BOSTON — The Labor Department says it has reached a $600,000 settlement with adhesives manufacturer Bostik, Inc., over workplace safety citations related to a March 2011 explosion at its plant north of Boston.

Four workers had nonlife-threatening injuries. Investigators said a valve had accidentally been left open, causing acetone vapors to fill the building and ignite. The explosion rattled a surrounding neighborhood, and damaged two buildings at the plant complex in Middleton.

TAMPA — An overwhelming chemical smell burned the eyes of inspectors Wednesday as they entered a warehouse to check on production of synthetic marijuana, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

The inspectors had come to take samples of the substance being processed at 6308 Benjamin Road, Suite 712, north of Tampa International Airport.

The sample would be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to see if it contains any of the 29 compounds outlawed by the Legislature in its attempts to prevent the possession and sale of synthetic drugs.

But during the inspection, high levels of concentrated acetone caused investigators to call the state Fire Marshal, Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to evaluate the safety of the warehouse and its more than a dozen employees.

Specific combinations of chemicals make up the synthetic drugs that are banned in Florida. No arrests were made at the warehouse Wednesday while the case remains under investigation, said Larry McKinnon, a Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Deputies have been inspecting several local distribution centers, as well as local vendors, since Gov. Rick Scott signed the law on March 23 to expand the chemical compounds banned.

Unlike with other drugs, deputies can't perform on-site testing to determine if the compounds are illegal. And as the law changes to ban more chemical combinations, so do the manufacturer recipes to keep their businesses legal.

A beautician is being treated for shock after vapours from nail varnish remover caught fire from a candle in an Edinburgh shop.

An ambulance was called to treat the 46-year-old following the incident at Moi in Comiston Road.

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue was called to the fire just after 13:00 and it was extinguished by 13:46.

The incident happened after the acetone was spilled and the vapours caught light.

SANTA FE, N.M. -- Continuing coverage on a suspected meth lab that led to evacuations in Santa Fe last week. It turns out, it wasn't a meth lab at all.
The chemicals that sent two police officers to the hospital were things you probably have in your home.
Captain Aric Wheeler says they've never been in a situation he can remember where chemicals this strong turn out not to be a meth lab.
They were taken into custody, hand cuff, handcuffed and covered in white protective jumpsuits, two jumpsuits. Two tenants at a small apartment complex on Agua Fria were initially suspected of cooking meth.
"We don't try and mess around with these things. Obviously they can be fatal," said Wheeler.
The chemical vapors strong enough to send two cops to the hospital was a common household cleaner, "drano."Drano.
The residents were trying to clean out a clogged drain while next door, neighbors were using acetone to remove floor tile. Together they became a dangerous combination.
"Even though they weren't a meth lab, they still were very toxic in the odors they were emitting," said Wheeler.
The scene Friday afternoon caused quit a commotion. Firefighters and hazmat crews descended on the apartment and even evacuated nearby neighbors. Captain Wheeler stands behind the department's decision.
"We have to take the measures necessary to ensure the public safety," said Wheeler.
Action 7 News tried to talk to neighbors, knocking on door, but were told neighbors were still embarrassed and too angry to talk.
Captain Wheeler says in this case they'd rather be wrong than right, because a meth lab in the middle of Santa Fe is a danger the do not want to deal with.
Wheeler says officers were on high alert because meth labs aren't common in the city, but just that morning they found a mobile meth lab and thought the two location locations might be connected.
The tenants refused to allow police into the home and Wheeler says that was also suspicious because usually when that happens, people have something to hide.
Copyright 2012 by KOAT.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PUTNAMVILLE -- A one-vehicle accident Monday afternoon claimed the life of a tanker truck driver and created a hazardous materials spill on Interstate-70 near the Putnam-Clay county line.
At approximately 4:15 p.m., Monday, a tanker truck, reportedly carrying the industrial solvent acetone, left the roadway for an unknown reason, striking a cement bridge support near County Road 775 West, just east of the 30-mile marker in the westbound lanes of I-70.

No other vehicles were involved.

Upon impact, the tanker trailer overturned and nearly broke in half, releasing approximately 6,000 gallons of highly flammable hazardous industrial solvent.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- A large fire broke out Thursday morning at a factory that produces artificial fingernails and other chemical products in the Maumelle/North Little Rock area.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Smith says when he arrived just after 9 a.m. he saw heavy smoke but the fire department had just finished water operations and are beginning foam operations.

Employees were filling bottles with acetone when the fire started.

Officials are still unclear as to how the fire started. No injuries are reported. An area of 330 meters has been evacuated. Officials say there is no danger outside the perimeter but they will continue to monitor the area and air quality.

Four people taken to emergency following a haz-mat incident in Abbotsford were not seriously injured.

It happened shortly after ten this morning at a recycling plant on Peardonville Road.

Deputy Fire Chief Mike Helmer says the cause is believed to be exposure to some form of acetone.

Those taken to hospital had symptoms including burning throats and dizziness.

Helmer says twelve more people --who came into contact with the others-- have also been taken to the Abbotsford Hospital for observation.

BOSTON (MMD Newswire) September 13, 2011 - - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Bostik Inc. for 50 alleged violations of workplace safety standards following a March 13 explosion at the company's Middleton plant in which four workers were injured. The adhesives manufacturer faces a total of $917,000 in proposed fines.

OSHA's inspection identified several serious deficiencies in the company's process safety management program, a detailed set of requirements and procedures employers must follow to proactively address hazards associated with processes and equipment that involve large amounts of hazardous chemicals. In this case, the chemical was acetone, used in a PSM-covered process known as direct solvation. On the day of the explosion, a valve on a transfer line inadvertently was left open, resulting in the release of flammable acetone vapors. The vapors exploded after being ignited by an undetermined source.

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Firefighters are battling a huge chemical fire on the west side of St. Louis, which has forced the evacuation of several nearby homes and the hospitalization of three firefighters.

Reports are that several tanks of acetone and ethanol caught fire around 2:30 this morning at the Chemisphere Corp. in the 2100 block of Cliffton Avenue. The first 911 call came in at 2:33 with reports of flames at the site.

St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says three firefighters have been taken to the hospital following an explosion but that they are in stable condition.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- An explosion rocked a Fairdale neighborhood Sunday night after one man was remodeling his basement.  The explosion left the home destroyed and has one firefighter in the Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital.  Mark Long, a Camp Taylor firefighter, suffered second and third degree leg burns after falling through the floor of the burning home. 
The explosion happened in the basement of the home on Minute Men Court in Fairdale.  Mark Sturgeon, the owner of the home, was staining the concrete floor in his basement.  He used materials he had researched and bought online.
“I tried to do it myself and save some money.  You know, because I was thinking I could do it because I do my own construction on my own personal property,” Sturgeon said.
The process required acetone, a highly flammable chemical.  Sturgeon said the hot water heater switched on automatically causing an explosion.  It created enough pressure to smash the windows from the back of the house. 
“The vapors were contained within a confined area so they were going to find an ignition point within a matter of time.  There's no way to really ventilate a basement for that product in my opinion,” Chief Don Wittry, the Fairdale Fire Department, said.

The Laredo HAZMAT unit is called out to a local warehouse after a container begins leaking.
Employees at the warehouse were asked to leave by first responders.
According to the Laredo fire department, a large container holding acetone at the a. Castaneda and company warehouse began leaking.
Authorities believe a valve on the container failed.
The heat caused the container to then expand and fumes to begin leaking.
Hazmat crews did not shut down the area and no one else was evacuated.
Authorities say there was no immediate danger