.html">
    <title>Household chemical exposure during pregnancy linked to childhood obesity</title>
    <dc:date>2023-06-08T10:49:43+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nbcrightnow.com/national/household-chemical-exposure-during-pregnancy-linked-to-childhood-obesity/article_27b64a01-4059-5377-96d3-b55a61db2551.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Exposure to chemicals in common household products during pregnancy could increase the risk of obesity in kids, warns a new study.

Thousands of individual per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in personal care products, firefighting foams, food packaging, medical products and many other household items.

Toxic PFAS are incredibly durable and are believed to survive for thousands of years.

The study analyzed the levels of seven different types of these “forever chemicals” in blood samples collected from mothers during pregnancy. They then calculated each child’s BMI.

They studied data collected over two decades from just under 1,400 children between the ages of two and five as well as their mothers.

Study author Dr. Yun Liu, a postdoctoral research associate in epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health, said: “The findings were based on eight research cohorts located in different parts of the US as well as with different demographics.

“This makes our study findings more generalizable to the population as a whole.”

They found that the more PFAS the mom had in their blood during pregnancy the higher the risk their child will suffer from obesity, even when the levels were low.]]></description>
<dc:subject>public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-weapons/OPCWs-never-ending-fight-eliminate/101/i18">
    <title>The OPCW’s never-ending fight to eliminate chemical weapons</title>
    <dc:date>2023-06-05T10:12:18+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://cen.acs.org/policy/chemical-weapons/OPCWs-never-ending-fight-eliminate/101/i18</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention—a first-of-its-kind global disarmament agreement—came into force. The treaty was championed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) with the aim of ridding the world of that class of weapons of mass destruction. In World War I alone, chemical weapons injured more than 1.3 million people, and over 100,000 of those died shortly after exposure, according to the OPCW.
Now the OPCW is approaching a new milestone: the destruction of all declared stockpiles of chemical weapons by its 193 member states. (Only four countries—Egypt, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan—aren’t members.) In a few weeks, the destruction of the remaining stockpiles by the US will be completed, according to the OPCW.
In Pueblo, Colorado, the US is destroying between 600 and 700 4.2 in (107 mm) mortars containing sulfur mustard, also called mustard gas, a chemical warfare agent that was used in both World Wars and causes blistering of the skin.
Related: Most Of World’s Chemical Arms Destroyed

Meanwhile, 2,000 km away in Kentucky, a facility is destroying 155 mm rockets containing sarin, a colorless, odorless, and tasteless nerve agent that can be released into the air as a spray and be fatal in small quantities.
“There’s a little remnant of chemical weapons left in the United States. It will be destroyed in the next few weeks, and this will be grounds for celebration,” Ambassador Fernando Arias, director general of the OPCW, told journalists at an event May 3. “Chemical weapons cannot exist in the 21st century in the world because they are abhorrent.”
And globally, more than 70,000 different poisons have been destroyed under supervision of OPCW inspectors. Jeffrey Kovac, a retired professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who has written about the ethics of chemical weapons research, says the destruction of all declared stockpiled chemical weapons is a significant achievement. He notes that people have been calling for the abandonment of chemical weapons since World War I.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>Europe public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
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<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Europe"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/pfas-3m-dupont-study-1.6862883">
    <title>Industry knew about risks of PFAS 'forever chemicals' for decades before push to restrict them, study says</title>
    <dc:date>2023-06-02T10:40:00+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/pfas-3m-dupont-study-1.6862883</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Makers of PFAS, a class of chemicals used in everything from cookware to food containers and makeup, had evidence the substances were toxic as early as the 1970s and obscured the danger, according to a new study based on industry archives held at the University of California.

Governments in Canada and the U.S. are now cracking down on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of more than 9,000 human-made chemicals produced since the 1940s. They have unique properties that make them heat-resistant, oil- and water-repellent and friction-resistant, and are found in products from cosmetics and take-out boxes to non-stick cookware and fire suppressants. ]]></description>
<dc:subject>Canada public discovery environmental other_chemical repellent</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:ea5d11bdba29/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:repellent"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.wctv.tv/2023/05/30/sick-workers-tied-40-restaurant-food-poisoning-outbreaks-cdc-says/">
    <title>Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks, CDC says</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-31T10:17:06+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wctv.tv/2023/05/30/sick-workers-tied-40-restaurant-food-poisoning-outbreaks-cdc-says/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[(AP) - Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday.

Norovirus and salmonella, germs that can cause severe illness, were the most common cause of 800 outbreaks, which encompassed 875 restaurants and were reported by 25 state and local health departments.

Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for better enforcement of “comprehensive food safety policies,” which emphasize basic measures like hand washing and keep sick workers off the job.

Although 85% of restaurants said they had policies restricting staff from working while sick, only about 16% of the policies were detailed enough to require workers to notify managers and to stay home if they had any of the five key symptoms — including vomiting, diarrhea, and sore throat with fever.

About 44% of managers told the CDC their restaurants provided paid sick leave to workers. That’s a problem, according to Mitzi Baum, the chief executive of STOP Foodborne Illness, a nonprofit advocacy group.

She said it means workers are forced to choose between not earning money or showing up sick — or there’s social pressure not to leave fellow employees short-staffed.]]></description>
<dc:subject>public discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:5454d030595e/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.kktv.com/2023/05/26/toxic-trains-whats-really-loaded-board-trains-rolling-through-colorado-springs/">
    <title>Toxic trains: What’s really loaded on board trains rolling through Colorado Springs</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-27T12:13:03+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.kktv.com/2023/05/26/toxic-trains-whats-really-loaded-board-trains-rolling-through-colorado-springs/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Every day, tons of hazardous materials roll right through Southern Colorado unnoticed by most, with trains transporting everything from crude oil to radioactive material on state railways.

However, as 11 News Anchor Matt Kroschel learned when asking how HAZMAT crews prepare for rail accidents, first responders usually don’t learn what’s on board these trains until after a potential rail incident occurs.

“We rarely get notified about particular chemicals that are coming through the city,” John Roy with the Colorado Springs Fire Department said.

If an incident were to occur in a five-county area surrounding Colorado Springs, the city’s HAZMAT team would be some of the first to respond. These teams train for situations like this, but under current law, they’re acting at a disadvantage when they occur.

“We are running through these scenarios every single day,” Roy said. “We pick a random chemical and we say, ‘how would we plan for this sort of event?’”

Since the State Termination Act of the mid ‘90s, federal law abolished the Interstate Commerce Commission. With it, a lot of the oversight went away, and under current law, railroads are not required to provide a heads up of what’s on board a train at any given time. Both HAZMAT crews and state regulators cannot tell at any one point what’s loaded on board these trains, and they say that that information would make preparing for potential incidents a lot easier.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CO transportation discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:945674b1680a/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_CO"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://cen.acs.org/business/consumer-products/Beauty-retailers-push-ingredient-transparency/101/web/2023/05">
    <title>Beauty retailers push for ingredient transparency</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-27T12:09:29+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://cen.acs.org/business/consumer-products/Beauty-retailers-push-ingredient-transparency/101/web/2023/05</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[coalition of major beauty product stores has formed to collect and share chemical hazard data on ingredients used by the personal care industry. The Know Better, Do Better Collaborative so far includes the retailers Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Credo, Beautycounter, and The Honest Company, as well as the personal care chemical maker Inolex and the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit.
The effort is organized by ChemFORWARD, a nonprofit that says its goal is “creating broad access to chemical hazard data, illuminating safer alternatives, and ending toxic chemical exposure.”
In addition to beauty and personal care, ChemFORWARD has initiatives in packaging and electronics. The group says an analysis it conducted in 2022 found that detailed chemical hazard data is available for only about half the ingredients used in beauty and personal care products. “These data gaps create risk for brands, retailers, and consumers,” the group says.
Christina Ross, a senior scientist at Credo Beauty, says in a press release that “with comprehensive chemical hazard data generated by this work, Credo and our brand partners can avoid replacing one bad actor chemical with another, which is called ‘regrettable substitution.’ ”
Other ingredient transparency efforts, such as the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, are already underway in the personal care industry, says Rosmy Barrios, a physician specializing in aesthetic and anti-aging products.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>public discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:cff7d9cd88ec/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.wmur.com/article/unh-student-new-details-hazmat-durham-nh/44009624">
    <title>Suspect in Durham, NH hazmat situation was following YouTube experiment</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-26T11:08:57+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wmur.com/article/unh-student-new-details-hazmat-durham-nh/44009624</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[DURHAM, N.H. —
A Ph.D candidate at UNH who is facing criminal charges after an apparent hazmat situation near campus over the weekend was trying to follow a YouTube video that specifically warned viewers not to repeat the experiment, according to Durham police.

Police said the suspect, Emad Mustafa, 29, called authorities himself on Saturday, saying he may have been exposed to a toxic chemical.

According to new court documents, Mustafa told officers he believed he had made a chemical called dimethyl mercury inside his Oyster River home.

He told officers that mixing the chemical caused a flash-burn, creating smoke and toxic vapor.

He was taken to the hospital and treated, but that process launched a multi-department investigation.

Mustafa admitted that another tenant may have also been exposed to the chemicals.

Town officials in Durham said Mustafa identified the chemicals as mercury, sodium and dimethyl sulfate.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NH public discovery injury illegal mercury sodium toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:574b57746f30/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:mercury"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:sodium"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/why-did-uc-merced-stage-a-chemical-spill/">
    <title>Why did UC Merced stage a chemical spill?</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-26T11:07:34+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/why-did-uc-merced-stage-a-chemical-spill/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A staged chemical spill was conducted by the University of California in Merced on Thursday with the purpose to train first responders in the event of a real hazardous incident happening.

The University of Merced Police said that it is really important to collaborate with the first responders so everyone would be prepared if a real incident happens.

Officials stated that the staged scenario consisted of an accidental chemical spill in the Sustainability Research and Engineering Building during research.

The University of Merced Police stated that it is important to build confidence among the first responders and the community. They also said that it is important to know which areas might need improvement and which areas already work so they can plan ahead and move forward.

Officials say that the University of Merced partnered with the Merced County Fire Department, the Merced County Environmental Health, the Merced County Public Health, the Merced County Office of Emergency Services, and the Merced City Fire Department, as well as the Sciences Department from the university.

According to the University of Merced Police, around 100 people participated in the training, and this is not the only training happening in 2023.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA laboratory discovery environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:38227e148d4f/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_CA"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pennsylvania-cracks-down-shell-plastics-cracker-plant-rcna82750">
    <title>Months after residents sound the alarm, Pennsylvania 'cracks' down on Shell plant</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-26T11:06:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pennsylvania-cracks-down-shell-plastics-cracker-plant-rcna82750</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[MONACA, Pa. — Shell has agreed to pay $10 million to Pennsylvania for exceeding emissions limits during the troubled launch of its massive new plastics plant in Beaver County. The sum includes a nearly $5 million civil penalty and another $5 million to fund local environmental projects.

“With this agreement, the Department of Environmental Protection is taking steps to hold Shell accountable and protect Pennsylvanians’ constitutional right to clean air and water while encouraging innovation and economic development in the Commonwealth,” said acting Secretary Rich Negrín.

The “ethane cracker,” as the plant is called, is a 384-acre-wide industrial complex that heats ethane — a byproduct of fracking in the region — and “cracks” it under high pressure into ethylene to produce polyethylene pellets, a building block for plastic. 

The Shell ethane 'cracker' plant in Beaver County, Pa.Hannah Rappleye / NBC News
It officially switched on last November, with an interim permit that allows it to emit a yearly total of 516 tons of “volatile organic compounds” — chemicals such as benzene, toluene and naphthalene, which are linked to a range of adverse health effects, from respiratory irritation to nerve damage.

But state records show that before operations even began, Shell had exceeded its 12-month VOC emissions ceiling due in part to “flaring” events — when excess gasses are burned off instead of released into the atmosphere.

“It’s not normal to look up in the sky and see flames,” said local resident Hilary Flint, 31. “The sky has been a completely different color since they’ve become operational.”

The enforcement action comes three weeks after NBC News and the Global Reporting Centre first started asking Shell and DEP questions about the plant, and not long after environmental advocacy groups sued Shell over its excess emissions. The agency’s consent order details a range of violations. In addition to repeatedly breaching emissions limits for VOCs, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and “hazardous air pollutants” — otherwise known as air toxics — DEP cited a slew of malfunctions at the plant dating back to June 2022.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_PA industrial discovery environmental benzene carbon_monoxide toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:0dbe9cd73ff0/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:benzene"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:carbon_monoxide"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/catalysing-the-clean-up-of-methamphetamine/4017474.article">
    <title>Catalysing the clean-up of methamphetamine</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-25T10:45:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/catalysing-the-clean-up-of-methamphetamine/4017474.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[With a variety of simple recipes widely available, featuring equipment and materials relatively easily obtainable, methamphetamine can be manufactured nearly anywhere. Clandestine laboratories range from rivalling legitimate drug production facilities in terms of size and sophistication to smaller ‘kitchen labs’ or ‘cooks’, with production done at a dizzying array of locations including private dwellings, hotels or motels, Airbnb properties and vehicles.1,2

When a clandestine laboratory is seized or production stopped, a variety of challenges remain – including whether a location can be adequately decontaminated. Sites used for smoking methamphetamine may also retain residues, though at far lower levels than detected at production sites.1 Rendering such sites safe is often a community priority.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>United_Kingdom public discovery environmental illegal clandestine_lab waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:9dfc7f162d72/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:clandestine_lab"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://news.yahoo.com/unh-doctoral-student-arrested-connection-035900689.html">
    <title>UNH doctoral student arrested in connection with hazmat incident at Durham home</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-24T10:43:46+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://news.yahoo.com/unh-doctoral-student-arrested-connection-035900689.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[May 23—A University of New Hampshire doctoral student is facing reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and improper disposal of hazardous materials charges in connection with a toxic chemical in a Durham home, officials said.

On Saturday, May 13, Durham police, fire, and personnel with McGregor Memorial EMS responded to 35 Oyster River Road in Durham for a report of a 29-year-old man reporting he may have been exposed to a toxic chemical.

Durham police say a man identified as Emad Mustafa was transported to Wentworth Douglass Hospital, where he was treated and released the same day.

On Tuesday, under the direction of the Strafford County Attorney's Office, Durham police and fire departments, the University of New Hampshire Police Department, New Hampshire State Police, federal partners, and the Seacoast Technical Assistance Response Team (START), a search warrant was executed at Mustafa's residence.

Mustafa was arrested for reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, and improper disposal of hazardous materials — both class B felonies that carry a maximum of seven years in prison.

START is a regional hazardous materials team operating under the leadership of the Seacoast Chief Fire Officers Mutual Aid District. Several Seacoast-area towns make up the 40 member team.

The Southeastern New Hampshire Hazardous Material Mutual Aid District was called to assist START as well, "due to the nature of the event," officials said.

"The health and safety of the community was the priority during this investigation and at no time was there a safety concern for the community or surrounding neighbors," Durham police said in a statement. "The hazardous material was identified and contained during the operation and there is no public safety hazard known at this time."

Mustafa is a UNH Ph.D. student, Durham police said in a statement. He is scheduled for arraignment at the Strafford County Superior Court on June 22.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NH laboratory discovery response illegal toxics waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:21bf0cf8b072/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/exposure-to-high-levels-of-tce-could-increase-risk-of-parkinsons-disease-by-70/4017482.article">
    <title>Exposure to high levels of TCE could increase risk of Parkinson’s disease by 70%</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-24T10:39:24+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/exposure-to-high-levels-of-tce-could-increase-risk-of-parkinsons-disease-by-70/4017482.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The risk of developing Parkinson’s disease later in life could be increased by up to 70% by drinking water contaminated with the industrial solvent, trichloroethylene (TCE). The researchers said it was, to their knowledge, the first study to assess the association of Parkinson’s disease and exposure to a TCE-contaminated water supply, in a large, population-based cohort.

The study investigated whether the risk of Parkinson’s disease was raised in veterans who served at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for at least three months between 1975 and 1985. The water supply to the base was contaminated with high levels of TCE, and several other volatile organic compounds (VOC), by leaking underground storage tanks, industrial spills, waste disposal sites and an off-base dry-cleaning business. The authors note that TCE and the related compound tetrachloroethylene are present in up to one-third of US drinking water supplies.


Trichloroethylene
According to the researchers, between 1975 and 1985, the estimated monthly median TCE level in the water supply at Camp Lejeune was 366μg/l, more than 70 times the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5μg/l. Maximum contaminant levels were also exceeded for tetrachloroethylene and vinyl chloride during that time period.

Health data from 84,824 of these veterans was compared against the data of 73,298 veterans who had been based at a non-contaminated site. Overall, a total of 430 veterans had Parkinson’s disease; 279 from Camp Lejeune and 151 from the control group. The researchers calculated that the risk of Parkinson’s disease was 70% higher in Camp Lejeune veterans compared with the control group.

Among veterans without Parkinson’s disease, residence at Camp Lejeune was associated with a higher risk of several clinical diagnoses that are well-established early warnings for the condition, such as erectile dysfunction and anxiety.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NC industrial discovery environmental pce solvent waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:95e49993e7ba/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:pce"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:solvent"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.fox5dc.com/news/officials-investigate-mysterious-disappearance-of-30-ton-shipment-of-explosive-chemicals">
    <title>Officials investigate mysterious disappearance of 30-ton shipment of explosive chemicals</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-22T10:48:24+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.fox5dc.com/news/officials-investigate-mysterious-disappearance-of-30-ton-shipment-of-explosive-chemicals</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Approximately 61,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used as both fertilizer and an ingredient in explosives, went missing when it was shipped by rail from Wyoming to California last month, prompting officials to begin investigating the mysterious disappearance. 

Ammonium nitrate was used in 1995 at an attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 people and injured approximately 850.

On April 12, a railcar loaded with 30 tons of the chemical left Cheyenne, Wyoming. However, according to an incident report from Dyno Nobel, when the car arrived two weeks later at a rail stop in the Mojave Desert, it was completely empty. 

Dyno Nobel, the company responsible for shipping the ammonium nitrate is a leader in commercial explosives and filed a report with the federal National Response Center (NRC) on May 10.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA industrial discovery environmental ammonium_nitrate</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:71bc80569cf0/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:ammonium_nitrate"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/hazmat-road-accidents-in-the-u-s-have-more-than-doubled-in-the-past-decade-2/">
    <title>Hazmat road accidents in the U.S. have more than doubled in the past decade</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-17T11:33:00+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/hazmat-road-accidents-in-the-u-s-have-more-than-doubled-in-the-past-decade-2/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[CBS News Investigations found the likelihood of an accident involving hazardous and toxic chemicals is actually far greater on the roads, where you and your family drive every day.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>transportation discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:200c23a6949b/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/icheme-welcomes-government-decision-to-remove-eu-law-deadline-that-could-affect-safety/4017425.article">
    <title>IChemE welcomes government decision to remove EU law deadline that could affect safety</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-13T11:50:42+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/icheme-welcomes-government-decision-to-remove-eu-law-deadline-that-could-affect-safety/4017425.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) has welcomed the UK government’s decision to scrap plans for all retained EU laws to automatically expire by the end of 2023, in the absence of a decision to preserve them. The institution had expressed concern that safety legislation could be affected by the sunset clause.

Under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, around 5000 laws could have been struck off including several major pieces of hazard legislation. IChemE said the 2023 deadline could have ‘created a risk that not all affected legislation would be sufficiently scrutinised in time to understand the full impact of revoking EU law’.

‘IChemE is pleased that the immediate deadline to sunset thousands of laws has now been removed,’ said David Bogle, president of IChemE. ‘This will give legislators more time to properly assess the impact of revoking EU-originated legislation and reduces the risk of unforeseen consequences that might impact the safety of the many industries and environments within which chemical and process engineers work.’

The government still plans to remove or replace 600 laws by the end of 2023, but IChemE said these did not appear to include ‘safety-critical legislation at this stage’.]]></description>
<dc:subject>United_Kingdom public discovery environmental waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:bfda5148d0a6/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:United_Kingdom"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/illinois-lab-aims-to-end-nyc-lithium-ion-battery-fire-nightmare">
    <title>Illinois lab aims to end NYC lithium-ion battery fire nightmare</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-10T10:56:15+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.fox5ny.com/news/illinois-lab-aims-to-end-nyc-lithium-ion-battery-fire-nightmare</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[What was once an emerging threat has become a full-blown crisis in New York City with 220 lithium-ion battery fires recorded last year, equaling to about one every 36 hours. 

So far this year, 76 fires have killed seven people including two this past weekend in Washington Heights. 

With 60 people injured, the city is outpacing all of last year. The vast majority of fires are in the homes of the 65,000 delivery bikers who live across the five boroughs. 

One of the solutions to the city's dilemma is over 800 miles away at the UL Solutions laboratory for battery testing in Northbrook, Illinois, outside of Chicago. 

Dr. Robert Slone is the chief scientist and the man behind making lithium-ion batteries safe. 

For batteries to receive a UL logo, it has to endure what is called "torture testing." But experts said the problem in New York is uncertified batteries, often cobbled together in the black market. 

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NY public discovery death batteries illegal</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:aef8da23ba48/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_NY"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:death"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:batteries"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.fox28spokane.com/elevated-cancer-rates-found-near-kansas-chemical-spill/">
    <title>Elevated cancer rates found near Kansas chemical spill</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-07T11:53:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.fox28spokane.com/elevated-cancer-rates-found-near-kansas-chemical-spill/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials have identified elevated levels of liver cancer among people living in several historically Black neighborhoods in Wichita where groundwater was polluted by a rail-yard chemical spill. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment released a study Friday that found a liver and biliary tract cancer diagnosis rate of 15.7 per 100,000 people in the contamination zone. Among non-Hispanic Black residents, the diagnosis rate was 23.9 per 100,000. That is compared with 6.4 diagnoses per 100,000 people in Kansas and 8.0 per 100,000 in the surrounding county.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_KS public discovery environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:71a59892772a/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_KS"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2023/05/researchers-pin-down-pfas-prevalence-firefighter-gear">
    <title>Researchers Pin Down PFAS Prevalence in Firefighter Gear</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-02T10:41:28+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2023/05/researchers-pin-down-pfas-prevalence-firefighter-gear</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A firefighter’s protective clothing, called turnout gear, is essential for operating in the dangerous conditions of a fire. However, the firefighting community has raised concerns regarding the presence of a class of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — some of which have been linked to cancer — in the gear. 
Until recently, the public has had little information regarding the specific types, quantities and location of PFAS in firefighter equipment, but now, a new report sheds light.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have conducted an in-depth examination of a range of textiles used in turnout gear coats and pants, which are constructed in three layers. The results showed that the amount of PFAS present varies widely between manufacturers and layers, with the highest PFAS concentrations observed in the outermost two. The results of the study suggest that selecting optimal combinations of fabrics for each layer could significantly reduce the amount of PFAS present in turnout gear. 
PFAS, which are ubiquitous in manufactured products due to their oil- and water-resistant properties, do not break down easily and persist in our bodies and the environment, earning them the moniker of “forever chemicals.” These suspected carcinogens have found their way into the bodies of most Americans. However, researchers have shown that firefighters are burdened by comparatively high levels of at least one type of PFAS.
The first step to better protecting firefighters from this potential health hazard is to learn about the sources of PFAS exposure, which may include their protective gear.  ]]></description>
<dc:subject>industrial discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:2763991f287f/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/EPA-cites-Chemours-exceeding-PFAS/101/web/2023/04">
    <title>EPA cites Chemours for exceeding PFAS limits in wastewater</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-28T09:38:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/EPA-cites-Chemours-exceeding-PFAS/101/web/2023/04</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The US Environmental Protection Agency is going after Chemours to reduce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater regularly discharged into the Ohio River from the company’s Washington Works facility near Parkersburg, West Virginia. The agency claims the levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), a breakdown product of the PFOA replacement known as GenX, exceed those set in the facility’s discharge permit.

The action marks the first time the EPA has used its enforcement authority under the Clean Water Act to target PFAS in wastewater discharges.

Chemours produces fluoropolymers and other fluorinated organic chemicals at the Washington Works site. The company says those products are not harmful to human health. But the fluorinated surfactants used as processing aids to make the chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic to humans and the environment.
Contamination from the former use of PFOA as a processing aid at the Washington Works facility still plagues Chemours, which was spun off from DuPont in 2015. The firm is also facing scrutiny over discharges of HFPO-DA resulting from the use of GenX.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_WV public discovery environmental plastics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:16e095bc019d/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_WV"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:plastics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/631909">
    <title>WHO warns of biological hazard at seized Sudan lab</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-27T10:44:36+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/631909</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) said there’s a “high risk of biological hazard” at a laboratory caught up in the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

Officials said it was unclear who was behind the occupation of the National Public Health Laboratory in the capital Khartoum.

The city has been ravaged by fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The WHO told the BBC on Tuesday that workers can no longer access the lab.

And it warned that power cuts were making it impossible to properly manage material at the lab.

Officials said that a broad range of biological and chemical materials are stored in the lab. The facility holds measles and cholera pathogens, as well as other hazardous materials.

A lack of power is also putting depleting stocks of blood bags stored at the lab at risk of spoiling.

The lab is near the center of Khartoum and not far from city’s main airport.

It lies just outside the area where Sudan’s military headquarters are located, and where a lot of the fighting has been taking place.]]></description>
<dc:subject>Sudan laboratory discovery environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:d06e10185db7/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Sudan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65390285">
    <title>Sudan crisis: WHO warns of biological hazard at seized lab</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-26T10:58:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65390285</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The World Health Organization (WHO) says there's a "high risk of biological hazard" at a laboratory caught up in the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Officials said it was unclear who was behind the occupation of the National Public Health Laboratory in the capital Khartoum.
The city has been ravaged by fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The WHO told the BBC on Tuesday that workers can no longer access the lab.
And it warned that power cuts were making it impossible to properly manage material at the lab.
Officials said that a broad range of biological and chemical materials are stored in the lab. The facility holds measles and cholera pathogens, as well as other hazardous materials.]]></description>
<dc:subject>Sudan laboratory discovery environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:f29091dc0ea6/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Sudan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/sustainable-chemicals-new-rules-identify-endocrine-disruptors-and-long-lasting-chemicals-enter-force-2023-04-20_en">
    <title>Sustainable chemicals: New rules to identify endocrine disruptors and long-lasting chemicals enter into force</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-21T10:21:02+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/sustainable-chemicals-new-rules-identify-endocrine-disruptors-and-long-lasting-chemicals-enter-force-2023-04-20_en</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Today, the Delegated Regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals (CLP) enters into force. The Delegated Regulation introduces new hazard classes for endocrine disruptors, as well as for chemicals that do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in living organisms, or risk entering and spreading across the water cycle, including drinking water. The Commission adopted this Delegated Act on 19 December 2022, which then passed through the European Parliament and the Council and was published in the Official Journal on 31 March 2023.

The new hazard classes are the result of extensive scientific discussions and will provide easier access to information to all users of such chemicals, notably consumers, workers and businesses. They allow further action to address and mitigate the risks of substances and mixtures under other EU legislation such as REACH, while taking account of socio-economic impacts.

Background

The objective of the CLP Regulation is to ensure a high level of protection of health and the environment, as well as the free movement of substances, mixtures and articles. It requires manufacturers, importers or downstream users of substances or mixtures to classify, label and package their hazardous chemicals appropriately before placing them on the market. The CLP Regulation establishes legally binding hazard identification and classification rules. It sets out common rules on labelling for consumers and workers to enable them to make informed decisions when purchasing or using dangerous products. 

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Europe public discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:43e562bad4cd/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Europe"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/technology/north-american-rail-safety-pretty-bad-compared-to-europe/443295">
    <title>North American rail safety ‘pretty bad’ compared to Europe</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-20T10:42:26+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/technology/north-american-rail-safety-pretty-bad-compared-to-europe/443295</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[North American freight rail companies aren’t interested in improving safety because it costs too much, according to one American-born expert now teaching in Denmark. “Rail safety in North America is pretty bad, to be honest,” says Steve Harrod, “it's very bad by European standards and it has been really bad for a long time.”

Harrod is an associate professor at Technical University of Denmark in the DTU Engineering Technology department. He focuses on transportation management, science, and analysis with a specialization in railway management and technology.

“The fundamental technology of North American freight trains needs to be changed,” explains Harrod. “It's a really tough statement to make, because one of the great successes of North American freight transport is the very low price, the very economical movement of freight by rail in North America.”

That economical advantage can’t be understated according to Harrod, who notes how much more profitable rail companies are in North America compared to Europe. He says typically a North American rail company generates $1 of profit for every $2 in revenue which is “incomprehensible” for European companies to have that level of profit, “it just doesn’t exist.”

Harrod highlights three distinct differences between Europe’s freight rail system and North America’s that make Europe safer: Train length, coupling systems, and approach to hazardous materials.

Hazardous materials

The dangers of hazardous materials transported by rail are on the minds of many American lawmakers after the fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train on February 3. Earlier this week, the company’s CEO, Alan Shaw, apologized to Ohio lawmakers for the accident that saw toxic chemicals spill and burn in East Palestine, Ohio. The chemicals included vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and isobutylene. Shaw expressed support for some newly proposed safety measures, while resisting others.

Harrod says accidents involving toxic chemicals and other hazardous materials are very rare in Europe because they are typically transported by sea and not rail. But in North America there is “a lot of over the land shipment of hazardous material,” says Harrod.

“In America you are shipping petroleum from North Dakota to New Jersey and to New Orleans. And then you're shipping it to the chemical coast…then you're making chlorine and plastics and all kinds of crazy stuff. And then you're shipping it from Texas and New Orleans to Ohio and to New York and Pennsylvania.”

]]></description>
<dc:subject>transportation discovery environmental chlorine petroleum plastics toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:103556e4c282/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:chlorine"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:petroleum"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:plastics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://chicagomaroon.com/38843/news/library-fails-to-notify-student-workers-about-hazardous-materials-in-books/">
    <title>Library Fails to Notify Student Workers About Hazardous Materials in Books – Chicago Maroon</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-13T10:49:58+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://chicagomaroon.com/38843/news/library-fails-to-notify-student-workers-about-hazardous-materials-in-books/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Undergraduate library workers across the University of Chicago library system were not warned about the presence of poisonous elements in the bindings of books in the University’s collection, The Maroon has learned.
Full-time staff in the University of Chicago library system received an email on Friday, March 31, notifying them about the potentially poisonous materials in the bindings. Undergraduate workers only learned about the contamination on Wednesday, April 5, when a staff member independently posted a flier in the Regenstein Library’s bookstacks department.

The sign an independent worker placed in the library.
The Maroon received a copy of the March 31 email with “Planning for Handling 19th-Century Cloth Covered Books with Copper Arsenic Compounds” sent out to the University’s “All Library Staff” email list by Associate University Librarian for Collections and Access James R. Mouw.
It read, “A team from Conservation and the Special Collections Research Center led by [Head of Conservation] Ann Lindsey is developing a protocol for identifying and handling this material.”
Per the email, the proposed protocol includes sealing books that meet the color identification criteria in polyethylene bags until testing can be conducted as well as training staff on identifying and handling such materials.
The University of Delaware’s Winterthur Poison Book Project, which was cited in the University’s email and the staff member’s flier, aims to identify and catalog books that contain known poisonous substances, particularly books from the 1840s and 1850s containing the pigment Paris green.
Paris green, also known as emerald green and Vienna green, is an arsenic-based pigment found in the book cloth, illustrations, and labels of certain antique books. Book cloth is the material used to create a textile effect on the covers of books, and it became popular in the 1800s as an alternative to expensive leather binding. More than 50 percent of the 19th-century cloth-case bindings analyzed by the Winterthur Poison Book Project had book cloth containing lead.
The danger in exposure to these books comes primarily from the pigment’s tendency to shed arsenic flakes. While contact with skin can cause small amounts of arsenic to be absorbed, ingesting or inhaling flakes containing arsenic poses more concerns. The project found that conservators could be exposed to arsenic pigment dust levels can be “several times higher than the OSHA exposure limit.”
]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_IL education discovery environmental dust dye</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:fd859dcc88a6/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_IL"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:dust"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:dye"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330166">
    <title>Analysis of Chemical Accidents in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Laboratories in Korea by Jong Gu Kim, Han Jin Jo, Hyung Jun Jeon, Seong Pil Chung, Jin Hyuk Hong, Ju Hyuk Lee, Hwang Won Lee, Young Hee Roh :: SSRN</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-29T12:08:42+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330166</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Chemical safety in chemistry/chemical engineering laboratories is important because the hazards and risks (toxicity, flammability, and explosiveness) to a person or property are the same as those in industries. While there has been research on preventing laboratory accidents, it mostly focused on one laboratory/institution or used informal and limited accident databases. This is the first study to statistically analyze all chemical laboratory accidents in South Korea during 2015–2021 to examine the relationship between accident types, accident causes, damage types, and damaged areas. The data included accidents with injury requiring treatment for more than three days, in accordance with the standards of the Act on the Establishment of Safe Laboratory Environment. Frequency analysis was conducted on the current status of each variable, and a cross-tabulation analysis identified the associations between them. The results identified 1,380 laboratory accidents with 342 chemistry/chemical engineering accidents, a number that had doubled from 2015 to 2021. Chemical accidents were categorized as fires, explosions, and spills according to accident type; spills had the highest frequency (69.0%) and were mostly caused by inadequate handling of chemicals (62.5%). Most explosions (62.2%) and fires (52.2%) were caused by abnormal/runaway reactions. Burn damage was high in all accident types, especially spills (76.1%). The face was damaged highly in all accident types, and explosions damaged multiple areas. Based on the results, several safety management measures are proposed to prevent/reduce spills, explosions, fires, and damage. The results can help researchers develop new protective technologies to ensure safety in chemistry/chemical engineering laboratories.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Republic_of_Korea laboratory discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:4230b7b93b14/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://patch.com/new-jersey/howell/worried-residents-seek-answers-chemical-cleanup-howell-site">
    <title>Worried Residents Seek Answers About Howell Chemical Cleanup</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-22T10:49:42+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://patch.com/new-jersey/howell/worried-residents-seek-answers-chemical-cleanup-howell-site</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[HOWELL, NJ — Worry and frustration were in the voices of Howell and Farmingdale residents at a community meeting Tuesday night about the presence of hundreds of deteriorating drums containing chemicals from the former Compounders Inc. site in Howell.

The exposed and rusting drums at the seven-acre site on the border of Farmingdale at 15 Marl Road contain chemicals from an adhesive and asphalt manufacturing company in business for decades.

Their existence came to light recently after a drum fire on Feb. 9 exposed the conditions there. A federal official said yesterday the federal Department of Justice is investigating the cause of the fire.

And the federal Environmental Protection Agency is now on the site to oversee the removal of the drums. A workplan is being developed, the EPA official said, and will be shared with the public when finalized.

But the priority right now, according to Michael Mannino, onsite coordinator for the EPA, is to

Secure the drums.
Remove them.
Work with the state to test soil and groundwater.
Expand the study area to the back of the property.
The site is now fenced and has has 24/7 manned security.

"The site is safer now than in the last several years," he told residents.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NJ industrial discovery environmental adhesives asphalt wastes</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:febe250c22d4/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:adhesives"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:asphalt"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:wastes"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-promise-and-pitfalls-of-generative-ai-for-research/4017153.article">
    <title>The promise and pitfalls of generative AI for research</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-20T10:33:44+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-promise-and-pitfalls-of-generative-ai-for-research/4017153.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The implications of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like the wildly popular ChatGPT for research was a hot topic of discussion at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington DC. The chatbot, launched by OpenAI less than five months ago, has already been listed as a co-author on several research papers.

In January, the Science family of journals published by AAAS announced a complete ban on such text-generating algorithms, with editor-in-chief Holden Thorp expressing significant concern about the potential effect these technologies could have on research. The fear is that fake research papers written partly or entirely by programs like ChatGPT will find their way into the scientific literature.

Earlier this year a team from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University in Illinois trained ChatGPT to generate fake research abstracts based on papers published in high-impact journals. They ran these phoney papers and the original ones through a plagiarism detector and AI output detector, and separately had human reviewers try to distinguish which were generated and which were real.

In the study, plagiarism-detection tools couldn’t differentiate between real and fraudulent abstracts, but free tools like GPT-2 Output Detector were able to successfully determine whether text was written by a human or a bot. However, the human reviewers were only able to recognise the ChatGPT-generated papers 68% of the time, and they erroneously identified 14% of real abstracts as counterfeits.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_WA laboratory discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:9f826c5d7946/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_WA"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/opinion/editorials/our-view-state-must-follow-epa-law/article_e5d02b2b-fc2c-5a36-95a4-d92aca2791c9.html">
    <title>OUR VIEW: State must follow EPA law</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-19T11:18:53+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/opinion/editorials/our-view-state-must-follow-epa-law/article_e5d02b2b-fc2c-5a36-95a4-d92aca2791c9.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has done what many Oklahomans believe is correct in refusing to accept from Ohio upward of 3,600 tons of toxic soil, but we’re not so sure he can legally do that.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday argued that it’s “unlawful” to refuse shipments of waste from other states and accused the Republican governor of “playing politics at the expense of the people of East Palestine, Ohio.”

A Clean Harbors facility near Waynoka, about 40 miles east of Woodward, is under contract with Norfolk Southern to receive thousands of tons of toxic waste from the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, officials said. The train crash caused a toxic chemical spill, which officials are attempting to remediate.

Stitt has concerns about whether the toxic soil is safe, what testing had been done to ensure it wouldn’t endanger Oklahomans, and why the EPA and Norfolk Southern would want to transport it so far away from Ohio. Stitt also questioned why disposal facilities in Michigan or closer geographic states to Ohio aren’t being asked to take it or are outright refusing it.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said there was no reason for states to block shipments of the type of waste that certified facilities routinely handle every day.

Oklahoma may ultimately be responsible for accepting the hazardous waste. The contract has been signed between Norfolk Southernand The Clean Harbors Environmental Services.

The Clean Harbors Environmental Services Lone Mountain Facility south of Waynoka has a hazardous waste permit authorizing storage, treatment, recycling, and disposal of a wide variety of hazardous wastes.

But we need to find a way to eliminate some of the hazardous waste that is shipped in this country — not only by rail, but by other methods, as well. There are plenty of trucks on the highways transporting those chemicals. And these chemicals travel through every state in the country. The companies transporting the hazardous chemicals should be the ones responsible for cleaning up the waste, and if the company in Oklahoma can accept the chemicals without anyone being hurt or sickened and federal law says Oklahoma has to accept it, we have to trust that they will regulate it properly. ]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OK public discovery environmental toxics waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:3224a9d8df01/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/03/16/pfas-forever-chemicals-fire-fighter-iaff-nfpa-lawsuit">
    <title>Firefighter union sues Mass. group over toxic chemicals in protective gear</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-17T10:56:12+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/03/16/pfas-forever-chemicals-fire-fighter-iaff-nfpa-lawsuit</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The International Association of Fire Fighters is suing the Massachusetts-based group that sets national standards for firefighters' protective gear. The union contends that the National Fire Protection Association colluded with industry to set its guidelines so that gear has to contain toxic PFAS chemicals to meet the voluntary standards.

PFAS chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” are linked to a long list of health concerns, including certain types of cancer, increased cholesterol and decreased response to childhood vaccinations. These chemicals are used in a wide variety of consumer products but are found at particularly high concentrations in firefighters' gear.

“We are exposing ourselves to carcinogens needlessly day-in and day-out because of the standard that was set by the NFPA, who was so heavily influenced by the industry that stands to profit off the standard. And that's wrong,” said Edward Kelly, general president of the IAFF, speaking outside the Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham on Thursday.

Last year, nearly 75% of the firefighters who passed away died of job-related cancer, Kelly said. While acknowledging that PFAS is not the only hazardous substance firefighters are exposed to, he said this toxic chemical is unnecessary and its use can be limited.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MA industrial discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:9689f81d188a/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nj.com/monmouth/2023/03/discovery-of-chemical-drums-prompts-emergency-plan-that-would-evacuate-parts-of-nj-town.html">
    <title>Discovery of chemical drums prompts emergency plan that would evacuate parts of N.J. town</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-12T12:06:52+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nj.com/monmouth/2023/03/discovery-of-chemical-drums-prompts-emergency-plan-that-would-evacuate-parts-of-nj-town.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Howell Office of Emergency Management has outlined an evacuation area and routes for people within a one-mile radius of a site where nearly 300 drums containing possible hazardous materials were found last month. The plan would only be used in case of emergency regarding the materials.

On Feb. 9, local crews were dispatched to the former Compounders Inc. site, located at 15 Marl Road, and found materials burning inside an old metal structure, according to a statement from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Firefighters found numerous drums and smelled a chemical odor.

Once the fire was extinguished, the office of emergency management and the Monmouth County Department of Health were contacted and the department discovered between 200 and 300, 55-gallon drums and other containers around the site, the EPA said. Many of them were labeled as hazardous materials.

It was unclear exactly what was in the drums and containers, but the Compounders Inc. facility manufactured a number of chemical compounds, including glues, adhesives, and asphalt materials until 2019, officials said. The current owner of the property, who was not identified, purchased the business as part of a stock sale in 2021.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NJ industrial discovery response adhesives asphalt metals</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:32b0d5300c42/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:adhesives"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:asphalt"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:metals"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.amsj.com.au/hiring-more-women-will-improve-work-safety-says-resources-executive/">
    <title>Hiring more women will improve work safety says resources executive</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-12T12:04:09+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.amsj.com.au/hiring-more-women-will-improve-work-safety-says-resources-executive/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A mining boss believes mines will have fewer incidents if employee diversity increases.

BHP recently confirmed it is championing a new pathway to gender equity, which is promised to help decrease workplace injuries and fatalities.

“Having a diverse and inclusive workplace is fundamentally important to the culture we want in our industry and at BHP – a place where it is safe to speak up, share ideas and debate,” Western Australia iron ore asset president Brandon Craig said in a public statement.

“We are committed to achieving a workplace … where people have a voice and can speak their minds.”

Management promised nobody would be penalised for openly expressing their views.

“We are reflecting and acting on employee feedback to address emerging issues and drive performance improvement, and our workplaces are becoming more open, engaging and dynamic,” Craig said.]]></description>
<dc:subject>Australia industrial discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:c9aec9c62519/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://fox2now.com/news/fox-files/st-louis-fire-chief-warning-to-railroads-hand-over-life-saving-supplies/">
    <title>St. Louis fire chief warns railroads to hand over life-saving supplies</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-11T12:43:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://fox2now.com/news/fox-files/st-louis-fire-chief-warning-to-railroads-hand-over-life-saving-supplies/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says he’s been battling for about a decade for the railroads to bring critical safety supplies closer to the city. He said there’s no question we’ll need those supplies.

“It’s not if, it’s when. We know it’s going to happen,” Jenkerson said.

He was referring to the explosive train derailment in Ohio. He said it’s almost always on his mind.

“We’ve got an issue right now,” Jenkerson said.

Top story: St. Louis fire chief warns railroads to hand over life-saving supplies
He explained that certain toxic chemicals need specific fire suppression agents to combat.

“We tried imploring the railroad to… give us the products,” Jenkerson said. “Give us the equipment to provide foam and provide fire-fighting type supplies on top of these trains, and it was like, ‘Okay, we’re going to do it.’ It never materialized.”

On the other side of the state, the railroads are currently storing those fire suppression chemicals, according to Jenkerson.

“Everything’s still in Kansas City, and that’s still a four-hour ride, you know, having a couple tank cars burn for four hours, that’s a big issue,” he said.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MO industrial discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:c68b89800029/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_MO"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.wfmj.com/story/48509038/indiana-lawmakers-demand-answers-on-hazardous-material-sent-to-state-from-east-palestine">
    <title>Indiana lawmakers demand answers on hazardous material sent to s</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-08T11:44:44+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wfmj.com/story/48509038/indiana-lawmakers-demand-answers-on-hazardous-material-sent-to-state-from-east-palestine</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Two lawmakers from Indiana are looking for answers on why hazardous materials from the East Palestine train derailment are being sent to the state.

Senator Mike Braun and Congressman Jim Baird sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan demanding answers on why the hazardous materials were stopped while on the way to an EPA-approved facility in Michigan and redirected to Indiana.

According to the release, the EPA started shipping the contaminated soil and water to a facility in Michigan but lawmakers from the state held a news conference saying they didn't want the material in their state.

Braun and Baird say the EPA announced they halted the cleanup and delivery to the Michigan facility within 30 minutes and the materials were taken back to East Palestine.

According to the release, the EPA announced on February 27 that a facility in North Roachdale, Indiana would begin to receive the contaminated materials. They claim the EPA said they'd notify materials but Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb said he learned about it "third-hand."

Senator Braun and Congressman Baird said the Roachdale facility is the first facility outside of Ohio to receive the materials after the EPA exerted control over the cleanup. They also noted that Roachdale is further away from East Palestine than the Michigan facility.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_IN public discovery environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:f11f52f446d3/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_IN"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://patch.com/new-jersey/howell/hundreds-abandoned-drums-chemicals-found-howell-business">
    <title>Hundreds Of Abandoned Drums With Chemicals Found At Howell Business</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-05T12:36:11+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://patch.com/new-jersey/howell/hundreds-abandoned-drums-chemicals-found-howell-business</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[HOWELL, NJ — Deteriorating 55-gallon drums containing chemicals were discovered last month by Howell firefighters at a former industrial plant at 15 Marl Road, and now federal environmental workers will be at the site for several weeks to manage their removal, the township said.

The Environmental Protection Agency has informed the township it will have workers at the former Compounder’s Inc. site at 15 Marl Road for the "next several weeks," the township said in a news release.

Compounders Inc. manufactured a number of chemical compounds, including glues, adhesives, and asphalt materials, the EPA said. The company closed in 2019.

The agency is "overseeing the sampling and removal of around 200 to 300 drums and containers found at the site," the EPA said in a statement. The site now has 24-hour security, the township said.

"Despite some workers wearing protective equipment and clothing, this does not mean there is a risk to the public or surrounding residents," the township said.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NJ industrial discovery response asphalt</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:c7bb7f1025a9/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:asphalt"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://time.com/6258825/giant-eagle-water-east-palestine-ohio/">
    <title>Water Bottled 25 Miles From E. Palestine Pulled From Shelves</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-28T11:45:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://time.com/6258825/giant-eagle-water-east-palestine-ohio/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[hree weeks after the Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent toxic chemical spill and fire in East Palestine, Ohio, a major grocery chain is pulling water that was bottled 25 miles from the crash site off of store shelves.

Giant Eagle, which operates hundreds of stores in five states, including Ohio, withdrew its spring water which comes from Salineville, Ohio, out of an “abundance of caution,” the company said in a Feb. 21 statement.

Giant Eagle’s move is the latest indication that the East Palestine spill is causing concerns far from the village of 4,700 people. Among the chemicals involved in the derailment was vinyl chloride, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies as a carcinogen.

What Giant Eagle is saying

The grocery store chain noted that a third-party lab has been testing the facility’s water sources and bottled water samples. It did not find evidence that the water had been contaminated as a result of the Feb. 3 incident. But the company added that it would take the product off store shelves until further testing.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH public discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:7d0e6ebe8c90/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.ehn.org/are-pesticides-endocrine-disruptors-2659413208.html">
    <title>In 1996, the EPA was ordered to test pesticides for impacts on people’s hormones. They still don’t.</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-28T11:42:46+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.ehn.org/are-pesticides-endocrine-disruptors-2659413208.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[n 1996, Congress ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test all pesticides used on food for endocrine disruption by 1999. The EPA still doesn’t do this today.

Nor does it appear close to doing so, argue the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the agency in December for its ongoing failure to implement the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.

“As of the time of this filing, more than 25 years after the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act, [the] EPA has yet to implement the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program it created and further, has failed to even initiate endocrine testing for approximately 96% of registered pesticides,” the lawsuit states.

Experts say such screening is vital to protect people’s health as endocrine-disrupting chemicals — compounds that can block, mimic or interfere with the proper functioning of hormones — have been linked to a variety of health problems including obesity, diabetes, respiratory issues, some cancers and negative impacts on the nervous, reproductive and immune systems.

However, other than a draft white paper updating a single aspect of the program this January — coincidental timing, EPA deputy assistant administrator for pesticide programs Ya-Wei “Jake” Li told Environmental Health News (EHN) — the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program has appeared dormant since 2015.]]></description>
<dc:subject>public discovery environmental ag_chems pesticides</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:867e6a8cce25/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:ag_chems"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:pesticides"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://spacenews.com/nasa-advisers-raise-concerns-about-artemis-safety-and-workforce/">
    <title>NASA advisers raise concerns about Artemis safety and workforce</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-18T12:19:44+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://spacenews.com/nasa-advisers-raise-concerns-about-artemis-safety-and-workforce/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON — A NASA safety panel, while congratulating the agency on a successful Artemis 1 mission, said it was worried about the agency’s safety culture and workforce as it prepares for the first crewed Artemis flight.

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, in its annual report issued earlier this month, praised NASA for a successful Artemis 1 uncrewed test flight in late 2022. The mission, featuring the first launch of the Space Launch System rocket, sent the Orion spacecraft to the vicinity of the moon and back, splashing down three and a half weeks after liftoff.

“The historic launch and landing of Artemis I is a clear success,” the panel wrote in its report. “The mission was a tremendous milestone for NASA and represents years of focus and preparation by the overall NASA and supporting contractor workforce.”

However, later in the report the panel raised questions about the agency’s overall safety culture, particularly as it applies to the Artemis series of missions.

“The Panel is concerned that NASA’s concerted attention to a healthy safety culture may have diminished, leaving NASA vulnerable to the same flaws that contributed to previous failures. This concern was heightened by the circumstances surrounding NASA’s decision to scrub the Artemis I launch in early September,” it stated.

That was a reference to a problem during the second attempt to launch the Artemis 1 mission Sept. 3. NASA officials said at the time an “inadvertent overpressurization” of a liquid hydrogen line damaged a seal, causing a large leak of liquid hydrogen that scrubbed the launch. They speculated that human error caused the overpressurization.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>industrial discovery environmental hydrogen</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:8c39f1968733/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:hydrogen"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/02/14/norfolk-southerns-ohio-train-derailment-emblematic-rail-trends/11248956002/">
    <title>Norfolk Southern's Ohio train disaster could happen again. Here's why</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-15T11:55:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/02/14/norfolk-southerns-ohio-train-derailment-emblematic-rail-trends/11248956002/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[In 2013, a train derailment and subsequent fire in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killed 47 people and required all but three downtown buildings to be demolished for safety reasons. The following year, a derailment in Casselton, North Dakota, spilled nearly 500,000 gallons of crude oil and caused $13.5 million in damage, prompting the Obama administration to push for a new safety rule to govern the transportation of hazardous materials, avoid environmental disasters and save lives.

The effort to create a new safety rule was fought by industry lobbyists, including Norfolk Southern Corp., the Atlanta-based company whose train derailed in eastern Ohio and spilled chemicals earlier this month, leaving residents in East Palestine worried about their air, soil and water quality.

When the safety rule was issued in 2015, however, it was narrowly crafted and required only  electronically controlled brakes – which applies braking simultaneously across a train rather than railcar by railcar over a span of seconds – to be installed by 2023. It applied only to certain “high-hazard flammable trains” carrying at least 20 consecutive loaded cars filled with liquids like crude oil.

The Trump administration repealed the rule three years later, stating that its cost exceeded the benefits. 


Efforts to reduce costs including lobbying against costly regulation, increasing train lengths, reduced inspection times and major cuts to the railroad workforce have made trains less safe, labor representatives and industry experts told USA TODAY, increasing the potential for accidents like the one in Ohio to become more common.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_ND transportation discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:38dce751901a/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_ND"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/university-of-delaware-labs-reopen-after-explosive-accidentally-synthesised-by-student/4016984.article">
    <title>University of Delaware labs reopen after explosive accidentally synthesised by student</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-15T11:48:28+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/university-of-delaware-labs-reopen-after-explosive-accidentally-synthesised-by-student/4016984.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Several laboratories and buildings on the University of Delaware’s campus reopened for classes and resumed normal operations on 9 February, following evacuations and then a controlled detonation of ‘a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive chemical’ inadvertently produced at a research lab on campus the previous day.

The evacuations were in response to a report from the University of Delaware’s Environmental Health and Safety office. The Delaware State Police investigated the materials, removed them from the building and transferred them to a safe outdoor location where they were ‘neutralised’ on the evening of 8 February, the university announced.


‘This was an isolated incident, and there is no threat to campus health or safety,’ the University of Delaware said. ‘No injuries were reported.’ The school declined to release further details of what was exploded and why or what reaction was being run. Chatter on social media suggested that a chemistry graduate student accidentally made triacetone triperoxide, also known as TATP, which is synthesised from acetone, hydrogen peroxide and an acid. A graduate student at the University of Bristol inadvertently made 30–40g of TATP in 2017, requiring a bomb disposal team to dispose of the material.

‘Our safety people did a top-notch job and responded quickly. It was just so sudden and unexpected,’ tweeted Mike Axiotes, an undergraduate student in the University of Delaware’s chemistry department. ‘We were talking about vinyl chloride burn in subgroups as a safety/making reactions count talk and then boom (pun intended) we’re being evacuated 3 hours later.’

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_DE laboratory discovery response acetone explosives hydrogen_peroxide</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:087779dcf5a0/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_DE"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:acetone"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:explosives"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:hydrogen_peroxide"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.willmarradio.com/news/children-of-employees-at-ammo-plant-have-lead-in-their-blood/article_ec938ff0-aa10-11ed-bbb7-e35e61b93c33.html">
    <title>Children of employees at ammo plant have lead in their blood</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-12T12:23:39+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.willmarradio.com/news/children-of-employees-at-ammo-plant-have-lead-in-their-blood/article_ec938ff0-aa10-11ed-bbb7-e35e61b93c33.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[(Anoka, MN) -- State health officials are urging workers at the Federal Ammunition plant in Anoka to have their children tested for lead exposure. Investigators identified four kids with elevated blood levels due to exposure to lead dust brought home accidentally on clothing and items of family members employed at the plant. The Minnesota Department of Health is concerned there may be other children of employees who were exposed to "take-home" lead dust. Officials allege that Federal Ammunition hasn't made sufficient changes to significantly reduce the risk of exposure.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MN industrial discovery response dust lead_dust</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:c8ea424ab60f/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_MN"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:dust"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:lead_dust"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/eu-floats-plan-that-would-ban-virtually-every-pfas-currently-on-the-market/4016973.article">
    <title>EU floats plan that would ban virtually every PFAS currently on the market</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-10T11:44:03+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/eu-floats-plan-that-would-ban-virtually-every-pfas-currently-on-the-market/4016973.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A proposal that would effectively ban the controversial class of chemical compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the EU was published by the European Chemicals Agency (Echa) on Tuesday. The agency has described it as ‘one of the broadest’ restrictions of chemicals in the EU’s history.

Proposed under the Reach regulation, the plan was drafted by the governments of Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden and sent to Echa back in January. It is expected to be formally presented to EU member states in 2025.

The five countries want to essentially ban the entire class of more than 10,000 chemicals in a single stroke, including their production, use, and sale, and the impact would be significant. The prohibition would apply to every type of PFAS manufactured in, or imported into, the EU. It specifically targets substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl (CF3–) or methylene (–CF2–), although there are exceptions.

‘If the European Commission adopts the proposal, companies will be forced to find alternatives for approximately 10,000 PFAS in applications in which these substances are used,’ the five nations said. They warned that in many cases, no such alternatives exist, and in some they may never. ‘The proposal’s formal submission in itself sends a clear signal that companies need to seek alternatives to PFAS,’ the governments added.

PFAS chemicals have been used and manufactured worldwide since the 1950s. Their combination of oil, grease and water repellence, as well as durability under extreme conditions like high pressure and temperatures makes them exceptionally useful. Because of this they can be found in many household items like non-stick cookware, raincoats, furniture, carpets and even cosmetics.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Europe public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:ff5e383f622a/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Europe"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/corridor-laser-waveguide/">
    <title>Physicists fire a dangerously powerful laser down their corridor in the middle of the night</title>
    <dc:date>2023-01-22T12:48:44+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/corridor-laser-waveguide/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[What happens when physicists decide that their lab is too small? Some start to fire powerful lasers down the corridor in the middle of the night.

This wasn’t just a bunch of undergraduates playing laser skirmish when they got bored.

The US researchers had been investigating “optical guiding”: a method of directing light through air, which could be used for long-range laser communication.

They’d shown that this works over distances smaller than a metre, but they couldn’t expand their reach because their lab was too small, and the extremely powerful laser they used couldn’t be easily moved.

Their solution? Make a hole in the wall and fire the laser into the 50-metre long hallway.

“There were major challenges: the huge scale-up to 50 metres forced us to reconsider the fundamental physics of air waveguide generation, plus wanting to send a high-power laser down a 50-meter-long public hallway naturally triggers major safety issues,” says Professor Howard Milchberg, a physicist at the University of Maryland, US.


Left to right: Eric Rosenthal, a physicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; Anthony Valenzuela, a physicist at the U.S. Army Research Lab; and Andrew Goffin, a UMD electrical and computer engineering graduate student, align optics at a porthole in the wall in order to send the laser beam from the lab down the hallway. Credit: Intense Laser-Matter Interactions Lab, UMD
“Fortunately, we got excellent cooperation from both the Physics (Department) and from the Maryland environmental safety office!”

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MD laboratory discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:e7e397fd8e89/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_MD"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00568">
    <title>Advanced Technique-Based Combination of Innovation Education and Safety Education in Higher Education</title>
    <dc:date>2023-01-06T14:05:59+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00568</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The essence of higher education is to cultivate innovative talents for the society. Hence, higher education institutions (HEIs), on the one hand, need to respond to social needs and government policies. On the other hand, they need to keep pace with the times and improve the details of teaching to improve the effectiveness of education. In this paper, several combination education examples in HEIs about safety education and innovation education are shown to encourage students to realize innovations in technique during their laboratory experiments on electrospinning. To obtain professional knowledge and traditional professional skills, students are taught to implement electrospinning, an advanced technique for treating polymers, in the research laboratory. Safety education is also taught, during which the students are encouraged to play their subjective roles and ponder on how to apply innovations for safe, effective, and innovative implementation. The students apply a series of small technological innovations for the spinneret, which is the most innovative part of an electrospinning system. They can modify the spinneret for safer, more energy-saving, and more convenient operations of the single-fluid blending, coaxial, triaxial, and side-by-side electrospinning processes. Moreover, the innovations can deepen their professional knowledge of electrospinning and stimulate their enjoyment of innovations. Safety education on electrospinning can be a powerful tool for promoting technological innovations in students and increasing their awareness of related safety issues. The reported protocols in this paper show a new way for conducting combined education in HEIs on advanced techniques.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>China laboratory discovery environmental plastics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:98aa4ab18c1e/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:China"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:plastics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.kxly.com/spokane-fire-responding-to-hazmat-situation-at-sacred-heart-medical-center/">
    <title>Sacred Heart back open after potential explosive investigation</title>
    <dc:date>2023-01-05T11:43:49+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.kxly.com/spokane-fire-responding-to-hazmat-situation-at-sacred-heart-medical-center/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[SPOKANE, Wash. — Sacred Heart Medical Center’s emergency room is back open after an investigation into a potentially explosive device found on a patient.

Providence said a patient who was flown to the hospital for treatment was found to have explosive materials on them.

Providence security, Spokane Police, and Spokane firefighters contained the situation and secured the area. Some patients were temporarily taken to other hospitals during the incident.

W. 8th Avenue is back open, and all hospital operations have since returned to normal. The Children’s Hospital and patient care were not affected.

Spokane Police are investigating this incident.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_WA public discovery response bomb illegal</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:d77d0cefc526/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_WA"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:bomb"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-01-02/arizona-firefighters-pfas-treatment-8618422.html">
    <title>Arizona firefighters pioneer ‘forever chemical’ treatment</title>
    <dc:date>2023-01-03T11:44:11+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-01-02/arizona-firefighters-pfas-treatment-8618422.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[(Tribune News Service) — Donating blood can save lives, but in the future, doctors may also prescribe rolling up a sleeve and exposing a vein for the health of certain donors.

Research from Australia published in 2021 suggests blood donations reduce the donor's concentration of a class of toxic substances called "per- and polyfluoroakyl substances," or PFAS, popularly called "forever chemicals."

PFAS don't really last "forever," but they earned the moniker because some stay in the body for almost 10 years and accumulate in organs, blood and bones with repeated exposures.

Recent research link PFAS to higher cancer rates, decreased birth weight, hormone disruption, elevated blood pressure and increased incidence of preeclampsia in pregnant women.

Firefighters are at higher risk of PFAS exposure due to the chemicals in foams and protective gear as well as in household products burned in fires.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Australia public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:62bd4c934b14/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Australia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2022/12/state-to-address-chemicals-in-fire-training-pit-groundwater/">
    <title>State to address chemicals in fire training pit, groundwater</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-31T11:43:59+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2022/12/state-to-address-chemicals-in-fire-training-pit-groundwater/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Several chemical compounds were detected at or above state Department of Health “environmental action levels” in the soil and in non-drinking groundwater around Kahului Airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting training pit this week. 

The state Department of Transportation is now taking steps to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have impacted the soil within the vicinity of the training pit by fencing off the area and submitting an interim remedial action plan to the Health Department. 

PFAS are manmade chemicals used in many industries to make things waterproof, non-stick and stain resistant, such as firefighting foam (aqueous film-forming foams or AFFF), furniture, some personal and household products, waterproof clothing and certain types of food packaging, according to the Health Department’s Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response office. 

The PFAS compound perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) was detected in soil at the fire training pit. The Health Department’s environmental action level for PFOS is 0.025 parts per million and the highest concentration of PFOS identified in soil was 0.8 parts per million, the Health Department said Wednesday night. 

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_HI industrial discovery environmental other_chemical dye</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:82b843139331/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_HI"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:dye"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/what-are-endocrine-disruptors-140051970.html">
    <title>What are endocrine disruptors?</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-28T11:34:03+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/what-are-endocrine-disruptors-140051970.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Your hormones help control different functions in your body and impact everything from your metabolism to how you feel. And if your hormones don't function the way they should, it can affect your health.

Hormone health is a big trend in wellness, according to theTikTok star Hannah Bronfman, who says you'll be hearing a lot more about it in the future. Specifically, she says, addressing endocrine disruptors is the "next big thing." Bronfman says that there are a lot of products about to hit the market that will be labeled "endocrine safe," meaning they're free of endocrine disruptors, which "can be found in just about all the products that we use," including food, toys and beauty products.


Bronfman is far from the first person to use the term "endocrine disruptors," and you've probably come across it at some point before. But you may not necessarily know what that means. So what are endocrine disruptors exactly, and how worried about them should you be? Here's the deal.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:87a6cdd64372/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-former-pes-refinery-site-cancer-causing-benzene-will-not-be-monitored-in-2023/">
    <title>Former refinery stops measuring cancer-causing chemical</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-27T11:48:19+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-former-pes-refinery-site-cancer-causing-benzene-will-not-be-monitored-in-2023/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The company redeveloping the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery site in South Philadelphia plans to stop monitoring for benzene at the end of this year.
The cancer-causing chemical has been found at high levels at the property line even after the refinery shut down. Neighbors, advocates, and experts have called for the monitoring to continue.
“One way of showing good faith and that you care about the community is to keep monitoring to see if we’re safe,” said Shawmar Pitts, a managing director of the activist group Philly Thrive who has lived near the refinery all his life.
Benzene is found in things like car exhaust, tobacco smoke, and crude oil, which was processed at the PES refinery before it shut down following an explosion and fire in 2019.
WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor
The massive site is contaminated from more than a century of industrial use, and remediation has been going on for years. The refinery itself is now at least 88% demolished.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_PA industrial discovery environmental benzene petroleum</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:81fb7c005d70/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_PA"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:benzene"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:petroleum"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.2c00330">
    <title>Nitrosamine Risk Assessments in Oligonucleotides</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-27T11:45:29+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.2c00330</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The European Medicines Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other regulatory agencies expect that all pharmaceutical products be assessed for the potential presence of N-nitrosoamine (nitrosamine) impurities. This white paper addresses general considerations for nitrosamine risk assessments of oligonucleotide products. The authors propose a general risk assessment platform which should facilitate safe, consistent development of new treatments and alignment with regulatory expectations.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>laboratory discovery environmental pharmaceutical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:1165ce7e9bcb/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:pharmaceutical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/In-X%E2%80%99mas-eve-protest-citizens-slam-dumping-of-%E2%80%98hazardous-material%E2%80%99-/198615">
    <title>Herald: In X’mas eve protest, citizens slam dumping of ‘hazardous material’</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-25T11:50:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/In-X%E2%80%99mas-eve-protest-citizens-slam-dumping-of-%E2%80%98hazardous-material%E2%80%99-/198615</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[MARGAO: On the eve of Christmas, the group of socially-conscious ‘Citizens of Margao and Fatorda’ held a protest condemning the government and the authorities concerned, including the Margao Municipality, Goa Waste Management Corporation and the Goa Pollution Control Board for dumping hazardous and poisonous material in the low-lying field near the District Court at Margao.
Armed with banners, the citizens questioned Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as to whether dumping of hazardous waste was a part of the ‘Save the Soil’ Memorandum of Understanding signed with Sadguru's Isha Foundation.
Several protesters including Jose Maria Miranda, Candeth Castello, Anthony Gonsalves, Mahesh Naik and Zarina Da Cunha strongly criticised the authorities for their ‘don’t care a damn attitude’ towards public health.  
In his talk, Mahesh Naik wanted to know why the Hon'ble High Court has failed to monitor the work undertaken by the MMC and GWMC, since it is being undertaken through a PIL writ petition.  
]]></description>
<dc:subject>India public discovery environmental waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:6401a7c46c0f/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:India"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://onscene.tv/hazmat-called-after-dea-raids-dmt-lab-san-diego/">
    <title>Hazmat Called After DEA Raids DMT Lab</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-24T12:03:53+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://onscene.tv/hazmat-called-after-dea-raids-dmt-lab-san-diego/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Task Force Team #2 of the DEA raided a DMT lab this morning on the top floor of “Steele Building Lofts”.

The SDFD HazMat and SD County HazMat teams were called in for the clean-up of the lab.

It’s not known how many people were arrested in the raid.

DMT — or N, N-dimethyltryptamine in medical talk — is a hallucinogenic tryptamine drug.

Sometimes referred to as Dimitri, this drug produces effects similar to those of psychedelics, like LSD and magic mushrooms.

DMT is a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, which means it’s illegal to make, buy, possess, or distribute it.

Some cities have recently decriminalized it, but it’s still illegal under state and federal law.5.

DMT is a newly arrived narcotic to the San Diego area.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA laboratory discovery response drugs illegal</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:20a04ad6eb26/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_CA"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:laboratory"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:drugs"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.foxla.com/news/underground-drug-lab-raided-in-granada-hills">
    <title>Underground bunker filled with illegal drugs discovered at Granada Hills home</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-23T11:47:21+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.foxla.com/news/underground-drug-lab-raided-in-granada-hills</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[GRANADA HILLS, Calif. - One person was arrested after an illegal drug lab located in an underground bunker of a Granada Hills home was raided Wednesday night, according to authorities. 

The Los Angeles Police Department said officers recovered fentanyl, heroin, meth and magic mushrooms.

In November, narcotics officers received an anonymous tip of a possible illegal marijuana cultivation at a home on the 16500 block of Hiawatha Street.

On Dec. 21, officers searched the house and arrested 37-year-old Casey Linder.

During a search of the house, officers found hallucinogenic mushrooms growing in a backyard shed. According to LAPD, the shed had an access point to a bunker that went 12 feet underground. Inside the bunker officers found a Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and a Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) extraction lab. 

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA public discovery response illegal meth_lab</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:f6fad046b5de/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_CA"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:meth_lab"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.outtherecolorado.com/news/higher-than-acceptable-methamphetamine-levels-in-air-ducts-close-colorado-public-library/article_89ffdcb0-8088-11ed-9d2a-73372293d919.html">
    <title>&quot;Higher than acceptable&quot; methamphetamine levels in air ducts close Colorado public library</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-22T11:43:27+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.outtherecolorado.com/news/higher-than-acceptable-methamphetamine-levels-in-air-ducts-close-colorado-public-library/article_89ffdcb0-8088-11ed-9d2a-73372293d919.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A public library in Boulder will be closing indefinitely on Tuesday, after "higher than acceptable" levels of methamphetamine were recorded in restroom air ducts, according to a news release from the city. 

"The city made this unprecedented decision today after receiving results of tests it ordered of air ducts in six of the restrooms in the Main Library at 1001 Arapahoe Avenue. The tests showed that residue inside the ducts had higher than acceptable levels of methamphetamine. The ducts blow air and contaminants outside the building, but it is not yet clear what, if any, level of contaminants is on surfaces," the release said. 

The closure will begin at 4 PM on Tuesday, to allow officials to swab samples of surfaces inside and outside the restrooms and determine if a public health risk is present.

According to the release, there has been a spike in reports of people smoking inside of the library's bathrooms in recent weeks. In fact, on two occasions city employees were evaluated for symptoms consistent with exposure to meth fumes or residue. 

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CO public discovery response other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:b06ccf2750d4/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_CO"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.wbay.com/2022/12/21/police-hazardous-materials-experts-find-suspected-meth-lab-appleton/">
    <title>Police, hazardous materials experts find suspected meth lab in Appleton</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-22T11:40:53+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wbay.com/2022/12/21/police-hazardous-materials-experts-find-suspected-meth-lab-appleton/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - The execution of a search warrant for suspected drug activity in Appleton was followed by a flurry of police activity late Wednesday morning.

Members of the Appleton Police Department SWAT team, and the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group, and Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation went to search an apartment on the 3000-block of S. Chain Dr. They found a 37-year-old man living there who had a warrant for his arrest.

Law enforcement found evidence the man was trying to produce methamphetamine on the property. Because of the potentially hazardous materials, the DCI’s Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Response Team, which has special training in hazmat situations, was brought in to assist with the warrant and remove the substances from the suspected drug lab.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_WI public discovery response illegal clandestine_lab</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:d339c6a2c10b/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_WI"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:response"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:clandestine_lab"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.courthousenews.com/epa-faces-suit-over-25-years-of-failing-to-execute-program-to-test-products-for-toxic-chemicals/">
    <title>EPA sued for 25-year failure to test products for endocrine disruptors</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-22T11:38:59+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.courthousenews.com/epa-faces-suit-over-25-years-of-failing-to-execute-program-to-test-products-for-toxic-chemicals/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — For 25 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed to properly test for endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in many food products as mandated by Congress, a coalition of nonprofits claim.

In a 54-page complaint filed Wednesday in federal court, organizations including Pesticide Action Network North America, Rural Coalition, Center for Environmental Health, Organización en California de Líderes Campesinas and Center for Food Safety claim the EPA has violated the Food Quality Protection Act and civil rights by failing to implement the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program by the 1999 deadline set by Congress.

In October 2021 the EPA laid the groundwork for new regulations on these chemical compounds, or PFAS — thousands of toxic chemicals utilized by manufacturing companies to create products like Teflon pans, firefighting foam and water-resistant products like carpets, mascara and eyeliner. The chemical compounds feature a unique molecular makeup that makes them resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease and water — but also allows them to persist in both living things and the environment for decades. The so-called "forever chemicals" have been detected in drinking water, food and in Americans’ blood streams.

The EPA has also said it plans to review past actions taken under the Toxic Substances Control Act relating to PFAS and address insufficient responses. President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan earmarked roughly $10 billion in funds that would be used in part to monitor and remediate PFAS in drinking water.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA public discovery environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:112e0cc4abcc/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_CA"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/3M-says-end-PFAS-production/100/web/2022/12">
    <title>3M says it will end PFAS production by 2025</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-22T11:36:05+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/3M-says-end-PFAS-production/100/web/2022/12</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Under mounting regulatory and financial pressure, 3M says it will end the manufacture of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and discontinue their use in its products by the end of 2025.
The move means that the conglomerate will cease producing all fluoropolymers, fluorinated fluids, and PFAS-based additives. Such products include polymers sold under the Dyneon name like polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and fluoroelastomers.
Overall, 3M generates about $1.3 billion in sales and earns about $200 million annually from the sale of PFAS products. However, the business represents a relatively small part of its annual sales, which were $35.4 billion in 2021. With the exit, the company expects to accrue financial charges of $2.3 billion.
“While PFAS can be safely made and used, we also see an opportunity to lead in a rapidly evolving external regulatory and business landscape,” 3M CEO Mike Roman says in a statement.
PFAS are known to persist in the environment and have been linked to human health effects, including cancer. As a result, they are subject to increasingly stringent regulations, which 3M cites as a consideration for exiting the business. It notes that PFAS could be restricted in Europe by 2025. And the US Environmental Protection Agency may place limits on PFAS in drinking water.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>industrial discovery environmental other_chemical plastics polyvinylidene_fluoride</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:91a361e22d28/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:plastics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:polyvinylidene_fluoride"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/audit-cites-tennessee-department-environment-and-conservation-eastman-chemical-pollution">
    <title>Audit cites Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for Eastman Chemical pollution</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-21T11:06:33+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/audit-cites-tennessee-department-environment-and-conservation-eastman-chemical-pollution</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[For nearly a decade, the Eastman Chemical Company has been emitting unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide into the communities surrounding its Kingsport, Tenn. plants in violation of national air quality standards.

A new audit by the Tennessee Comptroller, released last week, found that the state has more work to do to bring the company in line with Clean Air Act standards. It is the only area in Tennessee that has failed to meet those national guidelines, the audit noted.

Eastman manufactures chemicals, fibers and plastics used in products that include paint, adhesives, textiles, sports bottles, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The company relies, in part, on coal-fired boilers to power its operations. The coal-fired plants are the source of the sulfur dioxide emissions, which can damage human respiratory systems and contribute to acid rain. 

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s “Air Pollution Control Division has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency for nine years to lower the sulfur dioxide release levels around the Eastman Chemical Company’s facility in Kingsport and must continue until attainment is achieved,” the audit said. ]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TN industrial discovery environmental sulfur_dioxide</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:a91e3df5eef0/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_TN"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:sulfur_dioxide"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://eulawlive.com/new-eu-legislation-on-endocrine-disruptors-and-long-lasting-chemicals-commission-proposal/">
    <title>New EU legislation on endocrine disruptors and long-lasting chemicals: Commission proposal</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-21T11:03:27+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://eulawlive.com/new-eu-legislation-on-endocrine-disruptors-and-long-lasting-chemicals-commission-proposal/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Yesterday, the Commission proposed a revised Regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals (CLP) and introduced new hazard classes for endocrine disruptors and other harmful chemical substances to better protect people and the environment from hazardous chemicals.

The Commission also adopted a Delegated Act to introduce new hazard classes under the CLP for endocrine disruptors, as well as for chemicals that do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in living organisms, or risk entering and spreading across the water cycle, including drinking water.

The revised Regulation clarifies rules on labelling and for chemicals sold online and caters for: (i) better and faster processes for all actors

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Europe public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:126452293a57/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Europe"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://kalkinemedia.com/de/news/auto/german-prosecutors-open-probe-into-tesla-hazardous-materials-storage-site">
    <title>German prosecutors open probe into Tesla hazardous materials storage site</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-20T11:25:37+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://kalkinemedia.com/de/news/auto/german-prosecutors-open-probe-into-tesla-hazardous-materials-storage-site</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[BERLIN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - German prosecutors are looking into allegations that Tesla has been operating a hazardous materials storage facility at its German site without the required authorization, local prosecutors said in a statement on Monday.

Prosecutors said the investigations are based on a criminal complaint filed by the environment office from the state of Brandenburg, where the U.S. carmaker's factory is located.

The investigation was first reported by broadcaster rbb24. Tesla did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Rachel More Writing by Miranda Murray Editing by Thomas Escritt)

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Germany industrial discovery environmental illegal</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:437a2e068042/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Germany"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:industrial"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:illegal"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/possible-chemical-spill-spoils-point-comfort-water/article_eb720326-7feb-11ed-a7ad-1708e5b4b518.html">
    <title>Possible chemical spill spoils Point Comfort water</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-20T11:23:32+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/possible-chemical-spill-spoils-point-comfort-water/article_eb720326-7feb-11ed-a7ad-1708e5b4b518.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The water in Point Comfort was deemed unsafe for use Monday morning, according to one official. As of Monday evening, residents had not received notice they could use the water, boiled or otherwise.

Point Comfort resident John Warren received a text message notice from the city at 9:19 a.m. warning him not to use the water, he said.

Keaton Dunn, who works for Inframark, the company that manages Point Comfort’s water supply, said Monday evening that the order is the result of an “operator error.”

“A chemical tank was overfilled, and out of an abundance of caution, we are telling people not to use the water until further notice,” Dunn said.

Dunn said he could not comment further.

Company officers could not be reached for comment on Monday.

It is unclear what sort of chemical was contained in the overfilled tank or what the city will do to clean it out of the water.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TX public discovery response unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:797ffc426ff4/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.2c00250">
    <title>Safer and Convenient Synthesis of 3,4-Bis(4-nitro-1,2,5-oxadiazol-3-yl)-1,2,5-oxadiazole-2-oxide (BNFF/DNTF)</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-20T11:20:50+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.oprd.2c00250</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A safer, convenient, and scalable synthesis for 3,4-bis(4-nitro-1,2,5-oxadiazol-3-yl)-1,2,5-oxadiazole-2-oxide (BNFF or DNTF) is described. The obtained products were fully characterized and further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The reaction process of tandem nitration–cyclization was optimized, and the thermal stability of the optimal reaction system was studied. 3-Amino-4-(carboxymethyl)furazan is oxidized and then treated with dilute mixed acid (HNO3 and H2SO4) to obtain BNFF in a yield of 52% and a purity of 99% after liquid chromatography analysis. Compared with some previously reported multistep methods that relied on high-concentration hydrogen peroxide solutions and suffered from dangerous exothermic profiles, this new method used to synthesize BNFF promises to be safer and more efficient.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>China laboratory discovery environmental hydrogen_peroxide nitric_acid sulfuric_acid</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:33f8f2c65aec/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:hydrogen_peroxide"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:nitric_acid"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/are-everyday-chemicals-contributing-to-global-obesity/4016664.article">
    <title>Are everyday chemicals contributing to global obesity?</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-20T11:19:48+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/are-everyday-chemicals-contributing-to-global-obesity/4016664.article</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Research in animal models suggests the simple ‘energy in, energy out’ model doesn’t tell the whole story. Anthony King talks to researchers worried about obesogens

Obesity is on the rise almost everywhere, with more overweight and obese than underweight people, globally. According to accepted wisdom, blame lies squarely with overeating and insufficient exercise. A small group of researchers is challenging such ingrained assumptions, however, and shining a spotlight on the role of chemicals in our expanding waistlines.

‘There are at least 50 chemicals, probably many more, that literally make us fatter,’ says Leonardo Trasande, an environmental health scientist at New York University in the US. An obesogen is a chemical that makes a living organism gain fat. Notable examples include bisphenol A, certain phthalates and most organophosphate flame retardants. They can push organisms to make new fat cells and/or encourage them to store more fat. Almost all of us often encounter such chemicals every day.

Over the past 20 years, calorie consumption is flat – but obesity has gone up

This may even help explain some discrepancies in data. Obesity rates have tripled since the 1970s, ticking up in the US from 30.5% in 2000 to 42.4% in 2018. ‘Over the past 20 years, calorie consumption is flat, or gone down slightly [in the US],’ according to Bruce Blumberg, a cell biologist at the University of California Irvine in the US. ‘But obesity has gone up.’ And it is not just humans. Body weights of animals such as dogs, cats, rodents and non-human primates – in research colonies and living feral – are also reported to be increasing. Blumberg and others are on a mission to persuade clinicians and others to take contributions to obesity from chemicals more seriously.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NY public discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:ec627a86e298/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://businesspost.ng/general/nesrea-prevents-15-vessels-from-bringing-hazardous-materials-into-nigeria/">
    <title>NESREA Prevents 15 Vessels From Bringing Hazardous Materials Into Nigeria</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-19T11:18:30+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://businesspost.ng/general/nesrea-prevents-15-vessels-from-bringing-hazardous-materials-into-nigeria/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[As Nigeria continues to tackle the proliferation of substandard products, the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) disclosed that it turned back 15 vessels carrying hazardous materials into Nigeria.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Director-General of the agency, Mr Aliyu Jauro, explained that the vessels were laden with chemicals and electronics harmful to the environment.

He cautioned that government would not allow any importer to turn Nigeria into a dumping ground for hazardous materials.

“It is allowed to import electronics into Nigeria, but such electronics must be functional and safe.

“Nigeria is not a dumping ground where any waste can be allowed in.

“Most of the items arriving in Nigeria are not good and don’t function well, so only those that are functional and are safe are allowed to be discharged.

“People are able to bring hazardous items into Nigeria because the country’s borders are porous.

“As an agency, we test imported equipment to ensure that they are working perfectly and they are safe for the ecosystem,” he said.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Nigeria public discovery environmental waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:e7886a933507/</dc:identifier>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.yahoo.com/news/residents-evacuated-1-custody-possible-224500190.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACIB7XHnQbwrvVi1u8miObTFl5DGyK0avUloOcvT8e-gE7UY6mgD1MUfkFSuFwb8ye6CueafqskPj3v83YQ-DGDPzqTkFgSti25eZGqD1nqgVv6qfo4NZzc8gJQv5K4AyiUCAK5j2YdIestnwmJp2Tz1VS49IyA2ahNrxEKIO_50">
    <title>Residents evacuated, 1 in custody after ‘possible hazardous materials’ suspected inside Newport News home</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-17T10:47:51+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.yahoo.com/news/residents-evacuated-1-custody-possible-224500190.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACIB7XHnQbwrvVi1u8miObTFl5DGyK0avUloOcvT8e-gE7UY6mgD1MUfkFSuFwb8ye6CueafqskPj3v83YQ-DGDPzqTkFgSti25eZGqD1nqgVv6qfo4NZzc8gJQv5K4AyiUCAK5j2YdIestnwmJp2Tz1VS49IyA2ahNrxEKIO_50</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Residents were evacuated from their homes Friday as police investigate potentially hazardous materials inside a Newport News home.

Newport News police, the fire department and federal partners responded to a “tactical situation” at a residence at the 900 block of 12th Street.

“Possible hazardous materials” are suspected of being inside the home, police said, prompting the evacuation of nearby residences. Officials did not indicate what the hazardous materials may be.

The person police believe to be responsible is currently in custody at the Norfolk City Jail on warrants obtained earlier this week by Old Dominion Police Department.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_VA public discovery response unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:e99fec09c461/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.wlbt.com/2022/12/15/chemical-discovery-leads-evacuation-natchez/">
    <title>Chemical discovery leads to evacuation in Natchez</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-16T12:20:12+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wlbt.com/2022/12/15/chemical-discovery-leads-evacuation-natchez/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[NATCHEZ, Miss. (WLBT) - The Historic Natchez Foundation had to be evacuated Thursday after a chemical was discovered.

The Natchez Police Department is now working with federal agencies to test the substance to determine exactly what it is.

Evacuations began around 11 a.m. after police got a call about an “unknown chemical.”

Officials at the building were doing an inventory of donations when the discovery was made.

Out of an abundance of caution, police evacuated the building and surrounding streets, including Commerce Street between State and Main Streets as well as Main Street from South Union to Commerce Street.

Emergency Management Director Brad Bradford says his agency will be awaiting test results from the national guard.

The Historic Natchez Foundation works to improve the history and development of the city through the rehabilitation of historic properties, according to its website.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MS public discovery response unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:0c0c1a544d33/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/12/15/2574468/0/en/New-Analysis-Finds-30-of-Chemical-Safety-Data-Sheets-Tested-Include-Inaccurate-Hazard-Warnings-Put-Workers-at-Risk.html">
    <title>New Analysis Finds 30% of Chemical Safety Data Sheets</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-16T12:16:27+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/12/15/2574468/0/en/New-Analysis-Finds-30-of-Chemical-Safety-Data-Sheets-Tested-Include-Inaccurate-Hazard-Warnings-Put-Workers-at-Risk.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The preliminary findings of the BlueGreen Alliance/Clearya project indicate that employers who purchase chemical products and the workers who handle those products do not have the information they need to protect themselves. The analysis, entitled Obstructing the Right to Know: A Bluegreen Alliance/Clearya Analysis Of The Chemical Industry’s Health Hazard Warnings On Safety Data Sheets, found that 30% of the over 650 Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) analyzed included inaccurate chemical hazard warnings. 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HAZCOM) requires that all hazards of all chemicals used in the workplace be identified by the chemical manufacturer or importer. That information is supposed to be included on the SDS for each chemical. Additionally, HAZCOM requires employers to provide information, education, and training to their employees about all the chemical hazards in their workplace. 

“Information is only useful if it is accurate and complete,” said Amit Rosner, Co-founder of Clearya, which helps people and organizations create a healthier environment through data-driven insights. “Too many workers are receiving an incomplete picture of the dangers these chemicals present or aren’t being told at all about potentially deadly hazards. Industry needs to do better and regulators should make sure they protect workers.”

There are more than 45,000 chemicals being used in the United States today. Estimates indicate chemical exposures kill between 50,000 to 120,000 U.S. workers every year. The analysis of over 650 SDSs is the first analysis of this scale. 

A significant number of SDS omissions concerned carcinogens. Thirty carcinogenic (cancer-causing) substances were present in 512 of the obtained SDSs, and 15% of these SDSs failed to report carcinogenicity in the Hazards Identification section. For example, in an SDS for vinyl chloride—a known human carcinogen—the SDS warned of skin, eye, and respiratory irritation but lacked any mention of cancer. Another SDS for benzene—which should warn of its mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and specific target organ toxicity—only reported skin and eye irritation and harmfulness if swallowed, contacted with skin, or inhaled. The SDS failed to mention the other highly hazardous effects of this well-studied chemical.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>public discovery environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:f25d53f87572/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/15/1142915184/ortho-toluidine-exposure-workplace-osha">
    <title>Ortho-toluidine exposure limit for workers is too high, OSHA admits</title>
    <dc:date>2022-12-15T21:03:22+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/15/1142915184/ortho-toluidine-exposure-workplace-osha</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Before his shift at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant in Niagara Falls, N.Y., in May 2021, a worker peed in a cup.

Before he clocked out, he did it again.

Goodyear shipped both specimens to a lab to measure the amount of a chemical called ortho-toluidine. The results, reviewed by ProPublica, showed that the worker had enough of it in his body to put him at an increased risk for bladder cancer — and that was before his shift. After, his levels were nearly five times as high.

It's no secret that the plant's workers are being exposed to poison. Government scientists began testing their urine more than 30 years ago. And Goodyear, which uses ortho-toluidine to make its tires pliable, has been monitoring the air for traces of the chemical since 1976. A major expose even revealed, almost a decade ago, that dozens of the plant's workers had developed bladder cancer since 1974.

What is perhaps most stunning about the trail of sick Goodyear workers is that they have been exposed to levels of the chemical that the United States government says are perfectly safe.

This story was produced in partnership with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive their biggest stories as soon as they're published.
The permissible exposure limit for ortho-toluidine is 5 parts per million in air, a threshold based on research conducted in the 1940s and '50s without any consideration of the chemical's ability to cause cancer. Despite ample evidence that far lower levels can dramatically increase a person's cancer risk, the legal limit has remained the same.

Paralyzed by industry lawsuits from decades ago, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has all but given up on trying to set a truly protective threshold for ortho-toluidine and thousands of other chemicals. The agency has only updated standards for three chemicals in the past 25 years; each took more than a decade to complete.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NY industrial discovery environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
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