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  </channel><item rdf:about="https://www.ktvu.com/news/800-bottles-of-hazardous-chemicals-removed-from-san-pablo-home-evacuation-orders-lifted">
    <title>800 bottles of hazardous chemicals removed from San Pablo home, evacuation orders lifted</title>
    <dc:date>2023-08-05T11:27:29+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.ktvu.com/news/800-bottles-of-hazardous-chemicals-removed-from-san-pablo-home-evacuation-orders-lifted</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[SAN PABLO, Calif. - Evacuation orders were lifted Friday in a San Pablo neighborhood days after the discovery of hundreds of dangerous and explosive chemicals found in a backyard shed.

At least 600 chemicals were found in more than 800 bottles and containers behind a home on Stanton Avenue, fire officials said.

"The found explosives, they found acids, they found oxidizers, they found flammable liquids," said Contra Costa County Fire Captain Chris Toler "We could have possibly had a catastrophic event in the middle of the neighborhood."

The stockpile of hazardous materials date back decades with some considered easily combustible, forcing neighbors from their homes for days. Bomb technicians said some of the chemicals were wrapped newspapers featuring stories from when Richard Nixon was president.


Investigators said the property belongs Mark Elson, 80, of San Pablo who died six months ago. They said he was possibly a chemist and science teacher, however, when and where he worked is not clear.

Toler told KTVU that his estranged brother discovered the chemicals early this week while cleaning out the home.

"There was a pretty strange relationship there," he said. "The gentleman hadn’t spoken to his brother in 60 years."

Neighbors said Elson kept to himself and was a hoarder prompting numerous calls to code enforcement for overgrown bushes, trees and trash.

"The front yard and stuff over there was so bad people had to walk out into the street to get around it," neighbor Emerson Harvey said.

San Pablo police confirmed Friday that the home at 925 Stanton Avenue had 18 citations for code violations since 2004.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA public follow-up environmental acids bomb explosives flammables</dc:subject>
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<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.axios.com/2023/07/07/texas-supreme-court-says-buyout-firms-not-liable-for-chemical-plant-explosion">
    <title>Texas Supreme Court says private equity firms not liable for chemical plant explosion</title>
    <dc:date>2023-07-08T11:24:10+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.axios.com/2023/07/07/texas-supreme-court-says-buyout-firms-not-liable-for-chemical-plant-explosion</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Photo: Steven Song/Xinhua via Getty Images.
When a chemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, exploded on Thanksgiving eve in 2019, multiple people were injured, tens of thousands were evacuated from their homes and off-site property damage costs topped $150 million.

What's new: The plant's ultimate owners, private equity firms First Reserve and SK Capital Partners, will not be held liable, per a recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court.

Why it matters: This was a failed attempt to pierce the corporate veil that private equity funds use to protect themselves from portfolio company misdeeds.

Had it succeeded in Texas, the second-largest state for private equity investment, it could have opened the floodgates for future litigation.
What to know: The Port Neches facility was owned by TPC Group, which was taken private for $850 million in 2012 by First Reserve and SKCP.

It mostly produced butadiene, a petrochemical used in the production of synthetic rubber.
An investigation by federal authorities determined that the blast was caused by the buildup of a “popcorn polymer” inside of a pipe, and that TPC failed to identity what it should have known was a possible problem.
TPC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last summer, in a prepackaged deal that included money to compensate thousands of plaintiffs in lawsuits that had been consolidated into a state multidistrict case. Prior to the bankruptcy filing, TPC had already paid out $134.5 million to settle explosion-related claims.
Piercing the veil: Not all victims were satisfied with going after TPC. Some also wanted compensation from the company's private equity owners, who they believed had caused the company to cut safety corners in the pursuit of investment profits.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TX industrial follow-up environmental petroleum plastics</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>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:039969a1a460/</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"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anuradhavaranasi/2023/06/14/bhopal-gas-explosion-causing-27-fold-greater-cancer-risk-almost-40-years-later/?sh=243323a4f62a">
    <title>Bhopal Gas Explosion Causing 27-Fold Greater Cancer Risk</title>
    <dc:date>2023-06-15T10:40:23+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.forbes.com/sites/anuradhavaranasi/2023/06/14/bhopal-gas-explosion-causing-27-fold-greater-cancer-risk-almost-40-years-later/?sh=243323a4f62a</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A recent British Medical Journal Open study revealed that 39 years after the Bhopal gas explosion, the devastating industrial disaster is still haunting future generations. Males who were exposed to the gas leak while they were still in the womb were more likely to have a disability that affected their employment and also, at a 27-fold higher risk of cancer.

The Bhopal gas explosion took place in December 1984 at a Union Carbide pesticide plant on the outskirts of the city due to a methyl isocyanate gas leak. The gas spread across a 7 kilometer radius around the pesticide plant. More than half a million people ended up breathing the toxic air-borne chemical that is used to produce the pesticide carbaryl. The leaked gas killed more than 30,000 people in that vicinity.

“There is a broad spectrum of serious long-term and chronic health consequences for hundreds of thousands of survivors, including children, manifesting across multiple systems including respiratory, neurological, musculoskeletal, ophthalmic, endocrine,” the researchers wrote.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>India industrial follow-up environmental ag_chems pesticides</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:25f792b7c221/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<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"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.startribune.com/lake-superior-college-to-address-pfas-contamination-in-western-duluth-waterways/600282543/">
    <title>Lake Superior College to address PFAS contamination in western Duluth waterways</title>
    <dc:date>2023-06-15T10:39:48+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.startribune.com/lake-superior-college-to-address-pfas-contamination-in-western-duluth-waterways/600282543/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[DULUTH — After years of monitoring chemical contamination near the Fond du Lac neighborhood in western Duluth, Lake Superior College signed an agreement to address PFAS, the "forever chemicals" that polluted waterways through the college's firefighter training program.

The college agreed this month to work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) over contamination in soils and a stream that connects to Sargent Creek at its emergency response training center near the Fond du Lac neighborhood in Duluth. The creek is a tributary of the St. Louis River, and PFAS were found in fish where it meets the river at Boy Scout Landing.

PFAS contamination from firefighting foam was first discovered in the area in 2009, MPCA spokesman Adam Olson said.

The MPCA determined then that drinking water, both city-supplied and in households with wells, wasn't affected, and continued to monitor the area. Recent drinking water testing results showed no evidence of PFAS, but soil and streams showed elevated levels, said Jamie Wallerstedt, head of an MPCA division that deals with the removal of pollutants.

She said the agency's approach to PFAS pollution has evolved since the 2009 discovery. The training center site was flagged then, she said, but the agency prioritized other sites throughout the state that had larger public health impacts.

Environmental policy changes signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz in May include a ban on PFAS compounds in certain products as early as 2025, and a total phaseout by 2032 unless they are given a specific exemption.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MN education follow-up environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:f784e1d3fab7/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<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.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/i-95-collapse-philadelphia-highway-hazmat-incidents/">
    <title>I-95 collapse in Philadelphia: Highway hazmat accidents on the rise</title>
    <dc:date>2023-06-13T10:24:02+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/i-95-collapse-philadelphia-highway-hazmat-incidents/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- From the look of the images of black smoke and the gaping hole in the interstate, you might think Sunday's I-95 collapse in Philadelphia was a freak accident. However, a CBS News investigation found hazmat road accidents in the U.S. have more than doubled in the past decade.

Over the last 10 years, the number of big rig accidents involving hazardous materials has increased by 155%. According to data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in the last decade, there have been 52 fatalities and 160 injuries due to hazmat incidents involving tractor-trailers in transit.

With Philly's dense population, parts of I-95 are among the busiest stretches of highway in the country.


RELATED: Highways pose greatest danger for potential Pa. hazmat situation

 "We don't recognize that driving down these roads, we're driving next to one the most dangerous things that can be produced," Timothy Boyce, the head of emergency management in Delaware County, said last month. "If you're cutting off a truck or tailgating, or you think you want to challenge that truck, think of the consequences you may have for your family and others."

According to PHMSA data, hazardous materials such as nitric acid, sodium chlorate, batteries, and compressed gas have led to 17 Philadelphia highway fires – about one every three years – since 1974. Just five of those have happened since 1997, and Sunday's incident was the city's first highway fire caused by gasoline since 1984. 

Drivers are found to be at fault in nearly one in five hazmat crashes. A variety of safety technology is available, such as cameras, lane assistance, rollover prevention, and automatic braking. It's not known how many smaller trucking companies can afford measures like these, and a CBS News investigation found there's no federal mandate for companies to put them in place despite NTSB recommendations.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_PA transportation follow-up environmental batteries gasoline nitric_acid</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:7fdb3e7554ed/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:batteries"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:gasoline"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:nitric_acid"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/female-specific-cancers-to-be-added-to-firefighter-compensation-scheme-20230607-p5deri.html">
    <title>Ovarian, breast cancers to be added to firefighter compensation scheme in Victoria</title>
    <dc:date>2023-06-08T10:51:04+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/female-specific-cancers-to-be-added-to-firefighter-compensation-scheme-20230607-p5deri.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Female-specific diseases such as cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers will be added to the list of conditions that are automatically presumed to be caused by professional firefighting, under a plan to be unveiled by the Andrews government on Friday.

A cabinet minister, who was briefed on the changes earlier this week, said the incoming reforms would extend to female firefighters, female mechanics employed by fire services and women who work in forest fire prevention.


Firefighter Katherine Dunell welcomes the expansion of the presumptive cancer laws to female-specific cancers but says it should only apply to firefighters, not other fire services workers.CREDIT: JASON SOUTH
“It’s taken a while, but we’re getting it done,” said the senior Labor MP, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss government matters.

The government promised former Derryn Hinch Justice Party MP Tania Maxwell two years ago that it would add female-specific cancers to the existing workers’ compensation scheme.

Under the scheme, if a professional firefighter develops cancer it is presumed to be as a result of their profession – effectively reversing the traditional onus of proof. About 5000 paid firefighters are covered, as are some 90 maintenance staff.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>Australia industrial follow-up environmental unknown_chemical other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:6739a42ac848/</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:follow-up"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
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</item>
<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>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:65f8219a83a7/</dc:identifier>
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</item>
<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>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:d8014398c85f/</dc:identifier>
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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: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:repellent"/>
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</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>
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</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>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:discovery"/>
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</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>
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</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>
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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: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: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:illegal"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:clandestine_lab"/>
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</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: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:pce"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.yahoo.com/gma/inside-first-responder-hazmat-training-214800681.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL0Amj1tuhrSvXaoUWd1N8nIFXdSSrjbiIDbysNe1qAj_iZ3nqBeubpeaTiikKXrYSC1GoEjoRIapk0rylAuMkutNV3sb48fPR-JcrTLoofUE7gQxAaK-dEZDpmN-saVow8fzwQeMRxR3zJP8FbmMSil34dzO9DTTdBKWiHLCb-f">
    <title>Inside the first responder hazmat training being embraced after East Palestine derailment</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-23T10:57:19+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.yahoo.com/gma/inside-first-responder-hazmat-training-214800681.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL0Amj1tuhrSvXaoUWd1N8nIFXdSSrjbiIDbysNe1qAj_iZ3nqBeubpeaTiikKXrYSC1GoEjoRIapk0rylAuMkutNV3sb48fPR-JcrTLoofUE7gQxAaK-dEZDpmN-saVow8fzwQeMRxR3zJP8FbmMSil34dzO9DTTdBKWiHLCb-f</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train earlier this year in East Palestine, Ohio, sent toxic chemicals into the surrounding community and brought national attention to the potential risks of transporting hazardous materials.

Since then, legislators and industry leaders have emphasized the need for more hazmat training among local emergency responders -- the same kind of training that was on display earlier this month in New Jersey, where trains range from passenger rail to freight, carrying chemicals like chlorine and propane.

A captain at the Allendale Fire Department had requested a training session earlier this year on how emergency responders should react to a situation involving hazardous materials in transportation to ensure that the community's responders knew how to deal with an event involving hazmat.

MORE: NTSB to open special investigation into Norfolk Southern following recent derailments

And so, on a weekend in May, dozens of emergency responders, some traveling in from other states, gathered for a daylong training at the Bergen County Police and Fire Academy.

"If you plan for the when and if and you got all the right information to train on, those folks are better prepared to respond," said Mike Stephenson, the New Jersey state coordinator for TRANSCAER, the organization that hosted the session.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:d674f7516480/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_OH"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<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.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>
<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:ammonium_nitrate"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/20/refinery-fires-east-texas-pollution/">
    <title>East Texas is hit by three refinery fires in three weeks</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-22T10:47:22+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/20/refinery-fires-east-texas-pollution/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[First Shell, then Marathon, then Valero. In the last three weeks, major fires have broken out at these companies’ oil refineries and chemical plants in East Texas, leaving one dead and over a dozen injured.

The blazes in Deer Park, Galveston Bay and Corpus Christi follow a years-long string of explosions, fires and toxic releases in a region where oil refining and chemical production is highly concentrated, often close to residential neighborhoods. And while some residents have grown accustomed to the incidents, others are alarmed by how frequently they are hitting home.

“I have grown up here and watched neighborhoods near the refineries become too toxic to live in and people forced to leave their homes due to the toxicity,” Kristina Land, a resident of Corpus Christi, told The Washington Post.

On Wednesday, a fire broke out at the Valero West Refinery in Corpus Christi, sending smoke plumes into the sky and prompting emergency responders to mobilize. The cause of the fire is yet unknown.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TX industrial explosion environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:ab44f0a1eed8/</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:explosion"/>
	<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.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"/>
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</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.app.com/story/news/local/land-environment/2023/05/12/howell-chemical-drum-site-cleanup-to-take-months-1m-fine-issued/70205518007/">
    <title>Howell chemical drum site cleanup to take months, $1M fine issued</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-13T11:55:26+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.app.com/story/news/local/land-environment/2023/05/12/howell-chemical-drum-site-cleanup-to-take-months-1m-fine-issued/70205518007/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[HOWELL - Cleanup will likely continue for months at a Howell industrial site where hundreds of chemical drums — many of which are leaking, rusted or severely damaged — were left abandoned, according to federal environmental regulators.

Compounders Inc. manufactured asphalt, glues and adhesives at 15 Marl Road until about 2019, and now is facing more than $1 million in fines from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The company has responded with a request for a hearing on the fines, according to the state agency.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "has been on-site since early April and is overseeing the sampling and removal of around 400+ drums and 1000 small containers of potentially hazardous materials found at the site," said EPA spokesman Stephen McBay. "We have made significant progress in securing containers at the site and making the property safe to continue the assessment and removal activities."


None of the drums have yet been removed, because the agency is currently sampling and identifying their contents for proper disposal, according to McBay.

The federal agency "expects the cleanup process to take several months, depending on the availability of disposal facilities and transportation options," he said.

State environmental regulators levied heavy fines against Compounders Inc., alleging the company violated remediation rules, operated a hazardous waste site without permits, and stored toxic and hazardous material in violation of requirements.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NJ industrial follow-up environmental adhesives asphalt waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:358a173fa27a/</dc:identifier>
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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:adhesives"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:asphalt"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</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>
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</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/highway-hazmat-incidents-risk-railways/">
    <title>Highway hazmat incidents more of a risk than on railways</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-11T10:45:58+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/highway-hazmat-incidents-risk-railways/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[SACRAMENTO - Northern California is no stranger to toxic train derailments, and there's a renewed focus on rail safety following the recent disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. But when it comes to toxic transport in California, the highway may be more risky than the rail.

On April 28, 1973, over five terrifying hours, 48 people were injured as explosions ripped through a bomb-filled freight train at the Roseville Railyard. The bombs, bound for the Vietnam War, were set off by flames from overheated train brakes.

On July 14, 1991, the Dunsmuir train derailment dumped more than 90,000 gallons of herbicide into the Sacramento River, killing millions of fish and animals and making locals sick. That derailment prompted a congressional hearing led by then-Congresswoman Barbara Boxer.

"Why has it taken 21 accidents on this stretch of track in the last 16 years?" said Rep. Boxer at the hearing.

Three decades later, hearings continue, the most recent one was in the wake of the recent Ohio derailment.

But while the nation is focused on rail safety, hazardous materials are being transported by planes and trucks too. And based on federal data, planes and big rigs may actually be a bigger concern.

According to Department of Transportation data, there were 18 times more highway hazmat incidents in California than rail incidents over the past 10 years, with highway hazmat damages totaling nearly $38 million ($37,913,312) -- eight times more than the costs of rail incidents in California ($4,505,037).

While trains can physically carry more volume, legally, trucks can carry the same types of hazardous materials and may face more hazards. For instance, a  fiery tanker truck crash in South Lake Tahoe killed the driver, shut down Highway 50, and contaminated the Truckee River. Reports reveal the tanker swerved to avoid hitting a Prius that cut it off.

In San Joaquin County, there were 18 times as many highway hazmat incidents as incidents on the railway. In Sacramento County, 35 times as many highway incidents.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA public follow-up environmental pesticides</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:7b1bbda18a29/</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:follow-up"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:pesticides"/>
</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://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes-world-leading-biomedical-lab-re-opens-after-devastating-fire/">
    <title>‘Phoenix rising from the ashes’ – world-leading biomedical lab re-opens after devastating fire</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-03T11:05:33+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes-world-leading-biomedical-lab-re-opens-after-devastating-fire/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The world-leading Biomedical Sciences (BMS) facility at the University of St Andrews was officially re-opened last week (Wednesday 26 April) four years after a devastating fire ripped through the hi-tech laboratories.

Following the fire in February 2019, which destroyed labs and research facilities, the University undertook a £21 million investment project to refurbish and modernise the BMS building. The redevelopment and restoration, which started just before the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, was completed in the summer of 2022.

Professor Dame Sally Mapstone FRSE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, welcomed staff, students and invited guests to the official re-opening in the presence of distinguished honorary graduates, Professor Lesley Yellowlees CBE and Professor Sir Mike Ferguson, Regius Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee.

The new design of the BMS building centres on efficient spaces that facilitate collaborative working within modern research and teaching laboratories, along with workspace and breakout areas strategically located in a warm and welcoming building.

Reflecting on the fire and the efforts of staff, students, and the St Andrews community to restore the facilities, Professor Mapstone commented: “The re-opening of our world-class BMS building is, therefore, an occasion for celebration and for looking forward to the future. However, I do wish to acknowledge the difficulties that had to be overcome for us to arrive at today’s event, because it is only against this background that we can truly appreciate the hard work and dedication that so many members of our community have demonstrated over the past four years.”

]]></description>
<dc:subject>United_Kingdom laboratory follow-up environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:32b2d823a9b8/</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:follow-up"/>
	<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.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/05/02/spacex-lawsuit-starship-explosion/70174878007/">
    <title>SpaceX: Lawsuit filed against FAA by environmentalists over Starship</title>
    <dc:date>2023-05-03T11:04:22+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/05/02/spacex-lawsuit-starship-explosion/70174878007/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Environmental groups are suing the Federal Aviation Administration over the explosion of SpaceX's massive new rocket, saying that the agency allowed Elon Musk's company to bypass important environmental reviews because of political and financial influence.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Monday, says the case boils down to "a question with national, global, and even interstellar implications."

"It is also about whether regulators will hold powerful corporations accountable or allow them to disregard environmental laws," the lawsuit continues. "We must decide whether we will protect the wildlife and frontline communities that can be adversely affected by our desire to reach the stars, or whether we will leave a legacy of needless destruction in the scorching wake of rocket plumes."

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TX public follow-up environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:b4b8211d5f6c/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:us_TX"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:public"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<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://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/5-years-after-explosion-and-fire-superior-refinery-restarts">
    <title>5 years after explosion and fire, Superior refinery restarts</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-26T10:54:57+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/5-years-after-explosion-and-fire-superior-refinery-restarts</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[SUPERIOR — On April 26, 2018, an explosion and fire rocked the Husky Energy refinery in Superior.

And after five years of reconstruction, the facility is beginning to reopen.

"We have commenced restart of the refinery and introduced crude in late March," said Doreen Cole, senior vice president of downstream manufacturing at Cenovus, which now owns the refinery. "So the restart process is underway."

Additional details on the restart timeline are expected to be made public Wednesday morning when Cenovus releases its first-quarter financial results.

The rebuild of the facility has taken longer and cost more than first expected.

Original rebuild estimates predicted it would cost $400 million with a startup in 2021.

The most recent cost estimate put the total at $1.2 billion, Cole said. The company has said insurance "substantially" covers that cost.

 
Two towers sit in a staging area along Stinson Avenue shortly after their arrival in Superior in 2020. The two towers, one 90 feet long and the other 110 feet long, will be used to process chemicals when the refinery resumes operation.Steve Kuchera / File / Duluth News Tribune
"I think the term 'rebuild' captures why it does take that amount of time," Cole said. "There were a number of units that were completely reconstructed."

Employment is also expected to be higher than the 200 employees prior to the blast.

"Currently, our forecast is approximately 350 employees. ... We do have many more protocols and procedures in place. We want to make sure everything is adequately covered," Cole said.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MN industrial follow-up environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:1870e8eaab1e/</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:follow-up"/>
	<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://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/04/17/west-explosion-anniversary-safety-texas">
    <title>10 years after West explosion, safety questions remain</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-18T10:47:10+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/04/17/west-explosion-anniversary-safety-texas</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A decade after the deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, the community has largely rebuilt — but chemical safety advocates worry that regulators haven't done enough to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring.

Driving the news: Today is the 10th anniversary of the explosion that killed 15 people — including 12 first responders — and injured more than 250.

What happened: At 7:51pm on April 17, 2013, a fire at the West Fertilizer Co. storage facility detonated about 30 tons of ammonium nitrate.

The blast destroyed a middle school, a high school, a two-story apartment complex and a 145-bed nursing home. About half the homes in the town were damaged.
The explosion was so powerful that the U.S. Geological Survey registered it as a 2.1-magnitude earthquake.
The sound was audible in Dallas, 80 miles away.

The remains of an apartment complex next to the fertilizer plant. Photo: Erich Schlegel/Getty Images
The aftermath: Later that year, then-President Barack Obama issued an executive order aimed at improving chemical facility safety.

In 2015, Texas passed a bill partially regulating the storage of ammonium nitrate.
The town placed a monument about 100 yards from where the plant once stood.
What they found: In a 267-page report released three years after the explosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (USCSB) concluded that the way the fertilizer was stored and the lack of ventilation had contributed to the explosion.

The board's report also cited a lack of safety inspections at the plant, land planning that allowed development so close to the plant, and "shortcomings in federal and state regulations that could reduce the risk of another incident of this type."
Yes, but: Nine of the USCSB's 19 recommendations haven't been implemented, including suggestions that the Environmental Protection Agency strengthen oversight of ammonium nitrate and that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration add ammonium nitrate to its list of highly hazardous chemicals.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TX industrial follow-up environmental ammonium_nitrate</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:39d833f4db16/</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:follow-up"/>
	<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://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>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:dye"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.wdsu.com/article/cdc-team-ohio-train-derailment-fell-ill/43477664">
    <title>CDC team studying train derailment fell ill during investigation</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-06T10:57:34+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wdsu.com/article/cdc-team-ohio-train-derailment-fell-ill/43477664</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[EAST PALESTINE, Ohio —
Seven U.S. government investigators briefly fell ill in early March while studying the possible health impacts of a toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

The investigators' symptoms included sore throats, headaches, coughing and nausea — consistent with what some residents experienced after the Feb. 3 train derailment that released a cocktail of hazardous chemicals into the air, water and soil.

Advertisement
The investigators who experienced symptoms were part of a team conducting a house-to-house survey in an area near the derailment, and they immediately reported their symptoms to federal safety officers.

"Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon, and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours. Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects," a CDC spokesperson said in the statement.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:94ac8e78bf62/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<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.mercurynews.com/2023/04/05/valero-agrees-to-pay-1-2-million-to-epa-over-violations-at-benicia-refinery/">
    <title>Valero agrees to pay $1.2 million to EPA over violations at Benicia refinery</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-06T10:56:06+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/04/05/valero-agrees-to-pay-1-2-million-to-epa-over-violations-at-benicia-refinery/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Valero refinery in Benicia will pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency $1.2 million for violating the Clean Air Act, the EPA announced Wednesday.

After what the EPA called “significant chemical incidents” at the refinery in 2017 and 2019, a 2019 inspection found that Valero had failed to report the release of hazardous substances, among other noncompliance issues.

“This settlement sends a clear message that EPA will prosecute companies that fail to expend the resources needed to have a compliant, well-functioning Risk Management Plan to the fullest extent of the law,” Larry Starfield, the acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement.

As part of the settlement, Valero has agreed to make chemical safety improvements at the Benicia refinery.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA industrial follow-up environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:121a8ab0798c/</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:follow-up"/>
	<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.fox29.com/news/quick-actions-prevented-chemical-spill-from-impacting-water-supply-in-philadelphia-suburbs">
    <title>Quick actions prevented chemical spill from impacting water supply in Philadelphia suburbs</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-04T11:26:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.fox29.com/news/quick-actions-prevented-chemical-spill-from-impacting-water-supply-in-philadelphia-suburbs</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[BRISTOL, Pa. - Quick actions from those in charge of a water treatment facility near a chemical spill along the Delaware River prevented the harmful toxins from entering the plant. 

Health officials in Bucks County said Sunday that between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of a water-based latex-finishing solution spilled into the river late Friday because of a burst pipe at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township.

The midnight spill happened at low tide less than half a mile upstream from the AQUA Pennsylvania water treatment facility. AQUA President Mark Lucca said by the time he heard about the spill the plant had already been shutdown thanks in part to early warning sensors that helped them decide to shut off water intake from the river. 

"The first thing people are asking us is ‘is my water safe to drink?’ It absolutely is safe to drink, how do we know? Because it never got into the plant" Lucca said. 

RELATED COVERAGE

Philadelphia's tap water will not be impacted by chemical spill: 'The threat has passed'
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Philadelphians panic-buy bottled water despite reassurance from city leaders about tap water
AQUA's local water reserves were fairly high, so Bristol's water supply was never threatened. And even if it was, AQUA says it would have been able to call on more supply from company resources in nearby Delaware and Montgomery counties. 

"We have a lot of resources within Southeastern Pennsylvania to move water from one area to another, which is what got us through all the plant was shut down," AQUA Vice President Todd Duerr said.

AQUA says it waited until shortly after the next high tide to reopen the facility to ensure clean water from upstream flushed the potentially chemical-tainted water down the Delaware River. The plant normally operates 24-hours a day, but their operations are currently cut in half. 

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_PA public follow-up environmental water_treatment</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:59e971d4aa61/</dc:identifier>
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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:water_treatment"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-04-02/martinez-refinerys-hazardous-materials">
    <title>Martinez reels from refinery's hazardous fallout</title>
    <dc:date>2023-04-03T11:18:07+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-04-02/martinez-refinerys-hazardous-materials</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[It was the morning after Thanksgiving when residents in the Bay Area city of Martinez awoke to find their homes, cars and yards blanketed by a mysterious pale residue.

Although the dusting resembled ash, there were no wildfires burning nearby. When residents called local authorities, they learned nothing.

But then, more than a month later, the Contra Costa County Health Department published a two-page notice informing residents that the “white dust” was a hazardous material released by the Martinez Refining Co. on the northern edge of the city.

ADVERTISEMENT
The health advisory told residents to contact health providers if they were experiencing coughing or difficulty breathing, and that the health department recommended not eating food grown in soil that was exposed to the material.

Today, residents of this tight-knit community 30 miles northeast of San Francisco are still demanding to know what risks they face after 20 tons of spent catalyst were lofted over area homes, and why it’s been so hard to get answers.

 
CALIFORNIA

California’s biggest environmental cleanup leaves lead contamination and frustration

Feb. 10, 2023
While the county has launched an investigation into why the refinery failed to issue an alert, residents have accused county health officials of failing to properly inform residents of potential health hazards long after the incident. They say an initial Jan. 11 health notice was seen by too few people, and that it wasn’t until a second notice was issued March 7 that people realized they shouldn’t be eating fruit from their trees or vegetables from their garden.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_CA industrial release environmental dust</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:7c1cfa441684/</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:release"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:dust"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/31/us-doj-lawsuit-norfolk-southern-ohio-train-derailment?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">
    <title>US Department of Justice sues Norfolk Southern over Ohio train derailment</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-31T17:01:19+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/31/us-doj-lawsuit-norfolk-southern-ohio-train-derailment?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against freight train giant Norfolk Southern over its 3 February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, seeking to ensure the company pays the full cost of cleanup and any long-term effects.

The lawsuit filed in the US district court in Ohio on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants under the Clean Water Act and an order addressing liability for past and future costs.

Meanwhile, it emerged that a team of government officials became sick while investigating the health effects of the toxic train derailment, when they visited the Ohio site earlier this month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told CNN.

The derailment of 38 cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials in the village of East Palestine caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals to spill and catch fire.

“With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community,” the US attorney general, Merrick Garland,said on Friday.

EPA in February issued an order requiring Norfolk Southern to develop plans to address contamination and pay EPA’s response costs.

The EPA administrator, Michael Regan, said the suit will help “ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess they made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again”.

The railroad did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

Norfolk Southern’s CEO, Alan Shaw, told lawmakers last week that the railroad is “committed” to paying for cleanup costs and addressing potential long-term health issues and home value impacts from the derailment.

Shaw said the railroad will work with the community on programs to protect drinking water over the long term.

No deaths or injuries were reported after the incident but since the derailment, some of East Palestine’s 4,700 residents have reported ailments such as rashes and breathing difficulties, and some fear long-term health effects.

The investigators experienced sore throats, headaches, coughing and nausea, the sort of symptoms that residents in the East Palestine area were experiencing after the derailment and the controlled burn of toxic chemicals from five rail cars that followed as authorities sought to stave off the risk of the train exploding.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:31bfbf03f056/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<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.wgrz.com/article/tech/science/environment/nitric-acid-prompts-hazmat-call-buffalo/71-84b2e794-91ca-4bfd-83e6-02aef5e74938">
    <title>Venting of nitric acid prompts Hazmat call in Buffalo NY</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-30T10:42:40+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wgrz.com/article/tech/science/environment/nitric-acid-prompts-hazmat-call-buffalo/71-84b2e794-91ca-4bfd-83e6-02aef5e74938</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[BUFFALO, N.Y. — More than 3,000 gallons of nitric acid vented from a steel container, prompting the Buffalo Fire Department and other emergency personnel to respond to a Hazmat call.
The incident happened at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday on the first block of Metcalfe Street, at the Chemical Distributors plant. There were reports of yellow smoke in the area, according to a City of Buffalo spokesperson.
"Hazmat crews say the situation at this time appears to be under control and there is no immediate danger to the public. Residents though should avoid that area," the city spokesperson said Wednesday evening.
Nitric acid can cause irritation to your eyes and your skin.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was also on the scene.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NY industrial release environmental nitric_acid</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:368765941bc7/</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:release"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:nitric_acid"/>
</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>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:Republic_of_Korea"/>
	<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>
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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://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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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.wate.com/news/loudon-county-news/hazmat-leak-reported-at-lenoir-city-truck-stop/">
    <title>Tractor-trailer leaking hazardous materials in Lenoir City, Tennessee</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-17T11:00:26+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.wate.com/news/loudon-county-news/hazmat-leak-reported-at-lenoir-city-truck-stop/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WATE) – Crews were able to contain a leak of hazardous materials that was reported on Thursday at a Lenior City truck stop.

First responders were at the scene of a TA Truck Stop on Watt Road around 4:30 p.m. A spokesperson for the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office said around 6:30 p.m. that the truck stop was evacuated.

LCSO also said during a press conference that there were calls about some people having eye and ear irritation issues in the area.

LCSO spokesperson added that TEMA crews were working to relieve pressure in the truck, which was caused by the liquid leaking from the truck turning into a gas when it came into contact with air.

Rural Metro Battalion Chief Ken Tuggle said that the leak came from a container of peroxyacetic acid. According to the LCSO spokesperson, “the leak did not pose a risk of harm to the public.”]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TN transportation release environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:db79505dcdf7/</dc:identifier>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.vnews.com/Remsen-Medical-Sciences-Building-mostly-reopened-following-fire-last-month-50293275">
    <title>Dartmouth medical science building largely reopen after Feb. 26 fire</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-17T10:58:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vnews.com/Remsen-Medical-Sciences-Building-mostly-reopened-following-fire-last-month-50293275</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[HANOVER — The Remsen Medical Sciences Building at Dartmouth College in Hanover has largely reopened following smoke and water damage incurred during a late February fire, according to a Tuesday update posted to Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth’s website. 

Floors one through four have reopened and restoration work continues on the building’s remaining floors, and the fifth and sixth floors are expected to reopen soon, but there is still no timeline for when the building’s seventh floor will reopen.

The Feb. 26 fire broke out in a laboratory on the seventh floor of the building located at 66 College St. in Hanover. It was caused by an electrical malfunction in equipment used for molecular biology research the lab, according to the Geisel post.

“The lab that was affected by the fire is going to require a great deal of attention in terms of safety, remediation, and planning,” Ben Jorgensen, director of Facilities at Geisel, said in the post. “We’ve begun that process, and we’re supporting the relocation of the investigator’s research to the adjacent building so that his research can continue while restoration is underway.”

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_NH laboratory follow-up environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:5b2cdbe283f7/</dc:identifier>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.kwch.com/2023/03/15/wichita-native-calls-attention-back-ne-wichita-railyard-spill/">
    <title>Wichita native calls attention back to railyard chemical spill</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-17T10:57:16+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.kwch.com/2023/03/15/wichita-native-calls-attention-back-ne-wichita-railyard-spill/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - A Wichita native is bringing attention back to a railyard spill that’s impacted a northeast Wichita neighborhood for decades. While a corrective action plan was announced last month, Wichita native Kiah Duggins said one factor not fully understood is the health impacts. This led her to write to some federal agencies.

The contamination seeped from the Union Pacific railyard near 29th Street North and Grove into the groundwater underneath a large portion of the historically Black neighborhood in northeast Wichita, stretching down to Murdock. Duggins said it’s important to understand how this has impacted people’s health and to make sure measures are taken to address it.

In 1994, the City of Wichita identified Trichloroethylene or TCE, as contaminating groundwater.

“Which is the year I was born, and that chemical, TCE, is known to cause cancer,” Duggins said. “it’s also known to cause reproductive health issues, birth defects.”]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_KS public follow-up environmental other_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:218b2e4d4357/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:other_chemical"/>
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</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>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kochi-fire-people-deserting-city-as-toxic-smoke-fumes-wear-them-down-101678617031128.html">
    <title>Kochi fire: People deserting city as toxic smoke, fumes wear them down</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-13T10:35:10+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kochi-fire-people-deserting-city-as-toxic-smoke-fumes-wear-them-down-101678617031128.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Stating that the government’s main objective is to avert a pandemic, health minister Veena George on Saturday said 800 people have sought medical aid so far, and the state will begin a door-to-door health survey from Tuesday

As Kochi continues to struggle with toxic smoke emanating from the fire at the solid waste dumping yard in Brahmapuram 11 days ago, many have started abandoning the city as they await a return to a life of normalcy.

Firefighters engage in dousing fire at solid waste dumping yard in Brahmapuram in Kochi (Twitter/@IN_HQSNC)
On Sunday morning, the air quality index in Kochi was above 200, which according to the pollution control board, may cross 300 by evening.
Many residents’ associations in the city said a large number of people have left for their hometowns to get rid of toxic fumes. Empty car parking lots in many apartments and thin attendance in offices are a testimony to it.
Also Read: Kochi struggles to breathe amid toxic smoke: What led to Brahmapuram plant fire?
Stating that the government’s main objective is to avert a pandemic, health minister Veena George on Saturday said 800 people have sought medical aid so far, and the state will begin a door-to-door health survey from Tuesday. “We will identify people who are affected by smoke and will start treatment. Our main effort is to avert a pandemic,” she said.
]]></description>
<dc:subject>India industrial fire environmental waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:9bbc8fd7fb7a/</dc:identifier>
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</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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</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>
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</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.vox.com/science/23624376/east-palestine-derailment-air-quality-safety">
    <title>How the East Palestine train disaster poisoned public trust</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-09T11:30:49+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/science/23624376/east-palestine-derailment-air-quality-safety</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The smell doesn’t hit you right away. On Market Street, the main commercial road in town, it smells of doughnuts and McDonald’s and exhaust. It’s only when the wind picks up, or you walk toward the western edge of town, that you can catch a whiff of the chemicals.

Some say they smell like nail polish remover or super glue. To me, the odor was sweet, like a cheap fruity air freshener, with a bitter aftertaste.

It has been over a month since a large train derailed here, sending up flames taller than buildings and spewing more than 100,000 gallons of toxic chemicals into the environment. Federal and local officials have been trying to clean up the mess. And for weeks, they’ve been assuring residents that the air and water are safe, according to monitoring. It won’t put the health of residents at risk, health officials have repeatedly said.

Yet for many of them, East Palestine, a village of roughly 4,700 people, still doesn’t feel safe at all.

You can’t blame them. In some parts of town, the scent of chemicals still hangs in the air. You can see pollution in the streams, which appears as an iridescent sheen on the water’s surface. Independent analyses complicate the scientific side of the story. Meanwhile, a large number of people have been complaining of headaches, coughing, and other symptoms in the wake of the derailment. This has many residents asking: How can East Palestine really be safe?

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental petroleum toxics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:700c66b0939d/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:toxics"/>
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</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>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/07/business/ntsb-special-investigation-norfolk-southern/index.html">
    <title>NTSB launches special safety culture investigation of Norfolk Southern</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-08T11:41:28+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/07/business/ntsb-special-investigation-norfolk-southern/index.html</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Citing the “number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents,” federal investigators said Tuesday they will open a special investigation into the railway’s safety culture.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the probe encompasses multiple incidents and three deaths since December 2021, including the toxic East Palestine derailment and the employee killed earlier today. In addition to the incidents it is already investigating, as part of the probe, investigators will also look into an October 28 derailment in Sandusky, Ohio.

“The NTSB is concerned that several organizational factors may be involved in the accidents, including safety culture,” the board said in a statement. “The NTSB will conduct an in-depth investigation into the safety practices and culture of the company. At the same time, the company should not wait to improve safety and the NTSB urges it to do so immediately.”

Norfolk Southern’s CEO, Alan Shaw, is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Thursday.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.ideastream.org/science-technology/2023-03-04/researchers-find-high-levels-of-hazardous-chemical-weeks-after-east-palestine-derailment">
    <title>Researchers find high levels of hazardous chemical weeks after East Palestine derailment</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-05T12:35:41+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.ideastream.org/science-technology/2023-03-04/researchers-find-high-levels-of-hazardous-chemical-weeks-after-east-palestine-derailment</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Texas A&M say they detected high levels of one hazardous air pollutant in the town of East Palestine, weeks after a train derailment and chemical fire. 

Levels of acrolein, a chemical found in manufacturing and formed in combustion, were up to three times as high as samples taken previously in Downtown Pittsburgh. 

“This is a rural area, so you would expect that the concentrations [in East Palestine] would be lower than Pittsburgh,” said Weihsueh Chiu of Texas A&M, one of the researchers on the project. 

The researchers said levels of other volatile chemicals they measured were normal and in line with measurements reported by the U.S. EPA. But they said they still need to comb through the data to see if there are other chemicals that could pose a health threat. 

They stayed away from assigning blame for health problems experienced by the town’s residents on acrolein or any other chemical. Residents have suffered rashes, headaches, scratchy throats and congestion in the weeks since the derailment and subsequent fire. ]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_PA public follow-up environmental acrolein</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:feceb985fdd9/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:acrolein"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/bad-smells-leading-reported-symptoms-east-palestine-experts/story?id=97620548">
    <title>Bad smells may be leading to some of the reported symptoms in East Palestine: Experts</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-05T12:34:52+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://abcnews.go.com/Health/bad-smells-leading-reported-symptoms-east-palestine-experts/story?id=97620548</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Psychosomatic effects may be contributing to the symptoms of headaches, fatigue, or respiratory issues being reported by some residents of East Palestine, Ohio, following a hazardous chemical spill last month, experts say.

But "psychosomatic" does not mean that the symptoms are made up, according to experts. There is a body of evidence that suggests that smelling chemicals believed to be dangerous can induce feelings of stress and fear, which may lead to physical symptoms.

"If you're in the presence of something where there's a strong odor in the air, and you're concerned about the impact of it because you don't really understand the chemical that produce the odor, you probably start even breathing a little bit differently that can change your heart rate that can change all manner of physiological responses," Pamela Dalton, Ph.D., a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, told ABC News.

Researchers have done studies where they have misled people about the danger of a chemical they are smelling and shown that they will experience symptoms under those conditions.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH public follow-up environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:e7650a8c2a17/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-03/emergency-workers-lacked-crucial-hazmat-data-in-ohio-derailment?leadSource=uverify%20wall">
    <title>Ohio Train Derailment Emergency Workers Lacked Data on Hazardous Chemicals</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-04T13:01:52+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-03/emergency-workers-lacked-crucial-hazmat-data-in-ohio-derailment?leadSource=uverify%20wall</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Emergency officials who rushed to the scene of a toxic Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailment last month may not have had access to crucial information about which hazardous materials the train was carrying, the Department of Transportation said in a safety advisory Friday. 

Rescue workers and others responding to the 38-car derailment in East Palestine may not have had a mobile app used by first responders to quickly obtain information about the chemicals the train was carrying, the Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said.

“Emergency responders’ timely access to accurate train-consist information is crucial to understanding hazards present in a derailment and other incidents involving a train transporting hazmat,” according to the advisory, which asked railroads to review emergency responders’ access to the app, known as AskRail. 

The 149-car train that derailed in the Feb. 3 incident had 19 cars carrying flammable gases and liquids, corrosives and other environmentally hazardous substances, according to PHMSA. Among them was vinyl chloride — considered a carcinogen — as well as ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Eleven of those hazardous-materials cars derailed, the NTSB has said. 

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental corrosives flammables</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:9e6b0dd639b6/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:environmental"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:corrosives"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:flammables"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160481769/east-palestine-derailment-toxic-waste-cleanup">
    <title>The challenges of East Palestine's toxic waste cleanup</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-04T12:53:50+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160481769/east-palestine-derailment-toxic-waste-cleanup</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[It's been nearly a month since a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, soil and water around East Palestine, Ohio. In the weeks since, authorities have undertaken a massive operation to clean up the hazardous materials.

More than 700 tons of contaminated soil and nearly two million gallons of liquid have been collected from the derailment site, Ohio officials say, with much more left to clean up under the order of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The effort to remove vast amounts of contaminated soil and water from the small town in eastern Ohio has involved at least seven different licensed hazardous waste disposal facilities across four states: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Texas.

The tangle became even more complicated when the EPA enacted a one-day pause on Norfolk Southern's removal operations last weekend after officials in Texas and Michigan raised concerns about East Palestine waste coming to disposal facilities in their states.

Here's the most thorough explanation yet for the train derailment in East Palestine
"Why are these materials not being taken somewhere closer? Is there something these jurisdictions know that we don't know?" said Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official of Harris County, Texas, after news broke last week that 30 truckloads of contaminated firefighting water were arriving each day to Deer Park, a suburb of Houston.

Afterward, officials announced several new disposal sites for the East Palestine waste, including a landfill in Indiana — which prompted objection from yet another state official, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. "The materials should go to the nearest facilities, not move from the far eastern side of Ohio to the far western side of Indiana," he said.

Officials say they are still searching for other disposal sites.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental toxics waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:d40a67caa371/</dc:identifier>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pennsylvania-residents-ohio-chemical-spill-say-left-recovery-efforts-rcna72746">
    <title>Pennsylvania residents near Ohio chemical spill say they're left out of recovery efforts</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-02T11:41:05+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pennsylvania-residents-ohio-chemical-spill-say-left-recovery-efforts-rcna72746</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Western Pennsylvania residents living near the Ohio border say they have been left out of recovery efforts following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in neighboring East Palestine, Ohio.

The crash led to evacuations and fears of air, water and soil contamination, especially after one chemical was deliberately released and burned to prevent an explosion. 

On Tuesday, the administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Michael Regan, returned to East Palestine to visit the spill site and told NBC News the agency is "here to stay and we are not leaving until the job is done."

But Pennsylvania residents say they are frustrated by a lack of information about the lasting risks from the disaster and demand more transparency from state and federal leaders, who they say are focused too narrowly on recovery efforts within a 2-mile radius surrounding the derailment, a designation set by the EPA.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_PA transportation follow-up environmental unknown_chemical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:b96da2168ffd/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:transportation"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:follow-up"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:unknown_chemical"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2023/03/01/445038/harris-county-judge-lina-hidalgo-explains-evolving-stance-on-toxic-wastewater-shipments-from-ohio/">
    <title>Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo explains evolving stance on toxic wastewater shipments from Ohio – Houston Public Media</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-02T11:40:29+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2023/03/01/445038/harris-county-judge-lina-hidalgo-explains-evolving-stance-on-toxic-wastewater-shipments-from-ohio/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Last Thursday, after she learned that toxic, firefighting wastewater from Ohio had been coming to the Houston area for disposal for more than a week, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo expressed disappointment and dismay. She questioned why the wastewater, contaminated with hazardous chemicals in the aftermath of a cargo train derailment on Feb. 3, was not sent somewhere closer to the disaster site and why she wasn't informed earlier about its presence in her jurisdiction.
By Tuesday, when Hidalgo announced the wastewater shipments to Deer Park waste disposal company Texas Molecular were resuming after a brief pause, her stance on the issue seemed to have softened. She said it was appropriate for Harris County to help others in need when it had the ability to do so. She also said she had gotten assurances from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the wastewater needed to be hauled away from East Palestine, Ohio – where residents previously had been evacuated for a controlled burn of known carcinogen vinyl chloride – and would be transported and disposed of safely and with oversight from the federal agency.
Hidalgo explained and defended her evolving messaging Wednesday during an interview on Houston Matters with Craig Cohen, who asked the county's chief executive if she had initially overreacted. Hidalgo said she had "no regrets" and that her job is to "be prepared for the worst and hope for the best."
"There's this international level disaster of this derailment and the subsequent fire and plume and people being sick. All of a sudden, we learn that these materials are coming to our community," Hidalgo said. "... We have to be real about what's happening. This is something everyone's been seeing on TV, that is really scary, and I don't feel comfortable just letting it come in and then our community being none the wiser about it. So I'm glad that we took a moment to evaluate what was going on."
Citing the EPA, Hidalgo said Tuesday the shipments are 99.9 percent water. The rest is about 910 parts per billion of vinyl chloride and 11,000 parts per million of sediment, with the remainder being oil and diesel fuel, she said.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_TX transportation follow-up environmental diesel petroleum waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:d29bae6d8c43/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:petroleum"/>
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</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:toxics"/>
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</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>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:pesticides"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/25/revealed-us-chemical-accidents-one-every-two-days-average">
    <title>Revealed: the US is averaging one chemical accident every two days</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-26T12:40:37+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/25/revealed-us-chemical-accidents-one-every-two-days-average</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Mike DeWine, the Ohio governor, recently lamented the toll taken on the residents of East Palestine after the toxic train derailment there, saying “no other community should have to go through this”.

But such accidents are happening with striking regularity. A Guardian analysis of data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by non-profit groups that track chemical accidents in the US shows that accidental releases – be they through train derailments, truck crashes, pipeline ruptures or industrial plant leaks and spills – are happening consistently across the country.

By one estimate these incidents are occurring, on average, every two days.

“These kinds of hidden disasters happen far too frequently,” Mathy Stanislaus, who served as assistant administrator of the EPA’s office of land and emergency management during the Obama administration, told the Guardian. Stanislaus led programs focused on the cleanup of contaminated hazardous waste sites, chemical plant safety, oil spill prevention and emergency response.

In the first seven weeks of 2023 alone, there were more than 30 incidents recorded by the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, roughly one every day and a half. Last year the coalition recorded 188, up from 177 in 2021. The group has tallied more than 470 incidents since it started counting in April 2020.

The incidents logged by the coalition range widely in severity but each involves the accidental release of chemicals deemed to pose potential threats to human and environmental health.]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental oils waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:41cba2a858ef/</dc:identifier>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://wreg.com/news/local/fire-leads-to-chemical-spill-in-desoto-county/">
    <title>Hydrofluoric acid spills into DeSoto County creek after fire</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-26T12:37:17+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://wreg.com/news/local/fire-leads-to-chemical-spill-in-desoto-county/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A chemical spill was reported in DeSoto County Saturday.

The DeSoto County government said the spill was caused by a fire at Schultz Xtruded Products located on McCracken Road in Hernando, Mississippi.

The fire caused a container that held Hydrofluoric Acid to leak, resulting in the chemical leaking into Mussacuna Creek.

Officials say the Hernando Fire Department quickly responded to the fire.

Crews at the scene said there is no danger to drinking water or residents who live downstream or upstream. Residents are being asked to avoid the creek in the area as crews work to remediate the area.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, DeSoto County EMA, and environmental remediation are working to clean the spill and any damage.

The CDC says hydrofluoric acid is created when hydrogen fluoride is dissolved in water.

Hydrogen fluoride is a compound used to make refrigerants, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, high-octane gasoline, aluminum, plastics, electrical components, and fluorescent light bulbs.

Symptoms of hydrogen fluoride exposure include irritation of the eyes, nose, and respiratory tract. At high levels or in combination with skin contact, it can cause death from an irregular heartbeat or fluid buildup in the lungs, according to the CDC.

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_MS public release environmental hydrofluoric_acid</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:9587a53dbdeb/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:hydrofluoric_acid"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/state-and-local-lawmakers-speak-out-halt-further-transport-of-contaminated-waste-from-east-palestine-ohio-derailment-site-to-metro-detroit">
    <title>Hazardous material from Ohio train derailment in Michigan</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-25T12:56:05+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/state-and-local-lawmakers-speak-out-halt-further-transport-of-contaminated-waste-from-east-palestine-ohio-derailment-site-to-metro-detroit</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[DETROIT (WWJ) -- State and local officials are reacting to new reports from the Ohio state government that hazardous material from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment site are scheduled to be transported to a specialized landfill in Wayne County.

The derailment occurred just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 3, when an overheated wheel bearing caused the nearly 150-car train to decelerate before an automatic breaking system took effect. Around 50 cars derailed, 11 of which contained hazardous chemicals, including several carrying vinyl chloride, which is highly toxic.


In addition to the damage done at the actual derailment site, the spilling and burning off of toxic chemicals resulted in forced evacuations for local residents who now face valid health concerns from hazardous materials in the air, soil and ground water.

According to a Thursday news release from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's office, rail company Norfolk Southern has brought in dump trucks to haul away contaminated dirt from under and around the train tracks in the affected area.

At this time, Norfolk Southern intends to move the toxic material to U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal, which is a licensed hazardous waste disposal facility in Belleville -- located just northwest of the Belleville Rest Area off of westbound I-94.

On Friday, U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell put out a statement claiming that Ohio officials had not notified local lawmakers of the move.

"We were not given a heads up on this reported action," Dingell said in the news release. "Our priority is to always keep the people we represent safe."

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_OH transportation follow-up environmental waste</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/b:f9cd7bdb80c5/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:dchas/t:waste"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2023/02/24/university-delaware-lab-evacuation-questions-explosive-chemical/69911628007/">
    <title>University of Delaware lab evacuation leaves questions unanswered</title>
    <dc:date>2023-02-25T12:51:45+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2023/02/24/university-delaware-lab-evacuation-questions-explosive-chemical/69911628007/</link>
    <dc:creator>dchas</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Two weeks after a "safety-related incident" in the University of Delaware's Lammot du Pont Laboratory led to the evacuation of six buildings and a police-led "controlled detonation" on The Green in Newark, UD officials have provided an update on the incident with slightly more information.

However, details about what exactly led to this incident and what was occurring at the lab remain unknown to the public.

Here's what we can answer − and what we can't.

What do we know about what happened?

Researchers in the Lammot du Pont Laboratory "inadvertently produced a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive chemical" on Feb. 8, according to the university.

Delaware State Police's explosive ordnance disposal unit removed the chemicals from the lab on Wednesday and took them to a "safe location" on the South Green for a "controlled detonation" at 5:45 p.m. There were no reported injuries, and all evacuated buildings were reopened for classes the following day.

What new information did the University of Delaware's update provide?

The University of Delaware said on Wednesday that the explosive chemical was created when a student "incorrectly mixed chemicals" in the lab. The student "immediately realized" and reported the error, according to UD, and police and UD Environmental Health and Safety were called.

The university also said it is "learning from the incident to further enhance lab safety protocols," but provided no details or clarifications.

Have incidents like this happened before?

]]></description>
<dc:subject>us_DE laboratory follow-up environmental unknown_chemical waste</dc:subject>
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